Revelation 2020 - Lesson 10

• Tonight we conclude the judgments that mark the first half of the Tribulation and move to the next major period of the seven years

  • We’re studying the second wave of judgments called the Trumpet judgments

    • They are called trumpet judgments because each judgment is announced by the blast of a heavenly trumpet

    • The Lord uses trumpets as warnings, so each of these judgments serve as warnings to the Earth of the end

  • The first four trumpet judgments brought devastating damage to the physical earth

    • Third of the earth was burned up, a third of the oceans turned to blood and a third of the earth’s fresh water turned poisonous

    • The warning implied by these judgments is obvious: the earth isn’t going to last forever

    • The end is coming, and the world needs to prepare to see its Maker

  • Then beginning with the fifth trumpet, we moved into the woe judgments   

    • The word woe means judgment, and so the final three trumpets will bring especially difficult times for humanity

    • Each judgment targets the physical bodies of the world’s remaining population 

    • The first of the woe judgments brought demons which were released from the pit to attack humanity for five months

  • All unbelievers on earth suffered continual stinging pain for five months without relief

    • And when the pain became too much to bear leaving mankind to seek death instead, the Lord prevented them from dying

    • This judgment gave unsaved humanity a preview of Hell without requiring mankind to visit the place 

• And that’s where we ended…one woe complete but two more to follow

Rev. 9:13 Then the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
Rev. 9:14 one saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.”
Rev. 9:15 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.
Rev. 9:16 The number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them.
Rev. 9:17 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.
Rev. 9:18 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.
Rev. 9:19 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.

• Back in verse 12 we’re told that the second and third woes must wait until the first woe is completed

  • So that tells us that these particular judgments are sequential, happening one at a time

    • The five months of stinging runs its course and ends, and then a second woe will begin sometime after that

    • Can you imagine the relief people felt at the removal of that penalty?

    • They have suffered what must have seemed like an eternity and probably didn’t know if it would ever end and then it’s gone

    • It’s like seeing your life sentence commuted unexpectedly 

  • But then a new woe comes, this time in the form of a great army of horsemen, led by four angels

    • As we did with the scorpions of the first woe, let’s try to make sense of who these angels and horsemen are

    • And once again, the clues in the text point us in only one direction

  • We start with the origin of this judgment: a voice from the altar in Heaven ordering that certain angels be released

    • So we know God Himself is causing the action that follows

    • And He harnesses supernatural agents, angels, to bring about the events

    • So we immediately begin to see these events as supernatural and not natural, and the details that follow confirm it

  • Next, notice that the angels set loose were bound at a place on Earth, specifically the river Euphrates

    • Angels that are bound (or in captivity) always refer to fallen angels (demons)

    • And to be bound on earth further emphasizes they are fallen angels

    • And the location Euphrates confirms they are demonic, since Mesopotamia is the biblical home to Satan and his agents  

• So the Lord begins the second woe judgment by releasing four demons who were bound and prepared specifically for this day

  • What does it mean they were prepared for this judgement?

    • In simple terms it means that the Lord bound them at some prior moment knowing what they might do if released

    • In other words, if they had not been bound, they would have been killing mankind already

    • It seems as if some of the fallen angels are worse than the rest, and these God has set aside for the day when they would be useful

  • But that phrase has a deeper suggestion, because we know the Lord creates all things

    • So in a sense, we can say that in the day the Lord created these four angels, He did so knowing they would one day fall with Satan

    • And when they fell, they would become excessively violent and hateful, yet the Lord still went forward with their creation

    • And He did so because He intended to use them for this one moment during Tribulation

• These four demons go forth to kill one third of humanity by means of two hundred million horsemen, John says

  • In Greek it literally says two myriads of myriads, and a myriad is 10,000

    • John said 2 x 10,000 x 10,000 which is 200 million

    • We might reasonably ask John how he knew it was exactly 200 million horsemen, since it would be impossible to count so many

    • John anticipated the question, because he quickly adds that he heard the number of them

    • That little detail reminds us that we always take the numbers given in the Bible literally unless specifically told otherwise 

  • We know the angels were demons, but what do we make of these horsemen?

