Qiyamah: The Day That Death Will Die, Lesson 5

The Seven Year Kingdom of Death

Death will certainly meet its end in the day of qiyamah, but before that finally happens, death will seem to stand strong for one last time. Just before 'Isa al-Masih returns to earth out of the skies, there will be a seven-year period worse than any other time in the history of mankind. During that time, death will seem to reign supreme on this earth, so that it can be called the "seven-year kingdom of death". In the holy Injil it is written,

For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now - and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. (Holy Injil, Matthew 24:21,22)

Prophet Isa said that if this future time of great trouble would be allowed to continue, not even one person would escape the clutches of death; all would perish! For this reason, Allah will limit it to seven years duration (see Taurat, Daniel 7:25; 9:27; 12:7; Injil, Revelation 11:2,3; 12:6,14; 13:5).

But why will Allah allow this terrible time to happen on earth? The holy Scriptures reveal two main purposes for this unprecedented time of distress -- judgment and mercy. It is not difficult to understand that the time of great trouble will be a judgment from Allah on a sinful world. The holy Injil says,

"Fear Allah, and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come." (Holy Injil, Revelation 14:7).

But how can such terrible events be described as mercy from Allah? Even in the midst of these judgments, people will have opportunity to repent of their sins and turn to the Lord. One particular instance shows how that great catastrophe in that future time of trouble will encourage people to turn to Allah,

At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. (Holy Injil, Revelation 11:13)

This is a severe mercy, but mercy nonetheless if it results in repentance. The holy scriptures often mention the seven year period as two periods of three-and-one-half years. If you look at the references given, sometimes they say "3 1/2 years", sometimes "42 months", and sometimes "1,260 days". These all mean the same length of time, that is, 3 1/2 years according to a lunar calendar.

The great event marking the end of the Great Trouble will be the return of 'Isa al-Masih to earth. But the time of Great Trouble itself will be marked by death and destruction on this earth. The Holy Injil speaks of three series of terrible calamities associated with the Great Trouble. These three series are known as the Seven Seals, the Seven Trumpets, and the Seven Bowls. The last section of the Injil, known as Revelation, speaks in great detail concerning these things (see Revelation 6-16).

The Seven Seals - (Holy Injil, Revelation 6:1-17; 8:1)

Beginning in Revelation chapter 6 of the Holy Injil, 'Isa al-Masih called by the title of "the Lamb" (cf. Holy Injil, John 1:36), opens a seven-sealed book. As he opens each successive seal, something important happens relating to Allah's anger in the end times. As Isa opens the fourth seal look at what happens:

I looked and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and the Grave was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth. (Holy Injil, Revelation 6:8)

The judgment of the seven seals is the least severe of the three series of seven judgments. Even still, it is so terrible that one quarter of the world's population does not survive. The other seals result in calamaties such as international aggression and conquest, war, famine and rationing, religious persecution and martyrdom, and physical disturbances on earth and in the sky. Look at the sixth seal:

I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, "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 their wrath has come, and who can stand?" (Holy Injil, Revelation 6:12-17)

A terrifying scene is painted for us of heaven and earth being shaken as a sign that the day of Allah's anger has arrived. Hundreds of years before the holy Injil was revealed, Allah spoke similar words through the prophet Joel:

I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth: Blood, and fire, and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved...(Taurat, Joel 2:30-32)

It can be seen that the seven seals are only the beginning of Allah's judgment in the seven years of great trouble. What follows may be much worse. But notice that even in judgment Allah shows mercy and calls us to repentance. He says, "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved". Allah wants to save all men from their sins. Not only that, but he promises to save anyone who calls on him as this verse states. This means that it is possible to be sure of having all your sins forgiven. This is not presumption or blasphemy. It is simply believing Allah's promise.

The Seven Trumpets - (Holy Injil, Revelation 8:2-9:21; 11:15-19)

The opening of the seventh seal issues ultimately in the blowing of seven trumpets. As each trumpet is blown by a holy angel, a new judgment falls upon the earth. Some of the events that occur at that time include the following:

• destruction of 1/3 of all vegetation, trees, and farmland
• 1/3 of all oceans turned to blood and 1/3 of sealife dies
• 1/3 of all fresh water poisoned, many people die
• 1/3 of sunlight and moonlight diminished
• plague of locusts to torture men for five months, people will want to die but cannot
• earthquake and great hailstorm

Although all the judgments are severe, the blowing of the sixth trumpet is especially bad:

The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the horns of the golden altar that is before Allah. It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates." And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. The number of the mounted troops was two hundred million. I heard their number. (Holy Injil, Part 27, Revelation 9:13-16)

Just as in the judgment of the seven seals, much destruction and death will take place. In the sixth trumpet judgment, 1/3 of all people will die! If you add up the number of deaths from the fourth seal and the sixth trumpet you find that half of all people on earth have died! The fourth seal takes one quarter. The sixth trumpet takes one third of the three quarters which remain. That leaves only two quarters or one half. If the world population at the time will be 10 billion, then 5 billion will meet death as a result of those two judgments alone! Although this particular judgment is the result of the release of four evil angels, the actual killing will be accomplished by a huge army of 200 million human soldiers! People who live during the "seven-year kingdom of death" will be no strangers to war.

The Seven Bowls - (Holy Injil, Revelation 15:1-16:21)

With the series of judgments called the seven bowls, Allah's anger against the people of the earth will be finished. The seven bowls are much more severe than the judgments of the seals or the trumpets. Some of the curses resulting from the seven bowls are:

• ugly and painful sores on followers of Dajjal
• intense heat and burning from the sun
• plague of darkness on kingdom of Dajjal
• worst ever earthquake in history
• all mountains flattened
• every island submerged
• huge hailstones weighing more than one mon

The second and third bowls affect all water on the earth, whether fresh or salt:

The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead man, and every living thing in the sea died. The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. (Holy Injil, Revelation 16:3-4)

Obviously, if no good drinking water is available, many people will become ill or perish. But this is only preparatory to greater trouble coming later. Look at the sixth bowl:

The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs...They are spirits of demons performing miraculous signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of Allah Almighty. Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. (Holy Injil, Part 27, Revelation 16:12-14,16)

This refers to a terrible battle in the Middle East before Prophet Isa will return from heaven. Armies will gather from all over the world to fight. World War I and II will seem small in comparison to this war. The Scriptures tell us that there will be so much human blood spilled that it will be several feet deep and extend to a distance of almost 200 miles (see Holy Injil, Revelation 14:20)! We can only thank Allah that the words of Prophet 'Isa al-Masih are true that "those days will be shortened". Even in the midst of Allah's judgment of sin, he shows mercy by not destroying mankind completely. When we consider how hard Allah's judgment on sin will be, we should also consider how terrible our sins are and how corrupt our hearts are. Then we should cry out to Allah to guide us into the path by which we may be made clean and holy in his sight. We have already learned that Allah wants to save us from our sins, but we must truly want to be saved from our sins as well. Like Prophet Dawud (pbuh) before us, we can pray:

Have mercy on me, O Allah, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. (Zabur 51:1-7)