A Timeline of the 70th Week of Daniel

Before laying out a very abbreviated timeline, it is necessary to make sure that some terms are understood. One of them is the term"The Day of the Lord". The Day of the Lord is known as the time of God's wrath when He will finish the plan of salvation and punish the wicked before setting up His kingdom on earth. To that end there can be found below, a small list (there are a great many more verses) that give us some of the events of that time. These events are crucial in understanding the timeline later, as they show up in the gospels and Revelation as a pivotal point in the timing of things, so it is here that this article will begin. To keep things to a minimum, the Scripture references will be given, but the verses themselves will not be written out. It falls to the reader to get out their Bible to confirm all of this (which as a Berean you should be doing anyhow). ;-)

Day of the Lord Signs

These are just a few of the signs heralding the Day of the Lord. These signs will be seen again in the gospels and Revelation.

Isaiah 2:17,19,21 - men hide in rocks and caves for fear of the Lord, Lord alone exalted

Isaiah 13:9-10,13 - wrath, anger, destroy land, destroy sinners; sun, moon, stars go dark, earth & heavens shake

Isaiah 34:8 - day of the Lord's vengeance

Jeremiah 46:10 - day of the Lord's vengeance

Joel 2:10 - sun, moon, stars turn dark, earth & heavens tremble

Joel 2:31 - sun turns dark, moon turns blood (dark red) before the Day of the Lord

Joel 2:32 - deliverance for the remnant who call upon the name of the Lord

Malachi 4:5 - Elijah comes before the Day of the Lord

Acts 2:20 - sun turns dark, moon turns blood (dark red) before Day of the Lord

From these few verses we see that it will be a day of God's wrath and vengeance, and that there will be some very specific heavenly signs. The sun, moon, and stars will stop giving their light. Some people believe this will simply be eclipses. The problem with this is that 1) eclipses are not seen the world over, and these signs are, meaning they are not ordinary eclipses. 2) People do not run into the caves of the earth to hide from mere eclipses of the sun or moon. These things happening are not only life threatening, they threaten the very existence of the planet as far as people are concerned. The earth and heavens will both shake. The earth will literally shake with earthquakes, and the heavens, both literally and spiritually as the heavenly bodies are disrupted and the spiritual world will be at war. There will be incredible destruction of the earth and the wicked, and people will try to hide in caves or anywhere they can for fear of what is coming. Elijah's ministry will precede these signs. When he appears, people can know that the Day of the Lord will follow after.

Daniel's 70^th Week

Daniel 9:27 “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”

The 70^th week of Daniel is a seven year period of time when God will finish His work of redemption. It is divided in half (3 ½ years x 2) with the midpoint known as the abomination of desolation when the beast, son of perdition, or dragon ( Dan. 7:21,25, 8:9-11, 11:31; 2 Thess. 2:3-4; Rev.12: 7-17, 13:5,7) declares himself God and persecutes the saints. The second half from the day of the abomination is 1290 days long for all to be accomplished - Dan. 12:11. There is a period of 1260 days, also known as time, times, and half a time, or forty-two months from the time of the abomination. - Rev. 11:3, 12:6; Dan. 12:7, Rev. 12:14; Rev. 11:2, 13:5. The beast's reign lasts forty-two months or time, times and half a time. The two witnesses of Rev. 11:3-4 prophesy for 1260 days after the abomination. The temple is trampled underfoot for forty-two months after the abomination. Rev. 11:1-2 The woman (Israel) who flees to the wilderness is protected for time, times & half a time or 1260 days, Rev. 12:6,14. All of these are in the same time frame from the abomination of desolation. There is also a period of 1335 days from the abomination, Dan. 12:13. Those who reach this day are blessed. So there is a period of thirty days from the 1260^th to the 1290^th day, and a period of forty-five days from the 1290^th day to the 1335^th day. This entire seven year period is not referred to anywhere in Scripture as the tribulation. That is an error which has led to erroneous assumptions and conclusions. It is merely Daniel's 70^th week.

The time of sorrow's beginning is not really specified except to say in Matthew that when these things occur we are not to get upset, as it is not the end yet, however we know that whenever it begins, it lasts up until the mid-point of the 70th week of Daniel.

Seals #1-4 – Time of Sorrows – Matt. 24:8

False Christs – Seal #1 - Matt. 24:5; Mark 13:6; Luke 21:8; Rev. 6:1-2

Wars - Seal #2 - Matt. 24:6-7a; Mark 13:7-8a; Luke 21:9-10; Rev. 6:3-4

Famine - Seal #3 - Matt. 24:7; Mark 13:8; Luke 21:11; Rev. 6:5-6

Death - Seal #4 - Matt. 24:7; Mark 13:8; Luke 21:11; Rev. 6:7-8

(through famine,pestilence,martyrdom, earthquakes, etc.)

Seal #5 – Martyrdom – begins before the abomination of desolation and goes through the tribulation, getting much worse during that time.

Martyrdom - Seal #5 - Matt. 24:9-10; Mark 13:9-13; Luke 21:12-17; Rev. 6:9-11, 7:14

The mid-point of the 70^th Week – The Abomination of Desolation

Abomination of Desolation - Matt. 24:15; Mark 13:14; Luke 21:20

2^nd half of the 70^th week commences, starting at the abomination

Jerusalem trodden by Gentiles - Luke 21: 24; Rev. 11:1-2 – 42 months

2 Witnesses Rev. 11:3 – 1260 days

Women flees Rev. 12:6, 14 – 1260 days; time, times & ½ time

Beast reigns Daniel 7:25 – time, times, ½ time, Rev. 13:5 – 42 months

Tribulation - see below

Seal #5 (cont.) The Great Tribulation

This is the only event which is referred to in the Bible as the tribulation, and it does not encompass the entire time of the three and a half years after the abomination of desolation. It is cut short of that period of time. There appear to be no Scriptures that tell when that may be.

Seal # 5 continues - Rev. 7:14

Tribulation - Matt. 24:15-21, Mark 13:14-19; Luke 21:20-24

The Tribulation is cut short of the 3 ½ years

The tribulation is cut short from the entire length of three and a half years, time, times, and half a time, forty-two months, or 1260 days. What appears to cut it short is the sixth seal, which are the signs of the Day of the Lord. People are scared and running for their lives, so they are no longer interested in persecuting the saints. Now all the saints martyred in the tribulation will show up in heaven.

