“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Romans 8:28).

This powerful and precious promise (and many others like it) is available only to those who have accepted Messiah Jesus as personal Savior. We who have been given new and everlasting life in Christ Jesus, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever” (Psalm 136:1).

That’s not to say believers don’t sometimes ask the same probing questions posed by unbelievers when things go terribly wrong. Especially at the wrong time, which is pretty much every time!

Such as: “Why Lord?” Or, “Why me. Why now?” Or, “How much longer will this go on?” And, of course, “When it rains it pours!”

Trials and heartaches reach the saved and the unsaved alike.

However, believers realize that we live in a fallen world. A Planet engulfed in pride, greed, immorality, corruption, crime, violence, rebellion, poverty, famine, disease, natural disasters, and (often untimely) death.

The whole world seems to be spiraling out of control. The difference is that believers know that our Great God and Savior is sovereignly spinning the world under his control.

And so, while we wait patiently and watch eagerly for the resurrection of the dead in Christ and their tremendous transformation into eternal spiritual bodies (along with believers still alive) at the Rapture, we continue to rely on the truth of such passages as: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6, NASB).

Most believers have family or friends who haven’t fully grasped that they must make a personal decision for Jesus Christ (John 3:16). The unsaved look around them, and surmise that billions of others appear to be in the same boat. They contemplate: Wherever I go after death, there should be a lot of people there. So, what’s the big deal? Isn’t church membership; infant baptism; religious rituals; or doing more good things than bad, enough to merit God’s acceptance? Aren’t there many paths to God? Or to some enlightened state of being.

Some doubt, that God even exists. Other have fashioned their own gods, such as the moon-god called Allah.

Biblical Salvation: Inclusively Exclusive

Then there is the 20^th and 21^st century politically correct dogma (for that’s exactly what it is … a belief system) of tolerance and inclusiveness at all cost.

However, when it comes down to the nitty gritty, only the Biblical Christian faith is considered an enemy of these two post-modern pillars of secular humanism. Not even Islam. For if someone cites the glaring facts of Muslim terrorism and the intolerant and suppressive tenets of both Sharia and Sunni Islamic law, they are branded Islamophobic. Shame on them for quoting statistics and telling the truth.

Unbelievers fail to realize or refuse to accept that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is all-inclusive. But to be inclusive, it must first be exclusive. All-encompassing, because a pardon for the penalty of our sins and eternal life is offered to all who believe and receive the One whose substitutionary death paid that penalty. Exclusive because Jesus himself tells everyone that he alone is, The Way, the Truth, and the (everlasting) Life, no one can come to God the Father except through him (John 14:6).

They also deny the obvious (see Romans Chapter 1): God is God and we are not. As Creator, he has the right to make the rules and set the standards. He alone has provided the solution to the horrendous problem of sin and its ugly consequences. And he has done so with unconditional love and grace.

And, yes: God has given people the freedom to choose His Way or their humanistic highway.

If they want to make their own rules, they can. But at such a cost! It’s costly to them (eternal separation from God) because they reject what it cost God to justify them … just as if they had never sinned. No less than the greatest sacrifice ever made by the highest price ever paid—the life blood of His very Son. And then Jesus’s resurrection to prove that He is who He said He is: Son of God and Son of Man.

Everyone needs Jesus. Those with good hearts as well as those with bad hearts.

Commonly referred as the “good guys” and the “bad guys.”

God wants all people to carefully comprehend: “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood…” (Romans 3:23-25).

The Irony of the “Progressive Elite” During the Tribulation

The prejudice of the liberal progressives among us is now and will be even more so during the Tribulation as evident as day is from night. Their (false) accusations that Judeo-Christian values are intolerant is, itself, an expression of bias and intolerance.

The following is an excerpt from my second book Out of the Abyss commenting on this hypocrisy. After discussing Romans 8:28 (verse quoted to begin today’s article) and the sometimes incomprehensible ways in which God can and does, “circumvent the innumerable bad decisions that we all have made, not to mention the evil in the world to accomplish his purpose,” I went on to write:

…If we could wrap our finite minds around his infinite omnipotence and omniscience, I suppose that we would be God.

Ironically, that’s exactly what… natural scientists, human secularists, occult spiritualists, God-less governments, and agnostic academia in general try to do. They inevitably ascribe to themselves the controlled capacity, the distinctive domain, and the potent position of determining their destiny. And, if you will but afford them the privilege and opportunity; if you will “give them an ear,” they will gladly assist you in discovering your origin and purpose for life. Ultimately, if you yield complete attention and allegiance, they will be delighted to direct your future.

Okay, a little sarcasm here. And I don’t mean to unduly pick on the scientific, academic, philosophical, political, cultural, and social elite; through they carry a lot of weight and exert a significant influence on the common person. Ultimately every man and woman must choose what they believe, and to whom or what they will listen and follow. As Joshua said, “…choose today whom you will serve…” (Joshua 24:15).

Make no mistake; we all believe in something and we all follow someone or an ideal, even if it’s ourselves. This will be vividly exemplified in the final days of this age, when the rich and the poor, the rulers and those ruled, the intelligentsia and the uneducated alike will enthusiastically (some reluctantly) surrender all they have and who they are to one man known as the Antichrist. This commitment will be no different than the liberated modern man’s disdain for anyone who would give up their mind, heart, and soul to God; or those who, in their opinion, would use Christianity as a crutch by surrendering their entire life to one man, Jesus Christ (Pages 22-23).

God’s justice will be on full display against the arrogant boasting and audacious blasphemy of Antichrist during the seven-year Great Tribulation. And of the multiplied millions who, despite knowing full well their impending fate, will remain defiant to the bitter end. A rigid rebelliousness that defies reason and belies responsibility. One that has been prevalent throughout history, but not in the sheer magnitude exhibited during the Tribulation. A defiance mentioned several times in Scripture, personified by the Antichrist man of lawlessness and his followers as summarized succinctly in the following verse:

“He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them” (II Thessalonians 2:10).

The result: “Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth” (Verse 12).

A Review of Antichrist’s Life/Death & Reappearance

Out of the Abyss, and most of the 58 articles to date in the category of Antichrist provide extensive Biblical and historical evidence that the identity of the Antichrist can be known. This man—called a little horn, ruler, king, man of lawlessness, beast, and Anti-Christ—is none other than the Roman Emperor Nero.

We’ll look at his 1^st century biography (existence), his reappearance at the outset of the Tribulation, the world’s reaction to him, his actions, and then the world’s unbelievable response to the Tribulation judgments.

Revelation 17:7-8

Revelation’s author, John, had already seen the beast arise from the sea (Revelation 13); however, he is given a second vision, this time with a woman sitting on the beast.

The purpose for this second image is quite evident in the text: to further enable John and all believers to accurately decode the identity of the (Antichrist) beast. With strong clues—each one of them convincing on its own merit—previously provided to John in Revelation 13 and a few years before that to the Apostle Paul in II Thessalonians 2. Even hundreds of years earlier to the prophet Daniel in Chapters 7 & 9.

