The Tribulation Period

Daniel 9:24-27

As we come to Revelation 6, it becomes immediately apparent that we have reached the very heart of the book.As John beholds the LORD Jesus Christ, represented by a Lamb, breaking the first seal, we encounter the first of a long series of events that begin in heaven and are consummated on earth. A seal is broken in heaven and a horseman appears on earth. Each seal broken in heaven introduces a tragedy on earth.

With the breaking of the first seal and the appearance of the first of the horsemen of the apocalypse the dreaded period of time known as the Tribulation begins. This seven-year span of future world history, graphically described in 6:1-19:21, will be the darkest time the world has ever known.

The Tribulation is one of the most significant periods of GOD's dealing with humankind and certainly occupies a most prominent place in His prophetic plan. More space is dedicated to that little seven-year period than any other comparable time frame in the Bible. It is mentioned over fifty times in the Old Testament by such expressions as "the day of calamity", "day of wrath", "the day of the LORD's wrath", "the day of Jacob's trouble", "the day of vengeance of our GOD", "time of trouble", and "the day of the LORD". In every case it is talking about the nation of Israel.

There are over a dozen references to that period in the New Testament, the best known of which and the one from which it receives its official title is our LORD's designation translated in the KJV as "tribulation" in His Olivet Discourse (Matt. 24:21). Referring to the second half of that seven-year period and the most severe time the world has ever known or "ever will know" is rightly translated in the NIV as a time of "distress unequaled" in all of history.

It has been my observation that our mid-Tribulation friends tend to push the "distress" of that terrible time of persecution of saints and tribulation for the world into the latter half of the period - after they are gone. In the case of post-Tribulationists, they tend to soften the reality of the prophecies of the entire period and make them less than the trying time they will actually be. It is difficult to see how the killing of half the world's population and about a billion martyred Christians can be anything but a time of enormous tribulation or "distress", unlike anything the world has ever known. Escaping this period in a pre-Tribulation Rapture is one reason it qualifies to be called "the blessed hope".

To understand the Tribulation period as described in the book of Revelation, one should understand that it is a very special day in GOD's plan for His nation, Israel. To see this clearly, we must turn to the book of Daniel and examine Daniel's seventy weeks of years.

THE SEVENTY WEEKS OF DANIEL

Daniel 9 reveals that after the nation of Israel had been in captivity about sixty-eight years, Daniel was diligently studying the prophetic word of GOD. He saw in Jeremiah 25:11-12 that Israel would serve the king of Babylon for seventy years:

This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

"But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians, for their guilt," declares the LORD, "and will make it desolate forever."

Daniel tells us in 9:2, after the Persians had conquered the Babylonians, "I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years." At this point Daniel begins to pray, confessing his sins and the sins of the nation of Israel. AFter that the LORD sends the angel Gabriel with a special message to Daniel, which according to verses 22-23 is to "give you insight and understanding" that he should, "therefore, consider the message and understand the vision." Here is the exact vision given to Daniel.

"Seventy 'sevens' are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy.

"Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven 'sevens,' and sixty-two 'evens'. It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. After the sixty-two 'sevens,' the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. He will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven'. In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him."   (Dan. 9:24-27)

Seventy Weeks Means Seventy Years

It is most important to understand the time element involved. The Hebrew word translated "seven" actually means a unit of seven rather than seven days, and only the context reveals how much time is involved. The word should literally be translated "sevens" or "heptads."

We have a similar expression in English. For example, if I say a dozen, I could mean a dozen weeks or a dozen years; or I could say a gross, which limits me to a unit of 144 but does not tell me what that 144 is. The same is true of this Hebrew word.

This is not as complicated as it may seem. For if we study the context, it is clear from both Daniel and Revelation 12 that these sevens are weeks of years of heptads of years. Thus we find that Daniel's seventy weeks are literally seventy units of seven years, or 490 years.

The Three Divisions of the Seventy Weeks of Years

Daniel 9:25 tells us that these 490 years are divided into three groupings, which we must understand in order to comprehend the time element.

