Tribulation
Matthew 24:3–35 (KJV 1900)
3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? 4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. 10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: 17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: 18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. 19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! 20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: 21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened. 23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 25 Behold, I have told you before. 26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. 27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. 32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: 33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. 35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. (Matthew 24:3-35, AV)
Tribulation, End Times events, the coming of Christ, and rapturous rising of Christians to their Lord in Heaven are debated topics amongst the faithful in every generation. So, lets start with the easy part and work our ways backwards and forwards a bit to fully understand the revealed portions of God’s plan for the rescuing of His people from His continuing destruction of the earth and the degenerate dwellers thereon.
Lets talk about the Tribulation. The Lord Jesus Christ was very revealing with His Words about what would be happening leading up to the Tribulation.
We know when this prophecy is going to unfold by what we observe!
Christians will know when Christ’s time draws closer, maybe. At least, we will be able to discern when it is NOT time yet. And, we will certainly have a hint that if the worst affliction and hardship is occurring to the world and mankind that has ever happened before, then maybe believers should be watchful in those days for the Coming of the Lord.
The tribulation of such ferociousness toward mankind that it has never had its equal since the beginning of the world will bookmark those times. Scripture tells us that the very elect people of the Lord, those that are dedicated fully to Him and doing His works diligently and faithfully in this time, will be at risk of losing their salvation if the days of tribulation are not shortened (Matthew 24:22)
So, it figures that if the world is experiencing such a great tribulation that a Christian has no historical reference, and things are so bad that there is no hope for recovery, then possibly Christ’s coming is near. But, then again, people living during the plague, world wars, depressions, perversions, oppressions, holocausts, with their lives controlled by dictators and wicked rulers, must surely have viewed their world as tribulated past endurance many times. Yet, mankind lived on. It is going to be even worse than all the bad things that have ever developed against the survival of mankind and the world in the past. It is the Tribulation “such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be (Matthew 24:21).”
Before the Son of God comes…
But immediately after the tribulation…
Six events will happen:
The sun will be darkened (Matthew 24:29)
The moon shall not give her light (Matthew 24:29)
The stars shall fall from heaven (Matthew 24:29)
The powers of the heavens shall be shaken (Matthew 24:29)
The sign of the Son of man in heaven will appear (Matthew 24:30)
All the tribes of the earth will mourn (Matthew 24:30)
Then the seventh event will be Christ’s coming in the cloud of heaven with power and great glory!
Will faithful Christians be present during the Tribulation?
Certainly reading Christs warnings, all people alive will witness Tribulation’s approach with disasters and tragedies occurring everywhere. But how much will the Christian experience before “rapture?”
Rapture is the taking up of Christians into Heaven in bodily, living form at a designated time chosen by God when it is His Time for Christs return. (No man knows that date!)
1 Thessalonians 4:15–18 (KJV 1900)
15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
Some believers think that they will be “raptured” prior to Tribulation beginning. Some think they will be “raptured” 3 1/2 years into the Tribulation. Others think that Christians will have to endure the entire seven years of Tribulation. No Christian believes that the eligible “raptured” Christians will be present during the events after the Tribulation. Some outliers in faith believe that “rapture” is not even an event.
It really doesn’t matter about your theological belief in rapture. End Times stuff is going to happen with or without your understanding. God will do His thing, and faithful Christians will rejoice in His presence in the timing of God.
However, preparing for the tribulation might be important to you and your family. Tribulation Scripture is recorded in Revelations 6 and Revelations 7. Revelation 8 begins the time when rapture has taken place, after the seals have been opened. When the seven trumpets of the angels sound, living faithful Christians should be already with their Lord in Heaven.
An important note: Because times are coming closer, with evidence of happenings in Israel, I will occasionally write about upcoming prophecy events. However, it is my firm belief that it is more important to teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that the focus on Him is more important than focusing on the End of Time. If we love Christ and follow His standards and teachings, End Times will happen without our effort and knowledge. In the End, loving and following Christ is really all that matters!
Lord Jesus Christ, come quickly!
