Lesson for October 9, 2024
The Rapture to the Eternal State
Lesson 2
The Tribulation
The Tribulation begins immediately after the Rapture of the Church and lasts for seven years. It is the final seven years of Dispensation of Israel, since the Age of Israel was interrupted by the Church Age. Christ offered the millennial kingdom to Israel, and they rejected it and rejected Christ as Messiah. God is now forming a royal family of believers for His Son. The Tribulation begins with only unbelievers left on earth.
Temple worship will be restarted by means of a covenant between Israel and the Antichrist during the first half of the Tribulation. This covenant will be a peace treaty allowing Israel to rebuild their Temple. The promise of world peace will be how the Antichrist seduces people into believing that he is the answer to all their problems. (Daniel 9:27, 11:31; Revelation 11:1-2) During the Tribulation there will be 144,000 Jews who become believers and evangelists for Christ. It is through these Jewish evangelists that many will come to know Christ as Savior. (Revelation 7:1-14)
The book of Revelation is primarily John’s vision of the Tribulation given to him by an angel from God. Revelation chapters 1-3 are messages to certain local churches from Jesus Christ. The Church is not seen after chapter 3. Revelation 4 is a scene in God’s throne room in Heaven. In Revelation 5, John saw a book that was sealed with seven seals that no one was worthy to open until he saw Jesus Christ, Who was worthy to open the sealed book and reveal the contents of the book which describe the events of the coming Tribulation.
In Revelation 6, the first six seals are opened, the first seal is opened and reveals a white horse with a person on it who had a bow and a crown and went out into the earth to conquer the nations. This refers to the peaceful takeover of the world by the Antichrist, which occurs in the first half of the Tribulation. (Matthew 24:5, 24; Mark 13:6; Luke 21:8; I Thessalonians 5:1-3; II Thessalonians 2:3-4; Revelation 19:11-13) The second seal (war) is opened and reveals a red horse, and its rider was given power to take away the peace that will be given by the Antichrist, which occurs in the middle of the Tribulation. When this happens, the killing begins, as nations rise against nations. (Matthew 24:4-8,15; Mark 13:7-14; Luke 21:9-10)
The third seal (famine) is opened and reveals a black horse. The rider will have a pair of scales in his hand. Ezekiel’s prophecy made a statement regarding this seal and the buying of food during this period, which pictures famine and inflation. The control of the world’s money will be in the hand of the Antichrist, and even gold and silver will become worthless. The result will be widespread famine and starvation. (Ezekiel 4:10-16, 7:19)
The fourth seal ((death) is opened and reveals a pale horse. The rider of this horse is the personification of death, and Hades will follow him. The last half of the Tribulation has begun. Power will be given this rider to kill with the sword, with famine, with disease, and with wild beasts. (Ezekiel 14:12-21; Revelation 20:13-14)
The fifth seal (martyrs) is opened and reveals the souls of those who will be martyred during the Tribulation, and their plea for justice upon those who killed them. God’s word to these believers in Heaven is to rest for a while. The answer to their plea will come when Christ avenges the deaths of these faithful believers by sending judgment upon the entire earth. (Revelation 7:9,13)
The sixth seal (terror) is opened and reveals a series of events which will be unleashed upon the earth unlike it has ever experienced. The first of these is an earthquake, the second is the sun is blackened, the third is the moon turns red, the fourth is the stars fall from heaven, the fifth is the sky is “rolled up,” and the sixth is the mountains and the islands being dislodged from their place. These events will be so terrible that men will hide in caves and ask the mountains to fall on them rather than face the wrath of God. (Matthew 24:27-30; Isaiah 2:10-21; Luke 23:28-30)
Revelation 7 is parenthetical in that it occurs sometime during the Tribulation period, but not necessarily chronological. We see 144,000 Jewish believers as witnesses for Christ and a multitude of believers who are saved during the Tribulation. “After this” means that this was a new vision and does not refer to a chronological order of events. John saw four angels stationed at the four corners of the earth, holding back the “four winds” of the earth which is figurative language indicating that these angels are controlling the destructive forces of God’s wrath against the evil forces on earth at this time. However, at this time God is restraining the use of these forces, as indicated by the fact that the angels are holding back the winds so they will not blow. This is confirmed in verse 3 where an angel tells the four angels of destruction not to harm the earth, the sea or the trees until the servants of God have been sealed on their foreheads.
In Revelation 8, a seventh seal will be opened, and silence will be in Heaven for about half an hour. The final judgment is about to take place, and silence will be the response to what is about to happen on earth. Everyone will be in a state of awe and expectation awaiting the retribution from God upon those who killed the martyred believers. The final judgment described here is fulfilled in Revelation 20.
