Foundations of Faith
THE END TIMES (IV)
Introduction:Tribulation and the Tribulation. All Christians are promised tribulation. Jesus told His disciples, “In the world you shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer:I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Paul and Barnabas advised the new believers “that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). These tribulations are not to be “avoided like the plague” but “we glory in tribulations … knowing that tribulation works patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope” (Rom. 5:3,4; 12:12; 2 Thess. 1:4).
In the last issue we showed that Christians will be raptured, that is, taken to heaven out of the world, prior to the seven-year period of tribulation in the last days. We must not allow this truth to give us a false sense of security and safety. Citizens of North America have been quite shielded from the fires of persecution and tribulation that have afflicted Christians in other parts of the world –both past and present. When the Communists gained control of China in the early 1900’s, the persecution of Christians was so intense that many believers feared that the rapture had occurred and somehow they had been left behind to go through the seven-year tribulation. One of the readers of GROWING recently wrote to me of violent persecution of Christians in his city in Nigeria. More and more this persecution is coming to Christians in America. Let us be prepared through prayer and nearness to the Lord. When it comes, “rejoice, inasmuch as you are partakers of Christ’s sufferings” (1 Pet. 4:12-14).
What Believers Will Be in the Tribulation? If the Church–made up of all true believers in Christ–is raptured prior to the tribulation, and if there is no second chance for unbelievers at the time of the rapture (see Apr02), then who are the 144,000 sealed “servants of our God” and the “great multitude … of all nations” who “came out of great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev. 7:1-14)? The Lord is going to raise up a gospel testimony during the tribulation (Rev. 11:3-12). Presumably God will open hearts of children and adults who had never heard the gospel previously. (Amazing as it may seem, I have met some people here in America who had no idea who Jesus Christ is, except being a swear word.) The 144,000 represent those from the 12 tribes of Israel who are saved during the tribulation. Note that these will include not just Jews as are identified today (who are mainly from the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi), but descendants of the so-called “lost tribes of Israel” as well (Jer. 30:3). The “great multitude” refers to Gentiles who are converted during this period.
What Will Happen During the Tribulation Period? In Revelation 6 we find the Lamb opening the book with seven seals. This chapter seems to present the unfolding of events in the tribulation period. The Lord’s description of this period in Matthew 24 presents a similar order:(1) war (Matt. 24:6,7; Rev. 6:2-4); (2) famine (24:7; 6:5,6); (3) death (24:7-9; 6:7,8); (4) martyrdom (24:9,10; 6:9-11); (5) the sun and moon darkened and the stars falling (24:29; 6:12-14); (6) the coming of the Son of man to execute judgment upon the earth (24:32-25:46; 6:15-17). Both passages also mention earthquakes (24:7; 6:12).
Items 1-3 above fall under the heading of “the beginning of sorrows” (Matt. 24:8), no doubt referring to the first half of the tribulation period. It is probably during this same period that the Jewish temple will be rebuilt in Jerusalem. Also, the alignment of world powers prominent in the tribulation likely takes place at this time. The first beast–a political leader–will head a confederation of ten nations that corresponds in some way to the ancient Roman Empire (see Dan. 7:7,19-25; Rev. 13:1; 17:7,12, 16). The second beast–a religious leader, also called the Antichrist (Rev. 13:11-15; 1 John 2:18) and the False Prophet (Rev. 19:20; 20:10)–will decree that the people worship the first beast … or else be economically discriminated against or killed (Rev. 13:15-18).
The so-called “great tribulation” (Matt. 24:21 and Rev. 7:14) starts at about the middle of the “week” of seven years and is marked by the de- filing of the temple by the first beast (Dan. 9:27; Matt. 24:15). This is referred to in Scripture as the “abomination of desolation.” The Holy Spirit goes to great lengths to reveal the length of the great tribulation (3½ years), no doubt to clarify its link with the 70th week of Daniel 9:27 and to encourage the believers that it will soon be over:It is 1260 days (360×3½; Rev. 11:3; 12:6), 42 months (12×3½; Rev. 11:2; 13:5), and a time, times, and half a time (or 1+2+½ years; Dan. 7:25; 12:7; Rev. 12:14), along with being half of seven years (Dan. 9:27).
The great tribulation will be a time of vast amounts of death and destruction that will make what happened on September 11, 2001 seem like child’s play. “Four angels were loosed … to slay the third part of men … by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone” (Rev. 9:15-18). The King of the North (perhaps a confederation of Islamic nations such as Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, and some of the Soviet states) and the King of the South (perhaps Egypt) will battle each other, with Israel caught in the middle (Dan. 11:40-45). Toward the end of the tribulation many nations will be gathered together in Israel for the Battle of Armageddon and more judgments from heaven (Rev. 16:14-21). Babylon the Great, generally considered to be Christendom minus the Church, will fall (Rev. 17,18). The tribulation will conclude when the Son of man–the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ– comes “in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him. Then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory; and before Him shall be gathered all nations:and He shall separate them one from another as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats” (Matt. 25:31, 32). The sheep–those saved during the tribulation and surviving to the end–will join the Lord in His millennial kingdom upon the earth (25:34), while the unsaved goats will be cast into everlasting fire (25:41,46).
Running the Race
Assignment 8: Write out two verses in Isaiah 13, one verse in Jeremiah 30, and two verses in Ezekiel 20 that refer to the tribulation in the last days.
Assignment 9: There are many verses in Revelation 6-18 that give encouragement to believers who are going through tribulation. Find and write out at least one such verse from each of four different chapters in Revelation 6-18.