“The Amazing Prophecies of the End
Times”
Sermon
# 5
“The Tribulation”
Matt
24, Rev.6, 8-9, 16
It started the day everybody
disappeared, well not everybody disappeared but a lot of people did. And from there it
went from bad to worse. No one was sure who was simply missing and who had been lost in
the tragedies that followed the disappearances. Those who remembered September 11th tried
to draw comparisons but that event paled in comparison with what happened this time. To
start with over a billion people just disappeared. Which in itself was unsettling until
you realized the implications of aircraft suddenly without pilots crashing into buildings,
buses whose drivers suddenly disappeared, millions of cars driving at highway speeds now
without drivers and tankers and container ships without helmsman?
The devastation
was felt world wide, there wasn’t even one country that had been spared. People didn’t
know if their loved ones had disappeared or were victims of the devastation that followed
the disappearance. Emergency crews were taxed beyond belief, cleanup efforts were stymied
globally chaos reigned. To make matters worse many of the organizations and relief
agencies that would normally have stepped in to provide help had virtually disappeared
themselves. Sure the organizations were there, but there was nobody to man them, and if
they had personnel they didn’t have money because most of their donors were gone.
Then came the
conflict, countries and nations blaming each other for the devastation, and with no voice
of reason to be heard it wasn’t long before words became action and all the various
factions were fighting amongst themselves and then it was just a matter of time until the
conflict reached around the globe. In the past there had been wars called world wars
because they involved so many countries, but never before in history had there been a war
that involved every nation on the earth.
When the toll of
the combat was added to the devastation that had already rocked our planet it wasn’t
long before crops began to fail because the resources were being poured into trying to
deal with casualties and fatalities from both combat and catastrophe. Famine spread across
the world, the most essential foods became out of reach for all but the wealthiest people.
And so it was only a natural consequence that added to the chaos, confusion and hunger was
disease. The fatalities were piling up, literally piling up as the resources weren’t
there even in the prosperous countries to deal with death on this scale. As decomposition
began to set in all kinds of sickness followed, cholera, malaria, aids. And it seemed as
if the most compassionate of the health givers had disappeared in the initial event.
Before the wars, famine and plagues were over another billion people had died. And so this
was the beginning of the end of the world as we know it.
And then it was
as if the earth itself turned against humanity. Earthquakes, eclipses, meteorite showers,
salt water fish dying and fresh water supplies becoming unfit to drink, and the bugs, ugly
bugs. Millions of locusts swarming across the earth eating everything in sight and the
stings, the stings hurt like blazes and there was nothing that could be done.
And that was
only the beginning. As food and resources became scarce any feeling of generosity began to
fade and the countries that had reserves held onto them for their people alone. Well if
your people are starving and those with the food won’t give it to you then you have
to take it, and so an army of 200 million troops began to move. Before the conflict was
finished another billion people had died.
And into this
conflict stepped one man, one man who promised to restore peace, one man who promised to
feed the hungry and take care of the sick. And he did. Not just in one country or a few
countries but all over the world he restored order out of chaos, it had to be a miracle.
And it was acknow-edged as such. People came to view the man as more then a leader, more
even then the deliverer, to people all over the world he became a messiah.” [Denn
Guptill. “The Tribulation, Not A Good Thing.” Rev. 6:12-17. www.sermoncentral.com]
In the last two sermons in our series “The Amazing Prophecies of the End Times”
we have been looking at where the Church
will be and what the Church will be doing
during the Tribulation is taking place on the earth. It is worthy of note that there is no
mention of he Church as existing on earth during the tribulation period. From Chapter four
of Revelation through the end of the book, the Church is not mentioned at all in regard to
the predicted events on planet Earth.
One problem in dealing with a subject such as
this is, how comprehensive do you want to be? The course of events of the Tribulation are
divided into three sets of seven, seven seal
judgments, seven trumpet judgments and
seven bowl judgments. It sounds as if we
could then say that there will be a total of twenty-one judgments but this is not the
case. Because to make things a little more confusing the seventh seal consists of the
seven trumpet judgments and the seventh trumpet consists of the seven bowl judgments.
The best analogy of the possibilities of that
day that I have read was offered by Dr. David L. Cooper as “in
a fireworks display, bright objects will scatter through the heavens in proper sequence
and then suddenly one will explode into seven others. Then, just when they are almost gone
one of them bursts into several more.” [as
quoted by Tim LaHaye. Revelation Unveiled. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999) p. 138]
After working for a while on this sermon I
looked at my notes to discover that I had 24 pages of notes, so I have had to back up and
try to give you a broad overview of the Tribulation Period. So what I want us to do this
evening is to examine five common questions that one might ask about The Tribulation.
· What Is It?
· When Will It Begin?
· What Will Happen?
· What Is Its Purpose?
· How will It End?
First, What Is It?
But what is the event called “The
Great Tribulation.” It is a seven year period of unparalleled fear, despair and
destruction.
Matthew 24:41 states “such
as not been since the beginning of the world until this time.”
The time framework is found in Daniel
9:24-27, a framework for what is called “Daniel’s seventieth week.”
Understanding what Daniel 70th week is will answer the question, “Why do you say the Tribulation will last seven
years?” Daniel was informed by God
that he (God) had appointed 70 weeks to finish the trans-gression of the Jews – in
other words, to finally bring the Jews to himself for all of eternity. Almost all
conservative prophetic scholars agree that these 70 weeks were not seven day weeks, but
rather weeks of years. Since the death of Christ on the cross and the beginning of
the Church age, God has been dealing with the Church not the Jews. When the church is
removed at the Rapture God will once again turn his attention to the Jews. Since 69 weeks
have already been fulfilled in Israel’s history that leaves one week, seven years
that are yet to be fulfilled. That is where we get the seven years of the Great
Tribulation period.
