What is the Tribulation

1. "What is the Great Tribulation?" - 25th
April 2016
“Forthen there will be great distress,unequaledfromthe beginningofthe world until now—and
never to be equaledagain”. (Matthew24:21).
The Tribulationis referredto afuture time periodwhenthe Lordwill accomplishatleasttwoaspectsof
His plan:FirstHe will complete Hisdiscipline of the nationIsrael aswe canlearnfrom Daniel 9:24,
“Seventy ‘sevens’are decreed for your peopleand your holycity to finishtransgression,toput an end
to sin,to atonefor wickedness,to bringin everlastingrighteousness,toseal up visionandprophecy
and to anointthe Most Holy Place”. Secondly itisstatedthatat thistime He will judge the unbelieving,
godlessinhabitantsof the earth as we can learnfrom Revelationchapters 6 - 18.
The lengthof the Tribulationissevenyears.Thisisdeterminedbyanunderstandingof the seventy
weeksof Daniel aswe can learnfrom Daniel 9:24-27. The Great Tribulationisthe last half of the
Tribulationperiod,three andone-half yearsinlength.Itisdistinguishedfromthe Tribulationperiod
because the Beast,or Antichrist,will be revealed,andthe wrathof God will greatlyintensifyduringthis
time.Thus,itis importantat thispointto emphasize thatthe Tribulationandthe GreatTribulationare
not synonymousterms.Withineschatology(the studyof future things),the Tribulationreferstothe full
seven-yearperiodwhilethe “GreatTribulation”referstothe secondhalf of the Tribulation.
It isChristHimself whousedthe phrase "GreatTribulation"withreference tothe lasthalf of the
Tribulation. We canlearnwhere Jesussaysin Matthew24:21, "For then there will be great distress,
unequaledfromthe beginningofthe world until now—andneverto be equaledagain.." Inthisverse
Jesusisreferringtothe eventof Matthew24:15, “So when yousee standinginthe holy place‘the
abominationthatcausesdesolation,’spokenofthrough the prophet Daniel” Thisdescribesthe
revealingof the abominationof desolation,the manalsoknownasthe Antichrist.Also,Jesus statesin
Matthew 24:29-30,“Immediately after the distressof those days“‘the sunwill be darkened, and the
moonwill not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenlybodieswill be
shaken.’30
“Thenwill appearthe signof the Sonof Manin heaven. And then all the peoples ofthe
earth will mourn when they see the Sonof Man comingon the cloudsof heaven,with power and great
glory”. In thispassage,Jesusdefinesthe GreatTribulation(v.21) asbeginningwiththe revealingof the
abominationof desolation(v.15) andendingwithChrist'ssecondcoming(v.30).
Otherpassagesthatreferto the Great Tribulationare Daniel 12:1, whichstates"Andthere will be a
time of distresssuch as never occurred since there was a nationuntil that time." It seemsthatJesus
was quotingthisverse whenHe spoke the wordsrecordedin Matthew24:21 above.Alsoreferringto
the Great Tribulationis Jeremiah30:7, that states"Alas!forthat day is great, There isnone like it; And
it is the time of Jacob’sdistress,But he will be saved fromit." The phrase “Jacob’sdistress”refersto
the nationof Israel,whichwillexperiencepersecutionandnatural disasterssuchashave neverbefore
beenseen.
Consideringthe informationChristgave usin Matthew24:15-30, it is easyto conclude thatthe
beginningof the GreatTribulationhasmuchto dowiththe abominationof desolation,anactionof the
Antichrist.In Daniel 9:26-27, we findthat thisman will make a"covenant"(apeace pact) withthe world
for sevenyears.Halfwaythroughthe seven-yearperiod—"inthe middle"—we are toldthismanwill
breakthe covenanthe made,stoppingsacrifice andgrainoffering,whichspecificallyreferstohisactions
inthe rebuilttemple of the future. Furthermore in Revelation13:1-10 givesevenmore detail
concerningthe Beast'sactions,andjustas important,italsoverifiesthe lengthof time he will be in

2. power. Inthe book of Revelationitsayshe will be inpowerfor42 months,whichisthree andone-half
years,the lengthof the Great Tribulation. Wecan learn this in Revelation13:5, “The beast was given a
mouthto utter proud wordsand blasphemiesandto exercise its authorityfor forty-twomonths”.
Revelationoffersusthe mostinformationaboutthe GreatTribulation fromthe bible.FromRevelation
13 whenthe Beastis revealeduntil Christreturnsin Revelation19,we are givenapicture of God's
wrath onthe earthbecause of unbelief andrebellion thatwe canlearnfrom Revelation16 -18. It isalso
a picture of howGod disciplinesandatthe same time protectsHispeople aswe can read through
Revelation14:1-5…. until He keepsHispromise toIsrael byestablishinganearthlykingdom asstatedin
Revelation20:4-6, “Isaw thrones on whichwere seated those who hadbeen given authority to judge.
And I saw the soulsof those whohad been beheaded because oftheir testimony aboutJesus and
because ofthe word ofGod. They hadnot worshipedthe beast or its imageand hadnot received its
mark on their foreheadsor their hands.They came to life andreigned with Christa thousandyears.
5
(The rest ofthe deaddid not come to lifeuntil the thousandyearswere ended.) Thisis the first
resurrection. 6
Blessed andholyare those whoshare in the first resurrection. The second death hasno
power over them, but they will be priests ofGodand of Christandwill reignwith himfor a thousand
years”.