How Dispensational Pretribulationism Interprets the Tribulation and the Church

      This post explains how Dispensational Pretribulation scholars understand how the Tribulation relates to the Church Age.  Charles Ryrie, recognized as authoring the modern essential text on Dispensationalism, defines a dispensation as, “a distinguishable economy in the outworking of God’s purpose.” [1]  Ryrie states the essence of dispensationalism as (1) the recognition of a consistent distinction between Israel and the church, (2) a consistent and regular use of a literal principle of interpretation, and (3) a basic and primary conception of the purpose of God as His own glory rather than the salvation of mankind[2]. While Ryrie entertains the Tribulation being its own dispensation [3], he discards that idea since it violates principles of reverting back to former things such as Israel observing the Sabbath and animal sacrifice.  In addition, Ryrie also recognizes there is no rule that dictates precisely how many dispensations there are so long as the stated principles are not violated.  Ryrie offers seven dispensations (captured below in Table 1) in his book on Dispensationalism.

Table 1 – Dispensations According to Charles Ryrie [4]

Name	Scripture	Responsibilities	Judgments
Innocency	Genesis 1:3-3:6	·       Keep garden ·       Do not eat one fruit ·       Fill, subdue earth ·       Fellowship with God	·       Curses, and physical and spiritual death
Conscience	Genesis 3:7-8:14	·       Do good	·       Flood
Civil Government	Genesis 8:15-11:9	·       Fill earth ·       Capital punishment	·       Forced scattering by confusion of languages
Patriarchal Rule	Genesis 11:10-Exodus 18:27	·       Stay in Promised Land ·       Believe and obey God	·       Egyptian bondage and wilderness wanderings
Mosaic Law	Exodus 19:1- Acts 1:26	·       Keep the law ·       Walk with God	·       Captives
Grace	Acts 2:1-Revelation 19:21	·       Believe in Christ ·       Walk with Christ	·       Death ·       Loss of rewards
Millennium	Revelation 20:1-15	·       Believe and obey Christ and His government	·       Death ·       Great White Throne Judgment

      To be clear, Ryrie does not recognize the Tribulation as a distinct dispensation. Ryrie states it clearly with, “The same is true of the argument based on the seventy weeks. They are not in themselves determinative of a dispensational change. After all, they began about a thousand years after the law was given to Israel without inaugurating a new dispensation, and even though God turns His attention to Israel again during the Tribulation, He does not do this to the exclusion of others.”[5] “Therefore, it seems that the Tribulation with its many judgments is from the dispensational viewpoint the end of the economy of Grace.”[6] “But from the dispensational viewpoint of God’s running the affairs of the world, it seems more natural to consider the Tribulation as that time when He is bringing to a conclusion the economy of Grace, with judgments on men who have rejected Him and grace upon the many who will accept Him, rather than to consider it a separate dispensation. The church will not be subject to the judgments, just as Noah was not judged by the Flood in his day. But in both cases the dispensation does not end until the judgments are completed.”[7]  Ryrie’s instruction in these quotes about the Tribulation is based on dispensationalism instead of directly from scripture—the dispensationalism framework is providing the interpretive lens.

      Scripture never defines the Tribulation as being a time when God brings judgment on those who have rejected Him.  Yes, there will be a time of trouble for those who reject God.  However, the Bible does not technically call this period the Tribulation, instead it is called the Day of the Lord.  These terms, Tribulation and Day of the Lord should not be interchanged.  Dispensationalism has heavily influenced Pretribulationism – hence Pretribulationism is sometimes more precisely referred to as Dispensational Pretribulationism.

      Here are some key points about Dispensational Pretribulationism according to Ryrie in relation to the Church and the Tribulation period:

• God divides history into distinct periods of administration through which God carries out his purposes.
• The dispensations do not overlap.
• The Tribulation contains judgments.
• The Tribulation is defined as the entire time covered during Daniel’s 70th Week, which lasts roughly seven years.
• The Tribulation does not itself represent its own dispensation but rather concludes the dispensation of Grace.
• The Church Age is the time between Pentecost and the Rapture before the Tribulation as defined by Pretribulational Dispensationalism.

---

[1] Ryrie, Charles C.. Dispensationalism (p. 28). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.

[2] Ryrie, Charles C.. Dispensationalism (p. 45). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.

[3] Ryrie, Charles C.. Dispensationalism (p. 50). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.

