An obvious parallel exists between Michael arising, the Restrainer's removal and the Anti-Christ being revealed.
The day of the Lord’s return is not known. All we know is that there are 1260 days between the appearance of the abomination in the Holy Place and Armageddon (perhaps 1290 or 1335 as in Dan 12:11-12). We are told that during this time Christians will suffer great tribulation which will be cut short at some point in time when Jesus returns (Matt. 24:15-22) and then God’s wrath will be poured out. The length of the period of wrath is not known either. Rev. 15:1 tells us that the Bowls are the seven last plagues which complete God’s wrath so the Trumpets, which precede the Bowls, are also part of His wrath. How long the Bowls and Trumpets take is anyone’s guess (the 5th trumpet alone is for 5 months). Some believe that the church will be taken away at the Last Trumpet of Rev. 11:15 and that God's Wrath is only the seven Bowls which follow the seventh Trumpet. This may be so. Either way, the church will be going through a period of great tribulation and persecution from the Anti Christ.
Summing this up, there will be 1260 days which begin with the appearance of the abomination of desolation. These days include an unknown period of great tribulation which is cut short by Jesus’ return and the Rapture of the church. Then God’s wrath is poured out over the remaining days until Armageddon. Believers desperately need to prayerfully brace themselves to go through the Great Tribulation as Jesus said that “many will turn away from the faith … but he who stands firm to the end will be saved” (Matt. 24:10, 13). We are without excuse and must prepare for this time as Jesus said, “See, I have told you ahead of time” (Matt. 24:25).
Jesus' Second Coming - What two big events occur when Jesus visibly returns to the earth? After the Great Tribulation, Jesus is going to physically return to earth to perform two great events. It is well known that one of these events is to pour out His wrath against God's enemies, ending with Armageddon. In Matt. 24:30 Jesus said, "all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory". We also know, from Rev. 1:7, that when He does return, "he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him". Jesus said, in Matt. 24:27, that no one will mistake His return because, "as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man". So, when Jesus visibly returns, we know that one event will be the eventual destruction of His enemies at Armageddon. What is the second event? In Matt. 24:27, Jesus said that the coming of the Son of Man will be seen like lightning. The word "coming" in this verse is the Greek word "parousia" and it refers to Jesus' physical return to the earth. The same Greek word for coming is used further on in Matt. 24:39-40. In these verses Jesus said, "at the coming [parousia] of the Son of Man two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left". This is the Rapture! Because there is only one parousia, on the day Jesus returns the two big events will be the Rapture and the start of God's Wrath.
So, when Jesus raptures the church, it will not be a secret affair but will be seen by all, just like lightning is seen from the East to the West and it will not happen until after the church has gone through the Great Tribulation (Matt. 24:29-30). For this reason, we all need to prayerfully prepare for the possibility of great tribulation as Jesus said, "At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other. See, I have told you ahead of time" (Matt. 24:10, 25).
Click herefor my short YouTube videos on endtimes:
1) Will the church go through the Great Tribulation?
2) The difference between God's Wrath and the Great Tribulation.
3) Who is the Restrainer?
4) "One will be taken and the other left". Is this the Rapture?
5) Jesus' Second Coming.
Mick Alexander
Email: leeandmick@gmail.com
Skype Name: mickandlee
www.ChristianIssues.biz
From the above table we can see that after the Anti-Christ appears there will be great tribulation. During this time many will fall away from the faith. Then the sun/moon sign will appear and then Jesus will return to Rapture the saints and pour out His wrath, beginning with the Trumpets of the 7th Seal. This same order of events is also in 2 Thess. 2:1-3 where it says that our gathering to Him (the Rapture) and the DOTL will not occur until after the rebellion (apostasy) occurs and the man of lawlessness (Anti-Christ) is revealed.
The passage in Luke 17:22-35 also shows that on the day Jesus returns, the righteous are raptured and the DOTL begins and this event is not a secret return but "will be like the lightning which flashes and lights us the sky from one end to the other" (v.24). If we first look at Luke 17:26-29 we see that in the days of Noah and the days of Lot the unrighteous were carrying on as normal. However, when the righteous were removed destruction came immediately. Luke 17:30 says that it is going to be “just like this on the day the Son of man is revealed.” Now, if we look at Luke 17:31-35 we see that v.31 begins by saying “on that day”, indicating that the events in the next verses will occur on the same day. These verses say that, on that day, one will be taken and the other left - the Rapture! So, the removal of the righteous in vs.26-29 and the Rapture of vs.31-35 are the same event (2 Thess. 1:6-10 shows this also). Clearly, the Rapture and the beginning of God’s wrath are on the same day and that day is after the Great Tribulation (see chart). So, Christians will endure the Great Tribulation until the Lord returns. This is why Rev. 13:10 calls for “patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints” (Rev. 14:12 also).
The Olivet Discourse (Matt. 24, Mark 13 & Luke 21) is the blueprint for the other endtime and rapture passages. It makes mention of each of the following: In Matt. 24 - apostasy, great deception, the Anti-Christ, a time of unequalled distress (tribulation), Jesus appearing like lightning, coming on the clouds, angels, a trumpet call, gathering the elect and nations mourning (wrath coming), day/hour unknown, like the days of Noah, one taken and another left and like a thief.
