YOM KIPPUR NOTES ON THE THEOLOGY OF THE DAY OF THE LORD: THE “LESSER” TRIBULATION VS. THE “GREATER” TRIBULATION (WITH VIDEO)

YOM KIPPUR 2026. Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is known as the holiest day of the Jewish year. Leading up to and on that day, Jews traditionally ask for Forgiveness for our wrongdoings from God and from our fellow human beings. All the more desperately needed in this hour of American and Israeli Departure from their God.

1. THEOLOGY

SCRIPTURE. “Jesus answered, ‘BE CAREFUL [‘blepó (Βλέπετε)-‘guarded watchfulness’] that no one misleads you [deceiving you and leading you into error]. For many will come in My name [misusing it and appropriating the strength of the name which belongs to Me], saying, “I am the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed),” and they will mislead many. You will continually hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end [of the age]. 

For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.But all these things are merely the beginning of BIRTH PANGS [of the intolerable anguish and the time of Unprecedented Trouble]. – MATTHEW 24:4-8

KEY TERM. “BIRTH PANGS.” ‘Ódin’ [ὠδίνων]: “A [severe] pain, sorrow, or travail (as with childbirth preliminary to delivery).” NOTE: “The term ὠδίν (Strong’s 5604) evokes the sharp, cyclical pains that accompany childbirth. ‘Scripture employs this vivid picture to communicate Suddenness, Inevitability, increasing Intensity, and the HOPE that lies beyond suffering—the arrival of New Life.’ As natural labor contractions cannot be halted once begun, so the Divine Purposes connected withὠδίν cannot be averted.” – CHARLES ELLICOTT, An Old and New Testament Commentary for English Readers, 1878, 1897; edited

QUOTATION. “‘GOD’S WRATH, properly, is an aspect of His LOVE: It is because God loves human beings with a steady, unquenchable PASSION that He hated Apartheid, that He hates torture and cluster bombs, that He loathes slavery, that His Wrath is relentless against the rich who oppress the poor.’ If God was not Wrathful against these and so many other distortions of our human vocation, He is not loving. ‘And it is His Love, determining to deal with that nasty, insidious, vicious, soul-destroying Evil, that causes Him to send His only, special Son.’” ― N.T. WRIGHT, Lent for Everyone: Mark Year B, 2012; edited. DK NOTE: Of crucial importance is to studiously determine ‘WHEN God’s Wrath falls.’ Selah.

COMMENTARY. “‘The Beginning of Sorrows.—The words mean strictly, ‘The beginning of travail pangs.’ ‘The Troubles’ through which the World passes are thought of as issuing in a ‘NEW BIRTH’—the ‘Regeneration’ of Matthew 19:28. So St. Paul speaks of the whole creation as ‘Travailing in pain together’ (Romans 8:22). ‘So a time of National Suffering and Perplexity is one in which the children are come to The Birth, and there is not strength to bring forth’ (Isaiah 37:3) …

DK CODICIL. “It is difficult indeed, in fact quite impossible for me to properly capture the massive nature of THIS MOMENT in human history. Several Bible expositions have tried; ‘Cosmic Chaos,’ ‘Shaking of the [whole] Earth,’ ‘Signs in the Sky,’ ‘Cosmic Mayhem, and for most – ‘THE DAY OF THE LORD!’ Each of which is accurate enough in its own right – but not nearly comprehensive enough. Or again as my original Subtitle said it: The beginning of ‘The End of History as We Know it.’

That is what is COMING, and nothing less, since at this point, the Age of Grace that has lasted some 2,000 years is terminated in a violent, terrifying, and unprecedented ‘Rupture of the Space-Time Continuum.’ It is the End of Natural Law as we have conceived it. All the Norms and Normalcies of human life have reached their Termini. Or as I came to discover a saying in Spanish during my Circuit Ride, or instructional road trips starting in June 2021:

“¡SE ACABÓ!”  Translation: “It’s over!” – Dr. Cliff Kelly, The Sixth Seal II: A Pre-Wrath Commentary Redux on the Rise of Donald Trump and the Decline of the American Order (2024, p. 186; edited).