Trib cut short - Matt. 24:22; Mark 13:20

Rest of martyrs in heaven - Rev. 6:11, Rev. 7:14

Seal #6 - Signs Heralding the Day of the Lord

DOL signs - Seal #6 - Matt. 24:29; Mark 13:24-25; Luke 21:25-26; Rev. 6:12-17

Seal #7 – Trumpet Judgments #1-4

Seal #7 - Trumpets #1-4 - Rev. 8:1-13

Seal #7 (cont.) - Trumpet Judgments #5-6 – Woes #1-2

Trumpets #5-6 - Rev. 9: 1-21

Woes #1-2 - Rev. 8:13, Rev. 9:12

End of Day 1260; 42 months; time, times & ½ time end, Mystery of God Finished, Trumpet #7, God's Wrath Begins

2 witnesses die - Rev. 11:7-12

Beasts's reign ends - Dan. 7:9-14, 21-22, 26, 11:45; 2 Thess. 2:8, Rev. 19:20

Trumpet #7 - Rev. 15-16

3^rd woe - Rev. 11:14

Last trump - Rev. 11:15, Matt. 24:31; 1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Thess. 4:16

Mystery finished - Rev. 10:7

2^nd Coming - Matt 24:30; Mark 13:26, 14:62; Luke 21:27; 1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Thess. 2:19, 3:13

4:14-17, 5:23; 2 Thess. 3:1; James 5:7-8; 1 John 2:28; Rev. 11:18, 14:14-16

Resurrection - Dan. 12: 2; John 5:25, 28-29; 1 Cor. 15:23, 52; 1 Thess. 3:13, 4:14-17;

Rev. 11:18, Rev. 20:4-6

Rapture - Matt 24:31; Mark 13:27; Luke 21:28; 1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Thess. 1:10, 4:14-17, 5:9;

2 Thess. 2:1; 1 John 2:28; Rev.11:18; Rev. 14:14-16; Rev. 15:2

God's wrath - Rev. 11:18; Rev. 14:10,19; Rev. 15:1,7 ; Rev. 16:1-21; 18:3, 19:15

Israel saved - Zechariah Chapters 12-14, Rom. 11:25-27

End of Day 1290 – Sheep & Goat Judgment begins

Sheep & Goats - Matt. 25:31-46, Dan. 12:13

Day 1335 – Millennium begins

1000 yr reign - Rev. 20:4

Temple restored – Ez. Chapters 40-48

Jewish Feasts & Traditions

The Jewish Festivals and traditions help in understanding how this timeline works. Christ fulfilled the spring festivals when He came. He died on Passover, was raised on the Feast of Firstfruits, the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost. Everybody knows this, yet they ignore the fall feasts and everything that surrounds them as having anything to do with the Second Coming. They are the pattern of what is to come and we need to study them to understand Revelation more fully.

Rosh haShanah (Head of the Year)

Rosh ha Shanah (new year's day). Also known as the Feast of Trumpets - as there are many trumpet blasts sounded, also known as Yom Teru'ah – the day of the sounding of the shofar(trumpet), also Yom haDin – the day of judgment, Yom Hazikaron – day of remembering, and the Day that No Man Can Know – as it was determined by the sighting of the new moon which required two witnesses reporting to the temple and then the temple declaring it to the public.

Judaism associates this day as the day that God will be crowned and hailed as King, the day of God's judgment, the day heralding the Messianic age, and day the dead will be resurrected at the last trump (which sounds on this day). It is believed that creation started on this day and that God will judge man on the anniversary of this day. They believe that the ten days between this holiday and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) are the days of awe when men will pass before God in judgment. The righteous are written in the Book of Life, the wicked are sent to punishment, and those who do not really fall into either camp are given these ten days to repent. Their fate will be decided on Yom Kippur. They can at that time either have their name written in the Book of Life or will receive God's wrath. These have been Jewish beliefs about this day from the start. When Paul wrote about the last trump, he was referring to this trump. When John wrote, the last trump he mentioned also fulfills these teachings. They are indeed the same last trump.

Notice that the ten days seem to be the time when the Jews will see the Messiah when He returns at the 2^nd Coming at Rosh haShanah. Their decision will be too late then to be of the Bride of Christ and be raptured, but their names can be written in the Book of Life and they will be protected during the wrath of God and can go into the Millennium, or they can continue to reject Christ and suffer God's wrath of the vial judgments. Whoever has not been killed in God's wrath and is left at the end of the 1290 days will go through the sheep and goat judgment. Those who have taken the mark are automatically sent into perdition.

Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur is the tenth day of Tishri (first month of the civil Jewish year, the 1^st day being Rosh haShanah). It is the Day of Atonement. It will be Israel's ultimate Day of Atonement as they will finally see and accept the Final Atonement Sacrifice. One strange tradition that they have about this day, which is a complete mystery to them, as this is the most somber of all the days of the year due to the atonement being offered, is that there is a tradition that Yom Kippur is one of two of the merriest days of the year, for young women would dress in white and go out in the fields to dance, and young men would come and choose brides. They do not understand this association at all. To them it makes no sense, but to us it does.

The Feast of Tabernacles - Sukkot

The Feast of Tabernacles, otherwise known as Sukkot, is on the 15^th of Tishri. This is the Feast of Ingathering, when the final harvest of the year, the grape harvest, comes in. It is an eight day festival of thanksgiving. People build booths and live outside as a reminder of the wilderness experience. At this time of the year, Israel not only offered sacrifices for themselves, but offered sacrifices for the other seventy nations in the world. One of the associations is the theme of Israel returning to Zion at this time. The passages of Scripture read throughout this week have to do with that as well as with God's judgment and the Gog/Magog war. The seventh day of the festival is known as Hoshana Rabbah. It is known as the final day of judgment. This Feast is also known by the names The Feast of Booths or Sukkot (for the outdoor structures known as sukkah, booths, or tabernacles), and the Season of Joy. It is known as “THE Feast” of the entire year (think marriage supper) and is simply referred to at times as “The Feast”. This will no doubt be the week of marriage celebration.

Marriage Customs

Jewish wedding traditions say that at the betrothal, a groom would sign an agreement (made with her father) called a Ketubah* (see below) which outlined his responsibilities and rights toward the bride, (Christ agreed to redeem us and the earth before creation) and he and she would drink a glass of wine to seal the deal. (Christ drank that glass at the last supper and won't drink again until the marriage supper. Matt. 26:29 “But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.” ). Then he would return to His father's house to build a place for them to live. (John 14:2-3 “In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”) When it was finished, the Father would have to look it over and if satisfied, he would give his son the approval to go get the bride. It was a day that only the father could know as he was the one issuing the approval, (Matt. 24:36 “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.”) even if it was apparent the time was at hand. When he would return to get his bride, there would be a noisy procession beforehand, so that the bride knew he was coming and would be ready to return (signs of the Day of the Lord). When he got her there would be a marriage ceremony at which time the ketubah would be read aloud under the canopy for her and witnesses to hear, and it would be witnessed (signed) by two witnesses (the two witnesses of Rev. 11?) as a legal document. The marriage celebration would last a week (the length of the Feast of Tabernacles).