Plus Mark 13 mentions sleeping and Luke 21 mentions drunkenness.
Note how the following passages follow the pattern of the Olivet Discourse -
Luke 17 - deception, Jesus like lightning, like the days of Noah, one taken, the other left and same day wrath.
1 Thess. 4 & 5 - angels, trumpet call, clouds, day/hour unknown and like a thief, sleeping and drunkenness.
2 Thess. 1 & 2 - gathering, apostasy, Anti-Christ, great deception, wrath poured out.
1 Cor. 15 - trumpet, rapture.
Rev 6 - see the parallel to Matt. 24 in the above chart.
Dan 12:1 - Israel's protector arises then - a time of unequalled distress and then people will be delivered.
These similarities make it plain that there is only one return of Jesus, seen by all like lightning from East to West.
Who is the Restrainer of 2 Thess. 2:7?
There is good evidence to believe that Michael, Israel's protector (Dan 10:21 and 12:1), is the Restrainer.
Scriptures: Dan 12:11-12 - From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. 12Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days.Back to text.
Rev 15:1 - I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues-last, because with them God’s wrath is completed.Back to text.
Rev 11:15 - The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.Back to text.
Rev. 13:1-2 - And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. 2The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.Back to text.
Dan 12:1 - At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people-everyone whose name is found written in the book-will be delivered.Back to text.
2 Thess 1:6-10 - God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. 8He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power 10on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.Back to text.
Matt 24:15-22 - So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel-let the reader understand-16then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. 18Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. 19How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now-and never to be equaled again. 22If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. Back to text.
Luke 17:22-35 - Then he said to his disciples,“The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. 23Men will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them. 24For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. 25But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. 26“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. 28“It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. 29But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. 30“It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. 31On that day no one who is on the roof of his house, with his goods inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. 32Remember Lot’s wife! 33Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. 34I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. 35Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.” Back to text.
2 Thess 2:1-12 - Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, 2not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. 3Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God. 5Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? 6And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. 7For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. 8And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. 9The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, 10and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie 12and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.Back to text.
Rev. 12:7-13 - And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9The great dragon was hurled down-that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. 10Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. 11They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. 12Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.” 13When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.Back to text.
Will Christians
go through the
Great Tribulation? Updated 5 Dec. 08
Matt. 24:5, 24
False Christs. The Anti-Christ is peaceful at first.
Rev 6:2 - 1st Seal
White horse and rider who is given a crown.
Matt. 24:6-7
Wars , nation against nation, kingdom against kingdom.
Rev. 6:3-4 - 2nd Seal
Red horse to take peace from the earth.
Matt. 24:7
Famines and earthquakes.
Rev. 6:5-6 - 3rd Seal
Black horse bringing famine.
Matt. 24:15 The Anti-Christ
and the abomination that causes desolation.
Rev. 6:7-8 - 4th Seal
Pale horse with Death and Hades. Power over 1/4 of the earth to kill by sword, famine, plague and wild beasts.
Matt. 24:9-13, 15-22 Great tribulation - many fall away from the faith.
Rev. 6:9-11 - 5th Seal
Saints in heaven told that fellow servants are to be killed.
Matt. 24:29-31 Sun darkened and the moon not giving its light.
Jesus returns and the DOTL begins - The nations mourn as the Son of Man appears with power and great glory.
The Rapture - Angels gather the elect.
Rev. 6:12-17, Rev. 7:9-17 - 6th Seal
The sun turned black and the moon turned red (Also Acts 2:20).
The DOTL begins - People in caves and rocks hiding from the wrath of the Lamb because the great day of wrath has come.
A great multitude from out of the Great Tribulation are in heaven.
Michael defeats Satan and hurls him to the earth, vs.12:7-9.
The Restrainer, the one who holds back, is taken out of the way, v.7.
THEN
a time of unequalled, worldwide distress, v.21.
THEN
a time of worldwide distress such as never before.
THEN the dragon, Satan, is furious and, through the Anti-Christ, pursues Israel, vs.12:12-13.
THEN
a time of lawlessness,
vs.9-12.
Firstly, are the Great Tribulation and the Day Of The Lord (DOTL) the same event? From Matt. 24, shown in the table below, we can see that after the Great Tribulation, the sun is darkened and the moon is not giving its light. Then in Acts 2:20 we are told that “The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.” So, the sequence of events is firstly the Tribulation then the sun/moon sign and then the DOTL, making the Tribulation and the DOTL separate events. The table below shows how the sequence of events and sun/moon sign of Matt. 24 parallel the sequence and sun/moon sign in Rev. 6, showing these passages to be parallel prophecy.
The DOTL is a period associated with God’s wrath. During this time God will deal with sinners as in Isa. 13:9, “See, the day of the Lord is coming - a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger - to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it.” However, believers will escape this by being caught up (raptured) into the Lord’s presence. 1 Thess 1:10 tells believers "to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead - Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath" and 1 Thess. 4:17 says that Christians “who are still alive and are left will be caught up ... in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air". So, it is clear that believers will be taken from the earth before the DOTL and escape God’s wrath.
The following table compares Matthew 24 with the Seals of Revelation 6 and a clear parallel can be seen.