1. PRE-WRATH “TRIBULATION”

During the runup years to the publication of the first version of The Sixth  Seal (2017), I began to make clearer distinctions between ‘TWO ERAS’ of the Biblical Time of Jacob’s Troubles. That Point of Demarcation was housed deep within FOUR SCRIPTURES that speak powerfully and consistently through both the Old and New Testaments.

• PROMISE. “But since we [believers] belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope and confident assurance of salvation. FOR GOD HAS NOT DESTINED US TO [INCUR HIS] WRATH [that is, He did not select us to condemn us], but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died [willingly] for us, so that whether we are awake (alive) or asleep (dead) [at Christ’s appearing], we will live together with Him [sharing eternal life].” – 1 THESSALONIANS 5:7-9, AMP

• PERSEVERANCE. Then they will hand you over to [ENDURE] TRIBULATION, and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. At that time many will be offended and repelled [by their association with Me] and will FALL AWAY [‘skandalizó’ (σκανδαλισθήσονται)-‘cause to stumble, offend, led into sin’] [from the One whom they should trust] and will betray one another [handing over believers to their persecutors] and will hate one another. Many false prophets will appear and mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, the love of most people will grow cold. But the one who ENDURES and bears up [under suffering] to the end will be saved.” – MATTHEW 24:10-13, AMP

• PREPARATION. “But BE ON GUARD, so that your hearts are not weighed down and depressed with the giddiness of debauchery and the nausea of self-indulgence and the worldly worries of life, and then that day [when the Messiah returns] will not come on you suddenly like a trap; for it will come upon all those who live on the face of all the earth.But keep alert at all times [be attentive and ready], praying that you may have the strength and ability [to be found worthy and] to ESCAPE [‘ekpheugó’ (ἐκφυγεῖν)-‘to flee or fly from for obedience’] all these things that are going to take place, and to stand in the presence of the Son of Man [at His coming].” – LUKE 21:34-36, AMP

• PHILADELPHIANS.  “Because you have KEPT the word of My endurance [My command to persevere], I will KEEP YOU [SAFE] from the hour of trial, that hour which is about to come on the whole [inhabited] world, to test those who live on the earth. I am coming quickly. HOLD TIGHT what you have, so that no one will take your crown [by leading you to renounce the faith]. He who overcomes [the world through believing that Jesus is the Son of God], I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God; he will most certainly never be put out of it, and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which descends out of heaven from My God, and My [own] new name. He who has an ear, let him hear and heed what the Spirit says to the churches.’” – REVELATION 6:8-13, AMP

PRE-WRATH “TRIBULATION.” I am proposing that we are most assuredly not yet in what theologians and expositors of the Scriptures describe as “The Day of the Lord.” That stunning ‘Rending’ of the Spiritual, Natural and Societal Equilibrium shall be like no other (cf. Revelation 6:12-17).

1. BIRTH PANGS

In somewhat stark contrast to the Pre-Tribulation View that posits the Church does not face any of the 21 Judgments of the Book of Revelation, the Pre-Wrath View argues that we shall. Specifically, that we are here for the BIRTH PAINS that constitute the ‘Run-Up to the Wrath of God.’

THE SIX SEALS. The nearly isomorphic parallels between the Lord’s Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24 and the Six Seals of Revelation 6 are increasingly accepted by orthodox Bible scholars. Indeed, the latter constitutes a roughly chronological TIMETABLE for watching ‘The Signs of the Lord’s Return.’

Each of the Scriptures below are rendered in the New King James Version

1. FIRST SEAL: ANTICHRIST. “Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, ‘Come and see.’ And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer” (6:1-2).

• SECOND SEAL: CONFLICT. “When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, ‘Come and see.’ Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword” (6:3-4).

• THIRD SEAL: SCARCITY. “When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, ‘Come and see.’ So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, ‘A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine’” (6:5-6).

• THE FOURTH SEAL: DEATH. “When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, ‘Come and see.’ So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth” (6:7-8).

• THE FIFTH SEAL: MARTYRDOM. “When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. 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?’ 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.” (6:9-11).

DK NOTE. All of this the True Remnant Church shall face now and in the days immediately ahead, as these Birth Pangs advance in increasing intensity and frequency. MAKE READY, therefore, to ‘Be Prepared’ for these Five Seal Judgments that are descending upon all nations.

