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"The Babushka Doll Principle" by Tricia Tillin (4)

The Future Fulfillment of Prophecy

Here we go again! Another Babushka doll is extracted from the set, and this time it's in our own generation. This time we are looking at the Church, the land and the people of Israel, both their future and ours. This really needs little input from me because it's the classic Christian evangelical viewpoint that has been given a thorough workout everywhere in books, sermons and websites.

Firstly, a very quick summary suggesting that the same prophetic arrangement that Daniel was given for his own people, also applies to the Church - although this cannot be linked specifically to the prophecy in Daniel, which was given to Daniel "for YOUR people and city" i.e., Israel.

Nevertheless, the familiar pattern that we saw before has run its course through the Church Age:

  • The command or word that went forth was the Great Commission of Matthew 28:16-20
  • Early persecution and harassment was curtailed, allowing the gospel to be preached openly from AD 313 (Edict of Milan)
  • Centuries of building, breakdown, renewal, advance and retreat, in troubled times, but the spiritual temple stands
  • The anointed of God cut off (removed from earth) in the Rapture (see below)
  • Whatever remains of a spiritual temple on earth is defiled and destroyed by the Antichrist
  • Desolations until the Coming of the Judge and King, Jesus Christ.

Israel's Return

But to return to Israel's history and destiny, once again we are looking at SEVENTY years to fulfill the prophetic decree for God's people. This of course contradicts many who say that there is only ONE "week" of seven years left over from the previous first-century events in the time of Jesus. This gap theory works in some instances but I think it is clumsy, unnecessary, and ignores the basic principle of multi-layered "babushka-doll" interpretation.

UN parition mandate mapAs you may know the Jews returned to their homeland after the November 1947 UN decree for them to do so. In the Daniel prophecy, the "word" that went forth to restore the city and sanctuary was in Hebrew "dabar" which means a command, a decree, a word or an act that brings about the thing intended. As a result of the UN "word going forth" the State of Israel was established on May 14, 1948.

We should see these years in terms of the Jewish calendar rather than our own, since the Jewish year now begins in the Autumn at Rosh Hashanah. Thus, the UN decree and the birth of the State of Israel actually took place in the same year in that calendar. We could call this 1947/48.

Seventy years would take us from November 1947/May 1948 to November 2017/May 2018 (This is interesting because the 2018 date and the number/date 18 keep cropping up in the other prophetic parallels.) (See this page)

Problem: a missing seven years

If we were to treat the entire prophecy as for the present day, excluding all other fulfillments (which I don't believe is valid) and to abide by the exact year-count and sequence, then although some verses fit, we end up with a few problems.

(1) "from the going forth of the word to turn back again and to build Jerusalem..." This present generation's fulfillment of Daniel Nine did start with a word going forth - the UN mandate for Palestine. As we have seen, this was in 1947/48.

This time we need to count seventy YEARS to complete the cycle instead of "weeks of years" but the prophetic number 70 still comes into play. So does the sequence of events outlined by Gabriel.

(2) "from the going forth of the word to turn back again and to build Jerusalem unto an anointed, commander/leader, seven weeks" As far as I know, there was no significant "chosen one" who was used in 1954/55 to activate this return to the land more fully - if anyone knows what would fulfill this part of the prophecy I'd be glad to hear from you. An alternative to this is suggested below.

(3) "and threescore and two weeks [it] shall be built again, the street (broad pavement) and the trenches [wa-charuwts], even in distressing times" The next 62 years takes us up to 2017 and throughout this time Israel has indeed struggled through wars and conflicts, opposition, setbacks and triumphs to rebuild their land and city. They have had supremely "distressing times" but have continued to expand and build.

(4) "after threescore and two weeks shall [an] anointed be cut [off or down etc] be nothing or not exist [ayin]. After a long period of construction, there is once again to be a devastating attack on the land and the people. It begins with the anointed (chosen one/s) being cut off or removed from the scene and "shall be no more".

Cut off does not always mean slain

The Hebrew word that we translate in our English bibles as "cut off" is karath and means to cut down, cut off, cut asunder, cut in two (therefore by extension cutting a covenant) and in the same sense being cut off from the people (removed), eliminated, felled, harvested (cut down with a scythe) and the word for a divorce or dismissal (keritut) probably comes from the same root.

Therefore there are two equally valid ways of looking at this part of the prophecy. In one sense, an anointed one can be slain, cut down (or at least removed from office), and in the other sense - as in the Rapture for believers - that part of "the body" of mankind is cut off, removed. Both are correct. It could also be applied to part of a nation that is "cut off" from its people.