The Ketubah - It appears that the little scroll in Rev. 10 might be a ketubah which is the pre-nuptial agreement. The reason for thinking this, is that the rapture of the Church will occur at the last or 7^th trump and therefore the marriage ceremony should follow shortly thereafter. The events of this chapter occur at that time after the 6^th trumpet. This is the time when Christ can really claim the earth as His again, as the last of the conditions of the seals have been met. He plants one foot on the earth and one foot on the sea, claiming all the earth, both land and sea, back for Himself. A ketubah is read at the wedding under a chuppah (canopy). He is canopied with the sky, the clouds, and a rainbow. The heavens are His chuppah. He seals the words up and doesn't have them written, as the Bride should not hear her ketubah read until the actual ceremony. He redeemed the Bride herself when He died on the cross and was resurrected. He has redeemed back the earth for His Bride, finishing the mystery of God, or the plan of redemption. There is also a bride price that must be paid for the bride. Part of what may be in it could be the bride price. Christ gives us back dominion over the earth - Dan. 7:27 after He takes it back Rev. 10. Part of what is due the saints in the sense of responsibility is that God has promised to avenge them (Romans 12:19- His wrath) and He says that now, at the last trump the mystery of God will be finished. What that mystery is will be discussed in a moment.

The Laws and Customs of a Mortgage

The mortgage on planet earth - The following is the way mortgages were handled in Bible times. When an owner lost his property, he would make a deal with the person who was holding the mortgage for a way to redeem it. There would be a price, and terms and conditions that would have to be met for the mortgage to be redeemed. At first the terms were written on two scrolls with one kept in the temple. Then they gradually changed it so that the conditions were written on only one scroll to be kept in the temple. The conditions would be written on the inside of the scroll as the legal document, then it was rolled and sealed, but the conditions were then written on the seals so that they had to be broken one at a time before the mortgage could be opened and declared null and void. The number of conditions that had to be met would determine how many seals were on the scroll when the parchment was rolled up. There was a reason for this. If a person did not have the money to redeem the mortgage, a kinsman could redeem it, if he had the price and could fill the conditions. When he went to the temple he first had to prove his kinsmanship to even be allowed access to the scroll. Then next he had to pay the price to have the scroll handed into his possession, so that he could have the privilege of breaking the seals and meeting the terms and conditions. Then he had to fulfill each condition on the scroll in turn before witnesses. He would read the first seal, break and fulfill it. Then he could move down to the next seal doing the same. When all the seals were broken, and all the conditions (including those on the last seal) were met, he could open the scroll and declare it null and void. At the time that the last seal was broken, there no longer remained any seals or conditions to be met, so technically in a way, the property reverted back to the owner, however the conditions of the last seal still had to be finished before the property actually was no longer under the control of the person holding the mortgage, and it could be declared null and void. Only then was he completely the owner with no liens on the property and could do as he wanted with it. This is the scroll that Christ opens in chapter 6. It is the mortgage on the earth.

Adam and Eve forfeited both their eternal spirits and dominion over the earth when they sinned, and Satan became our father at birth and the prince of the world. Jesus had to redeem both us and the world back from Satan. He redeemed us when He came the first time at the spring feasts and gave His life as a substitute for us on the cross. Becoming a human man, He became a kinsman. As a kinsman redeemer (He redeemed us) who paid the price (satisfied justice for our sins on our behalf), He was the only one worthy to open the scroll. The seals that He breaks are not God's wrath. They are the terms by which Satan agreed to hand back the earth. Not to God, for God owns everything, but to us, for we are the ones who sold out our dominion. Christ is redeeming it back for us. God does everything in a fair and legal manner so that nobody can accuse Him of not being fair, including Satan. He has the power to take back the earth whenever He wants, and Satan could not do a thing, but then God would not be just, as technically Satan owns it fair and square, because he was able to get Adam to hand himself over to Satan's lordship, which also gave Satan lordship over the earth. God arranged a legal way of getting it all back. Satan hoped to foil that plan, but he was not able to do it, hence the way the seals play out. Notice that they increase in hatred, wrath, and destruction as they go along. Satan wants first to deceive us, then to destroy us, and when that fails, he wants to destroy the earth. His purpose is to still foil God's plan. While redemption of man may be complete, God has still a promise to Israel to fulfill. If Satan can stop that plan, He will make God a liar by default. So if he can destroy the planet, that ends the whole game.

While Christ is done with His part at the time the last seal is broken, thereby the Day of the Lord can be said to begin in a way, as He has completed breaking the seals which are the terms of redemption and can open the scroll declaring it null and void, He is not free to do that and reign over the earth (the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord Rev. 11:15) and pour out His wrath (Rev. 11:18) until the last conditions of the scroll (trumpets 1-6) are completely finished. This is why His declaration of the mystery of God* (the plan of redemption of us and earth – see below) being finished (Rev. 10:7), and His wrath do not come until the last trump (Rev. 11:15; 16:1-21) when the last seal has run its course.

The Mystery of God

The mystery of God - We are told in Rev. 10:7 “But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.” At the sounding of the 7^th trumpet the mystery of God will be finished. What is this mystery? It is the entire plan of redemption, not just the existence of the church as some say. The church is only a part of the mystery.

The gospel or plan of redemption of grace through Christ's blood as the mystery.

Romans 16:25 “Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began. (This can also refer to the church)

Ephesians 6:19 “And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel.”

Colossians 1:26-27 “Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

Colossians 4:3 “Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds.”

The church as part of the mystery:

Romans 11:25 “ For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.”

Ephesians 3:4-6 “Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ, Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel.”

Ephesians 5:32 “This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”

The reigning of sin, Satan, and antichrist is part of the whole redemption plan also.

2 Thessalonians 2:7 “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

Faith in Christ being the means of salvation is a mystery.

1 Timothy 3:9 “Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.

The rapture is part of the mystery.

1 Corinthians 115:51 “ Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.” The rapture is part of this mystery.

God becoming a man and being a triune being was part of the mystery.

1 Timothy 3:16 “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

Colossians 2:2 “That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgment of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ.”

This shows that the end of the mystery which includes the church and the rapture happens at the last or 7^th trumpet. It is not finished until that time. When Christ said “it is finished” on the cross, he was only speaking of man's redemption from sin, but the entire mystery is the redemption of the world, including the planet. Now in Rev. 10:7 He declares that it is all completely finished. The plan of redemption is complete. Now God can pour out His wrath on a wicked world and cleanse it for His kingdom.

This is the timeline according to Scripture. Any misplaced hope for an early departure out of this world is not upheld by the Word of God. We are told in Luke 21:36 "Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man."

