How Long Do Christians Have to Suffer in the Great Tribulation?

 The order of End Times events we left off Part II was: Deception, wars, famine (these 3 are called “the beginning of sorrows”), then the abomination of desolation (perhaps an idol glorifying the antrichrist) in the holy place (i.e., in Jerusalem's rebuilt temple), then the tribulation with death and martyrdom of Jews and Christians. Then the cosmic disturbance, blackening the sky, then the sign (like bright lightning), then His Coming in the clouds, visible to all, with angels blowing the trumpet. Believers are rescued, gathered in the sky—and then on the same day, the Day of the Lord’s wrath on the rest begins.

Now other questions arise: “How long do all these End Time events take? How long will the tribulation—the death and martyrdom--be? What event triggers these horrors?” The answers to those three questions are in Daniel 9:24ff:

 

“Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression... 25 “Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.26 After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death 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. 27 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 at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.

Very difficult verses, but here are likely the main points:

a. Since the word "seven" (an accurate NIV translation of the Hebrew) isn't "seven what," we will change the word “seven” above  into “seven years,” and you'll see why. Follow that assumption below and you'll see what I mean:

 

b. To explain (a): the span of time from the command to “restore and build Jerusalem,” until “the Anointed One” (the Messiah, Jesus), was prophesied to be "seven sevens," or, we're saying, 7x7 years=49 years, plus"62 sevens," 62x7 years=434 years.  So the total is 49+434=483 years. That is Daniel's prophecy.  For you to see the miracle of this prophecy, we have to go further:  These are Hebrew years, of 360 days each. To translate it to our years, with leap year every four years, we measure a real year as 365.24 days. So converting Jewish calendar to our calendar, we simply do 483 times 360/365.24 and get 476 of our years. So 483 Hebrew years is 476 of our years, being predicted for the span of time between those events. (I.e., the years between the order to rebuild Jerusalem and the Anointed One.)

c. As it turned out, the 476, if stated in years, the prophesy was dead-on, which is why "seven years" fits for the unexplained Hebrew "sevens." This 476 years is based on the following:  The actual command to restore Jerusalem happened under the Persian emperor Artaxerxes, in 444 BC. Jesus, the Anointed One, died (as proven on another blog I have) in 33 AD. Keep in mind, you only count a year from 1 BC until 1 AD (there was no “year zero,” so you lose a year in the count. So the span of time goes like this: Adding 444 BC to 33 AD, minus 1, you get—476! As Daniel prophesied! Well, why should we be surprised—that’s the way God does it.

d. As you may have noticed, only 69 (7+62) of the 70 required “sevens,” or 7-year periods (see Dan. 9:24), of Jewish suffering has happened already. Only 483 of the required 490 Hebrew years. So the 70th seven-year period has not happened yet. So it makes sense to assume the last 7 years prophesied is still in the future. (The phrase “Anointed One will be put to death”—verse 26--suggests a stop to the counting of years at 33 AD, with the final seven reserved for the future--we're assuming that). I’m also suggesting (with proof for this idea, below) that the six events, or “seals,” we’ve talked about in Revelation 6 and confirmed in Matthew 24 (deception, wars, famine, death, martyrdom, rescue), are all in the future, and will take 7 years to happen—so you can see why we make it the 70th “seven.” I’m finally suggesting (with more proof below) that the last 3 seals last for half the seven years, or 3-1/2 years. That means, of course, that the tribulation (seals 4 and 5—death and martyrdom) are in those last 3-1/2 years, before Christ comes again in the 6th seal.

 

What is my proof for these claims? Let’s start with the “ruler who will come," under whose orders "his people---will destroy….the sanctuary” (v. 26). That can’t be speaking of Jesus, who doesn't destroy His sanctuaries. It’s talking of the deceiver, the antichrist, who is trying to take His place as God. (See Revelation 13:4-8 for proof of his great military power, influence, and blasphemy.  He probably gained his status from his victories in the Wars--Seal #2).   He will “confirm a covenant” (v.27), presumably with the Jews, to protect them as he pretends to be their friend (that's his deception). This will happen at the beginning of the seventieth 7 years, since he covenanted with the Jews “for one seven” (v.27), a 7-year covenant. But then “in the “middle of the seven” (v.27), or after 3-1/2 years, he breaks the covenant, doing sacrilege (an “abomination,” as Daniel 9 calls it--perhaps an idol in the Holy Place), thus revealing his true nature as an enemy of Jews. He thus is a deceiver, II Thessalonians 2:3-4.  Jesus then warned Jews to run for their lives when they see this blasphemous abomination--he will do something really terrible, possibly erecting a statue of himself in the temple, or sacrificing a pig on the altar (Matthew 24:15-16). Now you can easily assume that the antichrist will spend the last 3-1/2 years, from the middle to the end of the 7 years, hunting and killing Jews and Christians. See Rev. 13:7 for proof of Christians being involved:

It was granted to him (the antichrist) to make war with the SAINTS and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.

 

There is NO Scripture that limits the word "saints" to Jews. Saints always refer to any and all of God's children.  Since there was no previous rapture, the saints living at the time have to go through the tribulation--as we have proved in other ways.

Proof of the second 3-1/2 year time period is how it is prophesied in several Biblical passages. It’s variously called “time and times and half a time” (which is 3-1/2 times), it's called “42 months” and “1260 days,” all meaning 3-1/2 years (these references are in Rev. 11:2,3; 12:6, and 13:5, and Daniel 7:25). That’s the length of the Death and Martyrdom —and the length of the tribulation (the Tribulation is not 7 years, it is 3-1/2, read Jesus' words in Matthew 24). This perfectly proves our prior idea that the whole time period is 7 years.  As you can surmise, the first 3-1/2 years of the 7 year period was the deception period, the wars, and the famine. Then is the antichrist's unveiling as our enemy in the middle. Since the antichrist boasts that he is God (Rev. 13:6), he gets his commands from Satan, and we can fairly presume he was probably the biggest reason for those first three seals, or disasters, too. As we pointed out before, Revelation 12:2 shows how Satan will be enjoying himself causing such grief and death.

