The tribulation will be a time of punishment for the world. This daily devotional reviews an overview of what we can expect during this time.
Devotions in the Self-Discipline Review series
We had been going through the process of salvation. We completed from sin to eternity.
But eternity has a couple of other topics that we have looked at over the past year. Let’s look at judgment day and tribulation.
We are reviewing everything to, hopefully, put all of the building blocks together. What I am doing is going through all of the devotions for the year and pulling out the nuggets. I am formatting this as a glossary page.
What Is the Tribulation?
The tribulation is the season of punishment leading up to judgment day and the end of this age where God judges the world for their unrighteousness.
It says God is going to judge Israel and the world. It does not say God is going to judge the church during this time (What Is the Tribulation?).
Daniel gave us a general timeline. One thing we do know is God is precise. He schedules when certain things are going to happen.
• Creation
• The Flood
• The Exodus
• Jesus’ birth
• Jesus’ resurrection
• The destruction of the Temple (What Is the Tribulation?).God already has it planned out when the second coming will be. It shouldn’t matter that we don’t know date and time (What Is the Tribulation?).
God is going to end the rebellion. He did, in a way, when Jesus died on the cross. However, He hasn’t shut the rebellion down (What Is the Tribulation?).
This is God’s goal: usher in the righteousness (What Is the Tribulation?).
God has told us many times about things He was going to do in the future. When the end comes, He is going to make sure all His statements come true (What Is the Tribulation?).
In John 14: 1-3, Jesus was saying the palace is already there. This isn’t about Him grabbing a hammer and nails. Heaven is all ready for us (What Is the Tribulation?).
The Beginning of Tribulation
The verses in Daniel 9 make it clearer that Daniel is talking about Jesus and His death on the cross. Only through this substitution can our sins be forgiven. But to me, this is really when the tribulation starts (What Is the Tribulation?).
To me, it doesn’t seem like Daniel is talking about the tribulation itself. He is talking about what leads up to it (What Is the Tribulation?).
When the tribulation begins, non-believers will see that prophecy is true. Convincing some before they see the horror will be challenging (What Is the Tribulation?).
One of the “good” things about the beginning of the tribulation is that it will be a time of peace (How Will the Tribulation Begin?).
Part of the problem with that is, probably, they will become complacent. They will think it is okay to sin. They may even begin to question whether Jesus will come again (How Will the Tribulation Begin?).
Behind each seal on the scroll is a judgment (How Will the Tribulation Begin?).
Several passages discuss the Antichrist’s rise to power. Daniel went really symbolic and described him as a horn on the beast. Revelation gave the picture of the seven-headed beast (Satan) (How Will the Tribulation Begin?).
Though the tribulation will start, God will still be in the business of salvation (How Will the Tribulation Begin?).
During this time, 144,000 Jews will realize that God’s Plan of Salvation is needed. In fact, people from all over the world will turn to God (How Will the Tribulation Begin?).
I saw a couple of things that said the Roman Empire is to be reborn (How Will the Tribulation Begin?).
Daniel 9: 27 implies that the Jews will one day again be performing sacrifices. In order to stop them, the Jews needs to be doing them (How Will the Tribulation Begin?).
See Also
The Antichrist
John was the only writer to so name the Antichrist. Paul did have a name he called him: the lawless one. The name man of sin fits the Antichrist. With that list, we would say that he is rotten to the core (What Happens to the Antichrist?).
Although the Antichrist may be accepted at first, non-believers will eventually see him for what he is (How Will the Tribulation Begin?).
There will be one Antichrist in the end; but there will be many fake Antichrists until then (Who Is the Antichrist?).
Since they believed Jesus would return soon, the first-century disciples thought the Antichrist would appear soon, also. Jesus told us to be aware because there would be many false Messiahs (Who Is the Antichrist?).
There will be many fake Antichrists until then. Why? Maybe to get us complacent. Maybe it is to chip away at our resistance. Maybe trying to get believers to compromise with the worldview. I think the many will just set the stage for one (Who Is the Antichrist?).
The Antichrist will be the champion of all sin (Who Is the Antichrist?).
The Antichrist is the polar opposite of the Father and the Son. He is in cahoots with Satan. They are two peas in a pod (Who Is the Antichrist?).
By being the opposite of Jesus, the Antichrist would be filled with ungodliness (What Happens to the Antichrist?).
We know that before Jesus returns, the Antichrist will dupe people by giving a false impression (Who Is the Antichrist?).
The Antichrist is going to be a significant opponent. I didn’t know if I want to say formidable. He will find success in his endeavor. He is going to be a large opponent. It will be an intense (Who Is the Antichrist?).
The bad thing is that the Antichrist is going to look legitimate. He is going to be good at his deception (Who Is the Antichrist?).
We can’t fall for the Antichrist’s delusions. We have to remain true to Jesus (Who Is the Antichrist?).
