END TIMES IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER.... DEBUNKED
The Second Half of the Tribulation
From the book by Ron Rhodes
IN THIS CHAPTER
The Great Tribulation Begins
Time Limits of the Great Tribulation
The Mark of the Beast
Deception Escalates
The Bowl Judgments
The Gospel of the Kingdom
The Great Tribulation Begins
The events of the second half of the seven-year tribulation period are properly called the great tribulation.
(THERE IS NO 7 YEARS TRIBULATION. THE GREAT TRIBULATION IS "PART OF" THE LAST 42 MONTHS OF THIS AGE - Keith Hunt)
There are a number of reasons for making this distinction between the two halves of the tribulation period.
First, the foundational prophecy in Daniel 9:27 makes a distinction between the two halves. We read that the antichrist "shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering." As we have seen, the week refers to a week of years, or seven years. For half of that week—-that is, the last three and a half years—the antichrist will put an end to animal sacrifices in the Jewish temple.
(AGAIN SEE THE BIBLE COMMENTARIES OF MATTHEW HENRY; ADAM CLAKE; ALBERT BARNES; FOR THE TRUTH OF DANIEL 9:27 AND THAT WHOLE PROPHECY. AND AGAIN REMEMBER EZ. 39:29....THE JEWS OR ISRAELITES HAVE GOD'S SPIRIT POURED OUT ON THEM, HENCE MAKING THEM SAINTS OF GOD, AND WITH THIS MAN'S ORDER OF EVENTS, PART OF THE SECRET RAPTURE THAT HAS TAKEN PLACE, HENCE NO JEWS IN THE HOLY LAND - Keith Hunt).....
In this context, the second half of Daniel 9:27 takes on great significance: "On the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator." Once the antichrist puts an end to the animal sacrifices in the Jewish temple at the midpoint of the tribulation period, he will apparently desolate the temple, and that desolation will apparently continue throughout the second half of the tribulation. This is one thing that makes this part of the tribulation so terrible—especially for the Jews.
(NOPE WILL NOT HAPPEN, ALL BASED ON A FALSE UNDERSTANDING OF DANIEL 9:27.....AND CANNOT HAPPEN, USING THE AUTHOR'S TIME SCALE, BECAUSE OF EZ. 39:29 AND THE JEWS HAVING GOD'S SPIRIT ARE IN THE "SECRET" RAPTURE, ACCORDING TO ALL THIS TIME CHRONOLOGY USED BY RON RHODES - Keith Hunt)
Jesus warns the Jews to get out of Jerusalem quickly when the abomination of desolation occurs.
"When you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be (Matthew 24:15-21).
(BUT AS BEFORE STATED......EZ. 39:29 ... AND....WELL SAID IT MANY TIMES ALREADY M- Keith Hunt)
The connection between this abomination of desolation and the beginning of the great tribulation, then, seems clear from a comparison of Daniel 9:27 with Matthew 24:15-21.
(NO NOT CLEAR AT ALL, FOR DANIEL 9:27 IS MISUNDERSTOOD - Keith Hunt)
Speaking of this same time of travail, Daniel 12:1 comments, "there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time." This time period largely deals with Israel, so Jeremiah 30:7 calls it "a time of distress for Jacob" (Jacob is a metaphorical name referring to Israel). Truly this will be a time of great tribulation.
(YES, JACOB'S/ISRAEL'S TROUBLE WILL BE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE LAST 42 MONTHS OF THIS AGE - Keith Hunt)
Time Limits of the Great Tribulation
These passages in Daniel and in Matthews Gospel reveal the two defining characteristics of the great tribulation: the self-exaltation and forced worship of the antichrist, and his war against the people of God. By understanding how long the antichrist will be worshipped and how long he will persecute the saints, we can confirm that the great tribulation will last three and a half years.
(YES, THREE AND A HALF YEARS, 42 MONTHS AS IN REVELATION, BUT NOT 7 YEARS - Keith Hunt)
The antichrist claims deity, blasphemes the one true God, and demands to be worshipped at the midpoint of the tribulation, and these activities continue for precisely three and a half years—-that is, 42 months (Revelation 13:5)--- This confirms that the great tribulation will be the last three and a half years of the tribulation period.
