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AN INTRODUCTION TO THE “TRIBULATION”
Daniel 9, Matthew 24-25, Revelation 6-19
Bob Bonner
December 4, 2005
When teaching others how to study the Bible for themselves, I continually emphasize the importance of keeping the historical as well as the present literary context of a passage in mind. When studying a book of the Bible or a specific passage in the Bible, one can easily get so caught up in the minutiae, the details of a passage that one forgets the bigger picture of Scripture, which in turn can lead to wrong interpretations and conclusions from the passage. This couldn’t be more true than when people attempt to read and interpret the book of Revelation.
The book of Revelation was not written in a historic or prophetic vacuum. In fact, Revelation is the final piece to a historic-prophetic picture that makes sense of the complete story of the human race. Hence, if we are going to understand Revelation, and especially chapters 6-19, we must understand the historic-prophetic backdrop in which it is set.
This morning, my goal is different for this message than most messages. Although we will attempt to make a personal application from our study today, that will not be our main emphasis. It cannot be our main emphasis due to our time constraints and the complex nature of the next major section of Revelation, chapters 6-19. Our goal for this morning is to set the historic-prophetic backdrop for what Jesus Christ is about to share with us from these chapters. Without this backdrop, all of what we will be studying in the weeks ahead could be quite confusing.
There are several Old Testament prophets whom God used to give us specific details as to the future of our world, but none more important that Daniel. For our purposes this morning, we are going to confine our establishing of the historic-prophetic backdrop of Revelation 6-19 to Daniel 9:24-27 and a brief mentioning of Jesus Christ’s comments from His final great public sermon, the Olivet Discourse, found in Matthew 24-25.
Daniel 9:24-27 gives us a prophetic skeleton of the end times. It answers a question Daniel raises in 9:1-23, concerning when God will restore the nation of Israel to a place of prominence.
Again, historical perspective is important. In 586 B.C., the nation of Israel fell to the armies of Babylon and the peoples were taken into exile. Before the exile, the prophet Jeremiah, speaking on God’s behalf, told the nation that this exile was God’s discipline against the nation of Israel for having turned its back on God. But God also, through Jeremiah, told the nation that its exile would only last 70 years.
In 539 B.C., the Medo-Persians, led by Darius, overthrew the Babylonian empire. This momentous event signaled that the exile was almost over and prepared the way for Israel’s return to the land. In light of these events, Daniel prays to God, in verses 1-23. The question foremost on Daniel’s mind was would God, out of mercy and in response to Israel once again seeking His face in obedience, now fulfill His promise to return Israel to the promised land? If so, what would it look like? What did the future hold for the nation of Israel?
God did not delay in answering Daniel’s prayer. In fact, the angel Gabriel, in verses 20-23, interrupts Daniel’s prayer to give him God’s answer. God’s answer is found in 9:24-27, in which God reveals His skeleton future program for Israel, from this time forward until they enter into the covenanted kingdom on earth, under which the Messiah will reign. Later, we will see how Revelation 6-19 and Matthew 24-25 fill in the specific details to Daniel’s general outline of future events.
Here is God’s response to Daniel’s prayer: “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place. So you are to know and discern that, from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.”
Verse 24 gives us the historical scope of this prophecy. God tells Daniel and us that this prophecy will cover a period of time known as “seventy weeks” or more literally, “seventy sevens.” Since Daniel had been thinking of God’s program of 70 years of exile, it’s natural to assume that he understood these “sevens” to refer to years. In other words, the scope of this prophecy is 70 times seven years, or 490 Jewish calendar years. I mentioned Jewish calendar years, because according to the Jewish calendar, their years are only 360 days long, in comparison to our calendar, which is 365 days long. This difference in calendars is important to understand, because it figures prominently in the calculations of many very specific prophesies, as you will see.
Also, since this prophecy concerned “your people and your holy city” it is important to keep in mind that the focus of this prophecy is not world history or church history, but the history of the nation Israel and, in particular, the city of Jerusalem.