    • This is another place where speculation often takes the place of careful observation of the text

    • Some have imagined a human army accomplishing the killing 

    • And then they seek a place to find so many people in an army, to say nothing of finding so many horses

    • The answers they land on include the Chinese army among others

  • But they are looking in entirely the wrong direction because they have failed to simply read the text for what it says

    • First, notice the description of these “horsemen”

    • The riders have breastplates made of fire and brimstone and horses have heads of lions with smoke and brimstone coming from their mouths

    • Far as I know, the Chinese don’t outfit their soldiers this way

    • And seeing this as a description of modern warfare with tanks is just rampant speculation, not proper interpretation 

  • Clearly, their appearance strongly suggests they are supernatural creatures just as the scorpions from the first woe judgment

    • Since they are led by demons, it only makes sense to conclude that these too are demons being led by their masters 

    • This continues the pattern we noticed last week that as the judgments become more fierce, the Lord increasingly relies on demons to carry them out

    • Demons seem especially well-suited to producing great destruction, mayhem and misery

    • So they are naturally the agents of choice for the Lord to use in bringing a taste of Hell to the occupants of the earth

• If there was any doubt about their supernatural identities, look at the way they take life in v.19

  • They kill a third of mankind on earth with their mouths and tails, because their power is in their mouths and tails

    • Their mouths shoot forth fire and brimstone, like four-footed flamethrowers 

    • And their tails kill like serpents, which presumably means they have a deadly bite

  • Here again, nothing in the text suggests we should take these descriptions to be symbolic representations of something else

    • Instead, we see them just as described, which means they are not of this world

    • And given their demon overlords, it only makes sense that these horsemen are 200 million demons sent to kill humanity 

  • The Lord foretold the coming of this army in the Old Testament speaking through the prophet Joel saying

Joel 2:1  Blow a trumpet in Zion, 
And sound an alarm on My holy mountain! 
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, 
For the day of the LORD is coming; 
Surely it is near,
Joel 2:2  A day of darkness and gloom, 
A day of clouds and thick darkness. 
As the dawn is spread over the mountains, 
So there is a great and mighty people; 
There has never been anything like it, 
Nor will there be again after it 
To the years of many generations.

• These opening verses confirm that Joel 2 is set in the time of Tribulation

  • The day of the Lord is the Bible’s preferred term for the seven years of Daniel’s seventieth seven

  • And it’s a day of darkness and gloom and there has never been anything like it

Joel 2:3   A fire consumes before them 
And behind them a flame burns. 
The land is like the garden of Eden before them 
But a desolate wilderness behind them, 
And nothing at all escapes them.
Joel 2:4   Their appearance is like the appearance of horses; 
And like war horses, so they run.

• In this day comes an army like war horses, but notice they are not horses

  • Joel says they have the appearance of horses

  • And as they go, they have a consuming fire before them, which mirrors John’s description of the horse’s mouths

  • And the land behind them burns like a flame, so as they pass by they leave a burning destruction in their wake

• And the land is like Eden before them, which is a reference to the fall of the Garden

  • These demons see the land like Satan saw Adam and Woman in the Garden, a place to be destroyed

  • And after they pass through the land, they leave it a desolate wasteland…nothing escapes them

Joel 2:5   With a noise as of chariots 
They leap on the tops of the mountains, 
Like the crackling of a flame of fire consuming the stubble, 
Like a mighty people arranged for battle.
Joel 2:6   Before them the people are in anguish; 
All faces turn pale.
Joel 2:7   They run like mighty men, 
They climb the wall like soldiers; 
And they each march in line, 
Nor do they deviate from their paths.
Joel 2:8   They do not crowd each other, 
They march everyone in his path; 
When they burst through the defenses, 
They do not break ranks.
Joel 2:9   They rush on the city, 
They run on the wall; 
They climb into the houses, 
They enter through the windows like a thief.
Joel 2:10   Before them the earth quakes, 
The heavens tremble, 
The sun and the moon grow dark 
And the stars lose their brightness.

