Immanuel.at Forum for Discussion Discourse 134: Climate change – the triggering event of the Great Tribulation?

In the context of the prophecies of the Bible about the Great Tribulation, on closer analysis, one can also recognize climate statements for this future time. And precisely because climate change is a purely secular subject, the serious background of these biblical prophecies and the seriousness of exegesis must first be documented and proven. And that’s what we want to do here.

The Great Tribulation, as it is interpreted here at Immanuel.at, has already been described in several documents on this website, to which readers are referred for further detail. Here we would like just to highlight the interpretative path which led, in the final outcome, to those surprising insights which have made it possible for us to form a new overview of these events of the Last Days.

The starting point for these reflections was a statement in the Revelation of John, which – as so often in this kind of context – was somewhat "buried" in the text. In fact we only became aware of its significance when certain pointers from other scriptural passages, which in themselves had seemed equally mysterious and obscure, finally made sense when juxtaposed with this passage.

We are referring here to the statements to be found in Rev 7,9 and 7,14:

A great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, these are the ones who come out of the great tribulation.

Rev 7,9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; 7,10 and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb."

7,11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 7,12 saying, "Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen." 7,13 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?" 7,14 I said to him, "My lord, you know." And he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Rev 7, 9-14;

In this passage, two statements are particularly important. On the one hand there is the indication that we have to do here with "a great multitude". And of course John refers here to the throne of God, so we must be in heaven. And now, here in Revelation, quite apart from the myriads of angels there are other groups as well (like the martyrs, or the bride of the Lamb) to whom this kind of description could also apply.

But John specifies here with great precision – "from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues". So these can only be Christians who are standing here before the throne and before the Lamb. They have "washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb," or in other words, they have accepted the redeeming sacrifice of the Son of God for their sins, and now stand justified before the throne.

But this means, in concrete terms, that we must be looking at all those Christians whom the Lord Jesus, on his Second Coming for the Rapture of the faithful, has raised from the dead and then raptured along with the brothers and sisters of the congregation of the Last Days who are still alive, as Paul informs us when sharing his vision in 1The 4,15-17.

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven, then we will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

1The 4,15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 4,16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 4,17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 1The 4,15-17;

And this vision of Paul’s is supplemented by statements of the Lord’s in the gospel of Matthew. Starting from Mt 24,29, the Lord describes exactly the same events, and reveals to us further details. A more in-depth treatment of the Rapture will be found below. We would just like to point out here that, in conjunction with the linking vision of Paul, we can see a connection between the above passage (Rev 7,9-14) and the Lord’s statements here in Mt 24,29-31.

And He will send forth His angels and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

Mt 24,29 "But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 24,30 "And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of man coming into the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 24,31 "And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. Mt 24,29-31;

So if we here have to do with the Second Coming of the Lord for the Rapture, this then also implies that the above passage (Rev 7,9-14) is to be located in temporal sequence – always in accordance with the interpretation given here at Immanuel.at, where Revelation as an essentially chronologically structured prophecy is seen – "after the tribulation of those days". And that once again confirms the above interpretation of Rev 7,14, that here too we are talking about the rapture from the great tribulation.

The dead in Christ have been raised from the dead, and together with the faithful of the end time still living have been gathered by the angels from all corners of the earth, and raptured to meet the Lord in the air. After that they find themselves in the throne room, before the throne of God and before the Lamb.

So if Rev 7,9-14 is "after the tribulation of those days" (Mt 24,29), what John reports previously, starting with Rev 6,1 (see below), must be the tribulation of those days itself. And we find confirmation of this view, above all, in the light of the parallelism of this passage with the statements made by the Lord in Mt 24,3-31.

The second surprise: the beginning of birth pangs – a heliogenic global warming?

But this prophecy of the great multitude before the throne is supplemented by another passage. In Rev 7,15-17, John once again refers to this great multitude before the throne, and indicates that here in heaven, before the throne, they no longer have to suffer as they have done previously, in the course of the Great Tribulation on earth.

They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat;

Rev 7,15 "For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them. 7,16 "They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; 7,17 for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes." Rev 7,15-17;

Although of course any rightly believing Christian who reads the Bible will be thoroughly familiar with this passages, perhaps the real meaning of these statements only now comes home to us, at a time when everyone is talking about "global warming". Only then does it become clear what this "hunger" and "thirst", based on what the Bible tells us, might mean.

They refer to failed harvests and drought all over the world, caused by the intensified heat radiating from the sun. This is global warming, resulting from more powerful solar radiation – so it is heliogenic (caused by the sun) not anthropogenic (caused by humans) through CO_² emissions.

