THE GREAT TRIBULATION

There isn’t any doubt that there has been much tribulation suffered by the Christian Church over the centuries.  From the time that Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven in the sight of all His disciples, the world has persecuted the Church.  Before His departure, Jesus plainly told His followers, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33).  He also told them, “Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord.  If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you...” (John 15:20). 

 

Initially, it was the Jews who threatened the early Church, gradually stepping up the intensity of their persecution until they were imprisoning and martyring believers for the Gospel of Christ.  Before his conversion to the faith, Saul (who later became the Apostle Paul) received permission from the Jewish leadership in Jerusalem to round up Christians to be incarcerated and killed.  After Saul’s conversion to Christianity, the Roman emperors also began a systematic persecution of the Church.  Between 54 and 110 AD, seven separate Roman emperors severely punished the Christian believers for their faith in Jesus.  Later, it was the Catholic Church of Rome who ordered many believers to be tortured and killed during the Inquisition because they didn’t conform to the Catholic doctrines.  Today, nearly 400 million Christians—about one in seven globally—face some form of persecution or violence.  An average of 13 Christians every day are killed for their faith, with 93% of these fatalities occurring in sub-Saharan Africa.  According to the Open Doors World Watch List, 15 countries currently experience "extreme" levels of anti-Christian persecution.

 

The Church has always experienced tribulation in the world, and they will continue to do so; but the Bible speaks of a specific time near Christ’s returning as The Great Tribulation.  This will be a seven-year period of upheaval and unrest among the people of the earth that will be unlike anything that has ever been seen.  It is the time when the cup of God’s wrath will be poured out on all the nations and people who have rejected the Father and the testimony of His Son, Jesus Christ.  This will be the “time of Jacob’s trouble” and the reign of the Beast, or antichrist, when that wicked one will make war on the saints of God (See Jeremiah 30:7; Revelation 12:13, 17).

 

The question that many are asking is: Will the Christians have to go through the Great Tribulation?  Many look to 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 for the answer to that question.  In these verses they see the possibility of God coming and catching His people away before they will have to face the tribulation of the last days.  This catching away has become known as the rapture of the Church.

 

“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.  For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.  For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.  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: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.  Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13–18).

 

The Greek phrase for "caught up together with them in the clouds" centers around the word “ἁρπάζω” (pronounced harpazō). It means to snatch, seize, or carry away by force.  Historically, this event is referred to as the Rapture, derived from the Latin translation “rapio” or “rapere”.  It was adopted by early Latin-speaking theologians to translate the Greek word “harpazó”.  The word “rapture” does not appear anywhere in the Bible.

 

Christians are divided over the rapture of the Church and just when it will occur.  Most fall into one of three main camps which are as follows:

 

·        Those who believe in a pre-tribulation rapture.  They teach that it will occur just before the beginning of the 7-year tribulation period.  They also teach that it will be a secret event that only those who are directly affected will be aware of.  Of course, the world will recognize the fact that a lot of people will have mysteriously vanished, literally, into thin air!  Once the Christians, those previously dead and those who are alive at the time, are caught away with the Lord, they will be taken to heaven to wait for God’s judgments to wrap up before coming back to earth with the Lord at His true 2^nd coming.

 

·        Those who believe in a mid-tribulation rapture.  They teach pretty much the same things as the pre-tribulation folks do, but they say it will happen after the first 31/2 years of tribulation but before the last 31/2 years.   

 

·        Finally, those who believe in a post-tribulation rapture.  They teach that the event described in 1 Thessalonians is Christ’s 2^nd coming and will occur after the seven years of tribulation.  They say that they will meet the Lord in the air and accompany Him back to earth.  The battle of Armageddon will take place at this time between Christ and His armies and the Beast and the kings of the earth.  The devil will be bound in a bottomless pit for a thousand years at this time also. 

 

Let’s examine the scripture to understand what it teaches about this important event.

 

We read in 1 Thessalonians 4 that the Lord Himself will “descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump [trumpet] of God.”  So much for it being a secret event!  With the trumpet blaring and the archangel shouting, I can’t imagine that anyone is going to miss it!

