Article by: Kenneth J. Ester
Does the Entire Day of Wrath happen at the Second Coming?
There are some who believe that the rapture is at the second coming simply because they believe the entire wrath of God happens on the day of the Second Coming. They believe that Jesus descends, we are raptured, then the Lord goes on to destroy the world in His day of Wrath. I am going to make an attempt to show just how illogical, according to scripture, this stance is.
The Day of Gods Wrath begins in the 6th Seal. We know this because God's Word tells us this plainly.
The Day of Gods Wrath begins in the 6th Seal. We know this because God's Word tells us this plainly.
Revelation 6:12-17 (NASB)
12 I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; 13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. 14 The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 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; 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; 17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”.
There are two things I need to clarify here. 1) These are people of the world who make the statement that "Their wrath has come". Kings of the earth and commanders and the rich and strong. Not believers but people of the world. 2) These are regular people who make the claim. Not prophets of God.
Some try to say that the day of Gods Wrath happens after the 6th Seal. That is why it is mentioned after everything else in the 6th Seal. This is flawed thinking because they are not prophets. They do not know what is coming. They are not prophesying that the day of Wrath has come. As regular people, they would only know the wrath of God has come because of the events that already happened. They are making that statement in reference to what they already saw happen. They witnessed everything that happens in the 6th Seal, and say, "the day of Their wrath has come"!
Others try to say that they are only people who say it and could be wrong. It's not God saying it. Actually it is God saying it. This is not a telling of something that actually happened already. This is a vision given to John for the future. It is a prophesy. God is not going to have people claim something in a prophecy and be wrong unless He makes it very clear that they will be wrong.
So what we have here is a prophecy of what people will do or say. Because they are regular people and not prophets, they can only be referring to the events they have already seen. Which means the events of the 6th Seal are indeed the beginning of the Day of God's wrath!
We also know when the day of God's Wrath ends...
Some try to say that the day of Gods Wrath happens after the 6th Seal. That is why it is mentioned after everything else in the 6th Seal. This is flawed thinking because they are not prophets. They do not know what is coming. They are not prophesying that the day of Wrath has come. As regular people, they would only know the wrath of God has come because of the events that already happened. They are making that statement in reference to what they already saw happen. They witnessed everything that happens in the 6th Seal, and say, "the day of Their wrath has come"!
Others try to say that they are only people who say it and could be wrong. It's not God saying it. Actually it is God saying it. This is not a telling of something that actually happened already. This is a vision given to John for the future. It is a prophesy. God is not going to have people claim something in a prophecy and be wrong unless He makes it very clear that they will be wrong.
So what we have here is a prophecy of what people will do or say. Because they are regular people and not prophets, they can only be referring to the events they have already seen. Which means the events of the 6th Seal are indeed the beginning of the Day of God's wrath!
We also know when the day of God's Wrath ends...
Revelation 15:1 (NASB)
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.
These are the seven angels whom are given the seven bowls. In them the Wrath of God is finished. So the wrath of God is clearly finished with the seventh bowl. Which just happens to be the Second Coming.
With those verses, we know when the day of Wrath begins and when it ends. It begins in the 6th Seal and it ends with the Second Coming.
Next we need to look at the 7th Seal. Every Seal, Trumpet and Bowl has an event that happens. What is the event in the 7th Seal? It is the handing over of the trumpets to the seven angels.
With those verses, we know when the day of Wrath begins and when it ends. It begins in the 6th Seal and it ends with the Second Coming.
Next we need to look at the 7th Seal. Every Seal, Trumpet and Bowl has an event that happens. What is the event in the 7th Seal? It is the handing over of the trumpets to the seven angels.
Revelation 8:1-2 (NASB)
1 When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.
Now obviously the angels could not possibly sound any of the trumpets if they dont even have the trumpets to sound. So we know that none of the trumpets could possibly have been sounded before the 7th Seal. Logically speaking, this would mean that the events of all 7 Trumpets, and the first 6 Bowls would all have to happen during the Wrath of God. Then the 7th Bowl would happen, which is the Second Coming, and the Wrath of God would be finished.
I have had plenty of discussions and debates with different Pre-Wrath understandings. Some believe the Wrath of God would start after or around the midpoint of the Tribulation. Others believe it will be the last few weeks. Some even claim that the entire day of Wrath will happen at the Second Coming. The question is, what would be the logical understanding of how long all of the Trumpets and Bowls would take? Could they possibly happen in the same day as the Second Coming? Could they all be done inside a week or a month? Let's take a look.
