Short answer:
The Great Tribulation will be a horrendous period of suffering and calamitous ordeals never before
experienced on earth. It will grip the
world in the wake of the Biblically prophesied nuclear war, which will climax
World War III.
Bible prophecies, confirmed by studies of both
American and Soviet scientists, predict a subsequent worldwide nuclear winter,
brought about by soot, dust, and smoke left suspended in the atmosphere by the nuclear
explosions. The high-altitude, smog-like pall will reduce sunlight by one-third
for many months, causing agricultural production to nosedive. The inevitable result:
food shortages and, eventually, global famine. Millions will die.
When the soot and dust finally settle down, the
earth’s protective ozone layer shall have been destroyed. Intense heat and
deadly ultraviolet radiation will bathe the planet. There will be fires
everywhere. The world’s modern conveniences and systems will be devastated.
Civilization will be thrown back to the Dark Ages. Survivors will seek refuge
in the mountains and caves.
Detailed
explanation:
Christ warned His disciples: “When
ye therefore shall see the abomination
of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place… then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of
the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matthew
24:15a, 21).
God, centuries earlier, foreshadowed through Ezekiel
unprecedented ordeals which will never be repeated again: “And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will
not do any more the like, because of all thine abominations” (Ezekiel 5:9).
So did the angel Gabriel in his prophecy to the
prophet Daniel: “And at that time shall Michael stand
up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there
shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to
that same time…” (Daniel
12:1a).
The Great Tribulation will be a horrendous period of suffering and calamitous afflictions
never before experienced on earth.
Fourth trumpet. The fourth trumpet sound from heaven will
signal the Great Tribulation unfolding. immediately following the nuclear war. “And
the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the
third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part
of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the
night likewise” (Revelation 8:12).
Scientific studies closely parallel the prophetic
picture. According to an article in Discover
magazine, February 1984 issue: “Computer models demonstrate that a nuclear war
involving the exchange of less than one-third of the total American and Soviet
arsenal will change the climate of the entire Northern Hemisphere, shifting it
abruptly from its present seasonal state to a long, sunless, frozen night.”
Nuclear winter. Revelation 8:12 presages
that the brightness of the heavenly bodies will be reduced by one-third or
thirty-three percent (33%). This will be the effect of the soot and dust from
the nuclear explosions, as well as smoke from burning cities and fuel
stockpiles, suspended in the atmosphere, which will screen light from the sun,
moon, and stars.
The
particulates in the air will be wafted around the world by the wind, creating a
high-altitude smog-like layer. It will act like a dense sunscreen that will cut
down the amount of sunlight reaching the ground below. Consequently, the surface of the earth will cool down – by some estimates
to as low as 13oF (-10.50C)… and will remain at that
level for many months before slowly warming up again.
Needless
to say, agricultural food production will nosedive. In addition to the millions
of casualties from the nuclear exchanges, more millions of people will die as a result of severe
global food shortages.
Fourth vial (or bowl). “And the
fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to
scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the
name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give
him glory” (Revelation 16:8-9).
How can the shift from
harsh winter cold to extreme heat happen?
Ozone layer destroyed. The Discover magazine article continued:
“This (nuclear winter) will be followed after some months by a settling of
nuclear soot and dust, then by a new malignant kind of sunlight, with all of
its ultraviolet band, capable of blinding most terrestrial animals, no longer
shielded from the sun by the ozonosphere.”
When the sky eventually clears up, the atmosphere’s ozone
layer will have been destroyed – Earth’s protection from deadly ultraviolet
radiation from the sun will be gone. The planet will be bathed in intense,
scorching heat.
700% hotter sun? “Moreover the light of
the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be
sevenfold, as the light of seven days…” (Isaiah 30:26a). Heat waves in the
past have registered over 100oF temperatures, but the coming heat
factor, if literally fulfilled, the prophecy implies, could rise to as high as
700oF!
