THE GREAT TRIBULATION

 Part of my testimony; As a teenager I was scared as all get OUT of this current time. The end times. The Bible tells us we must be born again to see the kingdom of God.. I'm going to give you the outline of what truly is about to happen in this world. Take heart, for Christ overcame the world and so shall we. We are already victorious in Him. 

The Great Tribulation – “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 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” (Matt. 24:21, 29). 

Tribulation- 2347- thilpsis- 

1. The names for this period – No less than 12 titles for this blood-chilling period can be found in the Bible, These are:

 a. The Day of the Lord – This title is used more frequently than any other. 

See, for example, Isaiah 2:12; 13:6, 9; Ezekiel 13:5; 30:3; Joel 1:15; 2:1, 11, 31; 3:14; Amos 5:18, 20; Obadiah 15; Zephaniah 1:7, 14; Zechariah 14:1; Malachi 4:5; Acts 2:20; 1 Thessalonians 5:2; 2 Thessalonians 2:2; 2 Peter 3:10. 

A distinction should be made between the Day of the Lord and the day of Christ. The day of Christ is a reference to the Millennium. See 1 Corinthians 1:8; 5:5; 2 Corinthians 1:14; Philippians 1:6, 10; 2:16.

 b. The indignation (Isa. 26:20; 34:2)

 c. The day of God’s vengeance (Isa. 34:8; 63:1-6) 

d. The time of Jacob’s trouble (Jer. 30:7)

 e. The overspreading of abominations (Dan. 9:27)

 f. The time of trouble such as never was (Dan. 12:1) 

g. The seventieth week (Dan. 9:24-27) 

h. The time of the end (Dan. 12:9) 

i. The great day of his wrath (Rev. 6:17)

j. The hour of his judgment (Rev. 14:7) 

k. The end of this world (Matt. 13:40, 49) 

l. The tribulation (Matt. 24:21, 29) – The word tribulation is derived from the Latin tribulem, which was an agricultural tool used for separating the husks from the corn. As found in the Bible, the theological implications would include such concepts as a pressing together, an affliction, a burdening with anguish and trouble, a binding with oppression. Keeping this in mind, it would seem that of all the 12 names for the coming calamity, the last one would most accurately describe this period. Therefore, from this point on, the term tribulation will be employed. 

2. The nature of this period – The following passages aptly describe this future and fearful time. “Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt: For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible” (Isa. 13:6-7, 10-11). 

“And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord... when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth” (Isa. 2:19). 

“Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty... turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.... The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard” (Isa. 24:1, 19-20). 

“For the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies.... Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood. And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll” (Isa. 34:2-4). (See also Isa. 63:3-4, 6; Jer. 25:32-33; Joel 2:1-2; Zeph. 1:14- 15; Matt. 24:7, 11-12, 21-22; Luke 21:25-26; 1 Thess. 5:2-3; Rev. 6:12-17.) 

3. The length of this period – A careful study of Daniel 9:24-27 reveals the time element here to be seven years. 

4. The purpose for this period – Why this terrible time? There are at least seven reasons given by the Scriptures. 

a. To harvest the crop that has been sown throughout the ages by God, Satan, and mankind. This aspect is so important that our Lord himself took an entire sermon to expound upon this. Note his words: “He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; the field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; the enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Matt. 13:37-43). 

b. To prove the falseness of the devil’s claim – Since his fall (Isa. 14:12-14), Satan has been attempting to convince a skeptical universe that he rather than Christ is the logical and rightful ruler of Creation. Therefore, during the tribulation the sovereign God will give him a free and unhindered hand to make good his boast. Needless to say, Satan will fail miserably. 

c. To prepare a great martyred multitude for heaven – “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands” (Rev. 7:9).

 d. To prepare a great living multitude for the Millennium – “And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matt. 25:32-34). 

e. To punish the Gentiles – “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men” (Rom. 1:18). “And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thess. 2:11-12). “And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations” (Rev. 19:15).

