1 11 – Tribulation Period LESSON OUTLINE I. The Timing of the Tribulation II . A Diagram of the Tribulation III. The Purpose of the Tribulation IV. The Nature of the Tribulation V. The People of the Tribulation VI . A Chronology of Events During the Tribulation VII. The Events of the Tribulation VIII. The Olivet Discourse THE TRIBULATION PERIOD The Bible speaks of a coming day when God will pour out His wrath upon this world. That event is called: • “The Day of the Lord” • “That Day” • “The Tribulation” • “Great Tribulation” • “The Time of Jacob’s Trouble” • “The Wrath of God”, and we also refer to it as • “The Seventieth Week of Daniel” (For more information on The Day of the Lord refer to the articles section of your notebook). I. THE TIMING OF THE TRIBULATION Based on Daniel 9:24-27 and Isaiah 24:1–27:13 the Tribulation Period begins when the man known as the Antichrist signs a ____________ with the nation of Israel. This is at the beginning of the seventieth week of Daniel’s prophecy.Technically, the Rapture does not begin the Tribulation. There may be a brief period of time between the Rapture of the Church and the signing of the covenant; a time to allow necessary alignments and developments to take place. The Tribulation lasts for one week (7 years — based on Daniel 9:24-27) and is divided into two parts of 3 1/2 years each. II. A DIAGRAM OF THE TRIBULATION
Transcript
1 11 – Tribulation Period
LESSON OUTLINE I. The Timing of the TribulationII . A Diagram of the TribulationIII. The Purpose of the TribulationIV. The Nature of the Tribulation V. The People of the TribulationVI . A Chronology of Events During the TribulationVII. The Events of the TribulationVIII. The Olivet Discourse
THE TRIBULATION PERIOD
The Bible speaks of a coming day when God will pour out His wrath upon this world. That event is called:
• “The Day of the Lord”
• “That Day”
• “The Tribulation”
• “Great Tribulation”
• “The Time of Jacob’s Trouble”
• “The Wrath of God”, and we also refer to it as
• “TheSeventiethWeekofDaniel”
(For more information on The Day of the Lord refer to the articles section of your notebook).
I. THE TIMING OF THE TRIBULATION
BasedonDaniel9:24-27andIsaiah24:1–27:13theTribulationPeriodbeginswhenthemanknownastheAntichristsignsa____________withthenationofIsrael.ThisisatthebeginningoftheseventiethweekofDaniel’sprophecy.Technically,theRapturedoesnotbegintheTribulation.TheremaybeabriefperiodoftimebetweentheRaptureof the Church and the signing of the covenant; a time to allow necessary alignments anddevelopmentstotakeplace.TheTribulationlastsforoneweek(7years—basedonDaniel9:24-27)andisdividedintotwopartsof31/2yearseach.
II. A DIAGRAM OF THE TRIBULATION
2
III. THE PURPOSE OF THE TRIBULATION
A. To _______________ wicked, unbelieving people and nations
The whole world will be judged for its sin and rejection of Jesus Christ.
(Isaiah 13:9-11) “Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. {10} For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. {11} And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.”
(Jeremiah 25:32-33) “Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. {33} And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.”
(2 Thessalonians 2:12) “That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
(Revelation 6:15-16) “And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; {16} And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:”
(Revelation 11:18) “And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.”
1. The unrighteous have willfully and arrogantly refused to live in obedience to the Creator.
8. Godcoulddealwithsininstantlyandnotrequiresevenyears.Thissuggests that judgment, though important in the plan of God, is not the mainreasonfortheseven-yearperiodofTribulation.Ratheritisto—
2. ThetribulationperiodisprimarilyJewish.Scripturesdealingwiththisperiodoftimeusetermssuchas:timeofJacob’strouble,Daniel’speople,holyplace, Judaea, Jerusalem, twelve tribes, signs in heaven, covenant with the beast,sanctuary,sacrifice,andoblation(templeritual).TheseareJewishterms.(Deuteronomy4:30;Daniel12:1;Ezekiel20:37;Zechariah13:8-9;Matthew24:15-20)
3. Daniel’sseventiethweekdealswithGod’splanforIsrael(SeeDaniel’sPreviewofHistorysection).(Daniel9:24)“Seventyweeksaredetermineduponthypeopleanduponthyholycity,tofinishthetransgression,andtomakeanendofsins,andtomakereconciliationforiniquity,andtobringin everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anointthemostHoly.”
