Study – Grow – Know

What is the Coming Tribulation All About? Part 5

July 15, 2014 at 1:41 PM 1 comment

In our last part in this series – Part 4 – we discussed the reasons why Antichrist needs Israel to believe he is on their side. This is the sole reason he is able to broker peace between Israel and the Arab nations that surround her. Ultimately, he needs the Jewish Temple to be rebuilt so that he can do a replay of what Antiochus Epiphanes did in 168 BC when he defiled the Jewish Temple standing then by sacrificing a pig on the altar then sprinkling the blood around the Holy of Holies. We noted he also placed a statue of Zeus in the Holy of Holies and some historians also claim he placed a mask of his own face over the face of Zeus.

I would like to emphasize again that according to Daniel 9:27, the final “week” of man-led human history begins with a very specific event. God has made it very clear, yet I’m still amazed at how often this event is allegorized to mean something that it doesn’t mean. It’s quite plainly understood, but too many look at the Bible as if it was a book of magic and with the right “code,” the mysteries are unlocked. The only “code” we need is to understand the literal meaning of the Bible and by that I mean that we come to understand the teaching of the Bible much the way we would understand normal, everyday conversation.

People speak in parables, metaphors and other figures of speech daily. Yet, there is one meaning for any particular metaphor or figure of speech. Knowing the meaning is the only “code” that is necessary to understanding things in a literal sense. One of my favorite examples is to hear someone say something like, “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse!” The obvious and intended literal meaning is that the person making that statement is extremely hungry. He has no intention of eating an entire horse or horse meat at all. It is merely a figurative way of signalling one specific meaning.

Can you imagine if someone heard that statement and then said, “Oh, he’s saying he wants to ride a horse until he is no longer hungry!” It would be absurd and the meaning of that metaphor would be lost on that listener. Yet, this is what people do with Scripture all the time and they do it because they fail to understand the culture in which Scripture was written. It has a context and the more we understand that context, the better our understanding of Scripture will be.

So let’s dispense with the guessing games and the ethereal interpretations of the Bible. We must look at Scripture the way we understand general conversation. Discussing something with another means we take their meaning literally even when they speak in metaphors. In Spanish, a phrase is often used “There, a quarter!” It does not mean that there is a quarter to pick up and keep. It has nothing to do with a quarter. It is a surprised type of comment as if you’re walking along and out of the blue found a quarter.

Historical examples of results of wars

Daniel 9:27 says that the final seven years of human history begins when “he” (Antichrist) brokers (or confirms) a covenant with “the many” (leaders of Israel). It is a seven-year period – even though the word “week” is used – because the entire context of Daniel 9 is referencing weeks equaling seven-year periods. It refers to Israel because the full chapter of chapter 9 refers to Israel.

Once the Tribulation begins, we see God’s judgments begin to pour out onto the earth. We have already gone over Seals 1 and 2, which are the revealing of the Antichrist as he confirms a covenant of peace for a period of seven years and war breaking out over the earth. Let’s move onto Seal 3.

Things are not looking good at all. We know from history that whenever there have been wars, it has been followed with pestilence, disease, of course deaths, and even famines. The chart I’ve included highlights not only famines, but earthquake activity as well. This is what Jesus spoke of in His Olivet Discourse that would be precursors to the Tribulation period.

Seal 3 is famine. Once war breaks out over the earth – in spite of the peace treaty just brokered with Israel and the surrounding Arab nations – things go south quickly. As in every major war, supplies including food run low. Disease breaks out. War is dirty business and the only ones who truly benefit from war are the ones who own the companies that make all the implements needed for war. The soldiers suffer of course. Even innocent people suffer. When you stop to consider the purpose of war, most often it seems only to serve the globalists. War and rumors of war keep people on edge. It keeps society off-balance.

Things don’t look pretty during the Tribulation.

During WWII, there were many shortages that people had to learn to live without. Rubber, gas, food, and other supplies were difficult to come by because of the “war effort.” My wife and I went to a flea market/antique show this past weekend and saw actual posters from the time of WWII. One of the posters had a picture of a person driving to work alone in his car. The caption was something like “If you’re driving alone, you’re driving with Hitler!” and then an image of Hitler was placed in the passenger seat. The idea of course was that you were wasting valuable fuel that our soldiers could use. Amazing how the government even then guilted Americans into doing things. It’s far worse today.

As the Tribulation begins to ramp up, life on earth gets very difficult, much more than it is now, if you can imagine it. It won’t be pretty. Hey, have you made any preparations at all? Have you begun stocking up on things that you’ll find useful? Even if the PreTrib Rapture occurs before the Tribulation, we have no idea how bad things will get by that time, do we? Are you guilty of tempting God by not making common sense decisions?

Seal 3 is not just famine. It is worldwide famine, which means it will affect everyone who lives on this planet. Experts tell us that at least 500,000 acres of agricultural fields in California will lie fallow this year due to a terrible shortage of water. This drought and its consequences will affect grocery prices and gas prices as well as other things. During the Tribulation, when there is a worldwide famine, I cannot imagine how bad it will be. My brain cannot wrap itself around such a scene.

Yes, it’s getting a bit depressing, isn’t it? But there is a huge Light at the end of the tunnel though. Stay tuned!

Entry filed under: Dr. Fred, Religious - Christian - End Times, Religious - Christian - Prophecy, Religious - Christian - Theology, second coming.