04/07/2024
Why is a 7 year Tribulation appointed for Israel & unbelievers, NOT for church?
The Tribulation is a future time period when God will accomplish at least two aspects of His plan:
1) He will complete the restoration of Israel & establish Christ's kingdom on earth (Daniel 9:24).
2) He will judge the unbelieving, unrighteous, godless inhabitants of the earth (Revelation 6 - 18).
The length of the Tribulation is 7 years after the imminent Rapture of church. 7 year tribulation is NOT appointed for Christ's blood bought church, but for the nation of Israel & unbelievers. The church, comprised of all (dead or alive) who have trusted in the person and finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ, will not be present during the 7 year tribulation. The church will be removed from the earth in an event called the Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:13–18; 1 Corinthians 15:51–53). In this way, the church is saved from the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 5:9).
Daniel 9:24–27 reveals the purpose and time of the tribulation. This passage speaks of 70 weeks that have been declared against “your people.” Daniel’s people are the Jews, the nation of Israel, and Daniel 9:24 speaks of a period of time in which God’s purpose is “to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy.” God declares that “seventy sevens” will fulfill all these things. The “sevens” are groups of years, so 70 sevens is 490 years. (Some translations refer to 70 “weeks” of years.)
The Great Tribulation is the last half of the Tribulation period, three and one-half years in length. It is distinguished from the Tribulation period because the first Beast, or anti-christ (also called lawlessness man, man of sin, son of perdition) along with his spiritual companion false prophet or second Beast, will be revealed, and the wrath of God will greatly intensify during this time (Revelation 6 to 19). Thus, it is important at this point to emphasize that the Tribulation and the Great Tribulation are not synonymous terms. Within eschatology (the study of future things), the Tribulation refers to the full seven-year period while the “Great Tribulation” refers to the second half of the Tribulation. 7 year tribulation ends when whole Israelites accept Jesus Christ as their promised Messiah.
It is Jesus Christ Himself who used the phrase "Great Tribulation" with reference to the last half of the Tribulation. In Matthew 24:21, Jesus says, "For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall." In this verse Jesus is referring to the event of Matthew 24:15, which describes the revealing of the abomination of desolation, the man also known as the anti-christ (first beast). Also, Jesus in Matthew 24:29-30 states, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days . . . the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory." In this passage, Jesus defines the Great Tribulation (v.21) as beginning with the revealing of the abomination of desolation in the third temple of Jerusalem (v.15) and ending with Christ’s second coming (v.30).
Other passages that refer to the Great Tribulation are Daniel 12:1b, which says, "And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time." It seems that Jesus was quoting this verse when He spoke the words recorded in Matthew 24:21. Also referring to the Great Tribulation is Jeremiah 30:7, "Alas! for that day is great, There is none like it; And it is the time of Jacob’s distress, But he will be saved from it." The phrase “Jacob’s distress” refers to the nation of Israel, which will experience persecution and natural disasters such as have never before been seen in the history of the world.
The book of Revelation also gives us some details about what the mandatory mark of the beast does during the days of tribulation. When the anti-christ, or the beast, comes to power, “all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, [are forced] to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name” (Revelation 13:16–17). In mandating the mark, the beast will be able to control commerce and, if it’s an RFID micro chip, track everyone and have access to their personal information.
Considering the information Christ gave us in Matthew 24:15-30, it is easy to conclude that the beginning of the Great Tribulation has much to do with the abomination of desolation, an action of the satan indwelling anti-christ. In Daniel 9:26-27, we find that this man will make a "covenant" (a peace pact) with the world for seven years (one “week”; again, see the article on the Tribulation). Halfway through the seven-year period—"in the middle of the week"—we are told this man will break the covenant he made, stopping sacrifice and grain offering, which specifically refers to his actions in the rebuilt third temple, Jerusalem of the future. Revelation 13:1-10 gives even more detail concerning the Beast’s actions, and just as important, it also verifies the length of time he will be in power. Revelation 13:5 says he will be in power for 42 months, which is three and one-half years, the length of the Great Tribulation.
Revelation 6 to 19 gives us the most information about the Tribulation & Great Tribulation. From Revelation 13 when the Beast is revealed until Jesus Christ returns gloriously as King of kings & Lord of Lords on Mount olives, Jerusalem in Revelation 19, we are given a picture of God’s wrath on the earth because of unbelief and rebellion (Revelation 16-18). It is also a picture of how God disciplines and at the same time protects His people, Israel (Revelation 14:1-5) until He keeps His promise to the forefathers of Israel by establishing an earthly millennium kingdom on earth (Revelation 20:4-6).
Source: gotquestions.org
