A Clearer View of the GREAT TRIBULATION
The saints who die in the Great Tribulation are promised a share in the rule of Christ for a thousand years. "Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. Rev. 20:4 (ESV)
Who are thse tribulation saints? Some folks say they are not part of the Church. Such folks cut the Church into parts and say this part is those who came to Jesus in the time between Pentecost and a pretrib rapture. This definition deforms the traditional definition of the Church.
The pretrib rapture view is an heresy, breaking up the Body of Christ into parts, thereby destroying the doctrine of the unity of the Body of Christ.
The Church is actually the group of people of all ages who are redeemed by Jesus. The Church is a unity. Jesus said of the Church in John 10:16, "there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." The saints in the Great Tribulation are as much part of the Church as those of any previous age.
It is common to hear evangelical preachers say the Church will escape the Great Tribulation by being be caught up to be with Jesus at the rapture. This is because they assume that the Great Tribulation is the final Wrath of God. It is not.
In Matthew 24:26 we read of people looking for Jesus. This is during the Tribulation. but if the pretrib view were right, would people be looking for Him again?
The Great Tribulation is a period of three and one half years in which Satan will try to totally destroy the people of God, whether Israel or the Church. The Bible says Satan's man, called the Beast, "was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation," Rev. 13:7 (ESV) But it is not God who will make war with the saints. God does not destroy His own people.
Great Tribulation Is Not the Wrath of God
If one imagines that the Great Tribulation is the same as the Wrath of God, the theory of a pretribulation rapture of the Church seems reasonable. But it is unbiblical. The Great Tribulation will begin endtime events. The Wrath of God will end them. The Tribulation is the time of the wrath of Satan who will seek to destroy the people of God. The Wrath of God is the time when God will destroy Satan's power.
People who assume this error wander in a desert of eschatalogical wilderness. One of them is Dr. Thomas Ice. He wrote, "I arrived at my pretribulational beliefs through the study of the Bible." The statement is not true, even if he believes it is. He cannot find in the Bible text any statement that teaches a rapture coming before the Great Tribulation. Because he believes it, he would insert the view into the Bible where it actually is not found. Since he believes such a thing sincerely, his mind is closed when he reads scriptures that contradict the view.
This is explained in my book, "The Rapture Examined." If a man's mind were not closed, he would see the truth when he reads his Bible. But men who accept the pretrib rapture doctrine without having a biblical statement to confirm it cannot see statements that contradict that view.
Revelation 15 through l9 is mostly about the Wrath of God that will follow the Rapture. The Great Tribulation is going on in chapter 7 before the rapture.
The trouble of the Tribulation will be world wide. In Rev. 9:15 one third of mankind will be killed. In chapters 8 and 9 are disasters that fall from the sky and seem to mirror the words of Jesus in Matthew 24:29, "the sun [shall] be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken."
In the Tribulation, people will be killed if they do not worship the beast. But in the Wrath of God, people will be killed if they do worship the beast.
As we move toward the Tribulation, trouble is increasing worldwide. All churches will be closed. Pastors will be assassinated. Public witnessing for Jesus will bring prison sentences or death. Sharia law will become common and people who refuse to obey will be beheaded. These things are coming on the Church of Jesus Christ.
Jesus said of the Tribulation, "And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short." Matthew 24:22 (ESV) Hank Hanegraff says Jesus' words are hyperbole and the flood of Noah was a worse time. But the Great Tribulation will involve Satanic persecution. God is merciful and does not take pleasure in causing human pain.
At that time "the powers of the heavens will be shaken." Matt. 24:29 Ephes. 6:12 (KJV) "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." In the Tribulation there may be increased demon activity. They will be cast out of heaven with Satan himself.
The Tribulation will come unexpectedly. Luke 21:34 Jesus told us to watch, because it will "come upon you suddenly like a trap." Christians will not recognise it until it is too late to back out. This is where Jesus says we should be
"praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man." Those who believe in a rapture before the Tribulation will be totally unprepared for it.
It will be the time of an open clash between two religions, Christianity and Islam. I suppose it will begin in the United States with the election of Moslems to public office. Eventually they will succeed in getting Sharia law recognised in our country. Eventually the government will close Christian churches and demand worship by citizens. Rev. 13:4 The Lamb of God will be opposed by the dragon. Freedom of religion will not exist. Human governments will oppose the people of God.
