Saturday, September 8, 2012

The Great Tribulation, The False Prophet and the Abomination that Causes Desolation, Perseuction, Fate of the Slain


The Great Tribulation


The Great Tribulation is the three and a half year period in which both Jews and Christians will be persecuted to the greatest extent in history.

Daniel 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.”

Daniel 9:27“He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ 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.”

Daniel 12:7, 11 “…It will be for a time, times and half a time. When the power of the holy people has been finally broken, all these things will be completed…From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days.

Revelation 13:5, 7 – “The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months.”

Remember, the Anti-Christ (Nero) will rule over his empire for seven years but will only begin rebelling against God during the last three and a half years of his reign. The “time” mentioned in Daniel 7:25 and 12:7 is one year, the “times” are two years, and the “half a time” is half of a year, equaling three and a half years, the “middle of the seven” mentioned in Daniel 9:27.


The False Prophet and the Abomination that Causes Desolation


Daniel 8:11It set itself up to be as great as the Prince of the host; it took away the daily sacrifice from him, and the place of His sanctuary was brought low.”

Daniel 9:27“He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ 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.”

Daniel 11:31His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation.”

2 Thessalonians 2:4He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

The Anti-Christ, Nero, will go to the Temple in Jerusalem and proclaim himself to be God. It sounds as if his army will put up a statue of him in the Temple, which is the “abomination that causes desolation” that Jesus spoke about (Matthew 24:15). The key here is to notice that the Temple in Jerusalem has to be rebuilt in order for this to happen. There is no Jewish Temple on the Temple site right now. That site is being occupied by the Muslim Dome of the Rock. So, an important sign to look for will be the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple in its proper location.

The statue, or the abomination that causes desolation, could be the same one that the false prophet is said to put up in Revelation 13.

One thing that will bolster the influence of the Anti-Christ is the presence of miracles surrounding him. As 2 Thessalonians 2:9 reads, The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders…

The first miracle of his coming will be his return from the dead.

Revelation 17:8The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because it once was, now is not, and yet will come.

With the Anti-Christ will be a second figure, his spokesman, or the false prophet.

Revelation 13:13-15 – “And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men. 14 Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed.”

The Anti-Christ’s spokesperson (the “beast coming out of the earth” or the “false prophet”), will perform miracles in order to deceive people into serving the Anti-Christ. He will set up a statue of the Anti-Christ and command people to worship it. Again, my guess is that this statue is the “abomination that causes desolation” that will be set up in the Jerusalem Temple.


Persecution


Matthew 24:15-21 – “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. 17 Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. 19 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.”

Jesus said that when we see the Anti-Christ taking his stand in the Temple, we should flee to the mountains. That will be the sign that the Anti-Christ is about to begin persecuting Christians. The reason it will be difficult for pregnant women and nursing mothers is that they will not be able to run as fast. Being pregnant or having young children to care for will slow them down. If this happens in winter, that will make it more difficult for us to run through the snow and to hide outside in the cold.

Daniel 7:21, 25 – “…waging war against the saints and defeating them… 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.”

Daniel 8:12 – “…the host of the saints and the daily sacrifice were given over to it. It prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground.”

Daniel 8:24 – “…He will destroy the mighty men and the holy people.”

Daniel 11:33 – “Those who are wise will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or plundered.”

Revelation 13:7, 15-17He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them… He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 16 He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, 17 so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.

The Anti-Christ will persecute Jews and Christians more than they ever have been before, killing them and economically oppressing them, not allowing anyone to buy or sell anything if they have not sworn allegiance to him and received his mark.


Fate of the Slain


The Scripture does, however, provide us the comfort of knowing where those slain Christians end up on the other side of the Anti-Christ’s persecution.

Revelation 7:9-17 – After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice:

“Salvation belongs to our God, 
who sits on the throne, 
and to the Lamb.”

11 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying:

“Amen!
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!”

13 Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes —who are they, and where did they come from?”

14 I answered, “Sir, you know.”

And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore,

“they are before the throne of God 
and serve Him day and night in His temple; 
and He who sits on the throne 
will shelter them with His presence. 
16 ‘Never again will they hunger;
never again will they thirst. 
The sun will not beat down on them,’
nor any scorching heat. 
17 For the Lamb at the center of the throne
will be their shepherd; 
‘He will lead them to springs of living water.’ 
‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”



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This blog post is included in my book, Last Days: A Biblical Guide to the End Times.

Last Days: A Biblical Guide to the End Times by [Wilson, Rev. Stephen R.]
Kindle $4.99, Print $7.99


Read the answers to more interesting questions on my Theology 101 - Simple and Surprising Answers to Your Questions! page.






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