The Great Tribulation

15 “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination
of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the
prophet, standing in the holy place”
(whoever reads, let him understand), 16
“then let those who are in Judea flee to the
mountains. 17 Let him who is on the
housetop not go down to take anything out
of his house. 18 And let him who is in the field
not go back to get his clothes.
Matthew 24:15-22

19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to
those who are nursing babies in those days!
20 And pray that your flight may not be in
winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there
will be great tribulation, such as has not
been since the beginning of the world until
this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And unless
those days were shortened, no flesh would
be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days
will be shortened.
Matthew 24:15-22

Names for “Tribulation” in the Bible
Isaiah 2:12 For the day of the LORD of
hosts shall come upon everything
proud and lofty, upon everything lifted
up— and it shall be brought low—

Isaiah 34:8 For it is the day of the LORD’s
vengeance, the year of recompense for
the cause of Zion.

Jeremiah 30:7 Alas! For that day is
great, so that none is like it; and it is the
time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be
saved out of it.

Matthew 13:40–42, 49 Therefore as the
tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so
it will be at the end of this age. 41 The Son of
Man will send out His angels, and they will
gather out of His kingdom all things that
offend, and those who practice lawlessness,
42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire.
There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
49 So it will be at the end of the age. The
angels will come forth, separate the wicked
from among the just,

Meaning of “Tribulation”
• bāḥan = trial (metaphor from metal refining)
• nasah = to test or prove
• peirazō = tests with a beneficial purpose;
temptation

Meaning of “Tribulation”
• tsar = staid, narrow, pent up, closely pressed
or pressured (as of seals or streams)
• thlipsis = to press, squash (as grapes),
oppression, affliction

Use of “Tribulation” in the Bible
1. Those 'hard pressed' by war
Matthew 24:6, 21 And you will hear of wars and rumors
of wars…but the end is not yet. For then there will be
great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning
of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.
The War in
Syria
The New Yorker

John 16:21 A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow
because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given
birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish,
for joy that a human being has been born into the world.
2. A woman giving birth to a child

Philippians 4:14 Nevertheless you have done well
that you shared in my distress.
3. Those 'pressed' by poverty and lack

2 Corinthians 2:4 For out of much affliction and
anguish of heart I wrote to you, with many tears, not
that you should be grieved, but that you might know
the love which I have so abundantly for you.
4. Great anxiety and burden of heart

Colossians 1:24 I now rejoice in my sufferings for
you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the
afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is
the church,
5. The afflictions of Christ

Revelation 7:14 And I said to him, “Sir, you know.”
So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out
of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and
made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
6. A period of time known as
“the Great Tribulation”

Deuteronomy 4:27–30 And the LORD will scatter you
among the peoples, and you will be left few in
number among the nations where the LORD will drive
you. 28 And there you will serve gods, the work of
men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor
hear nor eat nor smell. 29 But from there you will
seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you
seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. 30
When you are in distress, and all these things come
upon you in the latter days, when you turn to the
LORD your God and obey His voice.
First Mention in the Bible of the
“Great Tribulation”

1. A Specific Period of Time
Tribulation & “Great Tribulation”
Distinguished
Creation
Fall of Man
4000 BC
Flood
2350 BC
Call of
Abraham
2000 BC
Law of
Moses
1500 BC
Jesus Christ
29 AD
Rapture
Tribulation
Innocence
Conscience
Human
Government
1000 yr.
Kingdom
Return of
Christ
GraceLawPromise
Great White
Throne Jdgmt.
7 years
Dan. 9:24, 27

Matthew 24:21 For then there will be great
tribulation, such as has not been since the
beginning of the world until this time, no, nor
ever shall be.
2. More severe than in any previous
period of history
Distinguished

Matthew 24:22 And unless those days were
shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for
the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.
3. Shortened for the elect's sake
Distinguished

Daniel 9:27 Then he shall confirm a covenant
with many for one week; but in the middle of
the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice
and offering. And on the wing of
abominations shall be one who makes
desolate, even until the consummation, which
is determined, is poured out on the desolate.
4. Seven years in length
Distinguished

Jeremiah 30:7 Alas! For that day is great, so that
none is like it; and it is the time of Jacob’s trouble,
but he shall be saved out of it.
5. Called the time of “Jacob's trouble”
Daniel 12:1–4 “At that time Michael shall stand up,
the great prince who stands watch over the sons of
your people; and there shall be a time of trouble,
such as never was since there was a nation, even to
that time. And at that time your people shall be
delivered...”
Distinguished

