Signs of the End Times and the Seven-Year Tribulation

The disciples came to Jesus privately and asked: What will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age? Jesus responded by quoting the prophets, saying, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken” (Matthew 24:29, NKJV).[i] Notice, He said these signs in the heavens would occur after the tribulation, not before it. The word “tribulation” is used in scripture to describe the trials and persecution of believers in this world.[ii] But it also pertains to a seven-year period of God’s final dealing with Israel’s rebellion and His judgment against the nations, culminating with the destruction of the Antichrist and the armies who follow him.[iii] God will also judge the prince of this world, Satan, and all the wicked principalities of this evil age.[iv]

Jesus told His disciples that we would have tribulation in the world, but our suffering through trials and tribulations does not mean Christians will go through the seven-year tribulation.[v] God has promised to keep the church from this hour of trial.[vi] Hence, Jesus also spoke of events surrounding His return, the Day of the Lord.[vii] These events correlate with future predictions given to nearly all of the Old Testament prophets. However, only Daniel and the Apostle John were given specific timeframes. Their prophecies must be studied together with others to understand the obscurity of eschatological events surrounding the return of Christ.

Once again, the seven-year tribulation, derived from the seventieth week of Daniel, correlates with God’s final dealing with unsaved Israel and the unrepentant nations.[viii] We read, “Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy” (Daniel 9:24).

We know that the Lord is not speaking here of daily weeks. God divided Israel’s days and years into intervals of seven. Seven days is a week, and seven years is a week. The seventh day is the Sabbath (Shabbat), and the seventh year is a Sabbatical year (Shemitah).[ix] Daniel calls out three periods of weeks: seven weeks, sixty-two weeks, and one final week to be fulfilled at the end of the age.

Scholars believe the seven and sixty-two weeks cover forty-nine years plus four hundred thirty-four years, totaling four hundred eighty-three years. The first period of forty-nine years correlates with the rebuilding and restoration of Jerusalem in 444 B.C. during the time of Nehemiah, ending forty-nine years later in 395 B.C. We read, “Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times” (Daniel 9:25).

Scholars correlate the second period of four hundred thirty-four years leading up to the coming of Christ, beginning in 395 B.C. and ending at either His triumphal entry to Jerusalem or the crucifixion around A.D. 33. We read, “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined” (Daniel 9:26).

As Jesus prophesied, the Temple was destroyed in A.D. 70 and the City of Jerusalem in A.D. 130-135. Jesus wept over Jerusalem, knowing the destruction and suffering that would come to the Jewish people for turning away from God and rejecting their Messiah. He said, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes” (Luke 19:42). The prophets foretold of this, saying, “He will even hide His face from them at that time, Because they have been evil in their deeds” (Micah 3:4).

While Jesus is presently hidden at the right hand of the Father, He also promised to return to Israel, saying, “You shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Matthew 23:39). Jesus is coming back for His heritage, Israel, and His return culminates at the end of the last seven years, the seventieth week of Daniel (Figure 1). This is when all Biblical prophecy will be entirely fulfilled, notably end-time prophecies correlating with God’s Hebrew calendar and holy convocations given to Israel. As Daniel said, these seventy weeks are to “finish the transgression, make an end of sins, make reconciliation for iniquity, bring in everlasting righteousness, seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.”

Daniel was given no specific timeframe for when the final seven years would begin. There is a gap and, conceivably, a predetermined time in which God would conceal Himself from Israel for a season and turn His attention to the salvation of the nations—the fullness of the Gentiles.[x] We read, “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles” (Isaiah 42:1). Paul speaks to the fullness of the Gentiles coming into God’s Kingdom, saying that “Blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in” (Romans 11:25).

Some incorrectly believe that the seven years were fulfilled immediately after the First Advent or at the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70. This view is called Preterism. Others believe that Daniel’s prophecies are fulfilled in the church, the new Israel, which is supersessionism. Augustine incorrectly predicted that the Millennial Kingdom began at the First Advent of Christ and that Jesus would return by A.D. 650, which did not happen. He also spiritualized prophecies concerning Israel and did not believe in a literal one-thousand-year Kingdom. This view is called Amillennialism. An offshoot of Amillennialism is Post-Millennialism, which sees the present church age and the Kingdom of God as the same.

All of these views are wrong, and they neglect the overwhelming volume of prophecy concerning the literal future restoration of Israel. The Lord declared, “I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’ says the Lord God” (Ezekiel 39:29). Paul says in Romans, “And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: ‘The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins’” (Romans 11:26-27).