[4] Ryrie, Charles C.. Dispensationalism (p. 54). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.

[5] Ryrie, Charles C.. Dispensationalism (pp. 50-51). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.

[6] Ryrie, Charles C.. Dispensationalism (p. 51). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.

[7] Ryrie, Charles C.. Dispensationalism (p. 51). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.

Don't Be an Earth Dweller!

The phrase "those who dwell on the earth" and variants of it are important because they offer a deeper understanding to Revelation 3:10.  Notice how this phrase is used in a derogatory manner.  In short, please be advised do not become an earth dweller!

Isaiah 18:3
3 All inhabitants of the world and dwellers on the earth:
When he lifts up a banner on the mountains, you see it;
And when he blows a trumpet, you hear it.

Isaiah 26:21
21 For behold, the Lord comes out of His place
To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity;
The earth will also disclose her blood,
And will no more cover her slain.

Isaiah 51:6
6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
And look on the earth beneath.
For the heavens will vanish away like smoke,
The earth will grow old like a garment,
And those who dwell in it will die in like manner;
But My salvation will be forever,
And My righteousness will not be abolished.

Zephaniah 1:14-18
14The great day of the Lord is near;
It is near and hastens quickly.
The noise of the day of the Lord is bitter;
There the mighty men shall cry out.
15That day is a day of wrath,
A day of trouble and distress,
A day of devastation and desolation,
A day of darkness and gloominess,
A day of clouds and thick darkness,
16A day of trumpet and alarm
Against the fortified cities
And against the high towers.

17“I will bring distress upon men,
And they shall walk like blind men,
Because they have sinned against the Lord;
Their blood shall be poured out like dust,
And their flesh like refuse.”

18Neither their silver nor their gold
Shall be able to deliver them
In the day of the Lord’s wrath;
But the whole land shall be devoured
By the fire of His jealousy,
For He will make speedy riddance
Of all those who dwell in the land.

Luke 21:34-36
34 “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. 35 For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

This is a charge to watch and stay faithful to His calling so that when He returns we can stand before Him with boldness because we are covered with His righteousness instead of depending on our own self-righteousness along with being overly concerned with the cares of this life.

Revelation 3:10
10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.

Revelation 6:10
10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”

The phrase, “until You judge” implies God has yet to judge the earth dwellers in the manner He has promised long ago.

Revelation 11:10-11
10 And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.  11 Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.

White robes will be given to the two prophets (witnesses) and will rest until the fifth seal is opened. Because immediately after the sixth seal is the wrath of the Lamb.

Revelation 13:8
8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Revelation 13:14
14 And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived.

Instead, we are not to set our mind on the things of this earth, but instead of heavenly things. When Christ is revealed, then we will also appear with Him in glory.

Colossians 3:1-4
3 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

The Restrainer in 2 Thessalonians 2:7

We learn from the prophet Daniel that Michael's work is to "stand firmly against" or "restrain" the forces of evil.

Daniel 10:2121 “However, I will tell you what is inscribed in the writing of truth. Yet there is no one who stands firmly with me against these forces except Michael your prince.

Also, in Daniel 12:1 it says Michael will arise right before the start of the Great Tribulation

Daniel 12:1“At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time.

Take a look at 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8 concerning the restrainer:

2 Thessalonians 2:7-8
7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8 Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming;

Once the restrainer is taken out of the way, the Antichrist will be revealed (halfway through the 70th week).  When the Antichrist begins to exercise his wrath, the apostate believers will flee from the church and the falling away will begin.

2 Thessalonians 2:3, 9-12
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... 9 that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, 10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. 11 For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, 12 in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.

After the appointed time for the Antichrist has past to exercise his wrath on God's people, the Lord will halt his work at His coming and eventually bring him to an end.

Matthew 24:15
15 “Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),

Matthew 24:21
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.

Revelation 12:7-9
7 And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, 8 and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

The following four passages describe the events related to the same end time period of distress and persecution.

	Event	Afterwards
1	Antichrist is revealed Matthew 24:15	Will be a time of unequaled distress. Matthew 24:21
2	Michael, Israel’s protector arises. Daniel 12:1	Will be a time of distress as never before. Daniel 12:1
3	Michael defeats Satan and hurls him to the earth. Revelation 12:7-9	Satan is on the earth and furious.  He empowers the Antichrist to pursue Israel and the church Revelation 12:12-17; 13:1-2
4	The restrainer is taken out of the way and the Antichrist is revealed. 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8	Will be a time of great evil and strong deception causing many to perish. 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 9-12

The logical conclusion is that Michael is the restrainer of 2 Thessalonians 2:7. At the appointed time, Michael is going to arise from protecting Israel (2) and will war with Satan in heaven and cast him to the earth (3).