TherearenumerouspassagesofScriptureprophesyingatimeof_______________andjudgmentofthenationofIsrael.Someofthesewerefulfilledhistoricallybuthaveagreaterfulfillmentyetinthefuture.KeypassagesdealingwiththeTribulationareDaniel9:24-27;Isaiah24;Joel2;Matthew24;andRevelation6-20.TheTribulationinvolvesthejudgmentofGoduponanunbelievingworld(detailedinRevelation6-19).Theconsecutiveseriesofseals,trumpets,andbowljudgmentsofRevelationdetailGod’sjudgment upon unbelievers, climaxing in the triumphant return of Christ to earth with His bride,thechurch(Revelation19:11-21).
A. It is a time of outpouring of God’s wrath (1 Thessalonians 1:10; Revelation 6:16-17; 11:18; 14:19; 15:1; 16:1,19).
B. It is a time of punishment (Isaiah 24:20-21).
C. It is a time of trouble (Jeremiah 30:7; Daniel 12:1).
4
D. It is a time of great destruction (Joel 1:15; 1 Thessalonians 5:3).
E. It is a time of desolation (Zephaniah 1:14-15).
F. It is a time of judgment (Revelation 14:7; 16:5; 19:2).
Note: SincethechurchistheobjectofGod’slove,itisdifficulttoseehowitcould be present during the Tribulation.
V. THE PEOPLE OF THE TRIBULATION
OtherthanGodandSatanthereareanumberofotherswhoplaysignificantrolesinthedrama of this terrible period.
A. The Antichrist
1. His namesa. Onlyonceishecalledthe“Antichrist.”
1 John 2:18 “Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.”
b. “Man of lawlessness”(2Thessalonians2:3)—thistitleemphasizeshispersonal wickedness as he lives lawlessly.
c. “The beast”(Revelation13,17)—wildlyhostiletoGodd. “Little horn”(Daniel7:8)—amanof_____________.Accordingto
a. HeisempoweredbySatan(Daniel7:8-26;9:26-27;11:36-45;2Thessalonians2:3-10;Revelation13:1-9;17:8-14).
b. Great leadership, can solve complex world problems.c. Intelligent,economicandpoliticalprowessd. Militarilypowerfulandbrilliante. Great oratorical ability to persuade multitudes to follow him
“littlehorn”(Daniel7)comesoutoftherevivedRomanempire.This empirical revival takes place after the Tribulation begins; this Antichristgoesouttoconquer(Revelation6:2).Heconquersthreenationsandpossiblysevenothers(Daniel7:8,20).HeentersacovenantwithIsrael(whichstartstheTribulation);apparentlyheispowerfulenoughtoguaranteethesafetyofIsrael.
b. PhaseTwo—duringthefirsthalfoftheTribulationperiodtheAntichristwillruletherevivedRomanempire.HewillmakeenemieswhowillassassinatehimmidwaythroughtheTribulation(Revelation13:3,12,14).Heisrestoredtolifeandbecomestheobjectofworship(alongwithSatan).
Where is America? Is she:1. United with Eu-rope and led by the Antichrist, or2. Destroyed due to the Rapture or due to her own cor-ruption—moral and financial?
5
c. PhaseThree—forforty-twomonths(3½years)herulesasdictatoroftheworld(Revelation13:5-7).
d. PhaseFour—attheendoftheTribulationheisdefeatedbyJesusChristuponHisreturn,andhebecomesthefirstoccupantoftheLakeofFire(Revelation19:20).
2. Heiscalledthe“falseprophet”(Revelation16:13;19:20;20:10);thisman is a religious leader with the ability to work miracles and deceive the unbelieving world into worshipping the Antichrist. People who will not worshiparekilled(Revelation13:13-15).