The seventieth week of Daniel is specifically for God’s dealing with Israel and, ultimately, her forgiveness. Yet, Israel’s restoration will not come without considerable birth pangs. Jesus referred to the Prophet Jeremiah, calling this period “the time of Jacob’s trouble” and the “great tribulation” (Figures 2 and 3).[xi]

*Figure 3 - The Beginning of The Millennial Kingdom*

Throughout Israel’s history, the nation has been divided between those who desired to live according to God’s laws and statutes and those who were Hellenized, wishing to live apart from God's ways consistent with the heathen nations. Even during the Great Tribulation, and explicitly for this reason, God will send two witnesses to Israel before Jesus returns, Elijah and very likely also Moses, calling down fire from heaven. Elijah will declare as in the days of old, “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again” (1 Kings 18:36-37). God will yet again draw a plumb line in Israel, as He declared to the Prophet Zechariah:

“The hands of Zerubbabel Have laid the foundation of this temple; is hands shall also finish it. Then you will know That the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you. For who has despised the day of small things? For these seven rejoice to see The plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the Lord, Which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth.”
“Then I answered and said to him, What are these two olive trees—at the right of the lampstand and at its left? And I further answered and said to him, What are these two olive branches that drip into the receptacles of the two gold pipes from which the golden oil drains Then he answered me and said, Do you not know what these are? And I said, No, my lord. So he said, These are the two anointed ones, who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth” (Zechariah 4:9-14).[xii]

Those who do not despise the “day of small things,” a remnant of Israel in whom is the fear of the Lord, for them, God will make a book of remembrance. It says, “Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, And the Lord listened and heard them; So a book of remembrance was written before Him For those who fear the Lord And who meditate on His name. They shall be Mine, says the Lord of hosts, On the day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them As a man spares his own son who serves him” (Malachi 3:16-17). While most of Israel has yet to receive her Messiah and King, a remnant has a zeal for God, but, as Paul said, not according to knowledge.[xiii] They will remember the Law of Moses and, by faith, desire to see God’s statutes and judgments fulfilled.[xiv]

The Temple Institute of Jerusalem (Machon HaMikdash) was established in 1987 by Rabbue Yisrael Ariel. After many years, the Institute has completed the three most important and central vessels of the Divine service: the seven-branched Menorah, made of pure gold; the golden Incense Altar; and the golden Table of the Showbread. Other projects include the sacred uniform of the High Priest (Kohen Ha’Gadol). The most recent development is the importation of several red heifers from Texas that could be used in a ritual sacrifice required to purify the sanctuary and all who serve in it. The Institute’s ultimate goal is to see Israel rebuild the Holy Temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem per God’s Biblical commandments.

Jesus purposely called out the “abomination of desolation” spoken by Daniel, the prophet, standing in the holy place. The clear implication is that some form of the Tabernacle or, more likely, a Temple will be built in Jerusalem during the tribulation, the Aaronic and Levitical priesthood restored, and the daily sacrifices resumed until something or someone, namely the Antichrist, causes them to cease, and God’s Temple again is defiled. We must acknowledge this Temple as belonging to God; otherwise, it could not be defiled.

The seven-year tribulation will be a perilous time for Israel and the nations. God has declared that He will come near to them for judgment.[xv] Yet, He has also promised not to make a complete end of the Jewish people, preserving a remnant for His glory.[xvi] Israel’s tribulation will cause many to return to the Lord. We read, “Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand” (Daniel 12:20).[xvii] The wicked will reject God, but the righteous will endeavor to keep Israel sanctified from her surrounding nations and uphold God’s laws and statutes. They will remember the Law of Moses, a remnant of Israel in whom is the fear of the Lord, and God will make a book of remembrance for them.

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[i] All Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Bible (NKJV) unless otherwise noted, Thomas Nelson Inc., 1982.
[ii] John 16:33. 1 John 3:1. 2 Thessalonians 1:4. Acts 14:22. Romans 12:12. Ephesians 3:13. 2 Corinthians 7:4. Duffield, Guy P. and Van Cleave, Nathaniel M. Foundations of Pentecostal Theology. Foursquare Media. 1910.
[iii] Daniel 9:24-27, 12:8-13. Jeremiah 30:7-9. Matthew 24:21. Romans 11:24-26. Revelation 7:4-8, Revelation 11, 12.
[iv] Revelation 6:12-17. Ephesians 6:12. Zechariah 14:1-4. Revelation 16:14-16, 19:19.
[v] Acts 14:14.
[vi] Luke 21:36. Revelation 3:10. 1 Thessalonians 5:9.
[vii] John 16:33. 1 John 3:1. 2 Thessalonians 1:4. Acts 14:14, 22. Romans 12:12. Ephesians 3:13. 2 Corinthians 7:4.
[viii] Daniel 9:24, 12:8-13. Jeremiah 30:4-7. Zechariah 14:1-4. Romans 11:24, 26. Revelation 7:4-8, Revelation 11-12, 16:14-16, 19:19.
[ix] Deuteronomy 15.
[x] Deuteronomy 31:17-20. Micah 3:4.
[xi] Jeremiah 30:7. Matthew 24:21-22.
[xii] Malachi 4:4.
[xiii] Romans 10:2.
[xiv] Malachi 4:4.
[xv] Malachi 3:5.
[xvi] Jeremiah 46:28. Isaiah 28:5.
[xvii] Jude 14. Daniel 7:9-10, 21-22. Isaiah 11:1-4, 63:1-3.