*Note: The reason that the angel encrypted the Antichrist’s (symbolized as a beast) identity instead of simply naming him was to protect believers from even more persecution than already experienced—that began with Nero himself. Most in the Roman Empire, especially the common people, still adored Nero and wished that he would reassume the throne. In fact, many Romans believed he would return, i.e. Nero Redivivus Legend.

Thus, the angel reveals the “mystery” of the beast and woman, which is tantamount to discernibly disclosing their identity. The woman is the great city (Rome) of the Roman Empire when Revelation was written and would morph into the Holy Roman Empire (Vatican) of the last days.

Please see Eye of Prophecy trilogy: Shameful Saga of the Great City (Revelation 17); Cunning Makeover of the Great City; Humiliating End of the Great City, posted 5-26, 6-2, & 6-9-18.

(The Vatican … Among Antichrist’s alliances will be the Roman Catholic Church. Ironically he will destroy it … Rev. 17:16; then Rome itself will be devastated in God’s final judgment, the 7th Bowl … Rev. 19:17-21)

Although the angel provides more clues of the beast’s identity in Revelation 17:9-11, we’ll examine just the initial unveiling of the beast.

“…I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns on which she sits. The beast you saw was once alive but isn’t now. And yet he will soon (abruptly, at any point in time) come up out of the bottomless pit… And the people who belong to this world (those left behind at the Rapture) … will be amazed at the reappearance of this beast who had died” (Revelation 17:7-8, emphasis added, parenthesis mine).

Although all Bible passages on the Antichrist are extensively detailed in my book Out of the Abyss and elaborated/expanded in Eye of Prophecy articles in the category of Antichrist, the passage we just read kick-starts the refitting of the prophetic puzzle, concerning Antichrist.

To wit: Although a natural and normal conclusion, the Antichrist is NOT a modern-day man born before the Tribulation. Yet, beginning with the Rapture, nearly everything that takes place during the Tribulation is neither natural nor normal.

Here is an excerpt from near the end of my book Out of the Abyss (in italics):

The beast had already died before John received this revelation. How else can this passage be understood? …If some can’t let go of a contemporary Antichrist, then what will they do with these verses … and all the other passages that help refit the prophetic puzzle?

John didn’t see the vision in the future; he saw it in the present—that hour of that day. The beast is past tense … no longer alive when John saw the vision. The beast isn’t born and doesn’t die in the future; he’s already dead. When will the beast become future tense? Correct: When he reappears from the Abyss. At the beginning of the Tribulation, the world will be amazed at the reappearance of the beast that had died. Will the beast die during the Tribulation? No, he died even before John saw him from Patmos (Page 271).

Revelation 13:3-4

After John describes his first vision of the beast arising from the sea (literal … think Mediterranean Sea), with the dragon giving the beast his own (Satan’s) power and authority, John immediately describes the world’s reaction to the beast’s sudden and different (Daniel 7) arrival (reappearance, Revelation 17) from the grave (Abyss, Revelation 11 & 17).

“I saw that one of the heads of the beast (the Antichrist is the composite beast but also one of the seven heads, i.e. Roman emperors—Revelation 17:9-11) seemed wounded beyond recovery—but the fatal wound was healed! The whole world marveled at this miracle and gave allegiance to the beast. They worshipped the dragon for giving the beast such power, and they also worshipped the beast. ‘Who is as great as the beast?’ they exclaimed. ‘Who is able to fight against him?’” (Revelation 13:3-4, parenthesis mine).

We’ll stop here before getting to what the beast does.

What is it that, on a global scale, compels people to give their allegiance to the point of worshipping the beast? What persuades people to both revere and fear him? Is it because he’s a consummate genius, an eloquent orator, a powerful politician, a superb military strategist, a charismatic leader, or that he exhibits other appealing characteristics commonly attributed to a dynamic world leader?

Did you read that in the passage? No, you didn’t, because it’s not there; nor in any other passage on the Antichrist. There is ONLY ONE reason why so many people will marvel that much and surrender their loyalty and lives to him. It will be shock and awe over just one thing. The verses clearly tell us what that is: “The whole world marveled at THIS MIRACLE” (emphasis added).

What miracle?

Answer: Return from the grave as the world will see it/him (actually from the Abyss, which is a separate place from the grave/hell); repeated twice more in Revelation 13 and twice in Revelation 17.

On behalf of and in divine deference to this man, the False Prophet, “…ordered the people to make a great statue of the first beast, who was fatally wounded and then came back to life” (Revelation 13:14, emphasis added).

To those left behind, it will be a supernatural event to rival and even surpass that of Jesus’s resurrection from the dead. Hence, who can fight against the beast? You can’t kill a man who already had been killed and then came back to earth some 2,000 years later. Forget it. Even for those reluctant to yield themselves to anything or anyone, their response will inevitably be: if you can’t beat him, join him.

Keep in mind that Revelation 13 is a progression of events beginning with the beast’s arising from the (Abyssal) Sea, concluding with the angel’s stimulating challenge to John and all readers to solve the meaning of the number of the beast (verse 18). Which is expressly equivalent to identifying the man himself. Thus, the initial reaction of the world still reeling from post-Rapture shock is that of absolute awe over the return of a 1^st century Roman Emperor.

Nero will capitalize on such global attention by first orchestrating a treaty between Israel and Muslim nations. A peace treaty that the world (even now) will consider to be an impossible feat.

(See Eye of Prophecy article, Two-State Solution & The Seven-Year Treaty … Impossible? Posted 1-26-19)

After convincing the relatively few who doubt that he really is the 1^st century Caesar and, thereby, consolidating his ten-nation confederation, Nero will begin to rage against God like no one ever has or ever will (be permitted) again.

Antichrist’s Barefaced Blasphemy Against God, Revelation 13:5-6

Immediately after John explains the world’s reaction to the stunning reappearance of the beast, we read:

“Then the beast was allowed to speak great blasphemies against God. And he was given authority to do whatever he wanted for forty-two months. And he spoke terrible words of blasphemy against God, slandering his name and his dwelling—that is, those who dwell in heaven” (Revelation 13:5-6).

In its most deplorable demonstration, Nero’s taunting of God will begin at the half-way point of the Tribulation—after he breaks the treaty with Israel and when he is given the greater extent of his authority. No other autocrat in history has come close to such conceited arrogance toward and diabolical denigration of God Almighty. Though many have persecuted Jews and Christians through the ages, have you read of any of these megalomaniacs who directly took on God, to the point of saying one vile thing after another against Him?

Even with the worst of them, there was a healthy measure of restraint or reluctance to denounce God himself. They didn’t dare test their fate by perniciously and persistently berating the God of Heaven. In fact, world rulers like Nebuchadnezzar and Cyrus the Great even extoled the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as the true and living God. As did Alexander the Great, after a fashion.

