It’s time to talk about the final 3.5 years of mankind’s self-rule on earth, the “GREAT TRIBULATION.”
If the first 3.5 years of the “7 year Tribulation” are a difficult and painful time on the earth, the final 3.5 years are UNIMAGINABLY HORIFFIC. Jesus, Himself, described the final 3.5 years of mankind’s self-rule on earth as the worst time on earth that HAS EVER happened or WILL EVER happen again! There will never be another time like this time that is just around the corner, and thank God for that! During this time, satan’s anger and wrath against mankind will be virtually unrestrained….and God, Himself, will eventually pour out His judgements on all those who have given their allegiance to satan in this great rebellion. God is patient and long suffering, but He will not allow sin to continue forever.
Matthew 24: 21: “For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will.
We have not looked forward to writing this very sobering post, but still, it’s a part of God’s Word and the culmination of God’s plan of redemption and restoration. God is purifying the earth with Fire. Everything that is not of God will be burnt up, and that which is of God will be saved.
Just to refresh our memories, the 7 seals of Revelation seal up an ancient scroll that is best described as the LEGAL DEED to planet earth and it’s inhabitants. The ONLY ONE WORTHY to break the seals and open the SCROLL is the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is WORTHY to break the seals because HE purchased FOR HIMSELF all of mankind (those who BELIEVE ON HIM) with His own precious Blood. This is the WORK that JESUS CHRIST did on the CROSS! Jesus Christ IS the IAM, GOD ALMIGHTY! Jesus, the perfect SINLESS LAMB OF GOD, became FLESH and TABERNACLED among us for the purpose of DYING IN OUR PLACE. All mankind has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The soul who sins will die (Ez. 18:20)…but God, in His Mercy, has allowed for the SINLESS ONE to DIE in our place, thus REDEEMING fallen mankind and making a way for us to be back into RELATIONSHIP with GOD. Two Thousand years ago, Jesus REDEEMED the spirit of mankind through His blood (forgiving us of all sin!). This is not just important to SOME people, it is important to ALL people. Yet even though God completed His Redemptive work on the Cross 2000 years ago, there is still more to the story. God has yet to put a complete end to sin (Redemption of the body), to bring Israel (the Jewish people) to her TRUE MESSIAH (YESHUA/JESUS), and to cleanse and restore the earth back to its original intent. The Kingdom of God is coming to earth…soon, and it will crush and utterly destroy all of man’s kingdoms!
Daniel 2:44: In the days of those kings (Final earthly kingdom/New World Order) the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these (earthly) kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.
In these last days, Jesus is RECLAIMING the earth and His people from it’s current “landlord”…the devil. Those who believe on Jesus Christ will be SAVED. Those who align with the rebellious deeds of the devil will receive the same fate as their “master”…death in the lake of fire. There is no middle ground. We can either CHOOSE Jesus Christ or spend an eternity in Hell and the lake of fire. Those who have CHOSEN to make Jesus Christ the LORD of their lives during this AGE OF GRACE (2000 years since the CROSS)..will be RAPTURED (DIVINE RESCUE) and WILL NOT have to endure the worst time on the earth, the time of Great Tribulation. God did NOT appoint His Children unto wrath! However, those who REFUSE to CHOOSE Jesus Christ PRIOR to the RAPTURE will endure the Tribulation, but will still have the OPPORTUNITY to REPENT and CHOOSE JESUS all the way up to the very end. To choose JESUS CHRIST is to REFUSE the mark of the beast.
Revelation 8:1: When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
After the Abomination of Desolation begins at the 6th seal of Revelation, Jesus will break the 7th seal, and there will be SILENCE IN HEAVEN for half an hour. This speaks to the incredible significance of this monumental event. There have been wars on earth before. There have been famines and pestilences on earth before, but this is the only time in the Bible that speaks of Heaven literally being silent for half an hour. Heaven is a place of joy and activity! There is laughter and conversation in Heaven. There is music, singing, and WORSHIP in Heaven. There is even a “great cloud of witnesses” who surround each believer, cheering us on to the finish line. But at this particular moment in time, a moment that will occur just before the Trumpets sound, there is total silence in Heaven for half an hour. This should answer the question as to whether or not residents of Heaven are aware of what is happening on earth. It appears Heaven is VERY aware of what is happening on planet earth.
