Exploring Prophetic Mysteries

 With Daniel Speck 5.25.13

 

2023 and the 7 year Tribulation

 

 

Based on the return of Jesus Christ in 2030, we can expect the Tribulation to begin in 2023

 

1. “I will go away and return to My place until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face. ...”He will revive us after two days: He will raise us up on the third day...” Hosea 5:15-6:3.   

2. The prophetic types in the story of the Woman at the Well, the Good Samaritan, and the raising of Lazarus all speak of two days until Jesus returns.

3. To the critics who ask. “Where is the promise of His coming?” Peter answered, “...with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”

4. Two thousand years after the Church age began in 30 AD is 2030.

 

The Tribulation will begin 7 Years Before the Lord Returns

 

5. “But immediately after the tribulation of those days...they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with great power and glory.” Matthew 24:29,30. The Lord makes it clear that He will return immediately after the Tribulation,at the Last Trumpet which is the Seventh Trumpet of Revelation. Matthew 24:20-31, I Corinthians 15:51, Revelation 10:7, Colossians 1:26-27.

6. The Tribulation will last for seven years which will place the beginning of the Tribulation in 2023. Daniel 9:27.

7. The year 2023 will also mark 70 Jubilees since Israel entered the promised land and conquered Jericho. The Battle of Jericho is a prophetic type of the battle for the Kingdom of the World during the Tribulation. Rahab, a prophetic type of the Gentile Bride, the Church, was taken out with a shout on the Seventh Day after the Seventh Trumpet just as the Church will be Raptured with a shout after the Seven Seals at the Seventh Trumpet. The 70 Jubilees of Israel began at the 7 day battle of Jericho and will finish at the beginning of the 7 year Tribulation period.

 

 

The General Tribulation will be 7 years long

 

Some teach that the Tribulation will last only 3 ½ years, others teach longer than 7 years. The Scriptures clearly uphold a 7 year Tribulation.

 

1. The 70th “week” is predicted in the Book of Daniel (9:27)

2. The prophetic types in the Hebrew Scriptures illustrate a 7 year period (Genesis 41:30, II Kings 8:1)

3. The battle of Jericho, a prophetic type of the Tribulation, lasted 7 days

4. Seven Seals also suggest a 7 year period.

5. God completes His work in sevens

 

The “Great” Tribulation will be 3 ½ years long

 

The Second half of the 7 year Tribulation is called the “Great” Tribulation. The first 3 ½ years are distinct as the beginning of birth pains or the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, which last until the Abomination of Desolation at 3 ½ years.

 

The Abomination of Desolation will take place in the winter of 2026/27

 

A timeline based on a 2030 return of Christ determines that the Tribulation will start sometime between Pentecost and the Fall feasts in 2023, which means the Abomination of Desolation must take place in the winter of 2026/27, which is 3 ½ years before Christ Returns.

 

“And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering, then on the wing of abominations will one who makes desolate.” Daniel 9:27

“...and they will tread underfoot the holy city for forty two months.” Revelation 11:2

 

Certain Tribulation events must occur before the Return and Rapture

 

Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together with Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the Day of the Lord has come. Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God. II Thessalonians 2:1-3.

 

As these Scriptures straightforwardly state, the coming of Christ will certainly not happen before the apostasy occurs and the Abomination of Desolation takes place in the middle of the Tribulation. Invisibility, continuous immanence, and a Pre-Tribulation coming are directly contradicted by these clear statements from the Scriptures.

 

About the Church and the Tribulation:

 

1. The Church will certainly go through the 7 year Tribulation

2. The Tribulation will come to an end after 7 years by the Appearance of Christ and the Rapture

3. Clear instructions in the Scriptures on preparing for the Tribulation have been given to the Church

4. Prepared and alert believers will survive the Tribulation to be gathered up at Christ’s Appearance

5.The Antichrist will destroy the unsuspecting(Daniel 8:25). Those who are not alert and prepared will fall victim to the deception and persecution of the Beast.

6. The World, Israel, and the Church will be given 7 years of plenty to prepare for the Tribulation.

7. The wedding of the Church will take place in heaven and the Church will return with the Lord Jesus after the Seven Bowl Plagues.

 

The Second Coming of Christ is one event in two parts:

 

1. First on the clouds to Rapture the living Church and resurrect the dead in Christ

2. A few weeks or months later to Rescue the Jews and Restore Israel

 

At the Appearance and Rapture the Lord will take His Bride into heaven for the wedding of the Church. A short time later, He will return again at Mt Sinai to revive and raise up the nation of Israel, destroy the armies of the Antichrist and establish His Messianic Kingdom in Jerusalem. These two parts together make up the whole Second Coming.  

 

 

Why does the Bible have so much to say about the Tribulation?

 

The Tribulation period is the crescendo of all history. It is the final test for mankind, to show once and for all who the world is really following. It is Satan’s last chance to gain the worship of the entire planet. It is the extreme circumstances in which Jesus will return to earth to rapture the Church and take ownership of the Kingdom of the World. It is the end of the Mystery of God, of the veil that covers Christ and the Church.   

