End Times Prophecy Passport: The Tribulation

Excerpted from:

End Times Prophecy Passport

By Chuck Swindoll

THE TRIBULATION

After the rapture of the church, those remaining on earth will confront a period of time the Bible describes as the most terrible in all of human history (Matthew 24:21). So graphic is the language and so fantastical are the prophetic visions, many scholars refuse to believe such events will actually take place. But this terrible time known as the tribulation will surely come. According to Daniel 9:27, the tribulation will last “one week” (meaning seven years)—a period divided into two equal halves of three and a half years each (Revelation 11:2-3). The second half is called the great tribulation.

At the rapture, millions upon millions of Christians will suddenly disappear. The second the clock starts ticking on the tribulation, anarchy will reign. Thousands of people will be killed or injured when planes drop out of the sky and cars careen out of control. Financial institutions will collapse; looting and violent crime will be epidemic. Governments around the world will be in disarray—impotent to halt the free fall of lawlessness and chaos. Everyone will long for someone to seize control and bring order out of disorder. And out of the dust of this crumbling civilization, one will arise to assert worldwide leadership—the Antichrist.

The Bible describes the Antichrist as a beast emerging out of “the sea” (Daniel 7:2-3; Revelation 13:1), indicating he will be Gentile, not Jewish. He will grow into power, like a horn growing on the head of an animal (Daniel 7:24). And one of the first things he will do is “make a firm covenant” with Israel “for one week”—seven years (Daniel 9:27). The peace treaty will allow Israel to rebuild the temple and begin offering sacrifices, according to Old Testament customs outlines in Leviticus.

YEAH, BUT…

Satan is the real power behind the Antichrist, and because Satan doesn’t know the hour of the rapture, he must always have someone groomed to fulfill that role. This has led many to speculate as to the man behind the mark of Revelation 13:18. Corresponding numbers to letters in a name, anyone with a calculator and some creativity can “identify” the bearer of the evil “666.” Throughout history, the following men have been seriously proposed as being the villain of the end times:

·         Titus Flavius Vespasian                            

·         Nero Caesar

·         Mohammed

·         Constantine

·         The popes

·         Martin Luther

·         Napoleon Bonaparte

·         Abraham Lincoln

·         Adolph Hitler

·         Benito Mussolini

·         John F. Kennedy

·         Ronald Reagan

·         Saddam Hussein

As it turns out, none of these men completely fulfilled the job description of the future Antichrist. But that does not mean he is a phantom of some far off future. The Antichrist will be a very real person; we just cannot know who he is until he is already in—and out of—control (2 Thessalonians 2:6-8)

So What?

Will there really be a worldwide leader called the Antichrist?

Christians now living will be removed from the time of tribulation at the rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 3:10). However, since God desires that none should perish but all come to salvation (2 Peter 3:9), how we live our lives today matters for those who will be left behind. Initially, for those who enter the tribulation period, the only witness to the truth of the gospel will be the memory of our lives and our words—as well as the Word of God.