Prophecy on Mount Olivet

By Arlen L. Chitwood

www.lampbroadcast.org

Chapter Five

The Great Tribulation

Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.

And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.

But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!

And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.

For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.

And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened. (Matthew 24:16-22)

Biblical prophecy, as it pertains to the Jewish people and to the surrounding Gentile nations, is centered mainly on events that will occur shortly before, at the time of, and immediately following the return of Israel’s Messiah.  Biblical prophecy, in this respect, centers itself mainly on God’s future dealings with the Jewish people, along with the final form of Gentile world power.

The persecution of the Jewish people by Gentile powers under Antichrist during the last half of Daniel’s Seventieth Week is a subject appearing extensively throughout both Old and New Testament prophecy. 

Beginning with the writings of Moses in the book of Genesis and terminating with the writings of John in the book of Revelation, Scripture is replete with information pertaining to Israel in the Great Tribulation during the days of Antichrist.

And Scripture is also replete with information concerning how the whole of the matter will turn out at the time of Christ’s return following the Tribulation.

Beginning with Moses

Biblical prophecy pertaining to Israel actually begins in the opening chapters of Genesis, long before the nation of Israel was brought into existence.  This early beginning can be seen in a type-antitype treatment of the experiences of Cain and Abel, in Genesis 4:1ff (reflecting back on that seen in the previous chapter — man’s fall and God’s revealed way of redemption).

1)  Cain and Abel

Cain, the firstborn, rejected God’s way, ultimately resulting in his rising up against Abel and slaying him.  Four thousand years later, Israel, the firstborn, rejected God’s way, ultimately resulting in the nation rising up against Christ and slaying Him.

In each instance it was one brother slaying the other brother.  The blood of Abel cried out to the Lord “from the ground,” but the blood of Christ speaks “better things than that of Abel” (Genesis 4:10; Hebrews 12:24).

Cain’s subsequent experiences typify the subsequent experiences of Israel.  Cain became “a fugitive [‘a wanderer’] and a vagabond on the earth,” with every man’s hand turned against him.

The history of Israel since the crucifixion of Christ has been marked by the same circumstances.  Israel has been a wanderer and a vagabond (cf. Deuteronomy 28:25), with anti-Semitism following the Jewish people wherever they have gone.

The ultimate realization of the matter though awaits the Great Tribulation.  It will be during that future time and immediately following that the words of Genesis 4:14, 15 will find their complete fulfillment in the nation of Israel and the Gentile nations.

God, at the beginning, stated unequivocally,

Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold . . . . (Genesis 4:15)

Transferring this over into the antitype and looking at the outworking of the principle set forth in Genesis 12:3 — “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you” — that which will befall the nations coming out of the Great Tribulation has already been prerecorded.  God is going to “make a complete end of all the nations” where the Israelites have been driven (Jeremiah 46:28).

The contextual setting of this passage reveals that these are nations within the kingdom of Antichrist, a worldwide kingdom, which will include all the nations of the earth.  Anti-Semitism in that day will break out on an unprecedented, worldwide scale; and God, at the end of the Tribulation, will deal with the nations accordingly, in complete accord with Genesis 4:15; 12:3.

(Note three things relative to God’s dealings with the Gentiles following His Son’s return at the end of the Tribulation:

1)      The judgment of saved Gentiles coming out of the Great Tribulation in Matthew 25:31-46 — saved out of the anti-Semitic nations of the end time — will be on the basis of their treatment of the Jewish people during the time immediately preceding.

2)      The anti-Semitic Gentile armies under Antichrist will then be brought into the land of Israel to be destroyed [cf. Ezekiel 38, 39; Joel 2:1-11, 20; 3:2-16].

3)      Gentile nations will subsequently go into the Millennium, to be reached by and blessed through Israel, with the welfare throughout this time still dependent on their attitude toward and treatment of Israel [Isaiah 62:1ff; Zechariah 8:20-23; 14:16-21].)

2)  Noah and the Flood

Leaving the experiences of Cain and Abel, one can move on to the experiences of Noah during and beyond the Flood to see another facet of the experiences of Israel during and beyond the Great Tribulation.  Noah passed safely through the Flood, as Israel will pass safely through the Great Tribulation (cf. Genesis 7:1ff; Isaiah 26:20, 21).

