The Great Tribulation
Hal Molloy · May 18, 2003
Major Bible Themes (2002-03), No. 46
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://www.hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/48262255297630

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

So today, the Great Tribulation. Pardon me? We have less weeks? The reason is that the first week we had an introduction and we did not start out with Chapter 1. So here's my question. How do we know that there's going to be a Great Tribulation? that God is going to pour out his judgment upon this earth, and it's going to be the greatest manifestation of his wrath and judgment upon this earth. How do we know that? And how do we know, and we're going to look at this morning, Israel's relationship to the Great Tribulation period? So how do we know all this? So scripture reveals all this to us, right? We would not have a clue unless scripture revealed it. And so just as scripture reveals the Great Tribulation, so it is with the Second Coming, the Resurrection, and all that.

So we have a very clear picture in terms of what's going to happen in the future. And we don't need to go to somebody with tea leaves or some crystal ball or whatever. We've got God's very word to tell us. Now, there is a tremendous prophecy in the book of Daniel concerning the tribulation period. It is an incredible prophecy. And it's only like three or four verses, but it gives us a big picture snapshot of what is going to occur. Not only does it tell us about the tribulation period, but it's a prophecy that tells us that Christ would come, not only that he would come, but he would die at a certain time, at a certain point in history that he would die. It's incredible.

So I want to take a look at it, so I want you to turn to Daniel chapter 9 verse 24. Just to get this in context so we understand it, look at verse 20 and we're in Daniel chapter 9 And while I was speaking and praying, this is Daniel talking and confessing my sin. Isn't this interesting? Here's Daniel. And you know where Daniel is? He's in captivity.

He's in Babylon right now. And when Nebuchadnezzar invaded Israel, he took Daniel and Daniel is still in... I think Daniel spent his entire life in Babylon. I don't think he ever came back to Israel. But he had an incredible ministry in Babylon, just like Joseph had an incredible ministry down in Egypt. And he died there. And the same thing is true. God took Daniel, put him in Babylon, incredible ministry.

So while I was speaking and praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people, Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God, for the holy mountain of my God, yea, while I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, when I had seen in the vision, in the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly touched me about the time of the evening oblation. And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am come forth to give thee skill and understanding. At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to show thee, for thou art greatly beloved. Therefore, understand the matter and consider the vision." So here comes Gabriel angel and is going to give this vision to Daniel. And this vision is about Israel. This vision is about the Messiah. And look what he says in verse 24. He says, 70 weeks are determined upon my people and upon my holy city.

Okay? Now, I want you to just look at that It says 70 weeks. The word weeks there in Hebrew is Shabuwa. Shabuwa. And Shabuwa means, simply translated, sevens. So what Gabriel is saying to Daniel, 70 sevens are determined upon thy people. 70 sevens. And in scripture, Shabuwa could be sevens of days, it could be sevens of weeks, it could be sevens of years. So in this particular case, to cut it short without proving it to you, this is Shabuwa, sevens of years. He says seventy-sevens of years are determined upon thy people. And then he gives the reason for the tribulation period in terms of with respect to Israel. It says, 70 weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city.

And here's the reason. Now, here's the six reasons. To finish the transgression and to make an end of sin and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and anoint the Most Holy." Okay, there are six reasons he gives for the 70 weeks. So the question is, okay, 70 weeks, what's the starting time? From where? And where does it start? Where does it end? And what's all contained in these 70 weeks?

So look at verse 25. Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem unto Messiah, the Prince, shall be seven weeks, and three score and two weeks, the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troubleless times." So notice that there's a division here of the 70 weeks. There's a period of seven weeks, and then following that, there's a period of 62 weeks. How many weeks is that? 69 weeks. Right? But there's 70 weeks altogether. Right? And so there's a 70th week that hasn't been accounted for yet. Okay. Let's see. I'm just wondering what the best way to do this. But look at, let's just go through the text first.