To save space, I am only going to run through the Trumpets and Bowls with short synopsis of what happens. You are more than welcome to look them up and read them for yourself.
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The SEVEN TRUMPETS
Trumpet-1
A Third of the earth and a third of the trees is burned up. All of the green grass is burned.
Trumpet-2
A burning mountain falls into the sea. A third of the sea becomes blood and a third of the sea life dies. A third of the ships are destroyed.
Trumpet-3
A third of the rivers and springs are poisoned. Many people will die from drinking from them.
Trumpet-4
A third of the sun and a third of the moon and a third of the stars are struck and darkened so they shine for only a third of the day.
Trumpet-5
An angel falls from heaven and is given the key to the abyss. He opens the abyss and smoke comes out like a great furnace. The sun and air are darkened by the smoke. Out of the smoke comes locusts that will not hurt anything in the earth and will kill nobody, but their sting will torment people for 5 months. People will seek death over the suffering but will not find it.
Trumpet-6
Four angels (likely angels of the devil for they were bound) are released to kill a third of mankind. The numbers of the armies is 200 million.
Trumpet-7
The victory of the Lord which happens after the Second Coming.
--------------
Now I have some points I want to make in the seven Trumpets.
1) If you read it, the 7th Trumpet does mention the day of God's Wrath came. Because of this, many assume the day of wrath happens at the 7th Trumpet. Which also happens at the Second Coming. However, if you read it close, it says the day of wrath came. Past tense. Not that it has come which could be taken present tense.
2) The first four trumpets are where one third of everything is destroyed. Not all of it. If you follow my teachings at all, you might know I believe the 2nd Seal is WW3 and the 6th Seal, where the day of wrath begins, describes the escalation of WW3 into a nuclear war. The first four Trumpets in my opinion are Johns first century description of specific nuclear events. But I admit that is my opinion only. The important thing is only one third of everything is destroyed. That is very important to a later point I will make.
----------------
The SEVEN BOWLS
In the seven bowls, I would like you to take special note of how some of them complete what the Trumpets started.
Bowl-1
Terrible sores afflict the people who take the mark of the beast.
Bowl-2
All sea life dies. (completes Trumpet-2)
Bowl-3
Rivers and springs become like blood. (completes Trumpet-3)
Bowl-4
The sun grows hot and scorches mankind. The people do not repent.
Bowl-5
The kingdom of the beast's sores become worse (completes Bowl-1)
Bowl-6
The Euphrates River dries up so the kings from the east can cross. (Possibly Trumpet-6)
Bowl-7
The wrath of God in the Second Coming when He brings destruction with Him. (This finishes the wrath of God. -- Trumpet-7)
--------------------
So we have a whole lot of destruction happening between the Trumpets and Bowls, but the first point I will make here is how the trumpets only destroy a third of things and then in the Bowls, God destroys all of it. If this all happens at the same exact time, what is the sense to only destroying a third of it and then the rest? Clearly there is a time delay between the Trumpets and Bowls that destroy the same things. If the Lord is going to destroy all of the Sea Life in the 2nd Bowl, why didn't He destroy it all in the 2nd Trumpet? Only the most stubborn will see this connection and insist that they happen at the same time. Even if they were only a few hours a part, it still would not make any sense at all. In the mind of mankind, that may as well happen at the same time. When the world is being destroyed around them, people are not going to notice a few days break between them.
For instance, just humor my stance that the first four Trumpets are WW3 escalating into an all out nuclear war. Nukes are going off everywhere. Large cities are literally being wiped off the maps. The nukes set of the tectonic plates in the earth and cause great earth quakes. Volcanic islands crumble into the sea. Both the earthquakes and the crumbling volcanoes cause massive tsunamis that are wiping out major coastlines. The chaos would be so unbelievable that if it all stopped for a week, there would still be no reprieve in our minds. The world would be in such a panic that they wouldn't even notice those few days as they are weeping over loved ones dying and trying to find out if loved ones are alive or trying to save people in collapsed buildings. Something that is so powerful to wipe out a third of everything, nuclear war or whatever, would takes months for the people to even notice anything other than the chaos. There would be no message in God doing this and then destroying the rest of it just a few days later, much less later in the same day. There would be no purpose behind the Trumpets.