Though many monarchs claimed to be a god or representing God on earth, they didn’t elevate themselves to the position of the only God (of the universe). Except that is for Nero.

(Other Nero coinage contained inscriptions that he was “almighty God” and “Savior”)

Antichrist’s blasphemy will be unrivaled in the annals of history for two reasons inherent in this passage: (1) the fact that God gives him permission to carry this blasphemy to such extremes; (2) by sheer emphasis in these two verses. Twice, it speaks of these tirades against God. Twice John uses amplified terms … “great blasphemies” and “terrible words of blasphemy.”

This isn’t your ordinary run-of-the-mill attacks on the very name and character of God. Not only will Nero’s boastful insults exceed any before him; they are shockingly despicable to the point of slandering God’s name. Webster’s Dictionary definition of slander will be multiplied exponentially when it comes to Nero’s defamation of God:

Slander: “the utterance of false charges or misrepresentations which defame and damage another’s reputation.” Synonym … “malign.” Webster defines malign as: “evil in nature, influence, or effect … malignant, virulent, vicious ill will … malevolent and sinister.”

The Bible’s first reference to the Antichrist (Daniel 7) also explains his actions in virtually the same terms: “…a mouth that was boasting arrogantly” (Daniel 7:8). And, “the little horn’s boastful speech” (Verse 11). Again, “a mouth that was boasting arrogantly” (Verse 20). Then, “He will defy the Most High and oppress the holy people of the Most High…” (Verse 25).

Daniel 7 also tells us that this king will appear “suddenly” (Verse 8). In stark contrast to a (modern-day) man who gradually rises to a position of prominence and power. That he is “different” (Verse 24) from the ten kings who will yield their kingdoms to him … during the Tribulation.

See Eye of Prophecy article: Sudden Appearance of Antichrist … Why So Different? (1-21-17).

Notice that Antichrist not only blasphemes God but rants against believers in heaven … recently raptured. Which include the thousands of Christians whom he murdered during his 1^st century reign of terror and will resume to a far greater extent in the Tribulation.

(Depiction of Christians wrapped in pitch/tar, used as torches to light Nero’s palace garden during parties. With diabolical depravity, Nero mocked them and Christ by saying, “Now you are truly the light of the world”)

Here is another excerpt from Out of the Abyss to summarize this portion of today’s article regarding Scripture’s depiction of Antichrist, in contrast to the mainstream portrayal of this loathsome man as a contemporary prodigy:

Search the Scriptures. You will not find any direct evidence that the beast is a great orator, statesman, or consummate genius as modern-day views characterize him. He is clever; he is a braggart and a blasphemer, but that doesn’t make him charismatic. Antichrist’s accomplishments and “charisma” are attributed to his miraculous resurrection, the statue, and the persuasive ability of the False Prophet, including, but not limited to “astounding miracles” (Page 249).

When Nero begins his sacrilegious slander and malicious mockery of God, everything at that point will be a flashpoint of black and white to the world. No more gray areas, no more fence-riding, no more which religion or worldview is best for me.

The choice will be crystal clear: Christ or Antichrist. Eternal security, though at the pain of physical death. Or temporary safety … a false sense thereof.

In fact, this final show-down between God and Satan, between Jesus Christ and Antichrist is how God’s providential purpose during the terrible turmoil of the Tribulation will be accomplished; that is, EVERYONE will be required to make a choice.

Although many who refuse to take the mark of the beast may not choose Messiah Jesus (especially Antichrist’s enemies like the Far-East nations), they will still have made a choice. Though this compulsion will come directly from Antichrist Nero and his False Prophet, inevitably it will serve God’s purpose to get the world’s attention like never before. To stand up and choose:

Salvation or judgment.

Heaven or Hell.

Take heed and choose well.

“For God has put a plan into their minds, a plan that will carry out his purposes…” (Revelation 17:17).

Reaction of the World to the Seven Seal, Seven Trumpet, and Seven Bowl Judgments

Since the explosion of interest in Biblical prophecy began over fifty years ago—particularly after the amazing Six-Day War of 1967—the imminent return of Messiah Jesus has dominated prophetic headlines. As well it should, because the signs of the times (some are calling it the times of the signs!) are validating that we are in the last days of the end times. The Day of the Lord will commence with the remarkable resurrection of dead believers who will be raptured (caught up) to heaven with living believers.

For whatever reason (a presumption not found in Scripture), Bible scholars, teachers, students have pictured (I, too, at one time) the Rapture to occur as follows: (1) The entire sequence of events as contained in I Thessalonians 4 condensed into a nanosecond when believers will be transformed to our spiritual bodies as Paul dramatically describes in I Corinthians 15. (2) The world-at-large will neither see nor hear the events of the Rapture itself.

Please refer to Eye of Prophecy articles: The Shout Heard Around the World (4-22-17) and a more recent article, A Dramatic Enactment of the Rapture! (4-20-19). In those articles, I combined commentary analysis with several Scriptural references and real-life simulations to demonstrate that the entire sequence of the Rapture will (very likely) take several minutes. Only the bodily transfiguration of believers will happen in “the blink of an eye.”

Believers will not suddenly nor silently disappear … here one second, and (poof) the next second gone.

Instead, many of those left behind will witness the entire sequence of events.

Other than the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Rapture will be the most stunning event of all time, followed by one staggering episode after another during the Great Tribulation. In addition to the bodily resurrection of the dead in Christ, the purpose of the Rapture is to spare living believers from the final wrath of God poured out on a wicked world, eager to follow the detestable example of their Antichrist superhero.

I’m convinced that most of the Tribulation saints will choose Messiah Jesus in the early part of the Tribulation … within the first two years or so. To even include some “foxhole conversions” during the Rapture itself or shortly thereafter. Conversely, many unbelievers will immediately celebrate the earth’s cleansing of those “bigoted, intolerant” Christians. As the Tribulation unfolds, the minds of unbelievers will grow increasingly stubborn, their hearts progressively hard.

The first four seals—commonly called the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse—are NOT (yet) the Lord’s direct intervention into the Satanic agenda and/or affairs of mankind. Rather, they are God’s permissive unsealing of man-made catastrophes (war, famine, disease, death) on a truly global dimension. As bad as it has been throughout history and is in today’s world, between the Great Flood of Noah’s time and the Tribulation period, God has imposed a divine limit on the scope of Satanic evil and human wickedness in this world.

(The Four Horsemen … Revelation 6:1-8)

God’s direct supernatural (above and beyond natural disasters) judgments don’t begin until the sixth seal is broken. It is an extraordinary earthquake; one in which the sun will be darkened, the moon turned blood-red, the sky rolled up like a scroll, mountains and islands moved from their places (Revelation 6:12-14).

Moreover, Tribulation unbelievers will be fully cognizant of what’s happening and why.

Read with me and notice the awareness of the world that this sixth-seal catastrophe is directly from God. As opposed to natural disasters up to that time in which no one knows for sure whether God had commanded them at various intervals in history; or if they are simply part of nature’s increasing volatility (deterioration) since the Great Flood. Also note that, at this point, they express both fear of and respect for the Lord.