In verse 26, and after three score and two weeks, how many weeks is that? 3 score and 2. A score is 20. Three 20s are 60. So after the 3 score or 62 weeks, the Messiah shall be cut off. The word cut off is a very strong word in Hebrew that means to punish by death. Okay, so the Messiah is going to be killed, be put to death. But not for himself, reading on in verse 26, but not for himself.

And the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and sanctuary. Now, notice there, it says the people of the Prince that shall come." So the question is, who is the Prince that shall come? It is talking about the Antichrist. It's not talking about the Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah. He's going to be cut off. And then it says, here's the sequence of events, and the people of the Prince that shall come shall destroy the city and sanctuary And the end of it shall be with a flood, and unto the end of war desolations are determined." Now, look at verse 27.

We're missing that 70th week. And he, and he refers back to the prince of the people that shall come, the Antichrist, and he, the Antichrist, shall confirm the covenant with many for one week." How many years? Seven years. The one week, Shabuwa 1-7. Seven years.

And in the midst of the week, He shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease. So there's going to be, in this week, there's going to be sacrifices. Israel is going to be making sacrifices And this Antichrist is going to stop it. He's going to cause it to cease.

It's going to end in the middle of this 70th week. Back to verse 27. And the overspreading of abominations, he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined, shall be poured upon the desolate. or the desolator, depending upon what translation you're looking at. Okay. Now, what I want to do is just show you a picture of this, and we'll go through it.

In verse 24, 70 weeks, 70 Shabbos, or 77, And we said that his years, 490 years, are determined upon thy people, talking about Israel, talking to Daniel, his people is Israel, and upon the holy city, Jerusalem. In verse 24 of Daniel chapter 9. And then, he says in verse 25, from the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem.

Remember when we did Israel's history, that the temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, and then Israel went into captivity, into Babylonian captivity, and then the Medes and the Persians overcame Nebuchadnezzar and his kingdom, and then the king of was it Cyrus? Do you remember? I think it was Cyrus that allowed, that gave the commandment to go to the Jews, to go back to the land and restore and build Jerusalem.

Now the question is, when was that in time? Because that's the starting point of the 70 weeks or the 490 years. Those who are scholars have gone back into the book of Nehemiah to where that command is. And so the command is there. Now the question is when. But it's circa about 445 BC. In other words, approximately 445 BC.

And then in Daniel 25, where it's 925, where it says the seven weeks, and the seven weeks was to where the streets and the wall would be rebuilt again or built again. That ended the seven weeks or 49 years. And that's exactly what has happened in history. And then it said, then there will be 62 weeks until the Messiah, the Prince. So 434 years from the end of this 49 years until the Messiah, the Prince. And then it says, after that, after this, he would be cut off, violently put to death. Let me explain something to you.

When we talk about years in Scripture, it's usually prophetic years, which consist of 360 days. So that when you go to the book of Revelation, you'll see numbers like 42 months, 1,260 days, when it's talking about the tribulation period. And so if we take 360, when it talks about Half the time of the tribulation period is 42 months. How many years is that? Three and a half. And then it also says that the same period is 1,260 days. How many years is that? In prophetic days, 360 days per year. Three and a half.

So when you get into the book of Revelation, you see the tremendous correlation between the book of Revelation and the book of Daniel. So what is interesting is that after the 62 weeks, the Messiah is going to be cut off, put to death. And now the question is, how close, how close did this come? How close was the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross to the end of this 69 weeks?

Now, there is a guy, his name is Sir Robert Anderson, who's done a calculation. And he went back into scripture to say, what day, not only what year was this, but what month this was, what month and what day this was. So however he did it, he computed the month and the day of this command to restore the wall and the city. And then he took 360 days, multiplied it by 483 years, and came out with a number of days, and then said, okay, now on our calendar we have 365 and a quarter days, right? And we know that this was 29 AD and this was 445 BC, and made the comparison. And in his calculation came out to the identical, the day, and he also computed the day that Jesus Christ died, the month and the day that Jesus Christ died. And it came out to 173,690, whatever it was, days for this. And if you just take the years in the month that these happened.

