FACT: The Church Age will be followed by a seven year period of unparalleled tribulation during which time God will pour out His wrath on this world.

Key Scripture: ". . . for then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall" (Jesus speaking in Matthew 24:21).



The Bible gives us a lot of information about the Tribulation. The entire book of Zephaniah is devoted to it, in addition to many other Old Testament passages, like Isaiah 24.  Fourteen chapters in the book of Revelation focus on it (Revelation 6-19).



But despite all this information, there are many myths concerning the Tribulation that circulate among Christians. For example, many argue that the first half of this time period will be peaceful and that only the second half will be characterized by intense warfare. Other misconceptions relate to the Antichrist and the Church.



The Biblical Basis

Before we consider some of these myths and misconceptions, let's familiarize ourselves with the concept of the Tribulation. Where does the idea come from, and what does it mean?



The first mention of the Tribulation in the Bible is found in Deuteronomy 4:27-30. Before the Children of Israel entered the Promised Land, Moses warned them that if they were unfaithful to God, they would be scattered among the nations. He then prophesied that "in the latter days" they would come under "distress," and the result would be their "return to the Lord."



Centuries later, Jeremiah used the same terminology when he referred to the Tribulation. He called it "the time of Jacob's distress" (Jeremiah 30:7). In like manner, Daniel called it "a time of distress," and he prophesied it would be the worst period of trouble in the history of the Jewish people (Daniel 12:1). Malachi stated it would be a time of refining for the Jews, as when silver is purified by fire (Malachi 3:1-4). And Zechariah used the same imagery when he prophesied that two-thirds of the Jewish people will perish during this time. Of the remnant remaining, he wrote, "I [the Lord] will bring the third part through the fire [and] refine them as silver is refined . . ." (Zechariah 13:8-9)



The Scope

The Jews will not be the only ones to suffer during this period of unparalleled trouble. The Bible makes it clear that all the nations of the world will experience catastrophic calamities.



Isaiah says it will be "a day of reckoning" for all the nations of the world (Isaiah 2:10-17). Zephaniah says that "all the earth will be devoured in the fire of God's jealousy" (Zephaniah 1:18). Here's how psalmist Asaph put it: "A cup is in the hand of the Lord, and the wine foams . . . Surely, all the wicked of the earth must drain and drink down its dregs" (Psalm 75:8).



The Length

The prophet Daniel defined the length of the Tribulation. He said God would accomplish all His purposes for the Jewish people during a period of 70 weeks of years (490 years). Sixty-nine of those weeks of years (483 years) would lead up to the death of the Messiah. The final week of years would occur at the end of the age, right before the return of the Messiah (Daniel 9:24-27). This concluding week of years (7 years) corresponds to the Tribulation for, as Daniel put it, it will mark the time when "the prince who is to come" will "make desolate" - a reference to the Antichrist.



The timing established by Daniel is confirmed in the book of Revelation where the Tribulation is divided into two periods of three and a half years each (Revelation 11:3,7 and 13:5). The dividing point between the two halves of the Tribulation will occur when the Antichrist reveals himself by entering the rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem, stopping the sacrifices, and declaring himself to be god (Matthew 24:15, 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, and Revelation 13:5-6).



The Starting Point

When will this terrible period begin? The Bible says in general terms that it will start after the Jews have been regathered and have been reestablished in their homeland and in their sacred city of Jerusalem.



Specifically, the Bible says it will begin at a time when all the world comes together against Israel over the issue of who will control the city of Jerusalem (Zechariah 12:2-3). In short, we are on the very threshold of the Tribulation today as we witness the United Nations, the European Union, the Vatican, and the Arab nations demanding that the Jews surrender their sovereignty over Jerusalem.



The specific event that will mark the seven year count down of the Tribulation will be the signing of a covenant between Israel and the Antichrist that will most likely guarantee Israel's safety and allow the Jews to rebuild their Temple (Daniel 9:27).



