Tribulation Paper
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TH401 Theology V
27 October 2012
Many people have their own opinions about what will happen during the seven year Tribulation (also called the Day of the Lord) and about what occurs immediately before or after. The Bible is the best source to use to understand these events since it clearly states what exactly will happen during these seven years. This paper will be written with a pre-tribulation viewpoint even if the authors of some of the sources do not agree with all of the portions of that viewpoint. The people and events involved in the seven-year Tribulation will be the main focus. Although the Tribulation saints and the Church will be blessed, the Seven year tribulation will start with three and a half years of peace and end with three and a half years of war marked by judgment to
unbelieving Gentiles and the Jewish people. Rewards
With the mindset of pretribulational rapture which, according to John Walvoord in his article “Premillennialism and the Tribulation. The Tribulation A Major Problem of Eschatology; Pretribulationism.,” “holds that Christ will come for His church before the entire seven-year period predicted by Daniel [and that] the church in this point of view does not enter at all into the final tribulation period” (Walvoord, p. 197).
There are many blessings and rewards for being a saint during the tribulation and these rewards will also be bestowed upon those who have been saved and raptured as a part of the bride of Christ. Everyone who is saved before the tribulation will be raptured and will not be present for the Tribulation. After the seven year tribulation there will be a time when Christ returns to the earth to reign for one thousand years. After Christ returns, those
who had become followers during the Tribulation will be rewarded for their faithfulness. These rewards will happen after the Tribulation has ended. Although these rewards happen after the Tribulation, it is the perseverance and faithfulness to God that makes these rewards worth going through the pain on Earth. The first reward for Tribulation saints and the Church is the privilege of having God in their presence. In his writing The Rewards of the Tribulation Saints
, Richard Shalom Yates notes
that “God will dwell in all His glory among these Tribulation saints” (Yates, p. 327). The saints will have the opportunity to be in the presences of God. Yates also writes that “Such presence guarantees His protection” (p. 327). The Tribulation Saints are going to have to experience all that entails the Tribulation (including persecution), but after this is over these saints will be in the
presences of Jesus which is one of the rewards for following Christ in the end times. Another reward that the saints during the Tribulation will experience before and after the Second Coming is God’s comfort. The saints will be comforted by Jesus during the Tribulation and after His return to the Earth. God will comfort the saints which will help them to remember why faithfulness to Him is so important. Yates goes on to say that “in view of such promises Tribulation saints will live victoriously for Christ during the terrible time when the Antichrist will persecute and kill many who will have become believers in the seven-year Tribulation” (p. 334). When the Body of Christ and the Tribulation saints remember these promises of being in the presence of God one day and also the comfort that comes along with that, they will be able to
more easily remember the importance of following Christ. These people who have to endure the seven year tribulation will need this comfort because of the events that happen during the rule of the Antichrist.
3 ½ Years of Peace
As stated previously, the beginning of the Seven year tribulation happens after the rapture
of the Church. Paul Enns writes in his book The Moody Handbook of Theology
that “there may be a brief period of time between the rapture of the church and the signing of the covenant” (Enns, p. 391). There is no indication in the Bible of when this tribulation is to happen except for
the fact that the beginning of the tribulation is marked by the event of the Antichrist signing a seven-year peace treaty with the nation of Israel. During this time, the temple of Jerusalem will be restored and animal sacrifices will be offered again just like in the Old Testament times. This is to fulfill part of the prophecies about the nation of Israel. In Understanding End Times Prophecy, Paul Benware states that the reasons for the Tribulation are judgement on all of the nations because of their sinfulness, and salvation for Israel as the promised people of God (p. 297). God needs to use the Tribulation in order to fulfill His promises to Israel through His covenants involving them. Many events will happen to mark the occurrence of the beginning of the Tribulation. Israel will be one nation. The Antichrist will sign a treaty with Israel which will allow the third rebuilding of the Temple. Also, the Antichrist will say he is the Christ. This is the first thing to happen after this treaty with Israel is signed. This blasphemey will also be accompanied by a seven year rule of the Antichrist. According to “
Tribulation Timeline:
When Shall These Things Be?” Tom Stewart explains
that “the
Antichrist
will have a career of one prophetic week of seven years.” This shows that there will be seven years of time [backed up by Daniel 9:27: “
He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’
” (NIV)].
