Part III ~ Lesson 5 of 8 – The Great Tribulation

The Sequence of Endtime Events

Equipping God's Saints (Followers of Christ) through the prophecies of the End Times …

In review of Daniel 12:6-7 it says:

“And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders? [we know this refers to the Great Tribulation]

And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.”

Now we will shift over to Revelation 10:5-7 where we see a direct parallel:

“And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,

And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therin are, and the earth and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer:

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.”

In both, Daniel 12 and Revelation 10, we see:

• Angel on the waters
• Swears by God
• How long till end of wonders?
• Time, times, and an half
• Then 7^th Trumpet begins to sound

We are dealing with a war in heaven that involves Michael, the warrior angel of heaven, and Satan. This war happens half way through Daniel's 70^th Week, which is 3½ years before Armageddon. We are going to be in full conflict. This triggers the Great Tribulation.

We see here a 3 ½ year period of time that is launched at the Abomination of Desolation. From this passage, we learn that after the 3 ½ years, the 7^th Trumpet will sound. We also know from earlier teaching that all of the 7 Vials will be poured out at this time.

We will learn, later, how significant that really is, especially when we get to the two witnesses and we are able to see that the 7^th Trumpet sounds at the end of the 1,260 days.

Now we will look at Revelation 6:9-11, which tells about the 5^th Seal:

“And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held;

And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?

And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.”

We saw the answer to the question in Revelation 6:10 when we studied the 3^rd Vial. We saw in the 3^rd Vial those that are under the alter saying, “Lord, thou art righteous, holy and true because you have avenged our blood.” This shows that Revelation 6:9-11 is before the 3^rd Vial.

In summarizing Revelation 6:9-11 we see:

• 5^th Seal
• Souls under altar, slain
• Lord, how long until you avenge our blood?
• “A little season”
• Fellowsaints must be killed as they were

What do we already know about the period of time when the saints are killed? It's the Great Tribulation. So this incident happens either at the beginning of the Great Tribulation or it could be a little bit into it. We are not positive.

We are beginning to speculate that “a little season” might be 3 ½ years. But because of us questioning that at this point, we are not positive if this is at the time of the Abomination of Desolation.

It is very important that we understand the Abomination of Desolation.

There is so much that God wants us to know, or He would not have put this in the Bible. We are now going to get into some very clear information about the Abomination of Desolation.

2 Thessalonian 2:3-4 talks a lot about the Abomination of Desolation. There is a lot of speculation that surrounds this event. It is very important that we understand what it is because the Abomination of Desolation is one of those times where it's like a corner post. If you can establish where that is, you can know what happened before it and after it. We can prove, absolutely, when it happens and what it is.

We have already talked about the fact that it happens in the midst of the 70^th Week, which means it happens 3 ½ years after the Confirmation of the Covenant by the Antichrist, and 3 ½ years before the Battle of Armageddon. 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 says:

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.”

This passage shows us:

• Man of sin revealed
• Son of perdition
• Opposes and exalts himself above God
• Sits in temple of God
• Show himself to be God

This is the Abomination of Desolation.

This is a prophecy that there will be a temple, standing. It says he will sit in that temple and claim to be God.

We know there is a New Age doctrine out today that says we are all gods. Apparently, he is going to be a New Ager of some particular persuasion and he is going to claim he is God ~ he is Messiah.

Jesus taught us in Matthew 24 that many false Christs would come, and many people would come professing to be the Messiah. We were told to not believe them.

Jesus was talking about during this time period. If someone arises on the earth right now and says he is Messiah ~ Forget It! Don't believe them.

The Messiah is not going to come as He did the first time. He is not going to come through the back door of the world and rise up among society. The Bible clearly says He is coming with the clouds of heaven. As the lightning flashes in the east and seen in the west, even so shall the coming of the Son of Man be.

This man will sit in the temple and will claim to be the Messiah. When this happens, it is the event called the Abomination of Desolation and will trigger the Great Tribulation.

Resources: The anointing of the Holy Spirit and God Almighty, of whom I am accountable to. I have prayed diligently and am led to follow and support the teachings of Pastor Irvin Baxter from Endtime Ministries and his teachings of Understanding the End Times. I encourage you to visit his website at endtime.com.