Tag Archives: Tribulation

Armageddon – A Great Earthquake

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It seems to me, according to Revelation 16:16 and following, that sometime after the gathering of the armies of the world, this great shaking will begin, followed by all the results of it. I suppose we can’t be certain when exactly it will begin, but I would guess that it will be sometime around the beginning of the Armageddon war and will continue at least until Christ appears in the sky (Matt. 24:30). For just before He appears, verse 29 tells us that “the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”

I don’t think we can be absolutely sure that this so called “great earthquake” is in fact what we know of as an earthquake. The Greek word seimos, translated in verse 18 as “earthquake,” literally means “a shaking.” And when “great” is added it means “a great shaking,” or a great shaking of the earth.

But what else could it be besides an earthquake? Well, Hal Lindsey said that this shaking could be the result of “a fullscale nuclear exchange.” He said, “I believe that when these powers [of the world armies] lock forces here, there will be a fullscale exchange of nuclear weapons, and it’s at this time that ‘the cities of the nation’s fall.’”1

Now we can’t be sure that there will be nuclear weapons used; however, I think it is more likely than not that they will be used. And it is my guess that they will use them earlier rather than later. In fact, why would they shoot nuclear rockets at each other if they are going to battle anyway. Hence, it would make more sense to use them before they gather for a battle. Also, I have a feeling that it is likely that a nuclear attack will trigger an earthquake—the large earthquake mentioned in verse 18. And then, as the Scripture indicates, the cause of it will be the destruction of all cities (and all buildings), and the shifting of the land masses, so that all islands and mountains will plunge beneath the earth.

And while this destruction is happening, there will be thunder and lightning and hail like people have never seen before—hail about three feet in diameter, weighing up to one hundred pounds each. My question is: how in the world will the military forces be able to manage battling each other with all of this commotion and destruction all around them?

1 Hal Lindsey, There’s A New World Coming, p. 214.

The Woman, the Child, and the Dragon – Part 3

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Studying Bible Prophecy

This is my third blog on this topic, from Revelation 12:13-17.  You can go to my first blog on this topic to get introductory information.

Verses 13-17. And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. 14 But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. 15 And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood. 16 But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his…

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Mid-Tribulation Event (Revelation 12:1-15:4) – Part 1

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Studying Bible Prophecy

To start with, let me clarify something about the title of this section. I am not meaning here that the events from Revelation 12:1 to 15:4 will all occur exactly in the middle of the Tribulation, or that they will even occur between the trumpets and the bowls. I only mean that they are found written about in the book of Revelation between the trumpets and the bowls. Actually, it is a parenthetical passage meant to convey details of key events during all of the Tribulation and especially during the last three and a half years of it. But it is more than a record of key events. The passage is meant to give us background information or a setting for the Tribulation and for the main characters: for Satan, Israel, Christ, the two beasts, the 144,000 witnesses, and certain angels.

We will divide this lengthy passage into seven parts:…

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The Sixth Trumpet (Revelation 9:13-21)

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Studying Bible Prophecy

This sixth trumpet judgment, and the second woe, is every bit as terrible as the first woe; and it leaves us scratching our heads with questions. We will break up the verses into three parts.

Verses 13-15. Then the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, 14 one saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” 15 And the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released, so that they would kill a third of mankind.

So when the sixth angel sounded his trumpet John head a voice coming from the four horns of the altar of incense—presumably, the voice of God responding to the prayers of His saints; prayer for vengeance. And He told…

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The Third Seal — Revelation 6:5-6

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Studying Bible Prophecy

In the breaking of this seal John looked and saw a black horse; and the one who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand.

A Black Horse

Most commentators would agree that the black horse is a symbol of famine, and some would add disease. I agree, because the hunger of famine is caused by a food shortage; and that food shortage—particularly fresh fruits and vegetables—would cause sickness and disease.

A Pair of Scales

The scales here, used to weigh food items, indicates to the reader that there will be a scarcity of food that will need to be rationed. Moreover, the voice that is heard in the center of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius [a day’s wage], and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine,” gives us a true…

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Personalities in the Tribulation: Jesus Christ

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Studying Bible Prophecy

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…

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Personalities in the Tribulation: The Holy Spirit

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Studying Bible Prophecy

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…

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Personalities in the Tribulation: The Antichrist – Part 1

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Studying Bible Prophecy

The Antichrist is a prominent figure and the leader of all the evil that goes on in the Tribulation. Our information about him comes from three different biblical books: Daniel, 2 Thessalonians, and Revelation.

His origin and source of power

First, from Revelation 13:1 and 17:8-13, we see his origin as a beast that has seven heads and ten horns. This description is, of course, symbolic of a terrible and evil person, and who has his beginning from seven world kingdoms: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and a revived Rome; he being the king or leader of the seventh kingdom. (If you want a more detailed explanation of his seven heads read Revelation 17:9-13.)

As for his source of power, there is no doubt that God alone gives him power as His instrument to bring His wrath on the earth, both to persuade people to believe in Him and…

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Personalities in the Tribulation: Israel – Part 2

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The nation of Israel and the Israelite people are probably the most important of all in our list of personalities; for the seventh week (the Tribulation) has been decreed for the people of Israel (Dan. 9:24), to prepare them for their Messiah by Tribulation. Here is part 1.

4. Israel flees to the mountains.When the first half of the Tribulation ends, right at the mid-point, the Antichrist will be revealed for who he really is, as his restraints to do evil will be removed. The sign of the beginning of his evil doings is when the Jews see “the abomination of desolation” standing in the Jewish temple. This may be the Antichrist himself displaying himself as being God (2 Thess. 2:4), or it could be his image that the false prophet sets up (Rev. 13:15). Nonetheless, I think they will see this abomination for what it is, and…

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The Nature of the Tribulation: A Time of Fear and Terror

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In the following passages the words fear, terror, dread, and tremble in bold indicate to us how those on the earth greatly feared the Tribulation—mainly because they knew it came directly from the great wrath of God.

Isaiah 2:19

And men will go into caves of the rocks,

And into holes of the ground

Before the terror of the Lord,

And before the splendor of His majesty,

When He arises to make the earth tremble.

Isaiah 13:6-9

Wail, for the day of the Lord is near!

It will come as destruction from the Almighty.

7 Therefore all hands will fall limp,

And every man’s heart will melt.

8 And they will be terrified,

Pains and anguish will take hold of them;

They will writhe like a woman in labor,

They will look at one another in astonishment,

Their faces aflame.

9 Behold, the day of the Lord is coming,

Cruel, with fury and burning anger,

To make the land a desolation;

And He will exterminate its sinners from it.

Jeremiah 30:4-7

Now these are the words which the Lord spoke concerning Israel and concerning Judah, 5 “For thus says the Lord,

‘I have heard a sound of terror,

Of dread, and there is no peace.

6 ‘Ask now, and see,

If a male can give birth.

Why do I see every man

With his hands on his loins, as a woman in childbirth?

And why have all faces turned pale?

7 ‘Alas! for that day is great,

There is none like it;

And it is the time of Jacob’s distress,

But he will be saved from it.

Zephaniah 1:18

Neither their silver nor their gold

Will be able to deliver them

On the day of the Lord’s wrath;

And all the earth will be devoured

In the fire of His jealousy,

For He will make a complete end,

Indeed a terrifying one,

Of all the inhabitants of the earth.

Luke 21:25-26

“And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Revelation 6:15-17

And the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; 16 and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; 17 for the great day of their wrath has come; and who is able to stand?”