According to this verse, by the time these 490 years run their course, God will have completed six prophecies concerning Israel. The first three have to do with Israel’s sin, and the second three have to do with their kingdom. The basis of the first three was provided in the work of Christ on the cross, but all six will be realized by the time Christ comes a second time to establish His kingdom on earth.
Allow me to skip the first three prophecies and highlight the last three as those which most affect our study of Revelation. Being satisfied by the death of Christ on the cross, God says that He will “bring everlasting righteousness.” More literally, the Hebrew states that God will “bring in righteousness of ages.” In other words, God will establish an age or a period of time that is characterized by righteousness.
Next, God says that He will “seal up vision and prophecy.” By the time that these 490 years are complete, all of the prophecies concerning the nation of Israel will be fully realized. At that time, the world as we know it, will have come to an end and right after that, Israel will experience its “righteous kingdom on earth.”
With that righteous kingdom coming to earth, God says that He will “anoint the Most Holy” which I take to mean that God will anoint and enthrone the Messiah, Jesus, as the righteous King to rule over the “Kingdom of Righteousness.”
In verse 25, we are given the date of the beginning of the “seventy weeks” as well as the event that will begin the first 69 weeks (7 weeks plus 62 weeks) which, according to the Jewish calendar, is equivalent to 483. The “seventy weeks” begins with the “issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem.” Historically, we know that this decree was given by King Artaxerxes on March 5, 444 B.C..
At the end of this 69 weeks, which is the seven weeks plus 62 weeks, “Messiah, the Prince” would appear. This refers to Jesus Christ’s first coming. In fact, to the very day for Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, Christ fulfilled this prophecy. When computed according to the Jewish Calendar, 69 weeks equals 173,880 days. When you add those days to the date of King Artaxerxes’ decree, the Triumphal entry of Jesus Christ had to take place on March 30, A.D. 33, and that’s exactly the date Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, being hailed by the people as “King of the Jews.”
However, as verse 26 indicates, Christ’s first coming ended in disaster, from Israel’s human perspective. Verse 26 cites that after the Messiah enters Jerusalem as King, “the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing.” This term “cut off” in Hebrew is used of executing the death penalty on a criminal. Thus this prophecy clearly points to Christ’s crucifixion, and that He would have nothing because the nation’s rulers rejected Jesus as King. Furthermore, this meant that the promised Righteous Kingdom could not be instituted at that time. This necessitated the setting aside of the nation of Israel for a season.
The prophecy continues in the latter half of verse 26, with the description of the judgment that would befall Israel as a result of rejecting their Messiah. “The people of the prince who is to come” is explained elsewhere in Scripture as the armies of the Roman Empire. From these peoples one day will come the “prince” or the one whom you may have heard referred to as the Antichrist. It’s important that you do not confuse the two princes mentioned in this verse. They are not the same. One is cut off and the other comes later, much later. It is not this prince who will destroy this city, but the “people of the prince,” the Roman army.
This verse, hundreds of years before it happened, explains that at the end of the 69 weeks, the Messiah will be cut off, the city of Jerusalem and the Temple will be destroyed. All of this took place by A.D. 70, marking the end of the 69 weeks. From this point on, the nation of Israel is not heard of for an unspecified period of time.
When we come to verse 27, we fast forward through this unspecified period of time to learn what is going to happen during the “seventieth week” or the last seven years of this world as we know it. This is what many call the Tribulation. At the very beginning of this week, the Antichrist will make a covenant of peace with Israel that is supposed to last the entire seven years of this week.
