―and pestilences‖, (Matt 24:7c)
And from Revelation:(7) ―And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
(8) And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed
with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with
hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.‖ (Rev 6:7-8)
Sudden death of 25% of the world‘s population through war, famine and beasts will cause pestilences! Dead
bodies of ±1.5 billion people will cause major pestilences and sicknesses to break out in a very short space
of time.
24:7d-10 Earthquakes, beginning of sorrows, they deliver you up to be afflicted, hate one another―(7d) and earthquakes, in divers places. (8) All these are the beginning of sorrows (in the beginning of the
great tribulation at the midpoint). (9) Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye
shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. (10) And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one
another, and shall hate one another.‖
And from Revelation:(9) ―And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar (in heaven) the souls of them that were
slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
(10) And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and
avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
(11) And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest
yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were,
should be fulfilled.‖ (Rev 6:9-10)
―And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them
that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the
beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands...‖ (Rev 20:4)
Persecution on earth from the midpoint onwards (Great Tribulation) causes souls in heaven under the altar.
These souls in heaven must wait till the full harvest comes out of the tribulation – they must wait for 3½
years.
Jewish literature is replete with examples of what will proceed the coming of the Messiah. These events are
known as the "Footsteps of Messiah".
Talmud - Mas. Sotah 49b: ―In the footsteps of the messiah insolence will increase and honour dwindle. The
vine will yield its fruit [abundantly] but wine will be dear. The government will turn to heresy and there will be
none [to offer them] reproof. The meeting-place [of scholars] will be used for immorality. Galilee will be
destroyed, Gablan desolated, and the dwellers on the frontier will go about [begging] from place to place
without anyone to take pity on them. The wisdom of the learned will degenerate, fearers of sin will be
despised, and the truth will be lacking. Youths will put old men to shame, the old will stand up in the
presence of the young, a son will revile his father, a daughter will rise against her mother, a daughter-in-law
against her mother-in-law, and a man's enemies will be the members of his household. The face of the
generation will be like the face of a dog, a son will not feel ashamed before his father. So upon whom is it for
us to rely? Upon our father who is in heaven.‖
Midrash Rabbah - The Song of Songs II:33: ―The Rabbis say: In the generation in which the scion of David
will come, the wise men of the generation will die and the rest will waste away with grief and sorrow and
much trouble will come upon the community and cruel decrees will be promulgated, one coming on top of
another. R. Nehorai said: ̳In the generation in which the scion of David will come, the young will insult their
elders and the old will rise before the young, as it says, The daughter riseth up against her mother, the
daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house (Micah VII, 6),
and a son will feel no shame before his father‘. R. Nehemiah said: ̳Before the days of the Messiah there will
be great poverty and scarcity, and the vine will cast its fruit and the wine will turn bad and the whole of the
government will be converted to minuth and there will be no reproof‘. R. Abba b. Kahana said: ̳The scion of
David will come only in a generation which is brazen-faced like a dog‘. R. Levi said: ̳The scion of David will
come only in a generation which is full of impudence and deserves to be exterminated‘. R. Jannai said: ̳If
you see one generation after another cursing and blaspheming, look out for the coming of the Messiah, as it