Then, beyond the Flood there was a new beginning, with human government placed in the hands of man (Genesis 8:20-9:6); and this is exactly as it will be yet future.  After Israel passes safely through the Great Tribulation, government by man will then be the issue at hand.

The association of the Flood during Noah’s day with the Great Tribulation yet future is clearly drawn in Scripture:

And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: . . .

In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back. (Luke 17:26, 31)

The reference in verse thirty-one is to the same time described in the Jewish section of the Olivet Discourse, disclosing events pertaining to Israel during the coming Tribulation (Matthew 24:17, 18; cf. vv. 37-39).

3)  Joseph and His Brethren

Then, the experiences of Joseph’s brethren during and following a time of famine set forth in type another view of Israel during and following the Great Tribulation.

Joseph’s brethren, during the famine, found themselves in such dire straits that they had no place to turn but to Joseph.  Joseph provided deliverance from the famine; and following Joseph revealing himself to his brethren, Joseph’s brethren went forth with the message that he was “alive” and “governor over all the land of Egypt” (Genesis 41:54-45:26).

The brethren of Jesus, as the brethren of Joseph, will pass through the identical experiences.  During a time of famine, the Great Tribulation, they will have no place to turn but to Jesus (although they will not know Him, as the brethren of Joseph did not know him).  Deliverance will be effected, Jesus will reveal Himself to His brethren (exactly as in the type), and (also exactly as in the type) the brethren of Jesus will then go forth with the message that He is “alive” and “governor over the entire earth” (“Egypt” is always a type of the world in Scripture).

4)  Exodus

Moving beyond Genesis, the entire book of Exodus constitutes one complete, comprehensive type concerning Israel yet future, during and following the Great Tribulation.

The book begins with the Israelites under subjection to an Assyrian Pharaoh in Egypt and terminates with the Israelites delivered from Egypt and in possession of the old covenant, the Tabernacle, and the Glory.

Thus will it be in the antitype yet future.  The Israelites will find themselves scattered throughout the earth in subjection to another Assyrian ruler, the Antichrist.  Deliverance will be effected by the One greater than Moses, and the Israelites will subsequently find themselves in possession of the new covenant, the Temple (Millennial Temple), and the Glory (restored).

The Israelites subjugated by the Assyrian in Egypt during the days of Moses sets forth that portion of the type pointing to the coming Great Tribulation.  The Israelites cried out to God for deliverance.

So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.

And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them. (Exodus 2:24, 25)

Thus will it be yet future.  As the Israelites cried out to God during a time of trouble in the type, they will do the same during a time of trouble in the antitype; and as deliverance was effected in the type, so will deliverance be effected in the antitype; and as Israel was delivered for a purpose under Moses, the nation will be delivered for the same purpose under Christ.

The old covenant, the Tabernacle, and the Glory were all connected with Israel’s status as God’s firstborn son.  A theocratic kingdom was brought into existence during Moses’ day, and this same kingdom will be restored yet future by and through Israel coming into possession of the new covenant, the Millennial Temple, and the Glory (see “Anti-Semitism,” Appendix).

As the bush (typifying “Israel”) burned during Moses’ day without being consumed (Exodus 3:2), so has the same bush been burning throughout the centuries since that time without being consumed.  The persecution under the Assyrian Pharaoh in Egypt was only the beginning of persecution after persecution.

But the most intense persecution of all will occur during the Great Tribulation.  This is the time when the fire seeking to consume the bush will seemingly burn out of control.

Note though very carefully the words of Exodus 3:4:  “God called to him [Moses] from [KJV: ‘out of’] the midst of the bush . . . .”

And it was the same at a later time during Daniel’s day as during Moses’ day, when God was in the midst of the fire with Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (Daniel 3:23-27).

The fire had no power over the bush in Exodus or the three Hebrews in Daniel, even though during Daniel’s day the furnace was heated “seven times more than it was usually heated” (v. 19).

The matter continues the same today, and it will be the same during the Great Tribulation.  The type has been set, and it must occur in the antitype after exactly the same previously set manner.