When God told the people in Exodus 15:15 " whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel" it meant exclusion or removal, not execution. It meant that you were "excommunicated" or "disfellowshipped" - cut off from your people! This separation from the body is reflected in the word katah (cut off) in the prophecy.

In the case of the Jewish population, (as in the day of Antiochus and in 70 AD) those who remain in the city will be cut off from all help and slain, while the faithful escape and are removed to safety.

The End to Come

(5) "and the city and the sanctuary shall [be ruined by] the people of the commander [to] come [whose] end [shall be] with a deluge and unto the end of the warfare desolations are determined". With the Remnant sealed to God by the angel (Rev 7:4) those who resist are attacked and slaughtered, with continual desolations and desecration until the END - when Jesus Christ returns.

What about the final "week"?

In this scenario, remember, the prophetic seventy refers to YEARS, not sevens of years. But by placing the 7 years and the 62 years separately and in strict chronological sequence as above, we not only fail to see an "anointed" arrive after the first seven years, but the final destruction takes place in just ONE year (final "week").

I am inclined to believe that the strict chronology belongs only to the LITERAL HISTORICAL fulfillment in Antiochus and even more so with Jesus and the crucifixion. But the sequence that begins with the UN decree still plays out through 70 years in my humble opinion.

The importance of 70 years for Israel is not only seen in the dates from 1948-2018, but elsewhere, for instance 1897-1967, and 1917-1987; also in 1903-1973.

  • First Zionist Congress - 1897
    At the first Zionist Congress in Basle, Switzerland, with Theodore Herzl as chairman, the program stated, "Zionism seeks for the Jewish people a publicly recognized legally secured homeland in Palestine."
    • Six Day War - 1967
      Although Israel became a nation in 1948, it was not until the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, fought between June 5 and June 10, 1967 by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria they they controlled their own homeland. At the war's end, Israel had taken effective control of the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria.

  • Balfour Declaration of 1917
    The Balfour Declaration was a formal statement of policy by the British government stating that "His Majesty's government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.
    • War begins 1987
      December 8 – First Intifada begins. Violence, riots, general strikes, and civil disobedience campaigns by Palestinians spread across the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israeli forces respond with tear gas, plastic bullets, and live ammunition.

  • Russian Offensive 1903

    Also 1903 was a significant year for the Jews because of the fierce Moldavian and Russian Pogroms, (see here) leading to a massive relocation of Jews to Israel.

    • Yom Kippur War 1973
      Seventy years later in 1973 that opposition broke out in Israel in the Yom Kippur War between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria and supported by the Soviet Union. The conflict led to a near-confrontation between the two nuclear superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, both of whom initiated massive resupply efforts to their allies during the war.

70 years as a generation

Psalms 90:10 "The years of our lives are seventy..." This verse is often taken as an indication that 70 years is a biblical generation. The unbelieving Israel of Jesus' day symbolised by the fig tree was cursed, but Jesus spoke of a day when that fig tree would come into bud once more.

"From the fig tree learn this lesson: as soon as its young shoots become soft and tender and it puts out its leaves, you know of a surety that summer is near. So also when you see these signs, all taken together, coming to pass, you may know of a surety that He is near, at the very doors. Truly I tell you, this generation (the whole multitude of people living at the same time, in a definite, given period) will not pass away till all these things taken together take place."  (Matthew 24:32-34 Amplified Bible)

Jesus said that, after we saw Israel the Fig Tree come to life again, the end of all things would be seen by that same generation. He said "when you see ALL THESE THINGS coming to pass....". What are the things? He has just been outlining the signs of his coming and of the end of the world. We do indeed see these signs around us today, and increasingly. Could it be that those who were born in 1948 and afterwards will see his coming?

The Final Seven Sub-Divided

To recap, the 69 years spoken of by Gabriel are subdivided into 7, 62 and 1. It is just possible that the seventy years are indeed sub-divided for Israel but the other way round - that is, FIRST the ONE year, then the 62 years of rebuilding in troubled times, and THEN some time after that the seven years of desolation. This is entirely speculative, and unsupported by scriptures, therefore cannot be relied upon - but it would allow for the additional comment in the prophecy to take place:

"And he shall make strong [the] covenant with many one week and middle of the week he shall cause to cease the sacrifice and the oblation and on the extremity or wing or pinnacle of detestable things he shall make it desolate or cause a stupefying amazement or desolation even until that [which is] determined be poured out upon the desolate".

IF (and this is by no means certain even from the prophecy of Daniel) but IF the final seven years is yet to run its course, then the desolation to come will only take one HALF of that week.

Seven year tribulation or three and a half year Wrath?

