Certainly, Jesus Christ must be included in the list of Tribulation personalities; for He is the underlying theme of Revelation. He is the central figure. In my study I have found seven different titles for Jesus Christ: Lamb, Son of man, Jesus, Faithful and True, Word of God, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We will highlight these titles as we present Him to you in chronological order as He appears in the Tribulation.
The Lamb is worthy to break the seals (Rev. 5:1-14). Here in John’s vision, God held in His hand a book that was sealed up with seven seals. And the question was asked by an angel, “Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?” And no one was found in heaven or on earth to open the book. And John began to weep. But then one of the elders said to…
In the Old and New Testament period, in the early church, in the church throughout the centuries, and in America and throughout the World people have fasted.
Fasting in the Old Testament.According to Bible records, the practice of fasting among the Jews began with their great leader and deliverer, Moses. He by far has given us the greatest (or most extreme) example. For he fasted without food or water for forty days on two consecutive trips to Mount Sinai—eighty days and nights! It had to be a miracle. For no one in his own strength can fast much over three days without water.
Our next example was King David. I think he fasted often, but there are only three instances recorded in the Bible: (1) He fasted with his men over the death of Saul and Jonathan (2 Sam. 1:12); (2) he fasted when he was in grief…
Here a holy birthingAs the mist appearsSpirit is surroundingDrawing in the air Light of the ignitingOne of heaven’s glowSacred colors strokingOf gifting to bestow Life comes to awakenOf calling to ordainThe purpose is presentedIn God’s embrace, remain Come now soul of stirringAcknowledge God is hereTo lift the hearts surrenderThis morning is a prayer
The Holy Spirit is not mentioned in the Tribulation, but we know that He will be present, since He is eternally omnipresent. However, according to many scholars, it is believed that His ministry will be different in the Tribulation; and some believe that it will be the same as it was in the Old Testament.
The reason for this change is because at the Rapture the church will leave this earth; hence, the Holy Spirit’s ministry to the church will no longer be necessary, even to those who are believers during the Tribulation on earth, since they will not be the church. They will be believing saints, but not the church.
So what will the ministry of the Holy Spirit look like during the Tribulation? First of all, there are at least two, and possibly more, ministries that will be lacking: of baptism and of indwelling. The Holy Spirit will…
Fasting is one of those things we would rather put out of our mind. Food is just too good these days. And who wants to suffer anyway. But if you are serious about prayer, you really should think about it.
The following is an excerpt from my ebook Basics of Prayer.
In the gospels there are two instances where Jesus taught fasting. The first was in Matthew 6:16-18. Here He taught fasting (along with giving and praying) as a presumed and necessary duty in the Christian life. In this passage, He did not say “if you want to fast,” or “if you feel like fasting,” He said, “when you fast.” Therefore, Jesus taught Christians to fast (along with giving and praying) as a regular discipline and duty.
What Jesus taught, basically, in this passage about fasting was that when we fast, just as with giving…
Three proclamation angels (Rev. 14:6-9). During the middle of the Tribulation, between the trumpet judgments and the bowl judgments, john saw three angels flying through the sky, being quite visible to all.
The first angel (Rev. 14:6). The first angel was preaching the gospel to all the unbelievers on the earth, saying, “Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come.”
The second angel (Rev. 14:8). The second angel was preaching the fall of Babylon (which is the fall of the world’s evil system—political, economic and religious). This will actually happen during the seventh bowl judgment (Rev. 16:17-21).
The third angel (Rev. 14:9ff). This angel was given a stern warning that, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God…” This wrath of God, which is described here as a torment with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb, refers not to any of the tribulation judgments, but to hell, the lake of fire; for it says that “the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever.”
Three reaping angels (Rev. 14:15-18). Shortly after John witnessed the proclamation angels, he saw one like a son of man (probably Jesus Christ) sitting on a cloud with a sharp sickle in his hand; and also, three angels, but only one with a sharp sickle.
