Understanding the Tribulation! Part One! One of the most critical areas today in prophecy has to do with the understanding of tribulation. The New Testament speaks of tribulation, also great tribulation, and the debate hinges on whether the church (true believers) will or will not go through it. Some people speak of at least four different views of the churchs relation to the tribulation: the church to be raptured before the tribulation begins, the church to go through the tribulation, the church to go through the first half of the tribulation, and the prewrath rapture of the church (only the first three have any major followings). How is it possible to decide among such varying viewpoints? Surely the issue is an important one, and interpretations vary a great deal on this. Let me make some suggestions to help. First, some comments about the rapture of the church. The place in Scripture that most clearly teaches a rapture is 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17 KJV. The final words are: For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Caught up in one early Latin translation is rapiemur, from which we derive the English word rapture. So the rapture refers in this context to that moment when believers will be caught up, along with the dead in Christ, to a glorious meeting with the Lord in His triumphal descent. Paul also in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 KJV speaks of the same event, saying: Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 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. However, the teaching here relates not so much to meeting the Lord as to the fact that our bodies (dead and alive) will be changed in this great future event. Second, nothing is said in either passage directly about the relation of the rapture to tribulation. However, the implication in 1 Thessalonians 4 KJV is that no tribulation follows the rapture. For rather than saying something like, So shall we be delivered from tribulation, the text thereafter reads, so shall we always be with the Lord. Thus it is hard to sustain from this passage a pretribulation rapture of the church (similarly from 1 Cor. 15 KJV), or, for that matter, a posttribulation rapture when no tribulation is mentioned before (note both passages carefully). Pretrib would seem, on the basis of 1 Thessalonians especially, to be ruled out; posttrib would have to be found elsewhere. Third, we need also to examine the word tribulation. In the Greek it is thlipsis, translated as tribulation or affliction (sometimes distress). Returning to 1 Thessalonians KJV, we observe that Paul writes in chapter 3 that And sent Timotheus, our brother, and minister of God, and our fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith: That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto. For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know. (1 Thessalonians 3:2-4 KJV). Since this chapter (3) precedes the next (4) on the rapture, and also declares that we are appointed to tribulation, even to suffer the same, it would seem apparent that tribulation precedes the rapture to come. Let us also note some words of Jesus. In Matthew 24:9 KJV, Jesus tells His disciples, Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my names sake. and this is said prior to the statement that And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. Matthew 24:10-14 KJV. Clearly tribulation here precedes the return of Christ and the rapture of the church. Another memorable statement of Jesus is found in John 16:33 KJV, These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. Tribulation has been and will be the lot of all who truly follow Christ.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 03:43:32 +0000
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