Who expected that in 2008 we would get a Moslim as president of the USA who wants us to be subject to the World Court and lose the protection of the Constitution?
Contrary to the error of dispensationalism, the Bible says the Church is headed into the Great Tribulation. The theory of a pretribulation rapture says that the rapture at the parousia of Jesus will come before the Antichrist is revealed. but Paul wrote that Antichrist will be DESTROYED, not revealed, by the parousia. 2 Thess.2::8. Unless one's mind is blinded by false doctrine, here again is evidence that the Church must endure the Great Tribulation.
The Bible tells us what the Tribulation period will be like. It will be introduced by something called the "abomination of desolation" in the holy place, the temple. The "Man of Sin" will sit in the temple and he will demand to be worshiped. The physical temple will have been rebuilt in Jerusalem.
Israel is now, in 2009, in tribulation, but it is not yet the Great Tribulation. She is under constant attack and foolish foreigners, including some from the U. S. A., are pressuring Israel to negotiate, to compromise with Islamists, to give up her land for peace, so she will become less able to defend herself.
The leaders of Israel are generally not religious. A time will come when some leader. perhaps Moslem, will offer terms for peace and Israel will jump to accept, even though she will know the agreement is based on lies. In Islam, unlike in Christianity, agreements are easily broken for advantage.
God said in Isaiah 28:18 (ESV), "Then your covenant with death will be annulled, and your agreement with Sheol will not stand; when the overwhelming scourge passes through, you will be beaten down by it."
That covenant will be broken and the Great Tribulation will begin. Hordes of supposed Christians, who had thought God would rapture them before that time, will give up the faith in a great apostasy. 2 Thess. 2:3
Trouble will be so serious that it will threaten to destroy all human life on earth. See Matt. 24:22. "No life (flesh) would have been saved." There will rise an abundance of false messiahs and false prophets, affecting even believers. There will even be signs and false wonders designed to deceive unbelievers.
During the Great Tribulation people will still be looking for Christ to come. Matt. 24:23 If the rapture had already come, people would know it because "all the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see the Son of Man coming." But in the midst of the Tribulation, the Church must still wait.
Jesus said, "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 heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken." Matthew 24:29 (ESV)
This verse from Matthew corresponds with chapters 8 and 9 in the Revelation, the time of the Seven Trumpets. Changes in the sky will cause great fear on the earth. All earth's inhabitants will be watching as nature goes crazy. Then they will see the "sign of the Son of Man." Jesus will appear with great power and glory.
The powers that will be shaken include demon beings. "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." Ephes. 6:12 (ESV) There will be an increase in demon activity on the earth before the Rapture.
From Paul's day even to today, demons seem to have had access to heaven. There will be much talk about UFO's. But a day was to come when there would be "war in heaven," and Satan and his angels will be cast out. Rev. 12:9 Satan will have "a short time" on earth. v. 12
The Beast will conquer the saints for forty-two months. The power of the Beast will then end. Demons will be gathered together and imprisoned for a long time. "On that day the Lord will punish the host of heaven, in heaven, and the kings of the earth, on the earth. They will be gathered together as prisoners in a pit; they will be shut up in a prison, and after many days they will be punished. Isaiah 24:21-22 (ESV) The "many days" will be the Millennium. The punishment of demons will follow the Millennium.
The tribulation saints are the ones who will reign with Christ on the earth during the Milennium. 2 Tim. 2:12 says, (ESV) "if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us."
In the Great Tribulation just before these signs, there will be on the earth "distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world." Luke 21:25-26 (ESV)
Some believers will be asleep as far as understanding God's program. The number of believers who will be killed will be "a great multitude that no man could number." The martyrs will die mostly by being beheaded, a favorite method of Islamists.
The word "coming" in 2 Thess. 2:8 is the Greek word parousia. The rapture will come at the parousia. 1 Thess. 4:15-17. This verse tells us that Antichrist's work will END at the rapture, not begin then.
Matthew 24 shows that the parousia of Jesus, the time of the rapture, will come immediately after the time of great trouble on earth, the Great Tribulation. For this reason we know that the preterist idea that the Tribulation came in the first century cannot be true.