There are other scholars that came along and said, well, we don't know about that calculation because the calendars change and there were certain changes. But be that as it may, whichever way you do it, and taking into account different things, the thing is this, that the Lord Jesus Christ's death with respect to these 69 weeks, comes out very close.

Very, very close. So it's an incredible prophecy. Okay. Then, remember what it says, that, and then after that, the city and sanctuary would be destroyed. And it was. It was destroyed in 70 A.D. I mean, it was totally destroyed. So, in Daniel's prophecy. Now, then in verse 27, in chapter 9, it talks about the prince that should come.

He's going to confirm the covenant with Israel for one week, or one, or seven years. Now, between, at the end of the 69 weeks and the beginning of the 70th week, you've got what we call a prophetic parenthesis. There's 70 weeks to determine, but there's this time difference or prophetic parenthesis between the end of the 69 weeks and the beginning of the 70th week. Can anybody think of Other prophetic parentheses in Scripture?

I'm thinking of Isaiah 61 verses 1 and 2, where it talks about the Lord's coming, that when He's come, He's going to heal the sick and the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to those, and then it says, and take vengeance upon upon Israel's enemies, okay?

So that's in verse 61 and verse 62. Then, if you remember, as Christ's custom was, was to go into the temple every Sabbath and read scripture, and one day they handed him the book of Isaiah, right? And he opens it up and he reads from Isaiah 61 and verse 1 and 2.

And in the middle of verse 2, he closes the book. So he reads the part where it says that he's going to heal the sick and the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty, etc. And the part where it says, and take vengeance upon his enemies, before he gets there, he closes the book. And he says... Or he closes the scroll. And what does he say? He says this, this day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

Isn't that interesting? So there's a prophetic parenthesis there because the part in terms of taking vengeance upon Israel's enemies is not associated with his first coming. Okay, so, and so that is a prophetic parenthesis, and that's going to happen here during this tribulation period. Okay, any questions on Daniel's 70th week? In verse 26 it says, And the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Who is that prince referring to? Not the same prince that was the prince in the tribulation?

It's the same... Satan? Yes. It is referring to Satan and his Antichrist. Other than non-believers. And think about this. Yes, unbelievers. The people are unbelievers. In John, is it John 8, 44, where Christ is talking to the Pharisees, and the Pharisee says, well, our father is Abraham, right? And what does Christ say? No. Your father is who?

The devil. And Satan. So the people of the prince, and the prince comes from Satan, and so it's talking about Satan. Yes. Okay. Two different periods. Two different times. Right. This one and this one. Very good. Good question. Excellent. Okay. Now. Now we have described in the broad sense this period of time, this tribulation period. Oh, whoa. I'm looking at my reference here. That's what the people are going to say during this period of time.

And it talks about this abomination of desolation, right, in Daniel 9, 27, and in Matthew 24, 15. It's very interesting, because Matthew 24 and 25 deal with this period of time here. And Christ talks about this period of time, and he says in verse 15 in Matthew 24, that the abomination of desolation, the Antichrist, shall come, stand in the holy place, in the middle of the tribulation, proclaim himself as God. And so that's what Daniel is talking about.

Tremendous, wonderful correlation of scripture, Old Testament, New Testament. Now, if we take this period of time, the tribulation period, There are several books in scripture, Old Testament, New Testament, that talk about the Tribulation Period. All of the Old Testament, many of the Old Testament prophets, that talked about the Day of the Lord.

And the Day of the Lord consists of two parts. The Day of the Lord consists of wrath and judgment, and also blessing. So the Day of the Lord is that period of time that includes the Tribulation Period and the Millennial Kingdom. So when prophets are talking about the Day of the Lord and talking about wrath and judgment, they're talking about the first part of the Day of the Lord, that seven-year period, or the Tribulation Period. When they're talking about blessing, they're talking about the Millennial Kingdom, which is a thousand years. But they refer to that whole period as the Day of the Lord.

