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 Antichrist) in the holy place, Jerusalem's temple; then it’s time to run! The Tribulation begins with death and martyrdom of Jews and Christians. Then later the cosmic disturbance, blackening the sky, then the sign, like a huge flash of light, making everyone look heavenward, and seeing Jesus coming in the clouds, with angels and trumpet following. His Coming, or Second Advent, will be visible to all, no “secret.”. Believers are rescued, gathered in the sky—and then on the same day, the Day of the Lord’s wrath on the unsaved 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 difficult, but your attention to detail will be rewarded.  Look at 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.

Here are the main points of these verses:

a. Since the word "seven" (an accurate NIV translation of the Hebrew word sometimes translated ‘weeks’) isn't explained as to seven what, seven hours--seven centuries? We will change just the word “seven” into “seven years,” and you'll see why in a moment.

 

b. We need to know the span of time from the command to “restore and build Jerusalem,” until “the Anointed One” (the Messiah, Jesus).  Daniel, a Jew, prophesied it to be "seven weeks," or “seven sevens,” so we're saying, 7 times 7, or 49 years, "plus 62 sevens," or 62x7 years=434 more years.  So the total is 49+434=483 years. This 69 “weeks,” or 483 Hebrew years, is the time elapsed between those two events.  But these are Hebrew years, of 360 days each. To translate Hebrew years to our years, with leap year every four years, we measure a real year as 365.24 days. So converting a 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, predicted for the span of time between the order to rebuild Jerusalem and the Anointed One.

c. As it turned out, the 476 years was dead-on accurate for that span of time-- (that's why we used seven 'years' for the unexplained Hebrew "sevens.")  Here’s the details: 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) 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! Exactly as Daniel prophesied! Well, why should we be surprised—God knows the future.

PS:  Wikipedia, who doesn’t believe in the supernatural, can't stand this prophecy of Daniel, who lived around 500 BC, well before either event listed.  So Wikipedia suggests that the Book of Daniel was not written by Daniel, but by another guy much later.  So not only Google doesn't know all the answers, Wikipedia doesn't either.

If you notice Daniel 9:24, it lists all the “loose ends” God wants to resolve as the end of the world draws nigh. One of them is “make reconciliation for iniquity.” That means the Jews would be spending a lot of time paying for their sins they had particularly committed over the centuries—since God had originally picked them out as His people. They had God’s commands, they had His protection, they had access to the Promised Land He gave them, but on every chance, they blew it. The worst of it was, they had the Incarnation of God, namely Jesus the Christ, yet they eagerly broke God’s Laws, and even killed Jesus.

 

So, as you may have noticed, only 69 (7+62) of the 70 required “sevens” (in Dan. 9:24), of Jewish reconciliation has been accomplished. Only 483 of the required 490 (70x7) Hebrew years. So the 70th seven-year period, I’m also suggesting, has not happened yet. The last 7 years must be future, I’m saying. You might argue that under Rome’s slaughter of 70 AD, or under Hitler’s holocaust, they would have paid the final “reconciliation.” But God is severe when the sin is severe, more than we ever know (especially more than we hear any more in sermons). Plus, certain events in that 7-year period have never happened yet. The upcoming persecution and killing by the Antichrist in the 7 year Tribulation will give him ¼ of all humanity to kill. Today that’s 2 billion people! It’s in Revelation 6:8, under the description of the fourth seal:

 

So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.

 

It’s likely that an even higher percentage of Jews would die. God will be testing the Christians, also, to see if they are willing to give their life, or are they “easy believism” Christians (other blogs discuss this), who will abandon the faith, and go apostate, when the heat is on. The Bible predicts that apostasy will be the choice of many. See II Thessalonians 2:3:

 

Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away (same Greek word as translated “apostasy” elsewhere) comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, ⁴ who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

 

As Part I and Part II indicate, this is a Last Day’s verse. The “man of sin” is the Antichrist, who is doing the boasting and blaspheming.

 

You can see why it is easy to speculate that the 70^th week of Jewish suffering is most reasonably placed around the great Tribulation, when their persecution will be the greatest in history.

 

I have upcoming Scriptural proof that the six events, or “seals,” we’ve talked about in Revelation 6 (See Part II) and confirmed in Matthew 24 (deception, wars, famine, death, martyrdom, rescue), will take 7 years to happen—so that additional fact also suggests that the Jews 70th “week” of suffering is that event. I’m also suggesting (with more proof below) that the first 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 future claims of 7 years, and how they will be split up into two halves of 3-1/2 years each?

Let’s focus on the Antichrist. He has decided the way to kill Jews is to get close to them. He must have gained attention for his military prowess even before the 70^th Week, because people are worshipping him in Revelation 13:4-5a below (He is called “the Beast”). Without knowing it, they are worshipping the Antichrist’s “father,” Satan. Their love of his blasphemies against God suggests civilization’s moral level must be at an all-time low. And their love of power he displays (including “rising from the dead,” Revelation 13:3) suggests that wars and riots must be increasing. The majority of people want somebody who will bring stability and justice, to end all the chaos. The Antichrist (remember, he has not revealed himself), being a great deceiver, seems to fill the bill: 

 …they (the unsaved) worshiped the dragon (Satan) who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” ⁵ And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies,

So we know that if there are wars, the Jews and the jihadists will be in the middle of it.  So he makes a crafty and deceptive move; he makes friends with the Jews, leading them on to believe that he will back them up militarily. They will sign a 7-year Covenant to do that. (PS: This has never been done in their history). Daniel 9:27:

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

Daniel 9:27 doesn’t say that the Antichrist makes the Covenant with the Jews, but it’s an easy assumption. The Jews are surrounded with enemies who hate them. Iran, on the verge of nuclear ability, is “rattling the sword,” along with every Islamic nation around them. There will almost certainly be another war, and Israel, either on the verge of bankruptcy (spending government resources to continually buying weapons), or else simply tired of war, will be happy to make a peace agreement with anyone with military power—and the Antichrist fits the bill.