Society then will be like the days of Noah when earth was corrupt and filled with violence. All nature will be upset.
After Noah was safe in the ark, God intervened to wipe out nearly all life on earth. After the Great Tribulation, God will remove the Church from earth and then His wrath will fall on the earth.
The Greek word translated tribulation is thlipsis, and it means pressure, distress, trouble. It comes from the verb that means to press, to afflict. The term "great tribulation," thlipsis megale in Greek, occurs in three places in the King James Version of the Bible. Here they are:
"But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." Matt. 24:21, 22 There would be no need to pray to escape if God had promised to rapture the saints before this.
It will be a time of trouble exceeding anything before or after, much worse than in the first century. Satan's government will be cruel, but it will last only forty-two months. Rev. 13:5 The beast will be removed at the parousia, the rapture. 2 Thess. 2:8
Matthew 24 is a part of the Olivet Discourse which Jesus gave to his disciples, Peter, James, John, and Andrew, who were founding members of the Church, at a time when when they had gathered on a hillside called the Mount of Olives near the Jerusalem temple. Their discussion was about the destruction of the temple, the parousia of Jesus, and the end of the age.
The scene in Revelation chapter 7 is part of a vision that John had. It follows six seals and comes about the time of the seventh seal and a series of seven trumpets. "And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them." Rev. 7:13, 14
These saints in heaven were martyred on earth in the Great Tribulation. Although organized churches, targeted by the Beast, will have disappeared from earth in that time of persecution, members of the true Church will still be on the earth.
The term great tribulation in Revelation chapter 2 does not concern us because that is part of a message that Jesus sent through John to members of a single church in Asia Minor. The passage says, "And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation ...." This was for one single church.
Great Tribulation Mentioned in Two Places
We are concerned here with the term in two places, Matthew 24 and Revelation 7.
Both Matthew 24 and Revelation 7 speak of a specific time of great pressure, affliction, or of trouble but of limited duration that will come on the world near the end of the age. Matthew called it a "tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." The Revelation 7 passage literally reads in Greek, "out of the tribulation, the great one." Both passages speak of a unique time of trouble that surpasses all others. This should not be dismissed as hyperbole. We believe the very words of Scripture are precise and God-breathed.
When we compare Matthew 24 with Luke 21, we see the time before the gathering of the elect described this way: Luke 21:25-26 (ESV) "And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, [26] people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken." This is world wide trouble.
There is a false claim the Church will not be involved in the Great Tribulation. Some even claim that the elect whom Jesus will gather in verse 31 will be Jews, not Christians. But this chapter was given to Christ's followers, Peter, Andrew, James, and John. Some of those elect who will be gathered will come from heaven, according to Mark's gospel. They are the saints who will come with Jesus when He comes for the Church.
Matthew 24 was given to answer a question about the parousia of Jesus. The Bible never uses the term parousia of Jesus referring to His coming to unbelievers. It speaks of the time of the rapture of the Church. 1 Thess. 4:15
Why Would God Allow the Great Tribulation to Happen?
Some folks have argued that God would not let this happen to His Bride, the Church. History shows otherwise.
Hebrews 11 records good people who suffered in the past. vs.36-38 says, "And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: [37] They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; [38] (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth."
Luke 21:35-36 says of the end of the age, "For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. [36] Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." By being prayerful, some Christians will escape the Great Tribulation.
In Matt. 24 Jesus called Israel's future troubles pains of childbirth. "Therefore he shall give them up until the time
when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel." Micah 5:3 (ESV) Then Jesus will begin His promised rule of Israel. "And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth." Micah 5:4 (ESV)
How Do We Know This Did Not Happen in A. D 70?
Some people called preterists teach that Jesus' return to rule happened in A. D. 70. For proof they quote verse 34. "Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place." (ESV)
The word "this" here refers to a specific generation. Which one? Some say it is the first century. Some say it is the century when people will see the signs mentioned. I went to a seminary and spoke with a specialist in Syriac dialects. Jesus spoke Aramaic, not Greek. Aramaic versions of the New Testament use here a word which cannot be translated as generation. It means family, nation, or kind.