These seven years are commonly known as the Tribulation. The full seven years are known as the Tribulation, but the Great Tribulation is the more seriously feared time during the seven years. The Great Tribulation is also known as the 3 ½ years of war which do not happen until after the first three and a half years
are over.
There are some things that will happen to the Antichrist during these first years marked by peace. One thing that will happen during these first three and a half years is the death and resurrection of the Antichrist. Benware, when speaking about the Antichrist, writes that “during his rise to power he will make enemies who will assassinate him near the midpoint of the tribulation… but, much to the astonishment of the world, he is restored to life and becomes the object of worship” (p. 300). The Antichrist will have strange powers from Satan. On the website “The Tribulation Chart,” Gavin Finley writes that “Midway through the final 7 years of this age the Antichrist is possessed by the beast demon of the Abyss and in his 2
nd
phase role he shows his true colors and is finally “revealed as the beast” (Finley). The Antichrist will have supernatural powers through Satan.
Because of this supernatural power that the Antichrist will gain from Satan, people will worship the Antichrist as a result of being misled to believe that he is someone good. Another thing that will happen is that the Antichrist will not honor his word with Israel. It is prophesied in
Daniel 9:27 that the Antichrist will break the treaty with Israel: “In the middle of the ‘seven’
he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple
he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed
is poured out on him.” (NIV) The breaking of the treaty with Israel is known as the Abomination of Desolation. The way that the Antichrist breaks this treaty is by stopping the use of sacrifice and offerings at the restored Temple. He then will have people bow down to his image – the Abomination of Desolation. This is the event that marks the beginning of the last half of the seven-year tribulation. While all of these events happen, the Antichrist will have many people following him as someone divine which results in
him becoming the ruler of the world. While the Antichrist is in office as ruler over the world, the angel Michael will have permission from God to go and gather his army to fight against Satan. At this point Satan will only have a certain amount of power to be able to affect the world. Once this happens, the middle of the Tribulation will be the harbinger of the last three and a half years known as the Great Tribulation or the 3 ½ years of war.
3 ½ Years of War
At the point in history when the abomination of desolation occurs, the Great Tribulation will begin. This time is going to be a time where there seems to be no hope at all. During this time all unbelievers who are alive and unrepentant Israel will be judged and go through much distress.
Robert Horton Gundry, the author of The Church and the Tribulation,
writes about the specific types of
distress that are described in the Bible. Gundry explains that “the wrath of God poured out directly upon the unregenerate in retribution for unjudged sin, ravages of Satanic and demonic forces let loose on earth within God’s permissive will, evils and violence which stem directly from man’s own wickedness, persecution of saints by the Antichrist, and the chastisement of Israel designed to lead the people to repentance at the second coming” (Gundry, p. 46) are all types of distress that will occur during the Tribulation. This time is described in 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3: “
For you yourselves know full well that
the day of the Lord
will come
just like a thief in the night.
While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then
destruction
will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape” (NIV). This means that the Bible explains that this time of peace and safety will end abruptly and the sudden destruction will occur as soon as the Antichrist breaks the treaty with Israel causing the Abomination of Desolation. During this time of destruction there will be a second beast or “false prophet” (Rev. 16:13). This second beast is not to be mistaken as the Antichrist. The Antichrist is known as the first beast, but the second beast will help in getting people to worship the first beast, or the Antichrist. Benware writes about the second beast that “the evidence is that he is a religious leader… and his activities are clearly religious in nature” (Benware, p. 301). Benware also explains that this beast will be able to call fire down from heaven and do other miracles as well. The purpose of the beast or “fasle prophet” is for him to lead people to worship the Antichrist. Anyone who does not worship the Antichrist will be killed. This is the fulfillment of Tribulation saints being persecuted. The Tribulation saints will also be punished by the Antichrist by not receiving the “mark of the beast” which, according the Benware is “essential for any buying or selling” (p. 302). The Bible states that “If anyone
worships the beast and his
image, and receives a
mark on his forehead or on his hand,
he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed
in full strength
in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with
fire and
brimstone in the presence of the
holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb” (Rev. 14:9-10 NIV). Persecution of Tribulation saints is promised, but as stated before, these saints will receive
comfort and be in the presence of Christ because they remain faithful to Him.
