How long will the Great Tribulation last?
After carefully reading all the prophetic texts that mention the « Day of *Jehovah (YHWH) » or the « Great Tribulation, » it becomes clear that this day will last only one day.
The clearest prophetic texts about its duration are those of Zechariah and the book of Revelation, both of which describe the Day of Jehovah as a single day, or the only date of a single day:
“Look! There is a day coming, belonging to Jehovah, and the spoil of you will certainly be apportioned out in the midst of you. 2 And I shall certainly gather all the nations against Jerusalem for the war; and the city will actually be captured and the houses be pillaged, and the women themselves will be raped. And half of the city must go forth into the exile; but as for the remaining ones of the people, they will not be cut off from the city.
3 “And Jehovah will certainly go forth and war against those nations as in the day of his warring, in the day of fight. 4 And his feet will actually stand in that day upon the mountain of the olive trees, which is in front of Jerusalem, on the east; and the mountain of the olive trees must be split at its middle, from the sunrising and to the west. There will be a very great valley; and half of the mountain will actually be moved to the north, and half of it to the south. 5 And you people will certainly flee to the valley of my mountains; because the valley of [the] mountains will reach all the way to Azel. And you will have to flee, just as you fled because of the [earth]quake in the days of Uzziah the king of Judah. And Jehovah my God will certainly come, all the holy ones being with him.
6 “And it must occur in that day [that] there will prove to be no precious light—things will be congealed. 7 And it must become one day that is known as belonging to Jehovah. It will not be day, neither will it be night; and it must occur [that] at evening time it will become light. 8 And it must occur in that day [that] living waters will go forth from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. In summer and in winter it will occur. 9 And Jehovah must become king over all the earth. In that day Jehovah will prove to be one, and his name one.
10 “The whole land will be changed like the Arabah, from Geba to Rimmon to the south of Jerusalem; and she must rise and become inhabited in her place, from the Gate of Benjamin all the way to the place of the First Gate, all the way to the Corner Gate, and [from] the Tower of Hananel all the way to the press vats of the king. 11 And people will certainly inhabit her; and there will occur no more any banning [to destruction], and Jerusalem must be inhabited in security.
12 “And this is what will prove to be the scourge with which Jehovah will scourge all the peoples that will actually do military service against Jerusalem: There will be a rotting away of one’s flesh, while one is standing upon one’s feet; and one’s very eyes will rot away in their sockets, and one’s very tongue will rot away in one’s mouth.
13 “And it must occur in that day [that] confusion from Jehovah will become widespread among them; and they will actually grab hold, each one of the hand of his companion, and his hand will actually come up against the hand of his companion. 14 And Judah itself also will be warring at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the nations round about will certainly be gathered, gold and silver and garments in excessive abundance.
15 “And this is how the scourge of the horse, the mule, the camel, and the male ass, and every sort of domestic animal that happens to be in those camps, will prove to be, like this scourge” (Zacharie 14:15).
* YHWH is the tetragrammaton, or four-letter for the Divine Name. In the New World Translation of the Bible, it appears with the vocalization commonly used for centuries as « Jehovah ». This vocalization is doubly inaccurate because it inserts the pronunciation J instead of I (i) or Y, and the V corresponding to W, which is pronounced « U » or « ou » (not V). The correct vocalization of the Tetragrammaton is YeHou(W)aH, Yehouah. The inaccurate vocalization « Jehovah » is retained in the Bible translation used, just as the inaccurate vocalization of « Jesus, » pronounced Yeshua or Yeshoua, because they are the most known to readers (click on the link to examine the study on the Divine Name in more detail: The Divine Name YHWH is pronounced as it is written).
These prophetic statements allude to the day of Jehovah, which is to correspond to the great tribulation mentioned in the prophecies of Daniel, Jesus Christ and the book of Revelation (Daniel 12:1; Matthew 4:21,22; Revelation 7:9,10; chapters 14 and 19).
« And it will become one day that is known as belonging to Jehovah. It will not be day, nor will it be night; and at evening time there will be light » (Zechariah 14:7).
This text alone shows that it is a 24-hour day, and not a period of few days, because it is written that at the time of day, it will be neither day nor night, and that at the time of evening there will be light.