“Then everyone—the kings of the earth, the rulers, the generals, the wealthy, the powerful, and every slave and free person—all hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. And they cried to the mountains and the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to survive?’” (Revelation 6:15-17).

As indicted in a few prior articles (for example, see Stunning Catastrophes of the Tribulation / Their Timing and Purpose, posted 11-4-17), this judgment as well as the 7^th seal and 1^st trumpet is strikingly similar to the disasters that God will inflict on the Gog/Magog coalition and nations that support their massive invasion of Israel.

One astounding result of God’s crushing victory over Israel’s enemies (led by Russia, Iran, Turkey): “In this way, I will show my greatness and holiness, and I will make myself known to all the nations of the world. Then they will know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 38:23).

That’s precisely the response of the unsaved world when the sixth seal is broken.

Would the World’s Deference to God Continue? Will They Relent and Repent?

Not hardly. As is said: “Dream on.”

After the subsequent 7^th seal and first four trumpet judgements, each of which is clearly an Act of God, you would think that more unbelievers than not would get it. Perhaps say something to the effect: “I’m sorry Lord, what was I thinking. You are God and there is none like you. I want Jesus to save me.”

They could but they don’t. They should but they won’t.

Still, the Lord gives the survivors more chances before he unleashes his full wrath on the world in the seven bowl judgments. By this time, even angels are proclaiming God’s ultimate sovereignty with dire warnings to a world hell-bent on defiance of all that is good, right, and true. Before the seven bowls are poured out, we read the message of the first of three angels:

“And I saw another angel flying through the sky, carrying the eternal Good News to proclaim to the people who belong to his world—to every nation, tribe, language, and people. ‘Fear God,’ he shouted. ‘Give glory to him. For the time has come when he will sit as judge. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all the springs of water’” (Revelation 14:6-7).

To evolutionists out there … are you listening?

To all unbelievers, especially those who have procrastinated your decision about Messiah Jesus time and again … are you listening, too? Wouldn’t it be so much better if you accepted him now as Savior, than face him later as your judge?

By and large, Tribulation unbelievers won’t listen even to angels. Instead, they become little pharaohs whose hearts will harden beyond remedy.

With one major exception. Unlike Pharaoh who finally yielded to the true and living God after the firstborn male of every Egyptian household was killed, most of the left behind unsaved will still not acknowledge the sovereignty of God Almighty and their only hope of salvation through His Son, Messiah Jesus. This despite the colossal carnage caused by people (also demons, as we will see) and justified judgments inflicted by God that will result in far more deaths than just the firstborn sons of one nation.

The following is the first reference to the world’s irreversible rebelliousness during the Tribulation, recorded after the 6^th Trumpet.

“But the people who did not die in these plagues still refused to repent of their evil deeds and turn to God. They continued to worship demons…. And they did not repent of their murders or their witchcraft or their sexual immorality or their thefts” (Revelation 9:20-21).

Even more mind-boggling: unbelievers had reached this point of no return after the 5^th & 6^th trumpet judgments. Why is that so unfathomable? Because those two catastrophes are not direct plagues from the Lord. Instead, they are demonic hordes which God permits to be released for this precise end-times period.

The 5^th trumpet was a (temporary … for five months) liberation of the embodied evil angels who had been imprisoned in the Abyss since the time of Noah’s flood. They were given power to inflict excruciating wounds (stings) on only the unbelievers (Revelation 9:1-12).

How painfully ironic!

(There are several depictions of these demonic angels, described as locusts by John. This one comes the closet to representing their features as vividly pictured in Revelation)

The 6^th trumpet is much worse (Revelation 9:13-19).

More demonic hordes (numbering 200 million) are released to cause death and destruction even greater than experienced thus far during the Tribulation. To the extent that 1/3 of those still alive would be killed by this malevolent army. You would think that such massive death at the hands of their comrades in crime would make them realize that worship of not only Antichrist but of Satan himself didn’t give them a protective edge after all. Now it was the forces of Satan that were torturing and killing them left and right.

God’s direct judgments resume with the 7^th trumpet and then the seven bowls, well into the 2^nd half of the Tribulation.

Still, the obstinacy of unbelievers continues unabated.

Only now they ratchet up their insolence several notches. Emboldened by the brazen blasphemy of their divine Emperor we read that they actually: “…cursed the name of God, who had control over all these plagues. They did not repent of their sins and turn to God and give him glory” (Revelation 16:9).

This malignant malice towards God (cursing Him) takes place after the 4^th bowl judgment in which God releases a massive blast of heat (most likely solar flares), “causing it to scorch everyone with its fire” (Revelation 16:8).

Then again after the 5^th bowl (plunging Antichrist’s regime into total darkness for a while), we read: “…and they cursed the God of heaven for their pains and sores. But they did not repent of their evil deeds and turn to God” (Revelation 16:10-11).

Summary

And why wouldn’t they mimic and model themselves after their Antichrist cursing champion? By now, their hearts are hard as rock; their minds irreversibly warped. We have our own messiah. Who can fight against him? We’re all in. We don’t want or need the God of heaven or His Messiah.

Right up to the ever so bitter end … Armageddon. In which their superheroes, Antichrist and the False Prophet, are simply captured; but their armies continue the vain (incomprehensibly stupid) attempt to fight against the King of all kings. I mean, they will even see Messiah Jesus (and the host of heaven) descending from the sky on white horses! Wouldn’t that be cause for pause? Perhaps panic?

Nope. Just wicked willfulness. Or willful wickedness. Take your pick.

Consequently, “Their entire army was killed…” (Revelation 19:21) by Messiah Jesus. That is unequivocally the final solution to pure evil.

One more excerpt from Out of the Abyss:

When Nero reappears on the scene, he will mesh perfectly with the wickedness of the world. The world will emulate him as a leader who allows, endorses, and even initiates this immoral, ungodly, and contemptuous fist shaking at Almighty God (Page 213).

After the last and worst of these colossal calamities, the 7^th bowl—a global earthquake and giant hailstones from which, “cities of many nations fell into heaps of rubble … every island disappeared, and all the mountains were leveled…” (Revelation 16:17-21)—we read, “They cursed God because of the terrible plague of the hailstorm.”

Not the catastrophic destruction from the earthquake. No, they cursed God because of the (75-pound) hailstones. With the obvious conclusion that the hailstones were even more devastating than the earthquake.

(Only two pounds! Now try to picture a 75-pound hailstone!)

(Maybe this picture will help. Ice-balls that washed up on a Russian coastline after a large polar storm. I’m guessing the largest of these might weigh in at 20 pounds. But these ice-balls didn’t come from the sky like hailstones!)

Without meaning to be flippant: This round planet called Earth is going to be flattened. Nearly everything vertical—natural and man-made—will be horizontal. Plus, the death and destruction of the Great Tribulation will make World War II seem like a small shoot-out between two rival gangs in Chicago.

