God’s attribute of righteousness demands that He will not only judge the devil and his fallen angels for their rebellion and their share in deceiving humanity, but also all people who find themselves in the camp of the enemy. During Old Testament times, divine judgements were often poured out upon evil people. However, after the coming of Christ the dispensation of grace was introduced when salvation was offered to the entire world. This means that judgements upon the enemies of Christ have been postponed to the end-time, directly after the church age.
God the Father did not only send His Son to save the world but also to judge unrepentant sinners (Acts 17:30-31). The Lamb will therefore not only save sinners but also judge hardened sinners. When the earth is struck by devastating earthquakes, buildings collapse, mountains shake, and burning meteorites fall on the earth, sinners will realise that the great day of the Lamb’s wrath has come; then they will in vain try to flee away from His wrath (Rev. 16:16-17).
During the judgements of the coming day of the Lord all the workers of wickedness will be condemned, the devil will be bound, and the strongholds of evil destroyed (Rev. 19:19–20:3). Idolatry will vanish (Zech. 13:2) and the knowledge of the Lord will fill the earth (Isa. 11:9). The world will no longer lie in the sway of the Evil One, but be under the full authority of Christ and His government of righteousness.
The millions of people who will be left behind on earth after the rapture will be faced by a great tribulation as there never was and never will be again. The Lord warned that this time of severe distress will pose a serious threat to the survival of human life on earth, but that God will intervene to shorten the tribulation period (Matt. 24:21-22). These judgements are definitely not meant for true believers; therefore, they are commanded to watch and pray to be spiritually worthy to escape God’s wrath upon sinners and backsliders (Luke 21:36).
Just as literal as the end-time judgements, will also be the escape of believers from the area of divine wrath. That is the reason why the coming situation is likened to the judgement of sinners and escape of believers in the days of Noah and Lot (Luke 17:26-36). These dark days in the history of humanity will repeat themselves during the great tribulation – but this time on a much bigger scale!
The coming tribulation of seven years is divided into two halves of 3½ years (42 months) each, of which the first half will be characterised by the Antichrist’s false peace and unity on earth, which will coincide with a marked increase in natural disasters as judgements of God (the beginning of sorrows). The second half of this period is described as the “great tribulation” when there will be wars, natural disasters, pestilences and famine which will threaten to wipe out the entire human race. At the height of these disasters Christ will return to destroy His enemies – i.e. the Antichrist, the false prophet and their followers – and to establish His reign of righteousness on earth.
Jesus Christ Himself describes the build-up to His second coming and the peak of the tribulation period as follows: “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places” (Matt. 24:7). These disasters will be aggravated by severe cosmic signs: “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of heaven will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory” (Luke 21:25-27).
As far as blood moons and eclipses of the sun are concerned, it should be kept in mind that intense pollution of the air will occur for extended periods during the great tribulation, due to warfare, fires and natural disasters – particularly volcanic eruptions. Thick clouds of smoke will cause the moon to become red as blood, while the sun will become black as sackcloth. These signs will be highly dramatic and all people will see them. Joel says: “The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord” (Joel 2:31).
In Revelation, John says: “I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind” (Rev. 6:12-13).
Revelation 8:12 refers to a time when a third of the heavenly bodies will be darkened by a judgement of God, but that will only be a prelude to total darkness which will later prevail on earth (Rev. 16:10).
At the end of the great tribulation, during the second coming of Christ, these cosmic signs will reach their climax. Together with other judgements in the tribulation, they will constitute a fearsome scene leading to the second coming of the Son of God who has all power in heaven and on earth:
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matt. 24:29-30).
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The moon shall become like blood... and the sun black as sackcloth of hair.
The book of Revelation refers to “stars” that will fall to earth during the time when the sun and the moon are darkened. But “stars” is merely a generic term for heavenly bodies, and in this case refers to meteoroids, asteroids and comets. When a meteoroid enters the atmosphere of the earth it disintegrates, leaving behind a shining trail of gasses and melted particles. This phenomenon is colloquially referred to as a “shooting star” or a “falling star”. Its colour may vary between orange, yellow, blue/green, purple and red, depending on the chemical composition of the meteor.
If a meteor withstands ablation from its atmospheric entry and impacts with the ground, then it is called a meteorite. Should there be a large number of meteors moving through the sky, with parts of them falling to the ground, this phenomenon is referred to as a meteoric shower. A particularly bright meteor is described as a fireball. Meteors usually enter earth’s atmosphere with a loud bang because they are moving faster than the speed of sound.
Early on the morning of February 15, 2013, a meteor streaked across the sky above Russia’s Ural Mountains and exploded approximately 25 to 30 kilometres above the industrial city of Chelyabinsk – 1 500 kilometres east of Moscow. The meteor was travelling at an estimated speed of 18.6 kilometres per second (over 66 000 kilometres per hour) when it exploded. The fireball blazed across the horizon, leaving a long white trail that could be seen as far as 200 kilometres away.
Amateur videos showed a big fireball in the sky, which was followed by a loud boom several minutes afterwards. Eyewitnesses also felt intense heat from the fireball. The dazzling light of the meteor was brighter than the sun. The fireball exploded, injuring more than 1 500 people – mostly through secondary causes such as shattered windows.
