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What is The Great Tribulation?

The great tribulation is not the event everyone is waiting for!

By Nab B. August 2022

"For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short." (Matt 24:21-22)

You may or may not like this! On my website, I am only interested in what the Spirit of God is saying, not so much what other people say or even my own understanding.

I always doubted what was taught about the great tribulation being an unrivalled global catastrophic event just before the end of the world!

My doubt started when I recognized that all of Christ's messages in Revelation had to be experienced by all believers, from the beginning of the Church until the end of the age. Thus, I couldn’t reconcile how only ONE group was going to experience the 'great tribulation' at the very end of the age! What about believers in prior centuries? Did they all escape the perils of the great tribulation?!

I knew Something Was Wrong!

The 'great tribulation' was first mentioned in Daniel 12:1 and by Jesus in the gospel of Matthew and Revelation. 'Tribulation' in bible terms carries a spiritual meaning, not a physical one. The Greek word 'thlipsis’ translated as tribulation means persecution, affliction, or distress. Even our word ‘trauma’ is derived from it. Hence, it indicates a condition rather than a specific event!

It helps to view the 'great tribulation' NOT as a global catastrophe, but as the predestined course of life for all true believers to be "washed by the blood of the Lamb”. (Rev 7:14) This is key since everyone needs to be washed by the blood of Christ (past, present, future). Therefore, the 'great tribulation' could not apply to just one last generation of believers!

The life of a true believer is a blend of blissful joy in the spirit mixed with afflictions, troubles and tribulations in the flesh in this world. Paul's words say it best:

“I have worked much harder, been in prison... flogged... exposed to death again and again...pelted with stones, shipwrecked...I have been in danger from rivers ...from bandits...from my fellow Jews...from Gentiles; in danger in the city...the country...at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have laboured and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches." (2 Corinthians 11:23-29)

Tribulation is the consequence of having God’s light colliding with our darkness (in the world and our old nature). If one does not have this kind of tribulation and affliction, he or she needs to ask why not!

The Great Tribulation Began with Christ

We know that everything centres on and around the Saviour, Jesus Christ. His death is everything. By keeping this in mind, you will clearly see what I mean.

Christ going into tribulation at Gethsemane:

"Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me." He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will." (Matthew 26:36-39 )

Christ amid His tribulation on the cross:

“About the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying...“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46)

Christ's tribulation is predicted in Isaiah:

“He is despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief...Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities. He was oppressed and he was afflicted. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter...He was cut off from the land of the living. Yet, it pleased the LORD to bruise [crush] him. He put him to grief...He poured out His soul unto death. He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.” (Isa 53:3-12)

Christ's tribulation is predicted in the Psalms:

“I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me.” (Psalm 22:14-18)

Christ's tribulation in the flesh:

“Who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death and was heard because of His godly fear, though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.” (Hebrews 5:7-8)

Great Tribulation Destined For All The Elect!

The “great tribulation” is the expected course of life for all true believers according to God's will and purpose. Note its repeated mentions:

“They will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you . . . hated by all nations for My name’s sake.” (Matt 24:9)

“In the world, you will have tribulation.” (John 16:33)

“The devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days.” (Rev 2:10)

“Through many tribulations, we must enter the kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:22)

“It has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him but also to suffer for His sake.” (Phil 1:29)

“But rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings.” (1 Peter 4:13)

“I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation . . . Jesus Christ.” (Rev 1:9)

“We also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance.” (Rom 5:3)

“No one should be shaken by these afflictions [tribulation]; for you yourselves know that we are appointed to this.” (1 Thess 3:3)

The Great Tribulation

is Christ's DEATH!

To fully understand what is meant by the great tribulation, carefully follow the context in Matthew 24:15 through 22 where it was first mentioned by Jesus:

V.15: The religious leaders conspired to finally kill Jesus as prophesied in Daniel.

V. 16-20: Jesus warned his followers that a great change was coming to them!

V. 21: A ‘great distress’, [tribulation, pressure, affliction] is coming that has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, nor ever shall be.

V. 22: Unless those days were shortened [in length], no flesh would be saved. The days will be shortened for the elect’s sake.

