The Great Tribulation - Part 5

The Trumpet of the Seventh Angel (Rev. 11:15)

We shall now deal with the Seventh Trumpet .

"Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, 'The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!'" (Rev. 11:5, NKJV).

The seventh trumpet is the last in the series of trumpets by seven angels who appeared when the scroll's seventh seal was opened by Jesus. When the seventh trumpet sounds, there will be a heavenly declaration that God and His Son, Jesus, will be taking over the world.

Paul said, "Then comes the end, when He (Jesus) delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power" (1 Cor. 15:24).

As we have seen, the second three and one-half years of the Great Tribulation were almost finished when the two witnesses died. This is prior to the Battle of Armageddon. Now that Jesus has regained this world, which had been under the power of Satan. All the procedures to redeem creation have been completed.

Song of praise of the twenty-four elders (Rev. 11:17, 18)

As soon as the twenty-four elders, sitting on the thrones, heard the trumpet, they became overwhelmed with joy, fell on their faces and worshipped God. They sang this song of praise:

"We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was and who is to come, because You have taken Your great power and reigned. The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, and those who fear Your name, small and great, and should destroy those who destroy the earth" (Rev. 11:17, 18).

In that song the elders foresee the end of the Great Tribulation, the millennial kingdom; the general resurrection of all the dead along with the final judgment of Him who sits on the throne, and coming of a new heaven and a new earth.

Because the gleaning of salvation is coming to an end when the two witnesses are taken into heaven, this world will be practically finished. Satan will know his day will soon end, so he will stir the anger of the nations. At the same time he does that, God's wrath will burn brighter, which will put Satan and Jesus on a collision course.

Satan will unite the nations against Jesus. The ensuing conflict is referred to as the Battle of Armageddon.

Everyone is accountable to God. No one will escape his judgment. Even the dead will be judged. But the righteous will be rewarded before the Judgment Seat of Christ for reverencing the Name of Jesus, and the wicked will be destroyed for their unrepented sins.

God's mercy to His people (Rev. 11:19)

"Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. And there were lightnings, noices, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail" (Rev. 11:9).

When the elders finished praising God, the temple of God was opened in heaven, and John saw the ark of His covenant accompanied by lightning, noises, thundering, earthquakes and hailstorms.

God will open His heavenly temple - similar to the tabernacle of Moses. God's heavenly temple houses the Ark of the Covenant. Ther mercy seat rests on top of the ark, where the blood of sacrificial goats was sprinkled for the sins of God's people. The ark, with its mercy seat, will be a reminder that God has always shown mercy to His people. The ark was a symbol of God's presence with His poeple, His protection of them, His mercy, and His forgiveness.

Satan will stir the nations against Israel. The lightning, noises, thundering, earthquakes and hailstorms will be signs of God's wrath to come, but God will show mercy by protecting Israel.

A Great Sign from Heaven (Rev. 12:1)

"Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, whith the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars" (Rev. 12:1).

Who was the woman clothed with the sun? Some Bible teachers say she represents the Church. However, the Bible never uses the image of a woman or a woman about to deliver a child, to symbolize the Church. But there is nation that was called "the woman":

" 'Sing, O barren, you who have not borne! Break forth into singing, and cry alound, you who have not labored with child! For more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married woman,' says the Lord" (Isaiah 54:1).

Along with this passage, let us also look a the book of Hosea, which calls Israel the wife who fled from her husband. Israel was sometimes called a married woman when she was obedient to God. At other times, when she disobeyed God, she was called a divorced woman or a widow.

Furthermore, in Genesis 37:9, 10, Joseph, one of the twelve sons of Jacob (Israel), dreamed a dream. In that dream "the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars" bowed down to Joseph. Symbolically meant that Joseph's father and mother, along with his brothers, would bow down to him. From these two examples we can deduce that the image of the woman in Revelation 12 represents Israel.

Israel (the woman) in Travail (Rev. 12:2)

"Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth" (Rev. 12:2).

Rev. 12:5 tells us that Israel is pregnant with a male child, who will rule the nation. Her pregnancy is reference to her condition just before the birth of Jesus. John says she cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.

Before Christ's birth, Israel was a captive nation to the Roman Empire. She had to submit to Roman leaders, pay Roman taxes, and obey Roman laws. She was a nation in travail.

Another Great Sign from Heaven (Rev. 12:3 - 5)

"And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born. She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. and her Child was caught up to God and His throne" (Rev. 12:3 - 5).

The first sign in heaven was a sun-clothed woman (Israel) (Rev. 12:1). The second sign in heaven is an enormous red dragon (Satan), which is explained further Rev. 12:9. This fierce, powerful, murderous dragon will appear in heaven with seven heads (symbols of Gentile world governments), ten horns (symbols of powerful kings), and seven crowns (symbols of the seven divisions controlled by ten powerful kings).

Stars are symbols of angels. Satan drew a third of the stars with his tail and cast them to the earth means that he causes one-third of the angels to fall. This signifies he incited a third of the angels to join him when he fell, starting the histroy of rebellion on the earth. We can be thankful, however, that two-thirds of the angel did not fall. Therefore when one demon attacks us, two angels of God are available to protect us.

Rev. 12:3 describes the red dragon as having seven heads and ten horns. The seven heads represent the seven nations God raised up that most violently opposed. These are: Assyria, Babylon, Media and Persia, Egypt, Greece, Rome and the Antichrist's country that will be restored. The Devil has gone all out to destroy God's people through those seven heads.

The ten horns of this dragon signify the ten countries of unified Europe that will be formed in the early part of the Great Tribulation. Through that union Satan will make his final struggle not to cast away from the earth.