While we will discuss each of these 7 Trumpet judgments, we need to understand that until they are fulfilled, we see in a mirror dimly. Some of the apocalyptic language used to describe the Trumpet judgments (particularly the “3 woes”) is bizarre and frankly, difficult to envision. And yet, after reading through these judgments, you will likely feel as we do that even if we can’t exactly picture what will take place, we can recognize that these are so severe that we are very, very THANKFUL to receive a DIVINE RESCUE (Rapture) before any of the Trumpets blow!
When Jesus breaks the 7th seal, the Trumpet judgments are announced by 7 angels, probably archangels (high ranking angels) who stand before the Throne of God (they serve the Living God).
Rev. 8:6: And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound them.
Rev. 8:7: The first sounded, and there came hail and fire, mixed with blood, and they were thrown to the earth; and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.
The first trumpet brings hail, fire, blood and burns up 1/3 of the earth, 1/3 of the trees (trees can represent PEOPLE in scripture), and all of the green grass. Green grass can represent prosperity and wealth. My personal interpretation of this first Trumpet is perhaps WWIII…a hot NUCLEAR war ON LAND. This would explain why the people of the earth hid thenselves in mountain caves (bunkers) during the 6th Seal…They KNOW what is coming…The 7th seal and the 1st Trumpet! Consider what would happen if a single nuclear device is used in a war, everyone would know that a NUCLEAR EXCHANGE would quickly follow, and they would seek shelter underground.
Rev. 6:15: Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; 16 and they *said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; 17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”
Rev. 8:8: The second angel sounded, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea; and a third of the sea became blood, 9 and a third of the creatures which were in the sea and had life, died; and a third of the ships were destroyed.
If the first Trumpet announces a global nuclear war ON LAND where grass, trees, and people are burned up….The second Trumpet announces a global nuclear war BY SEA (OCEANS) where 1/3 of the sea creatures die, people die, and 1/3 of the ships are destroyed. This is not hard to imagine when we watch the United States, Russia, China, and Europe all posturing against one another. It seems like there are many, many occasions in which opposing naval vessels buzz by each other, jets are “escorted” out of someone’s “airspace”, and massive joint military drills are taking place. Everyone is posturing and taking sides. In a way, it is comforting to know that when these cold wars eventually “go hot” (and they will)…time will be short, and God’s Kingdom of peace will shortly replace ALL of these earthly kingdoms of war.
Rev. 8:10: The third angel sounded, and a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of waters. 11 The name of the star is called Wormwood; and a third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the waters, because they were made bitter.
Here again, the third Trumpet is likely continuing to describe a massive nuclear exchange between “global superpowers”. The result of this global nuclear war will be “The New World Order” that will only last a short time before Jesus’ returns. In Revelation 8:10, the word “wormwood” means bitterness, referring to the bitter, toxic condition of the water. The 3rd Trumpet is probably describing a nuclear attack that will poison inland waterways and fresh drinking water. Radiation in drinking water would make it unpotable and toxic. It says in Rev. 8:10 that MANY people DIED because of the “bitter” drinking water. This reminds me of the days of Moses, when the people were thirsty and dehydrated after walking through the desert. The only drinking water available to the Israelites were the waters of Marah. The word “Marah” means bitterness. The waters of Marah were bitter (toxic) and unfit to drink.
Exodus 15:22: Then Moses led the people of Israel away from the Red Sea into the desert of Shur. For three days they walked through the desert, but found no water. 23 Then they came to a place called Marah, but the water there was so bitter that they could not drink it. That is why it was named Marah.24 The people complained to Moses and asked, “What are we going to drink?”