1. Seven sevens of years equals forty-nine years. "Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be "seven heptads or forty-nine years. A study of Jewish history reveals that from the going forth of the decree of Cyrus, it took the Jews under both Ezra and Nehemiah forty-nine years to complete the building of the walls of the city of Jerusalem. Thus we have the first unit predicted.
2. Sixty-two sevens (or "weeks" in the older translations) of years equals 434 years. These next 434 years, described as 62 heptads, were predicted to be "times of trouble", and certainly that is accurate. It was a period of silence from GOD until John the Baptist came on the scene. It was a time of weakness in Israel, culminating in Roman domination at the time of Christ. This period was predicted to end when the "Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing." Thus we see that this second period of time extended from the rebuilding of the Temple to the crucifixion of Christ, a total of 434 years.

   Verification of the exact dates is impossible, since the Medo-Persians were notoriously poor historians. The best evidence we have is fulfilled prophecy. Since all other prophecies about Christ have been fulfilled without deviation, we can well assume the fulfillment of this one. Sir Robert Anderson's masterful book, the Coming Prince, shows that Christ's coming into Jerusalem the Sunday before His crucifixion occurred in exactly the right year. To my knowledge, his book has never been refuted.

3. One week equals seven years. Daniel 9:27 predicts that he ("the ruler who will come", or the Antichrist, who will obviously be a Roman, since he will be of the people that are to destroy Jerusalem) will make a covenant with Israel for one week. That covenant, which will cover seven years, has not been made since the crucifixion of Christ but is a covenant that will be made in the days of the Antichrist. Even though he will break the covenant in the midst of the seven years, it will still be part of the period of time that Gabriel predicted would be "decreed for your people and your holy city" (9:24).

The first two periods of these seventy units of years total 483 years. Note that from the going forth of the decree of Cyrus to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, was 483 years. Thus all but one "week," or heptad, of Israel's prophetically determined history has been accomplished. The final period of time will be such a time in history that the people of GOD are referred to as "the desolate."

That latter part of Daniel 9:26 indicates that there will be a predicted time of interruption in this prophetic calendar: "War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed." This corresponds with Isaiah's reference to "the year of the LORD's favor" (Isa. 61:2), which is the Christian dispensation - the year of GOD's grace to the Gentiles. This, however, culminates in Isaiah 61:2 with "the day of vengeance of our GOD," which is the resumption of GOD's prophetic calendar for Israel, called the seventieth week of Daniel or the Tribulation period.

Man Will Never Destroy the World

We hear a great deal of speculation as to whether or not human beings will ever destroy the world. That this could never happen is seen by the fact that GOD projects seven years in the future destined for His people Israel, which will be consummated in the physical coming of Christ to the earth to set up His millennial kingdom. Everything GOD determines and predicts in His Word will happen. Therefore we can say without reservation that human beings will not destroy the world.

THE CHRONOLOGY OF REVELATION

Turning again to Revelation 6, which introduces the Tribulation period, we must examine this book carefully for the chronology or sequence of events. To assume that the book of Revelation is intended to unfold step by step is to prepare oneself for hopeless confusion. Because of the variety of subjects dealt with, there must be some overlapping, but because the first six chapters fall into a natural sequence, some readers re inclined to assume that this is true of the entire book.

Chapters 6, 8-9, and 16 Are the Keys

Chapter 6 introduces the seal judgments, which make up the first quarter of the Tribulation period. The seventh seal then introduces the seven trumpets, which indicates that we are carried into the second quarter of the Tribulation (described in chs. 8-9). The seventh trumpet, in turn, introduces the seven bowl judgments, which comprise the last half of the Tribulation period. Everything else between chapters 7-8 must be placed within the consecutive events of these three judgments.

An illustration often used by the late Bible teacher, Dr. David L. Cooper, will explain this. He suggested that in a fireworks display, bright objects will scatter through the heavens in proper sequence and then suddenly one will explode into seven others. Then, just when they are almost gone, one of them bursts into several more. John saw the seven seals broken one at a time; then the seventh one introduced the seven trumpets. Each of these judgments, whether breaking a seal, blowing a trumpet, or pouring out a bowl, is a symbolic announcement in heaven of an event that actually takes place on earth. By examining the following chart, the reader can see that these judgments take place consecutively.

