The Tribulation

Rebudding of the Fig Tree

In the Gospels, we learn that Jesus taught His disciples two parables concerning a fig tree. The first was presented about a year before His death.

6 He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none.

7 Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?

8 And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it:

9 And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.

Luke 13:6–9

What did this mean? The standard interpretation accepted by Bible scholars is that the owner of the vineyard is the Father, the vinedresser (that is, the keeper of the vineyard) is Christ, and the tree is Israel. Because Jesus’ ministry to the Jewish people had been conducted for three years with hardly any fruit, the Father was ready to set Israel aside, but the Son pleaded for the nation, asking that it be given the opportunity to produce fruit after yet another year of cultivation. It is not stated but clearly implied that the Father consented to the Son's request. Since Jesus died on Passover in A.D. 33, the parable must therefore date from early in A.D. 32.

The second parable of the fig tree emerged in a discussion that Jesus had with some of His disciples on the Tuesday evening between Palm Sunday and the day of His crucifixion. They had asked Him,

When shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

Matthew 24:3

By "these things" they meant the destruction of the Temple, a catastrophe that Jesus had just predicted.

1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.

2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

Matthew 24:1-2

When His disciples referred to His coming, they used the Greek word parousia, speaking of the glorious presence that Jesus will manifest to all observers when He assumes His place as world ruler with irresistible power and authority.¹ Jesus then proceeded to present a detailed picture of future events in His lengthy Olivet Discourse. Between the first and middle sections, He inserted a direct answer to the disciples' questions.

32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:

33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.

34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

Matthew 24:32-34

When He measured the time interval as less than the span of one generation, what did He mean by a generation? The history of Israel’s wanderings in the wilderness had made the Jews familiar with measuring a generation as forty years.

And the LORD's anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of the LORD, was consumed.

Numbers 32:13

What did He mean when He spoke of the fig tree leafing out? In relation to their question about when the Temple would be destroyed, He was referring to the fig tree that He found on the previous Monday morning as they coming to the city from Bethany.

12 And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry:

13 And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet.

14 And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.

15 And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves;

. . . .

19 And when even was come, he went out of the city.

20 And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.

21 And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.

Mark 11:12-15, 19-21

The tree was putting out new leaves but it was barren of fruit, so He cursed it. As in the first parable of the fig tree, the tree represented the nation of Israel. Despite the new green growth picturing Jewish religiosity, He cursed the tree because the nation it represented had no spiritual fruit. The critical test had been His triumphal entry into the city on the previous day. Even though He had provided many proofs of His identity during the previous three years, the masses as well as their leaders did not accept Him as their Messiah. Therefore, He cursed the fig tree when He passed it on the following morning, and on the next day His disciples could see that it was "dried up from the roots." Its death pictured the destruction that would fall on Israel because they rejected their Messiah, a destruction signified by the first meaning of "all things being fulfilled." And indeed, this destruction came to pass within a generation measured as forty years. Jesus gave His discourse on future events in A.D. 33, and Jerusalem was destroyed in A.D. 70.

But what leafing out of the fig tree would initiate the generation preceding Christ's glorious return to establish His kingdom on the earth? Some influential interpretations have emerged in modern times that have proved to be false and very damaging to Christian faith. One assumed that the leafing out of the fig tree took place when the state of Israel was founded in 1948. On the assumption that the Jesus' return would happen forty years later and that the Rapture would precede His return by seven years, this interpretation affirmed that the Rapture would take place in 1981, but it did not. Then later another interpretation became popular which argued that the leafing out represented Jewish repossession of Jerusalem in 1967, to be followed by the Rapture in 2000. But this prediction also failed to come true. So, here was another shallow interpretation that had very harmful effects on the church.

A correct interpretation of the second parable of the fig tree requires that we look at Revelation 6, a chapter that reveals what will happen on the earth after the Lamb—that is, Christ—opens each of the first six seals binding the heavenly book sealed with seven seals. The account of events after the Sixth Seal is opened begins with obscure imagery.

12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

. . . .

1 And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.

2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,

3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.

Revelation 6:12–13; 7:1-3

This story of a fig tree losing fruit due to a mighty wind and then coming under angelic protection will, from our perspective, be considered the third parable of the fig tree.

Although the prediction in verse 13 will likely have a literal fulfillment—that is, the earth will indeed be bombarded by meteors or other objects from space—several terms employed here are symbolic.

