| Published "Senior Experience", First Baptist Church, Norfolk, VA. Sept. 2006 |
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DAY OF THE LORD IN DANIEL, Chapter 7 The length of the Day of the Lord is the single most important factor for understanding the order of Endtime events. Daniel limits the Endtime period to 3½ years of 1290 days ... days that Jesus predicted will be “cut short”. But Daniel, chapter 7, especially deals with the “last day at the end of days”. My basic approach to Last Day Prophecies is that 100 verses in the Book of Revelation will be fulfilled on the single 12-Hour Day of Christ’s coming to “gather the elect from earth to heaven” via the Resurrection and Rapture and to “destroy the destroyers of earth”. events climax with the “Hour of Trial coming on all the inhabitants on all the face of all
the earth
when
they see Christ coming on a cloud in power and great glory”!
I Thess.4:13-18; I Thess.5:1-9;
Rev.16:15-21; Rev.1:7; Rev.19:15-21.
Before considering Daniel’s scenario of Lastday events, please realize why the length of that Day is so crucial. According to Dispensationalists, the Day of the Lord lasts seven years to support a “Pre-Trib Rapture”. They believe the Saints are taken to heaven before the 7 Seals. Another view, a so-called “Pre-Wrath Rapture”, has the Saints taken to heaven prior to the 7 Last Plagues.
According to the Pre-Wrath view, Believers are removed from prior to the Plagues. Jesus put “The Sign of His coming on one of the days after the great tribulation” of 1260 days. The 7 Plagues must be part of those days. Daniel’s 1290 days are cut short by 30 days as of the 6th
Seal; so the Plagues occur during these 1260 days. Plague #6 gather to Armageddon before Jesus “comes as a thief”. Rev.16:15.
The Pre-Trib view claims God’s wrath
continues during the entire 7 years of and 7 Plagues. The Pre-Wrath view places God’s wrath at Seal 6 but before the 7 Plagues. The Plagues “complete God’s anger” and call for His wrath. I believe the warnings and THE SIGNS of Seal 6 begin the Day of the Lord and last no more than six hours: from noon to twilight. Amos 8:9; Zech.14:6-7. The 22 major events of that Day will fulfill 100 verses in Revelation. These 100 verses begin with the Beast’s armies invading Israel as of Rev.16:12-17 *before* the events of the
“Day of the Lord” can begin as of
Rev.6:12-17; GOD’S ANGER MIXES WITH WRATH Joel puts the SIGNS *before* the “great and terrible Day of the Lord”. Peter quotes Joel but speaks of the “great and glorious Day”! That Day is one of Deliverance and Destruction. “Multitudes will be in the valley of decision. The heavens and earth will tremble but whoever calls on the Lord will be delivered. From that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine and the hills will flow with milk”.
That Day’s announcement that God’s “wrath has come” occurs at the 7th Trumpet! God’s wrath results from the fiery-like-scenes described in Dan.7 and Rev.15! The Coronation of Christ occurs
in
wrath has come and the appointed time to judge the dead (Resurrection), reward the Saints (Rapture) and destroy those who are destroying the earth” (Retribution). This is after all the martyrs come out of great tribulation to praise God and the Lamb. Rev.7:9-14. They “present the Son of Man to God” (Dan.7:13) before the Court sits in judgment and Christ is crowned King. Dan.7:14. Their prayers are offered to God by the Angel of Fire after the Son of Man reaps the earth in “great anger”. Rev.14:15-19.
Christ will be crowned King of kings immediately after the Court of Seal 7. God’s anger fills the Cup of Wrath and its wine pours out on Babylon and all the cities of earth! My basic premise is that God’s
wrath
lasts about an Hour of the Lastday after
the Court of at the 7th Trumpet. Dan.7:9-14; Rev.7:9-14; Rev.8:1-5; Rev.11:15-18. The Cup of God’s anger + wrath and Christ Treading the Winepress in anger + wrath occur at the “Hour of Trial”. Rev.3:10; Rev.16:19-21; Rev.19:15-21.
Before the Angel of the 7th Trumpet announces that “God’s wrath has come” and with it “the appointed time” for Resurrection, Rapture and Retribution, the armies must be gathered to Armageddon and a voice out of the Temple, from the throne, declares: “It is Done”. Rev.16:17. Not until the “seven last Plagues complete God’s anger (patience) does that anger mix full strength in His Cup of Wrath”. Rev.14:10; Rev.15:1. The Angel sounds the 7th Trumpet at Dan.7:14. Here is where we need to compare the scenes
of
all
the earth when they see Christ appear”. DANIEL’S VISION CORRESPONDS WITH REVELATION
How amazing that God revealed to Daniel the events of the
Lastday! The scenes in the events in 7 chapters of Revelation. The Court will sit in judgment on the Beast after he has killed the Saints for 3½ years, 42 months. Rev.13:5-7. The Beast on Trial! Dan.7:10-26; Rev.8:1-5.
Daniel and Revelation see the Judge sitting on a crystal river/sea of fire and joined by witnesses brought from earth on the clouds of heaven to “present the Son of Man to the Ancient of Days”. Dan.7:13. These are the 144,000 Jews and the Two Prophets who had protected them for 1260 days. On the Lastday the 144,000 are sealed with the name of the Lamb and rescued by Him from Mt. Zion as “Firstfruit unto God and the Lamb”. Rev.14:1-5.
Revelation adds the “presentation” includes both the singing of the “song of the Lamb by the 144,000 and the song of Moses by all the Martyrs out of great tribulation”. Rev.14:2-4; Rev.15:2-4. The last martyr must be killed and the armies gathered to Armageddon before the Court sits in Judgment ... even
though
Armageddon is described in Seal Six! The Court of Rev.8 occurs eight chapters before Jesus urges believers to “watch and stay clothed lest they be seen naked when He comes as a thief”. The open Temple sets the sequence!