The Nature

The unparalleled horror of the Tribulation is spelled out in detail in both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament. Isaiah wrote that it will be a day of "the terror of the Lord" when "the pride of men will be abased" (Isaiah 2:10,17,19). Zephaniah proclaimed that it will be a "day of wrath," "a day of trouble and distress," and "a day of destruction and desolation" (Zephaniah 1:15). Men will stumble around like they are blind and "their blood will be poured out like dust" (Zephaniah 1:17).



This dreary picture is echoed in the New Testament. Jesus said it will be a time of tribulation "such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall" (Matthew 24:21). In fact, Jesus said it will be so terrible that if it were not stopped at the end of seven years, it would result in the destruction of all life (Matthew 24:22). The Apostle John states that the chaos will be so great that the leaders of the world will crawl into caves and cry out for the rocks of the mountains to fall upon them (Revelation 6:15-16).



Misconceptions

With this biblical background, let's turn our attention now to some of the misconceptions that exist regarding the Tribulation. Five of the major ones are listed below:



1) The Antichrist will rise to world power through cunning, flattery, and deception. It is true that he will rise to power in Europe, using skilled diplomacy (Daniel 8:23,25), but he will gain world power through war (Daniel 8:24).



2) The whole world will flock to the Antichrist in awe and adoration. Not a chance! The Muslim world will reject him. And Africa, Asia and Latin America will not willingly agree to be placed under European colonialism once again.



3) The Jews will accept the Antichrist as their Messiah. Never! They will accept him as a political savior, but when he declares himself to be god in the middle of the Tribulation, they will reject him.



4) There will be three and a half years of peace followed by three and a half years of war. Not according to the book of Revelation. It pictures human carnage from the beginning to the end of the Tribulation.



5) The Antichrist will be the most brilliant and effective leader in history. For a while it will seem that way, but in the middle of the Tribulation, he will become obsessed with destroying the Jewish people and that obsession will lead to his downfall.



6) The Church will go through the Tribulation. This view is based primarily on the fact that the book of Revelation mentions persecution of "saints" during the Tribulation, even war against them (Revelation 13:7). But these passages refer to those who will become Christians during the Tribulation.





The Purpose

What's it all about? Why is there going to be such carnage? How could a God of grace, mercy and love allow such an outbreak of unbridled terror and bloodshed?



One reason is to satisfy the justice of God. Yes, God is Characterized by grace, mercy and love, but He is also a God of perfect justice, righteousness and holiness. Therefore, He must deal with sin. His justice demands it. Even His love compels it. How could a God of true love simply overlook the actions of a murderer or a pedophile?



A second reason for the Tribulation is to bring people to salvation. Amazingly, even when God pours out His wrath, His fundamental purpose is not to destroy but to save. Isaiah 26:9 explains it this way: "When the earth experiences Your judgments, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness." Most hearts will be hardened, but some will be brought to repentance.



Man is frivolous about sin. God is serious. The Tribulation will be a graphic expression of how serious God is about Mankind's rebellion against Him.





Overview of Tribulation Events

• Jesus appears in the heavens (1 Thessalonians 4:16).
• The Church is Raptured to meet Jesus in the sky (1 Thessalonians 4:17).
• The Antichrist launches a war to conquer the world. It begins as a conventional war (The Seal Judgments) and morphs into a nuclear war (The Trumpet Judgments). See Revelation chapters 6, 8 and 9.
• In the middle of the Tribulation, Satan will try to take God's throne once more, resulting in a war in the heavens between the forces of Satan and the angelic army led by the Archangel Michael (Revelation 12:7-12). Satan is defeated and thrown to earth where he possesses the Antichrist (2 Thessalonians 2:3; Revelation 13:3-5). The Antichrist launches a campaign of annihilation against both the Jews and those who have accepted Jesus during the Tribulation.
• The Church, the Bride of Christ, celebrates its union with its Bridegroom, Jesus, in Heaven while God pours out His final judgments on earth in the form of the Bowl Judgments (Revelation 16:1-17 and 19:7-8).
• The Church Age Saints return to earth with Jesus to participate in His thousand year reign over all the earth (Revelation 19:11-16).
• Jesus destroys the Antichrist and his armies at Armageddon (Revelation 19:17-21 and Zechariah 14:1-15).



 Lamb & Lion Ministries www.lamblion.com