How Can a Loving God of Justice and Mercy be a God of Wrath?

People struggle with the idea that the God of the Old Testament, which they see as this angry wrathful God, is the same God as the God of the New Testament, who is supposed to be a God of love and mercy. They cannot reconcile how the two are compatible. What people do not realize, is that the God of the Old Testament is as much a God of mercy as the God of the New Testament. One has only to read the Psalms to realize this. The God of the New Testament is a God of vengeance and terrible wrath, which one can see, if one reads the book of Revelation. So we see that God is both merciful and wrathful in both Testaments, but that does not answer the problem of how a God of justice, love, and mercy can be one in the same as the wrathful God who is also portrayed. In actuality the answer is simple. The reason God is a God of wrath is because He is a God of mercy. If He were only a just God, He would be neither merciful nor wrathful. Let me explain this more clearly.

We know God is supposed to be a God of justice. A loving and fair God could only be a God of justice. To be a God of justice, there must be appropriate punishments for appropriate sinful actions. When a person commits a sin, their fate is already a fact, as the punishment for that sin is already decided. Committing that sin requires that punishment. A God that is strictly just will simply apply the punishment deserved for the sin committed. There will be no mercy, nor wrath, simply justice. Here's the crime, here's the punishment. Period. A God of justice knows that justice has to be served by having the punishment dealt out for the crime. If a God of mercy were to absolve the person of punishment for the sin, then He would no longer be a God of justice, for someone has to pay the penalty for the sin for justice to be served. Therefore a just and merciful God, in order to offer mercy to someone, must therefore provide a way for justice to be served.

God decided to provide a way for that to happen. He offered His only Son to take the punishment for all sins, that was necessary for justice to be served, thereby freeing Him to offer mercy. So when we stand before the judge (God) (some people make the decision to accept God's offer now, and some stand in judgment after death to receive their punishment) and our crimes are listed and the punishment decided upon, then God, out of the goodness and love of His heart, offers us mercy. We do not deserve this mercy, we have not earned this mercy, we deserve the punishment that justice demands, however He has provided that justice will be served in another way, (Christ's atonement) and offers us the mercy. For those who accept it, we are freed from the punishment of those sins. There are those though, who instead of accepting this free gift, which we do not deserve, throw it back in God's face and spit upon Him. They do not want His gift, they do not accept their punishment as being deserved, they sometimes do not acknowledge that He even has the right to judge them. And they mock Him, and challenge Him, and blaspheme and show contempt for the Son, who has already taken their punishment upon Himself, saying to God that He should do His worst; they will take their own licks, thank you very much.

Now put yourself in God's place. If you offered your only child and punished them with every punishment that anyone ever deserved, and then when you offered this incredible gift of mercy to those who deserved this punishment, they threw it back at you, blasphemed you and your child, and stomped on that precious gift, what would your response be? God's response is, okay, you will get your punishment that you so richly deserve, and beyond that, I will punish you, not only the minimal amount of punishment that I must deal out for your sin, I will punish you to the full extent that the law will allow, because you have treated My mercy and My Son's sacrifice with such contempt. This is contempt of court. This then is God's wrath. This is God's justice. This is God's mercy. This is God's love and vengeance (this justice must too be served) for His Son, who has now been treated with such bitter contempt. It is this added sin that allows God to pour out His wrath and still be just in so doing.

Many people believe that they can find their own way to God, but if God is a God of love, justice, mercy and wrath, that is not possible. Justice must be served. He is the only one who could provide the means for mercy to be bestowed, while justice would still be served. Nobody else except Christ has offered to serve that justice. No other religion has offered us a substitution for our punishment, so that justice and mercy could both exist side by side. That is why Jesus is the way, the truth, the life, and nobody can come to the Father but through Him. He is the only one who has served justice on our behalf, so that God can offer us mercy. To reject the fact that Christ is the only way, the one provided by the judge, is to throw that mercy back in God's face and spit on Him. Anyone who does this should expect that one day they will be the recipient of the full force of God's wrath.

This is why God is Just (He provided that justice is served for all sins), Loving (He loves us so much that He gave His only Son to be our substitute when He did not deserve our punishment), Merciful (He offers that gift of mercy freely to anyone who wants it regardless of how bad their sins may be), and Wrathful (justice is served not only on a person's sin, but on their rejection of that incredible mercy that is not deserved) at the same time. If you have not accepted this mercy, do you not think it is time you did?

The Pre-tribulation Rapture Has Serious Problems and Is Not Scriptural

As anyone who reads my other blog endtimesstudies.blogspot.com (where I lay out an extensive Bible study on the end times) knows, I am not a pre-tribulationist. I turned from this belief a number of years ago when I actually took out my Bible and started studying it. I came across numerous, nay, a multitude of problems and conflicts between the belief and Scripture. That led me to asking questions. Questions of Sunday school teachers, questions of church elders, questions of pastors. Today, even after changing my view due to years of intensive studies, I am still asking questions and still cannot find a single person who can give me answers to these conundrums. What I do run across is animosity, anger, being told off, and arrogance. It seems that honest questions that challenge one's beliefs, especially when one knows there are no answers, is not an acceptable practice, even though we are told in the Bible that we should study to show ourselves approved, rightly dividing the Word of truth, 2 Timothy 2:15 and be able to give an answer with the reasons why we believe as we do, 1 Peter 3:15.

Having given up on finding someone who could answer my questions, and not finding any sites on the internet that answered them either, I came across a Bible study on the pre-trib rapture belief, written by Dr. Jerry Falwell of the famous Lynchburg, Virginia church. While it does not answer all the questions I would like to put to pre-tribulationists, it does give me some answers as to the timeline they give. This in and of itself gave me some ammunition to write this article showing how the pre-tribulation arguments for their belief is completely illogical and quite incorrect.

I cannot cover every problem, as there are so many, but I will try to show how a few are in complete opposition to Scripture.

First let us start by laying out some facts about this belief. These facts are found in the study manual Dr. Jerry Falwell Teaches Bible Prophecy. The first fact is that they call the seven year period otherwise known as Daniel's 70^th week, by these other optional names. The Tribulation, the Day of the Lord, the Day of God's Vengeance, the Time of Jacob's Trouble, the Great Day of His Wrath, the Hour of Judgment, the end of This World, The Time of Trouble such as Never Was, the Indignation of the Lord, and the Time of the End.