That is the entire purpose of prophecy in the first place. To show the world that God is real. God does not unleash the 7 Trumpets just to be sadistic. He has everything planned! Everything has a purpose! So what is the purpose of the Trumpets? Notice that the 4th Trumpet, the last one of the trumpets that is about the destruction of one third of everything, is the first point where scripture points out that the people do not repent.
Throughout the Bible, God does the same thing over and over with the Jews. He blesses them when they are loyal to Him. When they go astray, He steps back and lets them go through terrible tribulations from the world. When they finally realize how good He was to them and how true He is, and turn back to Him, He begins to bless them again. The Tribulation is about God reconciling the Jews back to Him in the end times through 7 years of troubles. The wrath of God is God's own wrath on the unbelieving world. But not to be sadistic! It serves the same purpose. It is the typical way of mankind. When things are going well, they begin to forget God and put Him on a shelf. Only when things get bad do they begin to pray to God again. The Wrath of God is about making it so bad that the most stubborn of those who will ever be saved, will finally accept Him. But then there comes a point when enough is enough. When a third of the world is destroyed around them, if they still wont see He is real and turn to Jesus, then they simply are not going to be saved. Then God really begins to pour out His wrath on the world. Not to reconcile it, but to punish them. To show them they had a chance and now it is too late.
I would argue that it is completely ridiculous to think that God would destroy a third of everything and then finsih the job in the same day, during the second coming. To consider everything that happens and to hold onto the belief that the entire wrath of God happens on the day of the second coming, is to throw logic out the window completely. Just because you interpret one verse to mean the entire day of wrath happens in the second coming.
So we know the day of Gods Wrath will start at the 6th Seal. It will be finished with the 7th Bowl, which is the second coming. There is no logic in believing the entire wrath of God happens in one day. So it simply holds no logic to believe that the day of Gods Wrath all happens at the second coming. To hold onto that view, is to simply be too full of pride to change what you believe and you would rather throw all logic out the window. It is to say that Gods plan doesn't follow any logic.
I have had plenty of discussions and debates with different Pre-Wrath understandings. Some believe the Wrath of God would start after or around the midpoint of the Tribulation. Others believe it will be the last few weeks. Some even claim that the entire day of Wrath will happen at the Second Coming. The question is, what would be the logical understanding of how long all of the Trumpets and Bowls would take? Could they possibly happen in the same day as the Second Coming? Could they all be done inside a week or a month? Let's take a look.
To save space, I am only going to run through the Trumpets and Bowls with short synopsis of what happens. You are more than welcome to look them up and read them for yourself.
--------------
The SEVEN TRUMPETS
Trumpet-1
A Third of the earth and a third of the trees is burned up. All of the green grass is burned.
Trumpet-2
A burning mountain falls into the sea. A third of the sea becomes blood and a third of the sea life dies. A third of the ships are destroyed.
Trumpet-3
A third of the rivers and springs are poisoned. Many people will die from drinking from them.
Trumpet-4
A third of the sun and a third of the moon and a third of the stars are struck and darkened so they shine for only a third of the day.
Trumpet-5
An angel falls from heaven and is given the key to the abyss. He opens the abyss and smoke comes out like a great furnace. The sun and air are darkened by the smoke. Out of the smoke comes locusts that will not hurt anything in the earth and will kill nobody, but their sting will torment people for 5 months. People will seek death over the suffering but will not find it.
Trumpet-6
Four angels (likely angels of the devil for they were bound) are released to kill a third of mankind. The numbers of the armies is 200 million.
Trumpet-7
The victory of the Lord which happens after the Second Coming.
--------------
Now I have some points I want to make in the seven Trumpets.
1) If you read it, the 7th Trumpet does mention the day of God's Wrath came. Because of this, many assume the day of wrath happens at the 7th Trumpet. Which also happens at the Second Coming. However, if you read it close, it says the day of wrath came. Past tense. Not that it has come which could be taken present tense.
2) The first four trumpets are where one third of everything is destroyed. Not all of it. If you follow my teachings at all, you might know I believe the 2nd Seal is WW3 and the 6th Seal, where the day of wrath begins, describes the escalation of WW3 into a nuclear war. The first four Trumpets in my opinion are Johns first century description of specific nuclear events. But I admit that is my opinion only. The important thing is only one third of everything is destroyed. That is very important to a later point I will make.
