The
Doctrine of the Tribulation
Reference Sheet from Living Waters COGOP
originally
from http://lvw.homestead.com/Trib.html
Definition
The word "tribulation"
comes from the Greek word qlipsis meaning "affliction, distress."
It is used in general of any kind of testing, affliction or distress
which people experience throughout life, and especially of the church
and her problems in this world (Acts 7:10-11; 11:19; Rom. 5:3; Rev.
1:9; 2:9, 10, 22).
But Bible students
have also used the term, "the Tribulation," to refer to
a specific eschatological time of trouble, a special time of judgment
from God that will come upon the entire world, will be unprecedented
in its affliction, and will be culminated by the personal return
of Jesus Christ to earth.
There are many
passages that anticipate this time of trouble under a variety of
names, but two very special passages are Matthew 24:4-21 and Revelation
6-19.
For the purpose
of accuracy, it should be noted that the word tribulation (qlipsis)
is used prophetically to describe the distress that will occur in
this specific future time of trouble preceding the return of the
Lord only in Matthew 24:9, 21, 29; Mark 13:19, 24; and Revelation
7:14.
Each of these
passages are dealing with the time of Daniel's seventieth week,
also called the "time of Jacob's distress" (Jer. 30:7).
In five of the passages, the word "tribulation" refers
to conditions in the last half of this time period and is either
described by some qualifying term like "great" (Matt.
24:21; Rev. 7:14), by a clause describing the unprecedented nature
of the distress (Mark 13:19), or tribulation has "the "
as an article and in some way refers back to the great distress
mentioned in the preceding context (Matthew 24:29 has, "after
the tribulation of those days" and Mark 13:24 has, "after
that tribulation."
But since this
seven-year period is a time of trouble (distress) involving judgments
that will be poured out as the Lamb consecutively opens the seven-sealed
scroll, Bible students often referred to this entire period as "the
Tribulation," and rightly so.
Since the judgments
of the seals, the trumpets, and plagues grow in intensity, the last
half is by far greater than the first half, and for this reason,
it is called in Scripture, "the Great Tribulation."
The
Source of the Tribulation
The post-tribulational rapturist (those who believe the rapture occurs
at the end of the Tribulation) often refuses to distinguish between
the general tribulations of this age which the church will endure
and the unique, universal, and unprecedented Tribulation of Revelation
6-19 and Matthew 24:4-31.
As
such, they insist that the Tribulation is not the judgment of God,
but that it comes from man and Satan and that the church will go through
the majority of the events of Revelation 6 and following. They often
see any future tribulation as merely the devil's wrath poured out
against Christians.
True,
the Tribulation will witness Satan's wrath and the persecutions of
his man, the beast (Rev. 12:12-17; 13:7), but Scripture shows that
even this is a manifestation of God's wrath using Satan and mankind
as the instruments of divine judgment as Assyria was used as the rod
of His wrath (Isa. 10:5f).
The
clear emphasis of Scripture is that the Tribulation (Daniel's Seventieth
Week) is a time of God's special judgment poured out upon the earth.
The
events or judgments of the Tribulation (Rev. 6-19) are clearly specified
as the result of the sovereign actions of the Lamb who opens the seals
which produces the judgments that follow (Rev. 5:6-9; 6:1, 3, 5, 7,
9, 12; 8:1).
Key
Scriptures: Isaiah 24:1-13; 26:21; Daniel 9:24-27; Joel 1:15; Zeph.
1:18; Revelation 6:1-17; 11:18; 14:7, 10, 19; 15:4, 7; 16:1, 7, 19;
19:1-2.
The
Nature and Character of The Tribulation Period
Read
Deuteronomy 4:30-31; Isaiah 2:l9; 24:1, 3, 6, 19-21; 26:20-21; Jeremiah
30:7; Daniel 12:1; Joel 2:1-2; Amos 5:18, 20.
(1)
It is a time of unprecedented trouble (Joel 2:2; Matthew 24:21). Everything
about it will be unprecedented.
Compare also Zephaniah 1:14-18.
(2) It is a time of God's wrath or indignation and the vindication
of God's holiness (Zeph. 1:15, 18; Rev. 6:17; 1 Thess. 1:10;
Rev. 14:7, 10; 19:2). God's wrath against man's sin and rebellion
will be withheld no longer.
(3)
It is a day of utter darkness, gloom and extreme cloudiness (Joel
2:2; Zeph. 1:15).
(4)
It is a day of destruction and global catastrophes (Joel 1:15; 2:3;
1 Thess. 5:3; Rev. 6-19).
(5)
It is a day of extreme lawlessness, sin and demonic activity (Rev.