If one knows his Bible, the arguments of preterists are relatively easy to disprove.
The Olivet Discourse given in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 consists of a mingling of two events in prophecy, the destruction of the temple in A. D. 70 and the rapture of the Church which is yet future. Most believers understand that Jesus has not yet come for His Church.
Such a conflation is seen in the Old Testament. "For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light." Isaiah 13:10 (ESV) The prophet is telling of the destruction of Babylon by the Medes, but it closely resembles Matthew 24:29.
Some would argue that the prophet is using hyperbole, but if so, is the rapture only a metaphor? a figure of speech? If the rapture is literal, we better not make the context symbolic.
Some people who say that the Great Tribulation came in the first century depend partly on the writings of Flavius Josephus, a Jewish priest, warrior, and historian in the first century A. D. He wrote about the destruction of Jerusalem.
If the Great Tribulation happened in the first century, then Jesus came in the first century, "immediately after" it. Matt. 24:29 Some folks claim that Jesus came in judgment in the first century. That cannot be the parousia that Matthew 24 described. When Jesus comes for the Church, it will be a visible, physical, bodily appearance. We know this because Luke wrote in Acts 1:11: "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."
This was a visible going. It will be a visible coming. The idea of a secret rapture is a false human invention. "And then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." Matt. 24:30
This will lead to the conversion of the Jews. John wrote, "Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on acount of him." Rev. 1:7 (ESV)
"And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn." Zech. 12:10 (ESV
The coming of Jesus to gather His Church will cause great fear world wide. It will be the opposite of a secret event.
Luke, whose account clearly refers to the events of A. D. 70, did not use Matthew's term, great tribulation. Therefore it does not follow that the Great Tribulation is the destruction of Jerusalem in A. D. 70.
Luke's account shows that the destruction of the city would be followed by a long period of time. "And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles shall be fulfilled." Luke 21:24 We are not told how long will be this period called the "times of the Gentiles."
Jerusalem is still being trodden down by Gentiles. The Palestinian Authority today claims Jerusalem as its capital. The Dome of the Rock, where the temple once stood, today is controlled by Moslems.
Revelation 11:2 reveals that the temple site will be shared by Jew and gentile/Moslem until Jesus comes. As of this writing, the Temple Mount is still being shared.
Matthew's account differs from Luke's by not telling us of this long interval after the Tribulation. Instead, Matthew wrote, "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened ...and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." vs. 29, 30
The coming of Jesus will immediately follow the Great Tribulation, and if Jesus did not return in the first century, both tribulation and rapture must be future.
There will be another destruction of Jerusalem. Zechariah 14: 2, 3 reads, "For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle." There is no record that God fought against the Romans in A. D. 70. This is a future destruction of Jerusalem.
Jesus said of the time of trouble, "And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh." Luke 21:28 This does not fit A. D. 70 because those events did not bring redemption. That did not occur in A. D. 70. It must be future.
What is the True Order of Future Events
Daniel wrote about the Tribulation. He wrote that the King of the North will invade Israel and make it his temporary headquarters. "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." Dan. 12:1, 2 Here is the resurrection of those people who are "written in the book."
Daniel placed the resurrection of the saints after the Great Tribulation. Dan. 12:1, 2 So we expect that the rapture of the saints also will be after the Tribulation. This order is consistent with Matthew 24.
This order of events is confirmed in Isaiah 26. First we see that Israel will be in tribulation. "Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O LORD. We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth ...." Isaiah 26:17, 18
Then Isaiah wrote that there will be a resurrection. "Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead." v. 19
Then will come the rapture. "Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast." v. 20 This removal of God's people from earth will come just before the Wrath of God, here called the indignation.
Then will come the Wrath of God. "For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain." v. 21
Then Satan will be punished. "In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea." Isa. 27:1, 2 This is confirmed in the book of Revelation where, after the wrath of God falls on earth's inhabitants, it says, "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, ..." Rev. 20:1, 2
Then will come safety and prosperity for Israel. "He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit." Isa. 27:6
Who Will Suffer in the Great Tribulation?