The object was undetected before its atmospheric entry and its explosion created considerable confusion among local residents. Some 7 200 buildings in six cities across the region were damaged by the explosion’s shock wave, and authorities scrambled to help repair the structures in sub-zero temperatures. The buildings that were damaged include 6 040 apartment blocks, 293 medical facilities, 718 schools and universities, 100 cultural organizations, and 43 sport facilities. A hole of six metres wide was caused in a frozen lake.
Due to its enormous velocity and shallow atmospheric entry angle, the object exploded in an air burst over the Chelyabinsk Oblast, at a height of about 25 kilometres. The explosion generated a bright flash, producing many small fragmentary meteorites and a powerful shock wave. The atmosphere fortunately absorbed most of the object’s energy, with a total kinetic energy before atmospheric impact equivalent to approximately 440 kilotons of TNT (about 20–30 times more energy than was released from the atomic bomb detonated at Hiroshima).
With an estimated initial mass of about 10 000 tons, and measuring between 17 to 20 metres in size, it is the largest known natural object to have entered Earth’s atmosphere since the 1908 Tunguska event which destroyed a wide, remote forest area of Siberia. The Chelyabinsk meteor is also the only meteor confirmed to have resulted in a large number of injuries.
The following are photos of a meteor that exploded above Russia in February 2013. Thousands of meteorites formed as a result of the burning and disintegration of the meteor, and many of them subsequently struck the earth.
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Try
to imagine the damage that could be caused by an apocalyptic meteor shower! The
following are
drawings or photos of other meteors, as well as a crater caused
by a meteorite. Scenes such as
these
will be
common during the second half of the tribulation, and occur during a time of
unprecedented
earthquakes (Rev. 6:12; 16:18). People will realise that these are
judgements of God,
and not natural phenomena that occur by chance:
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The Hoba meteorite near Grootfontein in Namibia weighs about 60 tons and is the largest known meteorite on earth. It is composed of 84% iron and 16% nickel. |
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The Williamette meteorite fell in the USA and weighs about 15.5 tons. It consists of 91% iron and 7.6% nickel. |
The end-time judgements upon a wicked world are unavoidable – the reason for this being the fact that, throughout the centuries, there was an ongoing conflict between God’s kingdom and Satan’s kingdom. Satan, his fallen angels and all his millions of deceived followers are in the end-time even more than ever committed to an unrelenting struggle against God and His kingdom. This struggle will culminate in a major confrontation in which the judgements of God will be poured out upon the devil and his cohorts in a very definite and destructive way.
The Lord surely wants to save all people and welcome them into His kingdom (2 Pet. 3:9), but the majority of them prefer the broad way of sin, which forms part of the kingdom of darkness. Because of the majority support which the devil enjoys in the world, he effectively gained controlled over the whole world and reigns over it. This is the reason why the world has become evil, completely in conflict with the kingdom of God, and heading for intervention by God in order to judge sinners and bring an end to sin.
After Satan’s expulsion from heaven it became his major objective to gain control over the world and its inhabitants with a view to using it as a power-base in his war against the kingdom of God. The reality of the control which he acquired over the world is also evident from the fact that he offered Jesus a high position of authority in his kingdom, should Jesus recognise the supremacy of Satan and also worship him (Luke 4:5-7). However, Jesus is the King of the universe in God’s kingdom, and He came to earth to destroy the works of the devil and to deliver people from the power of Satan (1 John 3:8). But He nevertheless acknowledged that Satan holds great power in the world, and often referred to this fact.
The term “world” is used in various verses in the New Testament to describe a hostile, satanic system composed of fallen humanity under the control of the devil and his demons. The principles and objectives of this renegade kingdom are completely at variance with the principles and objectives that are pursued in God’s kingdom (1 John 2:15-17). If one still loves the world he has turned his back upon the Lord as he cannot serve God and the world at the same time (Jas. 4:4; Luke 16:13). Because of this irreconcilable situation Christians are rejected and persecuted by the world (John 15:19-20; 16:33).
Satan is described by Jesus as “the ruler of this world” who will be judged and cast out (John 12:31). The crucifixion of Christ was a judgement upon sin, and because of it the possibility was offered to all people to be delivered from the power of Satan. However, most people do not use this opportunity to obtain deliverance – they prefer to remain in Satan’s kingdom and continue with their sin. By doing so they invite the judgements of God upon themselves: “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19).
In John 14:30 the devil’s position as the ruler of this world is reiterated, despite the fact that he is has already been judged in principle (John 16:11; cf. 1 John 5:19). His judgement and final degradation to the lowest depths of the Pit has not yet been effected; consequently, he proceeds to act as “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience” (Eph. 2:2). He is even described as “the god of this age” who blinds the minds of people so that they should resist and reject Christ’s gospel of salvation (2 Cor. 4:4).
It is important to be mindful of the fact that Satan does not only control his own, blinded subjects but also actively engages in deceiving and tempting Christians to render them ineffective and trying to win them over to his kingdom. It is for this reason that we should put on the whole armour of God to remain standing against the wiles of the devil (Eph. 6:10-12). It is conspicuous that in this scripture Satan and his co-rulers (fallen angels) are described as principalities, powers and rulers of the present age in which we live.