What is currently not being done to reduce CO_² emissions? The households should stop the oil heating. The coal-fired power plants – and coal mines – should be closed and even the car and air traffic should be successively reduced. – And as soon as possible and worldwide.

The kids go out on Friday for "school strikes" and chant "Fridays for future". A slogan of Greta Thunberg, the mentally ill (Asperger-Autism¹⁾) Swedish girl, who apparently can satisfy her pathological profiling compulsion in these protest marches.

And the politicians – up to heads of state, such as the former governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger or the current Federal President of Austria, Alexander Van der Bellen (see picture below) – they swim with this wave and promise everything they never can hold (Climate Conference 2015 in Paris).

However, assuming an imminent "hot period" due to increased solar radiation, as suggested above, Rev 7,16, the current policy of reducing CO_² emissions from incineration is the wrong solution anyway., It could scrape all the cars, coal-fired power plants, and oil-fired plants in the world, and it would not be cooler by a single degree.

And this assumption is supported not only by the Bible, but also by the scientific side. It is not readily admitted, but also the meteorologists have found that the solar constant²⁾ – a value that is measured outside the Earth’s atmosphere and therefore free from internal atmospheric CO_² influences – has surged surprisingly in recent years.

Instead of banning CO_² emissions, much more would be needed to build a high-performance water supply with huge storage facilities, full insulation of buildings and shaded or covered intersections, sidewalks and cycle paths. Where possible, traffic routes would have to be buried underground.

But to come back to the statements of the Bible, the parallelism of Mt 24 and Rev 6 and 7 is also evident in these texts. In Matthew 24:7 "famines" are prophesied, which find their counterpart in Rev 6,5-6 with reference to food shortages. The statement that there was a shortage of wheat and barley (thus the high price), but oil and wine have been spared, could be an indication of a prolonged drought catastrophe, in which the grain is dryness according to experience much faster damage than olive trees and vines.

On the assumption that this is the case, the current policy on climate change, with the aim of reducing CO_² emissions from incineration, is the wrong solution. It could scrape all the cars, coal-fired power plants, and oil heaters in the world, and it would not be cooler by a single degree. Instead, one would have to be much more prepared for this coming danger and rely on the insulation of buildings, the development of a secure water supply and covered or shady crossings, sidewalks and bike paths.

Mt 24,7 "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and plagues and earthquakes. Mt 24, 7;

A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine.

Rev 6,5 When He broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, "Come." I looked, and behold, a black horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. 6,6 And I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, "A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine." Rev 6, 5- 6;

The prophecy above in the first part of Mt 24,7, about wars between nation and nation, and between kingdom and kingdom, together with the indication in verse 6 below – "You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars" – likewise meet with an analogous parallel in Rev 6,3-4. Here John speaks, in connection with the second seal, of a red horse; and to him who sits upon it, it is granted to take peace from the earth.

You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.

Mt 24,6 "You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. 24,7 "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and plagues and earthquakes. Mt 24. 6-7;

And to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another.

Rev 6,3 When He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, "Come."
6,4 And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him. Rev 6, 3- 4;

Based on logical inquiry, this text (Mt 24,6-7) has been interpreted correctly here at immanuel.at for the very first time. This prophecy of the Lord’s – "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom" (following the NASB, similar to the German Elberfeld Bible) – was translated by Luther as "For one nation will rise against another, and one kingdom against another", so giving the impression that all the nations of the earth would be engaged in mutual combat – in other words, suggesting a world war.

But when we scrutinize the original Greek text, it emerges that Luther here – as is not infrequently the case with his translation – has been not so much translating as interpreting. The translation of the original Greek text in Nestle-Aland reads "For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom" – just as in the Elberfeld translation.

And as we will see shortly, this completely changes the meaning of this passage. By translating it as "one nation (or kingdom) will rise against another" Luther has laid a false trail, which has never yet been recognized as such by the commentators.

This is because when we look at this statement by the Lord in Mt 24,7 (in the NASB and Elberfeld translations) – "nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom" – experienced commentators are going to feel a certain suspicion. There can be no doubt that this prophecy has worldwide significance. This is confirmed, too, by the statement in the parallel text (Rev 6,4): "it was granted to him to take peace from the earth."

And yet – or for that very reason – we feel obliged to ask the question why the Lord speaks here of "nation against nation" and "kingdom against kingdom". Is this perhaps to be taken as implying the exclusion of "nation against kingdom" or "kingdom against nation"? And if that were to be the case, if it is a matter of world wars, why should this kind of combination not be possible?