Who will suffer in this time of trouble? It will include people called the "elect." Matt. 24: 22 & 31 In Mark 13:27 we read that some of these elect gathered by angels will come from earth and some from heaven. Paul identifies them in I Thess. 4:14 by saying that when Jesus returns, "them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him." The elect are Christian believers, the Church, gathered for the rapture.
The Great Tribulation will involve Christians "of all nations, and kindreds, ..." who had washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb." Rev. 7:14 Jesus addressed the prophecy called the Olivet Discourse directly to His apostles, Peter, Andrew, James, and John. These men would become foundation members of His Church. This chapter is not addressed to unbelieving Jews.
But Jeremiah called the Tribulation the time of "Jacob's trouble." Jacob means Israel. This trouble will fall on the Jew. Jesus advised the inhabitants of Judea to flee to the mountains. He advised that men pray that it not happen in winter or on a Sabbath. Jesus connected the Great Tribulation to Daniel's prophecy about the place where sacrifices were offered. That is the temple in Jerusalem. Jews will be the target of this time of trouble. But today there is no temple in Jerusalem.
It will be a time of trouble so severe that, if God did not shorten it, no flesh would be saved. Matt. 24:22 The Great Tribulation will be worldwide, involving Gentiles. John described those who come out of the Great Tribulation as people "of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues ...." Rev. 7:9 He saw them standing before God's throne in heaven, a multitude that no man could count. This means that the whole world will undergo that time of trouble.
During that time, all churches will be closed, and the Church will be under heavy persecution. Beheadings of Christians will be common. Rev. 20:4
Other Bible References to This Time of Trouble
Jeremiah wrote of that time. "Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it." Jer. 30:7 If there is none like it, then Jacob's trouble is the same as the Great tribulation of Matthew 24.
Although Jeremiah called it "that day," the trouble will not be limited to only 24 hours. Sometimes the word "day" is an idiom for "time." Peter even wrote of an eternal day. His words, "to him be glory both now and for ever" is literally translated as, "to Him (be) the glory both now and to (the) eternal day. Amen." 2 Peter 3:18
Daniel wrote about that time. He wrote, "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book." Dan. 12:1 This time of trouble is the Great Tribulation.
The Great Tribulation in Types
In the chapter of prophecy, Matthew 24, Jesus referred to troubles in the end times as "birth pains." The Great Tribulation is a time of birth pains for Israel and God's people generally.
"And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. [2] She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth." Rev. 12:1-2 (ESV) This is Israel in the end times.
Rev. 12:4-5 (ESV)
".... And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. [5] She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne," 12:4-5 (ESV) If this is prophecy and not history, who is this child? If the birth pains are the Great Tribulation, the child is someone who is raptured. Who? In chapter 7, the 144,000 are seen on earth. In chapter 14 they are seen in heaven. They have been raptured! They are Jews who came to Jesus Christ ahead of the rest of the nation. They are Jews who will go up with, and as part of, the Church.
The Great Tribulation a Time of Martyrdom
The vast multitude of Tribulation saints in Revelation 7:9 did not reach heaven by rapture but by martyrdom. The KJV reads, "These are they which came out of great tribulation ...." Rev. 7:14 "Came" is not a good translation of the Greek participle used here. A more nearly exact translation would be, "these are the ones coming out of the Great Tribulation ..." The word "coming" speaks not the action of a single moment but it is a process that happens over a period of time. It is not instantaneous action like the expression "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye." These saints were in the process of becoming martyrs. They refused to worship the beast or to receive his mark on their foreheads or their hands, so they were being killed. But then "they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." Rev. 20:4 These saints are Christians who will die in that Tribulation.
Did the Great Tribulation happen in the past around A. D. 70 when the Remans destroyed Jerusalem? That was a partial fulfillment. It is not the final one. Luke's version of this Olive Discourse says that Jerusalem would be destroyed and trampled underfoot until the "times of the Gentiles" are fulfilled. Then Jesus will come. That extends the picture long after the first century. The trampling of Jerusalem has already lasted nineteen hundred years, and the world has not yet seen "the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory." Luke 21:27
Israel still waits for fulfillment of the part that says, "then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh." A. D. 70 did not bring redemption. Instead it brought long exile for the Jew. If A. D. 70 did not fulfill all of Luke 21, neither did it fulfill all of Matthew 24.