5)  Comparing Spiritual Things with Spiritual

The preceding, drawn mainly from the first two books of Moses, has only touched upon the rich supply of material available in the Old Testament concerning Israel and the nation’s national future.  The Old Testament is one continuous revelation concerning Christ (Luke 24:27, 44; John 5:39, 46), and a revelation concerning Christ must always be interwoven within a revelation concerning Israel and/or the Church.  This is the manner in which the Old Testament has been written, and the Old Testament must be studied after the manner in which it has been structured.

The Old Testament is filled with history, and God has interwoven throughout this history innumerable types in order to teach His people great spiritual truths concerning the antitype.

Actually, all historic events in the Old Testament form types.

Now these things became our examples [happened as types for us], to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.

Now all these things happened to them as examples [typically, as types], and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.

(1 Corinthians 10:6, 11)

These things occurred under God’s sovereign control of all things in order that He might have these recorded experiences to draw upon to teach His people the deep things of God.  There is no such thing as haphazard experiences within the framework of God’s plans and purposes.

Man, in possession of God’s Revelation, must recognize “how” and “why” this Revelation was written.  He must also recognize that an understanding of this Revelation necessitates “spiritual discernment” (1 Corinthians 2:14; cf. John 16:13-16).

Such discernment comes about simply by the indwelling Holy Spirit Himself revealing to the believer that which He moved “holy men of God” to record in time past (2 Peter 1:21).  Any Scripture, such as the text at hand from Matthew 24:16-22, must be understood by “comparing spiritual things with spiritual”; and it is the indwelling Holy Spirit Himself who brings things to light after this fashion as the believer studies and meditates on the Word (1 Corinthians 2:13).

When You See…Flee…

The warning that Jesus gave in Matthew 24:15ff is for the Jews in the land of Israel when the Great Tribulation begins.  It will be during those days that Israel, as a recognized nation in the Middle East, will cease to exist.

When Antichrist turns against Israel, the nation will fall in an inconceivably swift fashion; and the very fate of the continuance of the Jews as a people on earth will then seemingly lie in his hands.

(Note that God, in the midst of the bush, will allow this to occur, just as He allowed the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities to occur, the events of the Romans under Titus in 70 A.D. to occur, etc.  But God will not remove Himself from the bush.)

A remnant will heed the warning and escape to a specially prepared place in “the wilderness,” to be protected for the last three and one-half years of the Tribulation (cf. Matthew 24:16; Revelation 12:6, 14).  Those who do not escape will either be killed or sold as slaves throughout the Gentile world (Joel 3:6-8; Zechariah 13: 8, 9).  And along with this will be the destruction of both the rebuilt Temple and the city of Jerusalem (cf. Daniel 9:26; Luke 21:20-24).

It should be clearly understood that the destruction in Daniel 9:26 and Luke 21:20-24 has to do with events during the coming Tribulation, not with events in 70 A.D. as is often taught.  The destruction seen in Daniel 9:26 must occur within the scope of time covered by the Seventy Weeks and, contextually, is seen in connection with Antichrist breaking his covenant with Israel in verse twenty-seven.  Both the text and context in Luke 21:20-24 show that this section also has to do with the same time as Daniel 9:26 — the coming Tribulation rather than with events in 70 A.D.

(All events seen in Daniel’s Seventy-Week prophecy must occur during time covered by the prophecy, not outside this time, as the destruction by the Romans under Titus in 70 A.D.)

One thing which often leads to the erroneous conclusion that Daniel 9:26 has to do with the destruction by Titus and his Roman legions in 70 A.D. is the association of the fourth part of Daniel’s image (the “legs of iron” and the “feet partly of iron and partly of clay”) with Rome.  The “legs of iron” are said to refer to the Roman Empire in history, with the “feet partly of iron and partly of clay” referring to a revived Roman Empire during the Tribulation.

Under this teaching, the kingdom of Antichrist will be a Roman kingdom.  And a supposed reference is seen in the prophecy that extends from Titus in 70 A.D. to Antichrist yet future through the expression, “the people of the prince who is to come” [v. 26 (i.e., a supposed reference to the Romans in both history and prophecy)].  This expression though is an idiom, referring to the future prince himself (note Daniel 7:18, 27 where this same type of expression is used and explained).

This is one reason some Bible teachers take such an interest in the European Common Market.  They are looking for ten nations to arise in the latter days within the territory covered by the old Roman Empire; ultimately forming a ten-kingdom revived Roman Empire under Antichrist.