----------------
The SEVEN BOWLS
In the seven bowls, I would like you to take special note of how some of them complete what the Trumpets started.
Bowl-1
Terrible sores afflict the people who take the mark of the beast.
Bowl-2
All sea life dies. (completes Trumpet-2)
Bowl-3
Rivers and springs become like blood. (completes Trumpet-3)
Bowl-4
The sun grows hot and scorches mankind. The people do not repent.
Bowl-5
The kingdom of the beast's sores become worse (completes Bowl-1)
Bowl-6
The Euphrates River dries up so the kings from the east can cross. (Possibly Trumpet-6)
Bowl-7
The wrath of God in the Second Coming when He brings destruction with Him. (This finishes the wrath of God. -- Trumpet-7)
--------------------
So we have a whole lot of destruction happening between the Trumpets and Bowls, but the first point I will make here is how the trumpets only destroy a third of things and then in the Bowls, God destroys all of it. If this all happens at the same exact time, what is the sense to only destroying a third of it and then the rest? Clearly there is a time delay between the Trumpets and Bowls that destroy the same things. If the Lord is going to destroy all of the Sea Life in the 2nd Bowl, why didn't He destroy it all in the 2nd Trumpet? Only the most stubborn will see this connection and insist that they happen at the same time. Even if they were only a few hours a part, it still would not make any sense at all. In the mind of mankind, that may as well happen at the same time. When the world is being destroyed around them, people are not going to notice a few days break between them.
For instance, just humor my stance that the first four Trumpets are WW3 escalating into an all out nuclear war. Nukes are going off everywhere. Large cities are literally being wiped off the maps. The nukes set of the tectonic plates in the earth and cause great earth quakes. Volcanic islands crumble into the sea. Both the earthquakes and the crumbling volcanoes cause massive tsunamis that are wiping out major coastlines. The chaos would be so unbelievable that if it all stopped for a week, there would still be no reprieve in our minds. The world would be in such a panic that they wouldn't even notice those few days as they are weeping over loved ones dying and trying to find out if loved ones are alive or trying to save people in collapsed buildings. Something that is so powerful to wipe out a third of everything, nuclear war or whatever, would takes months for the people to even notice anything other than the chaos. There would be no message in God doing this and then destroying the rest of it just a few days later, much less later in the same day. There would be no purpose behind the Trumpets.
That is the entire purpose of prophecy in the first place. To show the world that God is real. God does not unleash the 7 Trumpets just to be sadistic. He has everything planned! Everything has a purpose! So what is the purpose of the Trumpets? Notice that the 4th Trumpet, the last one of the trumpets that is about the destruction of one third of everything, is the first point where scripture points out that the people do not repent.
Throughout the Bible, God does the same thing over and over with the Jews. He blesses them when they are loyal to Him. When they go astray, He steps back and lets them go through terrible tribulations from the world. When they finally realize how good He was to them and how true He is, and turn back to Him, He begins to bless them again. The Tribulation is about God reconciling the Jews back to Him in the end times through 7 years of troubles. The wrath of God is God's own wrath on the unbelieving world. But not to be sadistic! It serves the same purpose. It is the typical way of mankind. When things are going well, they begin to forget God and put Him on a shelf. Only when things get bad do they begin to pray to God again. The Wrath of God is about making it so bad that the most stubborn of those who will ever be saved, will finally accept Him. But then there comes a point when enough is enough. When a third of the world is destroyed around them, if they still wont see He is real and turn to Jesus, then they simply are not going to be saved. Then God really begins to pour out His wrath on the world. Not to reconcile it, but to punish them. To show them they had a chance and now it is too late.
I would argue that it is completely ridiculous to think that God would destroy a third of everything and then finsih the job in the same day, during the second coming. To consider everything that happens and to hold onto the belief that the entire wrath of God happens on the day of the second coming, is to throw logic out the window completely. Just because you interpret one verse to mean the entire day of wrath happens in the second coming.
So we know the day of Gods Wrath will start at the 6th Seal. It will be finished with the 7th Bowl, which is the second coming. There is no logic in believing the entire wrath of God happens in one day. So it simply holds no logic to believe that the day of Gods Wrath all happens at the second coming. To hold onto that view, is to simply be too full of pride to change what you believe and you would rather throw all logic out the window. It is to say that Gods plan doesn't follow any logic.
