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In each of the references in this table, the length of the Great Tribulation is given as 3½ years. In three passages, the length is described as a time, times, and half a time. The length of time that the woman is protected in the wilderness is listed as a time, times, and half a time in Revelation 12:14 and as 1260 days a few verses earlier in Revelation 12:6. These passages demonstrate that a time, times, and half a time is the same as 1260 days. When 1260 days is divided by 360 days per year (prophetic years apparently have 360 days per year), the result is 3½ years. This means that the term time, times, and half a time should be understood to mean a year (i.e., time), two years (i.e., times), and half a year (i.e., half a time) or 3½ years. This agrees with the 42 month length given in Revelation 11:1-2 and 13:5-7 (i.e., 42 ¸ 12 months per year = 3½ years). In Matthew 24:22, Jesus says that the length of the Great Tribulation will be shortened. It is unclear whether the 3½ years represents the length of the Great Tribulation before or after this shortening. Since the lengths given in the Book of Revelation were provided about forty years after the resurrection of Jesus, the 3½ years is probably the shortened length. If that is the case, possibly the 1290 days and 1335 days of Daniel 12:11-12 may be somehow related to the original length of the Great Tribulation. Possibly, the 2300 days (actually 2300 mornings and evenings) of Daniel 8:13-14 refer to the longer time period that was shortened for the sake of the elect. (The 2300 days cannot include the Great Tribulation plus the Wrath of God since the host will not be trampled during the Wrath of God.) On the other hand, none of these may relate to the longer time for the Great Tribulation. It should be safe to conclude that the Great Tribulation will not last longer than 3½ years and probably not less than 3½ years. The 70 weeks of Daniel [Return to topic list]
This passage in Daniel provided detailed timing for certain events that would take place after Daniel’s lifetime. The word weeks in this prophecy is literally sevened (Strong’s #7620). Therefore, the 70 weeks should be understood as 70 groups of sevens. Apparently, these are groups of seven years covering a total of 490 years (70 X 7 = 490). The fulfillment of the first 69 weeks was remarkably accurate as shown in the following table. These 69 weeks (483 years) cover the time from when Artaxerxes issued a decree to rebuild Jerusalem (445 B.C.) until the time when the Messiah was cut off (A.D. 32 when Jesus was crucified). (Note: A decree to rebuild the temple was issued earlier, but that is not the start of the 70 week period, see Daniel 9:25.)
When calculating these dates, it is important to distinguish between the 360 days of prophetic years and the 365.24 days of solar years. Prophecy typically uses 360 days per year as shown when comparing Daniel 7:25 with Revelation 11:2, 3; 12:6, 14; and 13:5 (also see information on the length of the Great Tribulation). The time period from 445 B.C. to A.D. 32 is 476 solar years (445 + 32 - 1. One year is subtracted to correct for the lack of a year zero between B.C. dates and A.D. dates.). Converting 476 solar years to prophetic years results in 483 years (476 solar years times 365.24 days per solar year equals 173,854.24 days; then 173,854.24 days divided by 360 days per prophetic year equals 482.93 prophetic years). The last week (i.e., 7 years) of Daniel’s prophecy begins with a covenant made by the Beast or a similar individual. After 3½ years into the covenant (the middle of the week), this individual will "... bring an end to sacrifice and offering ... on the wing of abominations shall one be who makes desolate." (Dan. 9:27). If this refers to the Beast and End Times, then the Abomination of Desolation will be established at the middle of the 70th week of Daniel. If such is the case, the 3½ year Great Tribulation corresponds to the last half (3½ years) of Daniel’s 70th week. However, it is unclear why there is such a long gap between the 69th and 70th weeks of Daniel’s prophecy (even though there are some theories that have been presented). Possibly, this 70th week was fulfilled in the past—immediately after or soon after the 69th week. One possibility is that it refers to the time in A.D. 70 when the Romans destroyed the Jewish temple and stopped all sacrifices. However, that would mean that the 70th week began in about A.D. 66 (3½ years before the end of the sacrifices). This theory still leaves a 32 year gap (A.D. 32 to A.D. 66) between the 69th and 70th weeks. In summary, the 70th week of Daniel may apply to the coming End Times. If so, the Beast will make a covenant with many for a week of years. However, 3½ years into the covenant, the Beast will set up the Abomination of Desolation. The last 3½ years of the 70th week of Daniel would then be the 3½ years of the Great Tribulation. However, there are some unanswered questions with this possible interpretation and Christians should remain open to other possible ways for the fulfillment of the 70th week of Daniel. (Note: Some of the material for this topic was taken from the Spirit-Filled Life Bible, New King James Version, copyright 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc., pages 1248-1249.) The Beast’s wound in the head [Return to topic list]Until he declares himself as God and puts an end to sacrifice (i.e., the Abomination of Desolation) it may not be obvious who the Beast is. One possible advance clue is that the Beast will suffer some kind of physical, political, or other fatal wound to the head (Rev. 13:3). This temporarily knocks the Beast out of commission according to Revelation 17:8, "The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit ... the beast that was, and is not, and yet is." It seems that this wound occurs before the Great Tribulation. The Beast will be one of seven kings (rulers?) who loses his position or authority—possibly as a result of the wound. Later, he will return to be the eighth king (Rev. 17:10-11). The wound may also be a reference to his loss of position as a ruler. The Mark of the Beast (666) [Return to topic list]The mark of the Beast is some type of identification mark that is placed on a person’s hand or on his forehead. It is described in the following Scripture.
