Tribilation and Wrath as Defined by Scripture

Tribulation and Wrath As Defined By Scripture

The idea that the entire 70th week equals "the tribulation", and that this entire "tribulation" is equivalent to God's wrath, is commonly taught, but has no basis in Scripture. First, we will look at the places where Scripture mentions "tribulation" in reference to the last days, and then, look at the time when Scripture teaches that God's wrath will begin to be poured out on the world.

Tribulation

There are only two passages in Scripture which undoubtedly refer to "tribulation" in reference to the last days. The first place we will look at is part of Matthew's parallel of the Olivet Discourse, in chapter 24:

Mt 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
24 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.
25 Behold, I have told you before.
26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

The Olivette Discourse outlines the 70th week, going from the "beginning of sorrows", through to the abomination of Desolation, which occurs at the mid-point of the 70th week, on to the subsequent "great tribulation" that precedes the Lord's return. Verse 21 here is a direct reference to Daniel 12:1:

Da 12:1 ¶ And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

Here we have the period of time stretching from the middle of the 70th week(Dan. 9:27) to the Lord's return defined as "great tribulation". The next place we will look at is in Revelation 7:

Re 7:9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,
12 Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.
13 ¶ And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Revelation 7 takes place sometime after the 6th seal(see Rev. 6), well into the 70th week. The "great tribulation" spoken of here is likely the same spoken of by our Lord in the Olivette Discourse. It cannot be taken from either of these passages that the entire 70th week is equivalent to "the tribulation", in fact, it is strongly implied that the only time rightly called "the tribulation" would be the time between the midst of the 70th week and the Lord's return, as our Lord speaks of in Matthew 24.

Wrath

It is often assumed that God's wrath begins to be poured out with the start of the 70th week; this also is not found in Scripture. The first four seals of Revelation can be defined as:

1. Peaceful conquering by the antichrist(Rev. 6:2: "I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer"{note the crown given, and the bow, but lack of arrows})

2. War(Rev. 6:4: "there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword")

3. Famine(Rev. 6:6: "I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine")

4. Death(Rev. 6:8: "I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.")

Each of the above(save for the first seal, which is no immediate calamity) have been experienced by God's people throughout history, and to designate these things as God's wrath is contrary to the testimony of time, nor is it implied in God's Word. Next, we will look at the fifth seal:

Re 6:9 ¶ And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

The above is the cry of the martyrs of the 70th week for the Lord's vengeance. God's people have experienced persecution throughout history(the dark ages would be one example out of many) and this also cannot be rightly designated as the wrath of God. Next, the sixth seal:

Re 6:12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Here we read that sun will be darkened, the moon will become as blood, the stars of heaven will fall to the earth, and then a mighty earthquake occurs before men begin to say "the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?". This is also described in Matthew 24:

Mt 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

The Lord appears in the heavens after these cosmic disturbances, gathers His elect to Him, and then, only then, is God's wrath poured out on the earth. The testimony of Scripture is sure... can any trumpet before the one in verse 31 be "the last trump"?

1Co 15:51 ¶ Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

To be continued...