This seven year period will be kicked off by the rapture. Revelation 4:1 where John is called up to heaven is said to be the verse that shows a pre-tribulation rapture. This is followed in heaven by the Bema Seat Judgment. This is a time of rewarding the saints, which is then shortly followed by the wedding of the Lamb to the Church. The Church consists of all those saved after Pentecost up until the time of the rapture. (The disciples apparently didn't merit being part of the Church) The wedding of the Lamb occurs after the Bema Seat judgment for rewards. The guests at the wedding are 1) “all believing Gentiles who were converted prior to Pentecost or after the Rapture.” and 2) “all saved Israelites everywhere.” (both quotes taken from pg. 27 of the study guide). While the wedding takes place after the rapture, the actual wedding supper does not occur until seven years later (Rev. 19)

The 70th week of Daniel is for several purposes, several of which are listed below.

1) It is a time of punishment against the Gentiles. One of the Scriptures used for this is 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12. “And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” So they do not believe Gentiles are the ones targeted for believing in God after the pre-trib rapture. It is a time strictly for Israel as the Gentile Church is complete.

2) It is a time of purging Israel so that they will rid themselves of rebellion and sin and accept their Messiah.

3) It is a time of harvesting between the wheat and the tares.

The following are all events associated with the first half of this seven year period.

1) The two prophets prophesy.

2) The 144,000 from the tribes of Israel will be saved and commissioned to preach the gospel in the first half of the tribulation.

3) The first six seals are poured out.

4) The rebuilding of the Jewish temple.

The second half of the seven year period sees the abomination of desolation at the start, and antichrist setting himself up as God.

1) Israel is persecuted with 1/3 surviving having believed the 144,000 martyred preachers.

2) The pouring out of the seven trumpet and bowl judgments.

3) The battle of Armageddon.

4) The Second Coming

Concerning the Second Coming, the verse in Revelation 11:15 is given, as a verse that refers to the Second Coming “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.” This will be referenced later.

Matthew 24:29 & Luke 21:25-26 are given as the first sign in the chronology of the Second Coming. “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken........And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.” This too will be referenced later.

These signs are followed by the Second Coming and the Christ gathering and restoring Israel to faithfulness. The verses given for this are Zechariah12:10-12, Revelation 1:7 and Romans 11:26. As this fact is not in dispute, it is correct, it will not be covered below.

After this, the Old Testament and Tribulation saints are resurrected. Pre-tribulationalism sees three resurrections. The resurrection of the Church at the beginning of the seven years, the resurrection of the Old Testament and Tribulation saints (also Israelites) at the Second Coming and the resurrection of the wicked dead at the end of the millennium. Scripture clearly teaches two resurrections. Revelation 20:6 “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.” Revelation 20:5 “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.” Daniel 12:2 “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”

They see a 75 day period between the Second Coming and the start of the millennial reign based on Daniel 12:11-12. That puts the Second Coming around the end of the 1260 days. That is basically correct.

Now that we have established what some of the beliefs of the pre-trib view are, we can show how they are contradictory and illogical.

As pre-tribulationalism calls the entire 70th week the Day of the Lord, we need to see what the Scriptures say about the Day of the Lord. The important phrases or words in each verse is in bold print.

Isaiah 2:10-12 “Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty. The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low.”

Isaiah 13:9 “Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.”

Joel 1:15 “Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.”

Joel 2:31 “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.”

Isaiah 13: 6-13 “Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt: And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames. Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.”

Malachi 4:5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.”

Acts 2:19-20 “And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come.” (This is a quote from Joel 2:31 by the apostle Peter.)

Another term that is synonymous is the Indignation of the Lord.

Isaiah 34:1-4 “Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it. For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter. Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood. And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.”

So the Day of the Lord and the Day of His Indignation have these following characteristics. They are a day of God's wrath and anger. They are a day of destruction of both land, sinners, and nations when all will be destroyed. There will be heavenly signs that come before that day arrives. Specifically the sun will go dark, the moon will not give its light/turn blood red, the heavens will shake and be rolled up like a scroll, and the stars will fall like figs from a tree. Men will tremble with fear and hide themselves when they see those signs. God alone will be exalted.

So we do know that the Day of the Lord is the Day of Indignation, because the stellar signs are the same for both. The sun goes dark, moon goes red/dark, stars go dark and fall. This would be like the heavens dissolving and the stars falling like figs from a tree. The sky would appear to roll up like a scroll as they all disappear from view. The one thing that is easily recognizable in all of this is that the heavenly signs are very distinctive, and we know men will be fearful and try to hide knowing that God's wrath will be following these signs that herald its approach.

Now we need to look to the New Testament to see where these distinctive signs are found in the eschatological passages so that we might determine when the Day of the Lord is to begin.

First we see that the Olivet Discourse in the gospels, which is about the Lord's return, clearly shows these heavenly signs.

Matthew 24:29-30 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. “

Mark 13:24-26 “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.”

Luke 21:25-27 “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.”

We can clearly see that these passages that are found in the New Testament are the same signs of the Day of the Lord, as described by the Old Testament passages. Therefore, we have a place that clearly delineates a point which the Day of the Lord cannot precede. In other words, everything that comes chronologically before these passages in the New Testament must precede the Day of the Lord and not be a part of it, as these signs must come before the Day of the Lord commences. Let us see what precedes these passages chronologically.

Matthew 24: 15-21 “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.”

Mark 13:14-19 “But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains: And let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter therein, to take any thing out of his house: And let him that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his garment. But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter. For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.”

Luke 20:20-21 “And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.”

We see that in the three gospels, the armies surrounding Jerusalem, the abomination of desolation, those in Judea fleeing to the mountains and great tribulation such as have never occurred since creation will occur. That is verified by the fact that both passages of the signs in Matthew and Mark start with respectively “Immediately after the tribulation of those days" and "but in those days, after the tribulation.”

Clearly the Day of the Lord, according to the most simple, clear, and concise understanding of Scripture, comes not only after the abomination of desolation, which occurs 3 ½ years into the 70^th week, but it also comes after the tribulation which is an unspecified period of time during the second half of the 70^th week. So the Day of the Lord commences somewhere in the midst of the second half of the 70^th week.