But most especially, the United States of America. Selah.

1. “GREAT” TRIBULATION

SEAL SIX. “I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a GREAT EARTHQUAKE [‘seismos’ (σεισμὸς)-‘a great commotion or “gale of the ground” heralding the Consummation of the Age’] and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. 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. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place.And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and 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 HIS WRATH has come, and who is able to stand?” – REVELATION 6:12-17, NKJV

THE COVENANT. “Then after the sixty-two weeks [of years] the Anointed One will be cut off [and denied His Messianic kingdom] and have nothing [and no one to defend Him], and the people of the [OTHER] PRINCE who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. And he will enter into a binding and irrevocable COVENANT [‘birith’ (בְּרִ֛ית)-‘maledictory oath invoking a curse of death if the agreement is broken’] WITH THE MANY for one week (seven years), but in the MIDDLE of the week [3.5 years] he will stop the sacrifice and grain offering [for the remaining three and one-half years]; and on the WING OF ABOMINATIONS will come one a DESOLATOR [the Antichrist], who makes desolate, even until the complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who causes the horror.” – DANIEL 9:26-27, AMP

THE TRIBULATION. “So when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION [the appalling sacrilege that astonishes and makes desolate], spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the Holy Place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains [for refuge]. Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things that are in his house [because there will not be enough time]. Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his coat. 

And WOE to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! Pray that your flight [from persecution and suffering] will not be in winter, or on a Sabbath [when Jewish laws prohibit travel]. For at that time there will be a GREAT TRIBULATION (pressure, distress, oppression), such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will [again]. And if those days [of tribulation] had not been cut short, no human life would be saved; but for the sake of the elect (God’s chosen ones) those days will be shortened.” – MATTHEW 24:9-13, AMP

THE ABRAHAM ACCORDS. When Jared Kushner on behalf of President Trump 45 drafted this historic document to the First Signatories on September 15, 2020, the world started spinning toward its Great Telos at breakneck speed. Hoped for Unprecedented Normalization began that day, with Israel, America, United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain signed on together about this hallowed moment in World History.

Since then, however, all potential cooperation has collapsed under the bloody weight of the America-Israel-Iran War, with other Arab States. The Iranians and the Houthis in Yemen are now effectively bombing and destroying American’s Middle East military emplacements, as Trump seriously considers doubling down on the Thousand-Day War with boots on the ground planned.

Middle East Bible scholar and author RICHARD ALLINSON describes the importance of all this for what lies ahead.

“The Final Seven Years [of the Great Tribulation] do not begin with a war, a disaster, or a global collapse. Scripture is clear: they begin with a SIGNATURE. Daniel 9:27 describes a Single Political Act so decisive that it becomes the Prophetic Turning Point of all history. It is the Moment when a Global Leader ‘CONFIRMS the Covenant with Many for One Week’ This Covenant does what nothing else can do. It identifies the ANTICHRIST.” – The Final Seven Years (2025, p. 147; edited).

TRUMPETS AND BOWLS. ‘By these assessments and interpretations, the Confirmation of the Abraham Accords simultaneous with Christ’s Opening of the Sixth Seal IGNITE, “The Day of the Lord” and the Great Tribulation. Constituting the fulfillment of the World’s Last Seven Years, or the Second 3.5 Years of the Time of Jacob’s Troubles’.

• TRUMPETS. The Trumpet Judgments are a series of Seven Apocalyptic Events described in the New Testament’s Book of Revelation (Chapters 8–11). Triggered by Angels blowing Seven Trumpets, these Judgments represent First Waves of DIVINE WRATH unleashed on the Earth. They include the following expressions of that Wrath. (1) Hail, Fire, and Blood rain down, burning up one-third of the Earth. (2) Blazing Mountain is thrown into the sea, turning one-third of the oceans to blood. (3) A Great Star named “Wormwood” falls from heaven, andpoisons one-third of all rivers and springs. (4) One-third of the sun, moon, and stars are struck, plunging the Earth into Darkness for a third of the day and night.  (5) First Woe: The Abyss is opened, releasing a plague of Demonic Locusts led by Abaddon. They are commanded to torture Unsealed Humans for five months with stings like scorpions. (6) Second Woe: Four Bound Angels are released at the Euphrates River, unleashing a massive Demonic Army of 200 million horseback troops that kill one-third of humanity. (7) Marks the FINAL CONSUMMATION of God’s Kingdom. It triggers loud voices in heaven declaring Christ’s Eternal Reign, followed by lightning, thunder, an earthquake, and a great hailstorm.

