Before we continue with the overview of the Tribulation, we need to look at the question: "Does the church go through the Tribulation? No, and here's why:
The 7-year tribulation period deals specifically with the nation of Israel. Although the rest of the earth is affected, the focus will be on Israel. Although there will be trouble all over the earth, there will be major trouble in Israel. G-d has chosen Israel as the vehicle through which he brought the written Word of God into existence and through which He brought the Living Word, Y'shua incarnate, into the world. Rom. 3:1-2, Jn. 1:1,14 Israel is also the vehicle through which the Living Word, Y'shua, will return & set up His Kingdom to rule over the entire earth. Zech. 14
Abraham was given the promise that all families of the earth would be blessed through him, and we have been blessed with salvation provided by the seed of Abraham and will be blessed through the rulership of the seed of Abraham --Y'shua. G-d is NOT finished with the Jews! Gen. 12:3, Rom. 11
There are many Bible teachers today who are saying that the believers (the Body of Y'shua, the Church) will go through the Tribulation. This false teaching comes from a misunderstanding of G-d's program in dealing with Israel and the Church. We must recognize the distinction between Israel & the Church.
Failure to recognize this important point during the Holocaust led many ministers in Germany to do nothing when the Jewish People were rounded up and taken away. They mistakenly believed that G-d was finished with the Jews and was punishing them for their disbelief.
Many ministers & their congregations failed to obey G-d's laws because of their own failure to understand G-d's program with the Jews. The result was devastating not just to the Jews, but also to the Church's relationship with the Jewish People. Failure to stand up on behalf of the Jews & against evil cost countless lives and is even today a great hindrance in furthering the gospel. Anti--Semitism is always wrong.
Look at some of the differences in how God deals with Israel as compared to the Church:
We must also make a distinction between Church Saints and Tribulation Saints: For the new believers during the Tribulation, it will be a terrible time of persecution such as the world has never seen. Many will be beheaded for their belief. Many will be tortured and suffer hunger, thirst, and all kinds of deprivation. It is for this reason that the L-rd promises them a special blessing & position in the Temple. Rev. 6:9, & 7:13-17, & 14:13 These are the believers in the Tribulation. They are in a different category than the Church. These are Tribulation Saints, not Church Saints. They are a unique group, because they came to belief during the time period when G-d's wrath is being poured out on the earth and satan has been cast down to the earth. They not only must endure the catastrophic convulsions of nature caused by the judgments of G-d on the earth, but satan will also take out all his frustration against the new believers, and especially those who are Jewish. Rev. 12:13-17 They will not be delivered from the beast except through death or the Second Coming of Y'shua. Rev. 13:7
Satan will persecute all believers but it is the Jews who will call out to Messiah Y'shua and pray for His return. "Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord." When the Jewish political and religious leaders of Israel cry out that Messianic greeting, the L-rd will return and satan's fate is sealed. So, naturally, satan is going to try to stop the Jews from doing so.
The exhortations to the Church Saints are "grow in grace", "become mature", "love one another", etc. The one constant exhortation to the Tribulation Saints: "Hold on", endure til the end" Matt. 24:13, Mk 13:13. Blessing for waiting til the end - Dan. 12:12 Because of their endurance under such terrible pressure, they are promised a special blessing by G-d. Rev. 7:9-17
Finally, we must make a distinction between persecution & G-d's wrath. Believers have suffered persecution since the very beginning of the church. The apostles themselves were killed for the faith. Persecution is nothing new and we are told to rejoice when it happens. I Pet. 4:10-12
G-d's wrath, on the other hand, is judgment for sin. The Tribulation is a series of Judgments, because of the sin of mankind against G-d, specifically, the rejection of His Son.
The Church is without condemnation and without spot, without blemish because of the sacrifice of Y'shua on the tree. He paid the redemption price once for all. He became sin for us and took our judgment upon Himself Rom. 8:1-11 His Holy Spirit inhabits the Church forever, and the L-rd does not put His Bride under wrath. He has given us a beautiful promise & told us to comfort one another by his words -- ". we who remain alive when the Lord comes will certainly not take precedence over those who died. For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a rousing cry, with a call from an archangel, and with God's shofar (trumpet); those who died united with the Messiah will be the first to rise; then we who are still alive will be caught up in the air; thus we will always be with the Lord." I Thess. 4:15-17 See also I Cor. 15:35-58 The Church is raptured (caught away up to heaven) before the Tribulation. The ancient Jewish wedding ceremony illustrates this:
The father buys a bride for his son & pays the bride price. They are betrothed (engaged). From that moment on, she is known as his wife, even though they have not come together as man & wife. It will take a divorce to break this covenant. When the bride is mature enough for marriage (is menstruating), the son arranges the wedding and the bride must make herself ready. The son brings a donkey & stands outside the bride's house and calls his bride out from her father's house. He takes her to his father's house where a wedding celebration takes place for the families involved. This lasts seven days. Afterwards, the father invites the entire village and other friends to the marriage supper. Do you see the similarities between what Y'shua (Jesus) is doing and the tradition? He paid the Bride price and bought us with His blood. He left the disciples with these words in the upper room, "Let not your heart be troubled: you believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there you may be also." These words are used in Asian wedding ceremonies to this day. John 14:1-3 The L-rd Y'shua is coming back for His Bride - He will stand outside the earth and call us out. We will be taken back to the Father's house in heaven for a honeymoon period where the wedding will take place. Afterwards we will return to Earth, where the marriage supper will take place and all things will be given over to Y'shua as King and He will reign over all the earth! Hallelujah! To be continued…
Lura Maiman, Congregation Yeruel, Israel