In the realm of Christian eschatology there are series of time frames associated with the tribulation. Most pre-millennial Christians know that there is seven years predicted for the tribulation but may not be aware it comes from the book of Daniel and not Revelation (Daniel 9:24-27). Many know that there is a three and a half years period associated with the tribulation but few realize there are numerous three and a half years periods spoken of in scripture; concerning the antichrist in Daniel, Jerusalem and the two witnesses in Revelation and an another concerning the saints in Revelation (Daniel 12:7; Revelation 11:1-6; 12:14). But very few Christians realize there is a 2,300 days prophecy associated with the tribulation (Daniel 8:13-14) and two periods in Daniel twelve, one being 1,290 days and the other 1,335 days (Daniel 12:11-12). All these times deal with the same subject and God gave these times so that the saints correctly discern eschatological events and those living during the tribulation can find courage in the knowledge that -the return of Christ is in sight. What, then, signals the starting of the countdown for each of these time periods on the second advent clock?
A note of clarification is in order. There is no intent to imply or give the expectation that the day or hour of the return of Jesus can be predicted based on identifying when timeframes associated with the tribulation begins. Jesus clearly told the disciples that is not possible (Mark 13:32).
The most obvious place to start the second advent seems to be with the breaking of the first seal in Revelation. If it is the opening of the first seal and the appearance of the rider that marks the beginning of the tribulation then it logically applies that the seven year period begins with the breaking of the first seal. But, how will the saints recognize that the rider on the white horse has been loosed as opposed to just another tyrant rising briefly on the world stage? Therein lies the key to aligning all the time frames consistently to all the eschatological prophesies. Yet, applying timeframes to end-time events is biased by the identity applied to the rider of the white horse and therefore influences the understanding of the book of Revelation itself. It is a curious outcome that the way the Book of Revelation is understood centers, to a large degree, on who is identified as the rider on the white horse in Revelation 6:1-2 (See blog post titled “O Rider, Who Are You?” in the May 2017 archive for more background on the topic).
Evangelicals most often identifying the antichrist as the rider on the white horse and that association fits well with the pre-millennial dispensationalist doctrine of a pre-tribulation rapture. The Book of Revelation then becomes a message to those who will be left behind from chapter six onward. The world will be left without the Church, the light of the world, and presumably the Holy Spirit, to somehow obtain a faith that submits to Christ even when it results in death itself. The accepted thinking is that the two witnesses of Revelation eleven will evangelize the Jews and it is the Jews that are the focus of Revelation from chapter six on. Such an idea does seem at odds with the fact that the Revelation was written to the Church, Gentile churches at that, and not the Jews.
There is nothing in scripture that identifies the antichrist outright as the conquering king of the first seal. The Greek verb “nikaó”, translated “conquer” means “I conquer” and implies victory from battle (Revelation 6:1-2). The description of the antichrist in Daniel eleven describes him as contemptible and tells that he obtains the kingdom by flatteries which is at odds with the Greek verb “nikaó” (Daniel 11:21-24). Still, the antichrist is seen in Daniel nine as making a covenant with the Jews for seven years (Daniel 9:27). The Young’s Literal Translation of Daniel 9:27 gives a better understanding of the Hebrew which says the antichrist “strengthens a covenant with many – one week”. The strengthening of the covenant is, perhaps, a better marker for the beginning of the seven years of tribulation rather than the appearance of a conquering king.
A covenant is an agreement between God and His people. It is likely that the covenant to be strengthened is the covenant between God and Abraham rather than the Sinaitic Covenant (the covenant between God and Moses). Abraham is the father of the Arabs as well as the Jews which could be the basis for allowing a new Temple on the Temple mount in Jerusalem.
Starting with the antichrist as the rider of the white horse becomes problematic when harmonizing the books of Daniel and Revelation. It seems more correct, when taking Daniel and Revelation together, that the rise of the antichrist occurs somewhere after the opening of the first seal. The first scripture that can be directly applied to the antichrist in the Book of Revelation is Revelation 13:5-9. This is the scripture describing a diverse beast with seven heads and ten horns and the beast being given a mouth to speak blasphemies (See blog post titled “The Babylon Of Revelation” in the September 2017 archive for more background on the topic). Nowhere else in scripture is the antichrist described this way, but he is described as speaking blasphemies against the Most High in the book of Daniel (Daniel 2:23-25; 11:36). The description of the beast in Revelation thirteen has a dual purpose, it is a metaphor that associates both the end-times Babylon and Satan’s earthly representative, the antichrist. The metaphor is intended to mimic the relationship between God the Father, Jesus His Son, and the Church. The English interpretation of the scripture in Revelation is that “he opened his mouth” but the Greek does not carry the personal pronoun “he”. Young’s Literal Translation reads, “there was given to it a mouth speaking great things, and evil-speakings”. The antichrist as the mouth is an apt metaphor that expresses the demon possession of the antichrist by Satan himself and harmonizes with scripture in Daniel.
A clear marker for the start of the last week, the seven years of the Tribulation, is the strengthening of the covenant but is that the same as the rider on the white horse? There is another candidate for the rider of the white horse that will be examined next week.
May God bless you in your study of His word.