Some other people who are importantly written about in Revelation are the 144,000. These people are distinctly Jewish people. Benware writes that the Bible states that there will be 12,000 people from each tribe of Israel (Rev. 7:4-8) (Benware, p. 303). Therefore, there will be 144,000 Jewish people who have been and will be faithful to God. They are known as “bondservants” (Rev. 7:3). These 144,000 people will become evangelists for the most part. They will be the ones who spread for ministry to bring others to God. These 144,000 will be “important instruments in the hand of God as He fulfills His purpose of bringing salvation to
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mankind during the terrible days of the tribulation” (Benware, 303). These 144,000 Jews will also be promised protection from the judgments of unbelievers during this time of tribulation. Along with the Antichrist, second beast, and 144,000 there are two other significant characters who will play a large part during the Tribulation. These two characters are the two witnesses. Many people have said that the two witnesses will end up being Elijah and Moses or Enoch. The only evidence people have for guessing that these men are the witnesses is that the Bible says that “it is appointed for men to die once and after that the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27 NASB). People figure that since Elijah, Moses, and Enoch have never died that two of them will end up becoming the two witnesses during the Tribulation. Their ministry will be for one half of the tribulation. The most common suspicion is that their ministry will be during the last half of the Tribulation. During their ministry they will be put to death by orders of the Antichrist which will cause much rejoicing by the world and then they will rise back to life and be brought to heaven.
The judgments that are to happen during the Great Tribulation have been clearly written out in the Bible in Revelation. There are three types of judgment described: seals (Rev. 6:1-8:5), trumpets (Rev. 8:6-9:21), and bowls (Rev. 16:1-21). The seal judgments are the events that happen during the first half of the Tribulation such as the reign of the Antichrist, famine, persecution, death of believers, and a great earthquake. Many of these judgments known as the seal judgments were described earlier in the paper. The next series of judgments are the trumpet judgments. The trumpet judgments are harsher compared to the seal judgments. The trumpet judgments start out with one-third of vegetation being burned. Because of this loss there may be a large effect on human life. If there is no food, people die. The second trumpet judgment causes a third of the sea to turn into blood. Because of this significant amount of the water turning into blood, one-third of all sea creatures will die. The third trumpet judgment is marked as destruction to fresh water. The fourth trumpet will cause one third of each star, sun and moon to be darkened. Darkness will be upon the earth. Trumpet number five is known as the “first woe” which is explained as five months of torturous locust-like creatures who will constantly be disturbing humankind but they will not kill anyone. The “second woe” or the sixth trumpet is a war. An army of 200,000,000 men will destroy a third of the human population. The third, and final woe, the seventh trumpet is also known as the
seven bowl judgments. These are the judgments that will be the prelude to the battle of Armageddon.
