May 27, 2005 Friday

Prophetic Calendar
[Church Day]
1) Last Days
2) Rapture of the Church
3) Attack of Israel
4) Great Tribulation (7 Years) - "God's Wrath"

a) Anti-Christ appears
b) Famine-war plagues
c) Battle of Armageddon

5) Lord's Second Coming

a) Millennial Kingdom (1,000 Years)

6) Great White Throne Judgment

a) Judgment of Satan
b) Judgment of the Unsaved

7) Eternity



Great Tribulation (7 Years)
The Great Tribulation will come after the rapture of the church and it will be the greatest period of suffering the world has ever known. During this period, the Anti-Christ will emerge, persecution of new believers will ensue and the great battle of Armageddon and the second coming of Christ will transpire.

The New Testament teaches that the current church age will also include trials and tribulation. Jesus said, 'In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world,' [John 16:33]. The apostle Paul also warned, 'Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,' [2 Timothy 3:12].

However, the persecution of the church in this age is not the wrath of God. The future tribulation will be a time of God's wrath upon a Christ-rejecting world. The Lord has promised to exempt the church from it [Revelation 3:10; 2 Peter 2:9].



Events of the Tribulation....
a) The Rise of the Anti-Christ: The beginning of the Tribulation will be marked by the signing of a covenant (a peace treaty) between Israel and the Anti-Christ that the anti-Christ will break later (Daniel 9:26-27). The Anti-Christ will come on the scene during the first half of the tribulation and will be the head of a 10 nation confederacy that will rule the world during the Tribulation (Daniel 2:42, 44; 7:7,24; Revelation 12:3; 13:1, 17:12, 16).

The Anti-Christ will be the most incredible political and world leader that she has ever known. On the surface, he will appear to be a genius, the answer to all mankind. Note the following list of characteristics of the Anti-Christ as described in the Bible:

1) intellectual genius (Daniel 7:20)
2) oratorical genius (Daniel 7:20)
3) political genius (Daniel 11:21)
4) military genius (Daniel 8:24)
5) administrative genius (Revelation 13:1-2)
6) religious genius (2 Thess. 2:4)



The Anti-Christ will rise in popularity as he masquerades as an angel of light, the answer to all mankind by bringing world peace and financial prosperity. But beneath the surface, his desire will be to bring the world into spiritual darkness. Promising peace, he will ignite the world into war. In every conceivable way, the Anti-Christ will be just like himself who indwells and empowers him. And many will be deceived into thinking that the Anti-Christ is Jesus Christ.
Ex: In Revelation 6:2, many people think that the person on the white horse is Jesus Christ but it is referring to the Anti-Christ. The rider on the white horse in Revelation 19 is Jesus Christ.

The word, 'anti' means 'against' (in opposition of) or 'instead of' (in place of). When the Anti-Christ emerges, he will not only be against Christ but proclaim himself to be Christ deceiving millions (2 Thess. 2:4).


WHO IS THE ANTI-CHRIST? Many believe he will be Satan incarnate (in human form). Others believe that the anti-Christ will be Satan's very son who possesses all the powers that his father does. [2 Thess. 2-9... 'Lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan...']

Here are some of the stark contrasts between Christ and Anti-Christ:
Ten Keys to Identifying the Anti-Christ....

1. He will rise to power in the last days. (Dan. 8:19,23)
2. He will rule the whole world. (Rev. 13:7)
3. His headquarters will be in Rome. (Rev. 13:7)
4. He will be intelligent and persuasive. (Dan. 7:20)
5. He will rule by international consent. (Rev. 17:12-13)
6. He will rule by deception. (Dan. 8:24-25)
7. He will control the global economy. (Rev. 13:16-17)
8. He will make a peace treaty with Israel. (Dan. 9:27)
9. He will break the treaty and invade Israel. (Dan. 9:26)
10. He will claim to be God. (2 Thess. 2:4)

Only time will reveal his true identity. But the Anti-Christ cannot emerge into the world scene until the church is removed [2 Thess. 2:3, 6-8]

b) Famine-War Plagues: According to the Bible, there will be severe famine, wars and plagues (diseases) during the beginning, middle and end of the tribulation where millions of people will die (Rev. 6:8).

c) The Battle of Armageddon: Armageddon, the great last world war of history, will take place in Israel in conjunction with the second coming of Christ [Dan. 11:40-45; Joel 3:9-17; Zech. 14:1-3; Rev. 16:14-16]. It will occur in the final days of the 7-year Tribulation.

Who will be involved? The Bible teaches that this war will involve all the nations of the world (Zech. 12:3; 14:2; Rev. 16:14). Scholars estimate this number to be 1 billion and 300 million people on earth which will include 352 million soldiers.

What is the purpose of Armageddon? The purpose of the Armageddon is to prepare the millennial reign of Chris by defeating the Anti-Christ and his armies by throwing them into the lake of fire. According to the Bible, great armies from the east and the west will gather and assemble in Jerusalem to destroy it. The Anti-Christ will defeat armies and turn them against the Jews. Then God will intervene and Jesus Christ will return to rescue His people Israel. The Lord and His angelic army will destroy the armies, capture the Anti-Christ and the False Prophet, and cast them into the lake of fire (Rev. 19:11-21). When the Lord returns, the power and rule of the Anti-Christ will come to an end.

Wow, that was very long. The book of Revelation is one of my favorite book in the bible.