The Tribulation

Ed Decker

?It seems that with all that is going on with Israel recently, there has been a massive interest and much speculation regarding the rapture. I thought that I would share some thoughts on the subject.

There are only 32 references to it specifically in the whole?bible.. Some, such as those in the Book of Daniel, do not use the word, Tribulation, yet refer to its coming in the last days.

?There is probably?as much written?and debated?about it as almost any other single Biblical subject, other than the arrival and mission of Jesus Christ.

The Christian churches look to the rapture as our way out.? Yet, many Christians in the Mideast?and other areas such as Asia have been brutalized and murdered for their faith by the hundreds of thousands, if not millions.? They were experiencing?everything that the Bible?states are part of the great tribulation.

?There is no specific term, rapture, in the bible.? There are many references to the church being lifted out and saved from the tribulation.

?The big debate is if we?will?go in the pre-trib, mid-trib?or post tribulation? For me, I am in fellowship with our Holy God right now through Christ, Jesus.? I don't care if I go during a?mid-trib, post-trib or pre-trib.?

?Walter Martin, the original Bible Answer Man and one of the last century’s greatest apologists, said this.?? “Prepare for a post-trib rapture and pray for a pre-trib rapture.”

?It doesn't matter if I go in my sleep or if I am taken?out to a ditch and beheaded. It will never change my fellowship with God.?

?I once sat at the table with Hal Lindsey and Walter Martin, Godly men who sat on opposite sides of the issue.?? It was like watching a high seed tennis match. My neck hurt from turning back and forth between them.

I figured that if these two giants of the faith with all their knowledge of end?times cannot agree, then I guess I am not going to worry. But you can see for yourself. Check out Hal’s and Walter’s teaching on the subject and you make up your own mind.

Hal Lindsey:

?https://www.pretribulation.com/rapture-videos/hal-lindsey-report-jan-13-2017/?

Walter Martin:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cTyle41I6k

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What Does The Word Say?

?Here are the key New Testament Scriptures in the subject and some in-depth comments by one of my favorite, go-to Commentary writers, Matthew Henry.

?Again, I am not called to debate this subject. I am giving you the actual scriptures and their links to other scriptures, as well as the in depth teachings of three men who have made detailed statements on the subject. It is for you to filter though all this and draw your own conclusions.?

Please email me and let me know what you have concluded on the subject.

??Matthew 24

The Signs of the Times and the End of the Age

3?Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what?will be?the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

4?And Jesus answered and said to them:?“Take heed that no one deceives you.5?For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.6?And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all[a ]?these things?must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

7?For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences,[b ]?and earthquakes in various places.?8?All these?are?the beginning of sorrows.

9?“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.?10?And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.?

11?Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.?12?And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.?13?But he who endures to the end shall be saved.?14?And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

?Matthew 24

The Great Tribulation

15?“Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’[c ]?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.?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.

23?“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here?is?the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe?it.?24?For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.?25?See, I have told you beforehand.

26?“Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out;?or?‘Look,?He is?in the inner rooms!’ do not believe?it.?27?For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.?28?For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.

?Matthew Henry:

Verses 4-31 ?The disciples had asked concerning the times,?When shall these things be??Christ gives them no answer to that, after what number of days and years his prediction should be accomplished, for?it is not for us to know the times?(Acts.?1:7 ?); but they had asked,?What shall be the sign??That question he answers fully, for we are concerned to?understand the signs of the times,?ch.?16:3 .

Now the prophecy primarily respects the events near at hand—the destruction of Jerusalem, the period of the Jewish church and state, the calling of the Gentiles, and the setting up of Christ’s kingdom in the world; but as the prophecies of the Old Testament, which have an immediate reference to the affairs of the Jews and the revolutions of their state, under the figure of them do certainly look further, to the gospel church and the kingdom of the Messiah, and are so expounded in the New Testament, and such expressions are found in those predictions as are peculiar thereto and not applicable otherwise.

?So this prophecy, under the type of Jerusalem’s destruction, looks as far forward as the general judgment; and, as is usual in prophecies, some passages are most applicable to the type, and others to the antitype; and toward the close, as usual, it points more particularly to the latter. It is observable; that what Christ here saith to his disciples tends more to engage their caution than to satisfy their curiosity; more to prepare them for the events that should happen than to give them a distinct idea of the events themselves.

?This is that good understanding of the time which we should all covet, thence to infer what Israel ought to do: and so this prophecy is of standing lasting use to the church, and will be so to the end of time; for?the thing that hath been, is that which shall be?(Eccl.?1:5 ,Eccl.?1:6 ,?Eccl.?1:7 ,?Eccl.?1:9 ?), and the series, connection, and presages, of events, are much the same still that they were then; so that upon the prophecy of this chapter, pointing at that event, moral prognostications may be made, and such constructions of the signs of the times as the wise man’s heart will know how to improve.

