VII. The Activities of the Elect, and Satan, in the First 3½ Years of Daniel’s 70^th week.

Before we make a detailed comparative study of Jesus’ teaching on the Mount of Olives, and what Jesus revealed to John concerning the first six seals on the outside of the scroll, let us determine just who is responsible for the wrath described in Revelation 6. Is it God’s wrath, or Satan’s wrath against his enemies?  The pre-tribulation Rapture teaching demands that the opening of the seals in Revelation 6 must be God’s wrath, which, they say, will immediately follow the pre-tribulation Rapture.  Otherwise, their timing as to when God the Father gathers His elect has no legitimacy.  Yes, God’s wrath will immediately follow the rapture.  But Jesus teaches emphatically and positively that the Rapture and Day of the Lord can’t take place until sometime within the last 3½+ years of the “seven years”, no matter what we have been led to believe. (Rapture Matthew 24:29-31, 29 Immediately after the tribulation [Great 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. 30 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. 31 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. and Day of the Lord Revelation 6:12-17, 12 I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. 13 and the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. 14 Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. 15 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains. 16 and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”)

In all of scripture, there is not one place that says the elect, children of God, will not have to endure trials and tribulations.  Nor is there one place in scripture that describes this seven-year period as “the tribulation period.”  The fact is, God’s word tells us over and over that, as children of the Father, we will all go through testing and will be hated by all men because of the name of Jesus we claim.  This fact is becoming clearer every day, as we observe what is going on today throughout the world.  There are hundreds of millions of Christians being persecuted daily, and hundreds of thousands are being killed each year for their belief in Christ.  In the 20th century, over 26 million Christians were martyred, or an average of over 260,000 each year.  

Take a close look at what Jesus told John to record about the church of Smyrna, and all future Smyrna churches: that those Christians should not fear any of the things they were about to suffer, and indeed “some” (Jesus is telling them it will be the same in the great tribulation period, “some,” but not all) of them would be thrown into prison by the devil, and they would be tested, and go through tribulation 10 days, but they should be faithful even unto death. (Revelation 2:10 Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.)  But what God definitely did promise in his Word is that we, Christians, the elect, will be delivered from the wrath to come, Gods’ wrath, the Day of the Lord judgment. (I Thessalonians 1:10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come, and 5:9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ)  Paul, in Romans 5:9, tells us again that, since we have been justified by the blood of Jesus, “we shall be saved from wrath through Him.” (Romans 5:9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.)  Furthermore, Jesus revealed to John in Revelation 6:16-17, that, after enduring this period of “Great Tribula               tion”, this great day of His (God’s) wrath “has now come.” (Revelation 6:16-17, 16 and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”)  God’s wrath will not come one minute before this, and it comes after the opening and the events of the sixth seal, and who would then be able to stand (Revelation 6:17 see above).  Those two verses describe exactly, the very moment, when God’s wrath begins

The evidence is overwhelming that the four horsemen in Revelation 6 go forth only by God’s permissive will and that no one in heaven, none of the angels, or God, or Jesus, has any part in the transpiring events taking place on earth.  Jesus, the One who will eventually execute God’s wrath, is continually present in Heaven at this time since He is the only one in all creation qualified to open the seals.  On the other hand, in the trumpet and bowl judgments, the angels, as God wills, perform much of the action, and all these events come right out of heaven and from the presence of God, and as Jesus commands.

The first four seals are announced, one each, by the four living creatures, notifying John to “come and see,” or be going, and a horse and rider in each of the first four seals exit heaven with God’s and Jesus’ (the Lamb’s) permission.  The fifth seal is opened during the “Great Tribulation,” and John views the souls of the dead under the altar, the place of sacrifice, those who were slain for the word of God and for the testimony they held.  These are the souls of all the elect who went to Heaven at their death ahead of us, including those who were martyred during the ‘Great Tribulation.’  And the sixth seal describes the cosmic upheaval that is happening on earth and throughout the universe in the days just preceding the Lord’s gathering together of His elect, and concludes in Revelation 6:16-17, where it says God’s wrath is about to begin. (Revelation 6:16-17, 16 and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”)  It takes an abundance of imagination to believe and teach that these 6 seals, and especially 5 and 6, are God’s wrath, especially after Jesus specifically said God’s wrath will not start until after the sixth seal.

You must remember that Satan, right up to the exact middle of the seven years, has access to the throne of God.  You can be sure that God’s wrath will not take place while His archenemy, together with his demon angels, still have access to God and are continually in His presence in Heaven.  At the middle of the 70^th week, at exactly 3½ years, there is war in heaven between Jesus, together with His angels, and Satan, together with his angels, and Satan and his angels do not prevail, and they are thrown down to earth for the last 42 months, forever excluded from entering and having access to Heaven again. (Revelation 12:7-8, 7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer.)  Satan, when he is thrown down to earth, knows he has little time, and shows his anger by directing the Antichrist to break the seven-year peace covenant with Israel, and Satan directs the Antichrist to reveal his true identity. (Revelation 12:12 “Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”)  The Antichrist then desolates the temple in Jerusalem, and makes himself the only god to be worshipped on earth.  This desolation will apply to every temple and church in the whole world. There will be no more Christian radio or television, and Christian worship will take place only in small groups and in secret.  There will never be worship services or evangelistic services again as we remembered them.  The scourge of Satan’s wrath, which was started with the four horsemen in the opening of the first four seals, will ravage every place of worship of every kind in the whole world.  Jesus said it will be terrible, GREAT TRIBULATION, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be! (Mathew 24:21 For 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.)  The first 3½ years are not God’s wrath, as will be further proved in later paragraphs, but is the wrath of Satan as he still tries to carry out his plan to overthrow God.  But take heart fellow elect, we can and will “endure to the end” with the Holy Spirit’s presence within us and with help of our heavenly Father and His Son! (Mark 13:13b But he who endures to the end shall be saved.)  (See XVIII.TIMELINE STUDY).

You, the reader, can challenge everything I have written in the immediate preceding paragraphs regarding whether or not this period is Satan’s wrath or God’s wrath.  There is, however, one final point I would like to make for you to consider.  When Jesus revealed to John what he was to write in this His final prophecy, He might have had this controversy in mind because He so specifically spelled it out in Revelation 12:12. (Revelation 12:12 “Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”)  John wrote that Jesus revealed to him “the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows he has a short time.”  Read this verse a dozen times and try to come up with a different conclusion other than that this time on earth, the Great Tribulation, was anything other than Satan’s time of wrath.

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