The Tribulation
He leads me …
While Christians may currently experience both physical and emotional tribulations, the Bible says that there will be a time in the future when these experiences will be intensified. It is called the Great Tribulation and it occurs just before Christ’s return (second coming) to establish a 1,000 year rule here on Earth.
Matthew 24:21–22 Jesus states that there will be a great tribulation, ‘such as the world has never before seen in all its history and will never see again. In fact, unless those days are shortened, all mankind will perish. But they will be shortened for the sake of God’s chosen people.’ (TLB)
When we look at the news and see what is happening around the world we would be forgiven for thinking that we are either in, or very close to the Great Tribulation right now. After all, we are seeing so much happening, like cyclones, wildfires, drought, floods, earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis and volcanic activity. These natural events are just part of the problem.
We also have man made troubles like, the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown, the oil inferno in the Gulf of Mexico in 2021, and the two North Pacific areas of waste plastic floating in the sea, which are estimated to be as big as 15,000,000km2. We also have had the First and Second World Wars, along with the Korean and Vietnam wars and now the war between Russia and Ukraine. The list can go on and on, but we can see the point that there have been, and continue to be, significant disruptive worldwide events.
So, can we work out from the Bible whether we are in the Great Tribulation or some time before it?
Matthew 24:3-14 reads, ‘As Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us! When will this happen? What’s going to be the sign of your Coming, and of the completion of the age?”’ (Source)
Verses 9-14 provide us with some signs that Jesus says will occur before the Great Tribulation.
Verse 5 – We will see many antichrists - individual false teachers claiming they are the Messiah, and who deny that it can only be Jesus.
Verse 6 – Wars and rumours of wars. These wars are part of God's unfolding plan for the earth.
Verse 7 – Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. Famines and earthquakes will occur. These types of event can feel like ‘the end’ to those who live through them, but Jesus is clear: His disciples should not conclude that the end has arrived based on these kinds of happenings in the world.
Verse 9 – Christians will be persecuted and killed for refusing to stop preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Verse 10 – Christians who once claimed to be followers of Jesus will ‘fall away’ because they have not pursued any real teaching about Him and cannot make sense of what it means to be a Christian. Many will have had bad experiences with ‘christians’, or are unwilling to pay the physical and emotional cost which comes with a disciple of Jesus Christ and they will leave too.
Verse 11 – Many false prophets will appear who claim to speak for God, but who actually distort the truth.
Verse 12 – Lawlessness - which is a rejection of standards of goodness and morality. Those who follow the distorted vision offered by false prophets will abandon truth.
Verse 14 – The gospel will spread to every part of the earth. Jesus prophesied that when the gospel had been proclaimed to all nations, the end would come. The Joshua Project (https://joshuaproject.net/) says that the current world population is 7.91 billion people of which 3.34 billion are unreached. This is 42.3% of the world population who have yet to hear about the Good News. However, the Joshua Project also reports that worldwide, an average of 160,000 people a day hear the message of redemption in Christ for the first time. And every hour, over 1,600 people decide to follow Jesus Christ.
Other Signs That Need to Occur
The Destruction of Jerusalem
In Daniel 12:7 it is prophesied that Israel would be shattered. Jesus gave a similar prophesy (Matthew 23:37-39, 24:1-44, and Mark 13:1-37, Luke 13:34-35, 19:41-44, and 21:5-38). These prophesies were fulfilled when the Roman army destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD.
Daniel 9:26 says that once Jesus is crucified, Jerusalem and the temple would be destroyed by an overwhelming army. Almost all Bible scholars and commentators agree that this was fulfilled in the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. It is worth noting that the destroying army in AD 70 is made up of the people of the ‘prince who is to come’. This means that the Antichrist (a satanically inspired man) will come from a revived Roman Empire.
Israel’s Return to the Promised Land
Isaiah 11:11 tells us that the people of Israel would no longer be scattered throughout other countries, and would once again be a nation in their own right. This occurred in 1948.
In Daniel 12:4
many will rush here and there… Travel has multiplied dramatically in the last two hundred years. Travel by water often provided more comfort and speed than land-travel, up until the beginning of railways in the early 19th century. This was followed by the introduction of the Ford Model T in 1908. This car is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile. Then in 1914, the first commercial flight took place. Daniel 12:4 says that faster travel will occur at ‘the time of the end’.
… knowledge shall increase. In Daniel 12:4 it is prophesied that knowledge would increase. The knowledge of the Bible and spiritual matters are obviously what is meant, but also knowledge generally is increasing too. Prior to 1900 it doubled every century, but now human knowledge is doubling every 13 months on average. According to IBM Technology Company, the interconnection via the internet of computing devices will lead to the doubling of knowledge every 12 hours.[1]
Peace in Israel
The vital sign that we are waiting for is a peace treaty in the Middle East that will guarantee safety for Israel. Daniel 9:27 outlines that the Antichrist will be identified when he, ‘confirms a covenant of peace.’ He will deceive a lot people who will affirm him as the Messiah. Once this happens, the temple in Israel can then be built. The Antichrist will later perform an offensive deed there and then the Great Tribulation will come.[2]
How close to the Great Tribulation do you think we are?
Dear Reader – If you have found some value in this blog, please feel free to send a copy on to your family and friends. Kind regards, John
[1] Knowledge Doubling Every 12 Months, Soon to be Every 12 Hours, David Russell Schilling, Industrytap.com
https://www.industrytap.com/knowledge-doubling-every-12-months-soon-to-be-every-12-hours/3950
[2] Where are we on the biblical timeline? NeverThirsty;
https://www.neverthirsty.org/bible-qa/qa-archives/question/where-are-we-on-the-biblical-timeline/
The Beginning of Sorrows: Matthew 24:4–8, Mark Robinson, Israel My Glory;
https://israelmyglory.org/article/the-beginning-of-sorrows-matthew-244-8/