What did Moses do when the people complained about the bitter, toxic drinking water? Moses prayed to the Lord and the Lord showed him a piece of wood to throw into the water so that it would become fit to drink. Moses obeyed, and the people had safe drinking water. Why in the world would God have Moses take a particular piece of wood and throw it into the water to change the condition of the water? In the natural, that makes no sense. But this was a supernatural event. The piece of wood, as does many, many other things in the Old Testament, is a PICTURE of THE CROSS OF CHRIST. When we apply the Cross of Jesus Christ (what Jesus did at the Cross, not the literal wooden beam) to our lives, the water that is within us becomes “sweet”…LIVING WATER/HOLY SPIRIT. God was using a physical example to teach us a spiritual truth. Can or will this play out again in a literal sense at the time of the 3rd Trumpet? I don’t know, but I hope that at the time of the 3rd Trumpet, there will be people on the earth who will REMEMBER these lessons from the Old Testament, and how they POINT to JESUS CHRIST…and cry out for Jesus to make the bitter waters sweet! I know that is what I would do!
Exodus 15:25: Moses prayed earnestly to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood, which he threw into the water; and the water became fit to drink.
So far, we’re only at the 3rd Trumpet, and the devastation, mass death and destruction is mind-boggling.
The 4th Trumpet appears to be what happens as a RESULT of the first 3 Trumpets, a “nuclear winter”, which is defined as “ a period of abnormal cold and darkness predicted to follow a nuclear war, caused by a layer of smoke and dust in the atmosphere blocking the sun’s rays.“
Rev. 8:12: The fourth angel sounded, and a third of the sun and a third of the moon and a third of the stars were struck, so that a third of them would be darkened and the day would not shine for a third of it, and the night in the same way.
If these first four Trumpets weren’t devastating enough, the next verse in Revelation 9 tells us that the final 3 Trumpets will be FAR WORSE than the previous 4. In-fact, the final 3 Trumpets will be so bad that the angels describe them as “the 3 woes”.
Rev. 8:13: Then I looked, and I heard an eagle flying in midheaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!”
The final 3 Trumpet blasts are horrific and frankly, difficult to even fully comprehend. We’ve just seen what appears to be a global nuclear exchange, one that will kill 1/3 of the earth. Honestly, God told us that if He hadn’t shortened these days, no flesh would survive. The water will be toxic and undrinkable. Crops and food will be contaminated with radiation. The sun and the air will be darkened over 1/3 of the earth, greatly impacting food production. No wonder God had to shorten these days for anyone to survive.
Matthew 24:22: Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.
What are the final 3 Trumpets (also known as the 3 woes)? These Trumpet blasts are described with strange apocalyptic imagery that may be supernatural in nature. We really can’t know for sure at this point, but it is very possible that what is now UNSEEN (the spiritual realm)…will be “SEEN”. The final 3 Trumpets has the potential to look like something from a “terrifying sci-fi movie”..but in actuality, be totally real.
The bottomless pit in Rev. 9 (abyss) is defined as a very deep gulf or chasm in the lowest parts of the earth used as the common receptacle of the dead and especially as the abode of demons.
Revelation 9: Then the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth; and the key of the BOTTOMLESS PIT was given to him. 2 He opened the bottomless pit, and smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit. 3 Then out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth, and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 4 They were told not to hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5 And they were NOT permitted to kill anyone, but to torment for five months; and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a man. 6 And in those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, and death flees from them.
7 The appearance of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle; and on their heads appeared to be crowns like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. 8 They had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions. 9 They had breastplates like breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to battle. 10 They have tails like scorpions, and stings; and in their tails is their power to hurt men for five months. 11 They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon.
We will try to break down this 5th Trumpet, otherwise known as “the 1st woe”, the first of the final 3 judgements. It appears like, even now as we speak, there are some horrible, demonic entities imprisoned in the belly of the earth, in the abyss (in another realm). God imprisoned them there so that they would have no access to mankind. At the time of the 5th Trumpet, the “angel of the abyss” is permitted to open up the pit, releasing black smoke and a multitude of evil creatures. Even at this late hour (5th Trumpet), God is setting boundaries. These demonic entities are not allowed to kill anyone however, they ARE allowed to cause severe suffering, pain and torment to ALL those people who do NOT have the “seal of God” on their foreheads. Only the Seal of God can protect an individual from these horrible beings. What is the seal of God? The Bible tells us that the Seal of God is the HOLY SPIRIT. Being sealed on the forehead speaks directly to what we believe. Do we BELIEVE in Jesus Christ, the Messiah who IS the Son of God…or not? To believe in Jesus Christ is the ONLY WAY to RECEIVE the SEAL OF GOD. People will either have the seal of God or the mark of the beast.