However, the most explicit text is that of the book of Revelation, where this Day is connected with a date on the Jewish calendar. In Revelation 11:18, it is written: « But the nations became wrathful, and your own wrath came, and the appointed time came for the dead to be judged and to reward your slaves the prophets and the holy ones and those fearing your name, the small and the great, and to bring to ruin those ruining the earth » (Revelation 11:18). This text refers to the time of the Great Tribulation, when God « will bring ruin to those who ruin the earth ». However, what is even more interesting, is that verse 19 repeats this time in enigmatic way, connecting the Day of Jehovah withe the vision of the ark of his covenant: « And the temple sanctuary of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen in his temple sanctuary. And there were flashes of lightning and voices and thunders and an earthquake and a great hail » (Revelation 11:19).
This verse has two main parts: The first is the vision of the « ark of his covenant », the date of only one day. Indeed, Jehovah God did not allow to see the ark of his covenant (by the high priest), any day other than Ethanim (Tishri), 10 (Leviticus 16:2,29). The second part of the verse 19, is the symbolic description of the Great Tribulation. The Ethanim, 10 (Tishri), corresponds to the dramatic celebration of the Day of Atonement. The process of celebration is described in Leviticus chapter 16. It is a dramatic moment, because it describes symbolically, what will happen during the Day of Jehovah, the Great Tribulation. It will be a day of sadness, because Jehovah had given this instruction regarding this day: « It is a sabbath of complete rest for you, and you should afflict yourselves. It is a lasting statute » (Leviticus 16:31).
The continuation and conclusion of the chapter of Zechariah’s prophecy shows that the Feast of Tabernacles will be celebrated on the 15th of Tishri (Ethanim):
« And it must occur [that], as regards everyone who is left remaining out of all the nations that are coming against Jerusalem, they must also go up from year to year to bow down to the King, Jehovah of armies, and to celebrate the festival of the booths. 17 And it must occur that, as regards anyone that does not come up out of the families of the earth to Jerusalem to bow down to the King, Jehovah of armies, even upon them no pouring rain will occur. 18 And if the family of Egypt itself does not come up and does not actually enter, upon them also there shall be none. The scourge will occur with which Jehovah scourges the nations that do not come up to celebrate the festival of the booths. 19 This itself will prove to be the [punishment for the] sin of Egypt and the sin of all the nations that do not come up to celebrate the festival of the booths.
20 “In that day there will prove to be upon the bells of the horse ‘Holiness belongs to Jehovah!’ And the widemouthed cooking pots in the house of Jehovah must become like the bowls before the altar. 21 And every widemouthed cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah must become something holy belonging to Jehovah of armies, and all those who are sacrificing must come in and take from them and must do boiling in them. And there will no more prove to be a Caʹnaan·ite in the house of Jehovah of armies in that day » (Zechariah 14:16-21).
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THE GREAT TRIBULATION WILL TAKE PLACE IN TISHRI 10TH
the vision of the « ark of his covenant », the date of only one day. Indeed, Jehovah God did not allow to see the ark of his covenant (by the high priest), any day other than Ethanim (Tishri), 10
“And the temple sanctuary of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen in his temple sanctuary. And there were flashes of lightning and voices and thunders and an earthquake and a great hail”
(Revelation 11:19)
The biblical Hebrew lunisolar calendar
First month: Nisan or Abib(in the Bible) (March-April)(30 days)
Second month: Iyyar or Ziv(in the Bible) (April-May)(29 days)
Third month: Sivan(May-June)(30 days)
Fourth month: Tammuz(June-July)(29 days)
Fifth month: Ab(July-August)(30 days)
Sixth month: Eloul(August-September)(29 days)
Seventh month: Tishri or Ethanim(in the Bible)(September-October) (30 days)
Eighth month: Hesvan or Bul(in the Bible) (October-November)(29 or 30 days)
Ninth month: Chislev(November-December)(29 or 30 days)
Tenth month: Tebeth(December-January)(29 days)
Eleventh month: Shebat(January-February)(30 days)
Twelfth month: Adar(February-March)(29 or 30 days)
Thirteenth month: Adar II or Veadar (29 days)
This famous date of Tishri 10th appears in the Bible, several times, in an encrypted or symbolic way, in direct and indirect relationship with the prophetic descriptions of the Great Tribulation (The month of Tishri is the seventh month of the Hebrew lunisolar calendar, between the months of September/October) (Names of months of the Hebrew Calendar):
- “Then the glory of the God of Israel rose from where it had rested above the cherubs and moved to the threshold of the doorway of the house, and he began calling out to the man who was clothed in linen, at whose waist was the secretary’s inkhorn” (Ezekiel 9:3): Ezekiel Chapter 9 is the prophetic description of the Judgment of humankind and the Great Tribulation. The glory of God « from where it had rested above the cherubs », is clearly the description of the two « cherubs » at the top of the Ark of the Covenant VISIBLE only TISHRI 10TH, in the Most Holy of the Sanctuary of the Temple (Exodus 30:10 “once a year” in the Most Holy).
