Extreme Tribulation

 

We need to change our nomenclature. What most Christians associate with the two-word phrase, “great tribulation”, is not at all what God intended. They assume that “great tribulation” refers to one thing, and one thing only, a seven-year Great Tribulation. Furthermore, they assume that the Great Tribulation will only affect the wicked, those left behind when Christians are blissfully raptured away to be with Jesus.  That assumption is woefully and dangerously misleading.

If we would change the terminology to extreme tribulation, and abandon the term “great tribulation” altogether, it would help immensely in understanding the prophecies of Revelation accurately. The Greek words normally translated great tribulation (e.g., Rev 7:14, Matt 24:21; cf. Dan 12:1) are thlipsis megalos. Thlipsis is best translated as affliction or turmoil, but we have become more accustomed to using the English word tribulation to translate it. And megalos simply means large, extreme, huge, or great.  Changing the terminology is completely legitimate within the bounds of Biblical translation, and it would be extremely helpful for getting away from the false notions associated with “great tribulation”.

The English word that we use in so many translations, tribulation, actually comes from a Latin word, tribulum. The tribulum was a large heavy sledge-board with flint or stones on the underside. It was drug over the wheat to thresh it, separating the grain from the husks. The wheat could then be winnowed, the husks blowing away in the wind and the grain preciously gathered up.  Like the tribulum, God uses tribulation to separate the useless husks from the precious grain. That is such an important concept to understand as the last days quickly come upon us.

Tribulation is a common theme throughout Biblical history. It is a key component of God’s redemptive plan. Tribulation was used by God, over and over, to chasten and purify His chosen nation, the Jews -- in Egypt, then during the time of the Judges, then in Babylon, then again in 70 AD. Why then would we Christians, at the end of the age, refuse to understand that extreme tribulation will again be used by God, this time to separate the wheat from the tares, and purify the Church to be a holy bride for Jesus’ return? Instead, we want to relegate that extreme tribulation as judgment upon the wicked, only, and allow for the church to be raptured, never being threshed by the tribulum.

For over 150 years now America has listened to prophets and teachers proclaiming that the Church will be spared the extreme tribulation that is prophesied in Revelation. Bible-believing Christians are conflicted and confused over what to believe about the Great Tribulation. This quandary is similar to that described by Isaiah and Jeremiah. They pointed out, over and over, that false prophets are notorious for prophesying peace and safety, giving false hope, when God is warning of destruction, captivity, and extreme tribulation. (see the story of the false prophet Hananiah in Jer 28). The truth of what lies ahead is not peace and rapture. Instead, we are warned to expect the rise of the eighth beast and the man of lawlessness, the destruction of America, and the final, cataclysmic battle of Armageddon. Only then will Jesus return to rescue His chosen ones, catching us up from this earth just prior to the last trumpet, the horrible outpouring of His wrath.

Is the church in America ready for extreme tribulation? No, many will be disheartened, dismayed, and fall away. Only a few will be threshed by the tribulum, and remain faithful and true.