9:20-21; 2 Thess. 2:12).
(6)
It is a day of extreme deception and delusion (2 Thess. 2:9-12; Rev.
9:1f; 13:2-3, 11-18; Dan. 8:24f).
This deception is caused by a number of factors:
(7)
It is a time of death (Rev. 6:3-11; 9:15, 18; 11:13). Large portions
of the populations of the earth will be wiped out suddenly,
both human and animal.
(8)
It is a time of utter negative volition, cold indifference, and rebellion
against God even though the world will know it is under the
wrath of God (Rev. 6:14-17; 9:20; 11:10, 18).
(9)
It is a time of internationalism religiously (Rev. 17), politically
(Rev. 13:17), economically (Rev. 18), militarily (Joel 3:2, 9-14;
Rev. 17).
(10)
It is a time of extreme anti-Semitism (Rev. 12; Matthew 24:9, 13f).
(11)
It is a time of unprecedented apostasy and blasphemy against God (Rev.
11:1f; 13:1f; 2 Thess 2:3f).
(12)
It is a time of the martyrdom of believers, both Jew and Gentile (Rev.
6:9; 7:14f).
(13)
It is a time of global and universal war, human and angelic (Rev.
6:2-4; 16:14; 19:14f; Joel 3:2, 9f; Rev. 12:7).
(14)
But it is also a time of unprecedented evangelism (Rev. 7:9; Matt.
24:14).
Names
Used of the Tribulation
(1)
Jacob's trouble or distress (Daniel 9:24-27)
(2) Daniel's 70th week (Daniel 9:24-27)
(3) A time of trouble or distress (Daniel 12:1)
(4) The great day, the one of their wrath (Rev. 6:17)
(5) The hour of testing which shall try the whole earth (Rev. 3:10)
(6) The indignation (Isaiah 26:26)
(7) Tribulation and the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:9, 21, 29; Mark
13:19, 24;
(8) The Day of the Lord (Joel 1:15; 2:1; 1 Thess. 5:2)
In Scripture, "The Day of the Lord" is often associated
with this time of great judgment which God will pour out on the earth
against Israel and the nations. But it is also associated with the
time of millennial blessings which follow during which the Lord will
rule on earth.
Key
Players and Personages
(1)
Unbelievers: The Tribulation focuses on unbelievers since
the Body of Christ (Church) will have been removed through the rapture
and kept from this hour of trial (Rev. 3:10; 1 Thess. 1:10; 5:9).
The Tribulation is uniquely a time to test the earth dwellers (Rev.
3:10; Isa. 24:17), those who during the church age had no time nor
interest in spiritual things and who therefore never received Christ
as their Savior by faith (2 Thess. 2:10-12).
The
Tribulation is a time of God's wrath or judgment. Believers in Christ
do not appear in this judgment (Rom. 8:1), we are not appointed to
the Day of the Lord, the time of wrath (1 Thess. 5:2, 9).
(2)
Jews and Gentiles: The participants of the Tribulation may
be further categorized according to their racial heritage as either
Jews or Gentiles. Scripture categorizes men today in three categories:
In
the Tribulation the church will be gone, so the world will consist
of only Jews (Israel) and Gentiles.
Compare
Ephesians 2:11-22 for the reason why the church is a new entity of
people, i.e., a new man, a new creation where Jew and Gentile are
made one in Jesus Christ.
The
reason for these two categories is found in the dispensational purposes
of God and God's special calling and purpose for Israel according
to the Old Testament covenants with Abraham and the patriarchs, and
with David (Gen. 10; 11; 12; 2 Sam. 7:12-16;
Rom. 3:9, 19; 11:1-32; Luke 21:24).
(3)
144,00 Bondservants of God: 12,000 Jews from each of the
twelve tribes. These are Jews who will be saved after the Tribulation
begins.
They
are sealed, which refers to their salvation, identification and protection
for special service during the rest of the Tribulation. From the context
of Revelation 7, it appears they will be the special evangelists whom
God will use to lead multitudes to Christ from
every nation, tribe, people and tongue ( Rev. 7:1-8 with 9-10).
(4)
The Two Witnesses: This refers to the two men who will come
on the scene as virtual (though not necessarily literal) Moses and
Elijah. They will perform miracles like those of Moses and Elijah,
and will prophesy during part the Tribulation (Rev. 11:1-14).
(5)
Satan and his Demons: Revelation 9:1-11; 12:3-17; 16:13-14;
13:2. Obviously, as a day of delusion and great darkness, Satan and
his demon hosts are key figures in this drama. All the lawlessness,
the murders, drugs, wars and blasphemies of this period are a result
of satanic activity in conjunction with the degeneracy of man (2 Thess.