So, the Old Testament prophets talk about the Tribulation Period as referenced in the Day of the Lord. Matthew chapters 24 and 25 talk about the entire Tribulation Period. Christ reveals this to his apostles as he's sitting on the Mount of Olives. The Book of Revelation from chapters 6 to 19 and 20 talk about this Tribulation Period. and it gives a very detailed account of what is going to happen during these seven years. So in 20 minutes, we're going to go through Matthew 24, the Day of the Lord, and all of the Book of Revelation.

Would you believe that we're going to do this? So the best way I know how to do that is is just hit you all at once here. Now, this is a complicated chart, but we're going to go through it in just pieces. But I want you to understand two things about the chart.

Well, the first thing is this, is that what we're talking about is Daniel's 70th week. That 70th week in Daniel chapter 9, verse 27, And if we were to look, and we're not going to look at Jeremiah, Jeremiah in chapter 30 verse 7 calls this period of time, the tribulation period, the time of Jacob's trouble. So it's referred to Daniel's 70th week, it's referred to the time of Jacob's trouble.

Now the other thing I want you to notice about the chart is up on top here I've got the order of the book of Revelation, the way things are revealed in the book of Revelation. So we go from chapter 6 in the book of Revelation, chapter 7, chapter 8, chapter 11, chapter 12, chapter 15, through 16. So this is the order in which things are revealed in the book of Revelation. But just because this is the order of the book of Revelation doesn't necessarily mean That's the order of the way these things are going to be fulfilled.

Okay? Get my picture? Understand what I'm trying to say? That this may be the order in which it's revealed, but the order in which it's fulfilled may be different. So, what we have on the chart then is the order of the book of Revelation and the order of fulfillment, the way it's going to be fulfilled. How do you know that?

I'm smart. No. No, I'm teasing, of course. The way we know it is correlation of scripture. It's the only way you know it, is to correlate scripture with scripture. So let's take some easy ones, all right? Let's take the judgments. The judgments tend to be in chronological order. So you have the six seal judgments. And then the seventh seal opens up into the seven trumpet judgments.

Now we show six here, and there's the seventh trumpet judgment. which is revealed later on, in terms of, it talks about Christ's kingdom reign foreseen, and it tells all about Christ's kingdom reign, which is here, right? At the end of the tribulation. So, I mean, you see the point I'm getting at? Just because Christ's kingdom reign is revealed here in Revelation chapter 11, it doesn't happen until the end of the tribulation.

And then after the seven trumpet judgments, then you have the seven bowl judgments. And all of those judgments occur in sequence and order. And so here they are plotted in terms of when they're going to happen during the tribulation period. Now the question is, how do I know? How do you know that this is the order in which it's going to happen? How do you know that the six sealed judgments are truly depicted like this? And maybe, why aren't the six sealed judgments all in the first half of the Tribulation? Why do I have it like this?

Okay. Now, depending upon what book you pick up and what commentary you look at, I mean, everyone has it different. You pick up Dr. Wolvard, who was the president of Dallas Theological Seminary. He doesn't commit in terms of when. If you pick up a book like Things to Come by Dr. Dwight D. Pentecost, who was an instructor for many years down at Dallas Theological Seminary.

He says that the six seal judgments occur during the first half of the Tribulation. So he puts these six seals in the first half of the Tribulation. So depending upon who you're looking at, depends upon where they put them. Now, I put them this way for a reason. So let me tell you the reason. Remember when we looked at this, that the Prince to come is going to confirm a covenant with many for one week. And the Prince to come, the Antichrist, he's going to make a peace treaty with Israel.

What is the thing that Israel wants? Peace. What is the thing that every single one of our presidents has tried to bring about? Peace in Israel. So whether it be Jimmy Carter, whether it be Bill Clinton, whether it be George Bush, and George Bush has his initiative, which is on the table now. What's it called? But he has his peace initiative that goes like this.

It says, Palestinians, you have to stop the suicide bombings. And Israel, you have to stop invading their cities and going in with your tanks. And Israel says, oh yeah, we'll stop. We'll cut it, as long as they don't do any more suicide bombings. Well, what happened this morning? This morning, we've got two more suicide bombings in Israel. So they haven't stopped.