1. Again, the fig tree again stands for Israel.
2. The fruit that it produces represents true believers in Christ.
3. The stars of heaven picture angels of God, as they do also in many other texts (Dan. 8:10, Rev. 1:20; 12:4). In Revelation 9:1, for example, an angel coming to the earth on a divine mission is described as a star falling from heaven.

   And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.

   Revelation 9:1

4. The mighty wind in Revelation 6:13 describes the combined impact of all four winds mentioned in Revelation 7:1. There we learn that four angels will be assigned the protective role of holding back "the four winds of the earth" lest they do harm to the earth, the sea, and the trees. It is therefore incontestable that these winds are a destructive agency. At the time foreseen here in the Book of Revelation, a benevolent agency will restrain them. But at the time foreseen in chapter 7 of the Book of Daniel, they blew freely, without restraint.

   2 Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.

   3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.

   Daniel 7:2-3

   These mighty winds "strove upon the sea." In my commentary on the Book of Daniel, I show that the sea represents the whole body of earthly nations.² Furthermore, in the period of history foreseen by Daniel, these winds whipped up the waters to such turbulence that the sea brought forth four monstrous beasts. I show also that these beasts represent the four greatest empires that emerged in the ancient Middle East. Thus, the winds must be the agency responsible for inciting the nations to violence, the tendency of which is to give one nation mastery over surrounding nations. What is that agency? In Aramaic as in Hebrew, the word for wind, ruach, has a double meaning. It can be rendered either "wind" (also, "breath") or "spirit."³ The winds that provoke violence on the earth are indeed spirits; specifically, evil spirits, or fallen angels. One of the main lessons of the Book of Daniel is that the angels of God are locked in constant struggle with the angels of Satan, as each side seeks to control the course of history. The outcome of the struggle is never in doubt. God’s purposes will prevail. Yet the evil angels are by no means powerless. No doubt their chief purpose is to fan the destabilizing and corrupting influences that will eventually put all power in the hands of a ruler fully possessed by Satan; namely, the Antichrist. The Book of Daniel teaches that one purpose of the holy angels is to strengthen relatively good governments. When a mighty angel appeared to Daniel, he said,

   Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood to confirm and to strengthen him.

   Daniel 11:1

   Darius was a ruler who submitted to divine direction. The four winds mentioned in Revelation 7:1 must therefore represent demonic agencies, as they do also in the Book of Daniel.

Let us now reexamine the story of the fig tree in verse 13 of Revelation 6. There we read, "And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind." It is evident that at the time foreseen by this parable, a powerful wind—that is, demonic forces—will press mightily against Israel, but stars of heaven—that is, angels of God—will come to her rescue. Although the language identifying the angels is figurative, we are specifically told a few verses later that John "saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree" (Rev. 7:1). In other words, four angels will take up positions to hold back destructive forces. The account also assures us that the only harm done to the fig tree will be the loss of some "untimely figs." The word translated "untimely figs" refers to figs that fall to the ground before they are fully ripe.⁴ The implication is that only recently has the fig tree produced the new growth visible in springtime. New leaves have appeared and baby figs, or taksh, have emerged under the leaves.⁵ Here is the leafing out of the tree that Jesus foresaw in His second parable of the fig tree. But as we learn from the first parable, it is not the leaves but the figs that represent believers in Christ. The meaning of the third parable is that just before winds blow off baby figs during the early portion of the Tribulation, the nation of Israel will pass from barren wintertime to fruitful springtime in the sense of undergoing spiritual revival. Yet before the angels intervene, some of the Jews who are the spiritual fruit of this revival will be killed for their faith in Christ. These Jews will be among the martyrs prophesied two verses earlier.

And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

Revelation 6:11

The four angels who will hold the winds in check (Rev. 7:1) but who also will release them at a later time to bring destruction upon the earth are likely the same ones who came to the rescue of the fig tree. Another angel commands these four to keep up their protection of the fig tree and all other trees until the servants of God have been sealed in their foreheads. The concept of trees is employed here in a symbolic sense, with reference to all the nations that will produce spiritual fruit. The significance of trees in general is therefore parallel to that of a single fig tree.

After an angelic guard is posted about the fig tree as well as other trees, 144,000 in the twelve tribes of Israel are identified as "servants of our God" and set aside to receive God’s seal.

