PROPHETICALLY CORRECT

…ABOUT The TRIBULATION

Things are going to get worse before they get better. Jesus said,

This time of "tribulation" is going to be so bad that it is simply called The Tribulation or The Great Tribulation. It’s coming and it’s crises are inevitable.

A lot of people, including Christians, stocked-up for Y2K. Y2K never materialized… But the Tribulation will! Is the Tribulation something you can or should prepare for?

Jesus offered two words of advice: Endure and escape.

Some must endure the Tribulation; but others will escape it altogether.

We’ll see that those who must endure the Tribulation are the generation of Jews who are alive when its judgments begin. Prior to its beginning, every generation of Jews and Gentiles is given the opportunity to escape it altogether.

We’ll organize our thoughts around two points: #1 The Jews Must Endure The Tribulation And Be Saved Through It, and #2 You Can Escape The Tribulation And Be Saved From It.

#1 The Jews Must Endure The Tribulation

And Be Saved Through It.

Jesus called the Temple at Jerusalem "My house" and had driven out those who defiled it. Jesus had made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem and had been hailed as the Messiah. His house seemed ready to receive Him. The disciples, thinking that Jesus was about to usher in the kingdom of God on earth, remarked to Jesus,

Mark 13:1 "Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!"

Jesus startled His disciples by prophesying the demolition of the Temple:

His "house" looked ready, but His household was rebellious! The Jewish leaders would reject Jesus and call for His crucifixion. The Jews had defiled the Temple; Jesus would depart from it; the Romans would destroy it.

God's "house" would be destroyed; but God's household would not! The Jews would be dispersed in order to be disciplined.

For almost two thousand years God has dispersed the Jews among the Gentile nations of the world to discipline them. But God's dispersed household has not been destroyed! The Jews have miraculously remained an identifiable people.

Mark Thirteen, up until verse thirty-two, is all about Israel in the Tribulation. It is filled with Jewish images: Jewish councils, Jewish synagogues, the defiling of the Jewish Temple, and Jews living in Judea.

In Mark Thirteen Jesus tells you how God will restore His household. The Jews will go through a period of tribulation which shall come upon the whole earth just before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The Jews - God's household - will endure the Tribulation and be saved.

Listen to this passage from Jeremiah 30:1-7,

Jeremiah 30:1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

Jeremiah 30:2 "Thus speaks the LORD God of Israel, saying: ‘Write in a book for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you.

Jeremiah 30:3 For behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘that I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,’ says the LORD. ‘And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.’"

Jeremiah 30:4 Now these are the words that the LORD spoke concerning Israel and Judah.

Jeremiah 30:5 "For thus says the LORD: ‘We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace.

Jeremiah 30:6 Ask now, and see, whether a man is ever in labor with child? So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins like a woman in labor, and all faces turned pale?

Jeremiah 30:7 Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it; and it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.

This time of tribulation is called "the time of Jacob’s trouble." It comes upon the whole earth and involves all nations and people but its purpose is to bring the Jews alive at that time to repentance. It prepares the Jews to receive Jesus as Messiah at His Second Coming.

The disciples had kingdom confusion! They thought Jesus was about to establish the kingdom of God on earth. Startled by His words, they asked Jesus to clarify them. What follows is called the Olivet Discourse because it was given on the Mount of Olives. It is recorded here in Mark and in Matthew twenty-four and twenty-five, and in Luke twenty-one.

Mark 13:3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately,

Mark 13:4 "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?"

As Jesus describes the Tribulation you’ll see that it has three distinct divisions: a first half, a middle, and a last half. He discussed the first half of the Tribulation in verses five through thirteen.

The First Half of the Tribulation will be marked by counterfeit Christ's, by conflicts, and by catastrophes:

Mark 13:6 "For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He,' and will deceive many.

Mark 13:7 "But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet.

Mark 13:8 "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows.

It might be interesting that counterfeit Christ’s, conflicts, and catastrophes are accelerating… But by themselves these things do not indicate the Tribulation has begun. They must occur in conjunction with the events of verses nine through thirteen, which are global preaching and global persecution.

