Many people ask why the Tribulation is necessary:

Some Christians believe that we must go through the Tribulation to be purified. The preterists state that there is no Tribulation because it happened in 70 A.D.

Full preterists argue that, in Matthew 16:28 where Jesus states that some of those who were there would not taste death until He comes again, it means that Jesus returned in the first century, and the judgment of the Tribulation happened in 70 A.D. when Titus destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple.

It is impossible to place the events you will read in the book of Revelation, at 70 A.D. There was no mountain burning with fire that destroyed every mountain and island. There were no demon locusts that stung men with their tales, and no one could die for five months; there was no 70-pound hail recorded in history that fell on men in 70 A.D.

There is also the problem of the fixed periods of time that Revelation describes. What do we do with the specific numbers that are in Revelation: 1,000 years, 7 years, 144,000, and 1,260 days? If 1,000 is not 1,000, then what is it? No one could really know, because it is up to the interpretation of the one who reads it. The preterists’ view, in all forms, is not possible.

Revelation means exactly what it says. There is no mystery in these events. Jesus said they would only happen once during the history of the world and last only for a short time, but that if they were to go any longer, no one on earth would survive.

Jesus said: For in those days there will be tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be. And unless the Lord had shortened those days (to 3 1/2 years), no one would survive. ~Mark 13:19-20

Why Will There Be a Tribulation?

The Bible defines two purposes for the Tribulation: first, the salvation of the Jews; second, judgment for the world. The seven years are the seventieth week of Daniel Chapter 9:25-27 prophecy, that is applicable only to Israel and the Jews: Seventy weeks (490 years) are determined for your people and for your holy city. ~Daniel 9:24

The Tribulation is not for the church; it is for “your people,” the Jews—the angel told Daniel. The Tribulation, the seventieth week of Daniel, is a time determined by God for the salvation of the Jews.

The primary purpose of the seven-year Tribulation is for Israel to believe in Jesus as their true Messiah. Paul wrote that during the Tribulation, “all Israel will be saved.”

For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved. ~Romans 11:25-26

The Old Testament predicted the rejection of the Messiah by the Jews. Isaiah wrote that when He arrives, Israel will despise and reject Him, hiding their faces from Him. They will not honor or respect the Messiah when He arrives.

Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?…He is despised and rejected by men…And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. ~Isaiah 53:1-3

The term “the arm of the Lord” is a Jewish idiom for Messiah. In the case of Isaiah’s prophecy, the Jews did not believe the report that salvation had arrived in the Messiah, Jesus.13

Zechariah predicted that the Jews would crucify their Messiah, and when they see Him coming to earth again and realize what they have done, they will mourn and grieve for Him as for an only son who has died.

They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for me as for a firstborn son who has died. The sorrow and mourning in Jerusalem on that day will be like the great mourning. ~Zechariah 12:10-11

Jesus scolded the Jews for not recognizing the time of their visitation by the Messiah. He told the leaders of Israel that because they rejected Him, their house (the Temple) would be left to them desolate.

“See! Your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’” ~Luke 13:35

Now as Jesus drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.” ~Luke 19:41-44

Because the Jews did not recognize or accept their Messiah when He came, Jesus pronounced judgment upon the nation. The city of Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed in 70 A.D. by the Roman general, Titus.

Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” ~Matthew 24:2

The Roman soldiers so completely decimated the Temple in 70 A.D., that there was “not one stone left upon another,” just as Jesus had said would happen when He predicted this event in 32 A.D.

The salvation of the Jews will take place in the last half of the Great Tribulation. This is the primary purpose for the Tribulation period: to save all Israel. When the Rapture happens, the Time of the Gentiles will be over, and the time of Israel’s salvation will begin.

A secondary function of the Tribulation is to demonstrate the evil of satan and those who worship him, and destroy both in the Lake of Fire. God will permit satan to reign over the earth as a self-claimed god for seven years. His reign will manifest the true hearts of those who hate God, and they will worship and serve the beast.

The Tribulation was never intended for Jesus’ church. When Paul wrote his first letter to the Thessalonian church, he specifically told them that this time of wrath is not for those who love Jesus, because God has reserved us for salvation (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10). The idea that we must be purified by tribulation—from the text of Acts 14:22, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God”—is describing the tribulations (troubles/trials) that come from the world, not the Tribulation that comes from Jesus called “the wrath of the Lamb.”

