The Great Tribulation and Heavenly Signs

by Leonard V Johnson

Let’s begin today again with God’s living prophecies. We’ve been talking some about the prophesied ‘great tribulation’ that will be so terrible that it hasn’t occurred ‘such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.’ What is going to happen? Where are we now──in this 21st century world──in the soon-coming final fulfillment of God’s living prophecies? What is coming that will lead this sinful and evil present age into the great Millennial Reign of our Lord Jesus Christ? And what about ‘Armageddon’? When does that occur? It’s all within the living word of the Eternal, our God. O’, and what about this “rapture” doctrine that so many people believe? 

So, we’ve been delving into this subject of the ‘great tribulation’ in the last several articles. We’ve discussed some regarding our Lord Jesus’ “Olivet Prophecy” in the 24th chapter of the Book of Matthew. We spoke about verses 21 and 22 ── that ‘those days would be shortened, and that His elect would be saved.’ And then, again, our Lord Jesus began the next sentence using the word “then,” with it functioning as a conjunctive adverb of sequence. Meaning, a temporal connector that signals the next action in a chronological order ──

“’ Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24) For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even [His saved] elect. 25) See, I have told you beforehand.’” – Matthew 24:23-25.

So, certainly during and immediately after the tribulation of those days, a great many false messiahs and false prophets will come on the scene, claiming, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There is the Christ!’ Not only professing to be ministers of our Lord Jesus, but some claiming to be the Messiah! Now, of course, this has been taking place since time immemorial──we should keep in mind that even in the Old Testament several figures presented themselves as deliverers, messiahs or saviors in a political, military, or prophetic sense──but here we get a sense that it increasingly gets worse.

Now, before we move on, I would like to point out another “then” that He used; it’s verse 9. He uses this word again to signal the next action in chronological order ──

“’ Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 10) And then many will be offended, and will hate one another. 11) Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12) And because LAWLESSNESS will abound the love of many will grow cold.’” – Matthew 24:9-12.

And we’re practically there now, with the lawlessness abounding and the love of many growing cold. And something that I feel compelled to share is a text from Minister Michael C. Garrett concerning these present evil days that we find ourselves in ──

“During the years of Barack Obama, our nation took a major lurch to the extreme Left. With the election of Donald Trump in ’16, our nation's decline stabilized and reversed. Under the Biden Administration, the disastrous DECLINE of our people accelerated greatly. We all had the opportunity to WITNESS just how DESTRUCTIVE and MISGUIDED the policies of the far-Left CRAZIES were to the American culture and our people.

Once again, the second election of Donald Trump, in ’24, pulled our nation out of its ‘death spiral’ and returned the United States onto a pathway of prosperity and success.

Who can rationally and realistically argue and dispute that the trajectory of our nation has greatly improved over the past two years?

And yet, with the most recent Mid-term election and the ascension of the coalition of Demoncrats, Socialists, Marxists, and angry Islamists, the fate of our beloved nation has taken an ominous turn. 🥺

It is my great concern that all HELL will soon—in the coming months and years—be unleashed upon our people and take place within our nation. Has God Almighty and Jesus Christ decided that their patience has reached their limits? Is this the Beginning of THE END? What have God Almighty and Jesus Christ DECIDED?”

And my question: Will God Almighty and our Lord Jesus Christ’s end-time prophets soon be on the scene proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and witnessing to all the nations? ── Matthew 24:14.

“ … ‘and then the end will come.’”

Is this where we are now ── in this present evil age?

Now, this world, for the last 1,993 years, has been in the period that our Lord Jesus has called ‘the beginning of sorrows’ ── because we have heard of ‘wars and rumors of wars, nations have risen against nations, and kingdoms against kingdoms, there have been famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in various places’ ── but again, we get the sense that these “signs” will grow worse and worse through the centuries.

So, what’s going to happen, speaking concerning our peoples and our lands, in the 5th chapter of the Book of Ezekiel? Now, this chapter comes from the period of the Babylonian exile, around 529 BC, while the Prophet Ezekiel was living among the captives near the River Chebar in Babylon. The LORD God uses haircutting as a means to picture the three fates Jerusalem would face ── fire, famine, and sword ── because the city’s people had turned away from the Covenant. And this prophecy was delivered four years before the actual siege and destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC, when King Nebuchadnezzar II became dominant in the region. The language: pestilence, famine, sword, the scattering, all reused later in the Book of Revelation- indeed, a pattern that points to a final fulfillment of this prophecy- the destruction of Jerusalem ──

“’ One-third of you shall die of the pestilence, and be consumed with famine in your midst; and one-third shall fall by the sword all around you; and I will scatter another third to all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them.’” – Ezekiel 5:12.

