The Tribulation lasts seven years – 2,520 days precisely, beginning with the signing of the seven-year treaty and ending with Jesus ascent of the Mount of Olives. A number of events are noted in Scripture as happening during the middle of The Tribulation and clearly they cannot all start and finish on the same single day so some will start towards the end of the first half of The Tribulation and continue into the second half of The Tribulation, some will happen on day 1,260 / 1,261 and some will start in the mid-period and continue into the second half.
The Seven-Year Treaty is broken
Daniel 9: 27 – He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven’ (seven years). In the middle of the ‘seven’ (after three and a half years) he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple (the rebuilt Jewish Temple in Jerusalem) he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.”
This is also evidenced by the following passage detailing wars during which the invasion of Israel by the Antichrist takes place.
Second War(s) of The Tribulation
Daniel 11: 40 – 45 – At the time of the end (during The Tribulation) the king of the South will engage him (the Antichrist) in battle, and the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots and cavalry and a great fleet of ships. He (the Antichrist) will invade many countries and sweep through them like a flood. He will also invade the Beautiful Land (Israel). Many countries will fall, but Edom, Moab and the leaders of Ammon (currently Jordan) will be delivered from his hand. He will extend his power over many countries; Egypt will not escape… But reports from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will set out in a great rage to destroy and annihilate many. He will pitch his royal tents between the seas at the beautiful holy mountain (in Israel).
Satan cast out of Heaven and down to Earth
Revelation 12: 7 – 9 -Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, (Satan) and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The 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.
The world is now handed over to Satan, to receive in full measure the consequences of rejecting God.
Antichrist killed and Resurrected
During the period of the battles above the Antichrist will be killed and resurrected. The world’s inhabitants will be amazed at this and pledge allegiance to him.
Daniel 11: 45 – Yet he (the Antichrist) will come to his end (be killed)and no one will help him.
Revelation 13: 3 – One of the heads of the beast (the Antichrist)seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed (killed and resurrected). The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast.
Antichrist overpowers three rulers of the ten kingdom world government and the rest submit to him
Daniel 7: 24– The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings.
Revelation 17: 12 – 17– “The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast… They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast… For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to hand over to the beast their royal authority”
Revelation 13: 7 – And it (the antichrist) was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation.
The Global Religious System will be destroyed
Revelation 17: 16 – The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute (Global Religious System of the first half of The Tribulation). They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire.
The Two Witnesses in Jerusalem will be killed by the Antichrist
Revelation 11: 7 – 13 – Now when they (the Two Witnesses) have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss (the Antichrist) will attack them, and overpower and kill them. Their bodies will lie in the public square of the great city … where also their Lord was crucified. For three and a half days some from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth. But after three and a half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on. At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
Although the Antichrist kills them and the world celebrates because of the plagues and suffering they brought on the world, it is a short lived celebration as God resurrects them in full view of the world.
This is one of the key Signs of our Times as only recently have we had true worldwide television coverage.
The Antichrist will declare himself God and force everyone to worship him
Revelation 13: 3 – 10 – The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast… and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?” The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise it’s authority for forty-two months. It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life.
2 Thessalonians 2: 3 – 4 – He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshipped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.
The False Prophet
The Antichrist will have an accomplice / assistant who will enforce the will of the Antichrist on the world’s inhabitants and will have supernatural abilities.
Revelation 13: 11 – 15 – Then I saw a second beast, (the False Prophet) coming out of the earth… It exercised all the authority of the first beast (the Antichrist) on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth.
The Mark of the Beast – 666
In order to be able to trade under the Antichrists regime people will have to receive his mark on either their forehead or right hand. It will be a physical mark effectively pledging ones allegiance to him.
Revelation 13: 16 – 18 – It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.
In Hebrew, each letter is allocated a number so the name of the Antichrist will add up to 666 when the Hebrew numbers are applied to the Hebrew letters making up the spelling of his name in Hebrew.
An image of the Antichrist will be set up in the rebuilt Jewish Temple in Jerusalem
Daniel 9: 27 – And at the temple (the rebuilt Jewish Temple in Jerusalem) he will set up an abomination that causes desolation (image of the Antichrist), until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.”
Revelation 13: 14 – 15 – Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honour of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed.
Failure to worship the Antichrist will result in death.
Matthew 24: 15 – 16 – So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation, ’spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
Worldwide Persecution of the Jews
This starts in the middle of The Tribulation and continues to the end of it.
Matthew 24: 15 – 23 – So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea (Israel) flee to the mountains. Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great distress, unequalled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equalled again. “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive…”
As soon as the image is set up the persecution will begin and the Jews in Israel will flee, the emphasis of the passage being to flee quickly.
Revelation 12: 14 – 17 – The woman (Israel) was given the two wings of a great eagle (be protected by God), so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, (the second half of The Tribulation) out of the serpent’s reach. Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent (possibly pursues militarily). But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth (whatever means used to pursue Israel, it fails as God intervenes). Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring (Jews who do not leave Israel and worldwide)—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.
They have good cause to flee as only one-third of all Jews alive at the start of The Tribulation will survive it;
Zechariah 13: 7 – 9 – In the whole land,” declares the Lord, “two-thirds will be struck down and perish; yet one-third will be left in it. This third I will put into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’”
What does that mean for you?– Good News