The Tribulation and the Church’s Relations to it

Christ mentioned the coming of an unparalleled time of tribulation to His disciples on the month
of Olives. This tribulation was not fulfilled by the sufferings that befell Jerusalem at the hands of
the Romans in AD 70, as some would wrongly interpret because the coming of the Lord from
heaven which was clearly prophesied in Mathew 24:30 to immediately follow the tribulation
obviously did not happen after the fall of Jerusalem. The expression “the day of the Lord” as
found in the Old Testament refers to an immediate judgment of the Lord nearer the prophets day,
but as the context will clearly show it often connotes a more remote judgment just preceding the
time of Israel’s restoration. This latter day of the Lord is the tribulation period.
The tribulation is therefore defined as a specific period of time prophesied in the bible, typically
associated with the end times. It describes a seven year period of God’s judgment and wrath
upon the world, preceding the second coming of Jesus Christ. During this time the world will
experience catastrophic events, wars, famines, plagues, and natural disasters (Revelation 6 -18).
The following are worth noting about the Tribulation
1. The tribulation directly concerns Isreal and is the judgment of God upon them for their long
apostasy and neglect of their king and messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.
2. The tribulation is also a refining process to prepare some of the Jews for Christ’s coming and
to purge out the rebels. (Ezekiel 20:33-44)
3. The tribulation will also affect the whole world because of its ungodliness and ill -treatment
of the Jews.
4. The seven years period is also characterised by the rise to power of a great ruler who is “ the
king” ( Daniel 11:36), “the man of sin” or the son of perdition of 2 Thessalonians 2:3,4 and the
beast of Revelation 13 :1-8.
The tribulation is divided into two parts. The first half of the final seven years will likely be a time
of great prosperity, peace and safety ( 1 Thessalonians 5:3) when the world will believe that they
have reached utopia under the satanic superman, the last world ruler thus the Antichrist . The
second half of this period will see God’s judgment being poured out in increasing severity (Rev.
16), and the earth will be visited with frightful plagues. Thus after three and a half years the
Antichrist now breaks his covenant with the mass of apostate Jews, which probably permits the
re-establishment of their ancient sacrificial worship, and sets up in the Holy of Holies of the
renewed temple what is called by Daniel and by Jesus Himself “the abomination of desolation”
(Daniel 9:27; Mathew 24:15). This abomination is probably an image of the Antichrist himself
placed there with the requirement that all shall worship it.

The Church in Relation to the Tribulation

The time of the catching away of the true church is a matter of importance to believers. We must
be able to distinguish between the rapture and the second coming of Jesus Christ. To begin with,
the rapture is not the second coming of Jesus Christ at all. The rapture is the summons by Christ
of living and dead believers into His presence in heaven ( 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). The rapture
must precede the second coming. The second coming is the visible, local, bodily appearing of
Christ in the clouds of heaven as He returns to this earth to the mount of Olives whence He
ascended ( Acts 1:11; Matthew 24:30; Zachariah 14:4).
It is worth noting that between the rapture and the revelation of Christ from heaven there is an
interval of surely three and a half years, during which the church is judged for rewards, the
marriage supper of the Lamb takes place in heaven and upon the earth the Antichrist rules and
the great tribulation runs it’s course.
The church’s relation to tribulation is a topic of debate among Christian denominations. The main
views are:
1. Pre - Tribulation Rapture: This view emphasises the church’s exemption from God’s wrath
and judgment. Thus the church is removed from the earth before the tribulation ( 1
Thessalonians 4:13-18, 1 cor. 15:50-54).
2. Mid - Tribulation Rapture: This view sees the church as experiencing some tribulation but
being rescued before the worst of it. Thus the church endures the first half of the tribulation.
3. Post - Tribulation Rapture: This view emphasises the church’s participation in the tribulation
with believers being purified through suffering. Here the church goes through the entire
tribulation.
4. Pre - wrath Rapture: This view sees the church as experiencing some tribulation but being
rescued before the worst of God’s wrath. Here the church is present during the tribulation but is
protected by God’s wrath.
It’s logical and reasonable from scripture to believe that the church would not go through the
tribulation thus affirming the pre- tribulation stance strongly. Here are a few arguments in
support of it.
a. There is no specific mention of the church as a body of true believers in relation to the
tribulation but Isreal is mentioned, so is the nations and ungodly individuals.
b. The promise to the overcomer of the church at Thyatira (Rev. 2:28). This promise seems to
refer to that aspect of the reward in Christ, embraced in the believers being gathered to the
Lord’s presence before the sunrise of the kingdom.
c. The promise to the saints in Philadelphia, the church of brotherly love, the true church of
the last days “because thou has kept the word of my patience, I will also keep thee from the hour
of temptation which shall come upon all the world to try them that dwell on the earth” ( Rev.
3:10).
d. The assurance of the Lord to His own is that they are “not appointed unto wrath” ( 1 Thess.
5:9)
e. The promise to the church concerning her gathering unto the Lord is signless and timeless.
f. Our hope on past records of God rapturing Enoch, and also exempting Lot from judgment in
sodom and Gomorrah. God will surely regard with favour His true saints of the last days when He
visits with retribution the ungodly at the close of this age.
In conclusion, we agree that the church would be removed from the earth before the tribulation
and God’s wrath being poured upon the earth so believers must live with this hope and
expectation, fully prepared for the return of Jesus Christ.