The additional events described below either happen at the same time, or in rapid succession.
“Immediately after the distress of those days
” ‘the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’
30″At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky and all the nations of the earth
will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great
glory. 31And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from
the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.‖ – Matthew 24:29-31
“There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and
perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what
is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27At that time they will see the
Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” – Luke 21:25-27
Jesus himself gave this sign that will signal his return. Notice that there is a gathering of the elect
associated with this event also. This cannot be the rapture of the Church. As shown before, the
Church, as such, is never mentioned during The Tribulation Period. This event, immediately
after his return to Earth, will be the gathering of the believers who are left on the disaster-torn
planet.
Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in
his field. 25But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat,
and went away. 26When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
27″The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field?
Where then did the weeds come from?’
28” ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.
“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
29″ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with
them. 30Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect
the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’ ”
– Matthew 13:24-30
Believers will be “gathered into the barn” so they can populate the Millennial Kingdom,
which will begin immediately after this. Non-believers will also be gathered together for
destruction at this time so that the Millennium may begin with only believers. More will be said
about this judgment in the next chapter.
The Great Earthquake
When we listed the various portions of the book of Revelation that refer to the Battle of
Armageddon, it was obvious that one of the major aspects of this great judgment would be an
earthquake of such magnitude that there has never been such a great one before! It will literally
sink every island and shake down the mountains, and will transform the geography of the Earth
completely (Revelation 6:5; Revelation 9:19; Revelation 11:13, Revelation 16:18-21).
The Promised Land, in the providence of God, lies immediately adjacent to the African
Rift Zone, the deepest known break in the earth’s crust. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
at the Southeastern shores of the Dead Sea in the time of Abraham (c. 2100-1900 BC) is vividly
described in Genesis 19. Archaeological research suggests that a great earthquake opened the rift
zone releasing “brimstone” (sulfur) and volatile petroleum gases, which caused a terrible
firestorm.
In Zechariah 14:4-5 we are told:
On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives
will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving
north and half moving south. 5 You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel.
You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the
LORD my God will come and all the holy ones with him.
Consider this amazing Old Testament prophecy in the light of what the angel promised
the Disciples on the day that Jesus ascended from the Mount of Olives,
“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who
has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into
heaven.” – Acts 1:11
This ultimate earthquake will evidently be preceded by others, leading up to “the big
one.” Jesus gave earthquakes as one of the signs of the “beginning of birth pains,” the period
before the beginning of the Tribulation, between his First and Second Advents (Matthew 24:7-8).
The great earthquake of Ezekiel 38:19-20 could be a foreshock, coinciding with the war
at the Second Seal of Revelation 6, or it could yet be another reference to the Battle of
Armageddon, depending on where this battle occurs. There are good Bible scholars on both sides
of this issue.
While some people seek to demonstrate that current earthquake activity is increasing
dramatically, there is need for caution on this point, earthquakes are not yet increasing. For
balance on this issue, see Appendix J – Earthquakes, Signs and Wonders.
As terrible as the Great Tribulation will be, especially at the end, with the Battle of
Armageddon, the biblical story does not end in despair. These awful events bring Jesus back to
earth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We will study that next.
