CHART OF THE GREAT TRIBULATION

This chart shows the Great Tribulation and its three basic components (in blue):

• The bottom bar indicates the 1290 days of the Great Tribulation, preceded by the Beginnings of Sorrows and followed by the Millennium. The Great Tribulation begins with the Abomination of Desolation (Matt 24:15,21; Mark 13:14,19). Jesus is answering the question, “... What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world [this present evil age]?” He expects us to refer to Daniel 12:11 where we are told that “from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.” Although Daniel does not specify what happens at the end of the 1290 days, Jesus refers to the question asked and therefore must be indicating that Daniel refers to the Second Coming and the end of this age which occur on the Day of the Lord, which is marked here as Day 1290.

• The middle bar shows the 1260-day period (Rev 12:6) that is also referred to as 42 months (Rev 11:2, 13:5) and a time, times, and a half (Dan 7:25, 12:7; Rev 12:14), one “time” being a period of 360 days. Since it ends at the Day of the Lord on Day 1290, it begins on Day 30 (or 30 days after the Abomination of Desolation). During this period, the woman is nourished in the wilderness, the Antichrist reigns and persecutes believers, and the holy city of Jerusalem is trodden under foot.

• The top bar shows a slightly different 1260-day period (offset by 3.5 days) of the ministry of the Two Witnesses (Rev 11:3). As two of the dead in Christ, they are raised from the dead “at the last day [of this present evil age],” which is the Day of the Lord, as Jesus confirms in John 6:39,40,44,54; 11:24. They are slain 3.5 days before they are raised (Rev 11:7-12), thus their 1260-day ministry ends at Day 1286.5 and begins on Day 26.5.

This author sees the Day of the Lord at the 7th Trumpet when all 7 vials of wrath are poured out. Rev 15:7 tells us that the wrath of God is prepared for release at the 7th Trumpet. We were also told that "thy wrath is come" at the pouring out of the 7th Vials of Wrath in Rev 11:18. This is the declaration of the 24 elders of God, not the mistaken notion of lost men cowering in caves in Rev 6:15-17. There is no repentance noted after the 7th Trumpet is sounded, so why would God wait any more than this? This is the day of birth of the New Kingdom, so it would only be natural for the birth pangs to cease in rapid-fire.

Day 1335 sees Daniel and most likely all other redeemed Israelites standing securely in their Millennial lots (Dan 12:12-13; Eze 45:1, 47:22, 48:29). From this skeletal overview, we may now place conjecturally elements, such as the seven seals and trumpets:

• The first six seals (Rev 6) seem to correlate with Jesus' description of the Beginnings of Sorrows that immediately precede the Abomination of Desolation (Matt 24:6-8, Mark 13:7-8, Luke 21:9-11). Both passages mention a time of warfare, famines, pestilences, and earthquake. Familial betrayals, persecutions and trials are included in or near this time setting (Matt 24:9-10, Mark 13:9-13, Luke 21:12-19). Luke mentions celestial signs as well (Luke 21:11). Most scholars see this as a period of approximately 3.5 years, forming the first half of Daniel's 70th Week.

• Luke mentions the surrounding of Jerusalem by armies and admonishes followers to flee Judea into the mountains (Luke 21:20-24). This is an early warning to the prayerful and precedes the Abomination of Desolation.

• Matthew and Mark mention the Abomination of Desolation and cite it as the absolute deadline to flee Judea (Matt 24:15-22, Mark 13:14-20). Apparently this occurs on a Sabbath day in winter (Matt 24:20, Mark 13:18) as the prayerful have already flown upon seeing the surrounding of Jerusalem by armies.

• The period of great tribulation initiated by the Abomination, known as “the days of vengeance,” is noted as a time of unprecedented affliction so intense that the days must be shortened lest all die (Matt 24:21-22, Mark 13:19-20). We see this shortening occur at the Fourth Trumpet when the 24-hour days are reduced to but 16 hours (Rev 8:12), suggesting that at least the Fourth Trumpet is blown during the Great Tribulation, and may indicate the opening of the Seventh Seal or the blowing of the First Trumpet at or near the Abomination.

• The above point would correlate with the ministry of the Two Witnesses during the Great Tribulation. For example, the Two are noted for their ability to turn water into blood (Rev 11:6) and this very plague is foretold of the Second Trumpet (Rev 8:8).

The reader is urged to study the matter diligently. This paper serves as a guideline only. For Rapture positioning, see my paper, “The Post-Tribulation Resurrection-Rapture.”