When will they ever learn? All too sadly, those who want no part of God’s Love and Amazing Grace freely and generously given through His Son, Messiah Jesus, won’t learn. Not now and not then.

However, at the final Great White Throne Judgment even the knees of raised-from-the-dead unbelievers will bend, and their tongues confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:10-11). But it will be too late then to accept Messiah Jesus as Savior or to willingly acknowledge him as King of all kings and Lord of all lords. That decision must be made while we’re alive on Planet Earth.

Things to Ponder

We who know the Lord, who have personally accepted his wonderful gift of redemption, have full assurance of our eternal destiny in heaven. “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

We are forever grateful for so great a salvation. Messiah Jesus doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.

With love and humility, we also want those who have not yet trusted the Lord for their salvation to do so and be spared from not only the Tribulation but delivered from an eternity separated from God.

To know that: “…Salvation and glory and power belong to our God. His judgments are true and just…” (Revelation 19:1-2).

To appreciate and acknowledge that: “The Lord is king! Let the nations tremble! He sits on his throne between the cherubim. Let the whole earth quake! The Lord sits in majesty in Jerusalem, exalted above all the nations. Let them praise your great and awesome name. Your name is holy!” (Psalm 99:1-3).

Playing Games

Have you ever played the game of Twenty-One Questions? If not, you may have said or heard something like, “What is this … twenty-one questions?” Which can be a response to being asked one too many questions, especially those that are personal. Why is twenty-one questions still a catch-phrase, particularly among us Baby Boomers?

Twenty-One was one of the many television game shows which became widely and wildly popular during the 1950s. Two contestants were placed in separate sound-proof booths; the first to get to 21 points by successfully answering the questions was the winner. Hosted by Jack Barry, it aired in 1956; but lasted only three years. Its’ short television shelf-life was not a result of poor ratings; rather, it was the first game show (of a few) discovered to be “rigged” in various ways.

Whether a Baby Boomer or not, many may be familiar with another T.V. game show that aired in 1955. Several years later it, too, was discovered to have been fixed. If you don’t remember that show or are too young to have ever seen it, my guess is that you’ve still said or heard the following phrase: “That’s the $64,000.00 Question!”

The name of the show? What else? The $64,000.00 Question.

Some of the popular television game shows first aired in the 50s that were not tainted: The Price Is Right, This Is Your Life, What’s My Line, and To Tell the Truth.

(The TV Game Show, Twenty-One)

So what is the more modern version of Twenty-One Questions?

From the online source WikiHow, we read (quote in italics):

…The game “21 Questions” is a great game to play if you are trying to get to know someone, have a group of friends who want to know more about each other, or have a romantic partner you want to learn more about…”

In Understanding the Game of today’s Twenty-One Questions, Point 4 subtitled Consider the Setting, the article gives examples of questions to ask:

If meeting with members of a book club or writer’s group, you might want to ask questions like, “What is your favorite book?”… If meeting with a church group, consider questions such as, “What is your favorite Bible verse/story?”

Point #2 (of seven rule points) is subtitled: Identify what you want to know.

Point 5: Show respect.

Point 6: Identify off-limits questions.

Point 7: Set rules for how to pass on a question.

It’s sometimes fun to reminisce, particularly if the nostalgia takes us back to what we think (or maybe really were) the good old days!

For the purpose of this week’s Eye of Prophecy article we need to change a couple of the rules of Twenty-One Questions. For example: there are no-off limits questions when it comes down to our long-term eternal destiny … heaven or hell. There should be no passing on questions that challenge a person’s lack of concern for or interest in the short-term (soon-to-come) consequences of what will be the most terrible time of human history.

Stay tuned and we’ll look at:

Twenty-One Reasons Not To Play Games with the Future

All twenty-one reasons are graphically and powerfully portrayed in the book of Revelation. The apocalyptic last days of the end times including twenty-one colossal catastrophes are summarily lumped together in many Biblical prophecies under the term, Day of the Lord—which entails the Rapture, the Great Tribulation, The Return of Messiah Jesus, and the Millennium. By now you’ve probably realized that the twenty-one events are part and parcel of the Great Tribulation.

“In all history there has never been such a time of terror. It will be a time of trouble for my people Israel. Yet in the end they will be saved!” (Jeremiah 30:7).

From the prophet Daniel: “…Then there will be a time of anguish greater than any since nations first came into existence…” (Daniel 12:1).

Some 550 years later, Messiah Jesus, himself, affirmed and expanded on Daniel’s prophecy.

“For there will be greater anguish than at any time since the world began. And it will never be so great again. In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, not a single person will survive. But it will be shortened for the sake of God’s chosen ones” (Matthew 24:21-22).

There are twenty-one specific calamities that will take place during the Great Tribulation in which billions will die from more war, disease, famine, murder, natural and supernatural disasters than the human race has experienced in all of its history to date. (Please see, Shocking Statistics of the Tribulation posted 6-6-15 in Eye of Prophecy, which details the terrible death toll of the tribulation).

Seals, Trumpets, and Bowls

The twenty-one judgments listed in Revelation are divided into three sets of seven. Three: the divine number that represents and expresses our majestic Triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Seven: the finality of God’s purpose, providence, and justice.

Seven Seals: Broken one at a time by Jesus Christ.

Seven Trumpets: Blown/heralded by seven angels.

Seven Bowls: Poured out on the earth. “…Seven angels were holding the seven last plagues which would bring God’s wrath to completion” (Revelation 15:1).

We want to focus primarily on the when, why, and who of these massive judgments. When will (spacing and timing) the twenty-one catastrophes occur … such as first half or second half of the Great Tribulation? Why (what is the overriding purpose) must they take place? Who will be affected the most?

Beginning with a twofold comprehensive premise: (1) God’s wrath poured out on a totally corrupt, evil, and unremorseful world. (2) But for the specific purpose to get the attention of all unbelievers, giving them one final clear-cut (black and white decision … no gray areas) opportunity for salvation by choosing the true Messiah, Jesus. Or, at the peril of eternal death, to follow the false messiah in one last attempt for mankind to (unsuccessfully) prove that the human race can do what only God can do: save us from self-destruction—a direct result of our sinful nature and the consequences thereof. Thereby, establishing a Kingdom of true justice and real peace on the earth.

“For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!” (Isaiah 9:6-7).

It often takes troubled times and extreme events to shake us out of spiritual apathy. To turn us to our Creator, and to remind us that we are desperately in need of Biblical redemption (believing and receiving Messiah Jesus as personal Savior) in order to live forever in heaven and escape eternal separation from God … in hell.

Indeed, it’s not a game. Yet we can draw from the analogy of Twenty-One Questions, especially rules 2 & 5. What is it you want to know? What is it you should know? Because the stakes are so high, wouldn’t it be good to identify the big-picture long-term questions that will determine our eternal destiny. And the short-term (near future) issue of whether we will be taken in the glorious Rapture or left behind to experience the greatest soul-shocking, gut-wrenching, and heart-failing episode of all time—the Great Tribulation. How much respect for Biblical prophecy do you have? Should you have?