4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.

5 Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand.

6 Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nephthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand.

7 Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand.

8 Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.

Revelation 7:4-8

It is evident that the record of the period following the opening of the Sixth Seal is speaking of Israel’s renewal as a source of spiritual fruit. Some unripe figs representing early converts to Christ will fall from the fig tree. Then the fig tree will be surrounded by a protective watch, and angels will set seals upon the 144,000. Revealing the full number and Israelite origin of these 144,000 informs us that the fig tree has become full of ripening fruit.

Yet the revival will not be confined to the nation of Israel. An angelic guard is set on all "the trees." We infer that a new season of spiritual fruit will come to all the nations of the world, just as Jesus predicted in His Olivet Discourse when He was foreseeing events during the Tribulation.

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

Matthew 24:14

Students of prophecy generally agree that the rapture of the church will occur before all or nearly all the other future events predicted in the Book of Revelation. In other words, it will happen somewhat before the spiritual revival, the demonic persecution, and the angelic protection of Israel anticipated by the third parable of the fig tree. It follows from our analysis that the leafing out of the tree will not, as many students of prophecy in the past have assumed, serve as a sign that the Tribulation is approaching. Rather, it will come after history has entered the Tribulation.

We argued earlier that when Christ spoke of a future rebudding of the fig tree, He was referring to spiritual revival in the nation of Israel. We have now shown that the Tribulation will already be underway when this event comes to pass. Since Christ said that after this tree "putteth forth leaves," as much as a generation will elapse before Christ returns in glory (Matt. 24:32), our interpretation of the imagery implies that the Tribulation will last about forty years.

We will now proceed to present five arguments in support of our position that the Tribulation will be a considerably longer period than most students of prophecy have imagined

Fallacies in Limiting the Tribulation to Seven Years

Events described in Revelation 6-10

In Revelation 11, we read that two messengers of God will appear on the earth and carry on their ministry for 1260 days (Rev. 11:3). Virtually all students of prophecy who believe that Revelation speaks of actual future events agree that the remainder of Revelation treats events following the messengers' appearance. At the end of their period of ministry, the Antichrist will return from the dead, kill them, and sit as world ruler for another 1260 days (Rev. 12:6). These two periods add up to the seventieth week of Daniel. But the same students of prophecy generally agree that Revelation begins its survey of the Tribulation at the beginning of chapter 6. Thus, when will the events foreseen in chapters 6 through 10 happen? There are three possibilities.

1. The first is that events before chapter 11 coincide with events afterward. Yet this is not a tenable solution. Between onset and conclusion of the Tribulation will come three cycles of seven judgments upon the earth. The first cycle is known as the Seven Seals, the second as the Seven Trumpets, and the last as the Seven Vials. The names speak of heavenly events. Before each judgment in the first cycle, for instance, Christ removes a seal from a great scroll in heaven. In the second cycle, an angel blows a trumpet to announce each new judgment. Each judgment in the third cycle comes after an angel pours upon the earth the contents of a great vial, or bowl.
          The three cycles are obviously consecutive. We know that the Seals precede the Trumpets because, at the time of the Sixth Seal, a command issues from heaven’s throne that no harm should come to the earth, the sea, and the trees until the 144,000 receive seals upon their foreheads (Rev. 7:1–3), whereas, at the time of the First Trumpet, hail and fire fall upon the earth and a third part of the trees are burnt up (Rev. 8:7), and at the time of the Second Trumpet, a third part of the sea becomes blood (Rev. 8:8). Yet the earth does not suffer these disasters until all of God’s appointed servants have in fact been sealed (Rev. 7:4–8), and mention of the former development comes soon after mention of the latter. As a result, the reader gains a clear impression that he is reading a sequential account—that the first two trumpet judgments appear not as a flashback to a time before the Sixth Seal, but as a fulfillment of God’s decree that destruction on such a massive scale should not come to pass until the 144,000 had been sealed.
          We know that the Trumpets precede the Vials because, at the time of the Sixth Trumpet, the Beast ascends from the bottomless pit to fight against the two witnesses (Rev. 11:7), whereas, at the time of the First Vial, the Beast has set his mark upon the worshipers of his image (Rev. 16:2). Also, the Seven Vials are called "the seven last plagues" (Rev. 15:1).
          Thus, all the judgments that precede the coming of the witnesses in the layout of Revelation—the opening of all seven seals and the sounding of six trumpets (as well as the sounding of seven thunders; Rev. 10:4)—must also precede their coming in future history.
2. The second is that the events foreseen in chapters 6 through 10 take hardly any time. But squeezing these events together on the time scale is not a fair treatment of the text. Consider what will happen. At the very beginning of the period is not one war, but a series of wars with calamitous effects upon the environment, food supplies, and public health (Rev. 6:1-8; Matt. 24:7). Then, after a terrible plague attributed to stars falling from the sky (Rev. 6:12–13) comes a pause lasting through the period of the Seventh Seal (Rev. 7:1–2; 8:1). Judgment later resumes with another wave of holocausts, culminating in an invasion by demonic creatures that will destroy a third of the world’s population.
3. The only reasonable solution is that the Tribulation will be considerably longer than seven years.