So Israel is going to continue on doing what it has to do to protect itself. Do you think George Bush is going to bring about peace in Israel? No. Do you think the next president after him is going to be? No. Do you think anyone? No. There's only one person that's ever going to be priest of Israel, and that's the Lord. So, no matter what piece of initiative there is, it will never, never work.

Because scripture says, God says about the Arabs, He says, they're like a wild ass. Can't control them. And that's the word He uses. He says, they're like a wild horse, you can't control them. If you've ever been around a wild ass, if you've ever been around a wild horse, you know.

So anyhow, he confirms this covenant with Israel for one week. So during the first half of the tribulation period, there is relative peace, and I say relative peace, Whoever this Antichrist is, he comes, and he is a very powerful guy, and half charismatic, who the world will look at, who Israel will look at, and get sucked in by Israel, that Israel will bring its allegiance to this guy, and in it with this guy, for peace. But as you read through, chapter 24 and also as you read through Revelation chapter 6 that here comes a person on a white horse and this person on the white horse I believe is the Antichrist white horse and he comes with deception and then it talks about he comes on a red horse and a red horse has wars he comes on a black horse which which signifies famine, a pale horse which signifies death, and then, after that fourth seal, there comes the fifth seal, which is martyrdom, where the Jews are because of their faith.

Now, the question is this, when will the Jews be willing to die for the witness of Jesus Christ? See, is it going to be in this first half of the tribulation period? I don't think so. Because here they are, and they're sucked in, and so who needs the Lord Jesus Christ?

But what happens is there's going to be wars. And in fact, I believe during the first half of the Tribulation, Ezekiel 38 and 39, a lot of that will be fulfilled where Russia, Ethiopia, Turkey, Germany, all these nations that are mentioned in Ezekiel 38 and 39 will come into Israel, truly invade Israel.

And with overwhelming force, just overwhelming force. But what happens is, in our last, how did many of our soldiers get killed? Friendly fire, didn't we? And what's going to happen when all these nations come into Israel? if you will, friendly fire. They're going to be killing each other. And then not only that, God is going to send down hailstorms and etc. and destroy those armies.

So it's interesting in terms of God's protection during that first half of the tribulation period. So he really protects Israel. And I think as a result of that, and as a result of the men of the 144,000 Jews because what happened in Revelation chapter 7 it says that there are 144,000 Jews and these aren't Jehovah Witnesses now they're Jews 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes and the only tribe is Daniel and only because of Joseph make a substitute for Fr. Daniel. But there's 144,000 Jews who are witnesses to the world, if you will, throughout this tribulation period.

Their ministry goes from the beginning of the tribulation to the end of the tribulation. And God puts a seal on them. They're His. No one can take them. No one. And so their seal of their ministry in terms of preaching the gospel. Now the question is, which gospel are they preaching?

But they're preaching the gospel of the kingdom, which is a little different than the gospel of the heavenly gospel. It's going to be the gospel of the kingdom. But we're not going to go into that. But I want you to speak about the gospel that the Lord Jesus Christ preached. preach the same gospel that we're saved by.

The gospel of the king, the gospel of the kingdom. That he's king and he's going to set up the kingdom and rule. And part of that gospel is that he's their savior. So that same gospel is going to be preached by the 144,000 people of the kingdom. And it's going to It's going to save, but the difference between the two Gospels is one's earthly. The Gospel of the Kingdom is earthly. The Gospel that we're saved by is heavenly. We're heavenly people. We're non-earthly people.

That's a whole other subject, which they've been spending two weeks last next door on. So, there's the ministry of the 144,000. The reason why I believe the break, the seal is here, is that Israel is going to turn to the Lord Jesus Christ by the middle of the trip. And they are going to be sold out for Christ. Really. And they're going to be willing to die for Him. And they will. Not the 144,000, but those Jews who are sate of the 144,000. and they're going to believe, and they're going to be willing to die, and they will.

