Tribulation- 3

The 2 witnesses. A dearth of End Time teaching.

Handouts: Events during Day of the Lord & Last days of History (basis of Tribulation studies)

Continuing using handout from last week.

Tonight we continue a series of studies based on Daniel’s prophesied 70th week (or the (Great?)Tribulation

God has given us a lot of information of the Tribulation even though we believe Christians will be gone.

Last week we looked at 3 scriptures that express why we believe we will be gone before the Tribulation

We are NOT dogmatic about this.

If you choose to believe in a mid or post tribulation or even in NO rapture …

Let’s agree that the main thing is to be ready AT ALL TIMES for eternity.

We have no guarantee that we will not die before Jesus comes.

So we must ALWAYS be ready.

As David Guzik says in his commentary on Nehemiah 4:19-23 which speaks of how Israel rebuilt the wall around Jerusalem (A great scripture to help us remember how to live in these last days!). He says:

a. The work was great and extensive, and they were separated far from one another: Nehemiah knew they had to keep in communication if the work was going to be done. The trumpets were a new way of communication there to meet the challenge.

b. Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there: They stayed ready to sound the alarm at the slightest notice. They would not be caught off guard!

c. From daybreak until the stars appeared: They dedicated themselves to the work all the more, working hard from sunrise to past dark, even spending the night out at the “job site” to protect against attack.

As John 9:4 (LSB) “We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work.

Guzik, D. (2000). Nehemiah (Ne 4:19–23). David Guzik.

[Israel] kept their clothes on all the time; they did not want to be caught unprepared—always ready to respond to the blast of a trumpet.

Believers need to be armed with the same attitude today; always ready, always clothed with the righteousness of Jesus Christ, always wearing the armor of God, [always armed for combat] ready for that final trumpet blast that will gather us together with our LORD.

Even though we don’t plan to be here (either because of death or because of the rapture) there is value in understanding what the Bible says about end times.

Because there is a purpose for the Tribulation:

Why this terrible period? At least six scriptural reasons are forthcoming:

1. To harvest the crop that has been sown throughout the ages by God, Satan, and mankind. This aspect is so important that our Lord took an entire sermon to discuss it. Portions of His message are as follows:

a. The first part of the sermon proclaimed:

Matthew 13:3–8 (LSB) And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow; 4 and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 “And others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. 6 “But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7 “And others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. 8 “And others fell on the good soil and were yielding a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.

b. The first part of the sermon explained:

Matthew 13:18–23 “18 “Hear then the parable of the sower. 19 “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. 20 “And the one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 “And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the one who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 23 “And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.””

c. The second part of the sermon proclaimed:

Matthew 13:24–30 “ He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 “But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. 26 “But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. 27 “The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 “And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ 29 “But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 ‘Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’””

d. The second part of the sermon explained:

Matthew 13:37–43 “And He answered and said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, 38 and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. 40 “So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. 41 “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, 42 and will throw them into the fiery furnace; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 “Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”

2. To prove the falseness of the Devil's claim.

Since his fall (described in Isa. 14:12-14), Satan has been attempting to convince a skeptical universe that he rather than Christ is the logical and rightful ruler of creation. Therefore, during the Tribulation the sovereign God will give him a free and unhindered hand to make good his boast. Needless to say, Satan will fail miserably!

3. To prepare a great martyred multitude for heaven.

Revelation 7:9 (LSB) After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands;

Revelation 7:14 (LSB) And I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

4. To prepare a great living multitude for the millennium.

Matthew 25:32–34 (LSB) “And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. 34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom, which has been prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

5. To punish unbelieving Gentiles.

Romans 1:18 (LSB) For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,

2 Thessalonians 2:11–12 (LSB) And for this reason God sends upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, 12 in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in unrighteousness.

Revelation 19:15 “And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may STRIKE DOWN THE NATIONS, and He will RULE THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON; and HE TREADS THE WINE PRESS OF THE WRATH OF THE RAGE OF GOD, the Almighty.”

6. To purge Israel

Ezekiel 20:37–38 “And I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant; 38 and I will purge from you the rebels and those who transgress against Me; I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, but they will not enter the land of Israel. Thus you will know that I am Yahweh.”

Zechariah 13:8–9 “And it will be in all the land,” Declares Yahweh, “That two parts in it will be cut off and breathe their last; But the third will be left in it. 9 “And I will bring the third part through the fire And refine them as silver is refined And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are My people,’ And they will say, ‘Yahweh is my God.’””

