The Length of the Wrath of God
You Don’t Say

Before going any further, we are going to look at how long the Wrath of God actually lasts.We just used the numbers from Daniel 12 to get an idea of how things will unfold during the Tribulation. Now we are going to use those same numbers to get an idea of how long the Wrath of God will last.Along with those numbers, we will look back at the time that it took for several of the trumpet plagues, and add one other number found in Daniel 8.We’ll start by recalling that the first four plagues of the Wrath of God did not give any time references. It does take time to burn up a third part of the green vegetation, turn a third of the waters to blood and to darken a third part of the sun while heating up the other two thirds of the same. But we are not given any time limits or duration for any of these plagues. Each of these events could be implemented in an instant, so it’s actually the amount of time they will last that is important. Because God seems to be taking His good old sweet time about the whole matter of His wrath, we can assume that these things will not be sprints but marathons.

Revelation 9:10 reveals to us that the fifth punishment,which is the first of the three woes we read about,will last five months as the locusts with scorpion stings discharge their duty of tormenting mankind for that time period. Revelation 9:12 then states very matter-of-factly that the first woe is past and the other two will follow, thus showing the chronological nature of the plagues. Revelation 9:15 asserts that the next punishment, which involves the 200 million horsemen that kill one third of mankind, will last one year, one month, one day, and one hour—not a minute more. But the second woe does not end with that. In Revelation 11:3, the second woe continues as the two witnesses of God show up in the middle of God’s wrath to torment the earth with their prophecies of doom for 1260 days, or three-and-one-half years. After that, Revelation 11:9 declares that after they have finished their three-and-one-half year prophecy, they will be slain and will lie in the streets for three-and-one-half days before they are taken into heaven. That makes a total of 1263.5 days just for the two witnesses to complete their part of the seven plagues of wrath. It is not made clear whether this 1263.5 days follows or overlaps the one year, one month, one day and one hour time frame given for the 200 million horsemen, but they are both a part of the second woe because that woe does not end until Revelation 11:14. Chapter 11, verse 14 establishes as fact that the second woe does not end until after the two witnesses are taken up into heaven. Certain aspects of how the second woe is described strongly suggest that the horsemen and the two witnesses fulfill their ministries consecutively rather than simultaneously.We will look at some of those reasons as we go along.

The final woe does not give a time reference, but it has to be long enough for the Battle of Armageddon to take place. The minimum time span for the whole outpouring of wrath has to be at least three years, eleven months, three-and-one-half days and a half an hour, which is the five months of the first woe, a minimum of three-andone- half years and three-and-one-half days of the second woe, and the half hour of silence that was observed before the wrath began all added together. This does not include the one year, one month, one day, and one hour of the second woe, the Battle of Armageddon in the final woe or any time allowance for the first four trumpets and vials. If the one year, one month, one day and one hour of the 200 million horsemen takes place before the three-and-one-half years of the two witnesses, then adding that time to the equation gives us five years, four-and-one-half days, and a half hour.

Now, if we look at the numbers Daniel gave us, we see that the time of wrath is longer than either of these numbers.We need to start with the numbers that deal with the Tribulation.We see consistently throughout the prophecies that the time of Tribulation will last for three-and-one-half years. In the verses from the end of Daniel 12, we saw that the daily sacrifice will be taken away 1335 days before the Rapture occurs, and since the Tribulation only lasts 1260 days and Jesus has told us that His return will be “immediately after the tribulation of those days,” we know that the sacrifice is taken away 75 days before the Tribulation begins.

Daniel 12:11-13

11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.

12 Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.

13 But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.

We also determined that since the Abomination of Desolation is set up 1290 days after the daily sacrifice is taken away, that leaves only 45 days until the return of Christ for His people. That’s the 1335 days from when the sacrifice is stopped to the Rapture minus the 1290 days until the Abomination is set up.What really helps us to understand the duration of the Wrath of God is something Daniel was told in chapter 8. He was being shown a vision of the end-times when the Antichrist rises to power and takes away the daily sacrifice. As part of the vision, Daniel heard two individuals speaking to each other. The first asked how long would the sacrifice be discontinued and the temple polluted by desolations. The second individual responded that it would be 2300 days, and then the temple would be cleansed. If it had been left to Daniel to ask the question, it may not have been asked, but God wanted us to know the duration for this transgression against His holy temple for a reason—so that we can keep things straight when it comes to the end-times prophecies.

Daniel 8:11-14, 19

11 Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.

12 And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practiced, and prospered.

13 Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?

14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.

19 And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be.

The last chapter in the Book of Daniel explains that the daily sacrifice will be discontinued 1335 days before the Church is removed from the earth. Daniel 8

informs us that it will be 2300 days before the temple is finally cleansed of the abominations of the Antichrist. Verse 19 is included because it clearly states that this vision is one that concerns the appointed time of the end. Everything in the chapter points to the end of time when the Antichrist is out and about causing great tribulation on the earth.

