The Great Tribulation

Dispensationalists believe that the church will be raptured before a seven year Great Tribulation. This period is followed by the second coming of Christ, who will restore Israel during a literal thousand-year Millennium reign on earth.

Key aspects of Dispensational belief include:

Dispensationalists argue that since the word "ekklesia" (Greek for "church") does not appear in Revelation after 4:1 until 22:16, it indicates the church has been raptured and is absent during the tribulation. See explaining the absence of 'ekklesia' in Revelation.

Key Proof texts for the Great Tribulation:

Refuting the Concept of the Great Tribulation

Misinterpretation of Daniel's "70 Weeks"

The entire seven year tribulation is based on an isolated literal interpretation of Daniel 9:24-27. This is a prophetic passage often interpreted by Dispensationalists as a precise chronological timeline predicting future events. However, a careful examination of the text within its historical and theological context challenges this interpretation.

  1. Symbolic Meaning of the 70 Weeks: The "seventy weeks" are symbolic, representing a complete and perfect period in God's redemptive plan rather than a literal 490 years. The number seven in Scripture often signifies completeness, and the seventy weeks correspond to the concept of ultimate redemption.
  2. Cyrus's Decree as the Starting Point: The prophecy's timeline begins with the decree of Cyrus in 538 BC (Ezra 1:1-4; 2 Chronicles 36:22-23), not Artaxerxes' decree in 445 BC. This aligns with Daniel's immediate context and the fulfilment of Jeremiah's 70-year prophecy.
  3. No Gap Between the 69th and 70th Weeks: There is no biblical basis for a prophetic gap between the 69th and 70th weeks. The text presents the seventy weeks as a continuous period, reflecting the uninterrupted fulfilment of God's plan through the Messiah.
  4. The "Anointed One" and the "Prince": The "Anointed One" refers to the Messiah, and the "prince who is to come" is associated with the Roman general Titus, whose forces destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD. This historical event fulfills the prophecy without invoking a future Antichrist.
  5. The Covenant Confirmed by the Messiah: The "he" who confirms a covenant in Daniel 9:27 is the Messiah, Jesus Christ, who established the New Covenant through His death and resurrection. The cessation of sacrifices corresponds to the obsolescence of the old sacrificial system due to Christ's atoning work.
  6. Unified Plan for God's People: Scripture emphasises a unified redemptive plan for both Israel and the Church, with no separate programs. Believers are collectively part of the New Covenant community in Christ.

For a detailed analysis, see Daniel 9's 70 Weeks.

The Meaning of "Tribulation" Throughout Scripture

The word used for "tribulation" is the Greek word θλίβω (thlipsis). This word is consistently used throughout the New Testament to refer to trials faced by believers throughout the entirechurch age (John 16:33; Acts 14:22; Romans 5:3; 2 Thessalonians 1:4).

  1. The only instance of "the great tribulation" in Revelation is in 7:14, where it explicitly refers to a multitude of saints who have died and entered the presence of the Lord after enduring the trials of the present church age.
  2. Thlipsis appears in four other verses (Rev. 1:9, 2:9, 2:10, 2:22), all referring to the present church age.
  3. Jesus warned His followers of ongoing tribulation (John 16:33), and Paul taught that through many tribulations we enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). Both instances use thlipsis to refer to the present church age.
  4. 21 out of 23 occurences of thlipsis by Paul refer clearly to present reality (Romans 5:3; 8:35-36; 2 Timothy 3:12 etc.)

Therefore, "the Great Tribulation" refers to the current church age.

The New Testament teaches that believers will face persecution and trials (2 Timothy 3:12; 1 Peter 4:12-13). Throughout, Christians are called to persevere through tribulations (Romans 12:12; James 1:2-4). Jesus even prayed that His followers would be protected in the world, not removed from it (John 17:15). Believers overcome tribulation through faith, not by avoidance (Romans 8:35-37; Revelation 12:11).

Tribulation as the Entire Church Age

The Tribulations of Revelation 6-19 do not commence after a rapture but rather starts at the ascension of Christ to the right hand of God (Revelation 5) where He then unseals the book given to him (Revelation 6:1) and from that very moment releases a series of judgements. This means that the church age exists within the happenings of Revelation.

Revelation, like the Gospels, recapitulates the same story-the church age-from separate viewpoints from chapters 6-20. These cycles, or views/visions, are all described in different ways throughout chapters 6-20, where the last battle is alluded to at the end of each set of judgements, all of which describe the same events (6:12-17; 11:13; 14:14-20; 16:17-21; 19:11-21; 20:7-10). The seals, trumpets, and bowls symbolise recurring themes of God's judgment and the spiritual battles throughout history.

Antichrist is a Spirit not a Person

The term "antichrist" only appears in the epistles of John (1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 John 1:7). In all of these passages, John defines "antichrist" as anyone who denies Jesus Christ, not as a singular future world leader who will emerge during a seven-year tribulation period to deceive and dominate the world. The Bible never explicitly links "antichrist" to a specific individual. Instead, we read that there were multiple antichrists during John's day:

1 John 2:18 - ESV

18. Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour.

The term "antichrist" is defined by John as anyone who denies or opposes Christ, it is a spirit of deception and opposition present throughout the entire church age.

1 John 2:22 - ESV

22. Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.

A common link that is made is with the "man of lawlessness" in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 or the "beast" in Revelation 13 however Scripture never directly labels these as "antichrist." This is an argument from silence and assigning them to a singular future Antichrist goes beyond the explicit teachings of Scripture, another example of an inconsistent literalist hermeneutic.

Delivered from "Wrath" but not Tribulation

Believers are indeed promised deliverance from God's wrath:

However, this assurance does not exempt Christians from tribulation or suffering. This includes the tribulation (thlipsis) mentioned in Revelation. Jesus even stated "In the world you will have tribulation" (John 16:33). Tribulation, including persecution and suffering, is a common experience for believers. Tribulation and God's Wrath cannot be conflated. The suggestion that believers will be raptured before a future tribulation period to escape God's wrath lacks clear biblical support and misunderstands the distinction between general tribulation and the specific outpouring of God's wrath.

Wrath is Reserved for Final Judgement

Dispensationalist theology often teaches that the wrath of God is poured out over a seven-year tribulation period preceding Christ's return. However, Scripture shows that God's wrath is primarily associated with the final judgment at the end of the age, not an extended period before it.

In 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10 Paul also associates God's retributive justice and wrath with the revelation of Jesus at the end, not with an extended period before His coming. In Romans 2:5 he also speaks of a specific "day of wrath" rather than ongoing periods of tribulation.

Sources

Scriptures

Daniel 9:24-27 - ESV

24. "Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place.
25. Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time.
26. And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed.
27. And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator."

Daniel 9

Revelation 7:14 - ESV

14. I said to him, "Sir, you know." And he said to me, "These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Revelation 7

Revelation 11:2-3 - ESV

2. but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months.
3. And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth."

Revelation 11

Revelation 12:6 - ESV

6. and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.

Revelation 12

Revelation 13:5 - ESV

5. And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months.

Revelation 13