Malachi 3:3 “And He [God] will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to Yahweh offerings in righteousness.”

So, tonight we continue to study Daniel’s prophesied 70th week.

We believe 69 of the 70 weeks of years have been fulfilled.

AND that we are currently in a pause between the 69th and 70th week.

But we look for events such as the chart on your handout portrays.

Tonight the 6 seals being opened

Events of The Tribulation

We have covered…

The faithful in Christ’s churches will be kept from this time of trial

Lk 21:36; Jn 14:1–3; 2Co 5:2, 4; Php 3:20–21; 1Th 1:10; 4:16–18; 5:8–10; Rev 3:10

Will begin after the restrainer is taken out of the way

2Th 2:6–8

Will begin after the mystery (secret power) of lawlessness intensifies

Jonathan Cahn in his latest book: The Josiah Manifesto: The Ancient Mystery & Guide for the End Times

A DARKNESS HAS COME upon the world.

It is an ancient darkness and yet new in its manifesting.

It is, at the time of this writing, permeating our media, our entertainments, our marketplaces, our schools, our corporations, our public squares, our governments, our culture, our lives.

It is setting in motion the transformation of our society, the overturning of ancient foundations, and the destroying of age-old standards of morality, values, perception, and faith.

It is an unrelenting darkness, one that seeks not only to exist and grow but:

to exercise total dominion,

to force all it touches into submission,

to subjugate language,

to alter perception,

and to bend reality into its image.

It is a darkness that requires every tongue to confess its name and every knee to bow down in its homage.

As for those who would defy or resist its conquest, it seeks to assimilate and transform them or else destroy them, even to destroy their will to resist it. It is a totalitarian darkness. It cannot rest until all lights are extinguished.

Will begin after a great rebellion against the faith occurs

Will begin when the Antichrist (the man of lawlessness) appears

TONIGHT…

Will begin with the opening of the seven seals

The circumstances surrounding [the opening of the book] occur shortly after the Rapture of the church. John has been caught up into heaven (Rev. 4:1), where he has been writing about the marvelous things he sees and hears.

A. The Proclamation

Revelation 5:1–14 (LSB) Then I saw in the right hand of Him who sits on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals. 2 Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to break its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it.

After 6 things John saw in Chapter 4, in Revelation chapter 5 … he now witnesses a seventh event, which causes despair to flood his soul. The crisis of a seven-sealed book is about to begin!

What is this book (really a rolled-up scroll), sealed so securely with seven seals?

Whatever it contained, the scroll was extremely important, for history informs us that under Roman law all legal documents pertaining to life and death were to be sealed seven times.

A number of theologians believe that this is actually the legal title deed to the earth.

Thus the angels' proclamation was, in effect, "Who' is worthy to reclaim the earth's title deed? Who is able to pour out the seven-sealed judgment, to purify this planet, and to usher in the longawaited golden-age millennium?"

Who indeed was worthy?

B. The Investigation

[Already READ] Vs. 3 says: "And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon" (Rev. 5:3).

Let us follow the angel as he begins his threefold search.

1. The search in heaven

Was there any among the redeemed worthy to claim the earth's title deed? There was not!

a. Adam originally possessed this title deed (Gen. 1:28, 29), but was cheated out of it by the Devil (Gen. 3:1-19).

Genesis 1:28–29 (LSB) God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that creeps on the earth.” 29 Then God said, “Behold, I have given to you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has the fruit of the tree yielding seed; it shall be food for you;

b. Noah, the hero of the flood, subsequently became the drunkard of the vineyard, thus disqualifying himself (Gen. 6-9).

c. Abraham, the father of Israel, backslid and went to Egypt temporarily (Gen. 12).

d. David, the man after God's own heart, (1 Sam. 16:7), later broke God's heart through lust and murder (2 Sam. 11).

e. John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, in a moment of weakness doubted that same Messiah (Matt. 11:3).

f. Peter, the "rock," denied his Lord in the hour of need (Matt. 26:70).

g. Paul, perhaps the greatest Christian who ever lived, compromised his testimony (Acts 21).