You see the global preaching in verse ten:

This verses is commonly misunderstood and therefore misapplied. When applied to the Church, it seems to be saying that the Church must preach the gospel to everyone on earth before Jesus can return. While that is a worthy goal, it is not what is being described. These verses are about the first half of the Tribulation! It is then that the gospel will be proclaimed to every creature on the face of the earth.

Many Jews and Gentiles will receive Jesus Christ as the 144,000 preach. They will be persecuted; and Jews especially by their own unbelieving countrymen. You see this global persecution in verses nine, eleven, twelve and thirteen:

Those being persecuted are delivered to Jewish councils and synagogues by their own family members. This is Jewish persecution of other Jews. Don’t get me wrong: The Tribulation comes upon the whole earth and involves all the nations of the world. Gentiles who turn to Christ will also be persecuted and killed. But Jews and Jerusalem are the focus of the Tribulation. It is the time of Jacob’s trouble.

Jesus is speaking to Tribulation saints when He says,

Those who are saved in the Tribulation must endure its severe persecutions. It’s been said before: If you can’t live for Jesus now, how do you expect to die for Him then? Let me add another chilling fact to those who think they can wait and make their decision for Christ during the Tribulation. In Second Thessalonians 2:11 you are told that during the Tribulation,

2 Thessalonians 2:11 KJV And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

2 Thessalonians 2:12 KJV That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Make your decision today, in the day of grace.

These are only "the beginning of sorrows," the first half of the Tribulation. The Middle of the Great Tribulation is marked by a very specific event:

The phrase "abomination of desolation" comes from the Book of Daniel. In Daniel 9:27 you read,

Daniel 9:27 KJV And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

"One week" is seven years. There is a period of seven years left on God’s prophetic calendar. These seven years are the length of the Tribulation period.

The seven years begins when a future world leader will "confirm a covenant" with Israel. He will rise to power from some form of a ten-nation confederacy that has ties to the former Roman Empire. He will enforce peace in the volatile Middle East. The Jews will rebuild their Temple and reinstitute Temple worship and sacrifice.

This world leader is the man we commonly call the antiChrist. The Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ calls him "the beast." He has at least thirty-three names in the Bible.

In the "midst," the middle, of this period, after three and one half years, something remarkable occurs. The antiChrist receives a mortal wound but survives! He will be empowered and indwelt by Satan. Unbelievers on the earth will wonder at him and worship him. He will cause everyone to receive a "mark" in their hand or forehead by which they must buy or sell. The mark will not just be economic, though. It involves "the name of the beast," the "number of his name." In other words, it will include a voluntary allegiance to the antiChrist. No one will be fooled into taking the mark and thus lose eternal life; they willfully, gladly, worship the antiChrist and, through him, Satan.

He will turn against the Jews. He will commit the "abomination of desolation" when he enters the Temple in Jerusalem and proclaims himself as God. This marks the middle of the seven years and will usher in the last half of the Tribulation. To be completely accurate, the whole period of seven years is called the Tribulation, but the last three and one half years are the Great Tribulation.

The Great Tribulation is summarized by Jesus:

The Jews are especially the target of the antiChrist because by this time he has become possessed by Satan. Satan tries one last time to exterminate the Jews in order to defeat God’s unfulfilled promises to them.

Have you ever wondered why there have been so many attempts in the history of mankind to exterminate the Jews? They are Satan’s efforts to defeat the unfulfilled but unconditional promises He has made to the Jews.