This is truly when our Lord Jesus’ prophesied end-time ‘great tribulation’ strikes Israel proper and will escalate to a worldwide end-time trauma. And, interestingly, something important that Minister Guy LaMar texted related to this ──

“The miserable years under Hussein Obama marked a sharp, DELIBERATE turn towards policies that openly REJECTED GOD’S MORAL ORDER ── on life, on the family, on sexuality, and national identity.

The first Trump Administration slowed and partially reversed that slide. The Biden years then accelerated the same DESTRUCTIVE course, as if the nation had decided to ‘test’ how far it could go. Over 20 MILLION ‘invaders’ came through his open-borders policy, and the crime rate rose beyond what we had ever known before.

The ’24 election again pulled the country back from the edge.

Now, in the recent Mid-term election, they have been handed greater influence on a coalition that has shown little regard for the boundaries Almighty God has set. That is an ominous development, and great concern is not exaggerated but rather extremely VALID!

God’s word shows us that nations do not simply drift. They are judged according to the direction they DELIBERATELY choose. When a people repeatedly REJECT the clear standards of God Almighty ── when they ‘call good evil and evil good’ – Isaiah 5:20 ── God’s long-suffering does not continue indefinitely.

He is patient (2 Peter 3:9), but He has also WARNED that there is a limit. The history of the house of Israel and the house of Judah is the clearest demonstration—just notice the cycles of decline, and then partial recovery under a righteous leader, then a deeper corruption, until judgment finally came. The same principles apply to ANY NATION, including our own beloved nation.

The question that has been raised is thought-provoking… Have God the Father and Jesus Christ decided that the limit has been reached?

The answer is not that they have changed their character or their plan—they declare the End from the Beginning – Isaiah 46:10—what we are witnessing is the progressive removal of restraint. Lawlessness INCREASES, exactly as our Lord Jesus described for the period leading to His return – Matthew 24:12.

The growing influence of those who OUTRIGHT REJECT biblical morality, who embrace Socialism, Marxism, and Islamism in America, and who show hostility to the foundations of this great nation is consistent with the conditions that precede the final events.

It’s not yet the entire ‘end,’ but it is a clear step toward the ‘great tribulation’ that has been prophesied. And God has not left His people without instruction. He continues to call for repentance and separation from this prevailing lawlessness.

The temporary reversals that we have witnessed are mercy, not a guarantee that the overall direction of our nation has changed. The faithful continue to ‘watch,’ to remain separate, and to TRUST that God will protect those who truly seek Him while the nations walk the path they have chosen.

So, yes ── no doubt, concern is warranted and understandable.

The trajectory of our nation is serious.

Yet, at the same time, the outcome is already known to the One who rules over the nations. Our part, brethren, is to stay aligned with Him, not with the shifting politics of any nation that is increasingly going its own way.”

You know, friends, most people don’t take this seriously; they think, “Well, nothing like that is ever going to happen.” Sadly, most of you do think this; you don’t take seriously the “trajectory of our nation,” as well as the trajectory Israel proper appears to want to be taking ── Gadi Eisenkot. He supports a two-state solution, emphasizing the Jordan Valley and settlement blocs as key areas for negotiation. He advocates for internal unity in Israel and views domestic polarization as a threat to national security. 1 But we have witnessed the warning; you have heard the warning! And if you don’t take this dire warning seriously, your blood will be on your own hands (Ezekiel 3:18). The LORD God has placed us as watchmen to declare unto you the things which must take place, to warn you. And we are giving you this warning. We find that the ancient people of Nineveh DID heed a warning from the LORD God when Prophet Jonah finally came to warn them. I pray that you heed this warning.

And so, this world will have very soon the LORD God’s end-time prophets come on the world scene ── “’ And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as A WITNESS to all the nations, and then the end will come.’” – Matthew 24:14.

A REMNANT ESCAPES

The prophet Ezekiel, who quoted the LORD God, says, “’ Yet I will leave a remnant, so that you may have some who escape the sword among the nations, when you are scattered through the countries.’” Well, I want you to understand this often-misunderstood revelation.

Our Lord Jesus Christ said of this ‘great tribulation’ that – Matthew chapter 24 ──

Verse 22 ── “’ And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved [and the Moffatt translation adds, ‘alive’]; but FOR THE ELECT’S SAKE those days will be shortened.’”

And we can compare this with the Book of Revelation chapter 12 ──

Verse 13 ── “Now when the dragon [Satan the Devil] saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted THE WOMAN who gave birth to the male Child.”

Verse 5 tells us who this Child is. And the one who gave “birth” to our living Savior was JUDAH. The nation called Israel today.

Verse 14 – “But THE WOMAN was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time [3 ½ years], from the presence of the serpent.”