And here a supposition that has become increasingly concrete over the years now makes itself felt: if there are wars all over the world in which men slay each other (see Rev 6,4 above), but at the same time we have to do with wars of "nation against nation" and "kingdom against kingdom", this cannot be a world war in the traditional sense.

But if we assume that the Lord has deliberately chosen to formulate it in this way in order to specifically exclude its being interpreted as a world war, the only explanation remaining is that civil wars are intended. All over the world, that is, in every country, every nation, every state and every kingdom – they are all engaged in internecine strife. And that would imply that we have to do here with civil wars, no more and no less.

We get a final confirmation of this suspicion from the Bible itself, from the OT in Isa 19,2. This is a prophecy for civil wars in Egypt and the exact same formulation is used as the Lord chose above in Mt 24,7:

And they will each fight against his neighbor, City against city and kingdom against kingdom.

Isa 19,2 "So I will incite Egyptians against Egyptians; And they will each fight against his brother and each against his neighbor, City against city and kingdom against kingdom. Isa 19,2;

When seeking to find a cause for these worldwide civil wars, a purely political background has been presumed in the past – as has been the case with the civil wars of past times. But when we consider the implications of a climate catastrophe, with temperatures of 50 degrees Celsius in summer and 30 degrees in winter – along with the failed harvests resulting and the other effects on living conditions, such as famine, water shortage, epidemics, unemployment, bankruptcies, inflation, etc., – a very different picture starts to emerge.

The fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the sun, and it was given to it to scorch men with fire.

Rev 16,8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the sun, and it was given to it to scorch men with fire. 16,9 Men were scorched with fierce heat; and they blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give Him glory. Rev 16,8-9;

They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat.

Rev 7,13 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?" 7,14 I said to him, "My lord, you know." And he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 7,15 "For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them. 7,16 "They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; 7,17 for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes." Rev 7,13-17;

It could be purely and simply the battle for survival from day to day, where people fight for the bare necessities of food, water and shelter, which leads to these "civil wars". This would also explain the question how it comes about that suddenly, all over the world, political struggles for power should be occurring. These are not political struggles for power, but rather people battling one another for survival. If we just take another look at the biblical text, both in Revelation and in Matthew, we can feel the entire seriousness of this prophecy.

You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.

Mt 24,6 "You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. 24,7 "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and plagues and plagues and earthquakes. Mt 24. 6-7;

And to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another.

Rev 6,3 When He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, "Come." 6,4 And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him. Rev 6, 3- 4;

But as the Son of God proceeds to explain in the next verse of Matthew, all these catastrophes – with famine, earthquakes and mutual slaughter – are not yet the Great Tribulation, but only the "beginning of birth pangs".

Mt 24,8 "But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. Mt 24, 8;

So the beginning of birth pangs involves the annihilation of the material foundations of life, as a result of natural catastrophes like famines and earthquakes, along with enmity between human beings, so that they slaughter one another in a mutual battle for survival. And this then finally leads to the prophecies of Rev 6,8:

Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth (around 2 billion people), to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence.

Rev 6,8 I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth. Rev 6,8;

In this context, it is not uninteresting to point out a verbal parallel to the statement from Revelation quoted earlier, regarding the famine and water shortage in the climate crisis at the beginning of the Great Tribulation. There it states:

They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat;

Rev 7,15 For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them. 7,16 They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; 7,17 for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes. Rev 7,15-17;

And here we find in John’s Gospel, in the Lord’s statement to the crowd of 5000 whom he had fed and who had followed him to Capernaum, an almost identical choice of words:

He who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst

Jn 6,35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst." Jn 6,35;

The persecution of Christians in the Great Tribulation.

So "sword and famine and pestilence" will kill off a fourth part of the earth. That could now be around 2 billion people, a quarter of the current world population of 7.8 billion. If one interprets this "quarter" as land area, however, then the most populous quarter of the global land area of around 150 million km² would be the continent Asia, with around 44 million km² of land and around 4.6 billion inhabitants. That would be more than half of the world’s population that would be killed.

And only after this mutual mass slaughter, and the annihilation of a major part of the material necessities of life, will the spiritual integrity of human beings be progressively turned inside out. First of all the faith of Christians becomes an object of attack, and many of them will be killed. But as verse 24,14 of Matthew below tells us, a few of them will always be left to proclaim the gospel until the end.

Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.

Mt 24,9 "Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. 24,10 "At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. 24,11 "Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. 24,12 "Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. 24,13 "But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. 24,14 "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come. Mt 24, 9-14;

But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death.