The Antichrist's term as world ruler

In my commentary on Daniel, I demonstrate that the Antichrist will control world government for a period that prophecy measures as a week and a half.⁶ By the reckoning employed in Daniel's seventy weeks, a week and a half is about ten years. The time when the Antichrist exercises power will include an earlier reign lasting seven years and a later reign lasting three and a half years. The earlier will terminate at his assassination. The later, coming at the very end of the Tribulation, will terminate at Christ's return in glory. If he will spend ten years on the throne, the Tribulation must be more than seven years long.

An hour of temptation

In His promise that He would take Philadelphia at the Rapture, Jesus said, "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth" (Rev. 3:10). Why did He measure the Tribulation as only one hour? A reader's natural assumption would be that "hour" should be taken figuratively, as a term signifying a fairly short time in relation to the overall span of history. But this interpretation evaporates under the light of another text in Revelation.

And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.

Daniel 11:45

Here, it is unreasonable to imagine that "hour" is merely a figure of speech. To signify a short time, it would be enough to say "an hour." There would be no need to specify half an hour. And it would be ridiculous to say "about" half an hour. ("About the space of half an hour" is a fair rendering of the Greek text.⁷) Another option would be to understand the expression as a use of familiar units to specify an actual amount of time. But why would there be any need to tell us that for roughly a literal half hour, heaven was silent? No, the Book of Revelation does not step aside from its march of profound truth to say things of trivial importance. Also, why would heaven use the same clock that earthlings use? What then does "hour" signify? An hour is one twenty-fourth of a day, and Scripture teaches an equivalence between one day and one thousand years.

But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

2 Peter 3:8

In our reckoning of time, a common measure is the week. Where does this measure come from? The week was instituted by God to commemorate the seven days of creation. It has no basis in astronomical rhythms. That it is nevertheless recognized and employed throughout the world, even where the Genesis account of creation is hardly known, is a striking testimony to divine sovereignty. Yet the week not only mirrors the beginning of history; it also mirrors history itself, with each day corresponding to a thousand years. So far, the earth has lasted about six thousand years, and we are near the dawning of the last thousand years, known as the Millennium. Just as every ordinary week ends in a Sabbath, known in Old Testament times as "the sabbath of the LORD" (Exod. 20:10; Lev. 23:3, 38; Deut. 5:14), so history will end in the "Day of the Lord."

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

2 Peter 3:10

The Day of the Lord will begin when the thief comes to steal away His people from this world (Matt. 24:43; 1 Thess. 5:2, 4)—in other words, at the Rapture—and will end when the present universe is dissolved and replaced by new heavens and a new earth (Rev. 20:11; 21:1)—in other words, at the end of the Millennium. It was therefore only natural in the Lord's reckoning of time to use a similar unit when measuring the length of the Tribulation. If a day is a thousand years, an hour is 41 2/3 years. If this is the length of the Tribulation and if the rebudding of the fig tree will take place during the opening years, it was therefore completely appropriate for Jesus to say that a generation would not pass before the coming period of horrific judgment reached its climax at the glorious return of Christ.

A transitional dispensation

The belief that the Tribulation will last only seven years rests on assumptions which might be labeled ultradispensational. The core assumption is that the Rapture will bring an end to the Church Age. If true, the time remaining before the Millennium will necessarily belong to another dispensation. The common view is that the dispensation supplanting the Church Age after the Tribulation begins will be a revival in some measure of the Mosaic. A natural outgrowth of this reasoning is to equate the Tribulation with Daniel's seventieth week. But I show at length in my commentary on Daniel that the Tribulation will be a transitional period between two dispensations, between the Church Age and the Millennium.⁸ For this period to last about forty years would be consistent with divine procedure in the past. Israel's forty years of wandering in the wilderness fell in the transitional period between the Abrahamic and Mosaic dispensations. The forty years elapsing between Christ's resurrection and the destruction of the Temple fell in the transitional period between the Mosaic dispensation and the Church Age.

