What is the Great Tribulation

What is the Great Tribulation?

According to the Lord’s own words, the commencement of the Great Tribulation will be marked by the Abomination of Desolation in the Temple as prophesied by the prophet Daniel,

“So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),… For then will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.” (Mat. 24:15,21 ESV)

Everything else like it in history pale in comparison–its magnitude and severity will be unmatched in history. But if there’s any consolation, it will not last long (Mat. 24:22) and it will end with a bang: with great signs in heaven including the appearance of the Son of Man (Mat. 24:29-30) and the rapture or the gathering of the elect (Mat. 24:31) will trigger it’s violent end. [See What is the Rapture?]

The Abomination of Desolation

We find the Abomination of Desolation in Daniel 9:25-27 is the prophecy about the Coming Prince (Dan. 9:26) who will put an end to sacrifice and offering in the Temple until his decreed demise (Dan. 9:27). The Jewish Encyclopedia of 1906 marked it fulfilled through Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the Greek King of the Seleucid Empire (BC 175 – 164), who desecrated their holy temple and transformed it into a pagan place of worship by setting up the idol Zeus in it. The idol itself was the abomination and Antiochus IV Epiphanes was believed to be the Desolator.

When Mat. 24:15 called for the reader’s understanding of the abomination standing in the temple, no other picture comes to mind other than what Antiochus IV Epiphanes did. Therefore it can be expected from the early Christians to anticipate something like it that will alert them to flee from Judea and run towards the mountains for their safety (Mat. 24:16-21). In fact, we find this recorded in the annals of Ecclessiastical History, Book 3, Chapter 5 written by Eusebius of Caesaria (AD 263-339), an entry describing Vespasian’s war with the Jews through his son Titus in AD 70,

“But the people of the church in Jerusalem had been commanded by revelation, vouchasafed to approved men there before the war, to leave the city and to dwell in a certain town of Perea called Pelia. And when those that believed in Christ had come there from Jerusalem, then, as if the royal city of the Jews and the whole land of Judea were entirely destitute of holy men, the judgment of God at length overtook those win ho had committed such outrages against Christ and his apostles, and totally destroyed the impious men (verse 3)… finally the course of the whole war, as well as its particular occurences in detail, and how at last the abomination of desolation, proclaimed the the prophets, stood in the very temple of God, so celebrated of old, the temple which was now awaiting its total and final destruction by fire—all these things any one that wishes may find accurately described in the history written by Josephus” (verse 4).

But neither of these two ended human history with a bang. Jesus did not appear in heaven and the believers were neither resurrected nor raptured into glory.

The Day of the Lord

What Antiochus IV Epiphanes and Vespasian did not only give us a lesson in history but also a picture of how the future Great Tribulation will be like: it will be worse than what they did but will end with great signs in heaven including the Coming of the Son of Man and the gathering or rapture of the elect,

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” (Mat. 24:29-31 ESV)

In Paul’s second epistle to the church of the Thessalonians, he reminded the believers there that the coming of the Lord and the gathering or rapture of the saints (2 Thes 2:1) will not come unless rebellion happens first. When and the Man of Lawlessness, also called the Son of Destruction, is revealed (2 Thes 2:1). He then spelled out what this man will do:

He will exalt himself above any so-called God or object of worship (2 Thes. 2:4a)
He will take seat in the temple of God (2 Thes. 2:4b)
He will proclaim himself to be God (2 Thes. 2:4c)
He will perform false signs and wonders through the activity of Satan (2 Thes. 2:9)
He will deceive those who refuse to love the truth (2 Thes. 2:10)

This man (2 Thes 2:3) is no other than the Coming Prince in Dan. 9:26, the same Desolator in Dan. 9:27a. Paul also described what will happen to him, how he is decreed to be destroyed (Dan. 9:27b) when Christ appears in heaven,

“And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.” (2 Thes 2:8 ESV).

Pauls also called it “the day of the Lord” (2 Thes. 2:2), a well known tumultuous and bloody eschatological event predicted in the Old Testament Scriptures. It is in this day that the fullness of God’s wrath is poured on evil, his vengeance inflicted on the wicked for their iniquity, and his justice exacted on earth (Isa. 13:3-19; 34:1-8; Joel 1:15-20; 2:1-11; 3:9-16; Zep. 1:2-18).

Already At Work.