Lk 21,16 "But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, 21,17 and you will be hated by all because of My name. 21,18 "Yet not a hair of your head will perish. 21,19 "By your endurance you will gain your lives. Lk 21,16-19;

Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.

Mt 10,17 "But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in their synagogues; 10,18 and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. 10,19 "But when they hand you over,do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say.

10,20 "For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. 10,21 "Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.

10,22 "You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved. 10,23 "But whenever they persecute you in one city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes. Mt 10,17-23;

These texts, along with Mt 24,15-28 below, describe the Great Tribulation with its consequences just for those believers in Christ who are still alive at this time, who will then, as the Lord says in Mt 10,22, "be hated by all because of My name" (because of the name of Christ). These statements by the Son of God, in Mt 24,9 and 10,22 above, and also in Mk 13:13, Lk 21:17 and Jn 15:21, constitute one of the most important texts for the Christian understanding of the Bible.

This is because it gives us biblical proof, directly coming from the Son of God and evidenced in all the gospels, that God has introduced a paradigm switch. Though of course this has already been documented by Paul, when he demonstrates that the "children of Abraham" are not just the children of Abraham after the flesh (correctly believing Israelites, that is to say), but also, and in a special sense, those who are children by faith, the correctly believing Christians (Gal 3:6-7).

The Law and the Prophets (the Mosaic religion) were proclaimed until John;

Lk 16,16 "The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John; since that time the gospel of the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. Lk 16,16;

Just as God tested the first human beings to see whether they deserved his trust, as they would have done if they had followed his commandments, so God put the Israelites to the test to see whether they would trust him and accept his Son. In both cases, human beings failed the test, so God annihilated the first bunch (with the exception of Noah and his family) in the Flood, and expunged the others from the Book of Life (Rev 20:15).

From this point in world history, God no longer judges human beings based on their descent in the flesh from Abraham, but by the criterion whether they believe in his Son and have adhered to his commandments (Jn 14:21). These believers, wherever they may happen to come from, are the "children of God", these are the ones whose "names are written in the Book of Life" and they are also the Chosen of God and of the Lamb.

And just as rightly believing Christians we are the descendants of Abraham in faith (and consequently children of Abraham), so we too, as the people of God, are a people from every nation. These are the "people producing the fruit of it" (Mt 21,43) of whom the Lord says that the kingdom of God will be given to them, after it has been taken away from the Israelites because they rejected his Son and handed him over to die on the cross.

The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it.

Mt 21,42 Jesus *said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures (Ps 118:22-23), ‘the stone which the builders rejected, this became the chief corner stone; this came about from the LORD, and it is marvelous in our eyes? 21,43 "Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it. 21,44 "And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust. Mt 21,42-44;

If we want to see it that way, this is the first instance of "globalization". Since the Israelites apostasized from their God, God deprived them of their national prerogative. They are no longer the "people of God". The new people of God is global and international. People are no longer judged or chosen by national allegiance, but based on their spiritual identification with the Christian faith. And yet the congregation is not Israel! But any Israelite can all the same come to the congregation and become Christian – and so be saved – if they come to believe in Jesus Christ.

And as correctly believing Christians we are also that people who in this time of major tribulation will be defended by Michael, the prince of the angels, as Daniel prophesies in the passage below. Together with the God-fearing Israelites of pre-Christian days, we are this people of God, the Chosen, whose names are written in the Book of Life and of which the survivors will be saved after the tribulation of those days.

And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time.

Dan 12,1 "Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. Dan 12, 1;

As we are now told in Mt 24,22 below, these last days of the Great Tribulation will be shortened by God, specially for the sake of these Elect who have come through it alive. They will be cut short by the Second Coming of the Son of God for the Rapture of the Elect – the rightly believing and God-fearing Christians both dead and alive.

Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.

Mt 24,21 "For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. 24,22 "Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. Mt 24,21-22;

The Second Coming and the Rapture.

This statement of the Lord’s above, that the days of the Great Tribulation are to be shortened for the sake of the Elect, also implies of course that these Elect – the congregation of Christ of the Last Days – will still be around until the end of the Great Tribulation. This refutes the "pre-Rapture" doctrine of the Pretribulationists, who postulate a Rapture occurring before the Tribulation.

Before the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, the apostasy comes first, the man of lawlessness, the son of destruction.

2The 2,1 Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, 2,2 that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 2,3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 2,4 who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. 2The 2, 1- 4;

And what is more, the Lord’s indications somewhat later in this gospel, in Mt 24,29, likewise confirm this view. Here the Lord says, "But immediately after the tribulation of those days (…) they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of the sky." So there can be no doubt of it – the Second Coming of the Lord, and the Rapture, will take place at the sixth seal, before the day of the wrath of God and not before.