Note: At this point, God is prophesying in verse 27, that Israel will be back on the scene as a nation. Today, the Jews have returned to the land and reclaimed their home. Some say that this took place in 1948; others say it took place in 1967, as a result of the “Seven Day” war. Either way, almost 2,000 years after Israel as a nation was destroyed, it is rebirthed. Never in the history of the world has a nation been destroyed and later rebirthed like this. Today, the stage is set for this period known as the Tribulation to begin. As the days progress, Israel will become more desperate to exist in their land in peace. Israel will be ripe for a world leader who will guarantee its safety and peace in their land.
Back to verse 27. According to this verse, in the middle of a covenant of peace, three-and-a-half years after its beginning, the Antichrist will break his agreement with Israel. He will move into the land of Israel and stop Israel’s worship through sacrifices. This, by the way, presumes that the Temple has been rebuilt and that the religious Levitical sacrifices have begun once again. But now, the Antichrist will not only stop the sacrifices, but he will bring about his own religious system of worship, which is called here, an “abomination.” Finally, this Antichrist will come to his end, for we read, “a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.” God will take down the Antichrist and bring a close to this period of Tribulation, finishing the “seventieth week,” which in turn, will begin the Kingdom of Righteousness.
What we have just covered establishes the prophetic backdrop necessary for us to understand the book of Revelation, and in particular, Revelation 6-19. As I have mentioned previously, Revelation adds many details to Daniel’s general skeleton of the end times, known as the “70 weeks.” Now, I’d like to show you how Revelation relates to Daniel’s “70 weeks.” First, here is an outline of Revelation:
I. Introduction to the vision: 1:1-20
A. Prologue: 1:1-3
B. Salutation: 1:4-8
II. “The things which you have seen” [PAST]: 1:9-20
A. The Patmos vision 1:9-18
B. The command to write 1:19-20
III. “The things which are” [PRESENT]: 2:1-3:22
A. The letter to the church at Ephesus 2:1-7
B. The letter to the church at Smyrna 2:8-11
C. The letter to the church at Pergamum 2:12-17
D. The letter to the church at Thyatira 2:18-29
E. The letter to the church at Sardis 3:1-6
F. The letter to the church at Philadelphia 3:7-13
G. The letter to the church at Laodicea 3:14-22
IV. “The things which shall take place after these things”[FUTURE]: 4:1-22:5
A. The Tribulation Period: 4:1-19:21
1. The throne in heaven: 4:1-5:14
a. The beings around the throne: 4
b. The Lamb and His scroll introduced: 5
2. The Great Tribulation: 6:1-19:21
B. The Millennium: 20:1-15
C. The New Jerusalem, New heaven and New earth: 21:1-22:5
V. Epilogue: Jesus Christ Is Coming Soon! - 22:6-21
If you look at the outline, you will notice that Revelation 1-3, gives us some details of the beginning of the Church Age. Beginning with Revelation 4-19, we are looking at details that are to happen in the future after the Church Age and after the Rapture. This next period is known as Daniel’s 70th week, the Tribulation. Following this, Revelation 20 speaks to the Kingdom of Righteousness, also called the Millennial Kingdom, because it lasts one thousand years. Basically, the last two chapters of Revelation speak to issues concerning eternity, as well as giving us some final warnings and instructions.
For the past several weeks, we have been looking at Revelation 4-5, that concern the apostle John’s entrance into and his first impressions of the command center of heaven, the very throne room of God. The scene that John saw there takes place in the future, immediately after the Rapture of the Church and following the passing out of eternal rewards to Christians. This scene probably takes place at the very beginning of the Tribulation.
Presently, in our study, we find ourselves at Revelation 6. Revelation 6-19 is where most of the differences of opinion as to the interpretation of this book come into play. If the apostle John had clearly stated in Revelation when the “abomination of desolation” takes place in these chapters, it would have removed much confusion as to the correct chronological interpretation of this book, but he didn’t.