 

There is a remarkable wealth of information in the Scriptures about the Tribulation period. The Lord goes into great detail in the Gospels describing what will take place. Revelation gives us even more information and the Hebrew prophets do as well. We can even draw details about these Last Days from the stories in the Hebrew Scriptures in the form of prophetic types.

 

Most prophecy teachers deny the Church will go through the Tribulation

 

Unfortunately Darbyism is entrenched in most Evangelical ministries today. The invisible return of Christ, the Pre-Tribulation Rapture, and denial that the Church will go through the Tribulation are doctrines found nowhere in the Scriptures. In fact there are clear Scriptures that contradict these false teaching, strongly warning believers of these types of Biblically unsubstantiated claims.

 

The Tribulation is not the wrath or judgment of God

 

Most Evangelical teachers describe the Tribulation as the wrath or judgment of God, only the Seven Bowls of Wrath bear that name and they occur after the Tribulation is ended with Christ’s return on the clouds. “Fall on us and hide us from presence of the One who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come and who is able to stand?” Revelation 6:16,17. The sixth seal is concurrent with the Seven Trumpets and describes the same events so this terror of God’s wrath happens at the end of the Tribulation as the Lord appears on the clouds and all the tribes of the earth mourn.

 

Nowhere do the Scriptures teach an invisible return of Christ

 

“So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not to out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.” Matthew 24::25-27.

 

And to give relief to you who are afflicted, and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire. II Thessalonians 1:7.

 

Behold He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him...  Revelation 1:7

 

“And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with great power and great glory.” Matthew 24:30.

 

His return will also be loud!

 

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first, then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air... I Thessalonians 4:16-17.

 

It is clear from these Scriptures that believers are not to expect an invisible or secret return of Christ, but a visible, resounding return only, where Christ and the Church are reveled to all the world in a glorious, flaming appearance as every eye sees Him.  

 

Erroneous Teachings that the Tribulation has or is now occurring

 

For there will be a great tribulation , such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. Matthew 24:21

 

The Tribulation will be such an unprecedented time of violence and mass death that there will be no doubt in most believer’s minds when the Tribulation is taking place. Not millions, but billions of people will be killed during the worst seven years of mankind’s existence.

 

The Tribulation will be ended by the appearance of Christ and the Rapture

 

“But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect, from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.” Matthew 24:29-31.

 

“I kept looking, and the horn was waging war with the saints and overpowering them until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was passed in favor of the saints of the Highest One, and the time arrived when the saints took possession of the kingdom.” Daniel 7:21-22. This places the Antichrist and the Church in the same time period, contradicting a pre-Tribulation Rapture.

 

Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.” Revelation 11:15. The saints take possession of the kingdom at the seventh trumpet.

 

The Jews and Israel during the Tribulation

 

The Jews and Israel will rebuild the Temple on the Temple Mount prior to the Tribulation and will enter into a seven year covenant with the Anti-Christ. The Beast will betray Israel by seating himself in the Temple as God and setting up the Abomination of Desolation to be worshipped by all the world on pain of death. At this point, the Beast will murder two-thirds of all Israelis but those who heed Christ’s words to flee to the mountains will survive (“The time of Jacob’s troubles”) where they will be safe from the Beast and the plagues until the Lord appears on the clouds to rapture the Church.

 

Christ will return only at the invitation of the Jews

 

When the unbelieving Jews witness the Appearance and Rapture (“Every eye will see Him, event those who pierced Him”), those who have not taken the Mark of the Beast will believe in Jesus Christ as their Messiah and Savior. Only at the invitation of the Jews (“You will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord’”) will Christ return to deliver them and lead them from Edom/southern Jordan (“Who is this who comes from Edom...with clothes of glowing colors?”) into Jerusalem where they will all proclaim Him King of Israel (“...and so all Israel will be saved”). The Lord will then restore the Kingdom of Israel exactly as promised by the Prophets and will reign from Jerusalem for a thousand years.

 

 

For Scripture verses on these events see: Last Days Verses

See also: 2030 Timeline Chart

 

The Tribulation will be the Church’s finest hour

 

The Bride of Christ will faithfully preach the Gospel, proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord, and resist the Mark of the Beast during the darkest hours of the Tribulation period. The true believer’s love for Christ will surpass even their love for their own lives (“They did not love their lives even to the point of death”). Like the story of Daniel’s three friends who were thrown in the fiery furnace, the Lord Jesus will preserve the Church through the fiery test of the Tribulation and then appear on the clouds to rapture the Church at the Seventh Trumpet exactly as He promised.  

 

Summary

 

The Tribulation will begin in 2023, seven years before the return of Christ and the rapture of the Church, which will be in 2030 according to the clues given in the Scriptures. The Second Coming is one event in two parts: the Appearance and Rapture, followed months or weeks later by the permanent return of Jesus to restore Israel. The Church will go through the Tribulation but will be given seven years of plenty to prepare beginning in 2016. Believers who are alert, prepared and prayerful will survive the Tribulation to be raptured at the Seventh Trumpet. Israel will suffer greatly during the Tribulation but when the Jews see the Lord appear on the clouds to gather the Church, they will believe in Christ as their Messiah and He will return permanently to rule Israel at their invitation.

 

 

© Daniel Speck 5.25.13

 

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