Beginning with the Rapture of the Church and ending with the Second Coming of Jesus is a seven-year period on earth referred to as the Great Tribulation.
During this same seven-year period, the Church will be in Heaven enjoying the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, hidden away until the indignation and devastation has passed.
These seven years are divided into two periods of three and one-half years each (1260 days or 42 months). The greatest devastation during the Tribulation will take place during the last three and one-half years, when the Antichrist will do his best to rule on the earth and to place his throne in the temple of God.
The Ultimate Desire of the Antichrist
The Antichrist still has one prize that he wants and that is Jerusalem, the apple of God’s eye. On the holy mountain is the spot where the Ark of the Covenant sat and on that same location was the threshing floor of David. Many ancient Jewish sages believe that it was also the location where Adam was created, the location where Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac, and the location of Jacob’s ladder to Heaven.
In the temple was a place called the holy of holies. It was a place that only the high priest entered once a year. It contained the Ark of the Covenant and the glory of God was manifest in this room. After the future rebuilding of the temple, the Antichrist will attempt to place his throne in this holy place. But just like in Isaiah chapter 14 when Lucifer attempted to place his throne on the sides of the north on the holy mountain of God and was cast out of Heaven, likewise will ultimately fail in Jerusalem.
The religion of Islam has attempted to make the world believe that Jerusalem is a holy place to them. However, the city of Jerusalem is not mentioned once in the Koran. When Muslims pray, they face Mecca and not Jerusalem. Islam was never mentioned in the Bible because the religion of Islam did not even exist until over half a millennium (five hundred years) after Jesus was on the earth. Jerusalem is God’s holy city that He gave to His chosen people, the children of Israel.
The Spirit of Grace on Jerusalem
Although the age of grace (the Church age) ends at the Rapture, the Spirit of grace never ends. And this is shown by God’s relentless pursuit of His chosen people.
Many Bible scholars believe the Battle of Ezekiel 38 will usher in the beginning of the Great Tribulation. This seven-year period, also known as Daniel’s 70th week and “a week of years,” will take place immediately preceding the Second Coming. During the first 42 months of the seven-year Tribulation, the Jews will build a temple and resume the sacrifice of animals in an attempt to correctly obey the law.
And he shall enter into a strong and firm covenant with the many for one week [seven years]. And in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and offering to cease [for the remaining three and one-half years]; and upon the wing or pinnacle of abominations [shall come] one who makes desolate, until the full determined end is poured out on the desolator (Daniel 9:27 AMP).
According to Daniel 9:27, the Antichrist will cause the sacrifices to cease in the middle of the week (the Tribulation). Near the end of the second forty-two month section of the Great Tribulation (the end of the week), the Lord will open the eyes of His chosen people (the Jews) and they will receive the Lord as Messiah in preparation for His return. Because of His love and His promise, He will pour out the Spirit of grace on Jerusalem.
And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn (Zechariah 12:10).
What Is the Purpose of the Tribulation?
The focus of the Great Tribulation is primarily three-fold. It is for the judgment of the Gentiles, for the evangelism of the world, and for the conversion of Israel.
The Old Testament prophets referred to it as the time of Jacob’s trouble (Jeremiah 30:7), but Jesus coined the phrase Great Tribulation in Matthew 24:21. Jesus said it would be a time of unparalleled turmoil and destruction on the earth, but in the end, Israel will be saved.
“In all history there has never been such a time of terror. It will be a time of trouble for my people Israel. Yet in the end they will be saved! For in that day,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will break the yoke from their necks and snap their chains. Foreigners will no longer be their masters. For my people will serve the Lord their God and their king descended from David—the king I will raise up for them”” (Jeremiah 30:7-9 NLT).
“For I am with you and will save you,” says the LORD. “I will completely destroy the nations where I have scattered you, but I will not completely destroy you. I will discipline you, but with justice; I cannot let you go unpunished” (Jeremiah 30:11).
The Church Will Not Go Through the Tribulation
Paul said in his writings to the church in Thessalonica that likewise the church would be avenged during the tribulation for the persecution that they had endured.
It is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed (2 Thessalonians 1:6-10).
While many people think the Tribulation will involve the Church, the Bible does not provide support for this theory. Instead, the Bible teaches at least a three-fold purpose for the Great Tribulation and none of them involve the Church. The New Testament teaches that the Church will be taken at the Rapture to be with the Lord before the Tribulation begins, because God has not destined the Church for wrath. While other groups of redeemed people will go through the Tribulation, the Church, the Bride of Christ, will not.
Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him (Romans 5:9).
To wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 1:10).
Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth (Revelation 3:10).
While the Antichrist is attempting to deceive the world and prevent the promise of God from being fulfilled, great evangelism is also taking place on the earth. There will be 12,000 Jewish men from each of the twelve tribes (144,000) who, along with angels and the two witnesses, will proclaim the truth of the Messiah to the entire world. This will produce a great harvest of souls, to numerous to count – from every tribe, nation, tongue, and people – all from the tribulation (Revelation 7:9-17). Jesus said, “This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end (Second Coming) will come” (Matthew 24:14).
Annihilation of the Enemy
You must understand that the Antichrist never completely accomplishes what he sets out to do. Near the end of the Tribulation, there is great confusion in his camp. He has not been successful in taking over the earth (Revelation 6:8). He has been dealing with the 144,000 Jewish evangelists, the two witnesses, and angels preaching the gospel (Revelation 7:4; Revelation 11:3-6; Revelation 14:6). Also he has had rebellion in his inner circle, but he has not given up. While he is struggling to conquer the holy place of God, his end is drawing near. Like lightning from the east that flashes to the west, the Son of Man, along with His angels and His Church, descends from Heaven to the Mount of Olives and annihilates the enemy, marking the end of the Tribulation on earth (Revelation 20:9).
The Book of Revelation
John the apostle was a close friend of Jesus. They spent years together and because John was in the inner circle of the ministry of Jesus, he no doubt had many personal discussions that were not recorded in the gospels. Several decades after Jesus ascended into Heaven, John received a vision from God while exiled on Patmos, an island in the Aegean Sea. This revelation became known as the Book of Revelation or the Apocalypse. It is the final book in the Bible.
Throughout history there has been a wrong perception of the book of Revelation. It has been portrayed in novels and theater as a revelation of evil and a time when fear rules and reigns over the Church. Many have focused on Satan, 666, devastation, and the Antichrist and what he does on the earth. This has incorrectly instilled fear into the hearts of many people. As a result, many Christians have ignored reading and studying the book of Revelation, relinquishing it to a place of obscurity.
The truth is, the book of Revelation is not a book about the evils of the Antichrist, but instead is a book of the victory of Jesus Christ. It is the revelation of Jesus Christ, not the revelation of the Antichrist. It is interesting that the word “antichrist” does not appear once in the Book of Revelation.
John said that anyone who reads and hears the words of the prophecy contained in this book will be blessed (Revelation 1:3). There is a blessing that comes from reading and meditating on God’s Word concerning the end times. The book of Revelation is a book of victory and many Christians miss blessings in life because they fail to read it.
I would like to encourage everyone who is reading this to also read the book of Revelation. It begins with Jesus appearing in the sky and taking His Church into Heaven. Much of the book of Revelation tells of the trials and failures of the Antichrist as he attempts to conquer the holy city of Jerusalem.
The good news is while all this tribulation is taking place on earth, the Church is basking in the glory of God and experiencing the joys of Heaven, while preparing for the kingdom of God to be manifest on earth. I’ve had people accuse me of believing in escape theology. They have said that I teach that one of the benefits of being a Christian is that we are caught up to Heaven and escape the Tribulation. My response is this: guilty as charged! Actually, that’s one of the benefits of becoming a Christian. We receive everlasting life and joy and escape the Tribulation and death. But we don’t just survive, we overcome! As overcomers, we reign with Him in the Millennial Kingdom for a thousand years.
The book of Revelation ends with the defeat of Satan, the elimination of death, and the ushering in of eternity. There is a new Heaven and a new earth and the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:1-2). The New Jerusalem is the eternal home of the saints and it is described in great detail. It is a beautiful and glorious city that contains features that cannot be explained in human words. For eternity (unmeasurable time) we will worship the King of kings and explore the limitless existence of His creation.
The book of Revelation contains the awesome promise of a glorious future for the believer. As you read it, faith will build (Romans 10:17). Your life, your testimony, and your confessions will be enhanced and strengthened. As the Apostle John said, when you read and hear the words contained in this prophecy, you will be blessed. For this reason, the enemy promotes it as a book of fear, and to him it is. But to you, it is life. Read it and be blessed.
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17).