This development clearly presents a major problem for pre-tribulation as the Day of the Lord is God's wrath and it does not begin until sometime in the second half of the 70^th week. If Christians are only supposed to be taken out right before the wrath of God, then why put it at the beginning of the 70^th week, years before the Day of the Lord begins? The whole reason for putting the rapture at the beginning of the 70^th week is because pre-trib believes God's wrath begins then and Christians are not appointed to wrath. But God's wrath does not begin then, it begins at the Day of the Lord much later. We are supposed to be taken out, just as Noah and Lot were, right before the wrath of God begins. If God's wrath, (the Day of the Lord according the the clear teachings of Scripture), does not occur until after the Great Tribulation, then Christians are not exempt from the Great Tribulation. But how can that be, as the Great Tribulation is God's wrath, is it not? Not according to Scripture. Then whose wrath is it? Revelation 12:7-17 tells us what this time is. “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

Again, according to the Scriptures, Satan is cast out of heaven at the mid-point of the 70^th week and comes down having great wrath. How do we know it is at the mid-point. First because he takes over the antichrist at that point, and second, because Israel is protected for 3 ½ years from him, until the Second Coming. This fact is verified in Daniel 12:1-2 “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” This also says that Michael will be responsible for this event. He throws Satan out of heaven. This event begins a time of trouble (Jacob's trouble, otherwise known as the Great Tribulation) and Daniel's people (the remnant of Israel) will be delivered out of Satan's hand, just as this passage says in Revelation. First Satan goes after Israel, (a remnant) but she is taken to the wilderness and hidden from him for 3 ½ years (second half of the week). So then whom does he go after? He goes after her spiritual seed. We are spiritual Jews, the spiritual seed of Abraham. Galatians 3:28-29 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Romans 2:28-29 “For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God”. This remnant has a particular mark. They are those who keep the testimony of Jesus Christ. In other words, Christians. Christians are the focus of the wrath of Satan during the Great Tribulation. So the Great Tribulation is not God's wrath, it tells us right here it is Satan's wrath. This makes sense, as in the Day of the Lord we are told that God will be exalted. But who is exalted during the Great Tribulation? Satan.

Interestingly, these very passages in the gospels about the heavenly signs that signal the day of the Lord are said to be the passages that pre-trib use as the first signs in the chronology of the Second Coming. In other words, they say that the Day of the Lord signs, are the first signs before the Second Coming. By their own associations, they equate the Second Coming with the pouring out of God's wrath. But then they say that the Second Coming is at the end of the 70^th week. This is very true. The Day of the Lord and Second Coming are at the same time, but this proves to be problematic for pre-trib.

The next passage we need to look at is the one in Revelation. Revelation 6:12-17 “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?”

This passage even says that they are the signs heralding the “great day of his wrath” or Day of the Lord. The signs are clearly the same signs as found in the Old Testament. They are unmistakeable. According to pre-trib, the seals are God's wrath and occur in the first half of the 70^th week, which is why the rapture occurs pre-trib. The problem becomes, the seals are obviously not God's wrath. They precede the Day of the Lord. Therefore, again, God's wrath does not occur at the beginning, or during the first half of the 70^th week. There is no reason, according to Scripture to rapture God's people out, as His wrath is not beginning.

But, the argument becomes, John is called up to heaven before the seals are opened. Yes, he is. So what? John has to go to heaven, because it is his job to record all that Christ is showing him so that we will know what is coming. Pre-tribs teach to take the Bible literally, but then this passage, which has no reason to be taken as anything but literally, is spiritualized to such an extent that they have John representing the church. By what precedent is this jump made? John has never represented the church before. In fact the only reason for making John be the church, is that this pre-trib belief had come about, and they needed to find Scriptures that could be used to verify the belief. Anybody can make Scripture mean anything they want when they spiritualize it, which is why it is taught that you should take it literally. So in desperately searching for a passage that could be made into a pre-trib rapture, they came upon this verse and decided that if they spiritualized it, they could make it work for them. There is no reason to make this mean anything other than John being called to heaven. The excuse then follows that the church is not mentioned after that point, so that proves it as the church is not seen on earth. In fact the opposite is true in that this does not prove their point. They are not using their heads. John is no longer on earth. He has been called to heaven, and everything that follows is what he sees in heaven, not on earth. The fact that the church is not mentioned or seen is an argument against a pre-trib rapture, not for it. The fact is, John is describing heaven and everything he sees there. And the church is not there. Totally missing. Well, that is not exactly true. The 5^th seal has martyrs under the altar, and the sea of glass has a multitude of Christians who----come out of the tribulation. Surprise. The church is there, in the form of martyrs. (and later they are called saints) Multitudes of them from the tribulation martyrdom. Which brings up another dilemma for pre-trib. They say the seals are the wrath of God, and Christians are not appointed to wrath, yet the fifth seal is aimed only at Christians. It is not aimed at unbelievers at all. If it is God's wrath, then God is pouring out a whole seal's worth of wrath upon the very people that He said are not appointed to wrath. Problem!

Now we come to the teaching that the time of rewarding the saints (the Bema seat) judgment comes right after the pre-trib rapture. What does Scripture say? Revelation 11:15-18 “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.” This tells us that at the time of the sounding of the seventh angel, the seventh trumpet, the time for judging the dead, rewarding God' servants, and God's wrath has come. Wait, the Bema seat judgment occurs at the seventh trumpet? God's wrath begins at the seventh trumpet? This is very late in the game. Most certainly not at the beginning of the 70^th week. Why would Christ rapture the saints years before God's wrath and the Bema seat judgment? He doesn't. That's the point.

What about the wedding ceremony? The rewarding of the saints has to come before that, so the wedding can't happen until after the last trumpet. It is strange that pre-trib teaches that the Old Testament and Tribulation saints are supposed to be witnesses to this marriage, yet according to pre-trib, they are not resurrected until the Second Coming. How can they be witnesses if they aren't there? Problem! We are told in Revelation 19, during the vial judgments that the Bride has made herself ready for her marriage supper. She follows her groom down at Armageddon for this supper. This is when the wedding will occur. At the end of the 70^th week after the last trump. The last trump is when the Church is supposed to be raptured according to Paul. 1 Corinthians 15:52 “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”

Now let's talk about the two witnesses. According to pre-tribulationalism, they prophesy during the first half of the 70^th week. But can they? First of all, Elijah is supposed to come and witness before the great and terrible Day of the Lord. If the Day of the Lord were to start at the beginning of the 70^th week, then Elijah must come some time before that, which means that pre-tribbers would actually see Elijah before the rapture. Therefore the rapture cannot be imminent, as according to their own theology, Elijah would have to come before a pre-trib rapture. Worse, the forty-two months of the temple courtyard and city of Jerusalem being trodden underfoot by the Gentiles is tied to the 1260 day ministry of the two witnesses. They are at the same time. That means that the temple would have to be up before the rapture could occur, as Elijah would have to come before the Day of the Lord, which according to pre-trib starts at the beginning of the 70^th week. Both the temple and Elijah have to precede the Day of the Lord, so if the Day of the Lord were to begin at the start of the 70^th week, both have to make an appearance before a pre-trib rapture. Thus there cannot be imminence. Problem!