3. “Themiraclesandsignsthathewillperform,suchascallingfiredownfrom heaven, will probably be used as evidence to validate his claim to betheElijahwhowouldcomebefore‘thegreatandterribledayoftheLord’(Malachi4:5-6).Ifso,theclaimwillbemadeandpromotedthattheAntichirstisthetrueMessiah.Thisisconfirmedwhenwerememberthata primary focus of attention during the last half of the Tribulation is on the templeinJerusalem,wheretheimageoftheAntichrist(the‘Abomination
6
ofDesolation’)issetupandworshipped.TheFalseProphet,withhisuseof miracles and wonders, leads the world in worshipping the image of the Antichrist.”(Understanding End Times Prophecy, by Paul Benware, page 251).
Matthew 24:14 “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come” (Also see Revelation 7:9-17).
1. The144,000are____________believers.Revelation 7:4 “And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.”
Revelation7:4details12,000fromeachofthetwelvetribesofIsrael.Though Jews today may not know their tribal ancestry, God does, and Heiscallingout12,000fromeachtribe.
2. The144,000areservantsofGod.Revelation 7:3 “Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.”
Revelation 7:4 “And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.”
Revelation 13:7 “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.”
Daniel 7:25 “And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.”
1. They will dress in sackcloth like John the Baptist did; sackcloth was a sign of mourning and repentance. Their message will probably be the same as the Baptist’s—Repent,thekingdomisathand!Theyhavetheabilitytoperformmighty miracles.
Revelation 11:5-6 “And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. {6} These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.”
2. Theirministrylasts3½years(probablythelasthalfoftheTribulation).Revelation 11:3 “And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.”
3. WhentheirministryisdonetheyarekilledbytheAntichrist;theworldlooks at the dead bodies lying in the streets of Jerusalem and celebrates.
The tribulational events must be put together from numerous passages. There is no detailed listing of what is going to take place and the order in which they occur.
A. The First Half of the Tribulation
1. ThenationofIsrael—whentheTribulationbeginsIsraelisbackintheirpromisedland(Deuteronomy30:4-5;Ezekiel20:40-44;34:11-13;36:22-36;37:1-14)asanationof_______________.Theyreturntotheirancientworshipsystemwhichinvolvesanimalsacrifices.Thetemplemustberebuilt(though not necessarily before the Tribulation begins) for midway through the Tribulationthesacrificialsystemisinplace(Daniel9:27).Israelwillbelivingin peace and safety because of the covenant she made with the Antichrist.
Revelation 6:1-2 “And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. {2} And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.”TheAntichristgoesforthtoconquer(war).Thismaybewhenheconquersthethreenationsandsubduessevenothers(Daniel7:8;20-24).
SEAL#2
Revelation 6:3-4 “And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. {4} And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.”(SeealsoMatthew24:6-7)Unprecedented total war on earth.
SEAL#3
Revelation 6:5-6 “And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. {6} And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.”World-widefamine(probablytriggeredbyworld-widewar).(SeealsoMatthew24:7)
SEAL#4
Revelation 6:7-8 “And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. {8} And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.”Onefourthoftheworld’spopulationdiebysword,famine,pestilence,andwildbeast—God’sfouragentsofdeath(Ezekiel14:21).
SEAL#5
Revelation 6:9-11 “And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: {10} And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? {11} And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.”This seal focuses on the death of the tribulation saints. They perish for their faith in Christ.
10
SEAL#6
Revelation 6:12f “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; . . . .”Amazingupheavalsonearthandintheheavens—agreatearthquake,cosmicdisturbancesaffectingthesun,moon,andstars.Terrifiedhumanity cries out to the rocks and mountains to hide them from the wrath of God.(SeeRevelation6:12-17)
4. ReligionsintheWorld—Israelreturnstotheleviticalworshipsystem.Theother world religions, cults, etc. will probably continue as normal during thisfirst3½years.Theapostatechurch(theharlot—Revelation17)growsinpowerandinfluenceintheabsenceofthetruechurch(thebride—Revelation19:7-8)ofJesusChrist.This“harlot”terminologysuggestsone who claims loyalty to Christ but is unfaithful to Him. This apostate religious system becomes politically powerful, wealthy, and aggressive toward true believers. There are close ties between the Antichrist and this apostate church. This apostate church will come to a violent end at the handoftheAntichristandhisfollowers(Revelation17:16-17).