Any teaching surrounding a revived Roman Empire though has no scriptural basis whatsoever, simply because the Roman Empire in history had nothing to do with fulfilling prophecy concerning the “legs of iron” on Daniel’s image.  Nor will the kingdom of Antichrist be made up of a ten-kingdom European confederacy.  His kingdom will be a Middle East kingdom, centered in Babylon; and his ten-kingdom confederacy will evidently be comprised of Middle East nations, forming his worldwide power base.

Daniel’s image was seen standing in Babylon.  This image depicts a Babylonian kingdom under different nations extending over centuries of time.  The past rulers all reigned over a world kingdom from Babylon during the Times of the Gentiles.

When the Times of the Gentiles began about 605 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar’s power emanated from Babylon.  When the Medes and Persians came in and took the kingdom in 536 B.C., the reign from Babylon continued.  Then, when the Grecians under Alexander the Great came in and took the kingdom in 330 B.C., the center of world power remained in Babylon.

Alexander the Great died in 323 B.C., and his kingdom was divided among four of his generals.  Following this, the kingdom of Babylon gradually faded from view as a world power, not to be seen again as a center of world power until the days of Antichrist.  And he too, as his predecessors, will reign from Babylon.  This is what necessitates Babylon being rebuilt and restored in the latter days as a center of world power and commerce, as seen in Scripture (cf. Isaiah 13:19, 20; 14:4; Jeremiah 50:1ff; 51:1ff).

The Roman Empire, although the next world power following the decline of the Babylonian kingdom, had no connection with Babylon.  The center of power for the Roman Empire was Rome; and to fit within the scope of Daniel’s image, this center would have had to be in Babylon.  Since it was not, the Roman Empire cannot possibly fit within the framework of events in the book of Daniel.

One should note very carefully that Daniel identifies all four parts of the image (cf. Daniel 2:31-45; 7:3-8); and there is no allusion whatsoever to the Roman Empire.  It is clear from Daniel chapter eight (vv. 8-14, 21-25) that it is the kingdom of Antichrist that follows the Greco-Babylonian kingdom in both Daniel 2:40-43 and Daniel 7:7, 8, 19-26.

Antichrist will march into Jerusalem as the last king of Babylon, the one whom Nimrod, the first king of Babylon, typified millennia before (cf. Genesis 10:8-10).  He will seek to do that which no one has ever been able to accomplish — the utter, complete destruction of the Jewish people — and he will then come under the sentence of Genesis 4:15; 12:3.

The outworking of the principles set forth in these verses must be realized — blessings or curses, depending on one’s attitude toward and treatment of the Jewish people — and they will be realized three and one-half years later when this man’s kingdom lies in ruins.

The Stone “cut out without hands” is going to smite the image at the feet (Daniel 2:34).

The image will be destroyed, ground to powder; and the Stone will become “a great mountain,” covering the entire earth (Daniel 2:35, 44, 45).

The reference is to the destruction of the final form of the kingdom of Antichrist by Christ (the “Stone” smiting the image at the feet), with the kingdom of Christ (“a great mountain”) then becoming the worldwide kingdom upon earth (cf. Isaiah 2:1-4).

Troubled Waters

Israel is in the land today awaiting Antichrist.  By no stretch of the imagination though is the nation in the land in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies concerning the re-gathering of Israel in the latter days (such prophecies as the valley of dry bones in Ezekiel 37:1ff).

A remnant has returned to the land under a Zionistic movement.  And a remnant of this nature must be present in the land near the end of the age in order for numerous biblical prophecies to be fulfilled (e.g., the ratifying of the covenant in Daniel 9:27, or the events in the Jewish section of the Olivet Discourse).  But the return of a remnant under a Zionistic movement, forming an existing Jewish nation in the Middle East, has nothing to do with the prophesied re-gathering of Israel in either the Old or New Testament Scriptures.

The present remnant in the land, constituting the nation of Israel, has returned in unbelief;  this remnant has returned before the time that Scripture prophesies the nation will, or even can, return; and this remnant only includes a part of world Jewry (presently about two-fifths).

Israel’s restoration, as prophesied in the Old Testament, occurs at the end of the Tribulation, after the completion of Daniel’s full Seventy Weeks; this restoration occurs after Israel’s Messiah returns, under His personal supervision.