If we subtract the 2300 days it takes to cleanse the temple from the 1335 days that the temple is polluted before the Rapture takes place,we end up with a negative number—minus 965. That’s because the temple is not cleansed until long after the Church is gone from the earth, and the Wrath of God has been in full swing for 965 days. If we use thirtyday months again, the two witnesses will appear on the scene to kick the Antichrist out of the temple and to begin their prophecy two years, eight months and five days after the Rapture. Their prophecy will last for three-and-one-half years after they take back the temple and cleanse it. Therefore, by adding those two numbers together,we can see they will not complete their prophecy until after a full six years, two months and five days of God’s wrath have elapsed. The Wrath of God does not end with the conclusion of their prophecy. If you will recall, the Euphrates River was dried up to allow for a much swifter and easier troop deployment into Israel. The foul spirits that ascended out of the river are working to draw the armies of nations to Israel to ambush Jesus and His saints when they return at Armageddon.

The Wrath of God will very likely be a full seven years to equal the seven years that the Antichrist will reign in his part of the earth prior to the Rapture. (Remember the seven-year truce that he makes and then brakes in the midst of the seven years, thus causing Great Tribulation.) That would leave nearly ten whole months for the armies of the world—refusing to believe the Word of God right up to the end—to join up with the Antichrist in Israel for the overwhelming destruction that has been prophesied upon them. If you consider that the people remaining on the earth chose to follow after tribulation and persecution along with the Antichrist rather than the peace and salvation God was offering them, seven years of wrath makes perfect sense. Seven is God’s number of completion or wholeness. God is doing everything in sevens: seven seals, seven vials, seven trumpets, seven candlesticks, Daniel’s seventieth week, seven days a week, seven Spirits of God, and so on. The judgment just wouldn’t be complete if it was not seven full years.

Prophecy teachers have been trying for years to squeeze the Tribulation and the Wrath of God into the same seven-year period that the Antichrist first makes and then breaks his peace covenant with Israel. That is why it is of the utmost importance that we realize the Tribulation and the Wrath of God are two entirely different set of circumstances during entirely different time periods. The Antichrist will be present for seven years before the Wrath of God, and he will be present for seven years during the Wrath of God before he is cast into the flames of eternity. We saw in Matthew 24 the separation of the Tribulation and the Wrath of God by the Rapture.We also made a transition from the Tribulation to the Wrath as we moved from the first five seals of the book (not to be confused with trumpets or vials) into the sixth seal where the Church was raptured, and finally the seventh seal, which is the fullness of the Wrath of God. Tribulation comes first, then the Rapture, and then the Wrath: Tribulation—Rapture—Wrath.

Bible scholars are never going to fit everything into one seven-year period because the Tribulation begins in the middle of the seven-year period and ends three-and-one-half years later when God’s wrath begins. His wrath is longer than the three-and-one-half year Tribulation, and it follows after it.We just saw that the wrath will last beyond six years and two months, and that is without adding any time for the final trumpet and vial, which signal the end of time—the end of God’s wrath and the Battle of Armageddon. According to the timetable of some Bible scholars and prophecy teachers, to make things fit together properly, God’s wrath would have to begin several years before the Tribulation begins. No one has ever been successful at compressing all the different components of the Wrath of God that are revealed to us into the seven years of Daniel’s troubles and have everything make sense. The Bible never limits the time of the Antichrist to just seven years. He makes a seven-year covenant and is limited to three-and-one-half years of Tribulation from the midpoint to the end of those seven years, but it is a misunderstanding of Scripture to remove him from the face of the earth after just seven years or to try to overlap or combine the Tribulation and the Wrath of God.

It is important to reaffirm the fact that although God has said that Jesus’ return would be as a thief in the night and that no man knows the day or the hour of His return,He also states in 1 Thessalonians 5:4 that we are not in darkness that the day should come upon us as a thief. The fact that He numbered the days of the Tribulation and gave us other signs and indicators of His return shows us that He wants us to, at least, be in the ballpark when it comes to estimating the day of His return, but only after things begin to happen.When we see Israel sign a seven-year peace accord and then notice that it is broken in the middle of the seven years and suddenly a large number of Israelites have headed for the mountains right before the fall of Jerusalem, you have some clue that His return is eminent—in fact, approximately seven years from the signing of the treaty and three-and-one-half years from the time the Antichrist crowns himself God. Those Jews that are fleeing to the wilderness know they only have three-and-one-half years to wait before their Redeemer comes to rescue them; the rest of the Church will know also, except for those who are willfully ignorant and those who are deceived.We should not be afraid to believe the numbers God has freely provided to us. Jesus did say that no man knows the day or the hour of His return, but that does not mean we will be totally caught off guard. God has given us more than enough information to zero us into the approximate day and hour, but only after things begin to unfold. After the signing of the treaty, we don’t know for sure whether to use thirty-day months or calendar years to determine the end of the seven-year period, which would coincide with His return date. That alone causes over a month of variation. There are also other small variables that prevent us from knowing the exact day or hour, but God is not going to leave us here squirming in our seats for too long. Immediately after the Tribulation of those days, He will return. The world has chosen to disregard this information, and as a consequence, they will be caught totally by surprise.

Think about it!

­Does God expect us to ignore all of the numbers and other information that He gave us through the truth of His word and be caught off guard like the rest of the world?

­When Jesus tells us to watch, is He telling us to watch the unfolding of events as well as watching over our own spiritual condition?

­Does 1 Thessalonians 5:4 say that we are not in darkness that that day should overtake us as a thief.

~Selah~Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them. Isaiah 42:9

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