Unbelievers often say something to the effect, “Aren’t there enough horrible things happening all over the world. Why bring up predictions of more gloom and doom?” Answer: Because that’s exactly what the Day of the Lord will be to those who have rejected Messiah Jesus, who said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Then he backed up his claim as the Son of God by rising from the dead.

Sadly, the mindset of so many unbelievers is just as it was in Noah’s day … eat, drink, and be merry. Nothing wrong with that, unless it consumes one’s thoughts, actions, and entire purpose in life at the exclusion of what will matter most when God’s Day of Judgment comes.

(Noah & His Family Were In The Ark Seven Day Before The Rain Even Began … Genesis 7:10)

“Come, they say, let’s get some wine and have a party. Let’s all get drunk. Then tomorrow we’ll do it again and have an even bigger party!” (Isaiah 56:12).

Or the persistent pursuit of power, prestige, and pleasure.

“And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul. Is anything worth more than your soul?” (Matthew 16:26, words of Jesus).

“Sound the alarm in Jerusalem! Raise the battle cry on my holy mountain! Let everyone tremble in fear because the day of the Lord is upon us. It is a day of darkness and gloom, a day of thick clouds and deep blackness…” (Joel 2:1-2).

The “everyone” mentioned by the prophet Joel (his prophecy is both near future and distant future—end times) are ultimately unbelievers left behind when believers are taken to heaven by Jesus at the Rapture. Believers need not tremble or be in fear of the Day of the Lord, as we will be spared from the horror of the Great Tribulation. But we are to be alert, ready at all times. We should be keenly interested in what’s happening in the world and see how the ongoing developments of the last seventy years or so fit precisely into the final (Omega) generation spoken of by Jesus.

The Seven Seals

The First Four Seals: Known the world over as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, depicted in Revelation 6:1-8.

First is a white horse whose rider represents the preparation of nations for the “many battles” (Revelation 6:2) that will take place after the chaotic vacuum created by the disappearance of hundreds of millions (believers) from the earth. Several nations and their leaders will seize the opportunity to do battle with enemies they think are ripe for the taking.

The second horse is red. Its rider represents the actual wars that will take place or those already in progress that will intensify exponentially after the Rapture. Such as the battles in the Middle East and conflicts between African nations. Or, an armed confrontation between the United States and Korea. Ethnic and national hostilities will erupt in many regions of the earth.

“…Its rider was given a mighty sword and the authority to take peace from the earth. And there was war and slaughter everywhere” (Revelation 6:4).

The third horse is black. Its rider depicts global economic collapse and famine.

The fourth horse is pale green. Its rider is death and the grave itself, denoting the composite death and destruction caused by the three horsemen before it. The terrifying result: “…These two were given authority over one-fourth of the earth, to kill with the sword and famine and disease and wild animals” (Revelation 6:8).

When these seals are broken, the Lord will permit the human race to unleash the horror of aggressive war and terrorism—politically, economically, and militarily—like never before. However, the four horses are not direct judgments from God. They are man-made, but this time without any divine intervention or restrictions. Despite the carnage of wars throughout history (none more so than World War I & II), it could have been worse … were it not for the providential limitation God places on such things. That’s why Jesus said no one would survive the Tribulation if he didn’t stop it in time (Matthew 24:22).

Many have asked down through the years: “Why does God allow evil? And, “Why doesn’t God put an end to violence and wickedness?”

Answer: He did at one time … the Great Flood of Noah’s day. Through Noah’s family (just eight people), he replenished the earth and gave mankind a chance to start over. The long and short of it is that we “blew it” again. We proved to God and ourselves just how selfishly wicked we are.

One day soon, God’s patience will run out. Why that has taken thousands of years is for God alone to know. But Scripture gives us general clues. It has to do with (as alluded to earlier) God allowing the human race to choose to do what is right or wrong; thereby, demonstrating whether we’ve succeeded or failed (through various kinds of government) to achieve peace and stability on planet Earth. The outcome has been all too futilely apparent.

All the while, “The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise (the 2^nd coming of Christ), as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent” (II Peter 3:9, parenthesis mine … based on verse 4).

The absolute horror of one-fourth of the world’s population dying in the early part of the Great Tribulation will be a terrible testament to the evil that men do. Moreover, by the time God’s wrath is poured out (beginning with the 6^th Seal), all will see the justified relevance of God’s anger. They will know why God is judging the earth so severely.

Fifth Seal: Describes the tribulation saints pleading with the Lord to avenge their deaths at the hands of “the people who belong to this world” (Revelation 6:10). Throughout Revelation, the term those who belong to the world refers to unbelievers who choose Antichrist over Messiah Jesus and refuse to repent of their sins.

Sixth Seal: This is when God begins to intervene directly in the affairs of mankind on a global scale not seen since the Great Flood. Starting with a massive earthquake and (implied) volcanic eruptions from which: “…The sky was rolled up like a scroll…” (Revelation 6:14).

“Then everyone—the kings of the earth, the rulers, the generals, the wealthy, the powerful, and every slave and free person—all hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. And they cried to the mountains and the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to survive?’” (Revelation 6:15-17).

At least many people will acknowledge that this sixth seal judgment was directly from God. I believe millions will—up to and including that time—turn to the true Messiah, Jesus Christ, for salvation. But billions more will not. Despite knowing that the Day of the Lord is upon them, they will continue to give allegiance to Antichrist (Nero) as their messiah.

As indicated in a few prior Eye of Prophecy articles, including last week’s, there is a striking similarity between the fifth and sixth seals along with the first trumpet judgment and the specific disasters that the Lord inflicts on the Gog/Magog armies (see Ezekiel 38 & 39). Which is further corroboration that the Gog/Magog invasion will take place within the first 1 ½ years or so of the Tribulation.

Seventh Seal: The last seal also results in a “terrible earthquake” (Revelation 8:5), and is a preparation for the next set of world-wide cataclysmic disasters.

The Seven Trumpets

First Four Trumpets: (1) One-third of the earth on fire burning the trees and green grass. (2) One-third of the oceans turned into blood, with one-third of all sea-life and one-third of the ships destroyed. (3) One-third of the rivers and springs of water polluted, “…and many people died from drinking the bitter water” (Revelation 8:11). (4) One-third of the sun, moon, and stars darkened, with no light at all during one-third of the day and one-third of the night.

Although these four plagues are supernaturally imposed by the Lord, each involves heavenly bodies and earthly elements. It’s divine judgment through enormous natural disasters. What many have labeled for centuries as, “The Wrath of God.”

It’s also apparent that these disasters will include friendly casualties; there’s no indication that tribulation saints will be spared. It’s also deductively evident in Revelation that more saints will be murdered for their faith than those who die in the natural disasters.

Not so, however, when the fifth trumpet is blown; we see an astonishing announcement after the fourth trumpet judgment is finished.