But immediately after the tribulation of those days He will send forth His angels and they will gather together His elect.

Mt 24,29 "But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.24,30 "And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the the Son of man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.24,31 "And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. Mt 24,29-31;

And when we are told in the next sentence (Mt 24,30) that "they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of the sky", we can see in this the fulfillment of a prophecy spoken by two angels to the disciples at the time of the Ascension of the Lord in Acts 1,11: namely that the Lord Jesus will come again in the same way as he has gone into heaven – on the clouds.

This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.

Acts 1,6 So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?" 1,7 He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;1,8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."

1,9 And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 1,10 And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. 1,11 They also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven." Acts 1, 6-11;

A further indication of the Second Coming of the Lord, namely the darkening of the heavenly bodies, is to be found in the New Testament in the gospels (Mt 24:29; Mk 13:24-27; Lk 21:25-27), and it is also documented in Acts:

The sun will be turned i nto darkness and the moon ointo blood, before the great and glorious day of the LOTRD shall come.

Acts 2,19 ‘And I will grant wonders in the sky above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke. 22,0 ‘The sun will be turned i nto darkness and the moon ointo blood, before the great and glorious day of the LOTRD shall come. 2,21 ‘And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.’ Acts 2,19-21;

And then in this global darkness the sign of the Son of Man (Mt 24,30) will appear in the sky, as a further indication of the Second Coming of the Son of God: "For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.

For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.

Mt 24,23 "Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There He is,’ do not believe him. 24,24 "For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. 24,25 "Behold, I have told you in advance. 24,26 "So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. 24,27 "For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 24,28 "Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. Mt 24,23-28;

These are the signs of the Second Coming of the Lord for the Rapture. The interpretation of these statements becomes easier if we look at the parallel passages in Luke. In Lk 17,30 Luke explains that this day of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ may be compared with the day on which Lot left Sodom.

It was the same as happened in the days of Lot. It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.

Lk 17,28 "It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; 17,29 but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 17,30 "It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. 17,31 "On that day, the one who is on the housetop and whose goods are in the house must not go down to take them out; and likewise the one who is in the field must not turn back.

17,32 "Remember Lot’s wife. 17,33 "Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. 17,34 "I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left. 17,35 "There will be two women grinding at the same place; one will be taken and the other will be left. 17,36 [["Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other will be left."]] 17,37 And answering they said to Him, "Where, Lord?" And He said to them, "Where the body is, there also the vultures will be gathered." Lk 17,28-37;

In the final verse of the description of the Great Tribulation in both gospels (Mt 24,28 in Matthew, Lk 17,37 in Luke), the Lord speaks of the "body" ("Aas" in German, meaning "carrion") to which the vultures gather. And this sentence has given rise to the wildest speculations by biblical commentators all over the world. But if we read the preceding passage, in Luke above all – in particular, with the question the disciples put to the Lord, where all this is going to happen – it becomes easier to understand the meaning of these words.

First of all it must be stated that the current translations omit to indicate that the original Greek of the last sentence of this text – "Where the body is, there also the vultures will be gathered" – uses the terms (swma) (corpse, person) and (aetoi) (eagles) rather than "vultures". This is significant for the reason that "corpse" refers to a dead human being, whereas the German translation "Aas" means "carrion" and does not necessarily carry the same implication. And the introduction of "vultures" is a knock-on effect of the incorrect translation "Aas" ("carrion"), whereas "eagles" might rather be taken to symbolize angels.

And then we can see two things as being implied by the Lord’s answer to the disciples’ question of "Where, Lord?" On the one hand it looks as if he has not registered their question at all – as if he is talking about something entirely different, when he says: "Where the body (the corpse) is, there also the vultures (eagles) will be gathered." And yet this answer represents the very thing that the disciples – and still more the faithful of the Last Days – needed to know.

It seems as if the Lord was trying to tell them, Don’t think you need to take yourselves to any special place. When I come, I will send out my angels to gather you in, whether dead or alive. And just as the vultures (eagles) know instinctively where the carrion (the corpse) is to be found, so too the angels will know where you can be found. You must just trust in God and wait patiently and keep still, and no longer look backward with your spiritual vision on your past earthly life, but rather forward to the new life dawning for you in God’s eternity.

The Day of the LORD.

So that is the Great Tribulation with its death toll of up to 4 three billion persons. But this is not yet the end of God’s punishments and judgments on human beings. Immediately thereafter starts the "Day of the Lord", and this is the phase of the Last Days where the wrath of God really and truly will be visited on humanity.