• These horsemen pursue humanity relentlessly, climbing walls like soldiers, marching in line, never deviating from their path

  • The overall scene is of an unstoppable and disciplined force that sweeps across the land

  • They enter houses like thieves through windows

  • Clearly, regular horses do not enter this way, much less have flame thrower mouths and serpent tails

• Then Joel says that these judgment would be accompanied by natural calamities like earthquakes and celestial disturbances

  • This fits the pattern of what we’re studying perfectly

  • And it confirms that we’re looking at something supernatural and demonic unleashed on humanity by God

Joel 2:11   The LORD utters His voice before His army; 
Surely His camp is very great, 
For strong is he who carries out His word. 
The day of the LORD is indeed great and very awesome, 
And who can endure it?

• Finally, Joel says this is the Lord’s army, because as we know the Lord called for the four angels and the horsemen to begin their rampage on earth

  • This is the great and awesome day of the Lord, and Joel asks who can endure it?

    • Obviously, some will endure this judgment, but for a third of mankind it won’t be endurable 

    • The combined effect of these horsemen is to leave a third of mankind dead

  • Like the first woe that produced great suffering for everyone but no death for anyone, the second woe produces death for some and great suffering for everyone

    • Having exactly one third of humanity die seems designed to impact every human being either directly or indirectly 

    • If one in three people on earth are dying around you (if not you yourself), then you are being touched by this event

    • Everyone is impacted one way or another, and the effect of such calamity will be worldwide mourning

  • This is a worldwide wake up call to the reality of the coming end of all things and the judgment that follows 

    • Nothing brings questions of eternity to mind more powerfully than the death of a loved one

    • For the Christian, the mourning over the loss of someone we love is tempered by the knowledge that they are doing just fine

    • And in a short time, we will be where they are, and so we haven’t lost them for long

  • But for the unbeliever, death is a wound with no relief, since there is no confidence in a better future and no hope for reconciliation

    • There is only loss and suffering and questions 

    • And sometimes those questions will move hearts to consider the promises of the Lord found in Scripture 

• And the Lord may use the suffering to bring a person to faith, so we wonder what will happen to a world of grief after the second woe?

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;
Rev. 9:21 and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts.

• John says “the rest” (meaning the two thirds of humanity that wasn’t killed by the second woe judgment) do not repent and turn to the Lord

  • They continue to worship demons and idols, and they will not repent of their murders and sorceries and immorality

    • Notice the completeness of John’s statement…none who survived (i.e., “the rest”) repented

    • The indication is that 100% of the earth responded to these judgments without coming to faith

  • Yet we know that there is faith during this time, because the 144,000 are at work saving people and martyrs are dying

    • So how do we reconcile these two statements?

    • It’s easy when you remember what the Bible says about how faith comes in the first place

Rom. 2:4 Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?

• Paul says it’s the kindness of God that leads us to repentance, meaning the grace of God working in our hearts prompts our faith response

  • So for those in Tribulation who are recipients of the grace of God, salvation will be the result

  • And these judgments are part of how God prepares their hearts to receive His grace

  • We know that difficult circumstances are often useful to God in bringing a person to the end of themselves 

• But as we consider how much calamity the world has experienced thus far, we must consider what it means that “none” are moved to faith by it

  • Unless and until the Lord is at work in someone’s heart, the natural man will not turn to the Lord out of calamity

  • Even unprecedented judgments won’t convince the world to believe

  • Faith isn’t based in fear, or emotion, or even convincing proof

• Faith is a gift that comes from God Himself, according to Ephesians 2:8-9

  • And these judgments make clear the realities of man’s predicament

  • For if ever there were a time when trial and calamity could prompt faith, wouldn’t these circumstances qualify?