Revelation 9 begins with the blowing of a trumpet, signifying the expulsion of Satan from Heaven. The identification of Satan in this chapter is not hard to make. A star is often used to identify an angel, which in this case is Satan. Revelation 9:1, “Then the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven (Satan) which had fallen to the earth; and the key to the shaft of the abyss was given to him.” Isaiah 14:12, “How you have fallen from heaven, you star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, you who defeated the nations!”
Revelation 10:1 through Revelation 11:14 is parenthetical as John once again paused to record specific events that will take place during the sounding-of-the-trumpet judgments. Up to this point, one half of the world’s population has been destroyed, the remaining unbelievers will be unwilling to change their minds and accept Jesus Christ as Savior. The trumpet judgment of the seventh angel is about to sound, which will culminate in the final destruction of God’s enemies. The Temple will be inhabited by and desecrated by the false messiah (the Antichrist) during this period, and it will be a place where people will worship him and his statue. (Matthew 7:2; Daniel 9:27, 12:11; II Thessalonians 2:4; Revelation 13:14)
The parenthesis ends and trumpet judgments are resumed in Revelation 11:15 with the seventh and final trumpet judgment. The seventh trumpet signals the beginning of the final judgment and return of Jesus Christ to earth to establish His earthly kingdom (the Second Coming). John then described what will follow this final trumpet judgment – the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. The announcement of the final judgment will cause an angelic host to sing a song of rejoicing.
In Revelation 12, John looks back in time and records the initial rebellion of Satan and his attempt to kill the Messiah (Jesus Christ). There are six characters in this chapter: 1) the woman 2) the red dragon 3) the child 4) the archangel 5) Israel and 6) the Jewish remnant.
Revelation 13 describes the beasts that will be Satan’s emissaries on earth during the Tribulation. Satan will be in full control of these two beasts, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet. The Antichrist will dominate the world political system and will in many ways operate much like the ancient Roman Empire. The False Prophet will represent the false religion of Satan worship.
Revelation 14 deals with the ultimate victory of Jesus Christ at the end of the Tribulation. The Lamb Who John saw standing on Mount Zion is Jesus Christ at His Second Coming. With Christ will be the 144,000 witnesses of the Tribulation, who have the name of the Father and the Son written on their foreheads.
Christ’s return will make the angelic host begin making music and singing a song. No doubt this song will be a song of victory for not worshipping the Antichrist. Revelation 14:9-11, gives the results of taking the “mark of the beast.” Those who take this mark will be those who reject Jesus Christ in favor of the false messiah and their fate will be the same as those who follow the false religion – God’s wrath. God’s wrath is illustrated by the judgment of fire in this passage.
In Revelation 15, John saw the sanctuary of the Temple in Heaven opened and seven angels coming out from the sanctuary with the seven plagues. These angels will each be given a symbolic bowl filled with the wrath of God. These bowls will be poured out upon the earth.
Revelation 16 is the administration of the seven bowl plagues. These will be the final judgments of the Tribulation, just before the return of Christ. The plagues of this judgment will be ready to be poured out on the unbelievers of the Tribulation who have rejected Christ in favor of the false messiah and his false religion.
Revelation 16:13-16 is parenthetical describing the reason for the gathering of the nations in the land of Israel for the battle of Armageddon. Revelation 16:18-21 describes the final days of the Tribulation where natural disasters will occur in much greater intensity than ever before in the history of man. Jerusalem will be split into three parts, the city of Babylon will be destroyed, islands will be destroyed, mountains will tumble, and 120-pound hailstones will fall upon people. Through all of this, unbelievers will continue to blaspheme God.
Revelation 17 details the history and fall of religious Babylon (headquarters of the Antichrist) during the Tribulation. Greed will be the order of the day for both the religious and political powers during the last half of the Tribulation. With the final destruction of the Antichrist’s empire, he will only be able to gather what army he has left and make war with Jesus Christ and His army.
In Revelation 18, John observed an angel coming down from Heaven to announce and describe the fall of Babylon. Foul spirits and unclean birds will take up residence in Babylon, demonstrating the desolation of the city.
In Revelation 18:3 nations, kings, and merchants are mentioned as ones who join with Babylon (a representation of the Antichrist, the False Prophet, and heads of various others who join with them) to become rich as a result of their alliance. The destruction of “Babylon” (the alliance) will be to the same degree that they lived a life of luxury and ignored God and glorified themselves and thought they were above everyone. God will give back to them double the sorrow and torment that they gave to others. Revelation chapters 19-22 are events that take place after the Tribulation.