The bowl judgments are the ones that will make the most drastic effect on the world. The first judgment, bowl one, will be judgment in the form of sores that cover the bodies of the people who will be following the Antichrist. The second bowl judgment turns the entirety of the seas into blood which will kill all of the sea animals worldwide. The third bowl judgment will cause all of the fresh waters into blood. With this judgment, no one will be able to have any fresh
water to drink and imagine what it would look like if it began raining. Bowl judgment number four is characterized by extreme heat brought to the earth from the sun. This heat will cause people to be extremely burned and maybe even burnt like when one comes in contact with fire. Benware notes about Revelation 16:9 that “people will know that these judgments come from God, but they blaspheme Him anyway and refuse to repent of their evil” (Benware, p. 314). The fifth bowl judgment will create darkness over the Antichrist’s kingdom. Whether this is spiritual or physical darkness, it will be a time of mourning and fear. Bowl number six will allow the Euphrates river to dry up and men who are demonic will make their way toward Armageddon. The seventh and final bowl judgment will create hail storms with hail falling from heaven. This
hail is said to be one hundred pounds in weight. This could kill many people. It is hard to comprehend the amount of judgment that will be bestowed upon those who do not follow Christ and instead prefer to listen to the Antichrist, but the Bible states that these judgments are going to
happen in the future. Luckily the Church will be raptured during this time of judgment and destruction. This is known because only unbelieving Jews and Gentiles are mentioned in the scriptures describing the judgments over the earth during the seven year Tribulation.
The final event to happen during the seven year Tribulation and before Christ’s second coming is the Battle of Armageddon. People will be fighting against each other and all of the nations of the earth will join in this battle. While this battle is happening, God will slaughter the nations (hence, the main purpose of fulfilling the last judgment). So many people will be slaughtered that the blood will be as high as the horses’ bridles (Rev. 14:20). During this time, Jesus will also capture the Antichrist and the False Prophet in order to throw them into the lake of fire before anyone else is thrown in there. Finally, Christ will return once again to the Earth to set up His earthly kingdom. He will reign on the earth for one thousand years. As He returns to the earth, the entire population of the world will be able to see what is called the “sign of the Son of Man.” People will see it in the sky
as a sign that Christ will rule. As this will happen, people will understand that it will be an important event and they will all mourn. The judgments and wrath of God are going to be displayed in different ways both to affect physical bodies and nature. God will have His vengeance finally and there finally be a day when God is ruler of all. After all of these judgments
and the battle is over, the Abomination of Desolation will be taken away and the time when Christ is the ruler of the earth will begin.
As this paper has explained, there will be an extremely exhausting and fearful time of seven years on the earth for unbelievers and those who become believers during the Tribulation. The judgments described as the seal, trumpet, and bowl judgments will cause believers to become discouraged and want to just give up and follow the Antichrist. Since they will persevere, they will be rewarded for their faithfulness. Those who will have to face persecution will receive comfort from Christ and will be able to be in the presence of Jesus one day in the future. God has an amazing plan for those who will be part of the outworking of the good and the
bad that will occur in the future, but as believers remain faithful He will always be faithful to them. God is sovereign over the events both good and terrible that will happen during the seven year Tribulation. These events seem like they would be something to fear, but as members of the Body of Christ, the Church will not have to fear these times because she will already be raptured and in the presence of God in glorified bodies. Works Cited
Benware, Paul. Understanding End Times Prophecy.
p. 293-320.
Chicago, IL: Moody Press.
2006. Print
Enns, Paul. The Moody Handbook of Theology.
p. 383. Chicago, IL: Moody Press. 2008. Print.
Finley, Gavin, MD. "The Tribulation Chart."
The Tribulation Chart
. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Sept. 2012. <http://endtimepilgrim.org/chart2a.htm>.
Gundry, Robert Horton.
The Church and the Tribulation
. pp. 46-47. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1973. Print. Stewart, Tom. "
Tribulation Timeline:
When Shall These Things Be?
(Part 1)
."
Tribulation and Rapture
. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Sept. 2012. <http://www.whatsaiththescripture.com/Timeline/Timelin_Trib_Timeline_Pt_1.html
>.
Walvoord, John F. “Premillennialism and the Tribulation. The Tribulation A Major Problem of Eschatology; Pretribulationism.” p. 197. Biblioteca Sacra
111.443 (1954): 193-203. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials.
Periodical. 17 Oct. 2012.
Yates, Richard Shalom. “The Reward of the Tribulation Saints.” Biblioteca Sacra
163.651 (2006): 325-333. Atla Religion Database with ATLASerials.
Periodical. 3 Sept. 2012.
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