But do the witnesses prophesy during the first or second half of the 70^th week. We are told that during this forty-two month period, the city will be trodden underfoot by the Gentiles. We are also told that elsewhere. Luke 21:24 mentions this time also “Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” What is the timing Luke gives for this? Right before this verse we read in verses 20-21, “And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.” We know from earlier that this is the abomination of desolation. Following this trodding of Jerusalem by the Gentiles we find these verses 25-27 “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” So this trodding down of Jerusalem occurs between the abomination of desolation and the Second Coming. According to Revelation 11, the witnesses prophesy during this same time. Is there anything else to confirm this? After the two witnesses are resurrected, this announcement is made. Revelation 11:14 “The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.” what is the significance of this verse? Just this. Revelation 8:13 “And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!” Revelation 9:12 “One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.” These verses tell us that the fifth, sixth, and seventh trumpet judgments are “woes.” We are told that when the fifth trumpet woe is past that there are two more woes to go. The sixth trumpet is that second woe. According to Revelation 11:14 right after the witnesses resurrection, the last woe will sound. The last woe is the seventh trumpet. Therefore unless all the seals and six trumpets come before the abomination of desolation, the witnesses cannot be witnessing in the first half of the 70^th week. We already know from previous exegesis, that the trumpet judgments come after the Day of the Lord signs. And we already know that the Day of the Lord comes after the tribulation. And we know that the tribulation comes in the second half of the 70^th week. Therefore by logical deduction, the witnesses must witness during the second half of the 70^th week. Again, not what pre-trib teaches. Problem!

So now what have we got so far? We know that there will be a wrath of Satan called the Great Tribulation wherein he will go after Christians to martyr them (and unbelieving Jews) while God protects a remnant of Jews in the wilderness for 1260 days. This Tribulation is followed by the Day of the Lord signs and the trumpet judgments. The sixth trumpet judgment ends at the same time as the witnesses' resurrection. Their ministry lasts 1260 days. At the end of that time the seventh or last trumpet sounds. We know that Paul has told us that the rapture will occur at the last trump when the dead in Christ will rise and we who are left will be raptured. Soon after the witnesses' resurrection at the end of the 1260 days the dead are judged and the saints are rewarded. 

According to pre-trib Revelation 11:15 is speaking of the Second Coming, and for once they are right. “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.” This would indicate that the Lord's Second Coming, the rapture, and the beginning of the Day of the Lord would happen within days of the end of the 1260 days after the abomination of desolation, and at the time of the last trump, when the final bowl judgments of God's wrath are poured out on the rest of the world. But does not the 70^th week end at the 1260 days? No. We are told in Daniel 12:11 “And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.” The 70^th week of Daniel ends 1290 days after the abomination of desolation. The bowl judgments are poured out during that thirty day period.

Now a pre-trib will say, but if we know the time of the Lord Second Coming 1260 days after the abomination of desolation, then what Christ said about nobody knowing the day or hour is not true. Ah, but it is. You see, it does not say that Christ returns exactly on the day the witnesses are resurrected. For anyone who understands the Feasts of Israel, we know that the spring feasts had to do with Christ's First Coming. The fall feasts have to do with Christ's Second Coming. Rosh haShanah is called the Feast of Trumpets (as in last trumpet). But it is a feast day that can never have its day known, as it is the first of the month, and the new moon had to be seen by two witnesses and told to the authorities of the temple before the day could be declared. One of its nicknames is “The Day which no man knows.” The other important thing to know is that Rosh haShanah and Yom Kippur all have to do with the crowning of the Messiah as King, the resurrection of the dead, and the Books being opened for people to be judged. The Feast of Tabernacles has to do with the wilderness experience, and the ingathering of the grape harvest, as well as a wedding celebration. In ancient wedding traditions, the groom goes back to his home after a betrothal to build a house for them. When his father approves the structure as finished, he then gives permission for his son to go get his bride. There is a procession which is a big hoopla. The bride is given some advance warning of his impending arrival by all the signs. People coming ahead to tell her (Elijah), the hubbub going on (the heavenly signs) so that she is ready and waiting when he gets there to take her back for the marriage ceremony and supper. He cannot leave though to go get her until his father actually gives permission, and only his father knows exactly the moment he will do that, even though the groom may suspect that he is about to be sent, because everything is ready. So although he is ready to go, it still takes the father actually sending him, so he cannot say he knows when that will happen. We are told we will not know the day and hour. Christ specifically meant the literal day and hour. Just as nobody knows exactly which of two days Rosh haShanah will fall on until the authorities declare that two witnesses (notice two witnesses are required) have seen the new moon. We will however know the year and season, as we know it must come at the end of Daniel's 70^th week. 

What Paul said to the Thessalonians “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand,” makes much more sense now and can be taken exactly as meant. The coming of the Lord and our gathering to him happens at the Day of the Lord. They were concerned that the Day of the Lord had come and somehow they had missed the Second Coming and rapture. They understood that all three events happened at the same time. All of the Scriptures make much more sense when it is understood that the Second Coming, the resurrection/rapture, and Day of the Lord all begin at the last trump or seventh trumpet. We then return with Christ at Armageddon at the end of the thirty day period. The wedding probably takes place during that very literal seven day Feast of Tabernacles week. The rapture can be found in Revelation 14. That is the harvest of the tares and wheat, the ingathering of the grape harvest and treading out of the winepress. This is why we are told to “endure to the end” and that this is the “patience of the saints.” We must go through the entire 70^th week, or at least that is what those who have been Philadelphians and who have kept the word of His patience, so that they have been protected to survive the Great Tribulation will do. This is why the rewards and marriage come at the time of the seventh trumpet, according to Scripture. Jewish tradition holds that the Messiah comes at the last trumpet, which is exactly to which Paul was referring when he said that the rapture occurs at the last trump. He knew that we were going to be raptured when the Lord made his Second Coming, and that this would occur at the last trumpet, which would announce the Day of the Lord. All of this was understood in Jewish teachings and traditions. Very clear. Very simple.

There are many more problems, such as, how could multitudes of people be saved during the tribulation when we are told that God will send a delusion so that everybody who has not believed will not be able to believe? How could people be saved if it is the Holy Spirit who draws them, and pre-tribs say He is removed? Why would any Christian be denied the indwelling of the Holy Spirit? It is not Scriptural. Why have they called Daniel's 70^th week, the Great Tribulation, and the Day of the Lord the same thing when Scripture clearly teaches otherwise? It has led to many erroneous conclusions by not understanding the difference and misusing the terminology. Pre-tribulation is very wrong and completely unscriptural. Any questions or comments that pre-tribbers might have to refute this, I will be happy to address.

*It's been a while since I posted this, but  I became aware of something that I had to add to this article, as I found it quite a dilemma for pre-tribs.  Pre-tribs will tell you that Matthew 24 is addressed to Jews and that the passage in verses 29-33 refer to the gathering of the "tribulation saints" who lived through to the end of Daniel's 70th week until the Lord returns. They will say that this passage is strictly about the Second Coming and that in fact, the rapture is not mentioned in this chapter at all as it was not revealed until Paul told the churches about it.  So let us look at these verses. 


