THE GREAT
TRIBULATION PERIOD
T.P. Simmons
We have seen that the second
coming of Christ consists of two phases, and that these two phases are to be separated
by a period of time. The author has stated his belief that this period of time
will be the time of the future great tribulation. His reasons for
this belief will appear in the course of this chapter. We shall study this
period under the following heads:
I. THE SCRIPTURES THAT DESCRIBE THIS PERIOD
The first
Scripture we desire to notice is Matt. 24:21, 22, and reads as follows.
"For then shall be great tribulation, such as hath not been from the
beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days
had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved; but for the elects sake
those days shall be shortened." That these words cannot be wholly referred
to the sufferings of the Jews at the time of the siege and
destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, A. D. 70, is shown by verses 29 to 31. These
verses tell us that immediately after the tribulation of those days Christ will
come in power and great glory. This clearly refers to the second phase of
Christ's coming. Nothing that attended or resulted from the destruction of
Jerusalem can fully satisfy these verses. It is true that according to verse 34
the destruction of Jerusalem brought about either a
spiritual or a typical fulfillment of all that is predicted in this part of the
discourse.
The destruction of Jerusalem
struck the death-blow to Judaism, and marked the coming of the kingdom of God
with power, as Jesus had foretold (Mark 9:1; Matt. 16:28;
Luke 9:27). This was a spiritual fulfillment of all Christ said about His
coming in this chapter. And the siege of Jerusalem (A. D. 70) brought about a
typical fulfillment of all He said about Jerusalem in this chapter. But the
literal fulfillment of that which Christ said about His second coming, and the
anti-type of the siege of Jerusalem are yet to come. No believer in verbal
inspiration can find in the destruction of Jerusalem a full
and complete satisfaction of the prophecy of this chapter. Its ultimate
reference must be to the final siege of Jerusalem in the battle of Armageddon
(Rev. 16:13-21; 19:11-21; Zech. 12:2-9; 14:1-7, 12-15), and to the personal and
bodily coming of the Lord, as promised in Acts 1:11.
But in Rev.
6-19 we believe we have a far more extended and detailed description of this
period. We take these chapters as descriptive of this period for the two
following reasons:
1. As we saw in the last
chapter, we have in chapter seven the sealing of the servants of
God in the forehead; and only Jews are sealed.
This shows that all Gentile
believers (and previous Jewish believers) have been taken out of the earth,
and, therefore, that the rapture of the saints (which will occur at the first
phase of Christ's coming- 1 Thess. 4:15-17) has already taken place.
Then the second phase of Christ's coming is clearly pictured in Rev. 19:11-21.
Therefore we take the intervening section of the book as describing the interim
between the two phases of Christ's coming. And we relate chapter six to this
period because we regard the riders of the four horses (6:2-8) the same as the
four angels (7:13) whose work is restrained until after the sealing of the
servants of God.
2. Then in Rev. 7:14 we have a
reference to the great tribulation period as being in progress.
Rev. 7:14 reads: "These
are they that come out of the great tribulation, and they washed
their clothes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." These words
were spoken of the numberless multitude in verse 9. The original here is very
emphatic. It says literally: "These are they that are coming out of
tribulation, the great one." It is not just tribulation in general that is
spoken of here; it is a definite and particular tribulation, viz., the great
one. In this verse the present participle, "are coming
out," shows the great tribulation to be in progress. Thus we assign this
section of the book to the great tribulation period.
II.
THE LENGTH OF THIS PERIOD
It is our
conviction that this period will be seven years in length. We hold this
conviction because the combined time of the prophesying of the two witnesses
(Rev. 11:3) and the career of the Beast (Rev. 13:5) is approximately seven
years. Note that the witnesses are to prophesy "a thousand two hundred and
three score days (approximately three years and a half); then the Beast is to
arise and kill them (Rev. 11:7), and is to continue
"forty and two months" (Rev. 13:5). It is our opinion that the
witnesses will begin testifying soon after the rapture, and since the Beast is
to be destroyed when Christ comes to judge and make war (Rev. 19:11-21; 2
Thess. 2:8), we conclude that the length of the intervening period is to be
found by the above method. It will be noted that we take the thousand, two
hundred, and three score days and the forty-two months
literally. We do this in harmony with the rule mentioned in our last chapter.
We find no reason for taking it otherwise either in the passages themselves, or
in their context, or in any other Scripture.
We also hold the great
tribulation to be seven years in length because we regard it as being
Daniel's seventieth week (Dan. 9:27).
III. THE HORRORS OF THIS PERIOD
This period is to be the
"day" of God's wrath. During this period the God to whom vengeance belongeth will avenge Himself of the treatment this world
has accorded His Son and His saints. He will fully avenge His elect (Luke 18:7;
Rev. 6:9, 10). He will pour out the vials of His wrath to the last bitter dregs
upon this old sin-cursed and devil-darkened earth. The earth will be wrested
from the Devil and his people and given to the people of God (Matt. 5:5).
IV. WILL ANY BE SAVED DURING THIS PERIOD?
This is a much controverted
question, but we unhesitatingly give an affirmative answer as our opinion. In
chapter eleven, as we have seen already, we have the mention
of God's two witnesses. We have stated already that we believe these two
witnesses will prophecy during the interim between the two phases of Christ's
coming. We believe they will preach the gospel and announce the millennial
kingdom, just as Christ and the apostles preached the gospel and announced the
spiritual kingdom (the kingdom of God) and the temporal phase of the kingdom of
Heaven. We can think of no other message God would have for
the world during this period.
And we hold that the one
hundred and forty-four thousand Jews of Rev. 7 will be saved immediately after
the beginning of the great tribulation period.
Then, because of the present
tense in vs. 14, we regard the multitude in Rev. 7:9-17 as containing some who
are saved during this period, and who, having been martyred or having otherwise
died, are immediately caught up to Heaven, somewhat after the same manner as
the two witnesses in Rev. 11:7-12.
Also we take the sheep in the
judgment of the nations (Matt. 24:31-46) to be people who have believed and
been saved during this period.
It may be asked how people
will be saved during this period. We answer that they will
be saved in exactly the same way that all others have been saved. God has never
had, and never will have, but one way of salvation. That one way is by grace
through faith. "But," someone may say, "how can people be saved
after the Holy Spirit has been taken out of the world?" The answer is that
they will be saved just as they were before the day of Pentecost. During the
great tribulation period the Holy Spirit will have access
to the world just as He did before the day of Pentecost.