So that's the reason I put the fifth. So this is my humble attempt at adding scripture with scripture and putting a timing on it. But notice something. Notice the judgments as they build. You have seal 3, 4 in the first half of the tribulation, and then seal 5, 6, and then the trumpet judgments, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and I mean, they get tighter and tighter as time goes on. The intensity of this wrath and judgment builds in this second half. And if you would go to like Matthew 4, 21, it says that this period of time, which is the tribulation, the great one. There is history where God has poured out his wrath and judgment like in this journal in this period.

Okay. That's 144,000. In the book of Revelation, it's that there are going to be two witnesses. And the witnesses are witnessing for Christ. for 1,260 days. And I believe that that's going to be the first half of the Tribulation. So here we go. I couldn't put a dotted line through. So here are the two witnesses during the first half of the Tribulation period.

And they're going to have power to stop the rain, to bring down plagues. They're going to have Tremendous power, and there's going to be extra power. And what do you think the world's response is going to be to these guys? They're going to hate them, and they're going to try and kill them. Whatever method, what's interesting as you read through the account, whatever method they use to try and kill them, they will be killed by these two witnesses. They'll be wiped out.

That can touch them, except one person. And in the middle of the tribulation, with the Antichrist. The Antichrist reveals himself and he proclaims himself as God. God orders the Antichrist to kill the Jews. And they lay dead in the streets of Jerusalem for three and a half days.

And the people of the world are doing. They're partying. Get out your Coors Light, whatever it is. They are partying because they want to get rid of these two guys. And then the Lord says, He resurrects them. He resurrects them. Fear our world. Fear. And so that's why I believe as a result of the ministry of 144, the two witnesses that what Paul says in Romans that all I think that's going to happen right near the tribulation period because they're going to be martyred for their love of Christ. There's a battle in heaven between Michael the angel and Satan and Michael wins the battle. Satan is cast to earth. So he's cast to earth in the second half of the tribulation period and takes out his vengeance upon Israel. and executes Israel.

But no matter what he comes in, he comes for example to Israel with the flood. You know what God does? And the earth opens up and the waters go down and Israel is protected. God takes Israel and puts her in the wilderness. And so what he does during this whole period of time is protecting Israel. This is not a word game. where God is in Israel. We always think of the tribulation period, God is pouring out his wrath against Israel, not so. Because what he does, he brings Israel into the land and he's through with, if you will, judging them. Their judgment is occurring now. In terms of not keeping the law, I'll bless you if you don't keep the law, I'll curse you, and I'll scatter you. They're scattered. Well, they're scattered right now. They're his people. They're his children. They're his people.

They're his children. They're his people. They're his children. They're his people. They're his children. They're his people. They're his children. They're his people. They're his children. They're his people. They're his children. They're his people. They're his children. They're his people. They're his children. They're his people.

They're his children. They're his people. They're his children. They're his children. They're his people. They're his children. They're his children. They're his people. They're his children. They're his children. They're his children. They're his children. They're his children. They're his children. They're his children. They're his children. They're his children. They of wrath and judgment in Israel. Okay, we... Sure.

I think it occurs in around the end of the first half of the Tribulation with respect to all the nations coming in against Israel. And I can show you, I mean, I have a reason for that as to why the book would have to go through Ezekiel 38-39. The other thing you have in your handout here is one of the reasons why I've made my choice and put in the seal judgment over here, the fifth seal on the other side of the middle of the Tribulation, is by making the comparison of Matthew 24 and Revelation chapter 6 is that I think there's a tremendous comparison between those first four sealed judgments and Matthew 24. So that's one of the reasons.

It's not an arbitrary thing. Okay, let's close in a word of prayer. Our Father and our God, again, we are just so thankful for your word that you have revealed to us things to come. And Lord, in and of ourselves, we would not know of this, but we thank you, Father God, your consistency in terms of your revelation and that we can compare scripture with scripture and know what is going to be happening. But Father, more than that, we see your essence through all of this, your wonderful grace and mercy and love through all of these judgments, especially upon the nation of Israel and the two witnesses and the 144,000. And knowing Father, that's the same love and grace and mercy that you shed upon us. And we thank you in Christ's name. Amen.