The first angel (Rev. 14:15). The first angel apparently did not have a sickle, so he cried to the Lord who was sitting on a cloud. He said to Him to put in His sickle and reap. So, the Lord “swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped (that is, the people of the world were judged; in this case I think it means that they were killed in the judgments of the Tribulation—probably during Armageddon).
The second angel (Rev. 14:17). The second angel came out of the temple, just as the first one did; and he, just like the Lord, had a sharp sickle.
The third angel (Rev. 14:18). This angel had power over fire (which may mean that he was an angel that ministered at the altar in the temple, burning incense with prayers). Just like the first angel, he did not have a sickle, so he called on the second angel to reap judgment on the earth just as Christ did—the Lord provided them the example of how to judge. Well, when the second angel swung his sickle in judgment the slaughter is so horrendous that “blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses bridles for a distance of two hundred miles.” (This language is exaggerated, nonetheless, we must believe that the slaughter during this time, probably at Armageddon, will be horrific.)
Seven angels with seven bowls of wrath (Rev. 15:1-16:17). Just after the three reaping angels were introduced, John saw in his vision seven angels who would bring seven plagues on the earth (which may occur in conjunction with the reaping). These seven plagues were to be the last, because after them the wrath of God (in the Tribulation) would be finished.
Well, as it happened, the temple door in heaven was thrown open, and John saw the seven angels come out, majestically clothed in white linen with golden sashes around their chest; and they were given bowls full of the wrath of God. “Then [John] heard a loud voice from the temple, saying to the seven angels, ‘Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.’”
The first angel (Rev. 16:2) poured out his bowl on the earth, and repugnant, malignant sores appeared on all those who had the mark of the beast (all who were not believers).
The second angel (Rev. 16:3) poured out his bowl into the sea, and the sea turned to blood; and every living thing in the sea died.
The third angel (Rev. 16:4) poured out his bowl into the rivers and the fresh springs; and they turned to blood. And this third angel praised God for this judgment, because for so long the wicked people of the earth have poured out the blood of the saints, and now God has rightly in His revenge given them blood to drink.
The fourth angel (Rev. 16:8) poured out his bowl upon the sun, and the people of the earth were scorch with the heat of the sun; and they blasphemed God and did not repent.
The fifth angel (Rev. 16:10) poured out his bowl on the throne and kingdom of the beast so that his kingdom became dark. And they gnawed their tongues and blasphemed God because of their pains and their sores. Apparently, they were more mindful of their pain in the dark.
The sixth angel (Rev. 16:12) poured out his bowl on the Euphrates River, and its water dried up so that the way would be prepared for the kings of the east. Then John saw something else, which helps to explain why the Euphrates needed to be dried up. He saw three unclean spirits that looked like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. They were the spirits of demons that went out to the kings of the world (including the kings of the east) and enticed them to gather together for war at a place called Har-Magedon.
The seventh angel (Rev. 16:17) poured out his bowl into the air and a loud voice (probably the voice of God) spoke out from the temple saying, “It is done,” meaning that this bowl is the last of the judgments. Here are the six plagues in this bowl.
A great earthquake—the greatest ever on earth.
All the cities of the world are destroyed.
The city of Babylon, the capitol city of Antichrist’s empire is especially ruined.
Every island fled away—or disappear under the water.
The mountains are not found. They probably will be split apart and crumble.
The sky will produce huge hailstones weighing one hundred pounds each. And because of this plague and the damage and death it will cause, the people will blaspheme God.
I think the reference to “one of the seven angels” in chapter 17:1, and also two other angels in chapter eighteen, links the fall of Babylon in chapter 17-18 to the seventh bowl judgment; hence all of chapter 17 and 18 should fall under the seventh bowl.
Two angels involved in Babylon’s fall (Rev. 18). The fall of Babylon is briefly mentioned in Revelation 16:19, but the details of that fall are in chapter 18, highlighted by two angels.
