How many times have we heard about the Great tribulation, or the time of Jacob’s trouble, or that 7 year period toward the end of time when the anti-christ comes on to the scene to set up his kingdom?

It’s hard to miss all of the voices discussing this end time event, whether we hear it on T.V., radio or from each other, as the year 2,000 approaches.

And of course, the scoffers weigh in on this theme as they continue to ask the question, "Where is this 'coming' he promised?" As we’ve seen in previous weeks, the scoffers are not interested in a biblical answer to this question, they’re more interested in their own agendas, while excluding Jesus Christ from the equation.

But, it is fascinating to go into a Christian bookstore and find the section on the last days and discover all of the different books which have been written on this subject of the Great Tribulation and everything which then ensues.

Often times we may find as many different opinions on the events surrounding this time as there are Christians. It’s not uncommon for all sorts of speculation regarding what will take place during this great tribulation.

For example, is the fire which is mentioned during this 7 year period a nuclear onslaught from men? Are the stars, falling from the sky, aliens, or maybe some sort of asteroid, or even miraculous fire straight from the throne of God like in the days of Elijah?

Speculation is fine to the degree that we don’t bind the consciences of people when the Scriptures seem to be vague on certain aspects of God’s plan for the last days. But, we must always come back to the one place which gives us any clue for these events and that is the word of God. And in the process of comparing Scripture with Scripture we must try to arrive at the best explanation.

But what about this 7 year tribulation? Where do we come up with the figure 7? How do we know what takes place during this time? Does this 7 year period stand on it’s own, or is it connected to some other aspect of God’s plan for the last days?

We saw from the Scriptures last week that God’s intention is to ultimately deliver and restore His chosen people, Israel, as He rescues them from the nations which are trying to destroy them. We saw how God’s covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, among others, was always meant to be everlasting.

But we also saw how this same God always intended to enter into a covenant with mankind in general as our Lord promised a Redeemer for both Jew and Gentile alike. We know this as the New Covenant in Christ’s blood.

But this doesn’t negate the promises given to Israel which God will fulfill. But where does this 7 year tribulation fit in with the plan of redemption? Well, to answer this we need to go back to a time in history where God promised to send a Messiah who would come through Israel.

And this is usually the place in the television program where the screen goes blurry and the next thing we know we’re transported back into time in a place far far away.

This particular place is somewhere in Babylon around 600 years before the birth of Christ. The prophet Daniel was deep in prayer and Gabriel the angel is sent by God to give Daniel an amazing prophecy by the Lord which had to do with Israel’s future as well as the Messiah who would come from her.

DAN 9:24 "Seventy 'sevens' (Or 'weeks') are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy One.
25 "Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree 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 cut off 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 desolation’s have been decreed.
27 He will confirm a covenant with the many for one 'seven.' (Or 'week') In the middle of the 'seven' (Or 'week') he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him. And one who causes desolation will come upon the pinnacle of the abominable temple, until the end that is decreed is poured out on the desolated city."

The first thing we notice in Dan. 9:24 is that this message given to Daniel by Gabriel concerns Israel and the final consummation of redemption for mankind, both Jew and Gentile. The entire period is described as "Seventy 'sevens'. This is prophetic language which is dealing with a specific time frame which is placed in weeks of years.

In other words, to discern the time frame we simply take the 70 weeks, each week actually being a 7 year period. So, you’ve got 70 X 7. To arrive at the exact amount of days before this prophecy is actually fulfilled, you would then multiply that by the one year period of that day which is 360 days to a year, which was according to the Babylonian calendar.

DAN 9:25 "Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven 'sevens,' and sixty-two 'sevens.'..." The first thing we see is that we don’t start the countdown of these 70 weeks of Daniel’s prophecy until something first happens. This event is "From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem..." When this decree is given then this 70 weeks of years clock starts.

