Great Tribulation
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In
At
Views
Christians disagree over whether the Tribulation will be a relatively short period of great hardship before the end of the world and
Futurism
In the
According to dispensationalists, the Tribulation is thought to occur before the Second Coming of Jesus and during the End Times. In this view, the Tribulation will last seven prophetic Hebrew years (lasting 360 days each) in all, but the Great Tribulation will be the second half of the Tribulation period.[10]
In this view, this seven-year period is considered to be the final week of Daniel's
The time period for these beliefs is also based on other passages: in the Book of Daniel, "
Events
Among Futurists there are differing views about what will happen to Christians during the Tribulation:
- Pretribulationists believe that all righteous Christians (deceased and living) will be taken bodily up to Heaven (called the Rapture) before the Tribulation begins.[14] According to this belief, every true Christian that has ever existed throughout the course of the entire Christian era will be instantaneously transformed into a perfect resurrected body, and will thus escape the trials of the Tribulation. Those who become Christians after the rapture will live through (or perish during) the Tribulation. After the Tribulation, Christ will return to establish his Millennial Kingdom.
- Prewrath Tribulationists believe the rapture will occur during the Tribulation, halfway through or after, but before the seven bowls of the wrath of God.
- Midtribulationistsbelieve that the rapture will occur halfway through the Tribulation, but before the worst part of it occurs. The seven-year period is divided into halves—the "beginning of sorrows" and the "Great Tribulation".
- Kingdom of Godon earth at the end of the Tribulation.
In pretribulationism and midtribulationism, the rapture and the Second Coming of Christ are separate events, while in post-tribulationism the two events are identical or simultaneous. Another feature of the pre- and mid-tribulation beliefs is the idea that after the rapture, Christ will return for a third time (when also counting the first coming) to set up his kingdom on the earth.[citation needed]
The
Preterism
In the
Christian preterists believe that the Tribulation was a divine judgment visited upon the Jews for their sins, including rejection of Jesus as the promised Messiah. It occurred entirely in the past, around AD 70 when the armed forces of the Roman Empire destroyed Jerusalem and its temple.
A preterist discussion of the Tribulation has its focus on the Gospels, in particular the prophetic passages in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21, rather than on the Apocalypse or Book of Revelation. (Preterists apply much of the symbolism in the Revelation to Rome, the Cæsars, and their persecution of Christians, rather than to the Tribulation upon the Jews.)
Jesus' warning in Matthew 24:34 that "this generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled" that is, during the first century rather than at a future time long after the Scribes and Pharisees had died. The destruction in AD 70 occurred within a 40-year generation from the time when Jesus gave that discourse.
The judgment on the Jewish nation was executed by the Roman legions, "the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet."[20]
Since Matthew 24 begins with Jesus visiting the Jerusalem Temple and pronouncing that "there shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down" (vs. 3), preterists see nothing in Scripture to indicate that another Jewish temple will ever be built. The prophecies were all fulfilled on the then-existing temple that Jesus spoke about and that was subsequently destroyed within that generation.
Historicism
The Historicist view applies Tribulation to the period known as "persecution of the saints" (Daniel 7, Revelation 13). This is believed to have begun with the period after the "falling away" when papal Rome came to power for 1260 years from 538 to 1798 (using the day-year principle). They believe that the Tribulation is not a future event, but it intensifies right at the end to a time such as never before.[8][9] Matthew's reference to "Great Tribulation"[21] as parallel to Revelation 6:12-13, will reach a point that if it was not shortened even the just would not survive.[22][23]
Historicists are prone to see prophecy fulfilled down through the centuries and rather than a single
Similarly, some modern historicists see the Tribulation on the Jews as beginning in AD 70 and continuing for centuries, covering the same time span as "the times of the Gentiles" during which "Jerusalem shall be trodden down by the Gentiles."
See also
References
- ^ See Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21.
- ^ "Bible Gateway passage: Revelation 7:14 - King James Version". Bible Gateway.
- ^ Vine, William E. Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, Tribulation
- ^ "Bible Gateway passage: Matthew 24 - King James Version". Bible Gateway.
- ^ "Bible Gateway passage: Matthew 24:21 - King James Version". Bible Gateway.
- ^ "Bible Gateway passage: Matthew 24:29 - King James Version". Bible Gateway.
- ^ Thayer, Joseph. Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, θλίβω (tribulation)
- ^ a b Benware, Paul N. Understanding End Times Prophecy: A Comprehensive Approach. Moody Publishers (Chicago, IL, USA). Ch. 13: The Posttribulation Rapture View. pg. 240
- ^ a b "ESCHATOLOGY - Different Rapture Views - Greg Rugh". Biblebb.com. Retrieved 2015-03-06.
- Abomination of Desolation, which marks the midpoint of the Tribulation
- ^ Daniel 12:11
- ^ Revelation 11:3
- ISBN 978-0-7369-0138-3.
- ^ "1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 (ESV) - "But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who ..." - Biblia.com". Biblia. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
- ^ Switzer, John (11 August 2014). "Do Catholics believe in the Rapture?". US Catholic. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
- ^ Fr. Jonathan (December 23, 2011). "Ask an Anglican: The End of the World". The Conciliar Anglican. Archived from the original on July 30, 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
- ^ Rossing, Barbara (June 4, 2013). "End-times". Liveing Lutheran. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
- ^ Matthew 24:34
- ^ Matthew 23:36
- ^ Matthew 24:15
- ^ Matthew 24:29
- ^ Smith, Uriah, Daniel and Revelation, pp. 437–449
- ^ Matthew 24:22
- ISBN 9780766178847.
- OCLC 2012826.
- ^ Luke 21:24
- ^ "When do the "Times of the Gentiles" End? – Samuel Whitefield". Archived from the original on 2019-03-25. Retrieved 2019-03-25.
- ^ "Truth in History - YouTube". www.youtube.com.
Further reading
- The Great Tribulation: Past or Future by Thomas Ice and Kenneth L. Gentry Jr. (Kregel Publications, 1999) ISBN 0-8254-2901-3
- Four Views on the Book of Revelation by Kenneth L. Gentry Jr., Sam Hamstra Jr., C. Marvin Pate and Robert L. Thomas (Zondervan, 1998) ISBN 0-310-21080-1
- Great Prophecies of the Bible by Ralph Woodrow (Ralph Woodrow Evangelistic Association, 1971) ISBN 0-916938-02-6