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.