Another angel (Rev. 18:1). This great angel will cause the earth to be illuminated with his glory. Apparently, he will be so bright that his own light will light up the earth—amazing! This angel comes to deliver the happy message: that Babylon has fallen.
A strong angel (v.21) gives a message to the world that Babylon will no longer be a threat to the righteous. This strong angel, to illustrate this message, took a great stone and threw it into the sea saying, “So will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down with violence, and will not be found any longer.”
There are other angels mentioned in the rest of Revelation, but the ones I have mentioned (above) are the only ones pertaining to the Tribulation. Also notice how many angels there will be in the Tribulation. It is very rare to see angels now in this church age, but in the Tribulation period it will be more common to see them, much like in the Old Testament.
Three proclamation angels (Rev. 14:6-9). During the middle of the Tribulation, between the trumpet judgments and the bowl judgments, john saw three angels flying through the sky, being quite visible to all.
The first angel (Rev. 14:6). The first angel was preaching the gospel to all the unbelievers on the earth, saying, “Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come.”
The second angel (Rev. 14:8). The second angel was preaching the fall of Babylon (which is the fall of the world’s evil system—political, economic and religious). This will actually happen during the seventh bowl judgment (Rev. 16:17-21).
The third angel (Rev. 14:9ff). This angel was given a stern warning that, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also…
Another angel (Rev. 8:3-5). When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour (v. 1). This silence was in anticipation of coming judgments. During that time of silence an angel stood at the altar of incense (in the heavenly temple). Here are four things that this angel did, or that occurred.
1. He stood at the golden altar of incense with an incense burner, and mixed the incense that was given to him with the prayers of the saints (all believers that were praying).
2. He then offered the mixture on the golden alter.
3. The smoke of the incense and prayers rose up to God from the altar.
4. The angel then filled the incense burner with coals of fire from the altar and threw it down to the earth; and there came thunder and lightning…
In my last post I wrote a little on how to have great faith instead of little faith. If you are still not sure how you can increase your faith (make your faith more complete or consistent) here are a few ideas—taken from my book Prayer A to Z.
Eight Ways to Increase Your Faith
1. Take your unbelief to God. Ask Him to fill you with the Holy Spirit and with His desire. Surrender yourself completely to Him. Be humble before Him and confess your sins and helplessness. Be like the man who said to Jesus, “I believe; help my unbelief” (Mk. 9:24)! Always remember that faith is a gift from God. None of us were born with it; none of us can create it in ourselves. We have to humbly ask for faith. Asking for faith in prayer is the way we received it when we were…
The two witnesses are much like the 144,000 Jewish witnesses in that they are set apart for the Lord to do His will. However, there is a difference: the 144,000 witnesses, as far as we can tell, have no special powers, except that they are protected by the seal of God. But these two witnesses are just like Moses and Elijah and have great powers from God. They are not only commissioned to preach the gospel but to warn the people of what’s to come and to bring down fire from heaven (a prophetic ministry).
Now before we get into a verse-by-verse study of Revelation 11:3-13, I think it will be beneficial to mention that there are two problems: 1) We don’t really know who these characters are. Most agree that they are Moses and Elijah come back to life; or perhaps Enoch and Elijah. 2) The second problem is…
As I see it, there are basically two different kinds, or categories, of faith: saving faith and Christian living faith; that is, faith to be saved and faith to live as a Christian. These are found in my book Principles of Prayer.
1. Saving faith. In Ephesians 2:8-9 Paul said, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God…” Here we see that our salvation is a gift from God. It is totally a gift. We did nothing. That means that our faith was a gift too. He gave us faith to believe, which resulted in our salvation. What a great gift!
2. Faith to live the Christian life. Every part of the Christian life, if you live as a Christian, is a life of faith. As Paul said in Galatians 2:20, we live in the flesh, but we…
Stephen Nielsen 