On earth, during the Tribulation period, God is pouring out His wrath on a reprobate humanity while showing that He already sent the Messiah and the Jews rejected Him.
It's important to note that God always deals with humanity through their false gods. Today's society worships evolution, nature, and self, and therefore God goes after those things to show that He is more powerful than their fake deities.
There are two distinct time periods during this seven year time frame. The first is just the Tribulation; the second is the Great Tribulation. Both have their own horrors, but the last three-and-a-half years will be dreadful! Revelation seems to repeat itself, however it appears that things are either mentioned twice or the "judgments" are repeated in each of the timeframes. Like much in the Bible, it will really only be understood by those who go through it, or those who are looking back after it has already happened.
After millions disappear, God begins showing Himself greater than nature and humanity. Revelation 6 kinda boils it all down.
Revelation 6:2-8- And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
These verses deal with the first half where the Man of Sin shows up followed by war, famine, and death. This rider on the white horse is not the Lord. This rider has a bow, but no arrows- he obtains the kingdom through flatteries. When Christ shows up it's with a sword.
Daniel 11:21- And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
Psalms 55:20-21- He hath put forth his hands against such as be at peace with him: he hath broken his covenant. The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords.
He rules with ten kings. The ten toes in Daniel's prophecy. They will be present, but it's not certain whether they gain their power during the entire Tribulation period or just at the last half.
Revelation 17:12-13- And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
While this is happening, God raises up the 144,000 Jewish male virgins and seals them in their foreheads. The Jehovah's Witnesses like to claim they are part of that number, but they aren't reading the words by which John describes them.
Revelation 14:1,4- And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.
These are Jewish males who are virgins that have been sealed by God during the Tribulation!
Revelation 7:2-4- And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
These go about preaching during the first half of the Tribulation.
Up until this point there is a uniting of the earth's governments into a global conglomerate. The Man of Sin will either be in charge or near the very top. You will see an emergence of global digital banking, the Jewish temple rebuilt, and a push to a one world government controlled by a select few.
There will be bad stuff, but not the mark of the beast or forced idol worship by threat of death- that comes in the second half. You're going to need to learn to pray!
In the middle of the Tribulation, two events occur that kick off the Great Tribulation, and I'm not entirely certain which of them will happen first. There will be another rapture of Mid-Tribulation Saints who are guests at the wedding in heaven, and the Man of Sin will be Assassinated and then will resurrect as the AntiChrist being possessed by Satan himself.
Zechariah 11:17- Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.
We don't know exactly how he is killed, but we do know that it will make his right eye and right arm completely useless.
Revelation 13:1-3- And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
This ties in with one of Daniel's visions. It's amazing how some of these things were spoken of years before Christ came the first time!
Revelation 6:9-17- And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
Revelation 12:17-And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
The fury with which he comes back is pure evil.
Now begins the Great Tribulation where the AntiChrist will enter the rebuilt Jewish temple and will sit on the Mercy Seat proclaiming that he is God and will demand worship.
The Beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit with all the mutant monsters is the spirit that indwells the body of the Man of Sin. He is also known by two other names.
Revelation 9:11- And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
He will erect an image and institute a mark, and those who dare to rebel against him will be killed.
Revelation 13:16-18- And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
Revelation 13:7- And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
It's dreadful to think that technology has gotten so advanced that it will be hard to run. And the Lord gives the devil the power to appear to be winning. Many Christ followers will be killed.
He doesn't stand alone. Besides his ten mutants, he also has two other beasts that encourage and enable him.
Revelation 13:4-6- And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
Forty-two months. Three and a half years. This will feel like the longest time!
Revelation 13:11-15- And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
So we have the first beast (the AntiChrist), a second beast (false prophet) who is his religious leader, and a dragon (spiritual entity that inhabits an image) which he demands everyone fall down and worship. It's a Satanic trinity.
But taking the mark and worshipping this image will come at a cost both while living on the earth and in eternity.
Revelation 14:9-11- And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
There will be human sacrifice, even more destruction of nature, mutant monsters unleashed on the earth, and even more famine and war.
Revelation 8:7-12- The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up. And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed. And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter. And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
It's not a pretty picture. Things have been bad up to this point, but not despairingly. Most of the vegetation will be destroyed, which in turn will cause the land animals to die. There goes the food supply. The seas and oceans will be turned to bitterness and the fish will die. There goes the water supply. And the heavenly bodies are darkened. There goes the light. To say that depression will be rampant is an understatement!
