The End Times - Pt 8: Book of Revelation: Mid Tribulation

Mid Tribulation

The Proclamations of Three Angels

1st Angel Proclaims

Rev 14:6-7

6 Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth – to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people

7 saying with a loud voice, "Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water."

The Scenario:

During this mid-tribulation about 50% of earth's population is gone – some raptured to heaven; some destroyed by the Judgments that have taken place. The Antichrist and the False Prophet have taken charge.

This is the first time in the Bible, that we see an angel is commissioned to preach the Everlasting Gospel.

The word Gospel means "Good News."

Three forms of the Gospel are mentioned in the New Testament:

1. Gospel of "The Kingdom"- God purposes to set up a Kingdom on this earth over which Christ Jesus shall reign.

2. Gospel of the "Grace of God"- its about the rejected Messiah dying on the cross. It has its source in the Love of God. Its character is Grace and its the power of God unto salvation and speaks of Christ who has been glorified.

3. The "Everlasting Gospel" (applicable in this case) - This gospel is not on Salvation but JUDGMENT. The "hour of His judgment is come."

2nd angel proclaims

Rev 14:8
8 And another angel followed, saying, "Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication."

Here is prophesy, that the city of Babylon is to be rebuilt. As to the fall and destruction of the literal City of Babylon this proclamation could apply also to a Commercial Babylon, where the declaration that Babylon had fallen to fearful depths of wickedness and apostasy, and had become "a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!". Refer to my Chapter on the 7 Dooms which follows, for more on Babylon. 

3rd Angel Proclaims

Rev 14:9-13
9 Then a third angel followed them, shouting, "Anyone who worships the beast and his statue or who accepts his mark on the forehead or the hand
10 must drink the wine of God's wrath. It is poured out undiluted into God's cup of wrath. And they will be tormented with fire and burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb. 
11 The smoke of their torment rises forever and ever, and they will have no relief day or night, for they have worshiped the beast and his statue and have accepted the mark of his name. 
12 Let this encourage God's holy people to endure persecution patiently and remain firm to the end, obeying his commands and trusting in Jesus."
13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Write this down: Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from all their toils and trials; for their good deeds follow them!" NLT

This is a most awful warning. If any man worship the Antichrist or Beast and receives his mark (666) in forehead or hand, his doom is fixed FOREVER.

That means that during the last 3.5 Tribulation years of the Antichrist reign, if they receive the Mark there is no relief day or night in eternity. 'If eternal punishment is taught nowhere else in the Bible it is taught here, and if here, why is it not true as to other classes of sinners?'

The punishment those that have the mark, receive, is horror and remorse in the 'Lake of Fire.'

Blessed are those in these day of extreme tribulation, that do not receive the Mark and endure till Christ comes and casts the Antichrist and the False Prophet into the lake of fire.

Earth Harvested

Revelation 14 contains the Proclamations from the three angels and this is followed by the harvesting of the Earth twice. This occurs before the 7 Bowl judgments to come and prior to Jesus' return to earth.
1st Harvest

Rev 14:14-16
14"Then the scene changed, and I saw a white cloud and someone sitting on it who looked like Jesus, who was called "The Son of Man," with a crown of solid gold upon his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.
15 Then an angel came from the temple and called out to him, "Begin to use the sickle, for the time has come for you to reap; the harvest is ripe on the earth."
16 So the one sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the harvest was gathered in." TLB

This harvest is personally superintended by Jesus (Son of Man) who Himself predicted this when he was on earth, by means of a parable – separation of wheat from tares (or weeds). The text below refers:

Matt 13:38-42

38 The field is the world, and the good seed represents the people of the Kingdom. The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one.

39 The enemy who planted the weeds among the wheat is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world, and the harvesters are the angels. 

40 "Just as the weeds are sorted out and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the world. 

41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.