There Is A Stunning Difference Between Tribulation From The World, And Tribulation From God

Jesus said that in this world we will have tribulation, but He has overcome the world (John 16:33). Jesus did not say that in this world the believer will have to endure the Tribulation that comes from God. The last three and one-half years of the Great Tribulation describes the wrath of God being poured out on earth. Nearly every person who decides to trust in Jesus at that time will be beheaded by the beast (Revelation 20:4). These believers are people who did not believe in Jesus before the Rapture, but decide to trust in Him after the Tribulation begins. When millions of Christians disappear from earth at the Rapture, the world will know that Jesus’ promise to return for His church and Paul’s description of this event in 1 Thessalonians 4 are true. A great number will turn to Christ during the Tribulation, but it will be at great cost—the loss of their lives.

The idea that Christians must go through the Tribulation in order to be purified of sin and be ready for the return of Jesus is impeached by the New Testament. Paul wrote that we are complete in Christ Jesus. Paul wrote extensively that all of our righteousness comes from Jesus, and those who trust in Him have no record of sin accounted to them.

For in Jesus dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. ~Colossians 2:9-10

And such were some of you (once sinners). But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. ~1 Corinthians 6:11

Jesus said that those who trust in Him are “clean,” and there is no need of any further purification:

Jesus comes to wash the feet of the disciples. Peter protests: “No,” Peter protested, “you will never ever wash my feet!” Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.” Simon Peter exclaimed, “Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!” Jesus replied, “A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean. And you disciples are clean, but not all of you.” For Jesus knew who would betray him. That is what he meant when he said, “Not all of you are clean.” ~John 13:8-11

The moment any person trusts in Jesus for their salvation, after repenting from their sins they are clean, holy, sanctified, and fully ready for heaven. If Christians must go through the Tribulation in order to be purified of sin and ready for heaven, this is a works doctrine that places salvation in the hands of the worker, not in Christ. Salvation is a free gift. We cannot earn it by being more pure or more worthy. When we trust in Jesus for our salvation, we are fully ready for heaven at that moment.

As we begin chapter six in the book of Revelation, the first three and one-half years of the Tribulation is set into motion by the first seal that is opened by Jesus:

Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.” And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer. ~Revelation 6:1-2

The peace is short; after three and one-half years, when Jesus opens the second seal, the Great Tribulation begins:

When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.” Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword. ~Revelation 6:3-4

We saw Jesus take this scroll from the Father, in chapter five. In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus described these final three and one-half years as a period on earth unlike any that has taken place before: For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved. ~Matthew 24:21-22

The Tribulation Period is divided into two sections: the first three and one-half years is called the Tribulation; the second three and one-half years is called the Great Tribulation. It is the second three and one-half years that chapter six of Revelation is primarily describing. During this time, two-thirds of the people who live on earth will die by twenty-one judgments from God. This Great Tribulation begins when Jesus opens the first of seven seals in the Title Deed to earth. It will continue until chapter 18 of Revelation is concluded.

The beginning of the seven years is described by the book of Daniel as the seventieth week of Daniel. Chapter nine of Daniel describes seventy weeks of years (490); the first sixty-nine (483), fulfilled at the arrival of the Messiah on earth. Jesus completed this prophecy on the day He rode into Jerusalem on April 6, 32 A.D. There remains just one seven-year period of time (one week) in Daniel’s seventy weeks.

Chapter six of Revelation begins the last seven years of Daniel’s prophecy. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 describes the event that will trigger the start of the seven years: the Rapture of Jesus’ church. Revelation chapters four and five detail events taking place in heaven during the first three and one-half years of the Tribulation on earth. 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 describes the next event: the revealing of the antichrist that will take place immediately after Jesus removes His church from the earth. Jesus describes the entire term of the seven years in Matthew Chapter 24. The revealing of the antichrist is triggered by the opening of the first seal for the Title Deed of the earth, that we saw in Jesus’ hand in Revelation Chapter 5.

At the midpoint of the seven-year Tribulation, the antichrist will enter the Temple that has been rebuilt at Jerusalem and go into the Holy of Holies. The false prophet will erect a statue of the antichrist there, and he will command the world to worship the antichrist as God. Both Daniel and Jesus describe this event as the abomination of desolation.

From this brief description, the student of Revelation can see that it is important to have a good working knowledge of the entire Bible. The culmination of all that the Bible describes is found in the twenty-two chapters of Revelation.

The Most Important Sign Of Jesus’ Return

Many of the prophecies of the last days that are important to the return of Jesus depend upon one stunning prophecy: the return of the Jews to their own country. No other nation or people who have been disbursed all over the world, and have lost their land and national identity, have ever come back to their own land  and be established as a nation and people a second time. This was until the Jews returned to their land in 1948.