2:9-12).
(6)
The Beast: Revelation 13:1f; 16:13; Daniel 2:40-43; 9:27;
8:23f; 7:23-26; 11:36f. This title applies to both a man and his governmental
system.
The
system is the revived imperial form of the Old Roman Empire which
is a consolidation of ten European countries into one 10 nation confederation.
But this system is headed up and controlled by a Satan-possessed man
from whom the system gets its character and beastly nature.
(7)
The False Prophet: While the beast is primarily a political
figure (though he later becomes religious in that he seeks to be worshipped
and claims to be God), the False Prophet is religious and promotes
the ministry and person of the beast (Rev. 13:11-18). Since the first
beast is Satan-possessed, this forms the unholy trinity, Satan, the
beast, and the False Prophet. Satan is to the beast what the Father
is to the Son, and the False Prophet is to the beast what the Holy
Spirit is to Christ.
(8)
The Fallen Angels and Michael and His Angels: Rev. 12:7.
The entire Book is filled with the ministries of the angels of God
in service to God and of the activity of fallen angels that do Satan's
bidding.
(9)
The Lord Jesus Christ, the King of kings, The Lamb and Lion from the
tribe of Judah: Rev. 4; 5; and 19. He is the central figure
who is revealed in all His glory and splendor, person, and work and
who puts an end to God's enemies and establishes God's kingdom on
earth.
(10)
The Bride of Christ, the Church: Rev. 19:7f. She is viewed
as married to the Lamb and coming with Christ at His second advent
for
the marriage supper, the millennial kingdom where she will reign with
Christ.
(11)
The Great Harlot, Religious Babylon: This is the great religious
system, the mother-child cult, the mother of all harlotry stemming
from the time of ancient Babylon. It finally becomes a great ecumenical,
one-world religious system of the Tribulation (Rev. 17).
(12)
The Merchants of the World: Rev. 18. This refers to the conglomeration
of multinational companies and organizations and their merchandising
of the world.
(13) The Ten Nations of Europe: Rev. 17:12. This
refers to ten nations, a Mediterranean or European federation which
falls under the power and authority of the beast.
(14)
The Kings of the East: Rev. 16:12f. This refers to an oriental
block of nations who will march across the Euphrates River when it
is miraculously dried up. Their goal is to enter Palestine for the
final battle of the campaign of Armageddon to be fought on the plain
of Esdraelon near the Mount of Megiddo.
The
Time of the Tribulation
The
Tribulation occurs after the removal of He who now restrains ( The
Spirit annointing the church -- 1 Thess. 4:13-18; 5:l-9,
2 Thess. 2:1-12) and is followed by the 1,000 year reign of Jesus
Christ (Rev. 20:1-4; Ezek. 20:33-38; Matt 24 and 25). It is that
period of time through which the Lamb defeats His enemies and establishes
His right to rule on earth (Rev. 4 and 5; 11:15-18).
Some
arguments for the pre-tribulational rapture, i.e., that Christ comes
for His church before the Tribulation are:
(1)
It is a time of divine wrath and judgment upon sin and the church
has not been appointed to wrath (1 Thess. 5:9; Rom. 8:1; John 5:24).
(2) The church has been specifically promised it will be kept out.
(3) The church and Israel are two distinct groups or peoples of God
(1 Cor. 10:32; Rom 9; 10; 11). The church age is a parenthesis (mystery)
in God's program with Israel. The Tribulation is the resumption of
God's program with Israel, to conclude it and establish the kingdom.
The Tribulation is thus Jacob's Trouble, Jeremiah 30:7. It is for
Israel and not the church, the Body of Christ.
(4) The coming of Christ for the church is seen as imminent in the
epistles. By this we mean it is not preceded by signs. Christ could
come for us today (1 Thess. 1:10; Titus 2:13; John 2:22). If the church
had to go through the Tribulation, then His coming could not be imminent,
but would be preceded by signs.
(5) The contrasts between Christ's return for His saints (the church)
and His return after the Tribulation also support two separate and
distinct events separated by some time.
The
Purposes of the Tribulation
(1)
For Israel: Being uniquely a time of Jacob's (Israel's) distress
(Jer. 30:7), it is a time to discipline Israel for her stubbornness
and rejection of Christ, to purge out the rebels and to bring the
nation to faith in Christ and so prepare her for restoration and regathering
for
the millennium (Matt. 23:37-39; Ezek. 20:33-38; Zech. 12:10; Jer.