• BOWLS. ‘The Bowl Judgments are the Seven Final and most Severe Plagues of God’s Wrath poured out on the Earth during the End Times.’ These events happen near the End of the Tribulation Period in rapid succession. They complete God’s Judgment against Human Rebellion before Jesus Returns. They include the following. (1) Painful, festering sores break out on people who follow the Antichrist. (2) The sea turns into blood like a dead person’s blood, and all sea life dies. (3) All rivers and freshwater springs turn into blood to judge those who killed God’s people. (4) The sun gets extra power to scorch people with intense heat and fire. (5) Pitch-Black Darkness covers the throne and kingdom of the beast, causing intense pain. (6) The Euphrates River dries up completely to let Eastern Armies march toward Armageddon. (7) A massive Global Earthquake and giant one-hundred-pound hailstones destroy cities, shouting, “IT IS DONE.”

• LAST SCENARIO

Beloved, this is what I see for the YEAR 2027, in light of all these trajectories. It is “Informed Speculation,” and not necessarily Canonical. As we approach the Feast, Yom Kippur (Sep. 21, 2026) and the subsequent Feast of Booths, I propose that: ‘The Feasts of 2026 are HARBINGERS of what may well come next year.’

As the entire Middle East Theater of War rapidly expands and intensifies, it would seem that any sort of ‘Peace Deal’ in such conditions are inconceivable. I disagree, and here’s why and what I envision to likely take place in the next 15 MONTHS: September 2026-December 2027.

From a report published by senior associate editor STEPHEN N R writing for Gulf News on September 6, 2026 (edited)

THE PLAN. “Dubai: US President Donald Trump is working on what he has privately described as ‘SOMETHING MUCH BIGGER’ for the Middle East after the Iran War — an ambitious strategy that could reshape Washington’s approach to the region by building a ‘New Alignment Against Tehran’ and deepening ties between Israel and its neighbours.

The emerging strategy has THREE BROAD ELEMENTS. The FIRST is to bring US Allies in the Region into closer alignment to contain Iran, with Washington potentially acting as a Security Guarantor.

The SECOND is an attempt to wind down several conflicts and tensions that followed the October 7, 2023 attacks. That could involve advancing the Next Phase of TRUMP’S GAZA PLAN, negotiating a security arrangement between Israel and Syria and implementing the existing Israel-Lebanon agreement.

The THIRD — and potentially most ambitious — is ‘Expanding the Abraham Accords’ and securing a ‘NORMALIZATION AGREEMENT’ between Saudi Arabia and Israel. Such an Agreement would represent a major Diplomatic Prize for Trump and could become the ‘Centrepiece’ of his attempt to build a ‘New Regional Order’ after the Iran Conflict.”

CODA. Therefore, beloved, it is quite possible that: (1) The Seven-Year Peace Agreement from Daniel 9:27 could be ‘Confirmed’ by the End of 2027. (2) That would mean that the Great Tribulation could commence next year – or at least the first 3.5 years of it. (3) And that in turn would mean, depending on your theology of THE RAPTURE of the True Remnant Church, would be very near indeed! ‘By the Pre-Wrath View, it must take place just BEFORE the Sixth Seal is torn open by our King.’

Whether that takes place or not, one clear INSTRUCTION from the Lord to us all. “Now when these things begin to occur, STAND TALL and lift up your heads [in joy], because [suffering ends as] your redemption is drawing near.” – (LUKE 21:28, AMP)

MAKE READY, therefore, as never before.

DK NOTE: I will be taking the coming week off to move into my new home office and install some new equipment. I will be back online SAT. SEP. 26 – Sukkot, or Feast of Booths.

MEDIA

YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/522jD1k6lMQ