The Great Tribulation Part I
The topic this time around is "The Great Tribulation". This will be a
rather lengthy discussion. Readers will need a well rounded knowledge
of both the Old and New Testaments of the bible.
The Great Tribulation can be a point of debate for many sub variants
of the prophecy section of scriptures. Depending on your particular
views, there might be some differences of opinion.
For the sake of complexity, this article will focus on the "Pre-Trib"
rapture view. This view assumes the church will be "raptured" prior to
the seven year period of time called the "Great Tribulation". The Great
Tribulation can also be identified as "The Day of The Lord". A horrific
seven year period of time in future history.
This seven year period of time will be the judgement of God on an
unbelieving world. The Great Tribulation and The Day of The Lord will
be used equally in this article. Lets begin with some identifiers of
the period of time involved as a seven year period.
The seven year period is broken up into two sections of three and one
half years. Hence the phrases "first half" and "last half" of the Great
Tribulation. Two sections of three and one half years equals a seven
year period of time.
We need to understand prophecy as to how it relates to time. In the
book of Daniel we have a major prophecy that has been partially
fulfilled. Lets look at it now.
Daniel 9:24-27 Seventy weeks are determined upon
thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the
transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to
make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in
everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the
vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
Know therefore and understand, that from the going
forth of the commandment to restore and to build
Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be
seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the
street shall be built again, and the wall, even in
troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks
shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and
the people of the prince that shall come shall
destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end
thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of
the war desolations are determined.
And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one
week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause
the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for
the overspreading of abominations he shall make it
desolate, even until the consummation, and that
determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Seventy weeks are determined. Seventy weeks of what? Well years of
course. It is not uncommon for hebrew text to refer to a week as a year.
This is not easy to see in the English text. Scholars have long claimed
the weeks are in fact years. This prophecy of Daniel ties the seventy
weeks as seventy weeks of years. Specifically sixty nine weeks and 1
week of seven years. The 1 week is the Great Tribulation period.
The sixty nine weeks is four hundred and eighty three years (seven years
multiplied by sixty nine equals four hundred and eighty three years).
We are going to keep this simple. At the end of the 483 years the Messiah
is cut off. This seems to indicate when Jesus was crucified. For this
discussion we are assuming Jesus died sometime during 33-36 AD. The start
of Daniel's prophecy is somewhere between 445-457 BC.
There are many debates as to the exact date, but we are not focused on
those debates. Just realize that Messiah was cut off at the end of the
483 years or 69 weeks of seven years.
Now we come to the "Great Tribulation", a seven year period of time that
Daniel predicted. This discussion now begins the final week of years for
planet earth.
Luke 21:20-26 And when ye shall see Jerusalem
compassed with armies, then know that the
desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which
are in Judæa flee to the mountains; and let them
which are in the midst of it depart out; and let
not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.
For these be the days of vengeance, that all things
which are written may be fulfilled. But woe unto
them that are with child, and to them that give
suck, in those days! for there shall be great
distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.
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 be fulfilled. And
there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon,
and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of
nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves
roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and
for looking after those things which are coming on
the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
Welcome to the Great Tribulation. This is Not a fun place or time in the
Word of God. It is a horrific and desperate time on planet earth. It will
be filled with darkness and disasters, such as the world has never seen.
Believers in Jesus Christ will not suffer this coming judgement. We will
be raptured out of it. The rapture will be a topic for another time. But
the rapture signifies the event that occurs prior to the start of the
Great Tribulation. Scripture briefly describes the escape plan we have
with Christ Jesus.
I Thessalonians 5:8-11 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.
Friends, we are not appointed to wrath. Have you settled your final
destiny with Jesus Christ?
I Thessalonians 4:16-18 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.
This is the rapture and the great escape! We don't have to go through the
Great Tribulation! Hit your knees and give your life to Christ before it's
too late!
Revelation 4:1 After this I looked, and, behold,
a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice
which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking
with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew
thee things which must be hereafter.
Prior to the start of the Great Tribulation the rapture occurs. The door
opens and the trumpet sounds. Notice the words "come up hither". This is
where we will meet the Lord in the clouds. The Hereafter is referring to
Jesus talking to the seven churches in Revelation chapters 2 and 3. The
church of Jesus Christ (those that have believed and are born again) will
be in heaven during the Great Tribulation. This can be proved by the
twenty four elders around the throne of God.