The Antichrist, however, can’t help but reveal himself as a Jew-hater. In the middle of the 7 years, or after 3-1/2 years, he refuses to allow the Jews any more sacrifices to God. He also performs an abomination of desolation in the Jewish holy place in Jerusalem. Jesus tells the disciples in the Olivet Discourse that when that happens, it’s time to run and hide, as fast as you can. God gives the Antichrist the power, for the remaining 3-1/2 years, (or 42 months), to kill as many people—specifically Jews and Christians—as he can. Revelation 13:5a-8 tells the story:

and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. ⁶ Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. ⁷ It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. ⁸ All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

 It makes sense that his 7-year covenant with the Jews will happen at the beginning of the seventieth 7 years. We can now easily assume that when he “reveals” himself (see II Thessalonians 2:3 above), that means he will turn from being a friend of Jews to their enemy. The “abomination of desolation” will definitely make that point. As I said before, that’s our “tipoff” to run; he will spend the last 42 months, or 3-1/2 years, from the middle to the end of the 7 years, hunting and killing Jews and Christians. (This last 3-1/2 years is officially the Tribulation).  In Rev. 13:7 (above), Christians will be victims of the slaughter as well.

 There is NO Scripture that limits the word "saints" to Jews. Saints always refer to any and all of God's saved children.  Since there was no previous rapture, the saints living at the time all this begins have to go through the beginning sorrows, then the Tribulation--as we have proved in Part I.

Further proof of the second 3-1/2-year time period as the length of the great Tribulation 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 it’s called “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). So seals 4 and 5, the Death and Martyrdom —is the length of the Tribulation (the Tribulation is not the whole 7 years, it is less, read Jesus' words in Matthew 24:6-9). 

In summary, our expanded Last Days are:

 To start the 70^th ‘week’ of seven years, the Antichrist makes a 7-year peace pact with the Jews, pretending to be their friend. (Mark your calendars! This is the ONLY sign that shows the beginning of the 7 years.) During that time, he makes war, consolidating his power. War's destruction helps bring on famine and pestilences. Earthquakes follow. Then in the middle of the 7 years, he does sacrilege, the abomination, and reveals himself as their (and saints') enemy. Time to hide. 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, near the end of the 7, the Sign, a flash of light in a blackened sky—Jesus returns in the clouds! Rapture!  Then Wrath on the unsaved and the cleansing and destruction of the earth. This wrath of God is reserved for those who have secretly hated God or 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 if you have not given your life to His care and commands, and daily discipline; if you do not rely on His comfort and trials through the Holy Spirit, do it now.  You don't know if you will be alive when these events happen.  Watch Israel for any covenant they agree to, your only real sign that the 7 years have begun. (We assume the Covenant ceremony is publicly covered by the media.) Then mark your calendar for the middle, when the antichrist does the sacrilege. THEN it's time to hide.   Three-and-a-half years to go. You want to be in Christ before these horrible things; you want to train your family to do battle spiritually.  Read the Gospels, where Jesus lays it all out plainly.  Or read my blogs on the subject.

“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.

 

Some interesting additional facts: In the Tribulation will come the most audacious move of the Antichrist’s reign. He will evidently have 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 the Antichrist’s 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), that 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 this 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?" You’re thinking wrong about God. You are in no position to expect a reward for trusting the Lord. Your sin got you to where you are, without God. It is only by His grace that you can escape the slavery of sin and hell, the penalty for sin from a holy God. I'm betting God will show many of His faithful ones a separate way to get food. Maybe even by miracles for the faithful.  Get attached to a church that really believes Scripture and future events. On the run and hungry, exercising this kind of resolve and faith will be challenging for Christians, but saving your soul will be definitely worth it to hang on. 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 during 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--for peace. 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 (with pesticides and earthquakes). 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” with Death and Martyrdom of Jews and Christians. The antichrist institutes a mark--you must worship him to buy or sell. A ticket to Hell if you fall for it. Two witnesses speak up for God and perform miracles. Then at the end of the 7 years, in one Day, we have the cosmic disturbance (moon becomes a muted red, sun and stars blacken), and the Coming, which is: the sign (bright lightning), then His appearance in the skies with a shout, 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.

 

I'm sure you haven't heard it prevented this way.  Seminaries have allowed non-Biblical ideas to creep in, and they are not encouraging critical thinking.  Scripture has something to say about that:  II Timothy 4:3:

 

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 (or “fable”) 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. 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).  Heaven is worth it! We are short-term on this earth, just “probies,” to see whether we trust Christ or not, to live a holy life, or a sinful life. The LONG result is heaven or hell. That’s what’s important. That’s eternity vs choosing to live 80 years in a horrible environment. Jesus said the majority of people at any time would end up in hell (Matthew 7:13,14). Don’t be one of them. THIS subject is what’s important, not an inheritance, not money. Study THIS—read your Bibles—God doesn’t make it unclear. May God open your eyes more and more as you give yourself to Him.