Satan is probably content to work behind the scenes right now. I mean, how many times does God get — questioned at a minimum — blamed at a maximum for all of the bad things happening. Yep, Satan is really glad that God gets to take the heat for death, disease, natural disasters — whatever happens that we would rather didn’t (What Happens to the Antichrist?).
Oh, one day, Satan is going to come out of the shadows. Yes, the Antichrist is going to be a big step toward that. One day, the Antichrist will appear and say he is above God’s laws and commandments. He will be — for a while (What Happens to the Antichrist?).
Being aligned with Satan will only bring defeat to the Antichrist. No matter how high the Antichrist soars, he — and Satan — will eventually crash and burn (What Happens in the Middle of the Tribulation?).
The Middle of the Tribulation
It is not going to be all rainbows and unicorns for the Antichrist. There will be an assassination attempt. Oh, the attempt will succeed — sorta. The Antichrist will die. He just won’t stay dead (What Happens in the Middle of the Tribulation?).
Satan is thinking, “Whatever God can do, I can do better.” Resurrecting the Antichrist will provide a miracle Satan will need. God raised Jesus from the dead. Satan will think he has to at least match that (What Happens in the Middle of the Tribulation?).
What better miracle for Satan to perform than one dealing with death. We associate Satan with death. He would probably want to show that he can control it (What Happens in the Middle of the Tribulation?).
No matter how powerful the Antichrist becomes, he will always be a minion of Satan (What Happens in the Middle of the Tribulation?).
The Antichrist will set up something somewhere, known as the abomination of desolation. Normally, I would say this would be on the altar where the sacrifices are offered to God (What Happens in the Middle of the Tribulation?).
This is just my take (which could be right or wrong). The Antichrist first allows us to worship the One true God, then outlaws worshiping Him all together. To me, if he stops sacrifices and offerings, he is going to try to stop all worship (What Happens in the Middle of the Tribulation?).
If we are to be a living sacrifice, we don’t sacrifice at an altar. We sacrifice our hearts and minds. The only way that is stopped is outlawing worshiping God all together (What Happens in the Middle of the Tribulation?).
But if we look at the tribulation as it will focus on Israel, wouldn’t the Temple be rebuilt? I don’t see Satan wanting God worshiped in any way, shape, or form. Isn’t he going to want the whole world to worship him? (What Happens in the Middle of the Tribulation?).
Everyone will be expected to worship the Antichrist – no one is going to be exempt. At least the Antichrist is going to try to make no one exempt. There will be those who are God’s remnant (What Happens in the Middle of the Tribulation?).
Yep, we would rather skip the persecution, but that isn’t an option. Jesus said we would be persecuted (What Happens in the Middle of the Tribulation?).
Jesus advised us to run when we see the Antichrist has desecrated the Temple. When he thinks he has won over God, Jesus tells us not to fight for Him. Jesus is going to do that for Himself (What Happens in the Middle of the Tribulation?).
The End of the Tribulation
- After the Antichrist is resurrected, he doubles down on his hatred of God’s followers — Jews and disciples alike. I guess he will figure he has made his point that he is God’s equal (How Will the Tribulation End?).
- Something that seems to get air play from time to time is the mark of the beast. Some will think the advantages of having the mark will outweigh the disadvantages. It may be something tattooed on either our foreheads or hands. With today’s technology, it might be a microchip. It may start out as something innocuous and morph into something entirely different as technology advances. Accepting the mark of the beast is forever choosing to give our allegiance to Satan. Satan = torment in hell for eternity (How Will the Tribulation End?).
- Then the “fun” begins. God is going to cut loose. It starts with seven trumpets (How Will the Tribulation End?).
- If the trumpets are designed to inflict pain, the bowls are going to finish us off (How Will the Tribulation End?).
- Part of me wants to ask how anyone who will live through this could not believe in God. Oh, there will be some who stay with Satan. Praise God, He will still be in the business of salvation (How Will the Tribulation End?).
- Jesus and His army will defeat the Antichrist and his army (Rev. 19: 11-21) (How Will the Tribulation End?).
- This earth is going to be destroyed. It won’t be anything that mankind did or did not do (How Will the Tribulation End?).
- That means judgment for those who did not ABCD. That means reward for those of us who did (How Will the Tribulation End?).
- God has given us chapter and verse — only what we need to know — about how Jesus will return, Satan defeated, and all will be judged. Satan and the Antichrist will be defeated. Sin will be abolished. God will be victorious in the end (What Happens to the Antichrist?).
- The timing has to be right because it sounds like Jesus is just going to consume him. Annihilated also sounds like an applicable word. And look what Jesus’ weapon is going to be! We were thinking some big, noisy battle where the balance for victory could top back and forth, weren’t we? We see horses and sickle. It sounds like Jesus is going to use the Word of God to defeat the Antichrist (What Happens to the Antichrist?).
Father. We know You will send a season of punishment. We pray non-believers will recognize You as Sovereign God. Amen.
What do you think?
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