The woman will give birth to a male Child who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter (Rev. 12:5). The woman's male Child was "caught up to God" - refers to the ascension of Jesus. He ascended to heaven following His death and resurrection.

Notice that Jesus will not rule the nations with love but with a rod of iron, now that the period of grace is over. The world is now left with people who are in rebellion against God because they follow false teachings or religions. However, when Christ returns He will crush these rebellions with an iron rod.

The Woman who fled into the Wilderness (Rev. 12:6)

"Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days" (Rev. 12:6).

We are now at the midpoint of the seven-year Great Tribulation period. 1,260 days (three and one-half years) have passed. Now there are 1,260 more days before Christ's Second Coming. God will now make a refuge for Israel from the persecution of the Antichrist for 1,260 days.

Where will the woman (Israel) go? She will flee into the desert to a place prepared for her by God. Most Bible prophecy experts believe the Jews will flee to a mountainous area in the Jordan desert called Petra. It is an abandoned city that was carved into the rocks of the mountains centuries ago. It has only one entrance, so that the Jews will be able to hide in those caves and barricade themselves in for protection for 1,260 days - the second half of the Great Tribulation period.

The War in Heaven (Rev. 12:7 - 12)

Satan and his angels will be losing their place in heaven forever (Rev. 12:7 -9)

As soon as Israel flees, a great war will erupt in heaven. God's angels will be led by the archangel Michael in the fight against Satan and his angels. It will be a fierce spiritual battle, since the last thing Satan wants is to be cast out of heaven again.


People often ask, when will Satan be cast out of heaven? There is little doubt that it was in the past, probably long before God created Adam and Eve that Satan lost his exalted position and was cast out of heaven due to pride. But even though this happened it is clear that he currently holds a lesser position with temporary access to God in heaven as the accuser of the brethren (read Job 2)). At the middle of the Great Tribulation period, Satan and his angels will start a war in heaven and fight to no avail, this time losing theri place in heaven forever. And it will get worse because after three and one-half years, he will cast into the bottomless pit (Rev. 20:2, 3), and then after the Millennium, he will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone (Rev. 20:10).


Heaven will rejoice (Rev. 12:10)


When Satan is cast out, heaven will rejoice because:

1. Our salvation will be complete and Satan will be banished from our presence forever.


2. All power will belong to Jesus, and there will be no more evil in heaven.


3. The Kingdom of God will come to earth.


4. Jesus will finally exercise the authority over the earth that He won at the cross.


We have the power to overcome Satan (Rev. 12:11)


Believers will have the power to overcome Satan during the Great Tribulation period by:


1. Trusting in the blood of the Lamb, because through the blood, atonement was made for our sins.


2. Testifying to our faith, because if we acknowledge Jesus before men, He will confess us before God.


3. Not fearing death, because a physical death, which leads to be in the presence of God, is far better than being cast into hell.


Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea (Rev. 12:12)


Heaven will celebrate its great triumph after Satan and his angels have been cast out. But the inhabitants of the earth and the sea need to watch out. Satan and his demons are on their way filled with fury, knowing that their days are numbered.


When Satan is cast out of heaven, Jesus will exercise His authority over the earth. He will declare that the Kingdom of God will come to earth. Because of this, Satan will do all the damage he can with time he has left.


The refuge of the Woman (Israel) and her offspring (Rev. 12:13 - 17)


Israel will flee when Satan is cast down to the earth, because his rage will burn against the nation of Israel for bringing forth Jesus. The escape of Israel will infuriate Satan. Since he failed to wipe out Israel, he will pick another target - those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus. These are the Woman's offspring. Notice that there will be Gentile believers on earth at that time. Israel's offspring is a reference to Gentile believers. Satan will go on a rampage against God's people in the second half of the Great Tribulation period. He will do everything he can to destroy the elect.


The Beast comes out of the Sea and the Beast comes out of the Earth (Rev. 13:1 - 18)


The beast which comes out of the sea (Rev. 13:1 - 10)


John saw a beast (the Antichrist) rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns and wearing ten crowns. This signifies the rulers of ten nations in Europe. In other words, ten nations in Europe will arise in the former territory of the ancient Roman Empire.


The beast had seven heads, and on each of them was a blasphemous name which represents seven kingdoms that oppose God and persecute His people. One of the beast's heads becomes fatally wounded, a prediction that the Antichrist will be killed. But suddenly, his deadly wound is healed miraculously! He is revived by the power of Satan. As a result, people everywhere will worship him and the dragon (Satna), who gave him power and authority (Verse 2).


The Antichrist will trample the world, wielding great power for the second half of the Great Tribulation (Verse 5). Not knowing his true status, however, he will be proud and utter blasphemy, publicly dnouncing heaven and those who are there (Verse 6).


Everyone whose name is not written in the Lamb's book of life will bow down to the beast.


The Beast which comes out of the earth (Rev. 13:11 - 18)


This beast is the false prophet who mimics Jesus. He, however, has only two horns, whereas Jesus has seven. He makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the Antichrist. He will also do great wonders before the Antichrist and all the people. Anyone who does not worship the image of tht beast will be killed (Verses 13 - 15).


The beast causes all the people who are under the reign of the Antichrist to receive a mark on their right hand or forehead. He forbids those without the mark to engage in any kind of commercial activities. The name of the Antichrist is represented by the number 666. This is a satanic number - the number of the dragon is 6, the number of the Antichrist is 6 and the number of the false prophet is also 6. Hence, the number 666 represents the evil trinity of wickedness!