 f. To purge Israel – “And I will cause you to pass under the rod.... And I will purge out from among you the rebels” (Ezek. 20:37-38). “And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God” (Zech. 13:8-9). “And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness” (Mal. 3:3). 

g. To prepare the earth itself for the Millennium – The Bible indicates that prior to the great flood our earth was surrounded by a watery canopy (Gen. 1:6-7; 7:11) resulting in a universal semitropical paradise of a climate. The discovery of vast oil and coal deposits in the area of both the north and south poles bears strong witness to this. In addition there were probably no deserts, ice caps, rugged mountains, or deep canyons, all of which so radically affect our weather today. But then came the flood, changing all this. (The psalmist may have written about this in Psalm 104:5-9.) However, during the Millennium, pre-flood conditions will once again prevail. (See Isa. 4:5; 30:26; 40:3-5; 60:19-20.) Mankind will once again experience longevity. (Compare Gen. 5 with Isa. 65:20.) 

But by what process will all these tremendous changes come about? It is interesting that the King James Version translators used the word regeneration on but two occasions. One is in reference to the conversion of repenting sinners (Titus 3:5), and the other describes the salvation of nature itself. Note: “And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matt. 19:28).

A chronology of this period 

a. First part (three and one-half years) (1) The appearance of the Antichrist (a) His nature – “And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High” (Dan. 7:25) “And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods” (Dan. 11:36). “And that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.... Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders” (2 Thess. 2:3-4, 9). “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son” (1 John 2:22). “And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth.

His rise to power 

i) Through the power of Satan (2 Thess. 2:3, 9-12; Rev. 13:2)

 ii) Through the permission of the Holy Spirit – His present-day manifestation is being hindered by the Holy Spirit until the Rapture of the church. God is in control of all situations down here and will continue to be. (See Job 1 – 2, 2 Thess. 2:6-7.)

iii) Through the formation of a 10-nation organization – He will proceed from a 10- dictatorship confederation that will come into existence during the tribulation. These dictators are referred to as “ten horns” in Daniel 7:7; Revelation 12:3; 13:1; 17:11-12.) In his rise to power he will defeat three of these dictators (Dan. 7:8, 24). This 10-horned confederation is the revived Roman Empire. This is derived from the fact that the most important prophetic details concerning the old Roman Empire in Daniel 2:40-44 are still unfulfilled. The revived Roman Empire is the last of seven Gentile world powers to plague the nation Israel. These powers are referred to as seven heads in Revelation 12:3; 13:1; 17:7.

 They are: 

· Egypt, which enslaved Israel for 400 years (Exod. 1 – 12) 

· Assyria, which captured the Northern Kingdom of Israel (2 Kings 17) 

·Babylon, which captured the Southern Kingdom of Israel (2 Kings 24) 

· Persia, which produced wicked Haman (Esther 3) 

· Greece, which produced, indirectly, Antiochus Epiphanes (Dan. 11) 

· Rome, which destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70 (see Luke 21) and which will hound Israel in the revived empire as never before in all history (Rev. 2) 

iv) Through the cooperation of the false religious system (Rev. 17) 

v) Through his personal charisma and ability vi) Through a false (or real?) resurrection (Rev. 13:3) 

vii) Through a false peace program, probably in the Middle East (Dan. 8:25) 

viii) Through a master plan of deception and trickery (Matt. 24:24; 2 Thess. 2:9; Rev. 13:14) – Out of the 91 occurrences in the New Testament of the words meaning “to deceive,” or “to go astray,” 22 of them belong definitely to passages dealing with the Antichrist and the tribulation. (See Matt. 24:4-5, 11, 24; 2 Thess, 2:3, 9- 11; 2 Tim. 3:13; Rev. 12:9; 18:23; 19:20; 20:3, 8, 10.) Three reasons explain this fearful deception: 

(a) universal ignorance of God’s Word (see Matt. 22:29); 

(b) fierce demonic activity (see 1 Tim. 4:1); 

(c) the empty soul (see Luke 11:24-26). 

