Page 47 - Heavenly Signs II by Mel Gable

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The Tribulation Period by Ryrie- A Survey of Bible Doctrine

The Bible says a great deal in both the Old and New Testaments about the tribulation period—more than about many other
doctrines.

LENGTH

The period is the seventieth week of Daniel’s great prophecy recorded in Daniel 9:24–27. Half of the time is said to be 42
months or 1,260 days (Revelation 11:2–3). This, of course, is based on 30-day months, which has sometimes been considered an
invention of students of prophecy. Notice, however, that 30-day months are found in non-prophetic passages such as Genesis 7:11, 24
and 8:4, and Numbers 20:29, Deuteronomy 34:8 and 21:13 where a 30-day period of mourning was called a full month. This 7-
year period is divided into two equal parts by the breaking of the treaty which will be made at the beginning (Daniel 9:27). Both
parts will be characterized by intense persecution and judgment.

UNIQUENESS

Our Lord spoke of the tribulation days as unique in the entire history of the world (Matthew 24:21). Of course there have been
many difficult times since these words were spoken, the Lord Himself even warning that His followers would have tribulation in this
world (John 16:33). What is it then that makes this coming period unique? Two characteristics will distinguish the tribulation from
all other times of persecution and judgment that the world has seen. First, it will be worldwide, not localized (Rev 3:10). Therefore,
terrible as they are the persecutions which people are experiencing in parts of the world today cannot indicate that the tribulation has
come, for that time will affect the entire world. Second, the tribulation will be unique because then people will not only realize that the
end of the world is near but they will act like it. In one of the early judgments, men will hide themselves in the dens and caves of the
mountains and say, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that stetted on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb”
(Revelation 6:16). Often men have talked as if the end were near. Many even today use the word Armageddon as a symbol of the
end. But people are not acting as if they really believed that the end is at hand. Real estate is changing hands and savings are being
accumulated as if life will continue indefinitely. When the tribulation comes, men will prefer death to life.
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Let us take a look at the “Day of the Lord.” In that day, men will seek to flee to caves for protection. Their wealth
will be worthless due to famine throughout the earth. The Prophet Isaiah spoke about the “Day of the Lord.”

Isaiah 13:6-13 “Wail, for the day of the LORD is near!

It will come as destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore all hands will fall limp,
And every man’s heart will melt.
8 They will be terrified,
Pains and anguish will take hold of them;
They will writhe like a woman in labor,
They will look at one another in astonishment,
Their faces aflame.
9 Behold, the day of the LORD is coming,
Cruel, with fury and burning anger,
To make the land a desolation;
And He will exterminate its sinners from it.
10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations
Will not flash forth their light;
The sun will be dark when it rises
And the moon will not shed its light.
11 Thus I will punish the world for its evil
And the wicked for their iniquity;
I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud

72 Ryrie, C. C. (1995). A survey of Bible doctrine. Chicago: Moody Press.