?Revelation 7

The Sealed of Israel

13?Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?”14?And I said to him, “Sir,[b ]?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. ?15?Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them.

16?They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat;?17?for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters.[c ]?And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Matthew Henry?

?Verses 13-17 ?Here we have a description of the honour and happiness of those who have faithfully served the Lord Jesus Christ, and suffered for him. Observe. A question asked by one of the elders, not for his own information, but for John’s instruction: ministers may learn from the people, especially from aged and experienced Christians; the lowest saint in heaven knows more than the greatest apostle in the world.

?Now the question has two parts:

1.?What are these that are arrayed in white robes??2.?Whence?came they??It seems to be spoken by way of admiration, as?Cant.?3:6 ?,?Who is this that cometh?out of the wilderness!?Faithful Christians deserve our notice and respect; we should mark the?upright.?II. The answer returned by the apostle, in which he tacitly acknowledges his own ignorance, and sues to this elder for information:?Thou knowest.?

Those who would gain knowledge must not be ashamed to own their ignorance, nor to desire instruction from any that are able to give it.III. The account given to the apostle concerning that noble army of martyrs who stood?before?the throne of God in white robes,?with palms of victory in their hands: and notice is taken here of,

1. The low and desolate state they had formerly been in; they had been in great tribulation, persecuted by men, tempted by Satan, sometimes troubled in their own spirits; they had suffered the spoiling of their goods, the imprisonment of their persons, yea, the loss of life itself.

The way to heaven lies through many tribulations; but tribulation, how great soever, shall not?separate us from the love of God.?Tribulation, when gone through well, will make heaven more welcome and more glorious.

2. The means by which they had been prepared for the great honor and happiness they now enjoyed: they had?washed their robes, and made?them white in the blood of the Lamb,?v.?14 .

It is not the blood of the martyrs themselves, but the blood of the Lamb, that can wash away sin, and make the soul pure and clean in the sight of God. Other blood stains; this is the only blood that makes the robes of the saints white and clean. 3. The blessedness to which they are now advanced, being thus prepared for it.

(1.) They are happy in their station, for?they are before the throne of God night and day;?and he dwells among them;?they are in that presence where there is fullness of joy. ??

[2] They are happy in their employment, for they serve God continually, and that without weakness, drowsiness, or weariness. Heaven is a state of service, though not of suffering; it is a state of rest, but not of sloth; it is a praising delightful rest.

(3.) ?They are happy in their freedom from all the inconveniences of this present life. [1.] From all want and sense of want:?They hunger and thirst?no more;?all their wants are supplied, and all the uneasiness caused thereby is removed. [2.] From all sickness and pain: they shall never be scorched by?the heat of the sun any more.?

(4.) They are happy in the love and guidance of the Lord Jesus:?He shall feed them, he shall lead?them to living fountains of waters,?he shall put them into the possession of every thing that is pleasant and refreshing to their souls, and therefore?they shall hunger and thirst no more.?

(5.) They are happy in being delivered from all sorrow or occasion of it:?God shall wipe away all?tears from their eyes.?They have formerly had their sorrows, and shed many tears, both upon the account of sin and affliction; but God himself, with his own gentle and gracious hand, will wipe those tears away, and they shall return no more for ever; and they would not have been without those tears, when God comes to wipe them away. In this he deals with them as a tender father who finds his beloved child in tears, he comforts him, he wipes his eyes, and turns his sorrow into rejoicing.

This should moderate the Christian’s sorrow in his present state, and support him under all the troubles of it; for?those that sow in tears shall reap in joy; and those that now go forth weeping, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again rejoicing,?bringing their sheaves with them.?

Question: "What is the Tribulation? How do we know the Tribulation will last seven years?" Another perspective:

Answer:?The tribulation is a future seven-year period of time when God will finish His discipline of Israel and finalize His judgment of the unbelieving world. The church, made up of all who have trusted in the person and work of the Lord Jesus to save them from being punished for sin, will not be present during the tribulation.

The church will be removed from the earth in an event known as the rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 ;?1 Corinthians 15:51-53 ). The church is saved from the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 5:9 ).

Throughout Scripture, the tribulation is referred to by other names such as the Day of the Lord (Isaiah 2:12 ;?13:6-9 ;?Joel 1:15 ;?2:1-31 ;?3:14 ;?1 Thessalonians 5:2 ); trouble or tribulation (Deuteronomy 4:30 ;?Zephaniah 1:1 ); the great tribulation, which refers to the more intense second half of the seven-year period (Matthew 24:21 ); time or day of trouble (Daniel 12:1 ;?Zephaniah 1:15 ); time of Jacob's trouble (Jeremiah 30:7 ).

https://www.gotquestions.org/tribulation.html

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