The Tribulation

The endtime is portrayed in an awesome way in the Scripture. Paul said, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:31). Here, the judgment of God is revealed. Daniel, the great prophet during the Babylonian Captivity of the Jews, records a period of seven years at the endtime. This period of time will bring terrible calamity on the earth. He describes 70 weeks (or 490 years) that would relate to Jewish history. Daniel in his prophecy did not see the church age. Thus his prophecy concerns the state of the Jews in God's plan. (Daniel 9:24 Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city... and Daniel 12:8-9 "My lord, what shall be the end of these things?" And he said,"Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up amd sealed till the time of the end...")

1. Daniel's Seventieth Week
To understand the seventieth week of Daniel's prophecy, it is necessary to have an understanding of how the Scripture describes the seventy weeks. Daniel was told in Daniel 9:24, "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city. . ." Sixty nine of these weeks were to take place between the decree to restore Jerusalem, and the crucifixion of the 'Messiah the Prince' (Jesus Christ) (Daniel 9:25-26). Seven (7) weeks or (49 years) were used to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. There were sixty two (62) weeks (or 434 years) from the rebuilding of the walls until the crucifixion of the Messiah. Using the scriptural year of 360 days each, there were exactly 69 weeks or 483 years between 445 B.C. and 32 A.D. This would leave one week remaining of the 70. Verse 27 tells of this week of years when the antichrist system (the prince that shall come in verse 26) shall break the covenant with the Jewish nation and thus bring much havoc on the earth. There is an interval of time between the 69th week and the 70th week, during which time the church age exists. The church age will continue until the time of the rapture. The 70th week that follows is the Tribulation Period.

2. The Tribulation judgments
During the seven years of tribulation God will pour out severe and drastic judgment on the earth. These judgments are introduced by the Seals, the Trumpets, and the Vials (Revelation 6, 8, 9, 15, and 16). During this time the people of the earth will go through a time of suffering and death such as the world has never known.

a.) The Seals (Revelation 6, 8:1)
- The Seals judgment will bring a promise of peace:
- The antichrist will be able to win the world to himself.
- Terrible war shall follow death and famine.
- One fourth of the world's population will die.
- There shall be much persecution of believing Jews.
- Catastrophes will disturb the earth with earthquakes.
- The moon will become as blood and people will hide in the mountains for fear (Revelation 6).

b.) The Trumpets (Revelation 8, 9)
- During these judgments hail will fall and fire will burn over a third of the earth.
- A falling meteor will destroy one third of the shipping.
- The fish of the sea will die.
- One third of the sea will become blood.
- Poisons will contaminate one third of the water supply and many will die.
- Great darkness will come over the earth.
- Five (5) months of scorpions stinging men on the earth.
- A 200,000 man army will kill one third of the population (Revelation 8, 9).

c.) The Vials (Revelation 16)
The Vials are the final showdown of God's judgments for the tribulation:
(1) Awful sores will afflict those with the mark of the beast.
(2) Everything in the ocean will die.
(3) All the water will turn to blood.
(4) The sun will burn hotter than usual and will scorch men.
(5) The earth will be thrown into darkness and great pain will come upon men.
(6) The river Euphrates will be dried up so the armies of the east can come to Armageddon.
(7) Hail, 100 Ibs. in weight will fall destroying whole cities (Revelation 16).

d.) The Terrible Death
In the fourth (4th) Seal, one fourth of the earth's population will die. With over four (4) billion people living today, that would be over one billion people dying in a short time. In the sixth (6th) Trumpet, one third of the remaining population will die in the short period of the tribulation. The population of the U.S. is a little less than one fourth of a billion, and from this you can see that eight (8) times the U.S. population will die. Death brings misery and heartaches. All the world will feel this heartache over and over again.