The prophet Ezekiel predicted that in the last days, the Jews who had been disbursed all over the earth would come back to their land and be a nation and people once again. This return was described by Isaiah as taking place in a single day: Who has ever seen anything as strange as this? Who ever heard of such a thing? Has a nation ever been born in a single day? Has a country ever come forth in a mere moment? ~Isaiah 66:8

The return of the Jews to Israel was crucial to the return of the Messiah. Unless the Jews were in their own land again, the Messiah could not return. The fact that the Jews were brought back to their land is a supernatural work of God and the fulfillment of prophecy, proving that the Bible is the word of God.

When Jesus returns, it will be at the Mount of Olives, outside Jerusalem. Every prophecy that will be fulfilled at that time, from all the prophets who wrote in describing this event, depends upon Israel being a nation again:

I will gather all the nations to fight against Jerusalem. The city will be taken, the houses looted, and the women raped. Half the population will be taken into captivity, and the rest will be left among the ruins of the city. Then the Lord will go out to fight against those nations, as he has fought in times past. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. And the Mount of Olives will split apart, making a wide valley running from east to west. Half the mountain will move toward the north and half toward the south. You will flee through this valley, for it will reach across to Azal. Yes, you will flee as you did from the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all his holy ones with him. ~Zechariah 14:2-5

When Jesus returns to earth as the conquering Messiah, Israel will be surrounded by the nations of the world under the command of the antichrist. Gathered at the Valley of Megiddo, north of Israel, a massive military force will be waiting for Jesus to arrive (see chapter 19).

Jesus will descend from heaven with His church, as described by Revelation Chapter 19. He will land on the Mount of Olives, the mountain splitting in two (Acts1:7-12). Traveling north to Megiddo, Jesus will come face to face with the power of the antichrist, directed by the reigning king, satan (2 Corinthians 4:4). Jesus will simply speak, and all those who are ready to fight Him will be destroyed. Their bodies will spill their blood to the depth of a horse’s bridle along the entire 200-mile length of that valley (see chapter 19).

This battle could not take place; the nations would not be surrounding Israel; antichrist would not be waiting at Megiddo—if the Jews had not returned to their land. When Israel became a nation again on May 14, 1948, the stage was set for the soon return of Jesus. All that remains today is the removal of Jesus’ church from earth before He pours out His wrath on this world during the Great Tribulation. This is the topic of this book, a commentary on the Book of Revelation.

Ezekiel predicts this return by the Jews as a work of God to prepare the world for the return of Jesus:

“As I live,” says the Lord GOD, “surely with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out, I will rule over you. I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out. And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will plead My case with you face to face. Just as I pleaded My case with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will plead My case with you,” says the Lord GOD. “I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant; I will purge the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against Me; I will bring them out of the country where they dwell, but they shall not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD.” ~Ezekiel 20:33-38

Ezekiel predicts that the Jews will be brought by God back into their former land. It will be during the last part of the seven-year Tribulation that the Jews will finally recognize Jesus as their Messiah: For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God. ~Ezekiel 36:24-28

Chapter 12 of Revelation describes this awakening by the Jews and the realization that Jesus is the True Messiah. God will supernaturally protect the Jews from the persecution of the antichrist as he seeks to destroy them by great wrath.

Revelation 6:1-2

Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.” And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.

The First Seal

As Jesus opens the first seal on the scroll, in Revelation chapter six, the church is no longer on earth; we see the redeemed of the Lord in heaven as the Tribulation begins. In chapters four and five of Revelation, we previously saw the church in heaven. Here in chapter six, the first seal is opened in heaven, resulting in the events of the first three and one-half years of the seven-year Tribulation. The antichrist comes out on a white horse with a bow but no arrow. He comes to make peace by the signing of a seven-year peace treaty between Israel and many nations (Daniel 9:27).

This treaty will allow the Jews to rebuild their third temple at the Temple Mount, next to the Islamic Dome of the Rock. This is all necessary in order for 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12 to be fulfilled. We know today that the Temple could be rebuilt on the existing Temple Mount without disturbing the Arab holy sites. We will cover this in depth in chapter 11.

Revealing Of The Antichrist

As Jesus breaks the first seal of the seven that are on the scroll, the seven years of Daniel’s seventieth week begins. As the first seal is broken, we see the antichrist riding on a white horse—much like Jesus will ride back to earth on a white horse, in chapter 19 of Revelation.

This is not a coincidence; the antichrist is the antithesis of Christ. This man will seek to imitate Christ in his conquering of the world and command worship from the inhabitants of earth. From the beginning of Lucifer’s story in the Bible, he wanted to be worshiped as God. It was this evil desire that caused his heart to rebel against God and resulted in his fall. Lucifer was created perfect and without sin. It was his rebellion that caused sin to arise in his heart. God did not create sin in His creation; it begins when the beings God made rebel against Him and choose their own way.