Comparing Matthew 24 and Revelation 6

Comparing scripture with scripture reveals many interesting parallels between Matthew 24 and Revelation 6.

		Comparison of Matthew 24 and Revelation 6
1st Seal	Matthew 24:5		False Christs; Antichrist	Revelation 6:1-2	Conqueror bent on Conquest; Antichrist
2nd Seal	Matthew 24:6-7		Wars; Nation Against Nation	Revelation 6:3-4	Peace taken from Earth
3rd Seal	Matthew 24:7		Famine	Revelation 6:5-6	Famine
4th Seal	Matthew 24:9		Death	Revelation 6:7-8	Sword, Famine, Plague, Beasts
5th Seal	Matthew 24:10, 22		Martyrdom, Betrayal	Revelation 6:9-11	Martyrdom
6th Seal	Matthew 24:29		Sun, Moon, and Stars Sign	Revelation 6:12-14	Sun, Moon, and Stars Sign People of the Earth are terrified because wrath of the Lamb has come
Elect are Gathered (Rapture)	Matthew 24:31		Elect Gathered	Revelation 7:9-14	Great multitude comes out of Great Tribulation
7th Seal	Matthew 24:37-39		Wrath of God	Revelation 8:1-6	Scroll Opened; Wrath of God Begins

The Importance of Eschatology

Eschatology (the biblical study of the end times) is important because it presents God's plan to redeem His creation.  I like the way Matthew Hartke put it in his blog about "Why eschatology is important for every believer in every generation"

Eschatology is important for every believer primarily because hope is important for every believer. The coming end is not all a matter of “times and dates” (as Paul assures us in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11). For the Christian, the eschatological is the glorious inbreaking of the kingdom of God into this present world of brokenness, the sovereign day when He will make all things right, wipe away every tear, establish everlasting righteousness, and, ultimately, come to dwell with humanity forever on the earth.

The end times, rather than being relegated to the last chapter in our systematic theology books, should be seen as the comprehensive horizon of all our theology. Why is this? Because our God is a God of the future, a God of covenant promise. He is, as Paul said, a “God of hope” (Rom 15:13). He is always before us, calling us forward on this exodus, motivating by the revelation of a promise land, a “city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Heb. 11:10).

Thus eschatology is very important to how we exercise hope in this fallen world.  To put this another way, bad eschatology or a poor understanding of the future things creates false hope.

Let them be for Signs and Seasons

God made the Sun, Moon, and the stars on the fourth day of creation.  It is interesting to me that He said to let them be for "signs" and for "seasons".  However, looking at the Hebrew Lexicon for these two words commands a much deeper meaning that what we might take away from a straight forward reading of the English translations.

Genesis 1:14-19
Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also. God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

Sign
The Hebrew word is 'owth.  Synonyms for this word from the Hebrew lexicon are: "indicator", "marker", or "omen".

Season
The Hebrew word is mow`ed, which means an appointment.  The word was not actually meant to convey these bodies will affect what we know as "seasons" for Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter.

In other words, these bodies in the heavens were not only meant to give us light, but also to be indicators of divine appointments.  What greater appointment is there than The Coming of the Son of Man?

Matthew 24:29-31
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. 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 on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 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.

The Day of the Lord

The Day of the Lord is a point in time when God signals He is about to take back the earth from Satan's rule.  Christ describes this day in Matthew 24:29a, with "But immediately after the tribulation of those days..." (meaning after the Great Tribulation from v21) and proceeds to paraphrase Isaiah which states on this fearful day "the stars of heaven and their constellations will not flash forth their light; the sun will be dark when it rises, and the moon will not shed its light.  This I will punish the world for its evil..." (Isaiah 13:10, 11a).

This parallels the oft quoted Day of the Lord passage in Joel that says "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, emphasis added).  Later, Joel also describes this sign that precedes the Day of the Lord in more detail: "For the Day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.  The sun and moon grow dark, and the stars lose their brightness" (Joel 3:14b, 15).