42 And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. NLT

"The day of God's grace is ended at this point. Fates are forever sealed; there is no more chance for the unbelieving." H Lindsey

2nd Harvest
This 2nd harvest is different to the 1st. Here Jesus dose not superintend the reaping. The harvest is done by an 'angel who has power.' (for example Archangel Michael)

The symbol is that of a reaping for a vintage of wrath. There is NO separation done here – all are unbelievers destined for destruction. The place of judgment helps identify the ones to be judged. God's great wine press of judgment is said to be outside the city; which could only be Jerusalem.

So 'ground zero' of God's most awful judgment is just outside Jerusalem.

Zechariah the prophet also predicts this in Zech 14.

Rev 14:17-20
17 After that another angel came from the temple in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle.
18 Just then the angel who has power to destroy the world with fire, shouted to the angel with the sickle, "Use your sickle now to cut off the clusters of grapes from the vines of the earth, for they are fully ripe for judgment."
19 So the angel swung his sickle on the earth and loaded the grapes into the great wine press of God's wrath.
20 And the grapes were trodden in the wine-press outside the city, and blood flowed out in a stream 200 miles long and as high as a horse's bridle.
TLB

Interestingly Israel is 200 miles long, from North to South.

(This is also related to an invasion of nations covered Joel 3:2, 10-14, Ezekiel 38 and Matthew 24:21. So this is the time in the 70th week that Ezekiel 38's war takes place.

Joel 3:11-13

11 “Assemble and come, all you nations, And gather together all around. Cause Your mighty ones to go down there, O Lord.”

12 "Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;

For there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations.

13 Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, go down; For the wine press is full, The vats overflow —

For their wickedness is great."

Ezek 38:16

“You will come up against My people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land. It will be in the latter days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me, when I am hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes.”

Matt 24:21

“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.”

Ezek 39:17-20

'Speak to every kind of bird and to every beast of the field, "Assemble and come, gather from every side to My sacrifice which I am going to sacrifice for you, as a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel, that you may eat flesh and drink blood. 18 "You will eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, as though they were rams, lambs, goats and bulls, all of them fatlings of Bashan. 19 "So you will eat fat until you are glutted, and drink blood until you are drunk, from My sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. 20 "You will be glutted at My table with horses and charioteers, with mighty men and all the men of war," declares the Lord God. NASU

The armies of the nations will be gathered in the area of Israel around Jerusalem; at least 200 million soldiers from the Orient, with millions more from the forces of the west headed by the Antichrist of the revived Roman Empire (Western Europe).
"Messiah Jesus will strike first those who have ravaged His city, Jerusalem. Then He will strike the armies amassed in the valley of Meggido, or Armageddon.
No wonder blood will stand to the horses' bridles for a distance of two hundred miles..
Let the nations of the world be warned!" H Lindsay
Zech 2:8
8 For this is what the Lord Almighty says: "After he has honored me and has sent me against the nations that have plundered you - for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye - NIV)

Gracious Interlude

We next have a gracious interlude. Chapters 15 & 16 of the Book of Revelations go together because they cover the Seven Final Judgments of God, on earth. Rev 15 is the shortest chapter in the Book, but it is by no means the least important. It reveals a joyous yet solemn scene in heaven as preparation is made for the final, most dreadful judgments of the entire Tribulation.

Rev 15:1-8
1. Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels who had seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.  NASU (same Greek word as Christ used on the cross when Jesus exclaimed "It is finished")

2 I saw before me what seemed to be a glass sea (glass sea represents multitudes of people- in this case those redeemed souls that would not have to face the wrath on Earth) mixed with fire. And on it stood all the people who had been victorious over the beast and his statue and the number representing his name. They were all holding harps that God had given them.

3 And they were singing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb: "Great and marvellous are your works, O Lord God, the Almighty. Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations. 5 Then I looked and saw that the Temple in heaven, God's Tabernacle, was thrown wide open.

6 The seven angels who were holding the seven plagues (Bowls) came out of the Temple. They were clothed in spotless white linen with gold sashes across their chests.
8 The Temple was filled with smoke from God's glory and power. (Shekinah glory of God) No one could enter the Temple until the seven angels had completed pouring out the seven plagues. NLT