- “In the 25th year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, (…) By means of visions from God, he brought me to the land of Israel and set me down on a very high mountain, on which there was a structure like a city to the south” (Ezekiel 40:1a,2): The prophet Ezekiel has a vision of the earthly administration of the Kingdom of God, after the 7 months of purification immediately following the Great Tribulation, Nisan 10th (Ezekiel 39: 12-16 ; 40:1a “at the beginning of the year (Nisan), on the tenth day (10th) of the month”). If we add the intercalary month Veadar, in accordance with metonic cycle, we have exactly the date of TISHRI 10th. The prophetic information about the 7 months, in Ezekiel 39: 12-16 shows that the Great Tribulation will happen in a lunisolar year of 13 months.
- “Everyone who is left remaining out of all the nations that come against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to bow down to the King, Jehovah of armies, and to celebrate the Festival of Booths” (Zechariah 14:16): The general context of Zechariah chapter 14 is the prophetic description of the Great Tribulation. The verse 16 of the same chapter shows that « who is left remaining out of all the nations”, is clearly described those who will survive through the Great Tribulation. After the Great Tribulation, they will have to celebrate the prophetic fulfillment of the Festival of Booths, in Tishri 15th. It is indirect information presenting the Great Tribulation as the prophetic fulfillment of the Atonement Day, the TISHRI 10th.
- “But the nations became wrathful, and your own wrath came, and the appointed time came for the dead to be judged and to reward your slaves the prophets and the holy ones and those fearing your name, the small and the great, and to bring to ruin those ruining the earth.” And the temple sanctuary of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen in his temple sanctuary. And there were flashes of lightning and voices and thunders and an earthquake and a great hail” (Revelation 11:18,19): Revelation 11:19 is really the keystone of the Revelation given by God, through Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). This Revelation of God is the key to the understanding of all, the book of Revelation, but also of the other biblical prophecies (Ezekiel, Daniel, Zechariah, Revelation), in which you can read indirectly the allusion of this famous date : TISHRI, 10.
- “Do not be afraid of the things you are about to suffer. Look! The Devil will keep on throwing some of you into prison so that you may be fully put to the test, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Prove yourself faithful even to death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10): The mention of the symbolical 10 days of tribulation, after which the disciples of Christ have their reward of everlasting life, seems to evoke the 10 days of Tishri, mentioned later in Revelation 11:19 (Numbers in the Bible). In Tishri 10th, all of the 144,000 and the Great Crowd will be permanently sealed for everlasting life, in the Heavens for the group of 144000, and on Earth for the Great Crowd (Revelation 7).
- “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, both sure and firm, and it enters in within the curtain” (Hebrews 6:19 compared with Leviticus 16:2 “inside the curtain”, that means in the Most Holy part of the Sanctuary): The entrance “in within the curtain », giving access to the Most Holy (symbol of the Presence of God), once a year, Tishri 10th, prophetically represents the heavenly resurrection (as definitively sealed group) of the 144,000. This heavenly resurrection will give access to God, whose presence is represented by the Ark of the Covenant behind the curtain of the Most Holy (read Hebrews 9) (which can be considered to be sixth biblical evidence)).The law on the Jubilee stipulated that this proclamation had to be made by a powerful sound of a horn, on Ethanim (Tishri), 10. This powerful sound of horn or trumpet, is described by the apostle Paul, as being the beginning of a heavenly resurrection: « because the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a commanding call, with an archangel’s voice and with God’s trumpet, and those who are dead in union with Christ will rise first. Afterward we the living who are surviving will, together with them, be caught away in clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and thus we will always be with the Lord » (1 Thessalonians 4:16,17). This heavenly resurrection will be before the great tribulation, corresponding to the death and the instantaneous resurrection of the remnant of the 144,000, on earth, which will go to heaven, before the great tribulation, and which are the earthly remnant of 7,000 (actually): « And in that hour a great earthquake occurred, and a tenth of the city fell; and seven thousand persons were killed by the earthquake, and the rest became frightened and gave glory to the God of heaven » (Revelation 11:7-13).