In my opinion, Christians err when they speak of a seven-year tribulation to come. It is not scripturally correct to speak of ALL the coming events as "The Tribulation" although that has become its label nonetheless; also it is not sustainable from the bible passages that these events last a full seven years.

Looking at every mention of the tribulation in scripture, there is not one that specifies its length as seven years! How has it come about that so many are taught this? It is entirely based on the belief of that gap in Daniel's prophecy, and the final "week" of seven years being COMPLETELY TAKEN UP by the desolations to come. Yet even in Daniel we see that up until the middle of the week (three and a half years) there is relative peace.

Revelation 13:5 says the reign of the Antichrist is forty two months. "...and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months." The forty two months is the same as the " time, times and half a time" of Daniel 7:25. In addition Revelation 12:6 has the Woman hidden in the wilderness for 1260 days or three and a half years (are we to assume that God hid her for only half the Great Tribulation?) The two witnesses of Revelation also have a mission lasting just three and a half years!

Here is more proof of the extent of that attack on Israel. The Bible says " they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." (Luke 21:24) and although this does apply in a general sense to two thousand years of Jewish history, it is SPECIFIC to the endtimes. Revelation tells us exactly how long the Gentiles will trample the holy city, after gaining control - it is 42 months. (Rev. 11:2).

How long do we know from Daniel that the saints shall be given into the hand of the Antichrist? Three and a half years! (Dan.7:24) and (Dan. 12:7). So what is the excuse for disregarding all these plain scriptures in favour of a whole seven years?

Why do we call it the Great Tribulation?

Not only does the tribulation NOT last seven years, but the very word "tribulation" is misapplied in the first place. In almost every place in scripture, including the words of Jesus about the endtimes, "tribulation" means intense pressure or stress, and the word has its root in narrowness, crowding, pressing together. In the New Testament letters, it is a word describing the trouble and stress, and persecution endured by Christians. In fact we were appointed to tribulation:

In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. John 16:33
...tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Rom 5:3-5
...rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer Rom 12:12-13
no one should be shaken by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we are appointed to this. For, in fact, we told you before when we were with you that we would suffer tribulation. 1 Thess 3:2-4

Look at the only mention in Revelation of a "Great Tribulation". It comes during the first phase, during the opening of the seals and BEFORE the final seal is opened on the scroll that contains the inheritance deed of God's people.

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying,"Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" ...13 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?" And I said to him, "Sir, you know." So he said to me,"These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (Rev 7:9-15)

The sudden appearance in heaven of so many diverse people makes us wonder what events precipitated this. Looking back, we can see that the opening of seal six (Rev 6:12) has caused a tremendous and terrifying earth-shaking, and it compares directly with the description that Jesus gave to his disciples when asked what would be the sign of his coming.

"Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Matt 24:29-31

So when Jesus comes "on the clouds of heaven" with a great shout and the sound of a trumpet, to gather his ELECT, "from one end of heaven to the other" [compare the Rapture passage by Paul in I Thessalonians 4:16-17 ] this is immediately AFTER "the great tribulation" - thus explaining how the multitudes arrived suddenly in the heavenlies having "come out of the great tribulation".

This scares many Christians, because not only does it contradict hundreds of years of church teaching, but it suggests that WE Christians have to go through the Great Tribulation! And in addition, it puts that tribulation during the initial stages of the endtime scenario, instead of lasting the full seven years. (In effect, at seals five/six).

Our Gathering Together to Him

But we can confirm that our gathering together to him cannot happen at the beginning of the final seven years. The day we all wait and long for, the day of our "gathering together to Him", cannot come according to the scriptures unless the Falling-Away and the Man of Sin comes FIRST. (2 Thess 2). And Jesus says likewise:

Therefore when YOU see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place ... then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened.

Surely this is the blasphemy that launches the wrath of God? This is the abomination (a word often associated with idolatry) that defiles the temple. The central and pivotal event, as always in this multi-layered approach to prophecy, is the attack on the city, the desecration of the temple and the "abomination that makes desolate".

The middle of the week is the key event

THE preeminent sign that Jesus gave for his return was the "abomination of desolation". This is as true now as it was for the believers in 70AD. That abomination took place, like the others "in the middle of the week". We are to be in all things like Jesus, and he died and rose in the middle of his last week, spending three days and nights (not seven!) in the tomb before being seen on earth again.

The Jewish rebellion began in 66 AD and the Roman legions marched on the city and began to slowly squeeze the life out of the Jewish stronghold. By the year 70, the attackers had breached Jerusalem's outer walls and began a systematic ransacking of the city. The assault culminated in the burning and destruction of the Temple that served as the center of Judaism.