(IT'S NOT AT THE MID-POINT AT ALL, NO 7 YEARS IS MENTIONED ANYWHERE IN THE BIBLE - Keith Hunt)
Likewise, Daniel 7:25 reveals that the antichrist "shall wear out the saints of the Most High.. .and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time"---three and a half years. The persecution of the saints is a defining characteristic of the great tribulation, so this verse confirms that the great tribulation will be the last three and a half years of the tribulation.
(YES, BUT NOT 7 YEARS - Keith Hunt)
Yet another scriptural observation supports this view. We know that the antichrists persecution of the saints begins at the midpoint of the tribulation (Revelation 13:5-10).
(NO WE DO NOT KNOW THE PERSECUTION BEGINS AT THE MID-POINT, FOR THERE IS NO 7 YEARS TO BEGIN WITH - Keith Hunt)
This will continue until the "time came when the saints possessed the kingdom" (Daniel 7:21)— that is, until Jesus's second coming and the beginning of His millennial kingdom (see Zechariah 14:1-9; Revelation 19:11-20:6).
(OH BUT JESUS HAS ALREADY COME ONCE IN THE PROTESTANT PROPHETS TEACHING - A "SECRET" INVISIBLE, ANY SECOND COMING - Keith Hunt)
Again, then, it would seem that the great tribulation will constitute the last three and a half years of the tribulation period.
Renald Showers quotes Irenaeus, the bishop of Lyons who lived during the second century and who supported this view.
When this Antichrist shall have devastated all things in this world, he will reign for three years and six months, and sit in the temple at Jerusalem; and then the Lord will come from heaven in the clouds, in the glory of the Father, sending this man and those who follow him into the lake of fire; but bringing in for the righteous the times of the kingdom.2
(AH MAYBE SOME OF THE PROTESTANT PROPHETS IDEAS, IRENAEUS HAD, BUT NO "SECRET" INVISIBLE FIRST PHASE COMING IS MENTIONED BY IRENAEUS - Keith Hunt)
This being the case, how are we to understand these words of Jesus about the shortening of the great tribulation? "Then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short" (Matthew 24:21-22). Was Jesus saying He would make the great tribulation shorter than three and a half years, or was He saying that three and a half years is the shortened time? To answer this question, we turn to the parallel verse in Mark 13:20. "And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he shortened the days." Greek scholars note that the two verbs in this verse—"cut short" and "shortened"—express action that was taken by God in the past.
In this view, God in eternity past sovereignly decreed a limitation on the length of the great tribulation. "What are Gods sovereign decrees? Theologian Henry C. Thiessen tells us. "The decrees are God s eternal purpose. He does not make His plans or alter them as human history develops. He made them in eternity, and, because He is immutable, they remain unaltered (Ps. 33:11; James 1:17)."3 (See also Isaiah 14:24-27; 46:9-11; Daniel 9:24,26-27; 11:36; Luke 22:22; Acts 2:23; 4:27-28; Ephesians 1:11; 3:11.)
(SO FINE GOD HAS DECREED THERE WILL BE 42 MONTHS, 1260 DAYS, PLUS SOME MORE AS IN DANIEL 12 [BUT WE'LL GET TO THAT LATER] AND SO IT IS ALSO, A TIME, TIMES, AND HALF A TIME - ALL A TIME SPAN OF 3 AND 1/2 YEARS, NOT 7 YEARS - Keith Hunt)
In view of this, we conclude that Jesus was teaching that God in the past had already shortened the great tribulation. He did so in the sense that in the past He sovereignly decreed to cut it off at a specific time rather than let it continue indefinitely. In His omniscience, God knew that if the great tribulation were to continue indefinitely, all humanity would perish. To prevent that from happening, God in eternity past "sovereignly fixed a specific time for the Great Tribulation to end--- when it had run its course for three and one-half years or 42 months or 1,260 days. That fixed time cannot be changed!
