tribulation
Key 10: The Tribulation
The prophets saw the First and Second Comings of Messiah (the Sufferings and the Glory) but not the time in between which was a MYSTERY to them. They also saw that just prior to the Second Coming there would be a special time of unparalled evil and distress on earth and for Israel in particular, that would be unique in all of history. “At that time...there shall be a Time of Trouble (Tribulation) such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time (the GREAT TRIBULATION). And at that time your people shall be delivered, every one who is found written in the Book (an escape from the antichrist will be provided to believers in israel). And (at the end of this time of Tribulation at the Return of Christ) many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake .... to everlasting life” (Daniel 12:1,2).
Jeremiah 30:3-11 describes this time as ‘the time of Jacob’s Trouble’ that happens just before Israel is restored and the Kingdom is established:
“For behold, the days are coming,' says the Lord,`that I will bring
back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,' says the Lord.“And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it." (this has been fulfilled in recent times - 1948).
The Tribulation: “Now these are the words that the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah. For thus says the Lord: `We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Ask now, and see, whether a man is ever in labour with child? So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins like a woman in labour, and all faces turned pale? Alas! For that Day (of the Lord) 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. For it shall come to pass in that Day,' says the Lord of hosts, `That I will break his yoke from your neck, and will burst your bonds; foreigners shall no more enslave them.”
This is followed by the Millennium: “But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king whom I will raise up for them. Therefore do not fear O My servant Jacob' says the LORD, `Nor be dismayed, O Israel; for behold, I will save you from afar, and your seedfrom the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return, have rest and be quiet, and no one shall make him afraid. For I am with you,' says the LORD, `to save you; though I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered you, yet I will not make a complete end of you. But I will correct you in justice, and will not let you go altogether unpunished.”
We shall see that 2Thessalonians 2 and Revelation 4-18 confirms that after the Church Age, evil is allowed to come to it’s fullness (through the antichrist) and God's wrath is poured out on earth as He begins to deal with the wicked systems of the world. So this period of time is a special time of Divine Judgement called the TRIBULATION and the DAY OF THE LORD. It is the climax in the war between good and evil. God's intervention is completed by the Return of the Messiah to destroy all evildoers from the earth and establish His Kingdom. This time is brought to an end by the Return of Christ (2Thess 2:8, Revelation19)
We shall see the origin of the Tribulation in the prophecy of Daniel’s 70 Weeks (9:24-27). It tells us that it will be 7 years long (the 70th Week, v27), divided into 2 halves (confirmed in Revelation by the repeated references to periods of 3.5 years). The 2nd half being worse is called the Great Tribulation, and is initiated by antichrist’s breaking of his covenant with Israel, capturing the Temple Mount and putting up his Abomination of Desolation there. Soon after he sets up his world-dictatorship enforced by the mark of the beast (Rev 13). Israel are told to escape at this time to a place where God will protect them (Matthew 24:15-22, Rev 12). The reason for the future 7 year Tribulation under antichrist is Israel’s rejection of Christ after 7 years of grace (the original 70th Week AD26-33). These 7 years are rerun as a time of judgement, but they also give Israel a 2nd chance to receive the King and His Kingdom, which she does by calling on the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ to save her from antichrist at the battle of Armageddon.
So the Prophets saw:
1. THE FIRST COMING OF CHRIST (in humility
- His birth, death and resurrection - as the LAMB OF GOD).
2. A MYSTERY TIME (the present Age)
3. The TRIBULATION (a relatively short time, 7 years, of judgement)
4. The SECOND COMING OF CHRIST (in glory, as KING of KINGS)
5. THE MESSIANIC KINGDOM (the Golden Age).
This gives us our basic framework for understanding prophecy.