Therefore we are left to try our best to put together pieces of information we do have to form the most consistently harmonious solution to all of the biblical prophecies that affect this period of the end times. After spending a great deal of research on these materials, I presently have a conviction as to how these chapters should be understood. However, there is still so much more I have not studied, that I reserve the right to change my mind in the future. For now, it is my conviction that the best approach to understanding these chapters as they pertain to the Tribulation is to see everything that is mentioned in Revelation 6-19 as taking place, not during the entire Tribulation period, but only in the last three-and-a-half years of the Tribulation, called by Jesus “The Great Distress” or the “Great Tribulation” which begins with what Daniel calls the “abomination.”
I hold to this approach for several reasons: First, there is no mention of a seven- year period of Tribulation in Revelation. We don’t even have two different three-and-a-half year periods mentioned. All we have is the one and the same period of three-and-a-half years mentioned six times in chapters 11-12.
Second, there is nothing in these chapters in Revelation that clearly points to what the rest of the Bible says will happen in the first three-and-a-half years of the Tribulation.
Third, the only time the Tribulation is referred to in Revelation 6-19, is in 7:14. There, it is referred to as the Great Tribulation.
My next two reasons for holding the conviction that these chapters are limited to that period known as the Great Tribulation come from understanding Jesus’ teaching about this period in time, found in His final great sermon in Matthew 24-25, known as the Olivet Discourse. The teaching of this discourse comes as an answer to the disciples’ question found in 24:3, about the end times and when Jesus Christ will come and take over as King over the earth. Beginning with verse 4, carried on through the end of chapter 25, Jesus lays out for them a few of the details concerning the end times that are repeated in more depth in Revelation 6-19.
My fourth reason for presently holding the understanding that Revelation 6-19 refers only to that time period known as the Great Tribulation comes from a point made by Jesus in His answer to the disciples’ question. In Matthew 24:15 Jesus tells His disciples that the “abomination of desolation” will occur. He identifies this with the same event to which Daniel referred in Daniel 9:27, as that event which marks the beginning of the second half of the Tribulation period. Henceforth, Jesus explains that everything else that He says in the rest of Matthew 24 and Matthew 25 must come after that event, meaning they all occur during the Great Tribulation.
Finally, when Jesus spoke of the end times in Matthew 24-25, He referred three times to these events as taking place during the Tribulation period. The first time, in 24:9 Jesus calls it “the Tribulation.” Then in 24:21, He calls it the “Great Tribulation.” And last, in 24:29, He refers to this period as the “Tribulation.”
What’s interesting to me is that even those scholars who do not hold to the approach I take to this passage, all agree that Jesus uses His reference to the Great Tribulation in verse 21, and His reference to the Tribulation in verse 29 as referring to the same period of time known as the Great Tribulation. We all agree to that, because we all agree that there is no mistaking Christ’s intent from 24:15 that all of the events that come after that verse are appointed to take place during the Great Tribulation, because they all come after the “abomination of desolation.”
My question to those who don’t take my approach is this: If one agrees that Jesus uses these last two expressions Tribulation and the Great Tribulation interchangeably to refer to the Great Tribulation, then why does Jesus not use the first expression of Tribulation in verse 9 as a reference to the Great Tribulation? It seems to me that we should be consistent and not arbitrary in determining what Jesus means when He speaks of Tribulation, unless there is something in the text that shows us otherwise. So, is there anything in the verses that surround verse 9 and this first mentioning of the Tribulation that would suggest that one should consider that reference to the Tribulation to refer to something other than the Great Tribulation?
Some believe there is, but I believe that their evidence is rather weak. Primarily, that which helps me determine that these entire two chapters refer to the Great Tribulation, is that the events listed in these two chapters of Matthew almost perfectly parallel those events clearly spoken of in Revelation 6-19 as taking place during the Great Tribulation. Those places in which these two passages do not agree perfectly have good reasons for why they don’t. Sadly, we don’t have the time right now to explain those reasons.