When did this decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem begin? Picture this now, the screen goes blurry again, and we now move forward about 100 years to the time when the prophet Nehemiah is serving the King of Persia, King Artaxerxes. The Jews have been allowed to go back to Jerusalem and just a remnant are in the land. Nehemiah tells us exactly the day this happens.

NEH 2:1 In the month of Nissan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king....
5 and I [said to] the king, "If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it."
6 Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, "How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?" It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time."

With the information Nehemiah gives us we know the exact date when this decree was given. On our calendars it would be Mar.14, 445 B.C. Now that we’ve got a date we can now know for certain when the 70 weeks of years of Daniel’s prophecy will take place.

But, remember the increments Daniel gave? "... There will be seven 'sevens,' and sixty-two 'sevens.'..."

The seven ‘sevens’ are 49 years, (7 x 7). That’s the first increment. It is in this time period in which the last book of the O.T. is written by Malachi. The words of God are shut up from that time forward. No prophet records any words from God from that time forward until Jesus Christ comes on to the scene.

The next increment is 62 weeks of years which when multiplied out is exactly 173,880 days. When you do the math from the time of the decree given by King Artaxerxes, this takes you to April 6, A.D. 32. This was the exact day of Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem when He came riding in on a donkey and was proclaimed King of the Jews.

ZEC 9:9 "Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey."

JOH 12:13 "They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, "Hosanna! (A Hebrew expression meaning "Save!" which became an exclamation of praise) "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Blessed is the King of Israel!"

And so, we have 7 weeks of years added to 62 weeks of years which, when added up, is 69 weeks of years. It is after this 62 weeks of years period that we read in DAN 9:26 "After the sixty-two 'sevens,' the Anointed One will be cut off 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 desolation’s have been decreed."

Was the Messiah cut off at the end of the 62 weeks of years, which was added to the 7 weeks of years totaling 69? Yes. It was that same week in Jerusalem, after our Lord was received with praises that He was nailed to a cross and killed to pay the debt of our sins. This prophecy is amazing and accurate in every detail.

But remember, Daniel spoke of 70 weeks of years. What happened to the last week? Well, Daniel points out what happens in this last week which gives us an indication when it will happen.

DAN 9:27 "He will confirm a covenant with [the] many for one 'seven.' (Or 'week') In the middle of the 'seven' (Or 'week') he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him."

Jesus Christ speaks of this week in MAT 24:15 "So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel - let the reader understand -
16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains...."

Our Lord then goes on to describe the horrible events which will surround this last week of Daniel’s prophecy and ends it by saying in MAT 24:21 "For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now - and never to be equaled again.
22 If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened."

There has been no such event that could be described in terms of "great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now - and never to be equaled again." In other words, this event has not yet taken place. This last week, this 70th week prophesied by Daniel, through the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit, is yet to come.

This 70th week of Daniel is in the future and what Jesus is telling us in Matthew is that it is during this 7 year time frame, which Daniel speaks of as the abomination of desolation, which we know to be the time of the anti-christ, also known as the man of lawlessness, who sets himself up in the temple in Jerusalem.

2TH 2:3 "Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.
4 He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshipped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God."

This man of lawlessness will enter into a covenant with Israel for seven years with the express purpose of bringing peace to the earth as he reinstitutes the temple service in Jerusalem as a sign of good faith. But he will not keep his promise. In the middle of that seven year period he will renege on the covenant.

DAN 9:27 "He will confirm a covenant with the many for one 'seven.' (Or 'week') In the middle of the 'seven' (Or 'week') he will put an end to sacrifice and offering...."

This brings us to the topic at hand. The seven year tribulation. You see, though we do not know when Jesus will come back for His church and rapture us away, we do know that as soon as the antichrist enters into the covenant with Israel, which will happen after the rapture, this seven year period begins.

Let me just say here that when we speak of tribulation there are two senses in which this word is used in the Scriptures. There is a sense in which we all experience tribulation. Times of testing, times of trial and so forth. Even Jesus tells us this.

