The “Great Tribulation”? Isn’t that supposed to be a Horrible Time of Blood Letting? Are We in the Great Tr..?

Question

Yes. However, the character of the great tribulation is not one of physical violence; but the character of the great tribulation is that of spiritual unfaithfulness in the churches and congregations of the world towards the Word of God. The churches of our day (all denominations: whether Catholic or Protestant) have fallen away tremendously from the truths of the Bible.

For then shall be great tribulation such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be… For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. (Matthew 24:21,24)

Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; (2 Thessalonians 2:3)

The Bible says that once the church age is finished Satan will be loosed to assault the churches and congregations with false gospels near the end of time:
And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, (Revelation 20:7)
And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ariseth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. (Revelation 11:7)
And it was given him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. (Revelation 13:7)

Answer 1

No. We are not there yet. Close. For one thing, there is still time to get out of Babylon the Great, that is, the world of false religion. The idea is to get out from inside her and to true religion of God.

This is because BtG is to be destroyed by the wild beast, or world's political governments. The account found in Revelations is not a pleasant death. Not only is she thrown off her ride while drunk, but is torn apart and eaten so nothing remains of her. This easily implies a rough go for anyone still inside B t G.

This time, we can see by current events, is in the beginning stages. As it happens, people will see how they have been deceived by Satan. Though they will be mad about it, there will be nothing for them to do as the door to God's protection will be closed. The scriptures you have noted will then be fulfilled.

Answer 2

The tribulation is a future time period when the Lord will accomplish at least two aspects of His plan: 1) He will complete His discipline of the nation Israel (Daniel 9:24) and 2) He will judge the unbelieving, godless inhabitants of the earth (Revelation 6—18). The length of the tribulation is seven years. This is determined by an understanding of the seventy weeks of Daniel (Daniel 9:24-27; also see the article on the Tribulation). The great tribulation is the last half of the tribulation period, three and one-half years in length. It is distinguished from the tribulation period because the Beast, or Antichrist, will be revealed and the wrath of God will greatly intensify during this time. Thus it is important at this point to emphasize that the tribulation and the great tribulation are not synonymous terms. Within eschatology (the study of future things), the tribulation refers to the full seven-year period while the term “great” tribulation refers to the second half of the Tribulation.

It is Christ alone who used the phrase "great tribulation" with reference to the last half of the tribulation. In Matthew 24:21, Jesus said, "for then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall." In this verse Jesus is referring to the event of Matthew 24:15 which describes the revealing of the abomination of desolation, the man also known as the Antichrist. It also should be noted that Jesus in Matthew 24:29-30 states “immediately after the tribulation of those days . . . the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory." By this passage, Jesus defines the great tribulation (v.21) as beginning with the revealing of the Abomination of Desolation (v.15) and ending with Christ's second coming (v.30).

Other key passages that refer to the great tribulation are Daniel 12:1b which says, "And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time. . ." It seems that Jesus was quoting this verse when He spoke the words recorded in Matthew 24:21. Also referring to the great tribulation is Jeremiah 30:7, "Alas! for that day is great, There is none like it; And it is the time of Jacob’s distress, But he will be saved from it." The phrase “Jacob’s distress” refers to the nation of Israel, which will experience persecution and natural disasters such as has never before been seen.

Considering the information Christ gave us in Matthew 24:15-30, it is easy to conclude that the beginning of the great tribulation has much to do with the revealing of the abomination of desolation, the actions of the Antichrist. In Daniel 9:26-27, we find that this man will make a "covenant" (a peace pact) with the world for seven years (one week; again see the article on the tribulation.) Halfway through the seven-year period—"in the middle of the week"—we are told this man will break the covenant he made, stopping sacrifice and grain offering, which specifically refers to his actions in the newly rebuilt temple of the future. Revelation 13:1-10 gives even more detail concerning the Beast's actions, and just as important, it also verifies the length of time he will be in power. Revelation 13:5 says he will be in power for 42 months, which is three and one-half years, the length of the great tribulation.

Revelation offers us the most information about the great tribulation. From Revelation 13 when the Beast or abomination of desolation is revealed until Christ returns in Revelation 19, we are given a picture of God's wrath on the earth because of unbelief and rebellion (Revelation 16-18), and also a picture of how God disciplines and at the same time protects His people Israel (Revelation 14:1-5) until He keeps His promise to Israel by establishing an earthly kingdom (Revelation 20:4-6).

Answer 3

No we are not in the tribulation period, it will begin when the False Prophet brings the Antichrist to front and center. What you have described is something that started with the first century Church. Many antichrist were present then. The Mormons, the Jehovah's Witnesses, and any other group who denies the Deity of Jesus are antichrist. That is the very definition of antichrist. But " The Antichrist " is another thing. And the Tribulation period will not begin until the appearance of " The Antichrist " comes on the scene.

God be with you,
William, a bond-servant of Jesus
<'(((><

Answer 4

No, we are not. The Church will not be here during the final seven years.
The Matt. 24 passage was Jesus speaking to Jews, about Jewish things. The Church is not in the picture at this time. The "elect" here is speaking of the Jews, which are called "His elect" throughout the Old Testament.

"Falling away" in the 2 Thess. The term “falling away” in the Greek is “Apostasia” , a noun. Our English word apostasy is a transliteration of apostasia. The verb from which this substantive is derived is “aphistemi”, a combination of “apo” which means “from” and “histemi” which means “to place, or stand”. The Greek term means simply “to stand or be placed away”. What stands or is placed away and what it is placed away from is determined by the context. The equivalent English verb is “depart” and the noun equivalent of “Apostasia” is “departure”. Who is departing and what they are departing from is determined by the context.

In this case, it speaks of the Church, who is holding back to appearance of the man of sin departing before his coming or appearance, so therefore, the Church must be removed before the man of sin is revealed.

Answer 5

I haven't studied the Great Tribulation much. But the Bible does say that 'the day of the Lord is one of darkness, not light'. The Day of the Lord (and I'm not sure what that means) will be a terrible day.