CRBC Wednesday Night Bible Study: 11/15/2006

“Events In And Relating To The Book Of Revelation: Lesson 3”

Various Scriptures

Introduction

While the church (those who accepted the Lord as their Savior and were taken to Heaven at the Rapture) is experiencing the Judgment Seat Of Christ and the Marriage Feast Of The Lamb in Heaven, a much different series of events will be experienced by those who are left behind on the earth. This is what is commonly known as the Tribulation period.

Even with trying to hit the “high points” of this period, there is still a lot to cover. I will try to break down everything into detail for you so that you can get as clear a picture as possible of what will be happening.

I. Where the Tribulation fits in end-times prophecy (Daniel 9:21-27- “²¹Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. ²²And he informed me , and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. ²³At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee ; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision. ²⁴Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. ²⁵Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. ²⁶And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. ²⁷And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”)

A. There are two groups that we need to be aware of: the church and the Jews.

1. From the beginning of Scripture, the Jews were God’s chosen people. God took care of them throughout Scripture. He sent the Messiah to them. However, they rejected the Messiah.

2. When this happened, God ceased to work specially with Israel and began calling to Himself a new group of people who would believe on His Son and be saved. These people make up the church.

3. However, God did not forget His promises to Israel. He didn’t abandon them completely.

B. Let’s take a look at what is commonly know as “Daniel’s 70 Weeks”.

1. This was a prophecy specifically concerned with Israel given by God to Daniel. (vs. 24- “thy people” and “thy holy city”)

2. “weeks” = “sevens” (vs. 24-27)

1. Sometimes “a week” in Scripture refers to a period of 7 years rather than 7 days. The context of the passage determines which one is meant.

2. In this passage, it is clear that years are being talked about. (Daniel 9:2- “In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.”) Thus, if each “week” is 7 years, then 70 weeks = 490 years.

3. Daniel was told that, from the commandment to rebuild Jerusalem until the Messiah would be “seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks” (vs. 25)

a. “threescore” = 60

b. 7 + 60 + 2= 69 “weeks”

4. At this point, the Messiah will be “cut off”. (vs. 26)

a. This is when the Messiah is rejected by Israel and crucified on the cross of Calvary.

b. This is when God’s clock in his plan for Israel stopped and He began to call the church to Himself.

5. Notice that there is one “week” left to completely fulfill the prophecy for Israel that God gave to Daniel. That week is the 7-year Tribulation period, and it is still in the future.

a. The tribulation is commonly divided into 2 parts: the “Tribulation” and the “Great Tribulation”. (vs. 27)

b. Also notice that, while God will once again be specifically dealing with Israel during this time, He will also be dealing with those left behind who never accepted Him as their Personal Savior.

II. The Judgments Of The Tribulation

A. These judgments will have 2 purposes:

1. A just punishment for people living in blatant rebellion to God.

2. A last attempt to bring these people to repentance of their sin and acceptance of Jesus as their Savior and Lord.

1. Sadly, the vast majority of these people will never repent. During the tribulation, there will be a “strong delusion” that will keep them from accepting the truth. (II Thessalonians 2:11- “And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:”) (Revelation 6:15-17 – “¹⁵And 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; ¹⁶And 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: ¹⁷For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?”)

B. The Seal Judgments (Revelation 5:5- “And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.”)

1. Seal #1: conquest (white horse)

1. The rider of the white horse here is not Christ. Rather, it is the Antichrist. He presents himself as the only one powerful enough to make world peace. (Revelation 6:1-2 – “¹And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. ²And 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.”) (Matthew 24:4-5 – “⁴And Jesus answered and said unto them, "Take heed that no man deceive you. ⁵For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.”)

2. Seal #2: war (red horse) (Revelation 6:3-4 – “³And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. ⁴And 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.”) (Matthew 24:6- “And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.”)

3. Seal #3: famine (black horse) (Revelation 6:5-6 – “⁵And 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. ⁶And 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.”) (Matthew 24:7- “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.”)

