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Good News about the Great Tribulation
By Don Rumble
After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
John sees a massive number of people standing before the Lord. What he sees answers the question asked by everyone from the mighty man to the slave in the great day of God’s wrath. In the time of great cosmic shaking, they wanted to know one thing:
who is able to stand?
The answer to their question is – a great innumerable multitude standing before God’s throne from every conceivable place on the earth. This redeemed company has a theme song.
Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!
As a result of this song:
All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”
The angels’ response to God’s gift of salvation to man is to worship Him. It seems they are delighted as they observe the Lord’s gracious redemption of fallen men and women. How amazing that people made from the dust and deserving wrath would become the recipients of the very life of God Himself. How could it be that the Lord of the universe would send His Son to die for such as these? God’s merciful gift of salvation to this countless number of people so stuns the angels, that all they can do is cry out, “Amen, Amen.” If the angels are so blessed concerning God’s gift of salvation to us, how much more ought we as the grateful recipients be thankful worshipers?
Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?” And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
The above verse identifies the vast multitude as those who come out of the Great Tribulation. The English Standard Version of the Bible, the Holman Christian Standard Bible, Young’s literal translation, and J. P. Green’s literal translation all render it as those who are coming out of the Great Tribulation.
Many sermons have been preached and books written about the Great Tribulation. But it is interesting to note that this particular phrase is found only once in the New Testament – here in Revelation Chapter 7. Therefore, it is surprising why so many people have spent so much time focusing on it. Whole books have been written to define just what this time period is, and even movies have been made to communicate how some interpret its significance concerning the end of Church history.
Is it possible we have become somewhat sidetracked? First of all, the word “tribulation” is not synonymous with persecution, though these two words are sometimes linked together in the New Testament. For example, in the parable of the sower, Jesus tells us that some will fall away because of tribulation or persecution (Matthew 13:21). Notice that they are two distinct words. Tribulation (Greek, THLIPSIS) is a broader term than persecution.
THLIPSIS can actually refer to affliction, distress, trouble, or anguish. Jesus used this word to refer to the anguish of childbirth (John 16:21). James also used THLIPSIS when referring to the distress that widows and orphans experience (James 1:27). Neither of these verses have necessary reference to persecution. Stephen also used this term when mentioning the famine in Joseph’s day.
Now a famine and great trouble (Greek, MEGAS THLIPSIS) came over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers found no sustenance.
Stephen used the phrase “great tribulation” which is translated as “great trouble” in the NKJV above. Again, it did not have anything to do with persecution, but with the suffering brought about by a food shortage. A great tribulation had occurred in Joseph’s day.
When Jesus used this same phrase, He did not use the words, “The Great Tribulation” but “a great tribulation” (Greek, MEGAS THLIPSIS – Matthew 24:21). Immediately after that specific time of trouble, people would see the Son of Man coming on the clouds.
Without addressing the events of Matthew Chapter 24, one thing is clear: many great afflictions or times of great trouble have occurred throughout history. And it seems likely that the Church age will end on such a note as Satan takes his last stand against God’s people.
Here are just a few examples.
The famine of Joseph’s day was a great tribulation.
Israel experienced great calamity when they were taken into captivity by the Babylonians.
Again, Israel experienced a great tribulation when the Romans defeated them in AD 70. Jesus said it would happen within that first century generation.
The Christians suffered great distress from the Roman Empire.
Many righteous people suffered greatly during the Inquisition in Europe.
The Holocaust during WWII was a time of great affliction for the Jewish people.
At the same time, WWII brought great trouble to the whole of Europe as well as to other parts of the world.
Believers in North Korea today are presently suffering under a great tribulation.
The Civil War was a great tribulation in our own nation. There may be more times of great trouble ahead in our land, even times of persecution against the Church. At the present rate of moral decline, if there is not a massive turning in repentance toward the Lord accompanied by significant spiritual revival, there will indeed be just that kind of national trauma. Today, we see a growing hatred against righteousness and against those who would hold people accountable for their sin. Again, apart from a mighty merciful interruption from heaven, we are headed for a great tribulation in this land. We are at one of those major turning points in human history where the fates of nations hang in the balance. God’s people must cease from maintaining the status quo in our spiritual lives and begin to cry out for God to have mercy on our nation. His mercy is our hope.
Life is filled with tribulation. Paul’s words to the disciples of the first century were that they must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22).
He was not saying that they would go through tribulations on their journey into salvation for they were already believers. He was speaking of the Kingdom of God in its final state. Tribulation is simply a part of life in this age. There have been many times of great trouble in the past, some are going on right now in various parts of the world, and there will be times of distress in the future. Some of these periods will be of greater severity, while others will be of longer duration. But if the phrase “great tribulation” refers to events throughout history, to what then does the phrase “the Great Tribulation” refer?