And here we must just correct another widely disseminated incorrect interpretation. The following statement by Paul –

1The 5,9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

– has been used to justify the doctrine of "Pretribulationism" – stating that the Rapture of the congregation of Christ is to take place before the Great Tribulation.

Along with all the statements of the Lord in the gospels – especially his promise in Mt 24,29, that he will appear for the Rapture "immediately after the tribulation of those days", it has also been overlooked that the Last Days are divided into two sections. The first section is the Great Tribulation, a fearful time, which – as we have demonstrated above – not just the godless, but also and especially the Christian congregation of the Last Days will be obliged to experience and to live through.

But this is not yet the Wrath of God. The Day of the Wrath of God is the second part of the Day of the Lord. And the Day of the Lord begins, after the Second Coming and the Rapture, with the seventh seal in the Revelation of John. For the sake of a better overview, we insert Table 14 below, showing both the Great Tribulation with the judgments of the seals, the Day of the Lord with the judgments of the trumpets and the Day of the Wrath of God with the judgments of the bowls.

The Great Tribulation – classified by events. (LANDSCAPE)

But together with other natural catastrophes (Rev 8,1 through Rev 16,21), the Day of the Lord and Day of the Wrath of God also include the dominion of the second demonic Antichrist (who has been raised from the dead by Satan). He will pose for a short time as the false Messiah ("Christ"), and in this role will find enthusiastic subjects to govern in the world (in particular the Jews, and "Christians" living in these times – Catholics and other pseudo-Christians, that is).

As a demonstration of this, we can find nothing more suitable than the statements made by the Old Testament about the Day of the Lord. In almost all these prophecies the "darkness" of this day is foretold, involving a reference to the statement in the passage mentioned earlier (Mt 24,29), on the Second Coming of the Lord for the Rapture, where "the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken."

The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood Before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.

Joel 2,31 "The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood Before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. 2,32 "And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the LORD Will be delivered; For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem There will be those who escape, As the LORD has said, Even among the survivors whom the LORD calls. Joel 2,31-32;

Will not the day of the LORD be darkness instead of light, Even gloom with no brightness in it?

Amos 5,18 Alas, you who are longing for the day of the LORD, For what purpose will the day of the LORD be to you? It will be darkness and not light; 5,19 As when a man flees from a lion And a bear meets him, Or goes home, leans his hand against the wall And a snake bites him. 5,20 Will not the day of the LORD be darkness instead of light, Even gloom with no brightness in it? Amos 5,18-20;

Zeph 1,14 Near is the great day of the LORD, Near and coming very quickly; Listen, the day of the LORD! In it the warrior cries out bitterly. 1,15 A day of wrath is that day, A day of trouble and distress, A day of destruction and desolation, A day of darkness and gloom, A day of clouds and thick darkness, 1,16 A day of trumpet and battle cry Against the fortified cities And the high corner towers. 1,17 I will bring distress on men So that they will walk like the blind, Because they have sinned against the LORD; And their blood will be poured out like dust And their flesh like dung. 1,18 Neither their silver nor their gold Will be able to deliver them On the day of the LORD’S wrath; And all the earth will be devoured In the fire of His jealousy, For He will make a complete end, Indeed a terrifying one, Of all the inhabitants of the earth. Zeph 1,14-18;

For the LORD of hosts will have a day of reckoning Against everyone who is proud and lofty.

Isa 2,10 Enter the rock and hide in the dust From the terror of the LORD and from the splendor of His majesty. 2,11 The proud look of man will be abased And the loftiness of manwill be humbled, And the LORD alone will be exalted in that day. 2,12 For the LORD of hosts will have a day of reckoning Against everyone who is proud and lofty And against everyone who is lifted up, That he may be abased. 2,13 And it will be against all the cedars of Lebanon that are lofty and lifted up, Against all the oaks of Bashan, 2,14 Against all the lofty mountains, Against all the hills that are lifted up, 2,15 Against every high tower, Against every fortified wall, 2,16 Against all the ships of Tarshish And against all the beautiful craft. 2,17 The pride of man will be humbled And the loftiness of men will be abased; And the LORD alone will be exalted in that day, 2,18 But the idols will completely vanish. 2,19 Men will go into caves of the rocks And into holes of the ground Before theterror of the LORD And the splendor of His majesty, When He arises to make the earth tremble. Isa 2,10-19;

The Day of the Wrath of God.