The restraining force in the world today, that is preventing the antichrist from being introduced, is the Holy Spirit working through Jesus’ church. At the moment Jesus takes His church from earth, this restraining force will be lifted, and the antichrist can make his entrance:

And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. ~2 Thessalonians 2:6-8

Some commentators have stated that the Holy Spirit will be removed from earth to allow the antichrist to be known, but this is not possible. We see many people who are saved during the final seven years of the Tribulation. No one is saved apart from the work of the Holy Spirit in their hearts. This can only mean that it is the restraining force of the Holy Spirt working through believers in Jesus that is preventing the antichrist from being revealed to the world. Once Jesus’ church is no longer on earth, the man of sin will be known immediately.

In just three and one-half years, the antichrist will unite the world under one government, one currency, one military, and one religion. He will rule over a confederacy of ten nations. Three will be removed, leaving seven to institute his policies and government.

We notice that when the first seal is opened, the antichrist has a bow in his hands, but no arrows. This indicates that he will conquer by peace. According to Daniel’s prophecy in chapter 9:27, this man will confirm a covenant with many nations for one week or seven years:  Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate. ~Daniel 9:27

A crown is given to the antichrist, signifying that God has permitted him to reign on earth for a brief time. At the garden, satan was given the dominion that Adam had over the earth when he deceived him and took away his rulership. As satan rules the world through the beast during the seven-year Tribulation, his authority is limited by God’s sovereignty, which determines the extent of the beast’s rulership and power. Left unrestricted, satan would destroy the earth and every person on it.

Paul describes the time in which the antichrist will be revealed to the world, as a period identical to the days in which we are now living: the presence of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the massive falling away of persons who once claimed to believe in Jesus, the rise of false religion, and the marked increase in lawlessness and evil that has permeated the whole world. These are all compelling signs that we are very near the end of this present age:

Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition. ~2 Thessalonians 2:1-6

Falling Away (Gr: “Apostasia” Ap-Os-Tas-Ee’-Ah), a departure from the truth: Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons. ~1 Timothy 4:1

The last days are characterized by doctrines that have their origin in demons:

Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons. ~1 Timothy 4:1

The source of these lies in the last days will be satan, who is working in the hearts and minds of the unsaved:

Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day (Tribulation) will not come unless the falling away comes first (departure of faith), and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining (the Holy Spirit through the church), may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. ~2 Thessalonians. 2:4-7

When the antichrist is revealed at the beginning of the seven-year Tribulation, he will seek rebellion against the rulership of God over the earth and exalt himself above God to be worshiped by the people of earth:

Then the king (antichrist) shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done. ~Daniel 11:36-38

The seven-year Tribulation is the seventieth week of Daniel 9:27. In the middle of the week, at three and one-half years, the antichrist, also called the beast, will end the daily offerings at the newly constructed Temple at Jerusalem and exalt himself above God. He will command worship for himself, described as the abomination of desolation, triggering the Great Tribulation, the opening of the second and third seals, resulting in war, death, and famine.

Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week (7 Years); But in the middle of the week (3 ½ Years) He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.” ~Daniel 9:27

Jesus instructed the Jews, who will live during this period of history, to flee Jerusalem when they see the abomination of desolation take place, because this will begin the horrors described by Revelation chapters 6-18: “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand). Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ~Matthew 24:15-16

The place the Jews will likely flee to is Jordan, where the Lord will protect the Jews from annihilation by the antichrist during the last three and one-half years of the Great Tribulation. Today, in the midst of all the conflict in the Middle East, Jordan has remained neutral between Jews and Arabs. When the antichrist comes to take control over the land of Israel during the Tribulation, he will not be permitted to seize Jordan: He (antichrist) shall also enter the Glorious Land (Israel), and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon. ~Daniel 11:41

Edom, Moab, and Ammon are cities in Jordan. Inside the border of Jordan is the ancient rock city of Petra.

At the beginning of the seven years, the antichrist will quickly rise to power. He will make peace in the Middle East by a treaty that will last for seven years. It is not clear whether the actual treaty will specify seven years in the text, or simply last for this period of time. It is clear that part of the benefit for the Jews in signing this treaty will be to allow the building of the third Temple at the Temple Mount site.

This Is The Place We Find Ourselves Today!

See Also:

• President Trump Signs Gaza Peace Plan In Egypt After Securing Freedom For Final 20 Hostages
• The Historical Relevance Of President Trump In Comparison To Antiochus Epiphanes In Earlier and Later Fulfillments Of The Same Prophecy
• If The Peace Plan Proposed By President Trump And Benjamin Netanyahu Is For A Duration Of Seven Years, This Fits The Daniel 9:27 Prophecy Precisely

Categories: Robert Clifton Robinson