These passages show that the sign of the end of the age, before the Day of the Lord, will be the sign the Lord gave to Joel, Isaiah, John in Revelation at the sixth seal opening, and also the same sign Christ gave His disciples so they would know the event signalling the "the end of the age".

Scripture clear states what the sign (the celestial disturbances) will be and when it will occur--immediately after the tribulation of those days" (Matthew 24:29a) but "before the great and awesome Day of the Lord" (Joel 2:31).

Christ links the sign signalling the end of the age being "immediately after the tribulation" (Matthew 24:29a) with the sign prophesied in the Old Testament announcing the Day of the Lord, which will only occur when the Great Tribulation by the Antichrist is "cut short" by Christ's return.  Here's the full passage from Matthew 24:29-31:

Matthew 24:29-31
“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. 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 ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory. 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.

Granted some believe there have been instances in history where God has exercised judgment on the earth and has declared that judgment as being a Day of the Lord.  Regardless of that perspective, I believe that someday there will be a final Day of the Lord that will affect the whole earth.

He is Coming with All His Saints

In Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians, he writes that when the Lord returns, He will come with all His saints.

1 Thessalonians 3:11-13
11 Now may our God and Father Himself and Jesus our Lord direct our way to you; 12 and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you; 13 so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.

There are two primary interpretations for His "saints" highlighted above in 1 Thessalonians 3:13. One view is "believers", another interpretation is "angels".  I submit in this blog post that the correct interpretation is that the saints in 1 Thessalonians 3:13 are "angels".

To explain, I draw the remaining text from the writings of Marvin J. Rosenthal first published in Zion's Fire Magazine in July/August, 1997.

The meaning of "saint"

In the New Testament, the Greek word hagios is translated "holy" or "holy ones" more than 160 times. The same Greek word is also translated "saint" more than 70 times. Hagios carries the idea of purity, consecration, and holiness.

The apostle Paul, speaking of the gospel, said: "Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy (hagios) scriptures" (Romans 1:2). And to the Roman believers he wrote: "But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints [hagios]" (Romans 15:25). In the first instance, hagios is translated "holy"; in the second instance, it is translated "saints."

The Roman Catholic Church developed a theological system through which it confers upon selected individuals the designation "saint." Unfortunately, this unbiblical practice has tended to obscure the true biblical meaning of the word.

Every true Christian, whether a babe in Christ or one who has walked with the Lord many years, is a "saint."

Every true Christian, whether living piously or worldly, is a "saint."

The word "saint" describes a status which every believer possesses before God. It is wholly a consequence of being in Christ. In Him we are positionally pure, consecrated, holy - thus we are "holy ones" or "saints," irrespective of how we may be living.

The Bible exhorts those who are saved, and therefore positionally "saints," to experientially live saintly (holy) lives (Romans 12:1; Ephesians 1:4; 1 Peter 1:16).

It is conspicuously clear that the New Testament repeatedly uses the Greek word hagios ("saint") as a designation for all true believers (Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 16:1; Eph. 1:1).

An Analogy with the Word "Elect"

The Greek word eklektos (elect) means "chosen out, selected, to be chosen as a recipient of special privilege."

The word "elect" is found sixteen times in the New Testament. Add to "elect" the words "elects" and "election," and there are a total of twenty-three usages in the New Testament. It is used once of "elect" (chosen) angels (1 Tim. 5:21). It is used once of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is referred to as "a chief corner stone, elect [chosen], precious" (1 Pet. 2:6). It is used of all believers: "And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" (Lk. 18:7-8). The word "elect" is used in the New Testament of angels, of the Lord Jesus, and of all believers.

In exactly the same way, the Greek word hagios, translated "holy ones" or "saints," is used to refer to angels or the redeemed. Only the context can tell which is in view.

The Context of the Word "Saint" in 1 Thessalonians 3:13

In Paul's epistles, he often breaks out into brief prayers for those to whom he is writing. For the Thessalonians, he prayed: "To the end he may establish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints" (1 Th. 3:13). Since he is praying that believers on the earth will have their hearts established at the Lord's coming, he is clearly distinguishing between believers on earth and the "saints" (holy ones) who will come with the Lord from Heaven. It is impossible for the Church to be in two places at the same time. They can't have their hearts "established" (the idea is firm and unmoved) until Christ comes and at the same time accompany Him at His coming.