Who Will Cause The Great Tribulation?
Some wrongly call the Great Tribulation the Wrath of God. If that were so, it would mean that God will kill His own people. Who is it who really wants to kill both Jew and Christian? It is the beast, the antichrist. "And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations." Rev. 13:7 Satan will sponsor the beast. The Great Tribulation will be the time when Satan will try to totally destroy God's people. The saints are told not to fight back at that time. v. 10
A Moslem, in the Sunday Times (London) in may 23, 2004 wrote "Only one ambition is worthy of Islam, to save the world from the curse of democracy." A Saudi publication says, "[Democracy is] responsible for all the horrible wars … more than 130 wars with more than 120 million people dead [in the twentieth century alone]." Islam intends to rule the world. It appears to be the religion of the antichrist.
Why Would Satan Cause the Tribulation?
What would he gain from it? Satan once asked, "Doth Job fear God for nought?" Satan claimed that Job served God for what he could get from God, not because he loved God or because that is the right thing to do. Satan will cause the Great Tribulation in order to prove that believers will turn from God when they suffer, that in tribulation they will "curse God and die," the advice given by Job's wife.
But Job asked, "What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" Job declared, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him." In the Great Tribulation, though some Christians will fall away, others will die for their faith. Those who prove to be faithful will be "a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues." Rev. 7:9
But if the Great Tribulation is the wrath of Satan, can he cause turbulence in nature that Luke records? Job 1:18, 19 says yes.
How Long Will the Tribulation Last?
The beast will have authority for forty-two months, which is three and a half years. Rev. 13:5 Daniel was told "that it would be for a time, times, and half a time; and as soon as they finish shattering the power of the holy people, all these events will be completed." Dan. 12:7 In God's eyes, the Jews are a holy people.
Israel will again be driven from her land. "And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days." Rev. 12:6 That is three and a half years. This is the second half of the seventieth week of Daniel.
Jesus said, "And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened." Matt. 24:22 This may mean that the time will be shorter than three and a half years. Perhaps frightening signs in the sky will divert men's attention from the Tribulation. "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken .... and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn ...." Matt. 24:29, 30 Jesus will appear to rapture His Church.
Is there a Way to Escape the Great Tribulation?
Jesus said, "Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." Matt. 24:36 Some believers, because they will be alert and prayerful, will actually survive and live through that time and will be able to "stand before the Son of Man" when He comes for them.
This command to watch and pray means that the Church will be present in this terrible time. God has no plan to catch the Church up in the rapture before that time.
People who have been taught to expect rapture before that time may not be prayerful and so will not escape that time. They will discover the truth when it is too late. Wrong beliefs can shorten human life.
Jesus advised in Matt. 24:16 (ESV), "then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains." This suggests that some believers may survive by hiding out in desolate places.
How shall we prepare for that awful time? Maintain daily a godly lifestyle. Support the preaching of the Gospel. Practice now a frugal life style. When the time comes, pray for specific divine guidance. But if we die, we are still in God's hand.
Israel Must First Be Gathered to Her Land
In the chapter from Jeremiah given above he was told to write God's words in a book. That preserves the message for the future. "For, lo, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the LORD: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it." Jer. 30:2 Jews will regather to the land of Israel. This has already happened in part.
Israel will be gathered to her own land while still in unbelief. "I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. [25] I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you." Ezekiel 36:24-25 (ESV)
In Israel's war with Hezbollah in most of August 2006, a war that lasted about 31 days, while thousands of rockets were being fired into Israel from Lebanon, it is estimated that 3500 new immigrants came to live in Israel. What brought them? It is the hand of God.
Israel was to be regathered before the Great Tribulation. "I will bring them home from the land of Egypt, and gather them from Assyria, and I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon, till there is no room for them. [11] He shall pass through the sea of troubles and strike down the waves of the sea, and all the depths of the Nile shall be dried up." Zech. 10:10-11 (ESV)
But the greatest regathering will happen after the Great Tribulation. "Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth [the Great Tribulation]; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel. And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord,in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth." Micah 5:3, 4 (ESV)
Israel's Continued Existence Is a Miracle.