"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:  And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.  And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.  Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:  So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors."  

Again, they teach that these verses are NOT about the rapture, but about the gathering of the tribulation saints at the end when the Lord's Second Coming occurs.  So what is the problem?  The problem is in the verse that follows and uses this event described above as its antecedent.  In other words, the verse I am about to quote refers directly to the event above, which happens to be the gathering of the saints at the Second Coming.  This must be clearly understood.  Remember, pre-trib says that the rapture is not mentioned here, and that the above event is NOT the rapture as it is not pre-tribulational.  So now here is the verse that I want you to read.  Remember, this verse follows and refers back to the above passage. 

Matthew 24:36 "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only."

Wait.  Isn't this one of the verses that pre-trib uses to prove that the rapture is imminent and can happen at any time?  Yes, it is.  But this verse does not refer to a secret pre-trib rapture that occurs before the 70th week of Daniel.  This verse clearly and unmistakably refers to the gathering of the saints at the Second Coming of Christ AFTER the tribulation.  The event in verses 29-33 are the antecedent to this verse.  In fact, if pre-tribs do not believe the rapture is mentioned at all in the gospels, then how could this possibly be referring to a pre-trib rapture?  It couldn't.  Therefore the whole premise that there is a pre-trib rapture that will happen unexpectedly, because of this verse, is entirely undone. Think about it.

* Some time after writing this article, I got into a discussion with someone on Youtube.  He sent me to a website which he felt proved the pre-trib stand.  As Youtube is seriously limited in its ability to write a detailed rebuttal, I left a link to my response to this pre-trib proof.  As it shows how many of their assertions are very unscriptural and incorrect, I am including a link to my article as an addendum to what I have written above which further proves how pre-trib is inaccurate.

http://bibleconundrumsandcontroversy.blogspot.com/2012/02/answer-to-youtube-video-on-pre-trib.html

What is the Little Scroll in Revelation

In the course of writing about Revelation on my blog endtimesstudies.blogspot.com, I spoke of how the scroll, that has the seven seals that Christ breaks, represents the mortgage on planet earth. To be redeemed, it required that there be a kinsman redeemer who could claim the right to break the seals, and that the price needed to pay it off be met, before the seals could be broken. These seals would outline the conditions that had to be carried out for the mortgage to revert to its original owner. That is what these seven seals represent, the conditions that God agreed to give Satan in order to get the planet back. God could just take it back, but He does all things in a fair, just, and legal way. The price due for having lost the planet (Adam forfeited the planet by sin, and sin was paid for by death) was paid when a kinsman (Jesus became a man and thereby our kinsman) redeemed it through paying the price (his death on the cross, the death of a perfect, sinless man whose life was not owed to Satan, but given anyhow). Thus it allowed Him the right to break the seals, as according to the Torah or Law, only a kinsman who can pay the price has the right to fulfill the conditions of a mortgage agreement . These seals (in Bible times on each seal of a mortgage scroll a condition of redemption was written) then must be carried out in completion before the property (in this case earth) actually reverts back to total control of the original owner by completing the transaction. This is why antichrist gets to reign until the entire forty-two months are up, and it is not declared that the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord until that point.(Rev. 12:15). As there are seven seals, and the seventh seal contains the six trumpet judgments, these are the conditions that must be met for Christ to again reign as King of Kings and ruler of planet earth. After they are finished, the planet officially becomes Christ's and He is the ruler and can do what He wants with it, which is why God's wrath (7th trumpet) is held off until then, even though He could technically do it anytime He wants.

What has always puzzled people is the second smaller scroll that we find in Chapter 10. It seems obvious that part of what is contained in it are the vial/bowl judgments of God's wrath, but why John was supposed to seal up what he hears and not write it down was a mystery. It comes 1)after the sixth trumpet is over, 2)as the last or seventh trumpet is about to be sounded, and 3)after the two witnesses have finished their witnessing and are resurrected. From my study I have shown that the rapture (Revelation 14) occurs at the last trumpet just before God's wrath (vial/bowl judgments) is poured out. It is at this time that the marriage of the Lamb will be occurring.(Revelation 19). It suddenly dawned on me that this must be the ketubah that Christ reads at the time of the marriage ceremony between Him and the Church as the timing is exactly the same. Naturally the bride should not hear the ketubah read before the wedding, so that is why it is necessary to seal it up. We are not to know the entire contents, although the wrath of God must be part of it, and we are told about that.

A ketubah is a special type of Jewish prenuptial agreement that goes back to ancient times. It is considered an integral part of traditional Jewish marriages and outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom toward the bride. It is usually read at the marriage ceremony under a chuppah (the canopy under which the bride and groom stand). It requires that two witnesses who are qualified to be witnesses by Jewish law and are not relatives of the bride, sign it.

As the rapture, the resurrection of the two witnesses, and the marriage ceremony will occur at the time of the beginning of the 7th trumpet, it would appear that this scroll from Chapter 10 is the ketubah.

The ketubah is supposed to be the groom's responsibilities toward the bride. Were we not promised that God will avenge us? Romans 12:19 "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." Notice that he says we should give way for His wrath. His wrath, the Day of the Lord wrath, will be our vengeance. We have been promised that all that we have suffered at the hands of the wicked will be repaid back upon their heads. This document which must partially outline God's wrath is exactly what we have been promised as part of our marriage contract - vengeance, just as the martyrs of the 5th seal had been asking for vengeance. The two witnesses are resurrected after spending three and a half years proving their worthiness to be proper witnesses according to the Law, and they are not related to the Bride of Christ, as we are told that at least one of them is Elijah or comes in the spirit of Elijah. These two witnesses are special people (either people who have existed before i.e. Enoch, Elijah, or Moses, or someone new) chosen for this mission. They are not a part of the Church. Christ reads this scroll under the canopy or chuppah of the sky – clouds and rainbow, which is God's canopy, while He plants His feet on both land and sea, claiming what is now rightfully His as King of Kings by having all of the conditions of the mortgage met. This land is now most likely part of our wedding gift, or the bride price part of the ketubah, as it is given back to mankind again.

This being a ketubah makes perfect sense, as the timing of the two witnesses, the rapture, the marriage ceremony, and God's wrath commencing, all occur at the time (after the sixth trumpet) when Christ plants his feet and claims the earth again. Jewish customs and traditions seem to be a pattern which we need to reference to understand these end times events. The Second Coming will occur at the time of the fall feasts and the Feast of Tabernacles has a tradition about a marriage. The seven days of marriage feasting will be fulfilled during the seven days of this Feast of Tabernacles. Then at the end of God's wrath we will accompany our Groom down to Armageddon.