Revelation 13:5-7 “And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. (6) Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. (7) It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.”
From the moment that the Antichrist reveals his true nature in the temple when he survives the assassination attempt, he will begin his reign of terror in the earth, which as the above passage of scripture reveals to us will last for a period of forty two months. That reign of terror will begin in the nation of Israel, but will very quickly spread out to the surrounding nations of the earth. And as is also revealed in this passage, his reign of terror will primarily be directed against the Jews and the Lord’s saints and many will fall victim to his persecution.
Matthew 24:21-22 “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. (22) And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened.”
The church is not appointed to wrath (1 Thessalonians 5:9), and so the church will not experience the wrath of God that is to be poured out on the earth at the end of the age, for before that happens the church will be caught away from the earth in the first resurrection. Nevertheless the church is appointed to tribulation (1Thessalonians 3:3), because of which the last key event that must take place before the “rapture” of the church is the event that our Lord, in the above quoted passage of scripture, called the “great tribulation”. In this passage, our Lord tells us that the level of tribulation experienced during that time will be greater than any experienced on the earth before. If you think of past trials that have taken place on the earth such as the Jewish holocaust for example, our Lord’s statement is very sobering indeed. The tribulation period that our Lord was referring to in this passage is the period when the Antichrist will reign in the earth, and as we have already established, the Lord has allowed him to reign on the earth for forty-two months. But I want you to notice the reason given to us for that decision, for our Lord tells us that if our heavenly Father had not restricted the number of days of the Antichrist’s reign, then no flesh would be saved. When our Lord tells us that no flesh would be saved unless those days had been shortened, He is referring to saints still being found alive on the earth, because sadly during that time there will be multitudes of the Lord’s saints who will be martyred for their faith in Christ (Revelation 15:2-3).
Michael E.B. Maher
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