The extreme heat will parch all things, high and
low. God said through the prophet:“I will make waste mountains and hills,
and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry
up the pools” (Isaiah 42:15). Springs and rivers will dry up.
There will be forest fires, brushfires, and grassfires practically everywhere –
much worse and widespread than those happening before the nuclear war: “…the fire: it shall devour the briers and
thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up
like the lifting up of smoke” (Isaiah 9:18b).
Cities, towns, and other places spared from the
nuclear explosions will burn up just the same later in the extreme heat.
Back to the Dark Ages. The
ferocious heat will destroy most power, communications, transportation,
utility, and military systems of modern civilization. Fuel tanks of vehicles
will explode. Insulation materials covering power lines, whether rubber or
plastic, will turn to jelly or melt down. Overheated electronic circuits will
stop working. Ammunitions exposed to the extreme heat will blow up.
In short – no electricity, no tap water, no phones,
no computers, no TV, no cars, no buses, no airplanes, etcetera. The modern
world whose comforts people are presently enjoying will suddenly be thrown back
to the Dark Ages.
Survivors in caves. Many people will find
places of refuge in the mountains. “Behold, I will send for many fishers,
saith the LORD, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many
hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and
out of the holes of the rocks” (Jeremiah 16:16).
God had foretold that Christ’s apostles and
disciples would be “fishers of men”
(Matthew 4:19; Mark 1:17); and then later, in the end-time, Bible teachers will
be “hunters” searching for refugees
to teach in the mountains and caves.
No safe place. “Say thou thus unto them, Thus
saith the Lord GOD; As I live, surely they that are in the wastes shall fall by
the sword, and him that is in the open field will I give to the beasts to be
devoured, and they that be in the forts and in the caves shall die of the
pestilence” (Ezekiel 33:27).
Deathly dangers
will be everywhere – murderous men foraging in city ruins, hunger-crazed former
pets and wild animals roving everywhere, unseen air- and insect-borne viruses
and pestilent microbes from millions of unburied, decomposing corpses drifting
into even fortified shelters and secluded caverns.
Worldwide famine. With trees and plants
withered or burnt to cinders, domestic livestock and even wild game will die
off. “O LORD, to thee will I cry: for the
fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned
all the trees of the field. The beasts of the field cry also unto thee: for the
rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the
wilderness. (Joel 1:19-20). Thus, the inexorable result: worldwide famine.
The
infants and young children who will thirst and starve will be in a most
pitiable condition. “The tongue of the
sucking child cleaveth to the roof of his mouth for thirst: the young children
ask bread, and no man breaketh it unto them. They that did feed delicately are
desolate in the streets: they that were brought up in scarlet embrace
dunghills” (Lamentations 4:4-5).
Rich
and poor alike will grovel for food and water. Members of the moneyed class
accustomed to fine dining, gourmet dishes, and pricey delicacies will grab even
heaps of manure to fill their empty stomachs.
Roots for food. “Haggard from want and
hunger, they roamed the parched land in desolate wastelands at night. In the
brush they gathered salt herbs, and their food was the root of the broom tree” (Job
30:3-4, NIV).
Due to unbearable heat during the day, people will
forage for things to eat at night. Those in the hills and seacoasts will gobble
whatever roots and weeds they will be able to find in order to survive.
Cannibalism! Driven by maddening hunger pangs, some people will
resort to the unimaginable. “And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and
the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat” (Leviticus 26:29). “Therefore
the fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat
their fathers…” (Ezekiel 5:9-10a). Horrible!
During extreme conditions in recent times, some
people have done the unthinkable. It is thus not too far-fetched to believe
that it can happen again.
A hint from Christ. “For if they do these
things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?” (Luke 23:31). As He
carried the cross to Golgotha (Calvary), Christ, to console the weeping women
accompanying Him, gave them a hint that if men could be brutal in their time,
people will become even more inhumane to one another when the trees shall have
dried up.
Prophecy confirmed. A future account of the
Tribulation saints who will be in the kingdom of God confirms the prophecies. “These
are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and
made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne
of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the
throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any
more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat” (Revelation
7:14b-16).