While the "Day of the Lord" in the OT usually includes both the Day of the Lord and the Day of the Wrath of God, in Revelation we have very specific statements about the Day of the Wrath of God. It essentially includes the seven bowl judgments. Everything that comes afterwards, the fall of Babylon, the battle of Armageddon, the final elimination of the Antichrist with his false prophet and, of course, the eternal damnation of Satan, as well as the transformation of heaven and earth, are concluding events on the one hand and preparation for the subsequent Millennium, the millennial Kingdom of Peace of our Lord Jesus Christ, on the other.

Then the kings of the earth hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains.

Rev 6,15 Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; 6,16 and they *said to the mountains and to the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb;

6,17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand? Rev 6,15-17;

Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God.

Rev 15,6 and the seven angels who had the seven plagues came out of the temple, clothed in linen, clean and bright, and girded around their chests with golden sashes. 15,7Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever. Rev 15, 6- 7;

Rev 15,1 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels who had seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished. Rev 15, 1;

World history: A week of millennial days. (LANDSCAPE)

¹⁾ Asperger’s Syndrome (Asperger’s Autism) is an autistic developmental disorder. Among other things, it is associated with limited empathy, poor social competence and often unusual special interests. In terms of language development and intelligence, people with Asperger’s Syndrome are generally "normal".

Asperger’s Syndrome – a form of autism – came into the media through climate activist Greta Thunberg. "Without Asperger’s, this would not be possible here" – this is what the currently best‒known environmental activist said in an interview. (12/11/2019)

When Greta Thunberg gave an angry speech at the UN climate summit in New York, some viewers were surprised. They had not expected an outbreak of emotion from an autistic woman. t-online

²⁾ The solar constant E0 is the extraterrestrial (satellite) irradiance (intensity) averaged over many years, which hits the earth from the sun at an average distance from earth to sun without the influence of the atmosphere perpendicular to the direction of the radiation.

³⁾ Statistics: Development of the mean annual sunshine duration in the lowlands 1884–2019 (purple) and in high alpine locations 1884–2019 (orange) in Austria. Annual deviations from the mean for the years 1961–1990 (thin lines) and their smoothed trends (thick lines, 21-year Gaussian low-pass filter) are shown (Aue