In summary:  For the first 3-1/2 years he makes a peace pact with the Jews, pretending to be their friend. But then he makes war, consolidating his power. War's destruction helps bring on famine. Then in the middle of the 7 years, he does sacrilege, the abomination, and reveals himself as their (and saints') enemy, then in the last 3-1/2 years--the tribulation--he goes all-out to kill all Jews and Christians. Don't forget, this order of events is proven in Matthew 24 AND Revelation 6 (see Part II). After all that, at the end, the rapture saves remaining genuine Christians from physical death and the wrath of God is reserved for those who have ignored God and ignored His laws.

If you have not made Jesus the whole of your life, if you do not love Him for paying for your sin, and given your life to His care and rely on His comfort through the Holy Spirit, do it now.  Read the Gospels, where Jesus lays it all out plainly.  Or read my blogs on the subject.

 

Jesus, in Matthew 24:15-21, clearly says the antichrist’s revealing himself (which is in the middle of the 7 years) begins the tribulation.

 

“Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains… 21 For THEN there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.

 

Thus, to repeat this for emphasis, the real tribulation is not 7 years, but only the latter 3-1/2 years. This latter period is also called “travail” in Rev. 12:2. Also, this is not God’s wrath, and also remember, Christians go through the tribulation, see Parts I and II in my blogs of the two weeks for more proof of that.

 

Some interesting additional facts: In the tribulation will come the most audacious move of the antichrist’s reign. He will evidently have the world’s worship and control of the world’s money system—because he will implant, on the hands/foreheads of everyone who submits to him, a “mark.” Thus, buying or selling food, etc. is impossible unless you submit to his lordship and receive the mark (Rev. 13:16-17). Let us never submit to that, because as an angel will warn everyone (Rev. 14:9-11), anyone who thus submits to the antichrist WILL WRITE HIS OR HER TICKET TO HELL:

 

Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” 

 

You may ask, cynically, "If I want to follow God and reject the mark, will God "reward" me by allowing me to starve?" or "Will God send me to hell for eternity just because I wanted food, and took the mark?" I'm betting God will show many of His faithful ones a separate way to get food. Maybe even by miracles. Waiting out starvation, exercising this kind of resolve and faith will be challenging for Christians, but saving your soul will be definitely worth it. Yes, in saving your soul, your body may be martyred. Yes, there will be many who will be weak and fall away. (II Thess. 2:1-4). Do not join them! You must endure to the end to be saved! (Matthew 10:22).

 

Another interesting additional fact: Two "witnesses" (maybe Elijah and Moses) will appear for the last 3-1/2 years, prophesying God's truth and performing miracles (Rev. 11:3,5-12), such as fire from their mouths destroying their enemies, stopping rain from falling, and rising from the dead.

 

***So here is our final course of events: At the very beginning of the 7-year End Times, Antichrist makes a covenant to protect Israel, deceiving the world--and the Jews. This begins Daniel’s 70th 7-year period. First 3-1/2 years are the “beginning of sorrows:” Deceit by the antichrist, Wars, and Famine. Then the antichrist desecrates the holy place in Jerusalem, reveals himself as an enemy of Jews and saints, and we begin the last 3-1/2 years, the tribulation, the “travail”: Death and Martyrdom of Jews and Christians. The antichrist institutes a mark--you must worship him to buy or sell. Two witnesses speak up for God and perform miracles. Then at the end of the 7 years, we have the cosmic disturbance, and the Coming, which is: the sign (bright lightning), then His appearance in the skies with angels blowing the trumpet, believers rescued, they are gathered to be with Him. On the same day, then the Day of the Lord’s wrath begins on the unsaved.

 

Let’s say this one more time: As you can see, from our three-week analysis: (1) the tribulation is not the same as God’s wrath; and (2) Christians are not raptured until the end—we have to endure the tribulation. Many of them will die first. (3) Saved people (rescued) and unsaved people (wrath) are dealt with on the same Day of the Lord—there is no one “left behind.” Other theories some theologians give are popular simply because they say just what you want to hear, as II Timothy 4:3-4 says:

 

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.

 

The most popular alternate theory is the pretribulationist, or “pretrib” theory—that Christians are raptured before the tribulation. Escaping such devastation sounds so nice. But don’t fall for this; as this 3-part study proves, the order of events is otherwise. Read the Scriptures yourself. (Consider this too: The pre-trib theory feeds an “AWOL” mentality; see my comments in part I). Even their best pre-trib mind, John F. Walvoord, from Dallas Theological Seminary, admits their theory is shaky and has no real Scriptural proof. In his book, The Rapture Question, page 16 and 148, he says: “Neither posttribulationism nor pretribulationism is an explicit teaching of the Scriptures…it is therefore not too much to say that the rapture question is determined more by ecclesiology (what different church denominations believe) than eschatology.” (Wait a minute…this is supposed to be a study of eschatology--a study in the future! Mr. Walvoord, you’re admitting you can’t find Scriptural support in future studies?) Richard Mayhue, also a proponent of the pretrib view, told the Grace Theological Seminary “perhaps the position of pretribulationism is correct although its proof at times has been logically invalid or at least unconvincing.”

 

And all the pre-tribbers say, “Thanks for the support.”

 

Let’s believe the Bible, not theological suppositions which have as their highlight, that you can escape suffering. After all, Jesus and Paul said we would suffer for Him (Romans 8:17, among many others).