The pre-Temple Drama in heaven finds the 144,000 and the Martyrs singing and presenting the Son of Man as their worthy Bridegroom prior to His Coronation in the Temple. Daniel sees the Court sitting before and after the “presentation and coronation of the Son of Man” resulting from the Court’s judgment. Revelation describes the Court of Seal 7 seven chapters before describing the “presentation”; and sees the Coronation between the Court of Rev.8:1-5 and Presentation of Rev.15:1-5. The scenes in the open Temple Drama logically follow the Signs of the Day of God’s wrath. But the Son of Man’s “presentation” precedes the open Temple Court of Judgment!
Like Daniel, John in Revelation sees what happens retrospectively. He sees God sitting on a blazing Throne over a sea of fire. Rev.15. The Son of Man must be presented first! Then the Court sits and the books open to judge the Beast. Daniel sees Christ presented and crowned and John tells how. Both return to the Court’s Judgment and climax with the Beast’s destruction. Christ is crowned after the Court sits in Judgment; but prior to the Son of Man coming with the Saints to take vengeance on Satan and the two Beasts!
The Presentation by the Martyrs and 144,000 Firstfruit of the Son of Man to God (Dan.7:13) at the scene on the sea/river of fire (Dan.7:9-10; Rev.15:2) anticipates the actual Judgment of Dan.7:22 and Rev.8:1-5 by a matter of moments. “The Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony opens” for the praise to God and the Lamb and Judgment follows. The Court Scene within the Temple precedes the Coronation of Christ in Dan.7:14 and Rev.11:15 immediately after the “half hour” review of the evidence against the Beast.
The execution of God’s wrath follows the Three-Act Temple Drama. Christ comes with the Saints to destroy the Beast and his armies … on the Day of God’s wrath! Daniel requires this order of events on the same day … the day that climaxes the “end of days”. It is symbolized by a stone cut out without hands from heaven crushing the image of human empires because the “time comes for Saints to possess the kingdom and destroy the Beast’s dominion forever”. This will happen after the Beast dominates the earth for 3½ times or 1260 days ... the same as in Revelation. Dan.7:22-27; Rev.19:15-21. NO DAYS SEPARATE SEAL 7 AND TRUMP 7 No more than an hour or two separate the Court’s Judgment, Christ’s Coronation, Saints coming to take the Kingdom and Destruction of the Beast. Action moves from Seal 7 to the 7th Trumpet. It is the Last Trump! It sounds three times; once for the Coronation, then for Christ to descend to “gather the Saints on the 4 winds from earth to heaven (Mark 13:27) and then for the angels to gather the elect from
all
of heavens’ extremities”… One: Rev.11:15.Two: I Cor.15:52; I
Th.4:16;
This means the 7 Trumpets do not follow the 7th Seal; but that six of them have already “trumpeted” before Seal 6 opens after the great tribulation. The 7th Seal opens the entire scroll to the evidence against the wicked right up to the killing of a third of mankind in the 6th Trumpet. The Martyrs’ prayers testify to the evidence in the open Temple. The Angel of Fire renders the Verdict by Fire. At once the 7th Trumpet Angel proclaims Christ as King; that God’s Wrath has come and the appointed time to resurrect and reward the Saints and for retribution upon those destroying the earth! Rev.11:18.
Daniel does not mention the rejoicing in heaven. But he concludes with the Kingdom being given to the “people of the Saints FOREVER” as the Beast is destroyed. Revelation describes the rejoicing and announces the wedding of Christ before He comes to destroy the Beast and his armies. Rev.19:1-10.
LAST DAY – DAY OF VENGEANCE AND WRATH
When the Court “sits” in
and
Wrath upon THIS PEOPLE” (since AD 70) have ended. the plains of Armageddon and the Son of Man has symbolically reaped them to the “winepress of God’s great anger”. Jesus has rescued 144,000 Jews from Mt. Zion and taken them to heaven. Rev.14. I believe the slaughter comes after about a ½ hour for the Court to Judge the Beast for killing a ⅓ of mankind in the 6th Trumpet that has just "passed" when the 7th Trumpet sounds! Rev.11:14.
Paul contrasts this *DAY of Vengeance and Wrath* with Luke’s *DAYS of Vengeance and Wrath*. God’s wrath on this people (Israel) is finished as of this DAY, the Last Day of “Gentile Times”. The Day of the Lord is a Single 12-Hour-Day ... not one that is expanded to include Daniel’s 70th Seven! The subtle reason for extending the “great and glorious Day of the Lord” at Pentecost (Acts 2:20; or
terrible
Day at the end of the Age, the Rapture as part of a 7-Year-Day. Is this the way to convince people that Jesus will “gather all Believers on the last day from earth to heaven BEFORE rather than AFTER the great tribulation”?
Faithfulness to Scripture requires us to compare Paul’s “deliverance of all who believe from Vengeance and Wrath on the DAY Christ comes in glory” WITH that of the promised “ESCAPE of a remnant of God’s former people on the DAY of the Lord”… after armies of the Gentiles are “gathered to the
Valley of Decision”! “glorious day” … Day of Deliverance even for Jews!
Very deceptively the “Days of Vengeance and Wrath” (lasting 1936 years) for the Jews has been taken
from be delivered from Wrath coming on those who “disobey the Gospel”! What does it really say? 2 Thess.1:6-10: “It’s a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you. And to you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire taking VENGEANCE on them that know not God and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ ... when He comes to be glorified in His Saints and to be admired in all them who
believe (come to believe; present active indicative) on that DAY”!
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