Great tribulation

In this post, we continue applying our prophetic model—inmillennialism—to John’s third vision in which he hears seven trumpets. The sixth trumpet and the following interlude pose several difficulties. Speaking of Revelation 11, which describes this part of the vision, Alan F. Johnson says: Some have considered this chapter one of…

Trumpets of tribulation appear often in the Scriptures. In John’s third vision of the Revelation, seven trumpets announce the “great tribulation” in the land of Israel (Rev. 1:9; 7:14; cp. Matt. 24:21). In AD 30, Jesus said this time of tribulation would come in his generation (Matt. 24:34). John, writing…

The year is AD 66. Nero Caesar has banished John, the last living apostle, to the Island of Patmos “for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Nero, who sometimes wears the skin of a beast while performing despicable acts of torture, has been murdering Christians…

The message is hard to avoid: Caesar is Lord! Coins circulate throughout the Roman Empire proclaiming the Emperor’s divinity. The “divine” power has increased since Julius, the first Caesar, established the Empire in 49 BC. One of his successors, Nero, now uses it in every area of life. In the…

We have completed the inmillennial prophetic model. Future posts will add other details, but the basic structure is now available to help us interpret Scripture. We will begin doing so with a series of posts dealing with the letter to the Hebrews. The identity of the author of Hebrews is…

Jesus gave the Olivet Discourse on Tuesday of Passion Week. It seems appropriate to finish our analysis of it on the 1,987th anniversary of that day. Jesus ended his discussion about the Temple’s destruction with a fifth warning, this time referring to the sheep and goats judgment. Like the other…

Jesus and his disciples visited the buildings of the Temple on Tuesday of Passion Week. The disciples expressed great admiration for their beauty, but Jesus was unimpressed. He knew the objects of their admiration were short-lived; they would soon become rubble. When he informed the disciples of this, they asked…

How could we have missed an event as phenomenal as the end of the world? Reading Jesus’ final group of signs for the destruction of the Temple can lead us to the conclusion we did just that. Jesus said: For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth…

On Tuesday of his final week on earth, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives. He told his disciples about the Temple’s destruction. They asked for a sign pointing to that age-changing event (Matthew 24:1–3). Jesus answered their request with a straightforward list of signs.  We categorized these signs into…