The False Prophet is the one who makes the image of the Beast, demands worship of the image, and requires the acceptance of the mark as a requirement for buying or selling in the economy controlled by the Beast (see Rev. 13:11-18.) This False Prophet acts in the authority granted to him in the presence of the Beast (Rev. 13:12). The number of the mark is 666. In the Greek and Hebrew languages, individual letters are used to also represent numbers. This means that any word in the Hebrew or Greek language also has a numeric value that is determined by adding together the individual numeric values of the letters that compose the name. Because of this, it is possible that the name used by the Beast will have a numeric equivalent of 666 in the Greek or Hebrew language. Others have proposed that the 666 may represent a counterfeit of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The number six is sometimes used in reference to man, and three is sometimes used in reference to God. Then three sixes (i.e., 666) would represent man claiming to be God. In this view, Satan, the Beast, and the False Prophet represent a counterfeit of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. From the passage above (Rev. 13:15-18), the only way to receive the mark is to agree to worship the image of the Beast. This is idol worship and would require rejection of the true God—possibly in the form of a renunciation of the lordship of Jesus. This requirement would explain the severe punishment reserved for those who take the mark of the Beast.
Notice that the punishment is reserved for those who worship the image of the Beast and receive his mark. Based upon this qualification and the explanation that those who refuse to worship the image of the Beast will be killed, it is probably safe to conclude that no Christians will accidentally take the mark of the Beast. Any who accept the Mark will first have to renounce Jesus and worship a false god. Anyone who worships the image of the Beast and receives the Mark will suffer severe punishment (Rev. 14:9-10). Is Jacob’s trouble the Great Tribulation? [Return to topic list]There is only one Scripture that mentions Jacob’s trouble (Jer. 30:7). From this one passage (see Jer. 30:1-11) there is not enough evidence to say confidently that either the Great Tribulation or the Wrath of God is the same as Jacob’s trouble. When is the Battle of Armageddon? [Return to topic list]The name Armageddon (Har-Magedon) occurs only in Revelation 16:16. It refers to the Valley of Jezreel (also called the Plain of Esdraelon) at the foot of Mount Megiddo. This is the place where the kings of the whole earth will be gathered by the spirits (demons) of the Dragon, Beast, and False Prophet for the war of the great day of God (Rev. 16:13-14). This event occurs during the Wrath of God just before the seventh angel pours out his bowl (the seventh plague) (Rev. 16:1, 17). Another passage which refers to this battle is Revelation 19:19-20. Even though it does not use the name Armageddon, it describes the Beast and the kings of the earth assembled for war against Jesus and His army. This gathering occurs just prior to the Millennium (Rev. 20:1-4) which takes place immediately after the Wrath of God. That means that both passages describe the battle of Armageddon as occurring toward the end of the Wrath of God. The Great Tribulation occurs before the Wrath of God (see the section describing the difference between the Great Tribulation and the Wrath of God). Since the Battle of Armageddon occurs toward the end of the Wrath of God, it must occur well after the events of the Great Tribulation. For more information on the chronology of these end-time events, see the earlier chapters in this book and the chronological list of end-time events. When do Gog and Magog fight against God’s people? [Return to topic list]Gog and Magog are named in only three chapters in the Bible (Ezek. 38, 39, and Rev. 20:7-9), each of which describe the same event. The sequence of events described in these passages are...
The two passages in Ezekiel do not indicate when this event occurs in relation to end-time events. The Book of Revelation, however, clearly shows the timing for this event. The destruction of Gog and Magog will take place at the end of the Millennium (Rev. 20:6-9). At the end of the Millennium, Satan will be loosed temporarily and will deceive the nations (including Gog and Magog) into attempting an attack on the saints who are then reigning in Jerusalem. This is also alluded to in Ezekiel 38:10-14 where Gog and Magog are described as coming against Israel when they are dwelling securely without bars and walls. Ezekiel 39:9-10 describes the burning of the weapons of Gog and Magog instead of wood for seven years after their defeat. The weapons listed include shields, bucklers, bows and arrows, javelins, and spears. Wooden weapons of these types do not seem to fit in with the high-tech weapons of today. However, during the 1,000 years of the Millennium that precedes the attack by Gog and Magog, there will be absolute peace and no need to manufacture weapons. Those weapons that are not recycled into other things will probably be unusable after 1,000 years of disuse (see Isa. 2:2-4). When Gog, Magog, and the nations prepare for war, they will need to construct all new weapons, most of which will probably be of the type mentioned in Ezekiel 39:9. From these passages, the timing of the attack by Gog and Magog will evidently occur after the Millennium. This attack has nothing to do with the Great Tribulation, the Wrath of God, or the Battle of Armageddon. [Table of Contents] [Previous] [Next] [Download Copy] [Beginning of Book] End Times - putting the pieces in placeUnless otherwise stated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New King James Version, copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. NKJV indicates quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New King James Version, copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. KJV indicates quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible. Numbers associated with Greek (italic) or Hebrew (upright)
words refer to the corresponding words in the Strong's Exhaustive
Concordance of the Bible, by James Strong, S.T.D., LL.D. Please make copies of this book to give to your friends. (A
searchable and printable version in Adobe Acrobat format is
available for download.) Your comments
and suggestion are also welcome. Thank you for helping others to
understand the Bible teachings on the End Times. God bless you. Sonny Bowman If you have questions or comments, please contact Sonny Bowman.
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Foursquare Church of Angleton, Texas USA Updated: 02/20/06 |
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