Ed Edwards has presented his viewpoint on tribulation so I thought I would throw in my three cents worth.
A basic premise in this essay on tribulation is that, in general, the lot of the ‘true believers’ in this life is one of tribulation in keeping with the words of the Lord:
In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world [John 16:33]. A second premise is that the Apostle John wrote the Book of Revelation primarily for the comfort of the first century Christians undergoing intense persecution and that the Book of Revelation is also written for the comfort of the Saints of all ages. There is one truth taught in the Book of Revelation that cannot be debated, in the end the Saints of God emerge victorious in and through Jesus Christ.
In the letters to the seven churches we read of the tribulation of the Saints at Smyrna [Revelation 2:10]. When the fifth seal is opened we hear the cry of the martyrs for vindication [Revelation 6:10]. In the passage from Revelation 7:13-17 we read of those in heaven who have come out of great tribulation. Distress and trouble for most, if not all, true believers in this life are an observable fact. Tribulation for the Saints of God is the promise of Jesus Christ. I believe that the distress or tribulation experienced by the Saints alone may be categorized as follows:
1.
The tribulation that is common to all mankind in the current natural order.
When Adam and Eve sinned the natural order of the universe was changed [Genesis 3]. The ground [the earth, the universe] was under a curse because of Adams sin. The Paradise of Eden was exchanged for a world of strife, of sickness, of deprivation, and in the end, physical death. Since then death has been as certain as life, with the sole exceptions of Enoch and Elijah. The great natural disasters, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes are no respecter of persons. As the patriarch Job wrote [Job 14:1],
Man [that is] born of a woman [is] of few days, and full of trouble.
2.
The tribulation that is the result of Gods specific judgments on the world.
Not only has mankind, including God’s elect, suffered because of God’s judgment of Adam’s sin, mankind throughout history has suffered because of specific judgments of God against sin. During many, but not all, of these judgments God’s elect have also suffered. Israel, as a whole, was spared most of the effects of God’s judgment of Egypt [Exodus 7ff]. Yet during the entire period covered by the Book of Judges there is no indication that the elect within national Israel were spared during the judgments of God. When God halted the rain in Israel at the hand of Elijah [1 Kings 17ff] only Elijah, insofar as is recorded, was spared distress and that at the hands of the widow of Zarephath [Luke 4:24-26]. Yet God told Elijah [1 Kings 19:18]
I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal. Later, when God used the Babylonians to punish Judah, His elect were also carried into captivity.
The Scripture history of the New Testament Church is brief and I can think of no examples to demonstrate the above premise. However, secular history since the 1st century will show that the Christians suffered along with the general populace, e.g., the Black Plague of the middle ages, the influenza epidemic during World War I. Perhaps the most recent example would be the judgment of God on Nazi Germany. No one would argue that the Saints in Germany were spared during its destruction.
3.
The tribulation that is the natural consequence of being the people of God in this world.
The tribulation that is of most concern to the Saints is that which they endure because they are the people of God. That tribulation has and may occur because of both overt and covert persecution by the world. Chapter eleven of the letter to the Hebrews presents a brief summary of the tribulation of the Old Testament Saints. They were persecuted because they
looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
In the New Testament also we have not only Scripture that warns of tribulation [John 16:33, Acts 14:22, Romans 5:3, 2 Peter 4:12-14] but examples of those persecuted for their faith. Our Lord taught in John 15:20;
If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you. Stephen, the first martyr died at the hand of the Jew, Saul, later to become the Apostle Paul [Acts 7:54-60]. James, the brother of John, was next, dying at the hand of Herod [Acts 12:1-3]. Paul himself became the victim of persecution, first at the hands of the Jews [2 Corinthians 11:23-33] and then Rome [2 Timothy 4ff]. Paul, in the midst of tribulation, echoes the teaching of Jesus Christ [John 16:22] as follows:
2 Timothy 4:18, KJV
18.
And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve [me] unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom [be] glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Although tribulation is the lot of the Saints of God in this life there are a number of expositors who believe that the extent and intensity of tribulation will increase as the time approaches for the return of Jesus Christ. This belief is consistent with the progressive parallelism shown in the Book of Revelation. It should be noted, however, that the extent [i.e., the number of people involved] of the tribulation could be increased without an increase in the severity of the tribulation. It is difficult to imagine that persecution of the Saints at any time in history could be more severe than that experienced by the early Christians at the hands of Imperial Rome. As described in Schaff’s Church History “some were crucified, some were killed by wild animals, and some were covered with pitch and burned as torches for the amusement of the mob”. Similar persecution has occurred throughout history, particularly during the period of the Spanish Inquisition and the centuries of the Dark Ages when the seeds of the reformation were being sewn. The writer of Hebrews describes the persecution of the Old Testament Saints as follows:
Hebrews 11:37-38, KJV
37.
They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
38.
(Of whom the world was not worthy
they wandered in deserts, and [in] mountains, and [in] dens and caves of the earth.
The Scriptural justification for increasing tribulation depends on the interpretation applied. The Prophet Daniel speaks of terrible tribulation associated with the return of the Lord and the resurrection of the dead.
Daniel 12:1,2, KJV
1.
And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
2.
And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
In the Olivet Discourse Jesus Christ speaking of the destruction of Jerusalem tells us:
Matthew 24:15-22, KJV
15.
When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand
16.
Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
17.
Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
18.
Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
19.
And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
20.
But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
21.
For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22.
And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
H. N. Ridderbos [Matthew , page 445, the Bible Students Commentary Series] writes that verses 21 and 22 not only picture the tribulation at the destruction of Jerusalem but also picture the tribulation of the last days. There is one significant factor that will increase the extent of the tribulation the Saints will face in the last days. The sixth chapter of the Book of Revelation closes with these words
For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? In the succeeding chapters of the Book of Revelation additional details of the coming judgment of God against the unbeliever will be unveiled as the seventh seal is opened leading to the sounding of the seven trumpets and the emptying of the seven vials.
As the judgment of God is poured out on the unbeliever it is more than likely that the wrath of the unbeliever will be poured out on the Children of God.
