BBP: 20 Estimated Duration of Endtime events

Chapter 20

Estimated Duration of Endtime Events

About 12 years

Contents

A) Duration of Daniel’s Last Seven Years

B) Duration of Endtime events before Daniel’s Last 7 Years

C) Duration of Endtime events after Daniel’s Last 7 Years

A) Duration of Daniel’s Last Seven Years

In Christ’s Endtimes Teaching He said: “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened” (Matt 24:34 NIV). This indicates that Endtime events will occur within one generation. This is often considered to be 40 years. However, it is likely that these events will transpire in significantly less time than that. This seems to be one reason Jesus called Endtime events birth pains. It is doubtful that Jesus expected us to believe birth pains could last for many years. Birth pains begin rather immediately before the birth. Therefore, Endtime events will endure a relatively short period of time before the birth of Christ’s 1000-year Reign on Earth.

So, it can be reasonably concluded that Endtime events will last several years. Nevertheless, the duration of Endtime events can only be estimated.

It has been argued that both Antichrist’s Resurrection and Antichrist’s Religious Covenant are portrayed in the opening of the 1st Seal (cf. Rev 6:1-2, BBP, ch. 11; 14, sec. B). It is admitted this is a significant claim which determines a great deal about the sequence of Endtime events. But several biblical reasons for this scenario have been given.

Antichrist’s Religious Covenant (portrayed in the 1st Seal) will be the beginning of Daniel’s Last 7 Years (cf. Dan 9:27). This gives us the clearest biblical framework for understanding the duration of Endtime events before Christ’s 1,000 year Reign.

As demonstrated elsewhere (ch. 15) there will be exactly 1,260 days (3.5 Jewish years) between Antichrist’s Religious Covenant (the 1st Seal) and Antichrist’s Claim to be God (resulting in the martyrdoms in the 5th Seal). Then Scripture tells us there will be another 1,260 days (3.5 Jewish years) between the Antichrist’s Claim to be God (the 5th Seal) and Christ’s Return (the 6th Seal) to end The Greatest Persecution and Rescue the Church (cf. Dan 7:25; 9:27; 12:7; Rev 11:2-3; 12:6; 12:13-14, 17; 13:5). This can be illustrated in the following graphic:

➊

Antichrist’s

Religious

Covenant

After Antichrist’s

Resurrection

➎

Antichrist’s

Claim to be God

Abomination

of Desolation

➏

Christ’s Return

Church’s Rescue

The Greatest

Persecution

Seals

➋ ➌ ➍

3.5 years

3.5 years

Daniel’s Last 7 Years

Graphic: Duration of Seals

This graphic is of course a summary of much of what has been argued in the book The Beginning of Birth Pains. Those biblical arguments have led to the following conclusions. We see that with the opening of the 1st Seal the Antichrist’s Resurrection will occur leading to Antichrist’s Religious Covenant. This will begin Daniel’s Last 7 Years.

The opening of the 5th Seal will mark the Antichrist’s Claim to be God and the 3.5 years of The Greatest Persecution. Both The Greatest Persecution and Daniel’s Last 7 Years will be ended by Christ’s Return and the Church’s Rescue. So, as demonstrated in chapter 15, Scripture reveals that this portion of the Endtimes will last exactly 7 year or 2,520 days.

B) Duration of Endtime events before Daniel’s Last 7 Years

It has been argued in The Beginning of Birth Pains that there are Endtime events that will precede Daniel’s Last 7 Years. These include:

1) The establishment of the 10-nation Endtime Coalition (cf. BBP ch. 4, sec. B.1).

2) Antichrist’s Rise in becoming world famous and deposing 3 leaders in the 10-nation Endtime Coalition (cf. BBP chs. 8-9).

It has in fact been argued that the establishment of the 10-nation Endtime Coalition may be the first Endtime event to occur. If that is so, then we can ask the question: How much time will there be between the establishment of the 10-nation Coalition; and when Antichrist’s Resurrection and resulting Religious Covenant will occur and Daniel’s Last 7 Years begin? Again, we can only estimate this time period. Let us simply estimate a year between the establishment of the 10-nation Endtime Coalition and the implementation of Antichrist’s Religious Covenant, which will begin Daniel’s Last 7 Years.

C) Duration of Endtime events after Daniel’s Last 7 Years

Suggested events that will follow Christ’s Return and the completion of Daniel’s Last 7 Years include:

1) The Trumpet & Bowl Punishments during Christ’s Wrath.

2) The Battle of Armageddon which ends Christ’s Wrath.

After the Battle of Armageddon Christ’s 1000-year Reign will begin.

Therefore, we can ask the question: How much time will there be between Christ’s Return and His first appearance for the Church’s Rescue; and when Christ’s second appearance occurs at the Battle of Armageddon? An explanation of the two appearances of Christ during His Second Coming was provided in Christ’s Endtimes Teaching, chapter 9.

The time between Christ’s Return (and 1st appearance), and The Battle of Armageddon (Christ’s 2nd appearance), and the intervening period of Christ’s Wrath, is not specified in Scripture. The only specific time element we are told is that the 5th Trumpet Punishment will last five months (Rev 9:5, 10).