His activities:

 i) He begins by controlling the Western power block (Rev. 17:12) – The Antichrist will defeat 3 of these 10 kingdoms (horns) in his rise to power (Dan. 7:8). 

ii) He makes a seven-year covenant with Israel but breaks it after three and a half years (Dan. 9:27). 

iii) He gains absolute control over the Middle East after the Russian invasion (Ezek. 38, 39). iv) He attempts to destroy all of Israel (Rev. 12).

He destroys the false religious systems so that he may rule unhindered (Rev. 17:16-17). 

vi) He thereupon sets himself up as God (Dan. 11:36-37; 2 Thess. 2:4, 11; Rev. 13:5). 

vii) He briefly rules over all nations (Psa. 2; Dan. 11:36; Rev. 13:16) – He will have a universal rule during the final three and a half years of the tribulation (Dan. 7:25). (See also Rev. 13:5; Matt. 24:21.) viii) He will shed blood upon this earth in unprecedented manner (Dan. 7:7, 19). 

ix) He will wear out the saints of God (Israel) (7:25). (See also Rev. 12:13.)

 x) He will attempt to change seasons and laws (7:25). 

xi) He will blaspheme God (7:25). (See also Rev. 13:5-6.) 

xii) He is utterly crushed by the Lord Jesus Christ at the battle of Armageddon (Rev. 19). 

xiii) He is the first creature to be thrown into the lake of fire (Rev. 19:20). 

Middle part (brief undetermined period) 

(1) The Gog and Magog invasion into Palestine (Ezek. 38-39) – “Son of man, set thy face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal” (Ezek. 38:2-3; ASV). In these two remarkable chapters, Ezekiel describes for us an invasion into Palestine by a wicked nation north of Israel in the latter days. 

(a) The identity of the invaders – Where is the land of Magog? It seems almost certain that these verses in Ezekiel refer to none other than Russia. Note the following threefold proof of this. 

i) Geographical proof – Ezekiel tells us in three distinct passages (38:6, 15; 39:2) that this invading nation will come from the “uttermost part of the north” (as the original Hebrew renders it). A quick glance at any world map will show that only Russia can fulfill this description. 

ii) Historical proof – The ancient Jewish historian Josephus (first century A.D.) assures us that the descendants of Magog (who was Japheth’s son and Noah’s grandson) migrated to an area north of Palestine. But even prior to Josephus, the famous Greek historian Herodotus (fifth century B.C.) writes that Meshech’s descendants settled north of Palestine. iii) Linguistic proof – Dr. John Walvoord writes concerning this:

b) The allies in the invasion – Ezekiel lists five nations who will join Russia during her invasion. These are:

 Persia, Ethiopia, Libya, Gomer, and Togarmah. These may (although there is some uncertainty) refer to the following present-day nations:

 i) Persia – modern Iran 

ii) Ethiopia – Black African nations (South Africa) 

iii) Libya – Arabic African nations (North Africa) 

iv) Gomer – Eastern Europe 

v) Togarmah – Southern Russia and the Cossacks, or perhaps Turkey. 

(c) The reasons for the invasion:

 i) To cash in on the riches of Palestine (Ezek. 38:11, 12). 

ii) To control the Middle East – Ancient conquerors have always known that he who would control Europe, Asia, and Africa must first control the Middle East bridge that leads to the three continents. 

iii) To challenge the authority of the Antichrist (Dan. 11:40-44)

d) The results of the invasion. 

i) Five-sixths (83 percent) of the Russian soldiers are destroyed (Ezek. 39:2). 

ii) The first grisly feast of God begins (Ezek. 39:4, 17-20) – A similar feast would seem to take place later, after the battle of Armageddon (Rev. 19:17-18; Matt. 24:28). 

iii) Seven months will be spent in burying the dead (Ezek. 39:11-15). 

iv) Seven years will be spent in burning the weapons of war (Ezek. 39:9-10).