Storms happen in our lives. If you’re not in a storm right now, you either just left one in your rear view mirror, or you’ll enter one in the future. A big storm, one like we have never experienced before, is coming over humanity in the final days of the current age. Jerusalem will be at the center of it. The Bible refers to it as the “Great Tribulation” or “the time of Jacob’s trouble.”
In my understanding of the Bible, this “Great Tribulation” is unleashed by the final antichrist, whose profile in the Bible matches the profile of the Islamic messiah (the Mehdi or Mahdi) as described in the Qur’an. At the end of that Great Tribulation, Jesus will appear in the clouds and we will meet him in the air (the “rapture”). He will set his feet on the Mount of Olives, and will bring judgment to the nations and to the antichrist. This is the day that the Bible calls “the Day of the Lord.” And then Jesus’ millennial reign starts, with loyal believers co-reigning with him.
The prophecies in Zechariah sometimes seem to condense Christ’s first and second comings, and sometimes it is clear that they are two separate events. Zechariah 9 is a great example:
“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
and the war horse from Jerusalem;
and the battle bow shall be cut off,
and he shall speak peace to the nations;
his rule shall be from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.”(Zechariah 9:9-10 ESV)
Christ’s coming on a donkey is clearly a prophecy about Jesus’s triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem at his first coming (Matt.21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:28-44; John 12:12-19).
But what about his rule “from sea to see, … from the River (Euphrates) to the ends of the earth”? This doesn’t look like it’s reality now, so it must be something that is still coming. Yes, we can experience his peace in our hearts when he rules and reigns as the King over our lives. But this world peace must be something that will materialize in the future, during his millennial reign, after his second coming.
When you read a couple of verses further, you run into something that looks like the final moments of the great tribulation, because the final trumpet will sound at Christ’s return:
“Then the LORD will appear over them,
and his arrow will go forth like lightning;
the LORD God will sound the trumpet
and will march forth in the whirlwinds of the south.
The LORD of hosts will protect them…
On that day the LORD their God will save them,
as the flock of his people;
for like the jewels of a crown they shall shine on his land.”(Zechariah 9:14-16 ESV)
Zechariah says: “On that day the LORD their God will save them.”
The apostle Paul says: “All Israel will be saved.” (Romans 11:26)
I believe this means that every descendant from Israel, from every tribe, who went through the great tribulation, but is still alive when Messiah returns, will be saved. The tribulation serves as a refining fire, primarily for Israel, but also for us if we’re alive during that time.
How do you make sure you’re spiritually safe when the storm is coming, when that great tribulation is coming? Make sure you have crowned the humble King, who rode on that donkey, the King of your life!
Maranatha, come Lord Jesus!
Leave a Reply