What was Jesus talking about? I assure you, he was NOT talking about a worldwide catastrophic event at the end of the world! I believe he was speaking of His submission to the Father's will, going into the “greatest of tribulation” and the "greatest suffering", His sacrificial death for the whole world.

You may have other views, but the context seems to present His death, the greatest of all events, as the only plausible view! To God, the killing of His Son was the darkest moment and the worst of crimes. To Jesus Christ, this was an unbearable tribulation to endure! To appreciate its severity, consider this:

Jesus was convicted as a sinner and a criminal although He was completely innocent.
The weight of dying "for the sins of the whole world" weighed heavily upon him!
To make it worse, He was not granted a way to mask his physical and emotional pain.
Completely vulnerable, He was flogged, spit upon, beaten, dishonoured, and left hanging on a Roman cross—enduring an agonizing death for six hours—all before a cheering crowd!

Christ's death is the greatest of all tribulations—greater (in importance and magnitude) than any event in mankind’s history. Nothing was like it before, and none will ever be after. It changed the course of man's history whether people know it or ignore it; believe it or disbelieve it!

The great tribulation is a course of life (not a future event) for all true believers. It began with Christ and is destined for all true followers (past, present, future) who are also called the 'Great Multitude'.

Where Did They Come from?

The Apostle John was asked, "Where did they [the great multitude] come from?",

the answer was: “These are the ones coming out of [endured] the great tribulation, and [because of this] they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” (Revelation 7:14)

The words "Have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" were intentionally used to show the necessity of going through and coming out of the ‘great tribulation’.

This is reason enough to believe that it could not be one specific event experienced by one specific group! It applies to all believers; since without marching through Christ's great tribulation, no one will be washed by his blood!

"If Those Days Had Not Been Cut Short,

Nobody Would Be Saved"

If all believers must go through the great tribulation, in what sense “Those days will be shortened”? (Matt 24:22) Keep in mind that this passage speaks primarily of Christ’s own ‘great tribulation’ ending with his one-of-a-kind death!

To establish this, let me ask, how CRITICAL is Christ’s death (his great tribulation) to humans? In all of mankind's history, nothing was, is, or will be like it! The destiny of all humans, of all ages, is determined by it. This destiny has been operating regardless of whether people are aware of it or not, for "The kingdom of God does not come with careful observation [physical signs]." (Luke 17:20) Many regard Christ's death as "foolishness," but to the chosen, it is "The power of God for salvation." (1 Cor 1:18)

And please understand this:

Had not Christ's death (the great tribulation) occurred on time, “Nobody would be saved”! Let me paraphrase what Jesus said in Matt 24:22 for clarity:

“Unless my great tribulation of suffering and dying comes without delay, as God appointed, no person ("all flesh") can be saved. Unless I die willingly as a ‘sin offering’, redemption will not be possible for humans. But, for the sake of those who are chosen, and will be chosen and redeemed, God has determined that My hour of dying, my great tribulation, has come now.”

The phrase “If those days had not been cut short” matches Daniel 9:26 which says: “Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and will have nothing.” It proves that cutting short or cutting off has to do with His death, not a future cataclysmic event. CHRIST'S DEATH IS THAT EVENT!

Initially, His disciples were clueless when he told them. (Matt 20:17-20) His great tribulation leading to death was only days and hours away—a moment heaven and earth anxiously waited for since Genesis 3:15 was spoken. Finally, He managed to tell them in Matt 24:15 of the imminency of “the abominable” plot to kill Him causing the greatest tribulation to all:

(1) For him,

(2) For his followers,

(3) For all of mankind!

One unique death, at one specific moment, is saving many. (See Heb 10:10)

Finally!

The ‘Great Tribulation’ which began with Jesus Christ's agony and ended in his sacrificial death, sets the course of life for all true believers (if he suffered, his Body suffers). All must march through it, crucifying the body of sin, to be raised with Him.

Do not look for a future event called the Great Tribulation. This, in my opinion, is a deception to keep believers waiting for what will never come and instilling fear which leads many to neglect living by the spirit now.

Resolve to go through this great tribulation, in the here and now, during your lifetime, determined to come out “Washed…in the blood of the Lamb.” (Rev 7:14)