A Spectacular Proclamation Before the Fifth Trumpet

“Then I looked, and I heard a single eagle crying loudly as it flew through the air, ‘Terror, terror, terror to all who belong to this world because of what will happen when the last three angels blow their trumpets’” (Revelation 8:13, italics for emphasis).

The italicized portion of the above passage is the second time we see the phrase (or paraphrase), “all who belong to the world.” This descriptive term is also found in Revelation 11:10; 13:8; 13:14; and 17:8. Other designations with the same meaning are used in Revelation 9:4 (those who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads), and Revelation 14:9 and 16:2—those who worshipped the beast or his statue, or who took his mark. Each is an unmistakable identification of the unsaved who refused to, “…repent of their murders or their witchcraft or their sexual immorality or their thefts” (Revelation 9:21). This obstinate defiance of and rebellion against God—despite overwhelming evidence that God, himself, was pouring out his wrath on them—is also mentioned other times in Revelation. Even to the extent that unbelievers begin to curse God.

Thus, there is a demarcation at this juncture of the Tribulation. God’s wrath has now begun specifically against the ungodly, and will continue in the last two trumpets and all seven bowls against Antichrist (Nero), his ten-nation coalition, and all the peoples of the world who have sworn allegiance to Nero by worshipping him, his statue, and/or taking the mark of his name or number.

This leads to the convincing conclusion that the fifth trumpet will be blown at or very shortly after the half-way point of the Tribulation. Which is the point when Antichrist Nero will break his treaty with Israel (see Daniel 9:27). Nero will have captivated the world’s attention by reappearing from the Abyss (Revelation 17:7-8), which the world will see as a return from the dead at the outset of the Tribulation (Revelation 13). However, it’s not until halfway through the Tribulation—to include consolidation of his ten-nation coalition by fully convincing the leaders and governments of those nations that he is, in fact, the Roman Emperor Nero—that God will allow Satan to impart extensive unbridled power to Nero.

“…And he was given authority to do whatever he wanted for forty-two months” (Revelation 13:5).

But beware you principalities and powers of darkness and people of the world who, “…loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil” (John 3:19). When Nero is afforded even more natural and unnatural power and authority—straight from the gates of hell—he and his kingdom will experience exponentially the full fury of God’s wrath. It begins with the:

Fifth Trumpet: This is the first truly supernatural expression of God’s supreme power, in contrast to the natural disasters up to this point of the Tribulation. The Lord permits the embodied demonic angels who have been imprisoned in the Abyss since the Great Flood (alongside of Nero for the last two thousand years) to be released. Listen to what they will do and to whom:

“They were told not to harm the grass or plants or trees, but only the people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. They were told not to kill them but to torture them for five months with pain like the pain of a scorpion sting. In those days people will seek death but will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them!” (Revelation 9:4-6, italics to emphasize that those attacked by the demonic angels were one and the same as those “who belong to the world”).

(Artist Rendition of the Locusts from the Abyss)

Then we read, “The first terror is past, but look, two more terrors are coming!” (Verse 12).

Sixth Trumpet: This is another exercise of God’s absolute divine sovereignty by releasing four evil angels who lead a vast army of demonic angels (could be the same angels of the fifth trumpet or other evil angels or a combination of wicked angels and human armies).

“Then the four angels who had been prepared for this hour and day and month and year were turned loose to kill one-third of all the people on earth. I heard the size of their army, which was 200 million mounted troops” (Revelation 9:15-16).

We know that the incredible death and destruction unleashed by this vast army will also be directed against unbelievers. Why? Because, “…the people who did not die in these plagues still refused to repent of the evil deeds and turn to God…” (Verse 20).

Seventh Trumpet: “…Lightning flashed, thunder crashed and roared, and there was an earthquake and a terrible hailstorm” (Revelation 11:19). This is the third of four earthquakes during the twenty-one judgments.

However, before the actual execution of the 7^th Trumpet judgment, there is an another awesome announcement that stunningly signals the beginning of the end of the beginning of the Tribulation. It is now time for the Lord to vent the maximum ferocity of his wrath against the remaining depraved, defiant, ungodly, unjust, and unrepentant inhabitants of the earth. With, however, sufficient restraint so as not to wipe out the human race, as the Lord did with Noah’s flood. And with the express purpose of purifying and preparing the earth for the Kingdom of God.

Read with me:

“The world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever” (Revelation 11:15).

“…We give thanks to you, Lord God, the Almighty, the one who is and who always was, for now you have assumed your great power, and have begun to reign. The nations were filled with wrath, but now the time of your wrath has come … It is time to destroy all who have caused destruction on the earth” (Revelation 11:16-18, italics for emphasis).

Earlier in Revelation (before the judgments began), we read these words: “…Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty—the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come” (Revelation 4:8, italics for emphasis).

Do you see the difference in the italicized words of the above two passages? When we get to the 7^th Trumpet, it is no longer a matter of our great and glorious God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—who is “still to come.” His magnificent reign has begun. There’s nothing Satan, Antichrist, or the False Prophet can do about it, although they will still arrogantly and vainly try.

Now it’s time for evil (personified) to drink the full cup of God’s wrath to the last drop.

The Seven Bowls

It’s not quite to the point where the Antichrist and his followers haven’t seen anything yet. But it’s close to that, because the final seven catastrophes are unimaginable, especially the last one.

Notice once again against whom the bullseye target of God’s retribution is drawn.

First Bowl: “So the first angel left the Temple and poured out his bowl on the earth, and horrible, malignant sores broke out on everyone who had the mark of the beast and who worshipped his statue” (Revelation 16:2).

By this time, all or nearly all who have chosen Nero as their (false) messiah will have taken the mark of his name or number in their forehead or right hand (see Revelation 13:16).

Second Bowl: “Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse. And everything in the sea died” (Revelation 16:3).

Incredible! The remaining two-thirds of the seas not contaminated in the 2^nd Trumpet have now been ravaged by death.

*Note: Prior to the bowl judgments we read a second time about the tribulation saints that were first introduced in the fifth seal … those who had been killed earlier in the Tribulation. We now see that more of their brothers and sisters in Christ (Rev. 6:10-11) had also been martyred.

“…And on it stood all the people who had been victorious over the beast and his statue and the number representing his name…” (Revelation 15:2). Though they had been slain, theirs was the ultimate victory—everlasting life instead of eternal death, which would be the fate of those who belong to the world.

Thus, the strong implication is that by now the vast majority of the remaining people on earth are unbelievers—those that follow Antichrist; also those who don’t, but still have not turned to God and Messiah Jesus.

Third Bowl: Just like the 3^rd Trumpet blast, this bowl judgment was poured out on the inland bodies of fresh water all over the earth. Likewise, the remaining two-thirds will turn to blood. And the angel who poured out this bowl proclaims:

“…You are just, O Holy One, who is and who always was, because you have sent these judgments. Since they shed the blood of your holy people and your prophets, you have given them blood to drink. It is their just reward. And I heard a voice from the altar, saying, ‘Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, your judgments are true and just’” (Revelation 16:5-7).