John’s wording in Revelation Chapter 7 is slightly different from both Jesus’ phrasing in Matthew Chapter 24 as well as Stephen’s in Acts Chapter 7. He uses the word “the” twice. The phrase is: “the tribulation, the great one.” Perhaps John is speaking not of a specific time of trouble, but of a condition of trouble from which all of us must escape.
If the great multitude that cannot be numbered are all those coming out of the Great Tribulation, maybe this period of great trouble is greater than we have thought. Many have said that John was referring only to the final seven years (others have said it is the final three and one-half years) of Church history. But what if the Great Tribulation is much bigger, and includes all the other periods of distress?
Consider that when Adam fell, great calamity came upon the planet. From the very beginning, violence and even murder arose in his own family as Cain slew Abel. Brutality and immorality spread until finally darkness filled the earth as the waters cover the sea. So, God judged His creation with a flood and started over again with Noah. But very quickly we again see turbulence, immorality, and wickedness spreading in the earth. Tyrants and empires crushed people, men abused women and children, people worshiped demons, and disease spread across the earth in tandem with the violence and wickedness. In the midst of all the darkness, one nation was privileged to experience a measure of God’s light and glory – the nation of Israel. It was to them that God came and spoke about a coming Messiah in whom would be found the hope for Israel and for mankind. When He came, great change would come.
The conclusion among many Jewish people was that the Messiah would quickly destroy all wickedness, raise up Israel to be the head and not the tail, draw all nations to Zion, and fill the earth with God’s glory. But He did not come as they expected nor did He act as they had assumed. Using terminology from Psalm 45 and Revelation Chapter 6, we could say that He came riding on a white horse with a bow and arrow. Indeed, Jesus came to earth as the great conqueror, the victor over sin. In His death, resurrection, ascension, and subsequent outpourings of the Holy Spirit, He rode and shot, as it were, His arrows of conviction into the hearts of His enemies.
But if Christ is the first of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse (the rider on the white horse, holding a bow, and conquering His enemies), and He has indeed been victorious, then how could the following three horsemen be identified as war, famine, and death (Revelation 6:1 - 8)? Should not the earth have begun to fill with Messianic glory instead? Indeed, it did (Acts 2:2 - 4; 4:31). But Jesus had also warned that first century generation of great suffering that would soon come upon the earth (Luke 19:41 - 44; 21:20 - 24). Sure enough, within forty years of His prophetic utterance, famine, death, and war had come to Israel in the war of AD 70.
Even though Messiah had come, there continued to be great distress going on both in the land of Israel as well as throughout the earth. Peter wrote to believers, warning that in the last days (these began in the first century – see Acts 2:16 - 17, Hebrews 1:2), scoffers would come,
...walking according to their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.”
Unbelievers would say, “Where is the promise of His coming? It certainly has not come to pass in our day. Jesus could not have been the Messiah. There is still famine, war, and pestilence going on in many places!” But Jesus said His Kingdom would come as leaven (its effectiveness would become apparent over time from a place of hiddenness), and as a small seed that would grow into a large tree (its growth would be slow and would go through seasons of seeming death and resurrection). Scoffers would not understand the nature of the Kingdom, for even the King Himself came not with great glory, drawing attention to Himself, but as a little infant, to a stable in a small obscure town.
Indeed, God’s kingdom did begin to break into human history with the arrival of the King. Yet, at the same time, great affliction continued on unabated among the nations.
In our own day, great tribulation persists upon the earth. Along with societal troubles, there is the personal distress of the soul experienced by those who do not know God. And then if they die and enter the next life without knowing Christ, they go into the great anguish of the ages to come.
However, and herein lies just one example of the Good News in the Book of Revelation, John sees a people coming out of the great affliction. They have found the exit ramp. God has made known through the Gospel, the doorway of departure from the great distress plaguing mankind because of Adam’s sin. What exactly is the way out? They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
It is not as though they are completely removed from trouble, for the Scriptures promise difficulty in this life. As long as sinful man inhabits the earth, there will be times of distress. But that which God calls the great anguish, brought about by the fall of Adam in Eden, the one that extends even into the ages to come, now has an exit sign with Jesus’ name on it.
When we preach the Gospel, we are telling people that there is a way out of the hopelessness and despair that comes through separation from God. Our responsibility in evangelism is to say to our generation, to those in the affliction and anguish of eternal consequence, that God has made a way out through His Son. Sin has decimated the human race and our planet much more than we have understood. The depth of the destruction and depravity that came because of one man’s sin is staggering to the human mind. And while believers have seen in part, we still struggle to comprehend the incredible price that God paid to redeem mankind from the great catastrophe. Whenever we catch a glimpse of His awesome mercy, worship is the only human response that makes sense.