Israel, at this time, will return to the land in belief, not in unbelief; and this restoration will involve resurrected Old Testament saints as well as those Jews surviving the Great Tribulation and being saved by the personal appearance of Christ at the end of the Tribulation.  It will be a restoration of “the whole house of Israel” (Ezekiel 36:24-28; 37:1-28; 39:25-29; Daniel 12:1, 2).

Events surrounding Israel’s presence in the land today are much like events surrounding Jonah’s presence on the ship headed for Tarshish in Jonah 1:3ff.  Jonah had been instructed to carry the message of the One True and Living God to the Gentile city of Nineveh, but he refused and headed in the opposite direction.

With Jonah on board the ship headed for Tarshish, a great storm arose on the Mediterranean Sea.  And the storm became so intense that the men on the ship were afraid that the ship was about to be destroyed.  Jonah, though, was down inside the hold of the ship asleep (1:3-5).

The reason for the storm was then revealed:  Jonah, out of the Lord’s will, was on board the ship (1:6-10).  The only solution to bring about a calm was then revealed by Jonah himself.  He must be removed from the ship by being cast into the sea (1:11, 12).  And, only when this was done did the sea cease raging (1:13-15).

1)  “The sea” in Scripture has a peculiar reference to the Gentile nations (cf. Revelation 13:1; Daniel 8:8, 9).

2)  “Jonah, out of the sea, on board the ship,” can only typify Israel removed from the Gentile nations, dwelling in the land covenanted to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

3)  “The storm on the sea,” resulting from Jonah’s presence on the ship, can only point to resulting turmoil among the Gentile nations.

And here is the revealed, underlying main reason that turmoil exists on an unprecedented scale among the nations of the earth today, particularly those nations in the Middle East.

Jonah, out of the Lord’s will, is on board the ship.  That is to say, Israel, out of the Lord’s will, is in the land.  And the trouble among nations today rises to the same intensity as the storm on the Mediterranean Sea during Jonah’s day:

. . . there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up. (1:4)

The nations of the earth today, in turmoil, as the raging sea during Jonah’s day — with the matter centered in the Middle East — continue trying to find solutions to existing problems.  But the matter is completely out of their hands.  The nations have no understanding of the basics of the existing problems; and even if they did, there would be nothing whatsoever that they could do to bring about any type of lasting resolution (cf. Hosea 5:15-6:2).

God, in His sovereign control of all matters, has allowed a remnant to return to the land of Israel in order to bring about concluding events during Man’s Day and usher in the Day of the Lord.  With this remnant in the land, out of the Lord’s will, the principle set forth in the first chapter of Jonah must be in force.  The sea must rage; that is, the Gentile nations must be in turmoil.  And this is exactly what is happening, something which the nations do not understand at all.

How long will this turmoil among the nations continue?  The answer is quite obvious:  so long as Israel is in the land out, of the Lord’s will.

Thus, don’t look for peace among the nations during the present time, during Man’s Day.  It’s not going to occur.  In fact, just the opposite will occur, with matters only continuing to get worse and worse.

The sea must rage.  The prophets have spoken.  And Israel is going to occupy her present position right on into the Tribulation, with the nations continuing — in a deteriorating manner — in their present state of unrest and turmoil, as they vainly seek to solve existing problems.

This is the primary reason why wars, rumors of wars, and nation rising against nation (Matthew 24:6, 7) will mark conditions during even the early years of the Tribulation.  These are conditions that exist today, will exist when the Tribulation begins, and will continue unchanged during the first half of the Tribulation.  Israel will remain in her present state until the middle of the Tribulation, necessitating a continuance of the principle set forth in the first chapter of Jonah.

The Antichrist, by removing Israel from the land in the middle of the Tribulation, will bring an end to the principle presently in operation.  But the waters are not going to become calm, as when Jonah was cast into the sea.  In fact, because of Antichrist’s subsequent actions, just the opposite will occur.  The sea will really begin to rage at that time, for another biblical principle will come into operation:

Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. (Genesis 4:15)

Or, as in the words of Genesis 12:3,

I will curse him who curses you.

Note the word “sevenfold” in Genesis 4:15.  “Seven” is a number showing the completeness of that which is in view.  “Complete judgment” is involved.  It has to do with making “a complete end of all the nations” (Jeremiah 46:28).

