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The Great Tribulation
The Last Days
The phrase "the last days,"
as it relates to prophecy, occurs exactly seven times in the King James Bible.
It
occurs in Isaiah 2:2, Micah 4:1, Acts 2:17, 2 Timothy 3:1, Hebrews 1:2, James
5:3 and 2 Peter 3:3.
Jesus
directly discusses the last days and the events that both lead up to it and are
in it in Matthew 24 and Mark 13.
The
last days (also referred to as the End Time or the Great Tribulation) is a
period of roughly 3 1/2 years or 42 months (Revelation
11:2-3) that will shortly come upon the entire
earth.
It
will a time, just before Jesus' Second Coming, when the Beast and the False
Prophet will rule the world through their counterfeit version of God’s
kingdom.
The
42 months (1,260 days, see Revelation 11:3, 12:6)
of the last or final period before
Jesus return can further be divided into two relatively distinct pieces.
The
first piece is about two years (24 months) in length.
The
second or last piece, Biblically called "the day of the Lord" (Isaiah 2:12, Joel 2:11, 2 Peter 3:10), is about 18 months in duration.
This
second part of the great tribulation represents God's direct punishment of
unrepentant humanity.
The Apostle Paul warned his friend Timothy about the time
before the return of Christ when he wrote, "Know
this also, that in the last days perilous times shall come" (2 Timothy 3:1, HBFV unless stated).
Peter also warned the church regarding the state of the
world near its end when he said, "Knowing
this first, that in the last days there will come mockers, walking according to
their own personal lusts" (2 Peter
3:3).
Preparation of
the world
The Bible lists several events, some taking many years until
they fully mature, which will directly lead to the great tribulation period.
Humanity,
in the last days, will increasingly adopt a negative attitude toward God's laws
and reject keeping them, opting instead to doing whatever they decide is right.
This
lawlessness, which at its core is selfish and self-centered, will cause people
to greatly lack mercy, forgiveness and love (Matthew
24:9-10, 12).
The
world will experience an increased frequency of wars, rumors of wars,
earthquakes, famines and still more calamities (Matthew
24:6-7).
Many
false prophets will appear and deceive the masses with false hopes (Matthew 24:4-5, 11, 26-27).
Deception,
in general, will be rampant.
Many who considered themselves
Christians and believers in the true God will also abandon their beliefs in the
last days (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3).
A
temple will be built in Jerusalem just before the public appearance of the Beast,
False Prophet and the Two Witnesses.
It
will be in the temple that the "abomination
of desolation" will declare that he is god in the flesh and demand he
be worshipped (Matthew 24:15, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4,
Revelation 11:1-3, 13:8, 12, 15).
Why is it so bad?
Why are the last days of man the worst
time humanity will ever experience (Matthew
24:21)?
One
reason is that it will force ALL humans to choose one of two options - both of
which bring pain and suffering.
No
one will be allowed to go "undecided" for very long!
Choosing to obey and worship the Beast
during the last days will forestall the devil's wrath and allow people to live
a little bit longer on earth.
It
comes, however, at the tremendous expense of experiencing horrific punishments
from God (Revelation 14:9-10).
Choosing
to obey the Eternal, however, will spare people his wrath (see Revelation 9:4, 18:4).
They
will, however, be considered enemies of the world, hunted down and martyred (Revelation 6:11, 7:14, 13:7-10, 15).
The Great Tribulation begins
Satan the devil will launch his second
but last offensive in heaven in the hope he can wrest control of the
universe away from God.
He
and his evil army will, however, be defeated by righteous angels. They will be
cast back down to earth and permanently banned from heaven (Revelation 12:7-10).
This
complete rejection causes the full force of Satan's wrath to come upon the
earth for a short period of time (1,260 days).
A unique paradox will exist during the
time of Satan's visible rule on earth.
On
the one hand, Christians will be persecuted and killed in great numbers while
others will be made to serve the devil's agenda.
It
will be the greatest period of trial and temptation the world ever has or will
ever see (Matthew 24:21).
Yet,
on the other hand, in the last days many people will grow rich and prosperous.
In
fact, the merchants and businesses who got incredibly wealthy through the new
one world system will mourn when it is finally destroyed (Revelation 18:9-19)!
The Revealing of Satan
The Beast and the False Prophet begin
their work of deceiving man and ruling the earth under the direct inspiration
of the Devil (Revelation 13:3-15).
God's
Two Witnesses also begin their ministry of confronting these powerful
individuals and calling upon all those on the earth to repent of their sins
before the imminent return of Christ (Revelation
11:3-7).
A Place of Protection
Some (but not all) Christians are
miraculously taken by God to an earthly "place of safety" or
protection (not a rapture) for the duration of the Tribulation (Revelation 12:6, 14, 13:5).
They
will be protected from the horrors of Satan's world-ruling government.
Those
protected in the last days will be kept physically alive until they are changed
to immortal spirit beings during the short period of Jesus' Second Coming (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, 1 Corinthians 15:51-53).
Mark of the
Beast
Soon after the Beast and False Prophet
take control over the world, they demand all humans receive a "mark."
This
mark symbolizes a person's willingness to worship the Beast and obey the new
one world system.
Those
who refuse to accept mark of the Beast will not only be unable to buy or
sell anything, they will be hunted down for their disobedience and killed (Revelation 13:14-17).
Martyrdom of Saints
In spite of what many religious
organizations teach, not all Christians are whisked away in some secret rapture to
be protected from the devil's wrath.
The
Bible clearly states that not only will true believers exist on the earth
during man's last days, many of them (most? all?) will reject the Beast's mark.
This
will make them targets for persecution, which will ultimately lead to their
martyrdom (Matthew 24:9, Revelation 6:11, 12:11,
17, 13:7, 14:12-13).
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