JOH 16:33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have [tribulation]. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

The kind of tribulation spoken of here is coming from the world and the world system. Pastor Chuck Smith makes the point that Jesus said, "Upon this rock I will build My Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Paul tells us that we’re wrestling not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers. Spirit forces are warring against the children of God, but the source of our tribulation is definitely the world system governed by Satan." (The Tribulation and the Church, Pastor Chuck)

On the other hand the Great Tribulation spoken of in Daniel and Revelation and other places in the N.T. does not originate from hell or this world. It originates from heaven. God’s wrath is going to be poured out on the earth during this time.

Even the first rider on a white horse, in Revelation 6, is under the direction of God who is bringing all of this to pass for His good pleasure and to fulfill His will as it relates to the judgment of the world which has never happened to this degree in the past nor will ever happen again.

John says in REV 6:1 "I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals." It is Jesus who is permitting these things to happen and it is from the throne of the Lamb where these judgments take place along with the great tribulation which will happen to the earth in those days. And so, even the apparent peace during the first 3 1/2 years is still part of the judgment of God, and therefore a tribulation, which will play into the hands of Satan to deceive the nations.

As believers in Christ we may face tribulations of all sorts, but they come from having to contend with a world which is part of the curse of sin. And though God may use these tribulations in our life to conform us to Christ they are not coming from His throne as a judgment on His people. Our judgment fell on Christ some 2,000 years ago at Calvary.

So, with the remaining time let’s dig into what this 7 year period is, we call the Tribulation. Here goes the screen again, and as soon as the blur clears up we are now in the future. Again, keep in mind that the Church will not be part of this 7 year tribulation which is designed as a judgment on the nations. We will not suffer the wrath of God.

This seven year period correlates with the book of Revelation, chapters 6-20. But the first 3 1/2 years takes place in the beginning of chapter 6. It is during this first half of the tribulation where we see the 1st seal being opened up by the Lamb, who is none other than Jesus Christ.

REV 6:1 "I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, "Come!"
2 I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest."

Some might confuse this rider on a white horse with our Savior. This is not the case. This rider is bent on conquest which is to say he is bent on destruction. This rider is representative of the antichrist. And though he comes riding on a white horse it doesn’t stand for purity.

The white horse is part of the peace delusion Paul speaks of in 1TH 5:3 "While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape."

This rider on a white horse in none other than the one who we’re told can also appear as an angel of light.

2CO 11:14 "..... Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.
15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve."

Despite the fact that the antichrist comes on to the scene and makes a covenant with Israel as we’re told in Daniel 9:27, it doesn’t mean there will be peace in all the earth for very long. There will be a peace which will deceive the nations in following this leader controlled by hell, but it will not last.

By the way, when we talk about the antichrist we must understand that there are two senses as to what antichrist means. The word "anti" means against. And so, there is a sense in which the antichrist will be against our Lord Jesus Christ, but there is also a sense in which "anti" means, in place of, (e.g.., substitute/counterfeit). This is also why this person will play the role of savior even in a spiritual sense, though a false savior at that.

Though he will ultimately be against God, this antichrist will be seen by the world as the true Christ who takes the place of Jesus. This is why he can set himself up in the temple proclaiming himself to be God. This is what the apostle John records for us in the book of Revelation.

This rider will be the servant of Satan himself. And though he brings an apparent peace to this world, it will be a false peace, which makes him very dangerous and deceptive. Though the true church will be taken out at the rapture prior to this 7 year period there will still be an organization left behind which looks like the church This false church was part of the great apostasy which our Lord said must happen.

That falling away or apostasy is a rejection of the true gospel of Jesus Christ. To reject the gospel is to reject Christ. Even today, this apostasy is beginning and moving at a rapid pace. There are churches who deny that Jesus is God, they deny the word of God as being infallible and inspired of the Holy Spirit. They deny that there is only one way to God, through His Son.