(INDEED IT CANNOT BE CHANGED - NO 7 YEARS AT ALL, UNLESS YOU MAKE A COMPLETE MESS OF UNDERSTANDING DANIEL 9 CORRECTLY, WHICH THE PROTESTANT PROPHETS HAVE DONE - Keith Hunt)
The Mark of the Beast
In Revelation 13, we read that the antichrist and the false prophet --- a diabolical duo—will subjugate the entire world so that no one can buy or sell who does not receive the mark of the beast.
[The false prophet] causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666 (verses 16-18).
(WILL NOT SUBJUGATE THE "ENTIRE" GLOBE AT ALL, ONLY THE WESTERN WORLD - Keith Hunt)
Clearly, the book of Revelation reveals that the false prophet will seek to force human beings to worship the antichrist, the man of sin. He will require everyone to make a choice: Either receive the mark of the beast and worship the antichrist or starve, with no ability to buy or sell.
(ONCE MORE MIXING UP THE ANTICHRIST AND FALSE PROPHET. THE ANTICHRIST IS THE FALSE PROPHET - A WOLF IN SHEEPS' CLOTHING. THE "BEAST" MAN IN REVELATION IS THE POLITICAL/MILITARY LEADER - Keith Hunt)
The next verse denotes a stark contrast. "Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with hirn 144,000 who had his name and his Father s name written on their foreheads." The antichrist's mark seems to be a parody of God's sealing of the 144,0 0 0 witnesses of Revelation 7 and 14. Prophecy experts Thomas Ice and Timothy Demy offer this suggestion: "God's seal of His witnesses most likely is invisible and for the purpose of protection from the antichrist. On the other hand, antichrist offers protection from the wrath of God—a promise he cannot deliver-—-and his mark is visible and external." They also note, "For the only time in history, an outward indication will identify those who reject Christ and His gospel of forgiveness of sins."5
(WRONG! THE ANTICHRIST'S MARK WILL NOT BE SOME VISIBLE WHATEVER ON YOU, EXTERNAL. THE FASLE PROPHET ANTICHRIST WILL SEEM LIKE HE IS FROM GOD, A BILLION AND MORE WILL BELIEVE IT IS SO, THOSE WHO DO NOT WILL EITHER FLEE TO THE WILDERNESS OR SUFFER PERSECUTION AND DEATH FROM [REV. 12] - IT WILL ALL LOOK SO HOLY AND RIGHTEOUS. AS JESUS SAID IN MATTHEW 24, THE DECEPTION WILL BE SO GREAT THAT IF IT WAS POSSIBLE, EVEN THE VERY ELECT WOULD BE DECEIVED. THE PROTESTANT PROPHETS MAKE IT ALL SOUND LIKE THE DECEPTION OF THE ANTICHRIST FALSE PROPHET WILL BE SO EASY TO SEE AND KNOW - NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH - Keith Hunt)
Receiving this mark is a serious business, as we read in Revelation 14:9-10.
If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God's wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.
Revelation 16:2 pictures the scene. "The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image."
Such words are sobering. Any who express loyalty to the antichrist and his cause will suffer the wrath of our holy and just God. How awful it will be for these to experience the full force of Gods divine anger and unmitigated vengeance (see Psalm 75:8; Isaiah 51:17; Jeremiah 25:15-16)!
Revelation 20:4 tells us, by contrast, that believers in the Lord Jesus Christ will refuse the mark of the beast. "I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years."
What Is the Mark?
Apparendy, people will somehow be branded, just as animals today are branded and as slaves were once branded by their slave owners.
(NOT SO AT ALL - NO PHYSICAL OUTWARD BRANDING OF ANY KIND, THUS MAKING IT MORE DECEPTIVE - Keith Hunt)
We cannot be certain how the number 666 relates to this personage or the mark. Bible interpreters have offered many suggestions as to the meaning of 666 down through the centuries. A popular theory is that inasmuch as 7 is the number of perfection, and the number 777 reflects the perfect Trinity, perhaps 666 points to a being who aspires to perfect deity (like the Trinity) but never attains it. (The antichrist is just a man, though influenced and possibly indwelt by Satan.)
Others have suggested that perhaps the number refers to a specific man—such as the Roman emperor Nero. It is suggested that if Nero's name is translated into the Hebrew language, the numerical value of its letters is 666. Some suggest that antichrist will be a man like Nero of old. Of course, all this is highly speculative. The truth is, Scripture does not clearly define what is meant by 666. Interpreting this verse involves some guesswork.