In what sense was the latter period transitional? What do you think would have been the eternal fate of a devout Jew who died after Christ's resurrection but who never heard of Christ? I am sure that God counted his soul among Old Testament saints. I am sure also that after AD 70, there were no remaining non-Christian Jews who could claim the same standing in God's sight.

Scriptural precedents of the Tribulation

Throughout Scripture, the number forty often measures the duration of events that might be seen as foreshadowing the Tribulation, whether because they bring divine judgment upon sinners in rebellion against God or because they take God’s people through a time of testing. "Testing" would be an even better translation of peirasmou, the Greek word translated "temptation" in the phrase "hour of temptation" (Rev. 3:10).⁹

1. The water level of the worldwide flood in Noah’s day increased for forty days (Gen. 7:17). This horrific disaster brought divine judgment upon all humanity aside from Noah’s family. For all those inside the dark prison of the ark, their long seclusion in the midst of waters rising and rain descending surely tested their faith that God would be able to provide a wonderful new life on dry land.
2. The nation of Israel wandered in the wilderness for forty years (Exod. 16:35; Num. 14:33; Ps. 95:10). For the older generation that refused to enter Canaan soon after the Exodus, long banishment to mere wilderness was divine judgment. For the younger generation, the long wait put their faith through many trials which so strengthened it that they were willing to follow God’s directions when they invaded the Promised Land. As a result, they were an irresistible army.
3. Not long after the nation began their wanderings in the wilderness, Moses spent forty days in fellowship with God on Mt. Sinai (Exod. 24:18). When he descended to the people’s encampment and found that many had worshipped a golden calf, he broke the tables of law that he was carrying and sent out the sons of Levi to slay the rebels against God (Exod. 32:15–35).
4. Later, after he had spent another forty days on the mountain and received new tables, he returned to the people and found that they now possessed an obedient spirit. They were allowed to see Moses’ face shine with glory derived from God’s presence (Exod. 34:28–35). It is evident that each period of forty days was a time of testing for the nation. Together they seem to picture the two destinies that will befall people when Jesus descends from heaven at the end of the Tribulation. Worshippers of the Antichrist will be destroyed. The people of God will see His glory and receive His blessing.
5. The spies searched the land of promise for forty days (Num. 13:25). Their expedition served to test whether each believed that by the power of God, the people of Israel could take possession of Canaan. Two passed the test, but ten failed it. The same expedition offered yet another prophetic picture. During the Tribulation, raptured saints will spend much of their time exploring the marvelous new world that they have inherited (Matt. 24:31).
6. Under the leadership of Othniel, who conquered the king of Mesopotamia, the land of Israel had rest for forty years (Judg. 3:11). Its people enjoyed God’s blessing because, in rejection of alternatives, they accepted the leader that God provided.
7. When Goliath challenged the army of Israel for forty days, the army pleased God by refusing to flee from the field of battle. They passed the test. Therefore, God sent David to challenge Goliath and put him to death (1 Sam. 17:16). Here we have a foreglimpse of the whole Tribulation, when another giant, the dragon, will threaten Israel for forty years before David’s heir, Jesus Christ, will descend and cast him into hell (Rev. 19:19–20:3).
8. After Jezebel threatened Elijah, he fled ever deeper into the wilderness for forty days until the Lord appeared to him, rebuked him for his lack of faith, and sent him back to the northern kingdom so that he might continue his prophetic ministry (1 Kings 19:8). Elijah failed a crucial test that God brought into his life. Here we have a foreview of a choice that servants of God will have during the Tribulation. Either they can hide in fear or they can please God by boldly maintaining their ministry for Christ.
9. God instructed Ezekiel to lie on his right side for forty days as a picture of how long the house of Judah would remain in captivity before returning to their homeland (Ezek. 4:6). Each day represented a year. Indeed, for forty years the nation of Israel will lie captive to the Antichrist and other evil forces during the Tribulation. The people of Judah passed the test of their loyalty to God by welcoming the opportunity to return to their homeland. Will Jews during the Tribulation refuse to worship the Antichrist and thereby gain admission to Jesus’ millennial kingdom?
10. Jonah warned the people of Nineveh that the city would be destroyed after the passage of forty days (Jon. 3:4). That period was a time of testing. If they repented, God would spare the city. Likewise at the end of the Tribulation, God will withhold judgment from all who have chosen to love God’s chosen people, the Jews (Matt. 25:31–46).
11. Jesus spent forty days of fasting in the wilderness before Satan tempted Him (Matt. 4:2; Luke 4:2). The whole period served as a test of His righteous character. Would He choose fellowship with the Father rather than earthly comforts? Would He prepare Himself to resist Satan?
12. The risen Jesus appeared to His followers on several occasions during the forty days after His resurrection (Acts 1:3). Passing each test of their faith in the risen Christ strengthened their willingness to devote the remainder of their lives to His service.

