Tribulation Confusion

2016-04-18

I abandoned the view of the pre-tribulation rapture a few years ago. I always paid lip service to it because most Christians around me believed in it. But it always seemed bizarre to me that we have to paste a bunch of verses together from various books to achieve this view. We all want to believe the pre-tribulation rapture, but we need to be able to put aside what we want to hear, and hear what God actually says in the Bible. I may not have all the answers, but here is some of the confusion of terms that pre-tribulationist Christians espouse.

Daniel’s Seventieth Week vs. the Tribulation

Where did we get the idea that the entire seventieth week of Daniel is referred to as the “tribulation”? If we look at the Olivet Discourse and Revelation, we see that the great Tribulation refers to the fifth seal (Revelation 6:9-11; cf. Matthew 24:9-28), not the entire seven years. After that tribulation is when the Lord returns (Revelation 7:9-17; cf. Matthew 24:29 ff).

Tribulation vs. Wrath

The pre-tribulation school of thought also confuses the terms “tribulation” with “wrath.” They say that we will not go through the tribulation because we are not appointed to God’s wrath. These two terms are two different things. The source of tribulation is from the world against God’s people. The source of wrath, on the other hand, is God, and it is directed towards His enemies. We are appointed to tribulation (1 Thessalonians 3:3-4) but not appointed to God’s wrath (1 Thessalonians 5:9). Paul writes in the same epistle this differentiation on purpose.

We see that God’s people, therefore, go through the great tribulation (Revelation 6 and Matthew 24:9-28), but are removed from the earth in Revelation 7 before God pours out His wrath on the world in Revelation 8.

Church vs. Saints

Another pitfall is saying that the word “church” is never mentioned after Revelation 3 (except Revelation 22:16, at the end of the book). Their observation is correct. However, Revelation uses a synonym for God’s people collectively: “saints.” The word “saints” appears 13 times in Revelation, all of which are contained in chapters 5 through 20. This synonym is common in the epistles’ salutations referring to the church members (Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 2 Corinthians 1:1; Ephesians 1:1; Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:2).

Knowing the Season but Not the Hour

Another thing the pre-tribulation camp asserts is that no one knows when the Lord will return, and rightly quote Matthew 24:36. However, this is immediately after the Lord gives us the parable of the fig tree: we may not know exactly when our Lord will return, but when the events of the previous verses begin, we will know that the time is getting close. We also know from 2 Thessalonians 2:2-3, that great apostasy and the rise of the “man of sin,” or the Antichrist, will precede Christ’s coming.

Why It Matters

The reason why we must pay attention to when Jesus Christ will return is so that we do not get deceived (Matthew 24:4). Many will be confused on that day, expecting the Lord’s return, and getting something very different: a life of being on the run, persecution, and death. Do not believe everything that our Christian traditions tell us; many great Christian people believe this doctrine, and will struggle greatly when these things happen, if the Lord returns in our lifetime.

Who knows? Maybe I am wrong. I want to be wrong. But we need to be ready for anything, walking in the faith of our Lord at all times.