AN OVERVIEW OF THE GREAT TRIBULATION BY ANTICHRIST
“9Then
(that is, after the beginning of
the birth pangs depicted from verse 5 to 7 of Matthew 24 has
come to pass) they
(Antichrist and his people)
will deliver you to tribulation (that
is, the hard labour, the persecution of God's people),
and will kill you (that
is, the 4th Seal - Death broken in Revelation 6:7-8. ‘a
fourth of the earth’ is the exact population of claimed
Christians in today’s world)
and you will be hated by all nations because of My name
(that is, for the sake of Jesus,
His followers, both the Jews and Gentiles, will be persecuted).
10At that time many will fall away (that
is, the apostasy spoken by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2: 3. Those
look-alike ‘Christians’ will forsake their faith
in Christ when facing the great persecution by Antichrist and
choose to worship Antichrist and accept his mark, cf. Revelation
13:16-17) and will betray
one another and hate one another. 11Many false prophets
(which definitely include the ‘another
beast’ – the Enforcer of Antichrist that comes up
out of the earth in Revelation 13:11)
will arise and will mislead many. 12Because lawlessness is increased,
most people's love will grow cold. 13But the one who endures
to the end, he will be saved (that
is, the promise of physical deliverance, rather than spiritual
salvation, of the saints who survive the great tribulation).
14This gospel of the kingdom (that
is, the gospel of God’s reign on earth, preached by Christ
in the early part of His ministry on earth, cf. Matthew 4:23,
Mark 1:14-15, rather than the gospel of the death, burial and
resurrection of Christ, preached by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4)
shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony
to all the nations (this
will be literally fulfilled by the ‘another angel’
in Revelation 14:6 that flies in midheaven just before the final
wrath of God is poured out onto those who dwell on the earth),
and then the end will come (that
is, the age of man will come to an end in God’s final
wrath)”. (Matthew
24:9-14, emphasis and notes added)
THE TIMING OF THE GREAT TRIBULATION –
THE SECOND HALF OF THE 70TH WEEK OF DANIEL
“15Therefore (notice
that after giving a general overview of the end-time events
from verse 1 to 14, from this verse on Jesus starts to give
detailed instructions and warnings regarding the great tribulation
period) when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION
which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet (that
is, the Antichrist spoken of through Daniel in Daniel 9:27),
standing in the holy place (which
according to Daniel 9:27 will happen in the midpoint of the
70th Week and trigger the worst persecution of Jews and Christians
in the history of mankind, cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:4. This verse
also suggests that the Temple of God, or at least the Tabernacle,
will be rebuilt before the midpoint of the 70th Week of Daniel),
16then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. 17Whoever
is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that
are in his house. 18Whoever is in the field must not turn back
to get his cloak. …21For then there will be a
great tribulation (the severity
of the tribulation, as stated in this verse, is the worst in
the human history and will even make the Holocaust in World
War II compare in pale), such as has not occurred since
the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will”.
(Matthew 24:15-18, 21, emphasis and notes added)
THE NATURE OF THE GREAT TRIBULATION –
WRATH OF SATAN
“7And there was war in heaven
(notice that much alike the structure of
Matthew 24, Revelation also gives a general overview of the
end-time events from chapter 6 to chapter 11, then depicts in
details the great tribulation period from chapter 12 to chapter
13. Therefore, this heavenly war is supposed to happen in the
midpoint of the 70th Week), Michael and his angels waging
war with the dragon. The
dragon and his angels waged war, 8and they
were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found
for them in heaven. 9And the great dragon was
thrown down, the serpent of old who is called
the devil and Satan, who deceives
the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels
were thrown down with him. … 12For this reason, rejoice,
O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the
sea, because the devil has come down to you, having
great wrath (this key verse reveals
that the great tribulation or persecution by Antichrist is the
wrath of Satan, not the wrath of God, which will not be unleashed
until the 144,000 faithful Jews are sealed and the remaining
saints that have survived the persecution are rescued or raptured
by Christ, cf. Revelation 7. Furthermore, the martyrs’
souls’ beseech in the 5th Seal: ‘How long, O Lord,
holy and true, wilt Thou refrain from judging and avenging our
blood on those who dwell on the earth?’ also confirms
that their death is by the hands of Antichrist’s followers
not by the hands of God, cf. Revelation 6:9-11), knowing
that he has only a short time (from
the time Satan begins the great persecution through Antichrist
to the time he is bounded for a thousand years, he has less
than 1,335 days, cf. Daniel 12:11-12)." (Revelation
12:7-9, 12, emphasis and notes added)
THE OBJECT OF THE GREAT TRIBULATION –
JEWS AND CHRISTIANS
“13And when the dragon saw that
he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman
(that is, the remnant Jews of Israel, cf.
Revelation 12:1-2. They are the first target of Satan’s
wrath) who gave birth to the male child
(that is, the Christ, who was caught up
to God and His throne and is to rule all the nations with a
rod of iron, cf. Revelation 12:5). 14But 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 (that
is, they will be protected by God during the second half of
the 70th Week, which last 3 and half years, or 1260 days),
from the presence of the serpent. 15And 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. 16But the earth helped
the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river
which the dragon poured out of his mouth. 17So the dragon was
enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the
rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold
to the testimony of Jesus (that
is, clearly, the faithful followers of Christ, which according
to Romans 4:16 are spiritual descendants of Abraham. They are
the second target of Satan’s wrath). ” (Revelation
12:13-17, emphasis and notes added)
THE PURPOSES OF GOD ALLOWING THE CHURCH TO UNDERGO
THE GREAT TRIBULATION
1. TO TEST THE FAITH OF THE SAINTS
“12Beloved, do not be surprised
at the fiery ordeal (i.e.,
the fiery ordeal by Antichrist and his people during the great
tribulation) among you, which comes upon you for your
testing (the testing of the faith
as a purpose of persecutions), as though some strange
thing were happening to you; 13but to the degree that you share
the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at
the revelation of His glory (at
His second coming) you may rejoice with exultation.”
(1 Peter 4:12-13, emphasis and notes added)
2. TO REFINE THE FAITH OF THE
SAINTS
“6In this you greatly rejoice, even
though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed
by various trials (i.e.
the various trials during the great tribulation), 7so
that the proof of your faith, being more precious than
gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire,
may be found to result in praise and glory and honor
(the refinement of faith as another purpose
of persecutions) at the revelation of Jesus Christ
(at His second advent)”. (1
Peter 1:6-7, emphasis and notes added)
3. TO PURIFY THE CHURCH AS THE
WORTHY BRIDE OF CHRIST
“11For the grace of God has appeared,
bringing salvation to all men, 12instructing us to deny ungodliness
and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly
in the present age, 13looking for the blessed hope and
the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ
Jesus (again, at His second coming),
14who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed,
and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession
(the purification of the church, a third
purpose as indicated here, so that the church can be presented
to Christ ‘holy and blameless’, ‘having no
spot or wrinkle or any such thing’ [Ephesians 5:27], at
the second coming of the Lord Jesus), zealous for good
deeds”. … “And now, little children, abide
in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence
and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming”.
(Titus 2:11-14, 1 John 2:28, emphasis and notes
added)
