What Do We Know about the Tribulation?
Share
The Tribulation, also known as the Great Tribulation, is an unprecedented period that will be experienced on the earth. There has never been a time like it before and there will never be one like it after. We often think of the tribulation as God’s judgment, but have you ever thought it is also about God’s covenant? Honestly, it is not possible to go through every detail of the tribulation in one article, so I will give you an overarching view so you can walk away with a little more understanding of what the tribulation is.
What Is the Tribulation?
The word “tribulation” means severe trial or suffering, and the Great Tribulation is a time of God’s judgment for man’s rebellion. This period, which lasts seven years, begins with the rapture of the church (more on this later) and during this time God will complete his discipline of Israel and final judgment upon the unbelieving citizens of the world. This will be a period of great trial and great suffering unmatched in human history. Here are two portions of Scripture that give you some insight into this period of tribulation.
“For there will be greater anguish than at any time since the world began. And it will never be so great again. In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, not a single person will survive. But it will be shortened for the sake of God’s chosen ones” (Matthew 24:21-22).
“At that time Michael, the archangel who stands guard over your nation, will arise. Then there will be a time of anguish greater than any since nations first came into existence. But at that time every one of your people whose name is written in the book will be rescued” (Daniel 12:1).
In addition to being called The Great Tribulation, the Bible also gives this period different names. Here are some examples:
Time of Jacob’s Trouble
“Alas! For that day is great, So that none is like it; And it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, But he shall be saved out of it” (Jeremiah 30:7, NKJV).
“In all history there has never been such a time of terror. It will be a time of trouble for my people Israel. Yet in the end they will be saved!” (Jeremiah 30:7, NLT).
Day of the Lord
“The day of the Lord is near,
the day when destruction comes from the Almighty.
How terrible that day will be!” (Joel 1:15).
“That terrible day of the Lord is near.
Swiftly it comes—
a day of bitter tears,
a day when even strong men will cry out.It will be a day when the Lord’s anger is poured out—
a day of terrible distress and anguish,
a day of ruin and desolation,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and blackness” (Zephaniah 1:15).
Where Does the Tribulation Fall in the End Times Map?
To understand where the tribulation falls on the end times map, there is one consensus among Christians and people who study the Bible. The tribulation precedes the second coming of Christ. As to when this tribulation period begins, that answer will depend on who you ask. To clarify what I mean, I will connect it to another event on the prophetic calendar which is the rapture of the church. When it comes to the rapture, there are three prevalent thoughts as to when this will happen.
Pre-Tribulation – This is the belief the rapture happens before the tribulation and the rapture of the church is the event that kicks off this seven-year period of tribulation.
Mid-Tribulation – This is the belief the rapture happens in the middle of the tribulation. Possibly after the first three and a half years.
Post-Tribulation – This is the belief the rapture happens at the end of the tribulation and immediately precedes the second coming of Jesus Christ.
For those who believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, there is a clear timeframe as to when the tribulation begins. For those who don’t, then their end times map may look a little different. Regardless of what view you have, all we know for certain is this period will precede the second coming of Christ.
What Will Happen at the Tribulation?
During the tribulation period, God is dealing with those who have chosen to reject him, and he is dealing with Israel. God is disciplining Israel and calling them to repentance because of the covenant he established with Abraham. What you will also discover as you study more about this time is that even during judgment, God still offers mercy and the opportunity to repent. And some people will. What is fascinating is even in the face of horrific judgment, many people will still harden their hearts toward God. The judgement during the tribulation will push people deeper into their rejection and rebellion against God.
The tribulation is not just a period of judgment, it is also a period of redemption. During this time God will redeem Israel and this will happen because God has never forgotten the covenant he made with Abraham thousands of years ago. While I don’t have the space to cover how all that works in this article, I did a teaching on this topic where I explored this aspect of it in greater detail. You can find that teaching on The Bible Study Club.
During the tribulation, there will be a world leader who will arise, and he will be the most prominent leader on the earth during this time. We know the leader as the antichrist. When he comes, he will seem to accomplish on the earth what no other leader has been able to do, bring peace. He will sign a peace treaty with Israel however that will only last three and a half years because he will break the treaty. You can read more about this in Daniel 9 but here is one verse to reference for you.
“The ruler will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of seven, but after half this time, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings. And as a climax to all his terrible deeds, he will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration, until the fate decreed for this defiler is finally poured out on him” (Daniel 9:27).
As I said before, there are many more details, which is why I hope this motivates you to continue to study this topic to fill in all those details.
Should Christians Worry about the Tribulation?
If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, should you be worried about the tribulation? The answer is no.
As I mentioned earlier there are many Christians who believe in pre-tribulation rapture and if this is accurate, then we won’t be here and there is no need to worry about the tribulation. Just for the record, no one knows for certain when the rapture of the church will happen. While it is a good discussion to have to hear different viewpoints, it should never be a point of division because no one is one hundred percent certain.
Based on this let’s consider something else. What if the rapture does not happen before the tribulation? Should Christians worry? The answer again is no. Even if we must go through part of or all the tribulation (again no one knows for certain) your hope and confidence should always be in the God who is able to keep you in every circumstance. He will not fail you and he will never leave you or forsake you, so you do not have to worry. This does not mean there won’t be challenging times if we must go through the tribulation. It just means you have a hope that others outside of Christ will not have.
Final Thoughts about the Tribulation
My goal here today was not to give you an exhaustive exposé on the tribulation, but to whet your appetite and hopefully give you a foundation to begin a study of the tribulation. As I said before there is so much more information to discover.
Should you continue studying the tribulation let me will caution you on one thing. Don’t let the study of Bible prophecy become a distraction. You can spend years looking at dates, times, signs, and everything associated with Bible prophecy. Knowing this information should create more urgency to share the gospel and reach more people. Since you understand what will happen in the future let’s try to rescue as many as we can. This should be the motivation of all study of Bible prophecy.
Let’s not make the goal just knowing all the facts about the tribulation, let’s make the goal saving as many people from the judgment of God as possible. I believe this is what God would want us to do anyway.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Jurkos