Verses nineteen through twenty-three describe the last three and one half years:

The horrors of the Great Tribulation are described in detail in the Revelation of Jesus Christ, especially in chapters six through eighteen. They include the following:

1. Hail, fire, and blood rain down upon the earth; one-third of all grass and trees burned up.
2. Something called "a great mountain burning with fire" hits sea; one-third of all the ocean becomes blood; one-third of all sea life dies and one-third of all ships are destroyed.
3. A star called "Wormwood" hits earth; one-third of all freshwater is poisoned.
4. One-third of the sun and moon are darkened causing an interruption in the day-night cycle of the earth.
5. Demonic locust beasts that sting and torment men are loosed from a place called the Abusso.
6. More demons are released and a 200 million-man Eastern army kills one-third of the world's population.
7. Terrible and painful malignant sores break out on all who worship the antiChrist.
8. The entire ocean becomes blood. All sea life dies.
9. All fresh water becomes blood. No more fresh drinking water.
10. The sun increases in heat and scorches and burns people.
11. There is supernatural darkness on earth.
12. An earthquake will divide Jerusalem and cause other cities to fall; islands and mountains will disappear; a storm featuring one-hundred pound hailstones will hit the earth.

All of this culminates in the armies of the world marching against one another and gathering in the Valley of Megiddo for the Battle of Armageddon.

When Jesus speaks of "those days being shortened," He meant that the awful judgments brought upon mankind during those days will be limited to the prophesied three and one half years.

The Tribulation ends with the return of Jesus to earth in His glorious Second Coming. He gathers His "elect" together and they enter into the kingdom of God on earth. His elect are those who have endured the Great Tribulation.

Will you have to endure the Great Tribulation? Not if you receive Jesus Christ now! As we saw in our last study, believers will be Raptured to heaven prior to any portion of the Tribulation on the earth.

Jesus tells two parables in Mark Thirteen to end the Olivet Discourse. The two parables distinguish between the elect of the house of Israel and the elect of the Church.

The fig tree is a symbol of the house of Israel. The fig tree in Israel is one of the latest to leaf out in spring so its shoots are an indication that summer is near. Saints in the Tribulation will be able to see the signs that the coming of the Lord is near.

The word "generation" could refer to the Jews as an ethnic group. If that is the case, Jesus was saying that the Jews would never be exterminated but always remain an identifiable people. It could also refer to the Jews alive during the Tribulation. Either way this is a word of encouragement that God's elect nation will endure even going through the Great Tribulation.

God's great purpose is that "all Israel will be saved" through the Great Tribulation. All Jews that are alive when Jesus Christ returns will see Him and believe upon Him as their Messiah and be saved.

While the house of Israel is currently dispersed and disciplined, God is calling disciples from all nations into His household of faith, the Church. The Parable of the Householder is about you today.

#2 You Can Escape The Tribulation

And Be Saved From It

The Parable of the Fig Tree emphasizes knowing that the coming of Jesus is near; this second parable emphasizes not knowing the time of Jesus' return. Is this a contradiction? No, because the two are addressed to different groups. The Parable of the Fig Tree cautions Tribulation saints to watch and know the signs of Christ's coming. The Parable of the Householder cautions all of us today to be alert because we don't know when Jesus will return to Rapture the saints of the Church Age to heaven.

Jesus is the Householder Who has gone away. If you are a believer, you are the members of His household. While He is gone, you are stewards of His gospel and have been given authority to minister for Him. Like any household, there are a variety of duties to perform. We want to keep a good house - the Lord could Rapture us at any moment!

Since you believe the Lord is coming at any moment you will remain spiritually awake and alert. The Doctrine of the Imminent Rapture of the Church sets your priorities, gives you perspective, and maintains purity in your life.

If you are a saint today you will not be a Tribulation saint! The Rapture will occur before the Tribulation begins. There are sincere, godly Christians who will tell you that the Church will go through all or some portion of the Tribulation. We love them, but we strongly disagree with them. Their conclusion is often based on confusion - the confusion of the household of Israel with the household of the Church. God has a unique plan for the Jews that involves regathering them to the Promised Land. God's unique plan for the Church is to Rapture you to heaven.

Don't confuse the trials and tribulations God's saints of all ages go through with the Tribulation. Jesus said, "in the world you will have tribulation," but you will not be in the world during the Tribulation.

The household of Israel will endure going through the Tribulation and be saved. You are the household that will escape going through the Tribulation.