  • But the woe judgments simply affirm what we already know from Scripture 

  • That apart from God’s work in the heart of the unbeliever, a person will never turn to God

• So at the conclusion of Chapter 9, the judgments of the first half of Tribulation have come to an end

  • The seal and trumpet judgments are complete except for the final trumpet judgment, which are the seven bowl judgments 

    • As we’ll soon see in the next series of chapters, the seven-year Tribulation is now half over

    • And as a result of the first 3.5 years, about 50% of the earth’s population is dead

    • One third of the earth is uninhabitable, and one third of all bodies of water are undrinkable and unnavigable

  • But the worst is yet to come, as the final woe judgment is coming, which are the Bowl Judgments called the wrath of God or the Great Tribulation 

    • But before entering into the events of the second half of Tribulation, Revelation enters an interim period

    • This period explains the events of mid-Tribulation 

  • The middle of Tribulation is simply a moment when we have experienced half of the 7 years of Tribulation, with half still to come

  • This moment is so central as a time of great changes on earth so it deserves special attention in the narrative of Revelation 

    • In fact, Revelation devotes four chapters to the events of mid-Tribulation 

    • Plus there are additional chapters introducing and concluding the period for a total of six chapters for mid-Trib

    • So Chapter 10-15 are all mid-Tribulation related, which gives you an indication of how important this period is to the story

  • But technically, the midpoint of Tribulation is just a brief moment, a point in time dividing the first 3.5 years from the second 3.5 years

    • That halfway point can also be expressed as 42 months or 1,260 days (on the Jewish calendar), times time and half a time

    • But when we say mid-Tribulation, we’re not talking about a single moment but a period of time surrounding that moment

• It’s an amalgamation of events that happen simultaneously, all stacked on top of each other

• So when we look at these 6 chapters we need to remember that they are happening at the same time

  • And we identify the chapters focused on the mid point of Tribulation by noting time references in each chapter

    • In every mid point chapter (other than the introductory and concluding chapters), we’ll find a mid-point reference 

    • Those chapters will contain one of three references to mid-Trib moment: times, time and half a time, 42 months or 1,260 days 

    • Each of those comments means 3.5 years, which is an indication that we’re at the middle of the seven years

    • Chapter 10 talks of what is coming in mid-Trib time, while Chapter 15 talks of what is coming next in Tribulation

• So let’s move into the introduction to mid Tribulation 

Rev. 10:1 I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven, clothed with a cloud; and the rainbow was upon his head, and his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire;
Rev. 10:2 and he had in his hand a little book which was open. He placed his right foot on the sea and his left on the land;
Rev. 10:3 and he cried out with a loud voice, as when a lion roars; and when he had cried out, the seven peals of thunder uttered their voices.
Rev. 10:4 When the seven peals of thunder had spoken, I was about to write; and I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up the things which the seven peals of thunder have spoken and do not write them.”
Rev. 10:5 Then the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted up his right hand to heaven,
Rev. 10:6 and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, WHO CREATED HEAVEN AND THE THINGS IN IT, AND THE EARTH AND THE THINGS IN IT, AND THE SEA AND THE THINGS IN IT, that there will be delay no longer,
Rev. 10:7 but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as He preached to His servants the prophets.

• John says another strong angel comes down from Heaven, surrounded by cloud and a rainbow above him

  • This is “another” such angel because there was an earlier distinctive angel who descended from Heaven

    • In Chapter 7:2 a similar angel possessing the seal of the living God appeared in a similar way

    • This angel is like the first, but his appearance is different

  • His face was glowing like the sun and his feet were glowing like pillars of fire

    • This fearsome sight suggests an angel of great authority, and we wonder who it might be

    • Clearly, this angel must have a prominent place in Heaven

  • A clue to his identity is found in something he carries: a little book

    • The word for book in Greek is biblaridion, and the diminutive (small) version is a biblos, or small scroll

    • So John says the angel is carrying a little scroll, something smaller than the usual size of a scroll

  • When that angel reaches the earth, he is so large he places one foot on the sea and another on the land

    • This angel then cried out in a voice so loud and powerful John could only compare it to the sound of a lion’s roar

    • If you’ve ever been in a zoo when a lion decides to let loose with a roar, you know how powerful and shocking that sound is

• In response to that sound, the Heavenly realm responds with seven voices of thunder

  • These voices must have revealed some deep truth to John because he was about to write what he heard

    • But he’s ordered not to write it at all but to seal up what he’s heard

    • This means to hide or keep secret what he’s heard

  • This scene is odd in all its details, and so we are forced to ask what does it all mean? How can we make sense of it?