As an aside, it is being reported that the Quantum Computer was designed to open up portals into “parallel universes” and bring whatever is “there….here. Cern (Large Hadron Collider) also participates in this type of research. For the past few decades, there have been numerous sightings of UFO’s (unidentified flying objects) which are now being openly discussed by the Mainstream /Propaganda media and confirmed by the governments of the world.
It is possible that these demonic entities that come from the abyss (another realm/alternate universe)….could initially present themselves as “benevolent” towards mankind; however, the Bible tells us that they most certainly ARE NOT. We are like “ants” to them.
These horrible demonic entities torment those who do not have the seal of God with something that is described as a very painful sting, like a scorpion sting. Is it literal? We don’t know. Whatever it is, it is so painful that men will seek death, but not find it. This means that people will desire to die, will even want to commit suicide to stop the pain and torment, but they won’t be able to die. Why? We don’t really know. But this must be really, really bad for them to WANT to die, but be unable.
You may be wondering..how can a loving God allow for all of this suffering? My answer is that God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. God continues and will continue to call people, as many as possible, to His Throne of GRACE (God’s riches at Christ’s expense)…but sadly, there are many, many people who will REFUSE. They don’t realize that there is no middle ground. We either choose Jesus Christ or satan. For all of those fence sitters that think they can just stay “neutral”, or believe the lies that they can slide into Heaven via another “religion”..NO…the devil owns the fence! Jesus Christ, the MESSIAH..IS the ONLY way to Heaven and the ONLY HOPE for mankind!
The 1st woe is over, but there are 2 more WOES coming quickly.
In the 5th Trumpet we saw a demonic horde coming up out of the abyss to cause severe pain and suffering to all people who did NOT have the seal of God on their foreheads (who do NOT believe in Jesus Christ). This torment was only allowed to last 5 months (the normal lifespan of a locust). The demons in the 5th Trumpet were NOT ALLOWED to KILL anyone…But the demonic horde that will be unleashed in the 6th Trumpet will NOT have the same restrictions. They WILL be allowed to kill, and in-fact, have spent MILLENNIA preparing themselves for the very moment in time when they will have the opportunity to do so.
Rev. 9:13: When the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, 14 one saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” 15 And the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released, so that they would kill a third of mankind.
16 The number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them. 17 And this is how I saw in the vision the horses and those who sat on them: the riders had breastplates the color of fire and of hyacinth and of brimstone; and the heads of the horses are like the heads of lions; and out of their MOUTHS proceed fire and smoke and brimstone. 18 A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues, by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which proceeded out of their mouths. 19 For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents and have heads, and with them they do harm.
The 2nd woe IS the 6th Trumpet. It appears that God has bound 4 fallen angels who head up an army of 200 MILLION horsemen. This word “horsemen” is only used ONE PLACE in all of Scripture – to describe this horde of destroyers. In ancient times, a horse was CONSIDERED something VERY POWERFUL. Horses were used in military to cause TERROR. But these are no ordinary horsemen. Their heads look like lions. They spew fire, smoke, and brimstone out of their mouths, something so devastating that it kills 1/3 of mankind (those that survived the previous Trumpets). Their tails are also powerful and are like serpents, with heads. All I can say is disgusting, terrifying, nightmarish! Some have thought that this is describing modern military machinery. Maybe…but I tend to think that this is supernatural. The book of Jude talks about very evil angels, fallen angels, who have been chained and bound for Millennia in the heart of the earth. These fallen angels are those who took part in the evil, DNA modification scheme in Genesis 6. God had them bound because they were far too evil to have any access to mankind.
Gen. 6: Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God (angels) saw that the daughters of men (human women) were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. 4 The Nephilim (offspring of the union between fallen angels and human women) were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children (hybrid beings) to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. (The Nephilim were VERY EVIL. They were LITRAL GIANTS and were worshiped as “gods” (paganism)
Jude 1: 5: Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe.