The “two wings of a great eagle” echo the Old Testament of the Lord GOD’s divine protection──like when He bore the children of Israel on eagles’ wings and brought them to Himself – cf. Exodus 19:4. Or how He ‘carried them on His wings’ – cf. Deuteronomy 32:11-12. Those verses picture the Eagle as the divine protector and deliverer, so ‘the woman (JUDAH; modern-day Israel) was given two wings of a great eagle’ signals the Lord GOD’s divine protection for 3½ years (certainly while the Two Witnesses are proclaiming and warning of the soon-coming ‘great tribulation’ and the glorious Kingdom of God!). And it’s important to note that at that very time, when Judah is being protected, the FIRST FOUR TRUMPET BLASTS ARE BEING BLOWN!

But then, Satan turns his attention to the Lord GOD’s end-time prophets, those ‘who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ’!

“In the same hour there was a GREAT EARTHQUAKE, and a tenth of the city fell [Jerusalem]. In the earthquake seven thousand people were killed, and the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven.”

Now, there will be some physical people of the remnant elect from the house of Israel and the house of Judah who will begin ‘giving glory to the God of heaven.’ Here, note verse 15 of Revelation 12, which is reminiscent of Numbers 16. The LORD God causes the ground to open its mouth; ‘a great earthquake’ and swallows the floodwater that the dragon spewed out of its mouth, just like the earth swallowed Korah’s rebels.

14) “The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming quickly.” – Revelation 11:13-14.

Verse 15 ── “Then the SEVENTH ANGEL sounded …” – the resurrection of the saints of God!

A Mighty Beast Rising Up Out of the Mediterranean

Now our Creator, our Almighty God, set in motion universal laws all throughout His universe. Let’s take the hexagon shape ── from Saturn’s polar hexagon storm to the bees’ honeycomb to the Giant’s Causeway. The hexagon’s universal presence in nature is evidence of a unified design plan. A “signature” of our Creator’s wisdom and order. Now, a great many of His laws are invisible to our vision ── such as the law of gravity. There is a force that is pulling everything on the earth to its center. A question can be asked, “Can God see gravity?” Yes, our Creator is the sustainer of these physical laws that govern His universe, including gravity ── Colossians 1:16–17; Job 38:4–7; and Psalm 19:1–2.

There are also laws that the LORD God created for the well-being of all humanity, ‘so that our days may be long upon the earth’ – Exodus 20:12 and Deuteronomy 5:16 ── such as ‘the husband is the head of his wife, even as Christ is the head of the Church.’ – Ephesians 5:23. And sadly, when the husband hasn’t been taught from childhood, or is unwilling to take on this role, they will often become emasculated. And his wife will begin to assert herself and take on the role, something that the Creator of all mankind never meant for the family unit.

Well, here is a universal church that began in the early 1st century AD, roughly around the mid-40s AD, that Adolf von Harnack wrote about in History of Dogma Vol. I ──

“We know that in the Apostolic age there were attempts in Samaria to found new religions, … Dositheus, Simon Magus, Cleobius, and Menander appeared as messiahs or bearers of the Godhead, …

A universal religion; all contributed to gain adherents to Simon. … a [universal] religion with the cultus-wisdom of BABYLON and SYRIA.” 2

A universal church that desired a universal doctrine. A church that didn’t want Christ Jesus to be the head of the church, a church instead that wanted to fornicate with the kings of the earth (Revelation 17:1-2). A church that is called a whore within God’s living word ── now that’s a very ugly word, and I wouldn’t use that word except that it is within God’s living word. It is in your Bible. And this prostitute Church is pictured as an instrument of Satan the Devil.

Let’s also notice the Book of Revelation, the 13th chapter, where a final reorganized Catholic-led European ‘beast’ power, a religious-civil government, is spoken about ──

Verse 2 ── “Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The DRAGON gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.”

And Satan the Devil can do this because he is the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4). But here is a universal Mother Church that is the ‘mouthpiece’ to this final European ‘beast’ power! So right here, you can see just who the god of this Mother Church is. And like I just said to our SI unit (because it wanted to argue with me concerning who the original architect was of this universal church), “You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see who brought about this universal church!” The instrumentality of Satan that he can use. As we see this “woman” arrayed “in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication.” – Revelation 17:4.

Now, let me tell you ── this Mother Church inspired by Satan the Devil will insist, under penalty of death, that everybody will come to worship this religion – Revelation 13:15-18. Our mortal and spiritual enemy, Satan, certainly does not like the holy and righteous commandments of the Eternal God. In fact, what was it that brought about him being labeled a ‘serpent,’ a ‘devil,’ and even the Latin word, Satan? INIQUITY! He was tempted in his own heart and was drawn away from the Eternal One by his own desires, enticed by his own prideful thoughts of beauty and greatness. And this desire conceived and brought forth sin ── Ezekiel 28:12-17; Isaiah 14:12-15; James 1:14-15. He said to himself, ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the angels of God; I will sit on the mount of the congregation … I will be like the Most High.’ And so, he attempted a coup, a takeover of the upper heavenly realms, and attempted to dethrone our Lord Jesus Christ! He refused to obey the LORD God, and he refused to carry out the government of God. And this indeed has been exactly what he has been influencing all of humanity, all nations and kingdoms, to do on Earth ever since. And so, here we are.