30:1-17). The Tribulation is also designed to break the yoke of Gentile
bondage (Jer. 30:8, 11; 31:11).
(2)
For the Nations: The Tribulation will serve as divine judgment
for anti-Semitism (Zech. 1:15-21; 12:3f; 14:3; Joel 3:2; Jer. 30:8,
11, 16). The Tribulation will also be used to bring many Gentiles
to faith in Christ (Rev. 7:9; 13:10). Finally, it is a test to try
all the inhabitants of the earth.
(3)
In Relation to Satan: The Tribulation will reveal the true
character and program of Satan. The Tribulation will permit Satan's
program to come to its logical conclusion resulting in judgment from
God. It will demonstrate that Satan is the cause of war, murder, and
deception, and that he deserves his judgment from God (Matt. 25:41;
Rev. 12:7-12; 20:1-3; Isa. 14:12-17; Ezek. 28:12-19).
(4)
In General: The Tribulation is an open judgment against all
mankind for rebellion to God and rejection of Jesus Christ (Zeph.
1:15, 17, 18; Joel 3:12-14; Rev. 6:16-17).
(5) In Relation to God: The Tribulation will demonstrate
that God is holy, righteous, just, and still on the throne. That He
has not ignored man's rebellion or sin, but that He has held back
only in mercy and longsuffering, not willing that any should perish
(2 Pet. 3:9).
The
Length of the Tribulation
Daniel
9:24-27 teaches us that the Tribulation (Daniel's 70th week) consists
of seven years. This is further verified by the time periods of Revelation
which divide the Tribulation into two periods of three and one-half
years. (Rev. 11:2-3; 13:5; 12:6; Daniel 7: 25; Rev. 12:14).
Contrasts
and Comparisons Between the Two Phases of Christ's Second Coming
Christ's
Coming for the Church, the Rapture |
Christ's
Coming to the World |
(1)
At the rapture believers meet Christ in the air. It is the translation
of all believers (1 Thess. 4:17).
(2) His coming is as a thief. Only believers of the church will
see him (Acts 1:11; 1 Thess. 4:17).
(3) Believers are taken off the earth and unbelievers remain to
go into the Tribulation (1 Thess. 4:13-17; John 14:3).
(4) Christ comes for His saints and they return with Him into
the heavens (1 Thess. 4:17).
(5) It is imminent, not preceded by any specific signs (Tit. 2:13;
1 Thess. 1:10; Rom. 13:11-14; 1 John 2:28).
(6) Christ comes as our Deliverer from the wrath to come. He keeps
believers out of the Tribulation (1 Thess. 4:18; 5:9-10; Rev.
3:10).
(7) It is a source of comfort to believers (1 Thess. 4:18; 5:9;
Rev. 3:10).
(8) There are no recorded changes in nature mentioned in connection
with the rapture.
(9) It is a mystery, a truth hidden in the OT (1 Cor. 15:51).
(10) No reference or dealing with Satan. Instead, his activity
increases (cf. 1 Thess. 4:13-18 with 2 Thess. 2:1f).
(11) At the rapture the Mount of Olives is unchanged.
(12) At the rapture we have the examination, rewards, and wedding
of the bride (Rev. 19:7-10).
(13) At the rapture believers receive a glorified body (1 Cor.
15:51-53)
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(1)
At His second coming to earth, no translation is seen (Zech. 14:4).
(2) Every eye shall see Him, it is open, public, and manifest
to the world (Rev. 5:16; Matt. 24:30).
(3) Unbelievers are taken and believers are left to go into the
millennium (Matt. 24:37-39; Rev. 19:17-21).
(4) Christ comes with His saints (1 Thess. 3:13; 2 Thess. 2:10-12;
Zech. 14:5; Rev. 19:7f).
(5) It is preceded by specific signs included in the Tribulation
(Matt. 24).
(6) Christ comes as Judge. The world is judged (Matt. 25:31-32,
46; Rev. 6-19; Matt. 3:11-12; Joel. 2:1-11; 3:1-17; Jude 15.
(7) It is a source of fear to man (Rev. 6:15-17; 9-11).
(8) Many changes in nature recorded (Rev. 6; Isa. 35).
(9) It is the subject of extended prophecy in the OT.
(10) Satan is bound for 1,000 years (Rev. 20:1-3).
(11) At His return, the Mount of Olives is split and forms
a valley (Zech. 14:4-5).
(12) Christ's return to earth is followed by the wedding feast
and the church is seen already rewarded.
(13) Believers of the Tribulation go into the millennium with
mortal bodies (Isa. 65:20-25).
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