EVENTS OF THE TRIBULATION
Rev. 8-9;11:15
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. Bart's father called home during a business trip to see how his son's basketball game had gone. Bart came to the phone and told his dad, "I finally made a basket today." His father was excited. "Did it help the team, Bart?"
2. "Well," Bart answered, "it was the winning point." Now Bart's dad was ecstatic. "Son, that's wonderful. You are a hero with your very first basket!"
3. "Not exactly, Dad," Bart explained. "I made the basket for the other team."
B. TEXT
“The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down on the earth. The second angel sounded his trumpet, and...a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs” Rev. 8:7-8,10.
“The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun... moon, and...stars [was struck] so that a third of them turned dark.” “The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and.... he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened” Rev. 8:12; 91-2.
“The sixth angel sounded his trumpet...river Euphrates....And the four angels...released to kill a third of mankind. The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and ...voices...said: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his [Christ] and he will reign for ever and ever.”
Rev. 9:13-15;11:15.
C. THESIS
1. There will be a 7-Year period known as the 70th week of Daniel (9:27) or more popularly, as The Tribulation Period. It has at least two purposes.
2. First, it’s God’s last time to deal with the nation of Israel to bring them to Christ, Dan. 9:24-27. Secondly, God will pour out His wrath on the world for sin, still hoping they will turn and repent (Rev. 9:20-21; 16:9,11).
3. The title of this message is, “Events of the Tribulation.”
I. KEY EVENTS OF THE TRIBULATION PERIOD
A. 13 KEY EVENTS OF THIS 7-YEAR PERIOD
1. The ANTICHRIST gains European control (Rv. 17:12; Dan. 2:40,44)
2. The RAPTURE of the CHURCH will occur – it will be Pre-Wrath. Here are 6 reasons this will be a pre-wrath event:
a. Paul described a “catching away” of God’s people, an “instantaneous transformation” 1 Cor. 15:51-52. Timing?
b. God will not cause Christians to suffer HIS wrath, 1 Th. 5:9. We won’t be in the sphere of the worldwide trouble. The whole 7 years is described as a time of wrath Joel 2, Isa. 34:2.
c. Jesus’ coming is described as imminent – that is, without precursors or signs. That would not be possible if His coming were at the end of the seven years.
d. The Lord Jesus told us 2 times that it was possible we could escape the coming tribulation (Luke 21:34-36; Rev. 3:10.) Only a pretribulation rapture could do that.
e. The Antichrist can’t be revealed until the restrainer/H.S. in the church, is removed (2 Thess. 2:7-8).
f. The Rapture = hope (Tit. 2:13). How is facing the wrath of God hopeful? Unless we miss it!
3. AntiChrist’s 7-YEAR PACT WITH ISRAEL (Dan. 9:27); the Jews rebuild the Temple & reinstitute the sacrifices (2 Th. 2:4; Dan. 8:11).
4. The TWO WITNESSES begin prophesying; the 1st plagues begin (Rv. 11:3-6; 6:1-8). Later the last 7 plagues begin (Rv. 8:7-9:20; 16:all).
5. BATTLE OF GOG & MAGOG (Ezek. 38 & 39). Russia & allies invade Israel but are destroyed by “rain, hail, & burning sulfur” (38:22).
6. TOTAL WORLD DOMINION OF THE ANTICHRIST FOR 3½ YEARS (Rev. 13:3-4). The Antichrist is fatally wounded. He is healed (Rev. 13:3) and rises possessed by the Devil (Rev. 12:13).
7. The FALSE PROPHET comes alongside the Antichrist & mimics the miracles done by the two witnesses (Rev. 13:11-13). He causes the world to worship the Antichrist (Rev. 13:12).
8. The Antichrist breaks his 7-year pact with Israel (Dan. 9:27) & causes the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION (Mt. 24:15). He begins a wholesale slaughter of the Jews (Dan. 7:21, 12:7; Rev. 12:13, 13:7).
9. The TWO WITNESSES are KILLED BUT after 3½ days they RISE from the dead and ascend to heaven (Rev. 11:7-12). Spiritual darkness and demonic power sweep the world, causing widespread possession (Rev. 9:1-12).
10. The armies of all nations are gathered to the BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON (Rev. 16:12-16). “Battle” means “campaign.”
11. SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. He & His armies, begin their approach to Earth from the far side of the Universe. The heavenly bodies are shaken. The universe rolls up as a scroll before Him (Rev. 19:11-18). The stars explode out of their orbits (Rev. 6:12-14).
12. DEFEAT OF THE ANTICHRIST & FALSE PROPHET. They’re captured and thrown alive into the lake of fire; their armies are destroyed (Rev. 19:19-20).
13. Christ sets up His MILLENNIAL KINGDOM on Earth! (Rev. 20:6).
B. HUMOR: WHEN JESUS COMES!
1. A Pastor decided to let his three-year-old son record the message for their home answering machine: “Mommy and Daddy can’t come to the phone right now. If you’ll leave your name & phone number, they’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”
2. Afterward, the father pressed the play button and heard his son sweetly say, "Mommy and Daddy can’t come to the phone right now. If you’ll leave your name, phone & number, they’ll get back to you as soon as Jesus comes.”
II. THE TRUMPET/BOWLS OF WRATH
A. COMMENTS ON THE TRUMPET/ BOWLS
1. The Seven Great Plagues (Trumpets/ Bowls, which are identical) are called "The Last Plagues" (Rev. 15:1), indicating there’s a former set of plagues, which can only be the 4 Horsemen (6:1-8).