“It will happen in summer and in winter”
(Zechariah 14:8b)
(Rectification)
In the former interpretation of this biblical verse (on this site), it was written that Ethanim (Tishri), 10, corresponding to the Jehovah’s Day (the great tribulation), should exactly correspond to the passage, from summer, to the autumn equinox, depending on the solar calendar system on September, 23. However, this interpretation is an anachronism in the biblical context. Why? If there were very old solar calendars in that times, they were not used in the Hebrew and biblical lunisolar calendar system (and even less the Julian and later the Gregorian calendars (used in the Western Part of the World). Consequently, to link the date of an Ethanim (Tishri), 10, in a Biblical lunisolar calendar system, with a September, 23, of a Gregorian solar calendar system, is a real anachronism…
The expression « It will happen in summer and in winter », must be understood in an otherwise. In fact, this expression is used in a different way (but synonymous), in another part of the Bible, referring to the day of the festival of booths: « And you will celebrate your Festival of Weeks with the first ripe fruits of the wheat harvest, and the Festival of Ingathering at the turn of the year » (Exodus 34:22). The Festival of Weeks alludes to the Pentecost of Sivan, 6, in the spring season. Festival of Ingathering, alludes to the day of Festival of Booths, in the autumn season, linked with this famous « turn of the year ». By making the connection of this last expression, with that of Zechariah 14:8b, it is likely the Ethanim (Tishri), 15, of the Lunisolar calendar. It was the official passage from summer, to winter (autumn), without taking into account the astronomical autumn equinox of a solar calendar (September, 23), which did not exist in the biblical times (Hebrew). Of course, to find out the necessity to add an intercalary month, currently called Veadar (Adar II), they must take into account the number of days following the Ethanim, 15, the official change of season, with the day when they could observe the equality between the day and night (the observed astronomical equinox). This important aspect of the lunisolar calendar is in an another page.
The context of Zachariah 14, justly alludes to the Festival of Booths: « Everyone who is left remaining out of all the nations that come against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to bow down to the King, Jehovah of armies, and to celebrate the Festival of Booths. But if anyone among the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to bow down to the King, Jehovah of armies, no rain will fall on them. And if the family of Egypt does not come up and does not come in, they will have no rain. Instead, they will have the scourge with which Jehovah scourges the nations that do not come up to celebrate the Festival of Booths. This will be the punishment for the sin of Egypt and the sin of all the nations that do not come up to celebrate the Festival of Booths » (Zechariah 14:16-19).
Zechariah Chapter 14, both alluded to Jehovah’s Day, the great tribulation, with the dramatic events that result from it (see verses 14:1-7,12-15). These dramatic events will take place on Ethanim (Tishri), 10, during the planetary fulfillment of the Atonement Day, the great tribulation. This celebration was dramatic and sad (Leviticus 16:29-31). On the other hand, Zechariah 14:8b, is to be put in the context of the Festival of the Booths: « In that day living waters will flow out from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and half of them toward the western sea. It will happen in summer and in winter ». The « living waters » is a joyful, soothing situation, as Earthly Paradise. This situation is to be linked to the context of the Festival of Booths, a joyful moment: « Seven days you will celebrate the festival to Jehovah your God in the place that Jehovah chooses, for Jehovah your God will bless all your produce and all that you do, and you will become nothing but joyful » (Deuteronomy 16:15, to compare with Zechariah 14:8-11,16-19). If in one hand, the date of Ethanim (Tishri), 15, is no doubt in the context of Zechariah 14, in the other hand, that of Ethanim (Tishri),10, maybe, appears in a much less obvious way. It could be the allusion to the holiness of God: « In that day the words ‘Holiness belongs to Jehovah!’ will be written on the bells of the horses. And the cooking pots in the house of Jehovah will be like the bowls before the altar » (Zechariah 14:20). The celebration of the Day of planetary Atonement, the Great Tribulation, will be the celebration of the Holiness of God. But also it will be the complete disappearance of the « Canaanite »: « In that day there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of Jehovah of armies » (Zechariah 14:21)… Understand who can…
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