Fourth Bowl: Another extraordinary event—a solar flare of epic (Biblical!) proportions. Yet with the same obstinate response of unbelievers:

“Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, causing it to scorch everyone with its fire. Everyone was burned by this blast of heat, and they cursed the name of God, who had control over all these plagues. They did not repent of their sins and turn to God and give him glory” (Revelation 16:8-9).

This is also another indication that the main purpose of these awesome events is to give unbelievers one last chance to acknowledge the Lord. Like the Exodus plagues against Pharaoh and Egypt: after each Tribulation judgment, people will be faced yet again with the decision to turn to God for salvation or harden their heart even more.

Fifth Bowl: “Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was plunged into darkness. His subjects ground their teeth in anguish, and they cursed the God of heaven for their pains and sores. But they did not repent of their evil deeds and turn to God” (Revelation 16:10-11).

This is eerily similar to the 9^th plague against the Egyptians before the Exodus. “…A deep darkness covered the entire land of Egypt for three days. During all that time the people could not see each other, and no one moved. But there was light as usual where the people of Israel lived” (Exodus 10:22).

Darkness so thick it could be cut with a knife! But only on, over, and around the Antichrist and his followers. And it will last much longer than three days.

Sixth Bowl: “Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great Euphrates River, and it dried up so that the kings from the east could march their armies toward the west without hindrance” (Revelation 16:12).

By combining the sixth bowl with Daniel 11:36-45, here we see the definitive Biblical passages on the final battle of the ages … what virtually the entire world knows as Armageddon. Not long after the kings of the east (and the south—Daniel 11) march on Antichrist, all of these armies will join together to take on the rider of the true white horse (contrasted to the first seal horse), who is none other than Messiah Jesus, King of all kings and Lord of all lords (See Revelation 19:11-21).

During that epic battle to end all battles, Antichrist and the False Prophet will be seized and thrown alive into the Lake of Fire. Satan will be bound during the 1000-year reign of Messiah and believers on the earth.

Seventh Bowl: Now the end has come with inconceivable devastation that will dwarf all the disasters before it. Here, I would like to defer to an excerpt from the aforementioned Eye of Prophecy article, Shocking Statistics of the Great Tribulation (in italics):

Although all of the apocalyptic events allowed or caused by God are exceptional, none more so than the final earth-shattering demonstration of God’s power. Every time I read it, I shake my head in disbelief. I repeat the words, but they still do not compute. My imagination lags far behind the stunning reality of it all. A comparative image comes to mind; however, I realize that it is a fully inadequate analogy. I’ll mention it anyway—in order to gain a partial perspective and picture of how the final bowl judgment of God will surpass of all the catastrophes preceding it. The imagery that comes to mind is that of a lengthy fire-works display that culminates in the greatest, most magnificent grand finale ever seen. But the resemblance is similar only in form, certainly not in substance. Here is God’s final Tribulation judgment:

“Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air. And a mighty shout came from the throne in the Temple saying, ‘It is finished!’ Then the thunder crashed and rolled, and lightning flashed. And a great earthquake struck—the worst since people were placed on the earth. The great city of Babylon (Rome) split into three sections, and the cities of many nations fell into heaps of rubble … And every island disappeared, and all the mountains were leveled. There was a terrible hailstorm, and hailstones weighing seventy-five pounds fell from the sky onto the people below. They cursed God because of the terrible plague of the hailstorm” (Revelation 16:17-21).

Once again, absolutely incredible! Not just cities all over the earth crumbling into rubble, or every single island—think of the Hawaiian Islands—completely disappearing (giant tsunamis that not only inundate but sink the islands), and all of the earth’s mountains flattened into level plains. No, that isn’t what causes the unrepentant who are left on the earth to curse God once again. It was the giant hailstones that obviously were even more devastating than the other colossal calamities. The disaster depicted in the recently released movie, San Andreas, is nothing more than a tiny dot on a Seismograph compared to this unbelievably powerful world-wide earthquake, its aftermath, and the hailstorm to follow in this final and most fearsome judgment of all.

Things to Ponder

Based on persuasive Biblical documentation and associations, I believe we’ve identified which judgments will take place in the first half and the second half of the Great Tribulation. There are eleven events before the half-way mark and ten afterwards. (Actually, ten and ten, as will shortly be explained!) There’s a lot of symmetry just in that apportionment alone. Now let’s see if we can fine tune the sequential timing/spacing of all twenty-one events. Granted, this will involve some speculation, but supposition that is derived from correlating evidence in Revelation that can logically lead to this premise:

Due to the continuous and consecutive nature of the judgements and God’s sovereign sense of order and distribution of the plagues throughout seven years, there’s every reason to believe that each judgment will take place over a fairly equal span of time, from the end of one to the beginning of the next judgment … with brief short-time overlaps.

There’s a specific example on which to base this premise: the five months duration in which the locusts (symbolical representation of demonic angels from the Abyss) torment unbelievers to the extent that they wished they were dead.

We begin with the 84 months of the tribulation (7 years x 12 months). Then we divide this time span by 21 (judgments) resulting in a period of four months (average between events).

However, in referring to Daniel Chapter 12, there is an additional 75 days (2 ½ months) at the end of the Tribulation (time/space doesn’t permit elaboration; however, I’ve explained this in a couple prior articles). Technically, we also need to reduce the judgments to twenty (20) as the 5^th Seal is a depiction of the slain tribulation saints up to that point which takes place mostly during the first four seals. It is not an actual event (judgment) as such.

Thus, to be even more precise we need to use the figure of 86.5 (total) months of the actual tribulation, divided by 20 events with the result of 4.325 months average length of time between plagues. Conclusion: an average time of 4 to 5 months between each judgment. With the understanding that the first four Seal plagues interface and overlap each other; a total of about eighteen months duration for the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

One example: The massive solar flare (4^th Bowl) will conceivably take place right around the six-year mark of the Tribulation (with another 14 months or so to go).

In God’s mercy and patience even during the Tribulation, it would be just like him to give those who belong to the world a clearer picture of the approximate length of time between judgments, which they will have realized at least by the mid-point of the tribulation.

Make sense?

I do hope one thing makes sense above all. If you’re reading this article and don’t know Messiah Jesus as your personal Savior, it should be so very evident by now that you don’t want to be left behind at the Rapture to experience any part of the Tribulation.

“That terrible day of the Lord is near. Swiftly it comes—a day of bitter tears, a day when even strong men will cry out. It will be a day when the Lord’s anger is poured out—a day of terrible distress and anguish, a day of ruin and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, a day of trumpet calls and battle cries. Down go the walled cities and the strongest battlements!” (Zephaniah 1:14-16).

Do you see the stunning similarity between this passage in Zephaniah and the Great Tribulation passages in the book of Revelation, written some 700 years later?!

Please take stock of eternity … it’s such a very long time!

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).