What Antiochus IV Epiphanes and Vespasian and all the many murderous and deceptive tyrants in history confirm what Paul said in 2 Thes 2:9a, “the mystery of lawlessness is already at work.” Even in John’s first epistle, it is written that even now, “many antichrists have come” (1 Jn. 2:18b). And so, while Antiochus IV Epiphanes and Vespasian fit the bill of the many antichrists in history, they too pale in comparison to the coming end-time Antichrist (1 Jn. 2:18a).

When the 6th seal that unlocks the scroll of destiny in the Book of Revelation was broken, the signs of the day of the Lord appeared in heaven signifying its arrival, a question was asked: “Who can stand?” (Rev. 6:12-17)

Who Can Stand?

After the 6th seal was broken, there was an interlude between the 6th and 7th seal where John saw a multitude of 144,000 marked with God’s seal (Rev. 7:1-8) [See Who are the 144,000 in Revelation]. It was then followed by a vision of great multitude of people (Rev. 7:9-17). This prompted him to ask, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where they have come?” (Rev. 7:13). One of the elders in the heavenly court of God replied,

“These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. 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 shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Rev. 7:14-17 ESV)

The meaning of the vision of the great multitude is undeniable. They represent the multinational people of God who were able to stand the Great Tribulation because (a) they were redeemed by the blood of the Lamb (Rev. 7:14; 12:11); (b) they kept the Lamb’s word about patient endurance; and (c) they were kept from the hour of trial (Rev. 3:10).

The vision of the redeemed in the interlude of Revelation chapter 7 follows this order: first the Jews (Rev. 7:1-8) and then the Gentiles (Rev. 7:9-17).

What is the Rapture?

The etymology of the word takes us to Medieval Latin called “raptura”and “rapto” which means “seizing and carrying off.” In the Latin Bible, we find them used as follows:

In Acts 19:29 which tells of the people seizing [rapto] Gaius and Aristarchus;
In 2 Cor. 12:2, 3 when Paul tells of a man who was caught up [raptum] the third heaven and to paradise; and
In Rev. 12:5 which tells of a male child who was snatched up [raptus] to God and to his throne.

And in Against Heresies, Book 5, Chapter 5, Verse 1, Irenaeus of Lyons (AD 140-202) taught that Enoch and Elijah, in anticipation of what will happen to the just and the spiritual, were translated and caught up to Paradise and there they will remain until the end of all things. But in Chapter 9, Verse 1, Irenaeus taught that the Great Tribulation shall be the last “contest” that the righteous will have to overcome to be crowned with incorruption,

There shall be tribulation such as has not been since the beginning, neither shall be. For this is the last contest of the righteous, in which, when they overcome they are crowned with incorruption.

In other words, the translation and carrying off of Elijah and Enoch anticipate what would become of the Church at the end of the Great Tribulation, when they are translated and carried off to eternal life.

The first sentence of that quote from Irenaeus should be very familiar because it’s from Mat. 24:21, 29-31,

For then there will be great tribulation [thlipsis, Greek], such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. …Immediately after the tribulation [thlipsis] of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (Mat 24:21, 29-31 ESV)

In the Lord’s own words, the elect will be gathered and carried off by angels immediately following the end of the Great Tribulation which will be marked by great signs in the heavens including his appearance from the clouds.

The Apostle Paul had to write a follow up epistle to the church of the Thessalonians in order remind them that the coming of the Lord and our being gathered together to him will be preceded by rebellion and revelation of the Man of Lawlessness.

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? (2 Thes. 2:1-5 ESV)

Both the coming of the Lord Jesus and the gathering of the elect by rapture are inseparable and Post-Tribulational (after the Great Tribulation). This is true even in his first epistle to them,

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. (1 Thes. 4:16-17 ESV)

But one might ask, what is the point of being carried off into the clouds just to go back down again?

What is the point of such a meet-up?

Aside from 1 Thes. 4:17, the Greek word used, apantesis, is also used in the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins. However, only the wise virgins had enough oil to keep their lamps going as they went about to meet (apantesis) the arriving bridegroom. They were well prepared for his delay and they had enough oil to keep their lamps going as they waited till they were able to escort him into the wedding banquet (Mat. 25:10).

And so, the meet-up when the people of God are carried off into the clouds is meant for them to welcome their coming Bridegroom-King and to escort him into his wedding banquet to be united with him forever. But it is also the timing of the resurrection of the departed saints and the translation to immortality of those who remain alive waiting for his return.

This is the very same mystery that the Apostle unveiled in his epistle to the church of God in Corinth,

Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” (1 Cor. 15:51-54 ESV)