    • The scene is odd and mostly incomprehensible…unless you had studied a prior book of the Bible

    • Students of the book of Daniel will immediately recognize the scene from something they studied in Chapter 12 

  • In that earlier moment we also find a strong angel who appears in a similar manner near land and water

    • And in that earlier moment, a different prophet is also told to seal up things to be revealed in the future

    • And therefore this scene is intended to draw our attention back to that earlier moment 

    • And by that connection, we come to understand what’s happening here

• So let’s spend a little time in Daniel 12 tonight

Dan. 12:1  “Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.
Dan. 12:2 “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.
Dan. 12:3 “Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.
Dan. 12:4 “But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase.”
Dan. 12:5  Then I, Daniel, looked and behold, two others were standing, one on this bank of the river and the other on that bank of the river.
Dan. 12:6 And one said to the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, “How long will it be until the end of these wonders?”
Dan. 12:7 I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, as he raised his right hand and his left toward heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time; and as soon as they finish shattering the power of the holy people, all these events will be completed.
Dan. 12:8 As for me, I heard but could not understand; so I said, “My lord, what will be the outcome of these events?”
Dan. 12:9 He said, “Go your way, Daniel, for these words are concealed and sealed up until the end time.

• Because we’re dropping into the final chapter of Daniel, let’s spend a moment understanding the context of the passage

  • The chapter opens up with the phrase “Now at that time…”

    • The time that Daniel is speaking about is the time being described at the end of the prior chapter, Chapter 11

    • At the end of Chapter 11, Daniel was explaining the rise and work of the Antichrist in conquering the world

    • That tells us that “at that time” refers to the time of Tribulation, and more specifically the time of the Antichrist’s rise

  • At that time, a powerful and strong angel, Michael, will arise which means to assume his assigned role or station

    • Michael will take his station in a period of great distress unlike any other, which is a reference to the Great Tribulation

    • The Great Tribulation is the name Jesus gives to the second half of Tribulation from Matthew 24

Matt. 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.

• As we move through the mid-Trib chapters, we will learn what makes the second half of Tribulation so great and terrible

• Meanwhile, Daniel’s description in v.5 of what he sees is similar to the description of John’s angel in Revelation 10

  • Daniel’s man in linen is hovering above a river while two other messengers stand on either bank of the river

  • John’s great angel descends over water and lands with one foot on land and one on water

• And in Revelation 10 John hears something spoken by thunder that he can’t reveal but must seal up for a time

  • And likewise, Daniel heard something from the angel but was told not to reveal it either but to seal it up instead

  • The two scenes are so similar it suggests a connection

• Specifically, Daniel’s moment is Part 1 and John’s moment is Part 2 of a single conversation with the same great angel

  • The angel that visits Daniel tells the prophet to prepare a scroll containing a prophecy of the end of the age

    • Daniel is told the wonders he hears about will go on for a time, times and half a time, which is 3.5 years

    • That’s one of our references to the mid-point of the seven-year Tribulation 

    • So we know Daniel was learning about the second half of Tribulation, the Great Tribulation 

  • Daniel can’t understand the wonders that take place in the Great Tribulation, so he asks for clarification in v.8

    • But the angel tells Daniel to seal up what he’s heard, meaning he should write it on a scroll and seal it up until the end of the age

    • So in effect, the angel was telling Daniel here is what happens during the final days of the age of the Gentiles

    • Write it down and seal it up, because we can’t reveal these details to the world until the last days begin

    • Remember, the last days of the age are the times of the Church, as we learned earlier in this study