Acts 21:18–26 (LSB) And the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. 19 And after he had greeted them, he began to relate one by one the things which God did among the Gentiles through his ministry. 20 And when they heard it they began glorifying God; and they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the Law; 21 and they have been told about you, that you are teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs. 22 “What, then, is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. 23 “Therefore do this that we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow; 24 take them and purify yourself along with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads. Then all will know that there is nothing to the things which they have been told about you, but that you yourself also walk orderly, keeping the Law. 25 “But concerning the Gentiles who have believed, we wrote, having decided that they should keep from meat sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from sexual immorality.” 26 Then Paul took the men, and the next day, purifying himself along with them, went into the temple giving notice of the completion of the days of purification, until the sacrifice was offered for each one of them.

2. The search on earth

Who could accomplish in the sinful environment of earth what no man could achieve even in the sinless environment of heaven? Preachers and priests might minister to the earth, and kings rule over sections of it, but claim it they could not!

3. The search under the earth (in hades) If no saint or angel could purify this earth, then certainly no sinner or demon would, even if this were possible!

C. Lamentation

Revelation 5:4 Then I was crying greatly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it.

Why did John weep? Perhaps because (among other things) he realized that the ultimate resurrection and glorification of his own body was directly connected with the removal of the curse placed upon this earth!

(See Romans 8:17-23.)

D. The Manifestation

Revelation 5:5-7 And one of the elders said to me, “Stop crying! Behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the scroll and its seven seals.” 6 Then I saw in the midst of the throne and the four living creatures and in the midst of the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth. 7 And He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sits on the throne.

Who is this heavenly Hero who so boldly removes the scroll from the Father's right hand? We need not speculate for one second about his identity, for He is the Lord Jesus Christ himself! The proof is overwhelming.

1. He has the characteristics of a lamb.

Our Lord is referred to as a lamb twenty-nine times in the New Testament. In all but one instance (1 Pet. 1:19) it is the Apostle John who employs this title. Furthermore,

a. It is a pet lamb.

There are two words for "lamb" in the Greek New Testament. One is amnos (a lamb in general) and the other is arnion (a special household pet lamb). Here in Revelation 5:6 the second Greek word is used. For a related Old Testament passage, see 2 Samuel 12:1-4.

2 Samuel 12:1–4 (LSB) Then Yahweh sent Nathan to David. And he came to him and said, “There were two men in one city, the one rich and the other poor. 2 “The rich man had a great many flocks and herds. 3 “But the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb Which he bought and nourished; And it grew up together with him and his children. It would eat his morsel of bread and drink of his cup and lie in his bosom, And was like a daughter to him. 4 “Now a visitor came to the rich man, And he was unwilling to take from his own flock or his own herd, To prepare for the traveler who had come to him; Rather he took the poor man’s ewe lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”

b. It is a slain lamb.

Here the Greek word for slain is sphatto, and refers to a violent death of some sort.

The same word is found in the following passage: ". . . we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother" (1 John 3:11, 12).

The word sphatto is found only seven times in the New Testament, and four of these usages refer to the death of Christ (Rev. 5:6, 9, 12; 13:8).

c. It is an all-powerful lamb.

The lamb is pictured as possessing seven horns, which in biblical symbolic language refers to power and authority.

d. It is an all-knowing lamb.

The lamb is pictured as possessing seven eyes, referring to perfect knowledge and wisdom.

2. He has the characteristics of a lion.

John calls him "The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David," and so He is. Three key Bible chapters explain this title.

a. In Genesis 49 the dying Jacob predicted that Judah, his fourth son, would be like a lion, and that the later kings of Israel, including Christ himself, would come from his tribe (Gen. 49:8-10).

b. In 2 Samuel 7 God told David (who was of the tribe of Judah) that his kingdom would be eternal and that his household would rule forever (2 Sam. 7:8-17).

c. In Luke 1 the angel Gabriel explained to Mary (who was of the house of. David) that her virgin-born son would inherit all the Old Testament promises as found in Genesis 49 and 2 Samuel 7 (Luke 1:30-33).

Thus John sees Christ as a Lamb, since He once came to redeem His people. This was His past work.

John also sees Him as a lion, for He shall come again to reign over his people.

This will be His future work.

The source of His claim to the earth's scepter is therefore related to his slain Lamb characteristics while the strength of his claim is due to his mighty Lion characteristics!

E. The Adoration

Revelation 5:9-14 And when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one having a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the scroll and to open its seals, because You were slain and purchased for God with Your blood people from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. 10 “And You made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign upon the earth.” 11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.” 13 And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be the blessing and the honor and the glory and the might forever and ever.” 14 And the four living creatures kept saying, “Amen.” And the elders fell down and worshiped.

The Seals Opened

Rev 6:1 - 8:1