Distinguished
Isaiah 26:21 For behold, the LORD comes out of
His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth
for their iniquity; the earth will also disclose her
blood, and will no more cover her slain.
6. Nations will be judged for their sin and
rejection of Christ

Distinguished
Revelation 6:15–17 And the kings of the earth, the
great men, the rich men, the commanders, the
mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid
themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the
mountains, 16 and said to the mountains and rocks,
“Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits
on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For
the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able
to stand?”
7. Nations will be judged for their sin and
rejection of Christ

Characteristics of the “Great
Tribulation”
Zephaniah 1:15-18 Neither their silver nor their gold
shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD’s
wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the
fire of His jealousy, for He will make speedy riddance
of all those who dwell in the land.
1. Wrath
J.I. Packer: “God’s wrath in the Bible is never the
capricious, self-indulgent, irritable, morally ignoble
thing that human anger so often is. It is, instead, a
right and necessary reaction to objective moral
evil.” Knowing God, 151

Tribulation”
2. Indignation
Isaiah 26:20–21 Come, my people, enter your
chambers, and shut your doors behind you;
hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment,
until the indignation is past. 21 For behold, the
LORD comes out of His place to punish the
inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; the
earth will also disclose her blood, and will no
more cover her slain.

Tribulation”
Revelation 3:10 Because you have kept My
command to persevere, I also will keep you
from the hour of trial which shall come upon
the whole world, to test those who dwell on
the earth.
3. Testing & Trial

Tribulation”
Jeremiah 30:7 Alas! For that day is great, so that
none is like it; and it is the time of Jacob’s
trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.
4. Trouble

Tribulation”
Revelation 14:7 saying with a loud voice,
“Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour
of His judgment has come; and worship Him
who made heaven and earth, the sea and
springs of water.”
5. Judgment

Tribulation”
Isaiah 24:20–21 The earth shall reel to and fro
like a drunkard, and shall totter like a hut; Its
transgression shall be heavy upon it, and it will
fall, and not rise again. 21 It shall come to pass in
that day that the LORD will punish on high the
host of exalted ones, and on the earth the kings
of the earth.
6. Punishment

Tribulation”
Joel 1:15 Alas for the day! For the day of the
LORD is at hand; It shall come as destruction from
the Almighty.
7. Destruction

Tribulation”
8. Darkness
Amos 5:18 Woe to you who desire the day
of the LORD! For what good is the day of the
LORD to you? It will be darkness, and not
light.

Scope of the “Great Tribulation”
Revelation 3:10 ".. . that hour which is about
to come upon the whole world, to test those
who dwell (not 'some') upon the earth"
Isaiah 24:1 "Behold, the Lord lays the earth
waste, devastates it, distorts its surface, and
scatters its inhabitants"
Isaiah 24:17 "Terror and pit and snare confront
you, O inhabitant of the earth."

Source of the “Great Tribulation”
Zeph. 1:18 “. . . day of the Lord's wrath”
Isa. 24:1 “The Lord makes the earth empty. . .”
Isa. 26:21 “. . . the Lord comes out of his place
to punish the inhabitants of the
earth for their iniquity”
Rev. 6:16-17 “. . . the wrath of the Lamb”

Purpose of the “Great Tribulation”
1. To judge Gentile Nations
2. To fulfill God’s covenant with Israel

Purpose of the “Great Tribulation”
“Ironically, man’s greatest effort to
rid himself of the rule of God will
not produce the freedom that he
desires. Instead it will enslave him
in the most fiendish, oppressive form
of bondage. Rather than moving
toward Utopia, man is hurtling
toward the most horrible time of
tribulation in world history.”
Renald Showers

Our Response to
the “Great Tribulation”
2 Corinthians 5:11 Knowing, therefore, the terror of
the Lord, we persuade men…
πείθω (peithō) =
persuade, convince;
be persuaded,
convinced, believe;
trust; obey
φόβος (phobos) =
to cause fear,
apprehension, &
feelings of anxiety

Our Response to
the “Great Tribulation”
FBC mission statement: “Making and maturity
disciples of Jesus Christ to the glory of God”

The Great Tribulation

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