The epitaph and the reason for this epitaph have thus been pre-written upon the kingdom of Antichrist at a time before it even exists — “Fallen because of this man’s destructive, ill-treatment of God’s firstborn son, Israel.”

(For additional information on the preceding, refer to “The Intractable Middle East Problem” and “The Death of the High Priest,” Appendixes 1, 2, in the author’s book, The Time of the End.)

Unless Those Days Were Shortened

Because of Antichrist’s anti-Semitic actions, which will involve genocide itself, there will be a time of trouble “such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.”  And Scripture depicts conditions on the earth becoming in such turmoil during this time that “unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved” (Matthew 24:21, 22).

This man will seek to accomplish that which all his predecessors, dating back to the Assyrian Pharaoh in Egypt during Moses’ day, failed to accomplish.  He will seek to bring about what men have called “the final solution to the Jewish problem.”  He will be instrumental in not only destroying the present existing nation of Israel in the Middle East but also in eradicating two-thirds of the world’s Jewish population (Zechariah 13:8, 9);  and he will do this in the short space covered by the last half of the Tribulation.

Men under Hitler and Eichmann in the Third Reich during the years 1939-1945 killed 6,000,000 Jews in Europe, seeking to produce a Jew-free Europe.  This killing occurred on such a mass scale that giant crematoriums had to be constructed to dispose of the bodies.

The Antichrist will be instrumental in destroying about twice that many Jews in less than half the time, and he will accomplish this feat during a time when the carnage among the Gentile nations will become inconceivable, for multiplied millions of Gentiles will die worldwide during this time as well.  Revelation 6:8; and 9:15, 18 alone reveal half the population of the earth being slain during the Great Tribulation.  This is how tumultuous the sea will become after Antichrist makes his final move against Israel.

The turmoil resulting from Antichrist’s anti-Semitic, genocidal activities on a worldwide scale is the reason that no flesh on the face of the earth would be saved apart from the days of the Great Tribulation being shortened.  In other words, if the full 1,260 days (twenty-four hours per day), constituting the last three and one-half years of the Tribulation, were allowed to run their course, the end result would be the very destruction of mankind itself.

A complete destruction of this nature, apart from divine intervention, is the way God has seen fit to reveal the intensity of the holocaust that Antichrist will bring upon the world.

God though will intervene, and for “the elect’s sake [Israel’s sake]” those days will be shortened.  A full 1,260 days must transpire to complete the last half of Daniel’s Seventieth Week.  Nothing short of this will suffice.

Thus, God’s intervention cannot be a shortening of the number of days; it can only be, exactly as Scripture states, a shortening of the days themselves.  Revelation 8:12 reveals a third part of the day and night being smitten under the judgments of the fourth trumpet, and Amos 8:9 reveals the sun going down at noon during this time.

The picture appears to be that God will shorten the days and nights by one-third at first (eight-hour days, and eight-hour nights) and then cut the time down to one-half as things become even more intense (six-hour days, and six-hour nights).  Such will evidently be accomplished by simply changing the speed at which the earth moves — not only the rotation of the earth but the time required for the earth to orbit the sun.

God, in the beginning, set everything in motion and established the physical laws governing this motion; and He can make changes if He so desires.

Thus, because of the shortening of the days, the last half of the Tribulation will not be a time equivalent to three and one-half years as we know time today.  It will, of necessity, be shorter, apparently considerably shorter, which would speak volumes concerning the severity of anti-Semitism during that coming day.

Concluding Remarks:

The Jewish people and the world at large are about to pass through a time of trouble that has no parallel in history; and conditions during this time will rapidly deteriorate into a state portending the very destruction of mankind itself.

The cause of the matter can be laid directly to anti-Semitism and the outworking of the principles set forth in Genesis 4:15; 12:3.  Anti-Semitism on an unprecedented scale will correspondingly result in trouble in the kingdom of the perpetrator on not only a corresponding unprecedented scale but on a far more intense unprecedented scale (cf. Hosea 8:7).

And the end of the matter will be:

1)  God’s intervention “for the elect’s [Israel’s] sake.”

2)  God’s “sevenfold” vengeance upon the kingdom of Antichrist.