Thesis 19/36: The Great Tribulation

DOCTRINES OF ESCHATOLOGY
Doctrine 19 / 36: The Great Tribulation

"Daniel's 70th Week," "The Time of Jacob's Trouble," "The Time of Tribulation." These are all titles that are given to a seven year period after God has raptured His saints, and before He returns to the earth to establish His kingdom. This time is a time of God's wrath being poured out on the earth, and is dominated by the rule of the Antichrist.

Throughout the Tribulation, the Bible declares, in the book of Revelation, that there will be many great afflictions. It will be a time of war (6:4). Death will come at one point to the fourth part of man by the sword, hunger and by beasts (6:8). There will be great earthquakes (6:12). There will be signs in the sky such as the sun turning black, the moon turning red, and stars of heaven falling unto the earth (6:12-13). Mountains will be moved (6:14). There will be a time of hail and fire mingled with blood (8:7). A third part of the sea will become blood destroying a third party of the life and of the ships in it (8:8-9). Locusts will be loosed on the earth which sting men like scorpions and cause them to be in pain for five months, to the point that the men will wish that they could die (9:3-6). Four angels will be loosed out of the Euphrates and kill a third of men (9:15). There will be a sore given to all that take the mark of the beast (16:2). Every living soul that is in the sea will die (16:3). And an angel will be given power to scorch men with fire (16:8).

The time of the Tribulation will be divided into two halves. It seems that the first half will be somewhat more peaceful than the second, in that the Antichrist will establish his dominion, and continue to exalt himself with signs and wonders. At the midway point of the Tribulation, the Antichrist will apparently raise in vileness, commit the abomination of desolation by profanely offering on God's altar in Jerusalem, and then waging war on the saints of God. There will also be two witnesses sent by God, apparently Moses and Elijah (Revelation 11:3-12), who will testify against the Antichrist and will also do their own set of miracles. They will be killed, and after three days of enjoying seeing their dead bodies, the people of the earth will be amazed when they are resurrected and ascend into heaven.

The Antichrist and his false prophet will setup a way of controlling all buying and selling, related to the image and mark of the beast. As a result, all people of the earth will have to submit to receiving the mark of the beast, or else they will be unable to buy or sell. However, the result of taking this mark will be sure damnation from God (Revelation 13:17; 19:20).

At the end of the seven years, there will be a battle fought at a place called Armageddon. At this battle, all the kings of the earth will be gathered together to do battle against God (Revelation 16:14-16). Psalm 2 may be directly related to this time when it says, "Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision" (Psalm 2:1-4). God is not worried about the outcome of this battle. He ends the time of Great Tribulation by returning with His saints, and defeating all the enemies in the world. He comes and establishes His reign on earth and rules with a rod of iron.

"Then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world."