It is interesting to note that 7 years and 3.5 years are specified time periods given before and after the time of Christ’s Wrath. As noted above, the time between Antichrist’s Religious Covenant and Christ’s Return (and the beginning of Christ’s Wrath) will be exactly 7 Jewish years. Likewise, the time between the Antichrist’s Claim to be God and Christ’s Return (the Greatest Persecution), will be exactly 3.5 Jewish years.

In addition, we are told that after The Battle of Armageddon (and the end of Christ’s Wrath), the Jews will be burning their enemy’s weapons for seven years (Ezek 39:9).

Therefore, we have prophesied periods of 3.5 and 7 Jewish years before Christ’s Return and the beginning of Christ’s Wrath. We also have a prophesied period of 7 years following the end of Christ’s Wrath (The Battle of Armageddon).

Therefore, it is possible these same time periods could be applied to the time of Christ’s Wrath. For example, Antichrist will be given exactly 3.5 years to exercise his wrath on God’s people. It would seem appropriate that Christ would have 3.5 years or even 7 years to exercise His Wrath against the Antichrist and His enemies. Therefore, it is suggested that the period of Christ’s Wrath (starting with Christ’s Return, including the Trumpet and Bowl Punishments, and ending with The Battle of Armageddon) will last 3.5 or 7 years.

There is perhaps some evidence that favors the suggestion that Christ’s Wrath will last 3.5 years. First, it seems Christ’s official ministry on Earth during His First Coming was about 3.5 years. Scholars are generally agreed that: “the ministry of Jesus extend[ed] over a period of three years and the months that preceded the Passover of [John] 2:23.” ^[1]

How do scholars conclude this? The Gospels seem to record Jesus visiting Jerusalem for 3 successive Passovers. The last one involving His death and Resurrection. Matthew 4:17 describes the beginning of Christ’s ministry. If there was 6 months between this and the first Passover He visited, then this would make Christ’s ministry 3.5 years.

If this is the case, then Antichrist’s forty-two months (3.5 years) to exercise its authority would be one more way he will imitate the real Christ.

If Christ’s ministry during His First Coming was 3.5 years, and His Wrath during His Second Coming will last 3.5 years, this would equal the prophetically important period of a total of 7 years.

There is perhaps another indication that Christ’s Wrath and the Trumpet and Bowl Punishments will last 3.5 years (42 months). As noted, it is conspicuously revealed by God that the 5th Trumpet Punishment will last five months (Rev 9:5, 10). If we attach a similarly corresponding number of months to each of the Trumpet and Bowl Punishments we get the following data:

1^st Trumpet lasting 1 month

2^nd Trumpet 2 months

3^rd Trumpet 3 months

4^th Trumpet 4 months

5^th Trumpet 5 months (cf. Rev 9:5, 10)

6^th Trumpet 6 months

1^st Bowl 1 month

2^nd Bowl 2 months

3^rd Bowl 3 months

4^th Bowl 4 months

5^th Bowl 5 months (cf. Rev 9:5, 10)

6^th Bowl 6 months

This = 42 months (3.5 years)

This is another possible indication that Christ’s Wrath (and the Trumpet & Bowl Punishments) last 3.5 years.

What then would be the total estimate of the duration of Endtime events based on the above suggestions? About 12 years. This equals the estimated 1 year between the establishment of the 10-nation Endtime Coalition and Antichrist’s Religious Covenant; PLUS Daniel’s Last 7 Years; PLUS the possible 3.5 years of Christ’s Wrath. It is again admitted that such calculations are speculative. But these conclusions can be illustrated in the following graphic:

Christ’s

Return

1^st Appear-

ance

Coalition formed

Antichrist’s

Religious

Covenant

after Antichrist’s

Resurrection

Battle of

Arma-

geddon

Christ’s 2^nd

Appearance

Possibly

1 year

Beginning of

Birth Pains

Greatest

Persecution

Christ’s

Wrath

Trumpet

& Bowl

Punishment

Exactly

3.5 years

Antichrist’s Claim to be God

Graphic: Suggested Time Intervals of Endtime Events

Rising

Anti-

christ

≈ 12 years total

1000 yrs

Possibly

3.5 years?

Exactly

3.5 years

Daniel’s Last 7 Years

If Christ’s earthly ministry was 3.5 years, and Christ’s Wrath will last an additional 3.5 years, then both Christ and the Antichrist would have an ordained period of 7 years in these events. Such “gaps” in God’s timeline for fulfilling His plans are common. For example, within Daniel’s period of seventy sets of seven years, there has now been over a 2,000 year gap between the end of the 69 sets of seven years when the Anointed One was killed, and the final set of seven years to be fulfilled by the Antichrist (Dan 9:24-27 NLT). This may be one more way that the Antichrist fulfills even God’s ultimate desire for him to imitate the real Christ. This too can be illustrated in the following graphic:

Christ’s

Ministry

3.5 yrs

Anti-Christ’s

“Career”

Christ’s

Wrath

7 yrs

3.5 yrs

Graphic: The 7 Year “Careers” of Christ & Antichrist

1. ISBE, I.688-89. ↑