It will be representatives of this false church system which the antichrist will align with during this time. This is important if the antichrist is to pull off his game of deceiving the nations because he must not only please the world economically, through a one world government, but he must also please them spiritually. He must be the answer to all of man’s problems. And when he sets himself up as God in the temple he will have fulfilled all he said he was.

In the first 31/2 years there will be a type of peace, in that, the regions of the world will not be warring with each other. It would appear that a new age has dawned. It would have to be this way if Israel is permitted to rebuild the temple and reinstitute the temple sacrifices. The Arab world would never allow such a thing if this antichrist had not solved the problem in the middle east, bringing a sort of peace.

And so, for the first 31/2 years Israel will be permitted to do this as John alludes to in REV 11:1 "I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, "Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the worshipers there."

Here we see the worshippers in place. But the next verse speaks of that time being short lived.

REV 11:2 "But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months."

42 months turns out to be 3 1/2 years which would be the last part of the tribulation, precisely because of what Daniel told us in DAN 9:27 "He will confirm a covenant with the many for one 'seven.' (Or 'week') In the middle of the 'seven' (Or 'week') he will put an end to sacrifice and offering."

So, there will necessarily be the type of peace in the world which will allow Israel to have the temple and the sacrifices for the first half of the tribulation. By the way, this will also allow a time for people in the world to pursue the true gospel during this relative peace.

There are those who believe that the Holy Spirit will be taken out of the world because the Church was taken out. This simply isn’t the case. From a logical stand-point how does one take the Spirit, who is God Himself and omnipresent, out of any place?

It is only through the ministry of the Holy Spirit that people are drawn into the Kingdom of God through faith in Christ. And during this tribulation period there will be people who will come to Christ, even during the first 3 1/2 years.

Most people in the world will fall into the trap of the antichrist who will try to take the place of the true Messiah, but the Spirit will open the eyes of many and they will not succumb to the deception. This can only be a work of the Spirit.

And because of the Spirit’s work in those days, together with the truth of the Gospel being spread, there will be true believers despite the fact that the representative Church system will not welcome them because they will be seen as radicals who will not conform to the antichrist’s deception of accepting all faiths and religions as all being legitimate ways to heaven.

The deception will be great even as we read in MAT 24:24 "For false Christ’s and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect - if that were possible."

But the elect in those days will have the witness of the Spirit and will be sealed for the day of redemption. It is during the latter part of the first 3 1/2 years that things begin to change as far as peace in the world is concerned. It is at this time that the antichrist will begin to show himself for who he truly is and begin to be very intolerant of these people who embrace a Messiah other than himself; the true Messiah, Jesus Christ.

DAN 7:25 "He will speak against the Most High and oppress His saints and try to change the set times and the laws. The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time." (Or for a year, two years and half a year)

This is the beginning of the last 3 1/2 years. It is during this time that some very miraculous things begin to happen to further grip the hearts of those who chose to be deceived.

REV 13:1 "And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name.
2 The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.
3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was astonished and followed the beast.
4 Men worshipped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshipped the beast and asked, "Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?"
5 The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months."

42 months; the last 3 1/2 years will be a time of great distress for those who have embraced Christ and it will also be a time a great tribulation and judgment for the earth. There’s a good chance you and I will know friends and family who will have to live through that time, if Christ raptures us in the near future.

Next week we are going to spend some time examining the last 3 and a half years of the Great Tribulation on this world.

It’s time for the true Church of Jesus Christ to stand firm in the distinct message of the Gospel that stands in stark contrast to all the world offers.

The world offers a false hope of global peace that promotes a spirituality based on anything you want, and yet it will end in great destruction. The apostate church is doing pretty much the same, with the same result.

The time is short. End time prophecies are being fulfilled in our day. From wars and rumors of wars to escalated natural phenomenon which the world can’t seem to explain. The only explanation is that God’s judgment has already started and it’s counting down to His return to this earth.

The only true hope for peace is to embrace our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ who died to pay the penalty of our sins. Jesus has paid the penalty. And He says to all, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (MAT 11:28)