Matthew 24:21 “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.”
(I did not mean to get these out of order, but it is necessary that I also cover this important doctrine. The Tribulation immediately follows the Rapture of the saints.)
The period of time referred to in the Bible as the “Tribulation” will be the worst period of time history has ever known. It is a seven-year period that follows the Rapture – the event where God, in mercy, removes believers from the earth. He sends His Son, Jesus Christ, to pick them up and take them to Heaven during that time.
The next event in Bible prophecy is the unveiling of a new world leader who makes a seven-year peace treaty with Israel. Concerning current events in the Middle East, with the war between Israel and Hamas (and neighboring terrorist factions), this event could take place at any time.
At the same time, God sends two witnesses to testify how to be saved and to condemn the rampant evil taking place everywhere. It is probable that the 144,000 are saved through their testimony.
The new leader quickly gains power. After three-and-a-half years, he goes into the rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem, and claims to be God. Later, he reveals his true nature and wants all people world-wide to worship him. He is a Satan-possessed man, the Anti-christ – a human.
At the same time, he forces his well-known mark on everyone – the “mark of the beast” – (666, Revelation 13:15-18). Those who do not worship his image are killed. Anyone who takes the mark will not be saved (Revelation 14:9-11).
God protects His two witnesses until the middle of the Tribulation, when they are killed and then raised up to glory in the sight of the whole world. Through their testimony and that of the 144,000, millions of people will be saved.
During the Tribulation, which is described in Revelation chapters 6 – 19, God sends forth His horrible judgments and punishments on the earth. Many of them are directed at the Anti-christ and the area of his greatest influence.
The purpose of the Tribulation is described in Daniel 9:24: “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.” It is a judgment on Israel for their rejection of Christ – and of the world for the same sin – and because they accepted the Anti-christ rather than the real Lord of all.
The Tribulation is ended by the return of Christ riding a white horse, with all the saints of Heaven following Him. Satan gathers the armies of earth to fight with Him in the valley of Armageddon – where he is easily defeated – and he, and all the unsaved are cast into Hell.
Reader, if you do not yet know Christ as your personal Savior, don’t wait. Now is the time of salvation. Make sure of your salvation today so that you will not have to go through the Tribulation if Christ should take His children Home today. Here is a link to learn more about how to be saved.