 

If we compare this to other Bible verses that refer to Jesus’ return, it may help us to determine a timeframe for when this event will happen.  Paul writes, “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” (1 Corinthians 15:51, 52).  The event described here has too many similarities to 1 Thessalonians 4 to be anything other than the same event.  Paul refers to the dead in Christ being raised and the living saints being changed into their immortal bodies.  Again, the trump of God is mentioned also, but this time it is said to be the last trump.  This helps us put the event into a prophetic timeline.  John’s Revelation mentions seven trumpets that herald different events: this would be the final trumpet after the other 6 have already sounded.  Each of the six trumpets ushers another plague or devastation on the world in their turn, but the seventh or last trumpet is different.  When the last trumpet sounds there are voices in heaven that say, “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our LORD, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.” (Revelation 11:15).  This refers to the defeat of the unbelieving nations and the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth for 1000 years, known as the Millenium.  This is the thing that Christ taught us to pray for when He instructed us to say, “Thy Kingdom come.  Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10). 

 

Another thing that occurs at the blast of the last trump is the judgment of the living and dead souls who died having known and accepted Christ as Lord and Savior.  “And the nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that Thou shouldest give reward unto Thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear Thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.” (Revelation 11:18).

  

Now, let’s compare all of this to Matthew 24: “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 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.  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.” (Matthew 24:29-31).  This passage describes the same event that 1 Corinthians 15 and 1 Thessalonians 4 do.  The sounding of the trumpet is once again mentioned in this passage.  Also, we see the gathering together of God’s elect from the four winds.  The “elect” simply refers to those whom God has chosen, both dead and living.  According to Peter, they are counted as the Elect “…according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:2).  In other words, these are true believers, bought by the blood of the dear Lamb of God. 

 

Notice that this passage adds one more element to its description that the others do not.  It says, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days…” shall all these things happen.  Not before the tribulation, not midway through the tribulation, but immediately after the tribulation.  And just to be clear on which tribulation Matthew is referring to, he writes in verse 21, “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.”  Without question Matthew refers here to the Great Tribulation which will be the last tribulation ever.  It will be like nothing we have ever seen from the beginning of the world to its end.

 

We also have this supporting passage in Revelation that confirms that the saints of God will indeed be present for the great tribulation: “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb…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.  They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.  For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:9-17).

 

Another matter to consider is that of resurrections.  The Bible speaks of only two.  The first is the resurrection of the just which happens after the tribulation period and before the Millenium begins.  The second is the resurrection of everyone else.  Jesus confirmed this to His disciples when He said, “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life [the first]; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation [the second].” (John 5:28, 29).

 

The Bible describes the first resurrection as follows:

 

“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; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.  But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.  This is the first resurrection.  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.” (Revelation 20:4-6).

 

The second and final resurrection is described in this way:

 

“And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from Whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.  And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:11-15).

 

If there is another secret resurrection of Christians before the seven-year tribulation period, it would be a third resurrection and therefore not in line with what scripture clearly presents. 

 

So, there appears to be no evidence of a pre-tribulation rapture of the Church in the Bible.  So, just where did this doctrine originate? 

 

Among the ancient writings that still exist today, there is no record that this doctrine was taught or held by any of the early Church Fathers.  It was not until 1830 that a young Scottish woman by the name of Margaret MacDonald prophesied of such an event.  Within months, her new prophetic “revelation” was published in the September 1830 issue of The Morning Watch, and the early Brethren assembly at Plymouth, England were teaching it.

 

John Nelson Darby (1800-1882), who was the leader of the Brethren movement and regarded as the “father of modern Dispensationalism,” took Margaret Macdonald’s new teaching on the rapture, made some changes (she taught a partial rapture of believers while he taught that all believers would be raptured) and incorporated it into his Dispensational understanding of Scripture and prophecy.  Darby would spend the rest of his life speaking, writing, traveling, and spreading the new rapture theory.