(THE NUMBER 666 CAN BE UNDERSTOOD AS TO WHAT IT STANDS FOR. ALL FULLY EXPLAINED IN STUDIES ON MY WEBSITE - Keith Hunt)
One thing is certain. In some way that is presently unknown to us, this number will be a crucial part of his identification. It is sobering to realize that receiving this mark of the beast is apparendy an unpardonable sin (Revelation 14:9-10). The decision to receive the mark is an irreversible decision. Once made, there is no turning back.
(THE SCRIPTURES SAY NO SUCH THING AS NO TURNING BACK.....PEOPLE CAN REPENT AT ANY TIME, IF THEY SO DESIRE - Keith Hunt)
Receiving the mark signifies approval of the antichrist and his purpose. No one takes this mark accidentally. One must choose to do so with all the facts on the table. The choice will be deliberate and have eternal consequences. Those who choose to receive the mark will do so with the full knowledge of what they have done.
(BUT WHEN MORE LIGHT IS GIVEN ON TRUTH, ANYONE CAN REPENT AT ANY TIME - Keith Hunt)
The choice will cause a radical polarization. No middle ground is possible. One chooses either for or against the antichrist. One chooses either for or against God. People in our present day think they can avoid God and His demands on their lives by feigning neutrality, but no such neutrality will be possible during the tribulation, for one's very survival will be determined by a decision for or against God. One must choose to either receive the mark and live (being able to buy and sell) or reject the mark and face suffering and death. One must choose to follow antichrist and eat well or reject the antichrist and starve.
(TRUE, DURING THIS PERIOD OF 42 MONTHS, THERE IS NO MIDDLE GROUND FOR THOSE COMING UNDER THE REIGN OF THE BABYLON/ROMAN BEAST POWER - Keith Hunt)
A Commerce Passport
The mark of the beast will be a commerce passport during the future tribulation period. Arnold Fruchtenbaum suggests that the mark of the beast will be given to all who submit themselves to the authority of the antichrist and accept him as god. "The mark will serve as a passport for business (Revelation 13:17a). They will be able to neither buy nor sell anything unless they have the mark.. Only those who have this number will be permitted to work, to buy, to sell, or simply to make a living."6
(IT WILL BE YOU LIVE A KIND OF NORMAL LIFE UNDER THE BABYLON BEAST. YOU HAVE TO SUBMIT TO ITS WAY OF LIFE, PHYSICALLY AND SPIRITUALLY - Keith Hunt)
This mark will apparendy be required during the second half of the tribulation period. Prophecy scholar Mark Hitchcock suggests that there is ancient historical precedence for such a mark.7 For example, he points to Ezekiel 9:4: "The Lord said to him, 'Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.'" This mark on the forehead preserved the faithful, just as the blood of the Passover Lamb marked the Israelites' doorposts and saved them from death during the final plague on the Egyptians (see Exodus 12:21-29).
(THE FOREHEAD SYMBOLIZES THE MIND - WHAT AND HOW YOU THINK - WHAT YOU BELIEVE, AND HENCE HOW YOU LIVE - Keith Hunt)
Such a mark was also used in connection with pagans and false deities in ancient times, as Robert Thomas explains.