So, again, ‘the dragon was angered with the woman’ ── with the modern nation of Israel, but he then turns his attention on the LORD God’s Two Witnesses, those ’who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.’ Now, we also see that this powerful and universal Church, that has a ‘great city that reigns over the kings of the earth,’ and who is covered with the blood of the saints, is indeed universal ── who sits by many waters, peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages. We read of this in Revelation 17 & 18.

Something else I would like to briefly cover is the first FOUR SEALS that are opened by our Lord Jesus Christ. We find these seals being opened in Revelation chapter 6. The first four are also known as the FOUR HORSEMEN OF REVELATION. I’ve gone over this in depth before.

Here we see the FIRST HORSE, a white horse, that the Apostle John sees in vision. The first horse, with its rider who sat on it having a bow; and a crown, and he went out conquering and to conquer ── is the establishment of this false universal Church that would give birth to daughter churches; the false religion of Christianity ── a religious deception that rose in the 1st century AD, that quickly spread globally.

The SECOND HORSE, a fiery red horse, a second horse that went out and was granted to take peace from the earth, and given to him was a great sword. This certainly has been ── since our Lord Jesus Christ was resurrected and returned to the glorious upper heavenly realms, sitting at the right-hand side of God the Father ── wars.

The THIRD HORSE, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. This certainly has been massive famines throughout the centuries.

The FOURTH HORSE, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and the grave followed after him. Symbolizing great pestilences and disease epidemics that have occurred throughout the centuries.

And we believe ── and we have proclaimed before ── that these first four seals are all part of the ‘beginning of sorrows’ that our Lord Jesus spoke of in Matthew 24:4-8. And this world has been going through these sorrows since our Lord Jesus Christ was gloriously resurrected and returned to the Majesty on High.

Let’s notice Matthew 24 ──

Again, this soon-coming ‘great tribulation’ will be so destructive that there has never been ‘since the beginning of the world,’ as our Lord Jesus Christ has said. And thank Almighty God that He does step in and keeps His elect from being completely annihilated. In other words, His elect──the remnant of the house of Israel and the house of Judah──would be completely blasted out of existence on this planet. ‘But for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.’

Verse 29 ── “’ Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light; …’”

The atmosphere will be clogged with volcanic ash, along with a period of abnormal cold and darkness predicted to follow a nuclear war, caused by a layer of smoke and dust in the atmosphere blocking the sun's rays.

“ … ‘the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’”

Meaning, Satan and his demons will be expunged from the atmosphere of the earth.

One of the first interventions from the LORD God is the expulsion of Satan the Devil and his demons from having access to the atmosphere. Also, the LORD God clears the atmosphere of dark clouds and toxic smoke caused by eruptions from volcanoes, small asteroids striking the earth, and likely regional nuclear bombs ──

“And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. 14) Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place.” – Revelation 6:13-14.

This indescribable horror that will come upon our nations will literally cause men’s hearts to fail them, seeing what’s coming upon an unrepentant world──striking fear into the kings, presidents, prime ministers, and emirs. And they will run to their underground bunkers and caves for protection──crying to the heavens, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?’

Now, I want you to see one more thing before we go. It’s the right side of our illustrated picture at the top of this article ──

“‘ Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven [in outer space], and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven [here, the atmosphere] with POWER and GREAT GLORY.’” – Matthew 24:30.

There’s a term which has developed basically within the last century among some fundamentalist-type churches of the Christian ilk talking about the rapture. And this is simply not a correct theological teaching. And many times, when people use the words, they say, “the secret rapture.” Well, there won’t be any secrets when Jesus is returning! Because, as Jesus says in verse 27 – “’ For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man.’” - When the throne of God, when New Jerusalem, begins to return to this earth, at some point it will be a little small light in the night sky. And the next night it will be a little brighter – like the star Sirius. And then, it becomes more and more obvious – and people will look up and go, “What is that?” Now, most of the people of the world will think it’s – and they really will – an invading alien force! There is nothing secret about it!

Keep in mind, the resurrection occurs on the SEVENTH TRUMP. The seven last plagues follow that. So, we will (God willing) already be in “low earth orbit” in the clouds, being with Jesus Christ, in preparation for the time He, Jesus Christ, directly engages humankind. □

1 Wikipedia contributors. "Gadi Eisenkot." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 10 Nov. 2026. Web. 10 Nov. 2026.

2 Harnack, A., History of Dogma, Vol. I, New York: Russell & Russell, 1958, pg. 244, 246.