4. ReligionsintheWorld—Worshipofthebeast(Antichrist)isgoingon.Israel’stempleworshipisstopped.Theapostatechurch(harlot)isdestroyed.Weassumethatatthistimetheonlyallowedworshipmustbedirected to the Antichrist; all other is forbidden.
Dan. 9:27—covenant broken in the middle of the 7oth week
Mt. 24:15—Jesus said they will “see” this abomination “stand” in the Holy Place (temple). Then the Great Trib. begins.
Rev. 13:14-15—the false prophet erects an im-age to the Antichrist and cause people to worship him.
4. ThejudgmentsofGod—Thethreeseriesofjudgments(seals,trumpets,and bowls) succeed one another as they telescope out of the series before them. The seventh seal launches the trumpet judgments and the seventh trumpetlaunchesthebowljudgments(Revelation6:1-17;8:1-9:21;16:1-21).Thetrumpetandbowljudgmentstakeplaceduringthelast3½yearsofthe Tribulation.
THE TRUMPET JUDGMENTSThe Trumpet Judgment Description
TRUMPET#1
(Revelation 8:6-7) “And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. {7} The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.”Onethirdoftheearth’svegetationisburnedup.Faminemustincrease.
TRUMPET#2
(Revelation 8:8-9) “And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; {9} And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.”Onethirdoftheseaisturnedtobloodandonethirdofmarinelifedie.Onethirdoftheshipsaredestroyed.
TRUMPET#3
(Revelation 8:10-11) “And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; {11} And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.”Onethirdoftheworld’ssupplyoffreshwateriscontaminated.Manypeoplearesubsequentlypoisoned.
12
TRUMPET#4
(Revelation 8:12-13) “And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise. {13} And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhibitors of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!”Onethirdofthesun,moonandstarsisdarkenedcausingunbe-lievable world disaster.
TRUMPET#5
FirstWoe(Revelation 9:1f) “And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit....”Locust-likecreaturesemergefromthebottomlesspitandtormentunbelieversforfivemonthsbystingingthem.Theyarenotal-lowed to kill. People will seek death as a relief but will be unable todie.TheisthefirstWOE.
TRUMPET#6
SecondWoe(Revelation 9:13f) “And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,”ThesecondWOE.A200,000,000manarmyfromtheeastwilldestroyone-thirdofmankind.Armageddonisapproaching!(Revelation9:13-21)
TRUMPET#7
ThirdWoe(Revelation 11:14-15) “The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly. {15} And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.”The seventh trumpet, the third woe, and the seven bowl judg-ments are all the same thing.
The seventh trumpet sounds and the bowl judgments telescope forth. These judgments target the Antichrist and his followers. God reserves the most intense judgmentsforthem!
13
THE BOWL JUDGMENTSThe Bowls Judgment Description
BOWL#1
(Revelation 16:2) “And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.”Terrible sores on all who follow the Antichrist
BOWL#2
(Revelation 16:3) “And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man; and every living soul died in the sea.”The seas are turned to blood and all marine life dies.
BOWL#3
(Revelation 16:4-7) “And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood. {5} And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. {6} For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. {7} And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.”All fresh waters are turned to blood.
BOWL#4
(Revelation 16:8-9) “And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. {9} And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.”Theintensityofthesunismagnifiedandmenarescorched;theyblameand blaspheme God.
BOWL#5
(Revelation 16:10-11) “And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, {11} And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.”SupernaturaldarknessispouredoutonthekingdomoftheAnti-christ.Excruciatingsoresplagueman.
14
BOWL#6
(Revelation 16:12-16) “And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. {13} And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. {14} For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. {15} Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. {16} And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.”TheEuphratesriverisdriedup;demonicallyinspiredmenheadfortheir own destruction to Armageddon.
BOWL#7
(Revelation 16:17-21) “And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done....”Amightconvulsionoftheearth’scrust(unprecedented)destroysthecitiesofthenations.Onehundredpoundhailstonesfallonmen;they blaspheme God.
5. TheBattleofArmageddon—DuringtheTribulationtheworldisgoingto divide itself into four major powers, designated in geographical relationshiptoIsrael—west,north,south,andeast.AllwilleventuallyconvergeonIsraelinafinal,greatholocaustcalledArmageddon.
The Battle of Armageddon
(Revelation 16:14) “For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.”