In the presence of God, the saints who will have suffered
during the Great Tribulation will no longer experience starvation, burning
thirst, and unbearable heat from the sun.
Provision for the righteous.
Believers who will have faithfully kept the commandments of God will find safe
haven, as well as sufficient nourishment in
their highland hideaways.
God promises through
Isaiah: “He who walks righteously and speaks what is right, who rejects gain
from extortion and keeps his hand from accepting bribes, who stops his ears
against plots of murder and shuts his eyes against contemplating evil -- this
is the man who will dwell on the heights, whose refuge will be the mountain
fortress. His bread will be supplied, and water will not fail him” (Isaiah
33:15-16, NIV).
Fifth seal . “
And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them
that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And
they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost
thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? (Revelation 6:9-11).
“Souls
under the altar”.
Below the altar in heaven, a place also known to Jewish sages as the “bosom of Abraham” (Luke 16:19-23),
“Paradise” or “third heaven” (2 Corinthians
12:2, 4a), God’s martyrs plead to Him for justice. However, they were told to
wait a while longer for the other martyrs who will also be killed like them during
the Great Tribulation.
“And white robes
were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should
rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their
brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled” (Revelation 6:9-11).
Fifth trumpet. “And
the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and
to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless
pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace;
and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And
there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given
power, as the scorpions of the earth have power” (Revelation 9:1-3).
The
star is actually an angel. He opens the “bottomless pit,” an unfathomable hole
in the ground which, according to Jewish tradition, is as deep below the ground
as heaven is high above the earth.
Locust-horse-man
chimeras. “And the shapes of the locusts
were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were
crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. And they had hair
as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had
breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was
as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. And they had tails
like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was
to hurt men five months” (Revelation
9:7-10).
Tormentors of men. “And
it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither
any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal
of God in their foreheads. And to them it was given that they should not kill
them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as
the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. And in those days shall men
seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall
flee from them” (Revelation
9:4-6).
In
addition to the deadly ordeals people will be going through during the Great
Tribulation, the monsters from the bottomless pit will sting men like
scorpions, causing unbearable pain!
Satanic chieftain. “And
they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name
in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name
Apollyon” (Revelation
9:11). Abaddon is a Hebrew word usually translated as "destruction",
found six other times in the Bible (Job 26:6; 28:22; 31:12; Psalm 88:11; Proverbs
15:11; 27:20). Translated in Greek as Apollyon ("destroyer"), the
term appears to name Satan himself, as the angel was first described as a star
fallen from heaven. As king of the locusts, he has power to torment but not to
kill, just like Satan when he afflicted Job (“…the LORD said to Satan, ‘Behold, all that he has is in your power;
only do not lay a hand on his person’” (Job 1:12a, NKJV).
The
mention of both the Hebrew and Greek names seems to imply that this time Satan will
be the destroyer of both the Jews and the Gentiles alike, comments Fausset's Bible Dictionary.
Great Tribulation cut short. “And except those days should be shortened, there
should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be
shortened” (Matthew
24:22). With mankind teetering on the brink of extinction, God will very
mercifully cut short the ordeals of the Great Tribulation – to save the lives
of the elect, His chosen few.
Ultimate
destruction. Unforeseen
disasters, nonetheless, are still in store for the world. “Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank,
they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot
went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them
all” (Luke 17:28-29).
In
this prophecy of types, Lot is a type of the elect saints; Sodom, the world.
The remaining people of the world will be slowly resuming their seemingly soon to
be back-to-normal lives when, as soon as the elect are gathered up to heaven…
destruction!
Excerpted from the booklet Nuclear
War-Great Tribulation and the book End
Time Decoded by M.M. Tauson. Printed copies available at Amazon.com – For
free pdf copies of our e-booklets, click the Booklets and Google Drive tabs on
the menu bar.
Bible quotations are from the King James Version (KJV) unless
otherwise indicated.