6 And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day,
This horde of fallen angels and their army of 200 MILLION HORSEMEN are going to be literally and VISIBLY on the earth KILLING, STEALING, and DESTROYING! There is no way to sugar coat this. It is frankly not something that I can fully fathom.
One thing that I would like to point out about this 6th Trumpet is that the voice announcing this judgment is sounding “from the 4 horns of the golden alter”. In the Old Testament, the 4 horns of the alter was a place of mercy. In 1 Kings 1:50 Adonijah ran and held onto the horns of the altar in the temple when he begged for mercy for his life from Solomon. The horns of the altar represented a holy place and were used twice in Scripture as a refuge for fugitives. Today our refuge is found in Jesus Christ. The voice that announces this horriffic 6th Trumpet is coming from the 4 horns of the golden alter, which is before God. I believe this is significant because it appears that God is telling us that even at this late hour (the 6th Trumpet), it is NOT too late for mankind to cry out to God for MERCY! Sadly, the next verse shows us that VERY, VERY few (perhaps even none) will seek God’s mercy. Once an individual receives the mark of the beast, they forfeit the ability to cry out to God for mercy and forgiveness.
Rev. 9:20: The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; 21 and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts.
There is one FINAL Trumpet left, the 7th Trumpet. The bad news is that once this Trumpet sounds, God will pour out His 7 bowls of wrath….really, really painful judgements. All of the previous Trumpets were allowed by God, but did not DIRECTLY come from God.
God has given man FREE WILL. Trumpets 1-6 are the RESULT of mankind partnering with evil. One of God’s most painful judgments is when He pulls back His Hand of protection and allows mankind to have what we THINK we want.
Romans 1:21: For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.
Romans 1:24: THEREFORE God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them
Those words “God gave them over” means that God is basically saying “fine, have it your way…but eventually you will see where this leads” . Sin might seem like “fun and games” for awhile, but the piper must be paid eventually. When we partner with evil, either through deception or willingly, we give the enemy (satan) an open door into our lives. There is much evil that goes on behind the veil. After the flood, God put up the veil to separate mankind from the spiritual realm because we really could not handle seeing or being directly exposed to that much evil. But still, it is there, and operates on earth in the unseen realm. Evil beings are very, very real…and they very, very much affect what mankind does on this earth. Even now, with all of the violence, murder, sorceries, drug addictions, wars, human traficking, RIOTING, LOOTING, STEALING…we see the AFFECT of what happens when people partner with evil sources through SIN and WICKEDNESS. But we must make no mistake, those evil sources that are now partnering with mankind (those who REFUSE the One True God – JESUS CHRIST) do NOT have any love for mankind. Once God pulls back the veil of separation, these evil forces will seek to OPENLY STEAL, KILL, AND DESTROY the very people who have given their allegiance to them! God is showing us this in His Word.
If only people would LISTEN and REALIZE that these evil beings HATE MANKIND and seek our DESTRUCTION and DEATH!
In contrast to the first 6 Trumpets, the final 7th Trumpet is when God Himself DIRECTLY pours out HIS RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT on wicked mankind AND on all of the evil beings who have been KILLING mankind! But, as we will see in our next post, many, many people will continue to support the evil beings even after WITNESSING all of the destruction that they wrought on the earth. Perhaps they do this out of fear? Who knows. It is very sad indeed! Jesus tells us in His Word….”Why would you die oh man?”…God gives mankind a choice. Unlike the fallen angels who have already been judged, MANKIND can choose REDEMPTION. God gave His Only Son, Jesus Christ, to give mankind EVERLASTING LIFE! Why does God allow for mankind to be redeemed and not the fallen angels? We do not know. Perhaps it is because mankind is deceived and the angels are not? I am thankful that God has shown mankind MERCY and made a way for us to be REDEEMED!!!
Our next post will be the 7th Trumpet, the 7 bowls of Wrath. Heavy posts..but necessary. This time is coming rapidly. Please choose Jesus NOW while it is still day for NIGHT comes QUICKLY! Jesus will PART the SEAS and RESCUE HIS PEOPLE in the RAPTURE BEFORE any of the Trumpets blow…before the Great and Terrible day of the Lord!
REPENT and CHOOSE JESUS NOW to Get on board the ARK!