Thousands were slaughtered and thousands more enslaved. But the rebellion continued for another three years and was finally extinguished in 73 AD with the fall of the various pockets of resistance including the stronghold at Masada.

It is no wonder that we do see parallels here - the attack on Jerusalem by Antiochus Epiphanes was also "in the middle of the week". The two historical books of Maccabees detail the desolations that Antiochus inflicted on Israel from 171 to 164 BC. He desecrated the Jewish Temple three years before it was rededicated on Kislev 25, 164 BC. (1 Maccabees. 4:52-59). 

three crossesAs we saw, the crucifixion of Jesus (the ultimate desecration of the temple of God) was "in the middle of the week" and now again the abomination of desolation is set up in Israel at the same time - the middle of the last seven years! Incidentally, when Jesus spoke of his own resurrection, the rebuilding of "the temple" in three days, he was also speaking of the resurrection of the spiritual temple, the BODY of Christ! This by itself locates the attack on believing Israel (and probably the rapture too) halfway through the week.

The Jews then said to him, "What sign have you to show us for doing this?" Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." The Jews then said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?" But he spoke of the temple of his BODY. (John 2:18-25)

What happens during the first three and a half years?

If the attack on Jerusalem and the abomination that desolates is placed in the temple (whatsoever that temple might be) at the mid-way point of the last seven years, then what has been occurring before that time? Both the Antiochus revolt and the AD70 revolt give us hints.

I believe that the man we call Antichrist, or the Man of Sin (the complete opposite of the True Christ and the Son of Righteousness) will NOT be satanically possessed and energised before he sits in the temple and proclaims himself as God. Before that time he may present himself as a wise and strong leader, a political man of honour perhaps who arrives as a "saviour" on the scene of Israel's distress, and is hailed as a great man as a result. (No doubt the crisis that causes this will have been engineered in the first place.)

The wooing of Israel by this attractive and charismatic leader (egged on by apostate churches), to cause her to deny God and adopt either new-age, worldly or atheistic beliefs, amounts to the wooing of an adulterous wife who is later to be called The Harlot.

This is precisely what had happened around the time of Antiochus Epiphanes. The Jews had been lulled into a false alliance with Greek philosophy and "wisdom" instead of the truth of God. The "hellenised" Jews turned away from the Law, and adopted Greek practices, names and gods. Perhaps many thought that this would buy them peace, but when the orthodox observant Jews rebelled, it all fell apart.

The false "peace" for Israel during the first half of the seven years may not come so much from the expected "Peace Treaty" but simply by an agreement to play ball, to adopt the standards and beliefs of the world, to subscribe to the New World Order, in order to gain the protection and support of a powerful world figure. Isaiah 28:18 hints at this when he warns: "your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it."

Confirmation from Thessalonians

Does not Paul write of exactly the same sequence of events, when in 2 Thess 2:3 he writes that "that DAY" of our gathering together to Jesus CANNOT come "unless the apostasy comes first" - the turning of the Jews (primarily) into apostates is the first sign that the seven years has begun. Doubtless this apostasy is all part and parcel of the same false doctrine that is prevalent in the churches.

"Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction."

This false sense of peace will be suddenly and dramatically ended (perhaps due to a revolt of the observant Jews) because the Harlot who has been happily riding the "beast" will be thrown off, trampled and torn to pieces. In the "midst of the week" of seven years we see this leader become enraged, and set about invading Israel and overthrowing her instead of protecting her. He wants to claim the city as his capital, and the temple as his place of worship. Jesus said that THE significant sign that tells us to "look up" and expect his return is "when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies". Luke 21:20

Not only is this attack on the city THE wake-up call for the Rapture, but the abomination (idol) that desecrates the temple in those days will be THE greatest blasphemy ever conceived, and it brings God's wrath.

What happens during the second three and a half years?

At this point many events happen almost simultaneously. The "great tribulation" against any rebels to the Antichrist breaks out [completing the number of martyrs already seen waiting in heaven during seal five], the faithful Jews [The woman] escape the city to be protected by God for 42 months, her little "child" that is born of her tribulation [those accepting Jesus as Saviour as a result of their peril] is caught up to God along with all others belonging to the Lord [the Rapture] while the devil and his evil powers are cast out onto the earth "knowing their time is short".

It is at this point the body of the Antichrist is possessed by the Devil. His 42-month supremacy has begun because "that which restrains" lawlessness has now been "taken out of the way". (2 Thess 2:7-8)

Luke 17:26-37

And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back. Remember Lot's wife. Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left. two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left. two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left." And they answered and said to Him,"Where, Lord?" So He said to them, "Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together."