The mark must be some sort of branding similar to that given soldiers, slaves, and temple devotees in John's day. In Asia Minor, devotees of pagan religions delighted in the display of such a tattoo as an emblem of ownership by a certain god. In Egypt, Ptolemy Philopator I branded Jews, who submitted to registration, with an ivy leaf in recognition of their Dionysian worship (cf. 3 Mace. 2:29). This meaning resembles the long-time practice of carrying signs to advertise religious loyalties (cf. Isa. 44:5) and follows the habit of branding slaves with the name or special mark of their owners (cf. Gal. 6:17). Charagma ("mark") was a [Greek] term for the images or names of emperors on Roman coins, so it fittingly could apply to the beasts emblem put on people.8
(NOT SO IN THIS END TIMES - NO PHYSICAL MARK AT ALL - MAKING IT THAT MUCH MORE DECEPTIVE AND OF THE HEART AND MIND - EITHER GOD'S MARK SPIRITUALLY OR THE BEASTS MARK SPIRITUALLY. HOW YOU CONDUCT YOUR LIFE ACCORDING TO YOUR SPIRITUAL MIND, WILL DETERMINE WHOSE ON GOD'S SIDE AND WHOSE ON THE SATANIC SIDE - Keith Hunt)
John MacArthur makes a similar note:
In the Roman Empire, this was a normal identifying symbol, or brand, that slaves and soldiers bore on their bodies. Some of the ancient mystical cults delighted in such tattoos, which identified members with a form of worship. Antichrist will have a similar requirement, one that will need to be visible on the hand or forehead.9
(MAKES NO DIFFERENCE WHAT THEY "USED" TO DO IN THE PAST - THAT PAST HAS NO BEARING ON FUTURE END TIMES IN THE LAST 42 MONTHS OF THIS AGE - Keith Hunt)
Economy and Religion
Prophetic Scripture reveals that the false prophet will be an economic religious leader. These two domains will become merged so that one depends on the other during the future tribulation. The mark of the beast will tie them together. David Jeremiah puts it this way:
"The mark will allow the Antichrists followers to buy and sell because it identifies them as religiously orthodox-—-submissive followers of the Beast and worshippers of his image. Those without the mark are forbidden to buy because they are identified as traitors." So, though receiving the mark is essentially a spiritual decision, it will have life-and-death economic consequences.
(YES THAT IS TRUE.....THEY, THE PROTESTANT PROPHETS HAVE A FEW THINGS CORRECT, THEY MUST OR THEY COULD NOT BE SO DECEPTIVE. THERE ARE MILLIONS OF FUNDAMENTAL CHRISTIANS WHO TAKE THEIR EVERY WORD AS "GOSPEL" AND NEVER DO THOSE PEOPLE STUDY FOR THEMSELVES; THEY ARE BLIND SHEEP FOLLOWING BLIND SHEPHERDS - Keith Hunt)
High Technology Itself Is Not the Mark
This is a very important point. Though modern technology will enable the antichrist and false prophet to bring about a cashless society and control all commerce on earth, we must differentiate between this technology and the mark of the beast, for the technology itself is not the mark. I make this point because a number of prophecy expositors have claimed that the mark will be a high-tech chip inserted under the skin, a barcode on the hand or the forehead, some kind of universal product code, or some other such technology.
This is not the case. The mark itself will identify allegiance to the antichrist, but that is separate and distinct from the technology that enables him to enforce his economic system. John F. Walvoord comments on how technology will make it possible for such economical control, based on whether or not people have received the mark.
There is no doubt that with todays technology, a world ruler, who is in total control, would have the ability to keep a continually updated census of all living persons and know day-by-day precisely which people had pledged their allegiance to him and received the mark and which had not.10
Dr. Walvoord also suggests, it is also highly likely that "chip implants, scan technology, and biometrics will be used as tools to enforce his policy that one cannot buy or sell without the mark."11
Notice that this mark will be on people, not in them (like some kind of micro computer chip). It will be on the right hand or head and will be visible (perhaps like a tattoo), not hidden beneath the skin. It will be universally rejected by GOD'S PEOPLE but universally accepted by unbelievers. Woe to those who receive the mark!
..........
This chapter to be continued
THE MARK OF THE BEAST WILL BE PURELY MENTAL/SPIRITUAL.....YOU FOLLOW THE WAY OF LIFE AND SPIRITUAL WAY OF WORSHIP TOWARDS THE THEOLOGY OF HOW THIS BABYLON SYSTEM TELLS YOU TO WORSHIP GOD, OR YOU STAND FOR THE TRUTH OF GOD, LIVE THE TRUTH OF GOD, AND SO YOU WILL STAND OUT LIKE A WHITE DROP OF PAINT ON A BLACK SURFACE......YOU MUST FLEE TO THE WILDERNESS, OR BE PERSECUTED AND SUFFER DEATH, AS MANY WILL DO, AS THEY STAND FOR THE TRUTH ONCE DELIVERED TO THE SAINTS.
Keith Hunt
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