• So where did that little book go? Moving back to Revelation 10, we find our answer among the second part of this conversation with the angel

  • Daniel’s angel took the scroll that Daniel wrote and held on to it until it was time to give it to John in the first century 

    • And that’s what we see happening in Revelation 10

    • In v.2 John says the angel descends from Heaven carrying that little scroll

  • Then John hears things spoken he can’t repeat, at least not yet, things concerning the very end of Tribulation 

    • Meanwhile, the angel stands on the sea and land to praise the Lord for not delaying longer in the fulfillment of these things

    • What delay is he talking about? It’s the delay that has ensued since the day of Daniel

    • The events of the Great Tribulation were first revealed to Daniel so long ago, but they were sealed

    • And even as they were later revealed to John, they are still yet to be complete

  • But in a future day, that great angel will arise and when he does, the events of the Great Tribulation will finally take place

    • And they will be fulfilled when that seventh trumpet is blown and the Bowl judgments come to pass

    • So it falls to John to reveal the details of the Great Tribulation that Daniel heard so many years earlier 

Rev. 10:8 Then the voice which I heard from heaven, I heard again speaking with me, and saying, “Go, take the book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the land.”
Rev. 10:9 So I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little book. And he  said to me, “Take it and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.”
Rev. 10:10 I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter.
Rev. 10:11 And they  said to me, “You must prophesy again concerning many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.”

• John is told to take the small scroll from the angel and eat it

  • Normally scrolls came on papyrus rolls and were not edible (or at least palatable)

    • But in this case, John is able to do what he is told

    • The angel says the book would be sweet in the mouth but bitter in the stomach

    • We can simulate the experience here at least a little

• The point is there is a bitter-sweet nature to prophecy about God’s judgment and the end of the age

  • For the prophet (and for his audience) there is a certain sweetness to receiving prophecy about the end

    • First, we find the topic attractive and even exciting

    • And since it’s explaining how we move beyond this age and into the next age, it’s very attractive to us

    • These are the good things of prophecy and they are certainly sweet on our lips and we speak about it

  • But as the truth of what that transition requires sinks in, it becomes bitter

    • Because the reality is that this world cannot move from its present age to the next without a whole lot of judgment 

    • There are literally billions of souls that will face judgment for sin and they will endure a level of turmoil and distress never seen

    • And for the believers who live in this period of history, the distress will be equally great though for different reasons 

  • So as a preparatory step to receiving the knowledge of the end of the age, John is first reminded that this is serious business

    • Then John is called to prophesy what he has received from Daniel

    • That prophecy concerns the state of affairs for many people over the whole world, referring to the events of the Great Tribulation

    • So what follows in Chapters 11-19 are the events that John receives from Daniel so to speak

    • And John now has the privilege of revealing what Daniel first heard but sealed 

• Let’s finish by going back to Daniel 12 for one last bit of information

Dan. 12:10 “Many will be purged, purified and refined, but the wicked will act wickedly; and none of the wicked will understand, but those who have insight will understand.
Dan. 12:11 “From the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days.

• Earlier in Daniel 12:7 we learned that the events Daniel was recording on his scroll would last for a time, times and half a time

• We also know that Tribulation is started by the covenant talked about in Daniel 9

  • Between the Antichrist and Israel, allowing the people to return to sacrificing in a new temple of some kind

  • Officially beginning the 7 years of Tribulation 

• Now Daniel 12 confirms that the midpoint of Tribulation comes 1,260 days after the signing of the covenant

  • We can see that the time on either side of the midpoint is the same

• v.11 defines the mid-point as when the Antichrist abolishes sacrifice at the temple

  • Affirming that the covenant is key to driving the timing of Tribulation

• You might spot that from the time of the abolishing of sacrifice until the abomination of desolation, there is still 30 days unaccounted for (1,290 days)

  • Over the next several weeks we will focus on the next four chapters

    • What goes on in the middle of Tribulation and why

    • How it relates to the covenant being broken

  • We’ll return to that 30 day period when we study Chapter 19