If, as we have stated, the Great Tribulation is the great distress that humanity fell into through Adam’s sin, and Revelation Chapter 7 defines the servants of God as a vast innumerable company of people coming out from it through redemption, then we begin to see how relevant the Book of Revelation was to the early Church as well as to us today. How easy it is to forget that the last book of the Bible was written to the believers of the first century who were locked in a desperate spiritual war. When we lose sight of this historical perspective, we tend to apply John’s visions primarily to our future.
Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them.
The great multitude has access to God’s throne and they serve Him day and night in His temple because they have washed their robes and made them white in the Lamb’s blood. The Church today has access to the throne of God (Hebrews 4:16).
When we go into our personal prayer times to seek His face, we are before His throne. When we assemble to worship corporately, we come into the courts of His majesty. As a result, we serve Him day and night – whether it is the middle of the day, the middle of the night, or whenever He calls. The resulting promise then is that the King will dwell among His people.
When we look to our future, we have this promise – the Lord will abide in the midst of His people. The presence of God is the one unique ingredient that distinguishes genuine Christianity from the mere philosophies and religions of this world. God’s work among men is not a religion; it is not a philosophy. Rather, it involves a people who not only love Him, but who have His abiding presence in their midst.
They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat...
The Lord also promises that we shall neither hunger nor thirst anymore. We shall not be denied the spiritual food and drink we need. As Jesus said to the Jewish people:
I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.
The sun and heat will not strike us either. Here is divine protection from what would cause us to wither and die. And the key to our safety?
for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
If the Great Tribulation is simply a short season at the end of Church history, then the people who come out of that affliction do so because they experience the return of Christ. At that point, they receive glorified bodies, and go into the age to come. Yet the Scripture here says that Jesus is going to lead them to fountains of waters. It is doubtful that we will need to be led to fountains of waters when we are glorified and see Him face to face. When He comes, we will know as we have been fully known (1Corinthians 13:12). We will not see through a glass darkly, but with unclouded vision. Is it not true that now is the time that He shepherds us and leads us to His living water? Is it not in this age that men find Christ as Heaven’s doorway to life, God’s way out of the Great Affliction?
Also, it is questionable that we will be thought of as sheep in the age to come. Our identity as the Lord’s sheep has to do with our weakness, with life in this age. If we wander too far away from what He is doing among His people, we can become vulnerable to the enemy’s wolfish attacks, even susceptible to deception. For safety’s sake, it is important to be accountable to others in the flock; it can be dangerous on our own.
It is in this present time that we walk with a sense of weakness. While we do have eternal treasure, it is contained in earthen vessels. We get tired, weak, sick, and ultimately, at a certain age, we die. But because He is our Good Shepherd, He presently leads us to living fountains of waters. It is in this life that we are to discover the living streams. Every day we must seek Him, follow Him, and participate with Him in the flowing river of His life.
Finally, our Good Shepherd also personally promises to wipe the tears from our eyes. Some have seen this statement fulfilled in the age to come. But it is doubtful that we will be crying in our glorified bodies. In His presence is fullness of joy. It is in this life that we experience pain, opposition, suffering, the loss of loved ones, and for some, even martyrdom. Great pain has come into the earth because of Adam’s fall. But our Lord promises that He will personally come to each of us and cleanse our tears (Matthew 5:4). Because we have washed our robes, a day will come when the days of trouble will be at an end and we will behold Him in the fullness of His glory. In that day, as we realize the fullness of joy, we will definitely not be worrying about ravenous wolves. Until then, we are involved in the ongoing mammoth war for the cosmos.
Let us worship our God. He has provided for us the way out of the Great Affliction plaguing mankind because of sin. Those who believe in Jesus have discovered God’s exit ramp out of the Great Tribulation – Good News indeed!
Donald Rumble – January 2020
| 45 | 4 |
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| 5:4 | 5 |
| 13:21 | 3 |
| 24 | 3, 4 |
| 24:21 | 3 |
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| 19:41-44 | 4 |
| 21:20-24 | 4 |
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| 6:35 | 5 |
| 16:21 | 3 |
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| 2:2-4 | 4 |
| 2:16-17 | 4 |
| 4:31 | 4 |
| 7 | 4 |
| 7:11 | 3 |
| 14:22 | 4 |
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| 13:12 | 5 |
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| 1:2 | 4 |
| 4:16 | 5 |
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| 1:27 | 3 |
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| 3:3-4 | 4 |
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| 6 | 4 |
| 6:1-8 | 4 |
| 6:17 | 2 |
| 7 | 3, 4, 4 |
| 7:9 | 2 |
| 7:10 | 2 |
| 7:11-12 | 2 |
| 7:13-14 | 3 |
| 7:15 | 5 |
| 7:16 | 5 |
| 7:17 | 5 |
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