1. Scales were used to weigh food. The prices in the verses were VERY high for that time, reflecting a shortage of food.

4. Seal #4: death (pale horse) (Revelation 6:7-8 – “⁷And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. ⁸And 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.”) (Matthew 24:8-9 – “⁸All these are the beginning of sorrows. ⁹Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my names sake.”)

1. This refers to the persecution of the Jews.

*These 4 judgments will kill ¼ of the world’s entire population.

5. Seal #5: Christian martyrs cry out for God to avenge their deaths (Revelation 6:9-11 – “⁹And 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: ¹⁰And 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? ¹¹And 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.”)

6. Seal #6: natural disasters (Revelation 6:12-14 – “¹²And 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; ¹³And 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. ¹⁴And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.”)

*Revelation chapter 7 is a pause between the 6^th and 7^th seals.

God’s people will be comforted. The 144,000 Jewish evangelists

will proclaim the Gospel throughout the earth, and many will be

saved. (vs. 9, 10, 13, & 14- “⁹After this I beheld, and, lo, a great

multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds,

and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the

Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; ¹⁰And

cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth

upon the throne, and unto the Lamb… ¹³And one of the elders

answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white

robes? and whence came they? ¹⁴And I said unto him, Sir, thou

knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great

tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the

blood of the Lamb.”)

7. Seal #7: The 7 trumpets (Revelation 8:1-2 – “¹And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. ²And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.”)

1. The half-hour silence in Heaven was for those in Heaven to contemplate the rest of God’s plan.

C. The Trumpet Judgments

1. Trumpet #1: 1/3 of all trees & green grass burnt (Revelation 8:7- “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.”)

2. Trumpet #2: 1/3 of the seas turned to blood, 1/3 of marine life destroyed, and 1/3 of ships destroyed (Revelation 8:8-9 – “⁸And 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; ⁹And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.”)

3. Trumpet #3: 1/3 of the remaining water turned bitter & useless (Revelation 8:10-11 – “¹⁰And 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; ¹¹And 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.”)

4. Trumpet #4: 1/3 of the sun, moon, and stars darkened (Revelation 8:12- “¹²And 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.”)

5. Trumpet #5: creatures torment unbelievers for 5 months (Revelation 9:1-11 – “¹And 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. ²And 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. ³And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. ⁴And 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. ⁵And 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. ⁶And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. ⁷And 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. ⁸And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. ⁹And 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. ¹⁰And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. ¹¹And 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.”)

6. Trumpet #6: 1/3 of remaining world’s population killed (Revelation 9:13-21 – “¹³And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, ¹⁴Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. ¹⁵And 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. ¹⁶And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. ¹⁷And 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. ¹⁸By 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. ¹⁹For 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. ²⁰And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: ²¹Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.”)

*Revelation 10-11:14 is a pause between the 6^th and 7^th trumpets.

Two witnesses will appear. (Many think they will be Moses and

Elijah.) Satan will kill them, and the world will rejoice. But

then, God will bring them back to life and take them to Heaven.

This will terrify those who were celebrating not long before.

7. Trumpet #7: The 7 vials (Revelation 16:1- “And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.”)

D. The Vial (Bowl) Judgments

1. Vial #1: painful sores on unbelievers (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.”)

2. Vial #2: entire sea turned to blood and every living thing in the sea destroyed (Revelation 16:3- “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.”)

3. Vial #3: remaining water turned to blood (Revelation 16:4- “And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.”)

4. Vial #4: the sun scorches men (Revelation 16:8-9 – “⁸And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. ⁹And 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.”)

5. Vial #5: darkness and pain (Revelation 16:10- “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,”)

6. Vial #6: Euphrates river dries up (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.”)

7. Vial #7: thunder, lightning, earthquake, and hail (Revelation 16:17-21 – “¹⁷And 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. ¹⁸And 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. ¹⁹And 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. ²⁰And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. ²¹And 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.”)

Conclusion

I don’t know about you, but this is not the place I want to be during these 7 years. God’s wrath is certainly a terrible thing to have to experience! Next week we’ll finish looking at the Tribulation period by studying the main characters of that time. Then, all that remains is the Battle of Armageddon, the 2^nd Coming Of Christ, the Millennium, and the Great White Throne Judgment.