THE BEGINNING OF THE TRIBULATION
Part 2
INTRODUCTION:
A coming period of time will last 7 years, Daniel 9:24-27. Each half will last 3 1/2 years, “last time, times and half a time” Rev. 13:14, “1260 days” Rev. 12:6, “42 months” Rev. 11:2. This will be called, “Jacob’s trouble,” “great tribulation” Matt 24:15-22, “time of trouble,” Dan. 12:1, hour of temptation, Rev. 3:10.
Event 17 - The appearance of Jesus Christ in the air with a shout and a sound of a trumpet “catch up.”
1. “Come up hither,” Rev. 4:1.
2. “For the Lord himself shall descent from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trumpet of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first,” (1 Thess. 4:16).
3. “This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come, in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven,” Acts 1:11.
Event 18 - Saved people will be transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ.
1. “Then we which are alive, and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord,” (1 Thess. 4:17).
2. “When he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is,” (1 John 3:2).
Event 19 - Christians who died in the church age will be resurrected.
1. “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, (for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed),” (1 Cor. 15:52).
2. “For if we believe that Jesus died, and rose again: even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus,” (1 Thess. 4:14).
Event 20 - God will remove His restraining influence against sin. “Only he who restrains will restrain, until he be taken out of the way,” (2 Thess. 2:7).
Event 21 - Those remaining behind will be blinded spiritually so that they believe a lie.
“And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie" (2 Thess. 2:11).
IN HEAVEN
Event 22 - Believers will see the throne of God. “Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne,” (Rev. 4:2).
Event 23 - Believers will hear worship to God. “Saying Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is and is to come,” (Rev. 4:8).
Event 24 - Believers will say (sing) the Creation Psalm. “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created,” (Rev. 4:11).
Event 25 - Christians in heaven will appear before the Bema Judgment Seat of Christ to be judged for their faithfulness. “Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing,” (2 Tim. 4:8). “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether good or bad,” (1 Cor. 5:10).
Event 26 - The “good works” of Christians will be tested by fire. “Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become manifest; for the day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward, (1 Cor. 3:12-15).
Event 27 - Christians will lay their rewards at the feet of Jesus as an act of worship. “The twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne,” (Rev. 4:10).
Event 28 - The Bride (the church) will prepare for her marriage. “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints,” (Rev. 19:7-8).
Event 29 - The collapse of earthly Christendom into apostasy, “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,” (2 Thess. 2:3).
Event 30 - A crisis in the world economy.
1. Does capitalism collapse because Christians disappear?
2. A world crisis prepares for a strong authoritative world leader who can solve the financial problems and get the world community back into operation.
Event 31 - On earth God will remove spiritual blindness from Jews so they will be open to the gospel. “But their (Jews) minds were blinded, for until this day remaineth the same veil untaken away in their reading of the Old Testament . . . the veil is upon their heart,” (2 Cor. 3:14-15).
Event 32 - God will pour out His Spirit on Jews so they will turn to Jesus as their Messiah. “And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy,” (Joel 2:28).
Event 33 - The Gospel is spread throughout the world, 144,000 Jews are converted, probably through preaching in existing synagogues and temples, (Rev. 7:1-8). “And the gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come,” (Matt. 24:14). “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb,” (Rev. 7:14).
Event 34 - The beginning of a great conversion movement throughout the world. “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,” (Rev. 7:9).
THE COMING WORLD EMPEROR (Antichrist)
Event 35 - There will arise a world ruler after the church is raptured. “Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name,” (Rev. 13:1).
Event 36 - The world ruler will have several names, “beast” (Rev. 13:1), “man of sin” (lawless one), (2 Thess. 2:3), “wicked one” (2 Thess. 2:8), “little horn” (Dan 7:8), “king of fierce countenance”, (Dan 8:23), “Son of Perdition” (2 Thess. 2:3).
Event 37 - The world leader will be a Jew. “Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers,” (Dan 11:37). “But in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses; and a god which his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver,” (Dan. 11:38).
Event 38 - The world leader will come from the West (the area of the historic Roman Empire), (Dan 7:24, Rev. 13:1). “And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast,” (Rev. 17:12).
Event 39 - The identity of the world leader will not be known until after the rapture. “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,” (2 Thess. 2:3).
Event 40 - The world leader will gain credibility by performing miracles. “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders” (2 Thess. 2:9).
Event 41 - The world leader will promote a new religion.
1. Antichrist means substitute Christ.
2. The mystery of the gospel (Eph. 3:1-10) is replaced with the mystery of Babylon, (Rev. 17:5).
3. The preaching of the gospel will be substituted with his great speaking, (Rev. 13:5).
4. The worship of Christ will be substituted with the worship of the world leader, (Rev. 13:12).
5. The Holy Spirit magnifies Christ, the False Prophet magnified the substitute Christ, (Rev. 13:12-15).
Event 42 - The world leader initiates his movements with a “satanic Pentecost” fire from heaven, (Rev. 13:13).
Event 43 - The world leader will set up his headquarters in Babylon of Iraq, (Rev. 17:5, 18:1, 10).
1. The City of Babylon is the center for religions activity in the world, (Rev. 17:5-7, 13-18).
2. The City of Babylon is the center of political activity in the world, (Rev. 18:1-19).
Event 44 - The world leader will gain his power because he is an economist, an authority at public relations, and a statesmanship. “His feet part of iron and part of clay,” (Dan 2:33). “A mouth speaking great things,” (Dan. 7:8). “He shall speak great words against the most High,”
(Dan. 7:25). “And shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods,” (Dan. 11:36).
Event 45 - Ten western nations will form some kind of confederacy which will resemble a re-constitution of the original Roman Empire, (Rev. 13:1).
Event 46 - The world will recognize the world leader as one who has been raised from the dead. “I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast,” (Rev. 13:3).
1. The Roman Empire has been raise from the dead.
2. He personally is raise, i.e. Judas Iscariot, Nero, Hitler, Stalin, etc.
Event 47 - The false prophet will convince the world to worship the world leader because of the return to life. “And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed,” (Rev. 13:12).
Event 48 - The world leader will accept worship. “He shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god,” (Dan. 11:36). “So they worshipped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, ‘Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?’” (Rev. 13:4).
Event 49 - People will make idols to the world leader. “And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived,” (Rev. 13:14).
Event 50 - The world leader will persecute and kill those who refuse to worship him. “And it was granted to him to make war with the saints and overcome them,” (Rev. 13:7a).
Event 51 - The world leader will gain power over other nations beyond his ten nation base of power.
“And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation,” (Rev. 13:7b).
Event 52 - The world population will receive a “mark or number” for commercial reasons. “And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name,” (Rev. 13:16-17).
If you have never really accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, would you do it right now? Do not delay or put it off. If you would like to receive Christ by faith, pray this simple prayer in your heart:
Dear Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died for my sins on the cross, and rose again the third day. I repent of my sins. By faith I receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior. You promised to save me, and I believe You, because You are God and cannot lie. I believe right now that the Lord Jesus is my personal Savior, and that all my sins are forgiven through His precious blood. I thank You, dear Lord, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you prayed that prayer, God heard you and saved you. I personally want to welcome you to the family of God and rejoice with you.
Dr. Towns’ email is eltowns@liberty.edu.
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