 

The one person who was arguably the most responsible for the widespread acceptance of Pre-tribulation and Dispensational doctrine among Evangelicals is Cyrus Ingerson Scofield (1843-1921).  C. I. Scofield published his Scofield Reference Bible in 1909.  This Bible, which embraced the doctrines of Darby in its notes, became very popular among Fundamentalists.  “In the minds of many a Bible teacher, fundamentalist pastor and multitudes of professing Christians, Scofield’s notes were practically equated with the word of God itself.” (Rev. Brian M. Schwertley).

 

There are many places in the Bible that speak of the Church’s presence during the tribulation.  This can be a frightening prospect for those who have been led to believe that they won’t be here.  I have come to appreciate the perfect balance of truth that the Bible provides us, however.  I’ve discovered that man often operates on the extremes of an issue while the truth usually lies somewhere in the middle.  On this issue, the extreme positions are that either the Church will be delivered completely out of the great tribulation, or that they will suffer miserably through the midst of it all. 

 

I find that the Word offers us hope, along with many promises, that ensure that His people will be cared for during the Great Tribulation.  It is clear that God’s people will have to decide whom they will serve.  They can’t live with one foot in the world and the other in church.  Heaven is a holy place for holy people.  It is for those who have learned to die to self and embrace the life of Christ.  It is for those who have learned to follow the Lord wherever He leads them rather than live as they please and expect the Lord to follow and bless their bad choices.   

 

According to James, tribulation works patience in the man/woman/child of God, but it also works maturity in lots of ways.  Tribulation teaches us to trust in the Lord with all our heart, not to lean or rely on our own understanding, and to acknowledge him and His purpose in all our ways.  When we do this, God can speak to us and direct our footsteps.

 

Jesus warned His disciples about the horrific devastation of Jerusalem by Roman forces under Titus in 70 A.D.  They were told to flee the city or be caught up in the overthrow and be destroyed.  Those who were walking and living in the Spirit at the time had enough warning to escape the city before the siege sealed it up permanently.  Similarly, Revelation 12 symbolically portrays the Church being delivered out of danger.  “…a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: and she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered…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.” (Revelation 12:1, 2). 

 

The Bible is full of promises of God’s deliverance from the forces of evil and the judgment of the Most High God.  Noah was instructed to build an ark which became his means of escape from the destruction of the world.  Angels were sent to Lot to warn him of the overthrow of Sodom and G0m0rrah.  God kept the Israelites safe from many of the plagues that He sent upon Egypt, delivered them from the death angel, and led them by Moses across the Red Sea.  The LORD kept His people safe from the annihilation that Haman devised against them through the intercession of Esther. 

 

There are many more places that speak of God’s protection over His people.  For instance:

 

·        In John 17:15, Jesus prayed to the Father, “I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil.”

 

·        In Revelation 3:10, Christ promises the Church of Philadelphia: “Because thou hast kept the word of My patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.”

 

·        Jeremiah speaks of God’s deliverance in chapter 30 of his book.  Although it applies to Israel after the flesh, as is true of much of Bible prophecy, it also foreshadows events in the life of the Church.  We must be mindful of these types and shadows as we study the Word of God.  “For thus saith the LORD; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace…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.  For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will break his [antichrist’s] yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him: therefore fear thou not, O My servant Jacob, saith the LORD; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid.  For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.” (Jeremiah 30:6-11).

 

·        Jesus tells us in Mark 13:20: “And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect’s sake, whom He hath chosen, He hath shortened the days.”

 

·        The Prophet Joel said, “And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.  The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.  And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.” (Joel 2:30-32).

 

·        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.” (Luke 21:36).

 

·        In Psalms we find these words of comfort: “He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust: His truth shall be thy shield and buckler.  Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.” (Psalm 91:4-5).

 

·        And in 2 Thessalonians 3:3 we read, “But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.”

 

In closing, let’s look at these wonderful words of comfort by the Apostle Paul, “Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.  For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.  But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.  For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.  Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.” (1 Thessalonians 5:6-11).

 

My goal in presenting this is not to be contentious or stir up debate.  It is only to inspire a healthy search of the Scriptures.  May the Holy Spirit of truth and comfort enlighten our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.