The Tribulation, also referred to as the Great Tribulation, is an unprecedented period that might be experienced on the earth. There has never been a time prefer it before and there won’t ever be one prefer it after. We often consider the tribulation as God’s judgment, but have you ever ever thought it’s also about God’s covenant? Honestly, it shouldn’t be possible to undergo every detail of the tribulation in a single article, so I offers you an overarching view so you may walk away with a bit of 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 rise up. This period, which lasts seven years, begins with the rapture of the church (more on this later) and through this time God will complete his discipline of Israel and final judgment upon the unbelieving residents of the world. This might be a period of great trial and great suffering unmatched in human history. Here are two portions of Scripture that offer you some insight into this era of tribulation.
“For there might be greater anguish than at any time for the reason that world began. And it’s going to never be so great again. In fact, unless that point of calamity is shortened, not a single person will survive. But it’s going to be shortened for the sake of God’s chosen ones” (Matthew 24:21-22).
“At that point Michael, the archangel who stands guard over your nation, will arise. Then there might be a time of anguish greater than any since nations first got here into existence. But at the moment every certainly one of your people whose name is written within the book might be rescued” (Daniel 12:1).
In addition to being called The Great Tribulation, the Bible also gives this era different names. Here are some examples:
Time of Jacob’s Trouble
“Alas! For that day is great, So that none is prefer 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 might be a time of trouble for my people Israel. Yet ultimately they might 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 might 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 might be a day when the Lord’s anger is poured out—
a day of terrible distress and anguish,
a day of destroy and desolation,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and blackness” (Zephaniah 1:15).
Where Does the Tribulation Fall within the End Times Map?
To understand where the tribulation falls on the tip times map, there’s one consensus amongst Christians and other people who study the Bible. The tribulation precedes the second coming of Christ. As to when this tribulation period begins, that answer will depend upon who you ask. To make clear what I mean, I’ll connect it to a different event on the prophetic calendar which is the rapture of the church. When it involves the rapture, there are three prevalent thoughts as to when this may occur.
Pre-Tribulation – This is the idea 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 idea the rapture happens in the midst of the tribulation. Possibly after the primary three and a half years.
Post-Tribulation – This is the idea the rapture happens at the tip of the tribulation and immediately precedes the second coming of Jesus Christ.
For those that imagine in a pre-tribulation rapture, there’s a transparent timeframe as to when the tribulation begins. For those that don’t, then their end times map may look a bit of different. Regardless of what view you’ve gotten, all we all know for certain is this era will precede the second coming of Christ.
What Will Happen on the Tribulation?
During the tribulation period, God is coping with those that have chosen to reject him, and he’s coping with Israel. God is disciplining Israel and calling them to repentance due to covenant he established with Abraham. What you may also discover as you study more about this time is that even during judgment, God still offers mercy and the chance to repent. And some people will. What is fascinating is even within the face of horrific judgment, many individuals will still harden their hearts toward God. The judgement throughout the tribulation will push people deeper into their rejection and rise up against God.
The tribulation shouldn’t be only a period of judgment, it’s also a period of redemption. During this time God will redeem Israel and this may occur because God has never forgotten the covenant he made with Abraham 1000’s of years ago. While I don’t have the space to cover how all that works in this text, 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 might be a world leader who will arise, and he might be essentially the most distinguished leader on the earth during this time. We know the leader because the antichrist. When he comes, he’ll seem to perform on the earth what no other leader has been capable of do, bring peace. He will sign a peace treaty with Israel nevertheless that may only last three and a half years because he’ll 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 1 set of seven, but after half this time, he’ll put an end to the sacrifices and offerings. And as a climax to all his terrible deeds, he’ll arrange 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 a lot of more details, which is why I hope this motivates you to proceed to check this topic to fill in all those details.
Should Christians Worry concerning the Tribulation?
If you might be a follower of Jesus Christ, do you have to be anxious concerning the tribulation? The answer is not any.
As I discussed earlier there are a lot of Christians who imagine in pre-tribulation rapture and if that is accurate, then we won’t be here and there isn’t a have to worry concerning the tribulation. Just for the record, nobody knows for certain when the rapture of the church will occur. While it’s a very good discussion to must hear different viewpoints, it should never be some extent of division because nobody is a hundred percent certain.
Based on this let’s consider something else. What if the rapture doesn’t occur before the tribulation? Should Christians worry? The answer again is not any. Even if we must undergo a part of or all of the tribulation (again nobody knows for certain) your hope and confidence should all the time be within the God who’s capable of keep you in every circumstance. He is not going to fail you and he won’t ever leave you or forsake you, so that you wouldn’t have to fret. This doesn’t mean there won’t be difficult times if we must undergo the tribulation. It just means you’ve gotten a hope that others outside of Christ is not going to have.
Final Thoughts concerning the Tribulation
My goal here today was not to offer you an exhaustive exposé on the tribulation, but to whet your appetite and hopefully offer you a foundation to start a study of the tribulation. As I said before there’s so way more information to find.
Should you proceed studying the tribulation let me will caution you on one thing. Don’t let the study of Bible prophecy change into a distraction. You can spend years taking a look at dates, times, signs, and all the pieces related to Bible prophecy. Knowing this information should create more urgency to share the gospel and reach more people. Since you understand what’s going to occur in the long run let’s attempt to rescue as many as we will. This must be the motivation of all study of Bible prophecy.
Let’s not make the goal just knowing all of the facts concerning the tribulation, let’s make the goal saving as many individuals from the judgment of God as possible. I feel that is what God would want us to do anyway.
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