It is also significant that in the same epistle Paul writes: "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first" (1 Th. 4:16). The archangel (probably Michael) is specifically said to be with the Lord at His coming. He is a high order of angelic being, but he is an angel. And to the same Church, in his second epistle, the apostle encouraged: "And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels" (2 Th. 1:7). Once again, angels are clearly said to be with the Lord in connection with His coming.

The gospel writers add their testimony

Matthew wrote: "The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity" (Mt. 13:41).

Mark wrote: "Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels" (Mk. 8:38).

Luke wrote: "For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels" (Lk. 9:26).

At the birth of the Son of God, angels were present (Lk. 2:9-10, 13).

At the death of the Son of God, angels were present (Mt. 26:53).

At the resurrection of the Son of God, angels were present (Mt. 28:2).

At the second coming of the Son of God, angels will be present (Mt. 25:31).

First Thessalonians 3:13 cannot be used as a proof text by those who teach that Jesus is going to rapture the Church and then return with the Church (with all His saints) seven years later. The text is clearly speaking of angelic beings.

Jesus is the Lord of Hosts. At His command, a myriad of angelic beings who make up His army instantly goes into action. In that these powerful, holy angels are repeatedly spoken of as being with the Lord at His coming, we are right to understand that they play a very important role in the Church's rapture and in the judgment of the wicked.

Concerning the Rapture, the Lord himself taught, "And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" (Mt. 24:31).

The Scriptures also inform us that it is angels who blow each of the seven trumpets (Rev. 8:6), and pour out each of the seven bowls (Rev. 16:1). These trumpets and bowls are part of God's wrath during what the prophets refer to as the Day of the Lord.

Since these angels are holy, powerful, glorious beings who do our Lord's bidding, it is welcome news to know He is coming with all His "saints."

End of the Age and Christ's Return

The sign of the end of the age comes right before the sign of Christ's return.  These are two distinct signs.

• End of the Age: sun, moon, and stars go dark.
• Christ's Return: He will come on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.

From The Sign by Robert Van Kampen

Sign of the End of the Age 
The cataclysmic and terrifying changes in the sun, moon, and stars, when all the natural lights of the world will be extinguished, plunging the earth's atmosphere into total darkness.  This sign will accompanied by worldwide earthquakes, most likely destroying all man-made light sources on earth, and will occur at the opening of the sixth seal, immediately before the sign of Christ's second coming is seen by all the inhabitants of the world.

Matthew 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.  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 on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.  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.

A Message of Hope and a Warning of Judgment

Isaiah 9 is comprised of two sections: 1) a prophecy of the Christ to come 2) a judgment of arrogance and oppression.  For context, here are some quotes taken from the introduction to Isaiah in the Reformation Study Bible.

Isaiah ministered to Judah, the southern kingdom for a period of more than forty years, from 740 until after 701 B.C.  It was an era of great political turmoil due to Assyrian imperialism.  During the second half of the eighth century the prophet railed against the leaders for their hypocrisy (1:10-15); greed (5:8), self-indulgence (5:11), and cynicism (5:19).  With these sins they were bringing the nation to moral ruin.  God raised up Isaiah to announce their fate (6:11-13).  As Isaiah predicted, Israel was exiled in 722 B.C. and Hezekiah barely escaped the Assyrian destruction (36:1-37:37).

And the passage of Isaiah 9:6 is a common verse and as it should be remembered and proclaimed.

Isaiah 9:6 (NASB) 
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

Likewise, when I visit Isaiah 9, I tend to gravitate to this section of the chapter on the prophecy of Christ to the neglect of the second section concerning the judgment.  Recently, I read the Harbinger, and I was overwhelmed by the significance of Isaiah 9:10.  Granted the book leans heavy on Replacement theology, of which I'm not a fan.  However, the events proceeding 9/11 and the proclamations made by our leaders are sobering.  Forthcoming is a breakdown of the events that followed 9/11.  Amazing.  But first meditate on Isaiah 9:10.

Isaiah 9:10 (KJV)10The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: The sycamores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars.

Here is the passage in sequence overlaid with video footage of the events from September 11, 2001.

"The bricks are fallen down..."

Tom Daschle Speech on September 12, 2011 quotes Isaiah 9:10 in ignorance.  Reading the context of Isaiah 9:10 it is certainly not a passage about which to boast.

"...but we will build with hewn stones" (seen in the first two minutes)

"The sycamores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars."