In the words of Jesus, it is when the abomination of desolation, as spoken of by Daniel, shows up in the holy place (a designation in the Jewish temple—1 Kings chapters 6–8, Hebrews 9:1–5), that the great tribulation starts (see Matthew 24:15–21). Now, if it is in the middle of the last seven years that the abomination of desolation shows up (Daniel 9:27), and at this point the great tribulation begins, then the great tribulation only has three and a half years to run its course, not seven years as has been wrongly taught. This is the exact truth John corroborated when he wrote that the godless, global ruler or the anti-Christ who will come will be given authority to reign and war against the saints for forty-two months (Revelation 13:5–7), which equals three and a half years (Daniel 9:27) or 1260 days (Revelation 12:6) or time (one year), times (two years), and half a time (half a year) (Revelation 12:14, Daniel 7:25). Indeed, the great tribulation could never start at the beginning of the 7-year period nor end in the middle of the 7-year period, since the abomination of desolation, which marks the beginning of the great tribulation takes place in the middle of the seven year period.
Concerning the return of Jesus’, Paul noted that when Jesus appears, the dead in Christ will rise first, and the resurrected saints and the saints who did not die will be caught up together in the clouds to meet Jesus in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:13). Paul’s statements about Jesus’ appearing with the trumpet of God, and the saints being raptured or caught up in the clouds meet Jesus in the air, is a direct repetition of how Jesus had earlier described Hims coming: “But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.“And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory. “And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other (Matthew 24:29-31). In the words of Jesus, this coming of His, when His saints are raptured or caught up to meet Him in the air happens after the great tribulation, not before or in the middle (Read Matthew 24:29-31 and 1 Thessalonians 4;13-18). John, also affirmed this truth in the book of Revelation. He noted that the first and only resurrection, which happens with the rapture of the church will also bring to life those who die in the great tribulation for refusing the mark of the beast (Revelation 20:4-6, Revelation 13). Thus, without the great tribulation there cannot be any first resurrection and consequently the rapture since the great tribulation has to happen first, for there to be those who will be martyred for refusing the mark of the beast, who will be resurrected at the first and only resurrection that happens with the rapture of the church.
So in the words of Jesus, the great tribulation will begin with the abomination of desolation [which happens in the middle of the seven year period according to the reference He provided in Daniel- see Daniel 9:27] and His return and rapture will happen after the great tribulation (Matthew 24:15-31). Thus, the mid-tribulation rapture, which places the rapture in middle of the 7-year period (or Daniel’s 70th week – Daniel 9), essentially teaches that the rapture will happen just when the great tribulation starts so that the church escapes the great tribulation. This is just another form of pre-tribulation rapture, with a different length of the great tribulation period. This is important for us to understand so that we are not deceived by a false hope of escaping what we have been forewarned to adequately prepare for.
Stay closer to Jesus and develop intimacy with Him, and put away all lukewarmness. This is a strong foundation for how we are to prepare to triumph in the days ahead.
Dr. K. Omari
November 30, 2020.
A Very Important Message
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16). For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). Therefore, If you do not know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, I invite you to put your faith in Him. Pray the prayer below to accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour: “I come to you God in Jesus’ name and surrender my life unto you. I repent of my sins and I ask You to forgive me all my sins. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord, and I believe with my heart that God has raised Jesus from the dead. I thank you God for saving me, in Jesus name, Amen”. If you sincerely prayed this prayer, believe and be assured that you are saved, for the Bible says that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:13, Romans 10:9-10, Acts 16:31). Find a Bible believing church to attend so that you can be discipled to grow in the ways of God. You can also email me ([email protected]) and I will be happy to grow together with you in Christ.