Revelation 4:4 And round about the throne were four
and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and
twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and
they had on their heads crowns of gold.
The twenty four elders represent the completed church. There are no
references to the church at all during the Great Tribulation. So ask
yourself why is that? Its obvious. The church is in heaven. Some claim
the twenty four elders are angels. Again, this is not likely as God never
refers to angels as elders and vice versa. God's Word is quite clear.
Scholars of the bible debate as to who the twenty four elders are. They
could be the twelve apostles and the leaders of the twelve tribes of
Israel, or other possibilities. For our topic lets just say its the
completed church.
Now its time to dive into the meat of the Great Tribulation. As stated
earlier it is a seven year period of time that is also called The Day of
the Lord. This seven year period is the judgement of God on the entire
world.
Imagine a rather large scroll with seven seals. The story unwinds with
the removing of each seal. As each seal is removed, the judgements become
more and more intense. The climax at the end of the seven year period
ushers in the second coming of Jesus Christ to the earth to set up His
Kingdom.
Revelation 6:1-8 And I saw when the Lamb opened
one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the
noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying,
Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse:
and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was
given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and
to conquer. And when he had opened the second seal,
I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And
there went out another horse that was red: and
power was given to him that sat thereon to take
peace from the earth, and that they should kill
one another: and there was given unto him a great
sword.
And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the
third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo
a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of
balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the
midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat
for a penny, and three measures of barley for a
penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.
And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the
voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I
looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that
sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him.
And power was given unto them over the fourth part
of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger,
and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
Here the first four seals have been opened by the Lamb. The Lamb is
Jesus Christ who was slain for the sins of all who would believe. The
four horsemen represent conquest, war, famine, and death.
Revelation 6:9-11 And when he had opened the
fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of
them that were slain for the word of God, and for
the testimony which they held: And they cried with
a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and
true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on
them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were
given unto every one of them; and it was said unto
them, that they should rest yet for a little
season, until their fellowservants also and their
brethren, that should be killed as they were,
should be fulfilled.
The fifth seal represents martrydom. All true believers will be killed
during the Great Tribulation. Those that adhere to the world system
will suffer eternally in Hell because they would not repent. Those
that do repent and believe in the true God and saviour Jesus Christ
will be given white robes; an indication they have been washed in the
blood of the Lamb.
Revelation 6:12-17 And I beheld when he had
opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great
earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth
of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the
stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig
tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken
of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a
scroll when it is rolled together; and every
mountain and island were moved out of their places.
And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and
the rich men, and the chief captains, and the
mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man,
hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the
mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks,
Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that
sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the
Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and
who shall be able to stand?
The sixth seal represents natural disasters. Things are not going to
get any better at this point for those on planet earth.
Revelation 7:1-4 And after these things I saw
four angels standing on the four corners of the
earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that
the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the
sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel
ascending from the east, having the seal of the
living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the
four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the
earth and the sea, Saying, Hurt not the earth,
neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have
sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
And I heard the number of them which were sealed:
and there were sealed an hundred and forty and
four thousand of all the tribes of the children of
Israel.
Here we have the 144,000 servants of God presented. The 144,000 cannot
be gentile believers. All the gentile believers were martryed for
their faith in Jesus Christ previously. The 144,000 are Jews from
the twelve tribes of Israel. 12,000 from each tribe are sealed. There
are other characteristics about them that will be pointed out later in
our discussion.
Revelation 7:9-10 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.
Revelation 7:13-14 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.
This section describes the gentiles that are killed for their faith in
Jesus Christ. These were martyred. There will be a number of gentiles
saved in the Great Tribulation that no man can number. They have been
given white robes, an indication they have been washed in the blood of
the Lamb. Here is a case in the bible where Jesus Christ is worshipped
as the Lamb of God. What a scene this is.
Soon the seventh seal will be opened. Note that when this occurs, then
there will be seven trumpet judgements. We will dive into the seven
trumpets next time in our discussion. Stay tuned for part II.
Written by Mark Dickens 07/27/2022