THE PURPOSE OF THE TRIBULATION

Having pointed out the fact of the seven-year Tribulation period that will yet come upon this earth, we should examine GOD's purpose in sending it. We are not left to conjecture, for it was revealed to Daniel at the same time he received the prediction of the "seventy 'sevens'" (which both the context and the Hebrew word mean "weeks" of years or 490 years; note esp. Dan. 9:24). GOD never does anything without a purpose, and in this verse we find that He ahd six things in mind.

1. "To finish transgression." This time of suffering will finish the transgression of Israel, which is the rejection of her Messiah. During the Tribulation, the people of Israel will turn to Christ in great revival and will become witnesses who will go forth and preach the Gospel around the world, as we will see in the study of Revelation 7. Actually the Tribulation period will help cause a great revival in Israel.
2. "To put an end to sin." The words "put an end" literally mean "to seal up." This period will end with the binding of Satan, which will "seal up" sin. Humanity's cup of iniquity is filled to overflowing, and GOD will bring judgment on the earth for their rejection of His son.
3. "To atone for wickedness." Again, this is a reference to the revival of Israel, when they will be reconciled to GOD through Him whom they rejected and whom they asked Pilate to crucify.
4. "To bring in everlasting righteousness." When Israel experiences her revival, the age of righteousness or the millennial kingdom of Christ will be ushered in. Though there will be a brief insurrection at the end, it will be so short-lived as not to interrupt this final period of everlasting righteousness that will lead into the new era of the future, described in Revelation 21-22.
5. "To seal up vision and prophecy." When Israel has turned to Christ, there will no longer be a need for prophets' visions and prophecy.
6. "to anoint the most holy." This could refer to the holy place on Mount Moriah where Solomon's Temple was built over the place where Abraham had prepared to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, symbolically preparing the way for Israel to have her sins cleansed through the anticipation of the eventual death of Christ on the cross. This purpose may also refer to the millennial kingdom that will consummate the Tribulation and usher in that age of righteousness for which all Christians yearn - the only answer to the heartaches and problems of this world.

WHAT BEGINS THE TRIBULATION PERIOD

The actual event that inaugurates the Tribulation is found in Daniel 9:27 when the Antichrist, "the ruler who will come," makes a covenant with Israel for seven years. Even though he will break that covenant, his signing will trigger the prophetic clock of GOD, and from that moment on only seven years will be left for the human race on the earth. One of the reasons we know Christ is coming before the Tribulation to rapture His Church is because the Rapture is a secret thing. The Glorious Appearing will not be secret but well known, for exactly seven years will elapse from the signing of the covenant to the Glorious Appearing of Christ on the earth.

When Christ raptures the Church, the Antichrist may make a covenant with Israel the next day, the next week, or who knows when. There are sufficient signs existing today to indicate that this event could take place soon: for example, Israel's return into the land of Palestine to become a nation, with whom the Antichrist will deal; the one-world church that will dominate the first half of the Tribulation period; and the craze for one-world government, already in existence and continuing to gather momentum until it culminates in the signing of the covenant between the Antichrist and Israel. From that point GOD's prophetic clock will begin to tick and humanity will have only seven years left.

WHO WILL BE IN THE TRIBULATION

Since it seems evident that the coming of Christ is close at hand, people living today are keenly interested in whether or not they will have to live under the Antichrist during the Tribulation. In all probability most of the present generation will go into the Tribulation.

The great exception to that is the Church of Jesus Christ. If you are a member of the body of Christ - that is, if you have personally invited Jesus Christ into your heart - you will not go into the Tribulation. The Bible tells us in I Thessalonians 1:10 that the LORD Jesus "rescues us from the coming wrath," referring to the Tribulation period. REvelation 3:10 also clarifies that the church of Philadelphia, which is the present-day church of true believers, will be delivered from the Tribulation: "Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live ont he earth."

In the final analysis, then, you decide whether or not you will go into the Tribulation. Your acceptance or rejection of Jesus Christ determines your relation to that time of great misery and heartache. If you accept Jesus Christ, you will be raptured out before it begins. If you have rejected Him, then according to all that the Bible teaches you will be one of those unfortunate individuals who will live at the time of the greatest misery in all the history of humankind.

  

Home	Site Index	Bible Index
Kingdom Dynamics	Truth in Action	Links