Theword“battle”signifiesawarorcampaign.Itisnota__________confrontation. Armageddon is a campaign that covers a wide area (the plain of Megiddo,Jerusalem,theValleyofJehoshaphateastofJerusalem,andEdom)overaperiodoftime.ItbuildstoaclimaxandtheheightofthecarnageisintheValleyofMegiddo.NosinglepassageofScriptureoutlinestheorderofeventsattheveryend,whichmakestheconstructionoftheexactchronologydifficult.
“Three reasons sug-gest including the Russia within Eze-kiel’s prophecy: (1) Some of the coun-tries named by Ezekiel were located in what is now Russia. (2) The armies are said to come ‘from the far north’ (Ezek. 38:6; 38:15; 39:2). (3) Ezekiel spoke of a coalition of several nations, many of whom are to-day aligned with or under the influence of Rus-sia/So-viet Union. These in-clude Iran (‘Persia’), Sudan and northern Ethiopia (‘Cush’), Libya (‘Put’), and Turkey (‘Meshech,’ ‘Tubal,’ ‘Gomer,’ and ‘Beth Togarmah’). All these nations (see Ezek. 38:2-3; 38:5-6), possibly led by Russia, will unite to attack Israel.”
D. The End of the Tribulation: The Second Coming of Christ
Seesectionentitled“TheSecondComing”
VIII. THE OLIVET DISCOURSE
JesushadjustpredictedthedestructionoftheTempleanditelicitedthreequestionsfrom he disciples: (1) “When shall these things be?,”(2)“What shall be the sign of thy coming?,”and(3)“What shall be the sign of the end of the world?” He answers thequestions“Whatshallbethesignofthycoming?”inverses29-31,and“Whatshallbethesignoftheendoftheworld?”inverses4-28.Verses4-14listcharacteristicsofthefirsthalfoftheTribulationPeriod;verses15-28dealwiththesecondhalf.
a. Falsechrists(v.5)b. Warsandrumorsofwars(v.6)c. Famines(v.7)d. Pestilences(v.7)e. Earthquakes(v.7)f. Persecution(v.9)g. Apostasy(v.10)Note: Theseare“expectancyarousers”not“datesetters.”
17
B. The Abomination of Desolation (Matthew 24:15)
1. TheAbominationofDesolationistheAntichrist,themanofsin(2Thessalonians2:4),breakingthecovenanthemadewithIsraelatthebeginning of the Tribulation. This occurs midway through the Tribulation Period(Daniel9:27).HegoesintotheTemple,throwsouttheJewishsacrifices,stopstheJewishworship,andsetshimselfupasGod.Hedemands worship of himself.
a. Sundarkenedb. Moondoesn’tgivelightc. Starsfalld. Powers of heaven are shakene. TheSonofmanappearsf. PeopleonearthmournastheyseetheSonofmancominginpower
and glory4. Accompaniedbyagatheringoftheelect(v.31)
a. Angels gather the electb. Soundofagreattrumpet
18
E. Attitudes of the Second Coming (Matthew 24:32-51)
c. CertainJewishleadersarecaughtunawares(vv.44-51)—theservantisnot necessarily saved.
F. The Judgment at the End of the Tribulation Period (Matthew 25:46)
1. JudgmentfortheJews(Matthew25:1-30)a. Parable of the ten virgins teaches watchfulness.
(1) These are friends of the bride and not the bride herself.(2) Theyarewaitingforthecelebrationafterthemarriage.(3) Thebridewillcomewiththebridegroom.
b. Parableoftheunprofitableservantteachesfaithfulness.2. JudgmentfortheGentiles(Matthew25:31-46)—JudgmentoftheNations
a. This is a judgment of individuals not national groups.b. These are judged on how they treated the Jews (as an indication of
The ones taken in Noah’s day were taken in the flood. The ones left behind are the saved.
The responses of the servants in vv.44-51 are indications of their inward heart condition.
The parable of the 10 virgins, the groom is Jesus Christ and the bride is the Church.In a Jewish wedding ceremony:1. The groom comes for his bride to her house.2. The groom and his bride return to the house he has pre-pared for her and the final wedding ceremo-nies are conducted there.The wedding pre-figures the Second Coming of Christ.