At the point of greatest peril to believers (just as with Noah and Lot) the rescue will come, and we will be taken out. It will be SUDDEN and UNEXPECTED by the majority, and will happen at NIGHT I believe (the Lord comes "as a thief in the night" and it was at Midnight that the bridesmaids heard the cry to prepare for the Master's coming.)

The night of the Exodus Passover was a "night of watching" now commemorated as a fast in Israel by some Jews. The night in which the blood-covered people of God watched for their release was a long dark night of trial and prayer in which those left outside the covering would be slain. There was only ONE place of safety - inside the house that was marked by the blood of the slain lamb. At MIDNIGHT the angel passed through and all the first born of Egypt died. Almost immediately (still in the night) Moses was called to the Pharaoh to get his marching orders!

Therefore, following this prophetic pattern, believers will undergo the same kind of tense wait-and-watch before the Rapture. Just at the moment of greatest peril, at the moment of greatest darkness, the "midnight cry" is heard - "the Bridegroom comes!" - and at almost the same moment the angel of death will once again bring judgement to unbelieving "Egypt".

The pre-trib rapture pattern does not hold true to scripture. There was no three-year (or even three-day) pause between the Exodus and the plagues; it happened simultaneously just as with Lot and Noah. Indeed, the pre-trib pattern specifically falls down on another point in Exodus - that the Israelites themselves had to endure the first THREE plagues of Egypt before they were protected in Goshen. This again tells us that we will endure through the first three years of build-up to the Antichrist reign, even though we will be spared from "wrath".

At that moment, worldwide, those who die as martyrs will be raised and their bodies will be seen being raised to God; those who are still alive will then also receive their glorified heavenly bodies and be raised to God. I believe this is why the Lord hinted that, at the time "one will be taken and another left" they will go to where the "eagles" [angels] are seen hovering in the sky gathering all believers to Jesus Christ.

Please see the in-depth study of the prophetic parallels between the Passover, Third Day, Three-and-a-Half years and other prophetic days, years and numbers. This gives the timing of the Rapture.

Powers of Heaven Shaken

The cosmic disturbances seen in seal six are the result of the evil "principalities and powers" being cast out onto the earth. There is - we are told - "no more place found for them in the heavenlies". (See Rev 12:7-12) Why? Because the Bride of Christ has been caught up to take their place! At one and the same time the believers are caught up and the evil powers are thrown down.

ONLY this scenario reconciles all the different groups and events of Revelation with the rest of the Old and New Testament scriptures. it confirms what we already knew from the previous pages of this study: that just as Jesus was crucified in the middle of the week, so his people will be removed ("cut off") in the middle of the week, at the moment of greatest peril.

Jesus himself told us this same thing. He likened it to the instant removal of Lot from the destruction of his city, and the instant removal of Noah on the day the rain began to fall. (Luke 17:26-30 and compare 2 Peter 2:4-10).

The turnabout from the false peace of idolatrous God-forsaking apostasy to "destruction" will be SUDDEN and UNEXPECTED for those who are heedless in those days, says the Lord. They will go almost instantly from idle self-sufficient enjoyment to fear and terror.

For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.1 Thess 5:3-4

What happens during the second three and a half years?

If the tribulation is the time of trouble for Jews and Christians immediately before the 42 months of Antichrist's reign, what is the three-and-a-half years afterwards called - it is called in the bible "The Day of the Lord's WRATH" (Zeph 1:17-18). Although Jesus said that in this life we WOULD have tribulation, "He reserves wrath for His enemies" (Nah 1:2)

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. (Rom 1:18-19)

The three and a half years leading up to the final appearance of Jesus the Lord, are days of wrath for unbelievers. "Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience" (Col 3:6-7). But we are specifically told that we shall be spared from this wrath. It is not for us. "having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him" (Rom 5:9-10). it is Jesus who "delivers us from the wrath to come".1 Thess 1:8-2:1

For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.(1 Thess 5:9-10)

Interesting! One bible verse tells us that we ARE "appointed to tribulation" of various kinds, and another verse tells us that we are NOT "appointed to wrath". It could not be much plainer.

In order to see the many similarities between these seven-year, seventy-year and three and a half year time periods, I will present on the next page charts of each event.

Please proceed to the next section or go back to a previous page.

© 2013 Tricia Tillin-Booth. All rights reserved. Birthpangs Website: http://www.birthpangs.org/  This document is the property of its author and is not to be displayed on other websites, redistributed, sold, reprinted, or reproduced in printed in any other format without permission. Websites may link to this article, if they provide proper title and author information.   One copy may be downloaded, stored and/or printed for personal research. All spelling and phraseology is UK English.