The further relegation of the devil until he is incarcerated in the Pit will be preceded by 3½ years of considerably intensified activities on earth. Satan still has access to the throne of God where he accuses Christians after he has successfully deceived or tempted them. But he is not content with this situation as he still endeavours to become sole master of the universe. In the end-time, renewed efforts will be made by him to realise this objective.
An important change will occur in the situation on earth after the church dispensation has been concluded by way of the rapture, thereby providing an opportunity to judge the unbelievers on earth. Satan will then be able to fully reveal his own kingdom on earth. However, his efforts will be fraught with problems since the Lord will, during the same time, pour out His judgements upon the kingdom of the Antichrist. This situation will induce the devil to engage in an even more ill-considered act, i.e. to wage war against the angels of God in the heavenlies in an effort to overpower them in the way in which he subjected and weakened the nations. That will give rise to a drastically changed situation on earth:
“And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. ... Therefore rejoice O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time. Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman [Israel] who gave birth to the male Child. ... And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Rev. 12:7-13, 17).
This confrontation will occur in the middle of the tribulation period, and coincide with the end of the Antichrist’s role as multireligious prince of peace. He will then declare himself to be God in the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem, immediately revoke the right of freedom of religion and announce the compulsory worship of himself as God (2 Thess. 2:4; Dan. 9:27). Refusal to do so will be punishable by death (Rev. 13:15). Israel will abrogate their covenant with the false messiah, to which he will react by ordering the genocide of all Jews. In great haste, Israel will flee for survival to a place in the wilderness (Matt. 24:15-21; Rev. 12:14). During this time, Christians will also be persecuted and executed everywhere (Rev. 6:9-11).
During the last 3½ years of the tribulation – the period described as the “great tribulation” (Matt. 24:21) – the devil will operate on earth with much increased fury. After being cast down from the heavenlies where he has access to the throne of God, he will subsequently give undivided attention to his destructive works on earth. The most severe manifestations of this evil kingdom are yet to come.
It is important to remember that God’s end-time judgements are primarily aimed against the devil and his kingdom. Even hell itself is first and foremost prepared for the devil and his fallen angels, but all people who were deceived by him will share his judgement with him. At the great white throne judgement, the Lord Jesus will say to them: “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41).
At the end of the great tribulation, when Jesus Christ returns as Judge and King of kings, He will immediately condemn the Antichrist and his co-ruler in Satan’s kingdom to the lake of fire (Rev. 19:19-20). Subsequently, He will also destroy all their followers who form part of their evil kingdom (Rev. 19:21; Zech. 14:12-13). Satan will then be incarcerated in the Pit for one thousand years (Rev. 20:1-3).
Only then will the kingdom of Satan be obliterated in all its manifestations and replaced by the revelation of Christ’s kingdom on earth. The reason why Satan will not immediately be cast into the lake of fire is because he will be used at the end of the Millennium to practically demonstrate who is saved and who not (Rev. 20:7-10). During that time, people will still be born with a sinful nature and also have a free will; for that reason, like now, they will need to have an experience of rebirth to obtain eternal life in Jesus Christ. Those who did not make this commitment will be easy victims of Satan in his renewed efforts to deceive humanity.
It is tragic that even after Christ’s personal presence on earth during the Millennium, millions of people will still neglect their responsibility to truly get into the right relationship with Him. That explains the fact why the final judgement will only occur after the thousand-year reign of peace, since unbelievers of all ages must appear before this throne.
It will then be evident that fallen human beings were never able to improve themselves and to realise their ideals in an honourable way – they always rely on their own efforts and act in terms of their clouded conscience. Because of their depraved and rebellious attitude towards God He was compelled to reject and destroy them in a great flood, save for Noah and his family. Subsequently, even the chosen people, Israel, failed in their calling to observe God’s laws and to live lives that are pleasing to Him. God eventually withdrew Himself from them and during the four centuries before Christ He sent no further prophets to them to call them to repentance.
During the church dispensation it is no different. In spite of Christ’s work of deliverance, the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, the majority of people have preferred the broad way of sin, thereby adding to the process of rendering the world a stronghold for Satan’s kingdom. That is the reason why this dispensation will end in a great tribulation as there never was. Believers who are not guilty of this spiritual rebellion will be taken away before the time.
Even in the Millennium with Christ reigning on the throne of David in Jerusalem and the saved Israel as His disciples, only a minority of people will come over from spiritual darkness into His marvellous light. That is the reason why this future dispensation will also end in judgement upon the unbelievers.
Make very sure that you are among the minority who contended earnestly to enter in through the narrow gate, and in whose hearts the Holy Spirit bears witness with their spirit that they are truly children of God (Luke 13:24; Rom. 8:16). They will not come into judgement as they have passed from death into life (John 5:24). They are the ones who are exhorted to watch and pray to ensure that they do not become victims of the intensified, end-time deception and moral permissiveness, but instead be worthy at all times to escape the coming judgements (Luke 21:36).