The Significance of Heaven's Half Hour of Silence

If our reasoning so far has been correct, we come to an intriguing question. Why will the Tribulation be interrupted by a silence in heaven lasting about twenty years? The evident meaning is that judgment will be suspended during this period. After about ten years of horrible disasters at the beginning of the Tribulation, and before another ten years or so of even worse calamities at the end of the Tribulation, a perfect calm will descend upon the world. There will be a protracted lull in the storm of divine wrath.

The Book of Revelation gives some strong hints as to the reason. The silence occupies the whole period after the opening of seventh seal (Rev. 8:1) and before the sounding of the first trumpet (Rev. 8:7). Just before the silence begins—sometime after the opening of the sixth seal—the angels of God place seals on the heads of 144,000 men of Israel (Rev. 7:3-4). We are told nothing more about these chosen ones until we reach Revelation 14, speaking of events after the Antichrist has set up his final world empire in defiance of God (Rev. 14:1-5). At that time, the 144,000 stand with Christ on Mt. Sion. A common and probably a correct interpretation of the mysterious texts concerning the 144,000, called "servants of God" (Rev. 7:3), is that they will serve as worldwide missionaries during the half hour of silence. God will grant the shattered nations of man a reprieve from judgment so long as these spokesmen for God are preaching the gospel and establishing churches. Their work will apparently continue with success for quite a few years until corruption and false teaching overtake revival and replace it with resistance and persecution. Then the ministry of the 144,000 will end, and God will order judgment to resume. When we see them later on Mt. Zion, we are not told whether they have been lifted out of this world by rapture or by resurrection from a martyr's death. Yet we do learn that as they stand in close attendance upon Christ, they are singing with thunderous voices,¹⁰ surely a sound that would cause the Lord's enemies to tremble and flee. The scene may suggest that the 144,000 will be in the vanguard of heaven's army when Christ descends to vanquish His foes at the Battle of Armageddon (Rev. 19:11-21).

The evangelistic labors of the 144,000 are foreseen in Jesus' Olivet Discourse.

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

Matthew 24:14

Notice the placement of these words. They follow Jesus' brief survey of "the beginning of sorrows" in verses 7 and 8 of the same chapter.

7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

Matthew 24:7-8

In these two verses, He is evidently summarizing what will happen when the Tribulation first descends upon this world. As I show in my commentary on Daniel, the disasters foreseen in these verses are parallel to events that Revelation sets during the periods triggered by opening of the first four seals.¹¹

1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.

2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

3 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.

4 And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.

6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.

8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

Revelation 6:1-8

In the next portion of Matthew 24, in verses 9-13, Jesus speaks of terrible persecution falling upon His followers.

9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.

10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Matthew 24:9-13

Here we see a likely picture of conditions on the earth after the opening of the fifth seal.

9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:

10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?

11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

Revelation 6:9-11

It is evident that there will be many deaths by martyrdom during this period.

Next in the Olivet Discourse comes verse 14, quoted above, predicting worldwide evangelism. Next in Revelation 6 comes the opening of the sixth seal, when the 144,000 are set apart for divine service. It is evident that both accounts set worldwide evangelism at the same place in the sequence of events.

Both the Olivet Discourse (Matt. 24:15 ff.) and the account in Revelation (Rev. 11:7 ff.) agree also that this evangelism will precede the last phase of the Tribulation, when the Antichrist will seize the Temple and demand worship of himself.