An article in Haarets at the end of 2006 says, "This year, Israel's economy grew by 4.8 percent - more than that of any country in the West. With this came the greatest social benefit of all: a decline in unemployment. The unemployment rate, which accounted for 10.7 percent of the workforce in 2003, slid to 8.5 percent this year. What this means is that 250,000 Israelis have found work over the past three years."
The Temple in Jerusalem Must First Be Rebuilt.
The temple is the "holy place" that Jesus mentioned in Matthew 24:15. It is where Jewish burnt ofereings were once made, as in Daniel 11:31. It is where the "man of sin" will sit, according to II Thess. 2:4, that evil person who will be destroyed by the parousia of Jesus Christ at the rapture. II Thess. 2:8
Some teachers of prophecy deny that the temple will be rebuilt. One such teacher recently said that the future temple will be Jesus Himself. If such an interpretation is true, think of this. Paul wrote of the man of sin who will take "his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God." This evil person will take a seat in Jesus? Those who spiritualize are not trustworthy teachers of Scripture.
Elijah Will Come before Jesus Returns.
Malachi 4:5 says Elijah will come before the "Day of the Lord." "Malachi" means My messenger. It refers here to Elijah who is probably one of the Two Witnesses of Rev. 11:7. These Two will be killed by the Beast and they will rise after three and a half days. Then will come the "last trumpet" and the resurrection of the saints.
We assume Elijah's ministry will be during the Great Tribulation. The death of the Two Withnesses will be followed by a resurrection. They will rise in their bodies to meet the Lord, unlike believers who today die and leave their bodies in the grave. This fact suggests that this will be at the resurrection and rapture of the saints.
Israel Will Be Rescued
Israel will be saved out of the time of trouble. God said, "I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him: But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them." Jer. 30:8, 9 This shows that the resurrection of saints will follow the Tribulation.
Jeremiah wrote that the oppressor will lose his power to harm Israel. Armies that gather against Israel, whether they are Islamic or European Union or the United Nations, will eventually be broken. This is described in Revelation 19. Arab nations will cease afflicting Jews.
Daniel recorded, "thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book." Some people will survive the Great Tribulation. St. Paul wrote, "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed ...." I Cor. 15:51 To sleep means to die. Not all believers will sleep. Some believers will survive the Tribulation and in their flesh will see the resurrection of the saints.
The Great Tribulation a Judgment from God?
We believe the series of seven trumpets in Revelation chapters 8 and 9 will precede the Rapture. Some folks call the trumpets part of God's judgments. Some of us suspect that these trumpets are caused by men and evil angels. For instance, the locusts in 9:7 have faces like human faces, hair like women's hair, teeth like lions' teeth, and stings like those of scorpions. As far as I know, such creatures do not exist. At creation, God fixed the limits for the various kinds. Today scientists are performing wonders with embryonic stem cells. It is likely that genes can be exchanged between different life forms. New, strange, and frightful creatures, chimeras, may be produced in modern laboratories. God may permit this, but the choice to do so would come from men and demons.
The Great Tribulation is the work of Satan before the rapture of the Church but with God's permission. After the Church is raptured, the Wrath of God will fall on earth in the seven bowls, or vials, of wrath.
What will happen after the Great Tribulation?
Jesus said, "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 heaven,..." Matt. 24:29 (ESV) There will be great fear on earth because nobody on earth will miss these signs.
Jesus said, "and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." Then He will gather His elect, the saints of all the ages, who compose the Church. This is the rapture.
Jesus said, "and the powers of the heavens will be shaken." Perhaps this will fulfil the words, "Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, ... [9] And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him." Rev. 12:7-9 (ESV) Satan may have had access to heaven since the days of Job. But here it will be ended.
With the Church removed from earth, the full Wrath of God will fall on the world of the ungodly, as pictured in Revelation 15 and 16.
What will come next? God's kingdom on earth. On a recent radio program by Hank Hanegraaff, a guest made the statement that Jesus repudiated the idea of a kingdom on the earth. Perhaps this was an attempt to explain Jesus' words in John 18:36, "My kingdom is not of this world." But there is a difference in meaning for the Greek words commonly translated as earth and world. This verse does not use the word earth.
God's word to the Church is this: "and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth." Rev. 5:10 (ESV) This refers to the Millennium.
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