2. The First Trumpet/Bowl plague is “Hail and fire mixed with blood hurled on the earth” Rev. 8:7 and causes “ugly, festering sores on people” Rev. 16:2. These parallel Moses’ 7th (hail, Ex. 9:23-24;) and 6th (boils, Ex. 9:8-11) plagues on Egypt.
3. The 2nd Trump/Bowl Plague; “A huge mountain, all ablaze, thrown into the sea”/ocean turning it into blood (Rev. 8:8; 16:3). It could be the result of a meteor made of iron ore which would make water turn red.
4. Both the 2nd & 3rd Plagues parallel Moses’ turning the Nile waters into blood (Ex. 7:20-25), but with the scope enlarged to 1/3 of the oceans and fresh waters.
5. The 3rd Trump/Bowl is borne by a star named Wormwood (Rev. 8:10-11). "Wormwood" (???????) is a bitter plant & close relative of the mugwort (Chernobyl), but not identical. A toxic asteroid or dirty bomb could strike a major water source, like the Mississippi, Amazon, or Great Lakes and cause such a disaster.
6. The 4th Trump/Bowl Plague extinguishes “1/3 of the sun, moon, stars” Rev. 8:12. A large cloud of rock debris or ice crystals filling one third of Earth’s orbit could do this.
7. The addition, “the Sun scorched people by its intense heat” Rev. 16:8-9, indicates that the atmospheric ozone has been destroyed or that the sun has become unstable and is fluctuating. The sun is about to reverse its magnetic field, which could trigger large solar flares, etc.
8. The 5th Trump/Bowl Plague = spiritual darkness, caused by the release of demon hordes from the Abyss (Lk. 8:31; Rev. 9:2, like a “gigantic furnace”). They can’t torment nature or God’s servants; 5 months. They have a King which later kills the 2 witnesses (11:7).
9. The 6th Trump/Bowl judgment: “4 angels bound at the river Euphrates….were released to kill a third of mankind. The number of the mounted troops was 200,000,000” “gathered by 3 impure spirits…to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon” (9:13-21; 16:12-16).
10. The 7TH Plague: Christ comes to reign, judge, reward, & destroy to “flashes of lightning, peals of thunder, a severe earthquake” & hail.
B. BOY THINKS HE CAN BE RAPTURED HOLDING GRANDPAS LEGS
1. When David Daniels was about six years old, he heard the pastor preach on the "Second Coming" of Christ. He emphasized the "Rapture of the Church". He described the events that would transpire: people disappearing, worldwide panic, etc.
2. “As a young boy, it scared me nearly to death! For the next several nights, I stayed with my Grandfather Oscar and slept in the bed with him.
3. My thought was: that if this "rapture" happens, that I would grab onto his legs as he was going through the ceiling! Later, I learned about "personal" accountability.” Pastor David Daniels.
III. TRIBULATION PERIOD
A. SEVEN YEARS OF HELL ON EARTH
1. You don’t want to miss the Rapture and have to face the Great Tribulation period. There will be 7 years of Hell on earth!
2. The trouble starts after the rapture of the Church occurs, and all the good, Christian people suddenly vanish, leaving planes without pilots, cars without drivers, and virtually all of the children under 12 missing.
3. Can you imagine a world where all the good people and children under 12 are gone? The Holy Spirit will also be gone in His N.T. fullness. It will be like the O.T. again.
4. Then the Antichrist will take power and institute the Mark of the Beast, a mark required to buy or sell; people will have to swear allegiance to the Antichrist (sell their souls). Without the mark you & your loved ones can’t buy food or get medical attention.
5. When God starts pouring out His plagues, they will get progressively worse and worse. The Bible foretells that there will be nuclear war; Earthquakes reaching 10 on the Richter scale; terrible new deadly viruses will kill millions; comets hit the oceans and cause tsunamis; famines; and the sun will destabilize, pouring out solar radiation, and clouds of debris will block the sun, moon, and stars. Add to these a release of demon hordes from Hell, and you get the picture. Almost half the population of the world will die during the 7 years!
B. WHY MUST WE BE READY?
1. WE DON’T KNOW WHEN HE’S COMING. “You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” Lk. 12:40. The Lord frequently talked about watchfulness.
2. PREPARATION FOR HEAVEN IS EXPECTED. “All who have this hope in him purify themselves” 1 John 3:3.
3. WE ARE GOD’S WITNESSES. “You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “that I am God” Isa. 43:12.”
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. Larry Watts, who served later at First Assembly, Brazoria Texas, was 15 years old. He had a very Christian family, except that he was a bit of a black sheep. Watts had been taught about the Rapture of the church – how Christians would suddenly be caught away to heaven – IF THEY WERE READY! Watts knew he probably wasn’t.
2. One day he came home from school. He expected to see his mother and several siblings in the house. The front door was unlocked, the lights were all on. He walked through the house and found no one. Objects that had just been put down were everywhere. It was obvious the inhabitants had been present moments before.
3. The TV was on. His mother’s purse was on the couch. The evening meal was still steaming on the plates around the table. Forks and spoons still had food on them, half eaten.
4. The realization and dread hit Watts that Jesus had come and taken the Christians and he had been left behind. He went out into the front yard and fell on his knees and cried, “Lord Jesus, don’t leave me!” He knew he would have a second chance at making heaven, but he would have to die a martyr during the Great Tribulation period. He repented and asked God to give him another chance.
5. His family came home a few minutes later: a neighbor had fallen off a horse and been injured and they’d all gone to assist. But Watts was never the same again! He became a preacher.
B. THE CALL
1. How many of you need to do some house cleaning in your hearts before Jesus comes?
2. Are you sure you’re ready? Are you in the process of “purifying” your life?
3. Who do you need to share Christ with so they will be ready? PRAYER.
