According to biblical prophecy, the Tribulation is a seven-year period that will begin immediately following the Rapture. Evil will spread without restraint. The diseases, natural disasters, wars, and devastation we see in our world today are but a taste of the atrocities to come. Toward the end, the Antichrist will sit at the center of the Tribulation’s evil as he personifies Satan.
There is nothing we can do to prevent the Tribulation from occurring, but we can equip ourselves with a thorough knowledge of God’s Word. It reveals everything we need to know about earth’s final days.
When Will the Rapture and Tribulation Occur?
5 Natural Disasters Will Occur During the Tribulation
Will Christians Escape the Tribulation?
Who Will Be Saved During the Tribulation?
How Will People Hear the Gospel During the Tribulation?
If Someone Becomes a Christian During the Tribulation, What Will Happen to Them When They Die?
If I Can Get Right With God During the Tribulation, Why Should I Change My Life Now?
Is It True That It Will Be Impossible to Commit Suicide During the Tribulation?
What Will Happen in Heaven During the Tribulation?
What Can I Do About the Coming Tribulation?
The Tribulation will be a terrible time, but it will serve a purpose: it will warn mankind of God’s imminent judgment. God will appoint two godly men to serve as His witnesses throughout the Tribulation. These end-times prophets will shine the light of truth by the power of God’s Spirit. Anyone who believes their message will suffer the horrors of the Tribulation, but they will be spared from the Great White Throne Judgment described in Revelation 20.
Ten Signs the Tribulation Is Drawing Near
According to Matthew 24:5-14, we can expect ten events to occur in the days preceding the Rapture and the beginning of the Tribulation. They will continue to multiply and progress as the first 3½ years of the Tribulation unfold.
- Deception by false teachers (verse 5)
- Dissension among nations (verses 6-7)
- Devastation of the food supply (verse 7)
- Disease in various places (verse 7)
- Disasters around the world (verse 7)
- Death for the sake of Christ (verse 9)
- Disloyalty among “friends” (verse 10)
- Delusion associated with false religions and drug use (verse 11)
Note: An increase in drug use will likely facilitate this delusion. In the End Times, false religion will be characterized by what Revelation calls “sorceries” (9:21). John uses the word pharmakos, from which we get the word pharmacy. It is an ancient reference to the ingestion of drugs. The use of mind-altering substances such as narcotics and hallucinogens will be associated with false religions, doubtless with the government’s approval. - Defection from the faith and goodness (verse 12)
- Declaration of the Gospel (verse 14)
When Will the Rapture and Tribulation Occur?
Jesus could come tonight! Some people argue that the Rapture cannot occur until the whole world has heard the Gospel—that we need to preach the Gospel until the “last person to be saved” is brought into the kingdom, at which time Jesus will return for His Church. This cannot be true.
If there is anything yet to happen before Christ’s return, there is no such thing as the “imminent return” of Jesus Christ. The command to take the Gospel into the whole world is pressing upon every generation. However, the condition of the Gospel going to the entire world is not a condition of the Rapture but the Second Coming of Christ.
5 Natural Disasters Will Occur During the Tribulation
- Great earthquakes and darkness.
Revelation 6:12 says, “Behold, there was a great earthquake.” It continues, “The sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood.” When Jesus died on the cross, the whole earth darkened at midday. When God judged Egypt, there was a blackness of night. When the Lord descended at Mt. Sinai, the mountain was shrouded in black clouds. Likewise, darkness will fall at the onset of the Tribulation period. - The stars will fall out of the sky.
“The stars of heaven fell to the earth” (Revelation 6:13). The word “star” here is the Greek word aster,and it refers to luminous bodies in the sky other than the sun and moon. These “stars” are not the distant stellar objects we know as stars. More likely, this refers to a cluster of asteroids that will pummel the earth.1 - The mountains and islands will move.
“Every mountain and island was moved out of its place” (Revelation 6:14). When the asteroids strike the earth, the earth’s crust may be so disturbed by the impact that significant segments of it will begin to slip and slide over the earth’s mantle. According to Dr. Henry Morris, anyone living above such shifting will observe the heavens appearing to move in the opposite direction as if they are being “rolled up.” 2 - The ocean will become blood.
As Revelation 8:8-9 explains, a great mountain burning with fire will be cast into the sea. The sea will become blood, and one-third of all sea life will die. In addition, one-third of all ships will be destroyed. The far-reaching implications of these judgments are beyond our understanding. Someone has reasoned that the oceans occupy about three-fourths of the earth’s surface, so the extent of this judgment will be staggering. The pollution of the water and the death of so many sea creatures will vastly affect the balance of ocean life. This will happen to one-third of the saltwater bodies of the world. - The water will become poisoned.
Next, freshwater supplies will be affected. They will become bitter and cause many people to die (Revelation 8:10-11). The instrument of judgment will be a great star known as “Wormwood.” This literal star or meteor hurtling through space will sideswipe earth, turning one-third of the earth’s water into a deadly poisonous liquid. Rivers, springs, and wells will all be affected.
–David Jeremiah in Escape the Coming Night
Will Christians Escape the Tribulation?
Yes, Christians will escape the seven-year nightmare of the Tribulation (Revelation 3:10).
Jesus Christ will rapture the Church (transport believers to heaven) before the Tribulation begins. He will physically return to remove His waiting Church from the earth and reward them according to their works. This event will occur before God’s judgments are poured out upon the unbelieving world (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 2 Thessalonians 2:8-12; Matthew 24:29-31; Revelation 21).
