The Closing Hours of Life on Planet Earth
This chapter opens the Tribulation, the first step in Christ’s taking back the earth, which is rightfully His. One by one, Christ unrolls the seals. As each seal is broken, He takes further possession and control of His inheritance. Finally, “the seventh angel sounded; and there arose loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever’” (11:15). When He unrolls the seventh seal, and the seventh trumpet blows, the earth is His.
Walk with me through the pages of Revelation chapters six, eight, nine, and sixteen. Briefly, may I describe the living hell you can avoid if you are a part of the Rapture. Here are only a few of the dreadful disasters that take place during the Tribulation:
1. One out of every four people will die (see Rev. 6:8), some through the ravages of war, others by starvation, and amazingly many others by the ‘beasts of the earth’. So, whether by death that comes instantly and thus less dreaded or a slow and painful death that is lingering and agonizing-25 percent of all people will die. The world’s population was just over 8 billion in 2024, meaning at least 2 billion will die. That amounts to just about seven times the current population of the United States. You imagine that? And remember that the population of the world is doubling every 39.5 years. So, every day, the number of people who will die becomes larger and larger.
2. One-third of all vegetation will be burned up. All grass, every tree, everything green will be destroyed (see Rev. 8:7).
3. The sun and the moon will be darkened as nature goes into revolt (see Rev. 8:12).
4. The gates of hell will open and hordes of locusts, the size of horses, will come upon the earth. Those locusts will be allowed to sting men like scorpions and the pain will last for five months. The Bible says men will beg God to let them die but they will not die (see Rev. 9:3-6).
5. There will be worldwide famine, unlike anything the world has ever seen (see Rev. 18:8).
6. There will be a world war so bloody that the blood of those killed in battle will flow for two hundred miles up to the bridle of a horse in the valley of Jezreel. This will be the Battle of Armageddon (see Rev. 14:20).
7. All told, during the Great Tribulation, as many as half of all the people on the earth will be killed. Now, do you see why God refers to the Rapture as a ‘blessed hope’? Because the Tribulation to come is so horrible!
But that means we are gone and will escape everything, right? Yes, exactly, we will miss every part of the TRIBULATION, but we will probably go through some of the worst days we have ever seen before it starts.
(NR-4-01; 980705AM)
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