All we have time for is stating my conclusion, which is: Matthew 24:4-25:46 appear to parallel the events found in Revelation 6-19. Furthermore, Jesus establishes the future events mentioned in Matthew 24:4-25:46 as taking place during the period known as the Great Tribulation. Hence, since Jesus assigns those events in Matthew 24-25 to the Great Tribulation, which appear to be the same events found in Revelation 6-19, it only seems logical that we recognize that Revelation 6-19 also deals with the Great Tribulation.
Having stated my position, let me suggest the following outline that we will follow in our future study of chapters 6-19 of the book of Revelation:
I. 6 Seal Judgments Rev. 6
II. Parenthetical interlude #1 Rev. 7
A. The Redeemed Jews Rev. 7:1-8
B. The Redeemed Gentiles Rev. 7:9-17
III. 7th Seal leading into the 6 Trumpet Judgments Rev. 8-9
IV. Parenthetical interlude #2 Rev. 10-15
A. 3 Important Testimonies Rev. 10-11
B. 7 Great Personages in Great Tribulation Rev. 12-13
C. Various events on earth and in heaven Rev. 14
D. 7 angels with 7 plagues introduced Rev. 15
V. 7 Bowl Judgments against the entire planet Rev. 16
VI. Parenthetical interlude #3 Rev. 17-18
A. Fall of the “Beasts” of Babylon
VII. The Second Coming of Christ Rev. 19
As you look at this outline, I want you to notice the following: First, there are three sets of seven judgments. There are the seven seals, found in chapters 6 and 8:1 (even though 8:1 is not specified on the outline). Then there are seven trumpet judgments found in chapters 8-9, and 11:15 (even though 11:15 is not specified on the outline). And the third set of seven bowl judgments found in chapter 16.
The next observation I want you to note from the outline is that each of these chapters explaining these judgments is followed by a parenthetical section. These parenthetical sections do not advance the narrative in a chronological manner. They merely explain some of the other aspects or happenings that are relative to the previous judgments.
It is also important to mention here that these three sets of judgments do not take place in chronological order. You don’t have first the seal judgments, then the trumpet judgments and then the bowl judgments. Keep in mind that all of these is best to understand that each of these lists of seven judgments has a general the me or purpose different from each of the other lists of seven judgments. Also, although the list of seven seal judgments is in chronological order, as are the lists of trumpet and bowl judgments in chronological order, the seal judgments set the foundation upon which, and at the same time, occur the trumpet and bowl judgments. I picture these judgments like this:
What I am trying to demonstrate is not only that these judgments occur concurrently, but they are connected or flow out from one another.
Each of the events mentioned in the groupings of three sevens are rapid events and increase with speed and severity as they get closer to the end of the week. This explains why Jesus clearly warns the Jews that when the signal, the “abomination of desolation” takes place, they have entered into the last three-and-a-half years, and it is time to run to the hills for safety. They may have thought things were bad before, but they had not seen anything yet!
With these judgments increasing in devastating power, the world and its rulers become more desperate and debase.
Where does this leave us this morning? Hopefully not too confused, but rather with a general sense for where we are going. Please keep your outlines with you so that you do not get lost in the weeks ahead. I want to leave you leave with a couple of impressions today:
First, that you do not become depressed or surprised that your world is going to get worse. Nothing we will do politically or economically or even through prayer will stop the ultimate outcome of where this world is headed.
Second, that you can see the futility of making your goal in life to save your planet or to maintain your pleasant lifestyle. Rather, it can help you realize that the only worthwhile and productive endeavor in life is to know Jesus and to bring others into the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.
Finally, I hope that you are impressed with the God who is behind all of these prophecies and you recognize that
- - God is sovereign over all the kingdoms of the earth;
- - God has a plan; that God is in charge of the exact timing of each of these events;
- - God is good and has provided a rescue plan for all who desire to live with Him in eternity;
- - God is true to His Word; meaning that when He tells you that something is going to happen and that it is true, you will believe Him;
- - And finally, because we know these events will happen, we would be wise to align the way we think and live today accordingly.
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