–David Jeremiah in The Handwriting on the Wall
Who Will Be Saved During the Tribulation?
There will be a great harvest of souls for Christ during the Tribulation, fulfilling the prophecy of Matthew 24:14. “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” People from every nation, tribe, and language will be part of the great redeemed multitude.
Paradoxically, this will be a time of the greatest suffering and persecution the world has ever seen while also being a time when the greatest wave of genuine conversions ever will take place. This multitude of redeemed ones will come from those who were still unsaved at the time of the Rapture. Today, at least two billion people have never heard or understood enough of the Gospel to accept or reject it.3 During the Tribulation, new believers will receive salvation the same way people receive it today—by faith in Christ’s death and resurrection.
How Will People Hear the Gospel During the Tribulation?
Assuming there are no believers on earth at the beginning of the seven years of the Tribulation, this is a good question. However, Scripture indicates there will be two witnesses and 144,000 sealed Israelites who will proclaim the truth during the Tribulation (Revelation 11, 14). In addition, Dr. Henry Morris suggests a “silent witness” because “millions upon millions of copies of the Bible and Bible portions . . . will not [be] remove[d] and multitudes will no doubt be constrained to read the Bible in those days . . . [and] will turn to their Creator and Savior.” These blood-bought believers will begin to warn others of even more severe judgment to come. They will preach repentance and judgment before being martyred for their message.
If Someone Becomes a Christian During the Tribulation, What Will Happen to Them When They Die?
The Lord has pronounced a special blessing for them: “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on” (Revelation 14:13). Just as the New Testament begins with Beatitudes for the living, it ends with a beatitude for the dying. Revelation 14:13 is the second of seven Beatitudes found in the book of Revelation. Even though these words are for those who die during the Tribulation, they can encourage saints of every generation. Death is not the end for a believer; it is simply a punctuation mark while we await the coming of the Lord. Blessed are those who have gone to sleep in Jesus.
If I Can Get Right With God During the Tribulation, Why Should I Change My Life Now?
Today, God’s extension of grace ends with the death of one who rejects Christ. At the Rapture, God’s grace will end for anyone alive who has not accepted it. Those who have resisted the Gospel message will be given a “strong delusion” during the Tribulation. Second Thessalonians 2:10-11 tells us, “He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them. So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies” (NLT). According to Revelation 13, the Beast and the Antichrist will imitate the life of Christ and bring deception. Believing these deceptions, the day of grace will end for anyone who rejected the Gospel prior to the Tribulation.
The Bible urges today is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2). Don’t expect to outwit God’s plan. One day soon, the Lord will return. If you have rejected Him, your day of opportunity will be lost. While it will be possible to get right with God during the Tribulation, Satan will have more power to oppose you than ever before. Accept God’s gift of eternal life while there is still time. If you would like to know more about becoming a Christian, please request a free copy of my booklet, Your Greatest Turning Point.
Is It True That It Will Be Impossible to Commit Suicide During the Tribulation?
The Tribulation will be so terrible that men will seek to die, and many will attempt suicide. Yet apparently, death will not be possible during a five-month period described in the fifth trumpet judgment: “In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them” (Revelation 9:6).
It will be an awful experience for those left to endure countless demons from the pit of hell running unchecked throughout the earth. The only people these demons will be allowed to sting are those who do not belong to God (verse 4). The poison from the sting will set the nerve center on fire (verse 10). This evil will stretch out for 150 days (verse 10), and death cannot provide an escape (verse 6).
What Will Happen in Heaven During the Tribulation?
Christians will be in heaven. God will be seated on the throne, surrounded by a rainbow of emerald greens. Twenty-four elders representing the church-age saints will sit around the throne. Before the throne will be a sea of glass. Around the throne, there will be four living creatures singing praise to the One on the throne. All heaven will worship the glorified Christ, the Creator of the world. God’s judgment of the physical earth will soon follow, but the Church will worship earth’s Creator in heaven before He does. Thunder, lightning, and voices proceeding from the throne will signify the impending judgment (Revelation 4:5).
What Can I Do About the Coming Tribulation?
The best preparation for the Tribulation is to make sure you are not around for it. If you haven’t already, confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord, and trust Him to be your Savior. Once that is settled, you have a commission to carry out! Jesus appointed us to carry His message to the very ends of the earth (Matthew 28:19-20). There will be an opportunity for some to receive grace during the Tribulation. Still, until then, it is our responsibility to share the Gospel with anyone who will listen. In the words of a great, old spiritual:
When you see the lightnin’ flashin’
When you hear the thunder crashin’
When you see the stars a-fallin’
When you hear the chariot’s callin’
Good news, chariot’s a-comin’
Good news, chariot’s a-comin’
So glad, chariot’s a-comin’
And I don’t wan-na be left out!
We do not know when the chariot will arrive, but we have a responsibility to be ready when it comes. In His goodness, God has revealed the consequences of rejecting Him, and He has offered salvation to everyone who receives Him. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! (Revelation 22:20)
Sources:
1Henry Morris, The Revelation Record (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1983), 123.
2Ibid.
3“Great Commission Action Guide,” https://reachbeyond.org/Advocate/RBActionGuide.pdf, accessed on January 1, 2019.