What do you think people will consume when there is no food left? The answer is each other. What will they drink when there is no water. The answer is blood.
Proverbs 30:14- There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.
Micah 3:2-3- Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones; Who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them; and they break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron.
This isn't just prose or analogy, it's very literal. The poor and needy are the people who refuse to take the Mark, and therefore cannot buy food.
God is going to pour out judgment on those who have taken the mark. This will touch humanity.
Revelation 16:2- And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.
They will be living in a destroyed world with no food or water and full of bodily disease- probably a type of leprosy- all because they bowed to the Devil's demands. Everything that God does has a reason- cause and effect, sowing and reaping. And this effect is reaping the wrath of God.
Revelation 16:3-6- And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea. And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
There is darkness that can be felt for the majority of the day, but when the sun does shine it's an angry ball of furious flame that's hotter than normal.
Revelation 16:8-11- And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory. And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.
If that wasn't bad enough, there's going to be mutant monsters that creep about and attack.
Revelation 16:12- And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
Revelation 9:1-6- And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
Terrifying, yes. But they aren't the only mutants released. There are two specific, different ones.
Revelation 9:7-10- And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.
One have faces of men and tails of scorpions. They are described as locust and are probably pretty small, meaning they can get into places where people may try to hide.
Revelation 9:13-19- And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.
The second has heads of lions that breathe fire, and tails like serpents. They're said to be an army of 200,000 led by four angels. They're probably large, like the size of horses, and will be able to move quickly after their prey.
While all this craziness is happening around the world. There is an angel preaching and there are two witnesses in Jerusalem preaching and calling down more plagues- Moses and Elijah.
Revelation 14:6-7- And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
The Everlasting Gospel is basically worship God as Creator. Why? Because they're teaching and promoting evolution- another false diety.
Malachi 4:4-5- Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
Revelation 11:3-6- And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.
Moses and Elijah show up in the AntiChrist's back yard just causing chaos! If you read in the book of Daniel, you'll see that there are some rebel fighters out there making it difficult all over the place. All this opposition will make the AntiChrist quite furious!
The AntiChrist will be turning on his own at this point. First, his religious church system will be destroyed by the ten kings that rule with him. Then, he will have three of his mutant comrades turn on him.
The Bible describes this church as a woman. It may be figuratively, or it may just be literally. The world seems to want a woman to worship; they're already worshiping Mary. So why wouldn't the devil capitalize on that? Perhaps there will be a woman pope in the future.
Revelation 17:3-6- So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
Revelation 18:24- And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.
The ten kings go after the religious system, and the AntiChrist either doesn't stop them or he can't.
Revelation 17-16-17- And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
Daniel is where we find the prophecy of three of his mutant kings getting struck down.
Daniel 7:8,24- I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.
Whether they betray him, or it is in response to the destruction of his religious system we aren't told. But the Bible foretells that he's going to take out three of his kings.
Lastly, the AntiChrist will turn his fury to the two witnesses and strike them down.
Revelation 11:7-10- And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.
Just as the AntiChrist is thinking he's finally winning, a final rapture (the post-tribulation rapture) happens. Moses and Elijah resurrect and are taken to heaven along with the souls that the AntiChrist has trapped under the altar.
Revelation 11:11-13- And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.
Now the AntiChrist is in a frenzied fury. He will call the armies of the earth to gather to fight with him against Christ. He will actually have them thinking they can win.
Revelation 16:13,14,16- And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
Armageddon is where Christ destroys them and feeds them to the birds- literally!
Revelation 19:17-19- And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
When Christ's feet touch the earth, there will be no fighting. It will be like a nuclear explosion!
Zechariah 14:3-4,12- Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
The armies of heaven will follow and will march over the entire earth destroying all that would dare to stand against the Lord Jesus Christ.
Revelation 16:17-21- And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
Then, Christ will judge the beast and the false prophet by casting them in a literal lake of fire on earth.
Revelation 19:20-21- And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
Lastly, he will bind Satan for a thousand years.
Revelation 20:1-3- And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
It all ends with Christ setting up His millennial kingdom. Where he reigns for a thousand years on the earth in a physical kingdom. The earth will be regenerated like the garden of Eden, and people will live for hundreds of years.
Zechariah 14:9- And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.