The beginning of the birth pangs: The tribulation of those days – Seal #1: The man of lawlessness 6: Second coming of the Lord, rapture
< 1^st seal > (Rev 6:1-2;) White horse: rider has a bow. A crown is given to him, he goes out conquering and to conquer.	< 2^nd seal > (Rev 6:3-4;) Red horse: takes peace from the earth. A great sword is given to him, men slay one another	< 3^rd seal > (Rev 6:5-6;) Black horse: a pair of scales in his hand, wheat, and barley expensive but oil and wine not damaged.	< 4^th seal > (Rev 6:7-8;) Ashen horse: Death, and Hades follow. Authority over 1/4 of the earth, wild beasts, famine, pestilence	< 5^th seal > (Rev 6:9-11;) Underneath of the altar: martyrs call for judgment. They wear a white robe, rest until their brethren are killed too	< 6^th seal > (Rev 6:12-17;) Great earthquake: sun is black, moon is like blood, stars fall, sky is rolled up, mountains, islands moved	a6^th sel	< 7^th> seal > (Rev 8:1-6;) Silence in heaven 1/2 hour Incense on the altar 7 angels with 7 trumpets thunder, sounds, lightning
The day of the LORD: The two witnesses of God prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days clothed in sackcloth (?)
< 1^st trumpet > (Rev 8:7;) Hail, fire, mixed with blood 1/3 of the earth burned up 1/3 of the trees burned up all green grass burned up	< 2^nd trumpet > (Rev 8:8-9;) Mountain burning falls into sea, 1/3 of the sea blood 1/3 of sea-creatures died 1/3 of ships destroyed	< 3^rd trumpet > (Rev 8:10-11;) Torch-star from heaven 1/3 of rivers wormwood 1/3 of springs worm- wood, many men died.	< 4^th trumpet > (Rev 8:12-13;) Sun, moon, stars: 1/3 of them darkened for 1/3 of the day and 1/3 of the night	< 5^th trumpet / 1 woe > (Rev 9:1-12;) Star with the key of the pit: smoke darkens the sun, locusts hurt only the men without the seal for 5 months.	< 6^th trumpet / 2 woe > (Rev 9:13-21;) Angels from Euphrates: fire smoke and brimstone killed 1/3 of mankind, the rest of mankind did not repent.	a6^th trp	< 7^th trumpet / 3 woe > (Rev 11:15-19;) World’s kingdom is God’s. God’s wrath has come. Time for judging the dead. Thunder, sounds, lightning
The day of the wrath of God: The dominion of the demonic Antichrist / Death of the 2 witnesses / The nations tread Jerusalem under foot							<a7^th trp>
< 1^st bowl > (Rev 16:1-2;) Poured out on the earth: a loathsome, malignant sore on people who had the mark of the beast.	< 2^nd bowl > (Rev 16:3;) Poured out into the sea: becomes blood like that of a dead man, every living thing in the sea died.	< 3^rd bowl > (Rev 16:4-7;) Into rivers and springs: the waters became blood. They poured out blood of saints: they now have blood to drink	< 4^th bowl > (Rev 16:8-9;) Poured out upon the sun: men scorched with heath they blasphemed the name of God and did not repent.	< 5^th bowl > (Rev 16:10-11;) On the throne of beast: kingdom became darkened, men have pain blasphemed God and did not repent.	< 6^th bowl > (Rev 16:12;) On the river Euphrates: its water was dried up so the way is prepared for the kings from the east.	a6^th bwl	< 7^th bowl > (Rev 16:17-21;) Lightning, sounds, thunder great earthquake as never before, no islands, no mountains
===========================================================================================================================						==	<a7^th bwl> ===================
		The returned Antichrist: death of the two witnesses
a6^th sel after 6th seal (Rev 7:1-17;) No harm to earth, sea trees, until the 144’000 are sealed. Those out of the Great Tribulation before the throne. The Lamb will guide them to springs of water of live God will wipe every tear from their eyes	a6^th trp after 6th trumpet (Rev 10:1-11; 11:1-14;) A mighty angel in a cloud. At the sound of the 7th trumpet the mystery of God is finished. There will be delay no longer. The two witnesses will be killed by the beast Earthquake in Jerusalem	a7^th trp after 7th trumpet (Rev 12:1-17; 13:1-18; 14:1-20; 15:1-8;) The woman and the dragon, the fall of Satan and his angels. The beast out of the sea overcomes the saints. Antichrist and false prophet: the dominion of the two beasts. The Lamb and the 144’000 standing on Mount Zion. Three angels: gospel, judgment has come, Babylon is fallen. Blessed who die Beginning of the judgment, the Son of Man reaps the earth. Those who had been victorious over the beast and its image sing Moses’ song The 7 angels with the 7 bowls of the wrath of God. No one was able to enter the temple until the 7 plagues were finished.			a6^th bwl after 6th bowl (Rev 16:13-16;) Satan, Antichrist and false prophet send spirits of demons performing signs to the kings of the whole world to gather them together for the war on the great Day of God to the place which is called Armageddon.		a7^th bwl after 7th bowl (Rev 17:1-18; 18:1-24;) The fall of Babylon (Rev 19:1-21; 20:1-15;) Battle Armageddon Antichrist false prophet in lake of fire Judgment, 1^st Resurrection Last fight, Last Judgment (Rev 21:1-27; 22:1-21;) The New Creation

Jom Rischon	0 200 400 600 930	Creation of Adam and Eve Death of Adam	-3760 -3560 -3360 -3160 --2830	Sunday
Jom Scheni	1000 1056 1656 1755 1946	Birth of Noah Flood Dispersion (confusion of languages in Babel) Birth of Abram	-2760 -2704 -2104 -2005 -1814	Monday
Jom Schlischi	2006 2121 2647 2728 2767	Death of Noah Death of Abraham Birth of Moses Exodus (Ex 12:1-20) Death of Moses	-1754 -1639 -1113 -1032 -993	Tuesday
Jom Revi’i	3000 3174 3277 3760 3793 3830 3895	Destruction of the Solomonic Temple Jerusalem is being rebuilt (Dan 9:25) Birth of Jesus Christ Death of Jesus Christ Destruction of the Herodian Temple Bar Kokhba Revolt – Israel in the Diaspora	-760 -586 -483 0 33 70 135	Wednesday
Jom Chamischi	4000 4236 4400 4600 4855	End of the Western Roman Empire Start of the Crusades	240 476 640 840 1095	Thursday
Jom Schischi	5000 5252 5400 5776 5800	Discovery of America 2016 AD The Great Tribulation (Rev 6:1 – Rev 20:6)	1240 1492 1640 2016 (2040?)	Friday
Schabbat	6000 6600 6800 7000	Start of the Millennium They shall not enter My rest. (Hebr 4:8-9) The end of the world The Resurrection / The Last Judgment	2240 2840 3040 3240	Saturday

Discourse 134 – Is climate change anthropogenic?

The first surprise: The Great Tribulation is different.