Secondly, When Will It Begin?
The actual event that inaugurates the
Tribulation is found in Daniel 9:27 when the Anti-Christ “the
ruler who will come,” makes a covenant with Israel for seven years. We do not know exactly when this ruler who will
become known as the “Anti-Christ” will come on the scene. But apparently he will
really come to the forefront when all the Christians disappear in the Rapture. Here will
be a man who seems at least to have all the answers to the worlds problems. But the real
problems will come when the “Anti-Christ” makes a treaty with Israel. It is only
after this time that he will really begin to reveal himself.
Third, What Will Happen?
In Matt 24 Jesus gives the general outline of
the great Tribulation in Matt 24, the first three and half years are described in verses
4-14, and the second three and a half, in verses 15-31. Revelation (chap. 6-19)
contain the most detailed descriptions of all
regarding this time.
· The
First Half (3 ½ years)
Tremendous worldwide deception (Matt 24:3-5, Rev 6:2)
“Now as He sat on the Mount of
Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things
be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (4) And
Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. (5) For many
will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.”
Tremendous worldwide violence. (wars and rumors of wars, Matt 24:6)
“And you will hear of wars and
rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is
not yet. (7) For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom
against kingdom.”
Tremendous
worldwide disasters
(Matt
24:7, Rev 6:8)
“And there will be famines,
pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.”
*famine
Of this time of famine Revelation 6:6 states “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a
denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine." The
description of these days is that a “measure” -
enough food for one meal for one person will cost a “denarius”
– one day’s wages. A person will have to
work all day to earn enough for one meal for one person. But at the same time the famine
does not affect “the oil and the wine” –
these are the luxury foods of the rich.
*pestilence
*plagues and epidemics
*earthquakes
Earthquakes of
course are nothing new but, in Matthew 24 Jesus refers to the signs of the end of the age
as “as the beginning of sorrows” (v.8) or
literally as the birth pangs.
As any mother can tell you the significance
of labor pains is not merely their presence but when they become more and more intense and
they come closer and closer together. Between 1900 and 1970 there were 37 severe
earthquakes reported. From 1971 to 1980, there were 56. In the 1980’s there were 74.
From 1990 to 1995 there were 125 “killer” earthquakes of 6.5 or more on the
Richter scale.
One-fourth of the population of the earth
dies by means of sword (war), hunger (famine), death (by plague and disease) and by wild
beast. Using present population figures that would mean that about one and a half billion people would die.
· The
Second Half (3 ½ years)
Jesus predicted that the second half of the
Tribulation would be worse than the first.
Three very significant events are predicted
for this period.
The
Abomination of Desolation
(Matt 24:15)
“Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of
by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him
understand).”
Cataclysmic events in the Universe (Matt 24:29)
“Immediately after the
tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”
Revelation 6:12-14 describes these cataclysmic events in even
more stark detail. “I looked when He opened the sixth seal,
and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair,
and the moon became like blood. (13) And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig
tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. (14) Then the sky receded as
a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place.”
While the earth is going through tremendous
vibrations, the sun will be darkened as if almost black and the moon will turn blood red.
The word translated “stars” in (v. 13) could also
be translated Meteors. We are told here (v. 14) that the sky literally rolls up on itself,
could this me a nuclear explosion? This
catastrophe will apparently bring about fantastic physical changes to the earth as we know
it.
The
Coming Of Jesus (Matt 24:30-31)
“Then the sign of the Son of
Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will
see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (31) And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and
they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the
other.”
Fourth, What Is It’s Purpose?
· Judge the world for it sin.
· Unparalleled Evangelization
Most
reject (Rev 9:20)
“But the rest of mankind, who
were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they
should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can
neither see nor hear nor walk.”
Many
will accept and be saved (Rev 7:9)
“After these things I looked,
and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples,
and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes,
with palm branches in their hands.”
Some might suggest, “Then I will just wait unto then to be saved?”
There are couple of things you might want to consider before making that decision, (1) you
don’t know you will live until then and (2) Rev 7:9 describes the saints as standing
around the throne, “How do you think they got there, they died for their faith.”
· Conversion of the Jews
(Ezek 20:34, Romans 11:26-27)
“And so all Israel will be
saved, as it is written:“ The Deliverer will come out of Zion,
And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; (27) For this is My covenant with
them, When I take away their sins.”
So for three reasons the unbelievers
After all the all purpose of the seven year
tribulation period is to finish God’s dealing with Israel.
Fifth, How Will It End?
The conclusion of
the Tribulation will be when Jesus returns and claims the whole earth for his kingdom (Rev
11:15). The Unrepentant are then judged (Rev 11:18) and the believers are glorified.
Conclusion
Dr. George Sweeting, past president of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, used to tell of the day he noticed an unusual combination of bumper stickers on the car of a man who was visiting the school. The coincidental message conveyed by the combination of the two bumper stickers prompted Dr. Sweeting to suggest to the unsuspecting man that he might want to remove one of the two bumper stickers on his car. One read: “Jesus is Coming!” And the other read “Escape to Wisconsin!” The only escape from the coming tribulation is identification with Jesus as your personal savior now!!!