Great Tribulation – upon whom?

Will the Great tribulation be on the world at large, on apostate Christianity, or on the chosen ones? The answer to this question will prepare us for what to expect in the chaos just ahead of us. As we know, immediately after the Great tribulation, Jesus will arrive to destroy the multinational beast and its worshipers, who have received its mark.

This beast is religio-political in nature, that is, both a political empire dominating the whole world, as well as a religious cult, a globalist new world ideology, that will be worshiped by all. Such a religio-political beast is nothing new, just think of Nazism; was it a political world power, or a religious cult, demanding worship? Evidently both! Hence, at a certain point in time, Satan himself will in a special and unprecedented way give to this beast his power and his throne and great authority over every nation, at which point it will demand to be worshipped, enticing, and later on forcing all people to change their religion, because it will turn against all other forms of worship that have ‘divided mankind’ and caused so much bloodshed.

To be an effective replacement for all religions it will perform powerful works and lying signs and portents. Most ‘Christians’ and others will easily be fooled into joining this new cult, receiving its mark, and thinking that this must be the very kingdom of God. The tiny minority of those who don’t worship it will be persecuted. This is the Great tribulation, and it will be on all religious folk who cling to their particular form of worship in defiance of the beast, while the world of beast-worshippers at large will be prospering under their new world order, similar to the way Nazism blessed its followers.

Members of fundamentalist ‘prosperity religions’ will be sorely tempted to join in. Jesus informed us that the Great tribulation starts with the standing of the disgusting thing in a holy place. Is this beast disgusting? Is its being worshiped worldwide the ‘standing in a holy place?’ Will it cause desolation to all other religions, including Jehovah’s witnesses? Evidently so. But this beast must have been empowered by Satan some time before it stands in a holy place. When might that happen? We will see. The bible shows elsewhere that this Great tribulation on those who refuse to worship the beast will be about three and a half years long.

Turning to Mark 13 now, we are able to find a description of this period of Great tribulation in verses 14 to 20, which read:

“However, when you catch sight of the disgusting thing that causes desolation standing where it ought not (let the reader use discernment), then let those in Judea begin fleeing to the mountains. Let the man on the housetop not come down, nor go inside to take anything out of his house; and let the man in the field not return to the things behind to pick up his outer garment. Woe to the pregnant women and those suckling a baby in those days! Keep praying that it may not occur in wintertime; for those days will be [days of] a tribulation such as has not occurred from [the] beginning of the creation which God created until that time, and will not occur again. In fact, unless Jehovah had cut short the days, no flesh would be saved. But on account of the chosen ones whom he has chosen he has cut short the days.”

This is what will transpire during the three and a half years of Great tribulation down to verse 20; now, verse 21 continues: “Then, too, if anyone says to you, ‘See! Here is the Christ,’ ‘See! There he is,’ do not believe [it].” This means, first of all, that the developments of verses 21 to 23 are part of what occurs during the Great tribulation.

But when, “too,” that is, which other period outside of the 3½-year Great tribulation period will “false Christs and false prophets” arise “to lead astray, if possible, the chosen ones?” Since this cannot happen after Jesus comes on the clouds of heaven, and it happens already during the Great tribulation, there must be another period of time before the Great tribulation, when ‘false Christs’ would try to ‘mislead the chosen ones.’ This ‘pre-Great tribulation period’ is introduced in verses 5 to 7 where we read: “So Jesus started to say to them: ‘Look out that nobody misleads you. Many will come on the basis of my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and will mislead many. Moreover, when you hear of wars and reports of wars, do not be terrified; [these things] must take place, but the end is not yet.” So ‘this pre-Great tribulation’ period will be marked by scattered wars in diverse places, but Jesus hastens to add, in verse 8, that this is not the total warfare of “nation against nation!”

This, according to the parallel in Luke 21 verses 10 to 12 happens immediately after the Great tribulation when the Son of man comes! How so? Luke explains:

“Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against; and there will be great earthquakes, and in one place after another pestilences and food shortages; and there will be fearful sights and from heaven great signs. But before all these things people will lay their hands upon you and persecute you, etc.”

What has to happen before ‘nation rises against nation?’ All the events of verses 12 to 19, and the Great tribulation from verse 20 to 24. Back to Mark 13. Having just established that verse 8 is to be fulfilled immediately after the Great tribulation, we continue to read verses 9 to 13 to see what is to happen in the ‘pre-Great tribulation’ period: “As for you, look out for yourselves; people will deliver you up to local courts, and you will be beaten in synagogues and be put on the stand before governors and kings for my sake, for a witness to them. Also, in all the nations the good news has to be preached first. (Clearly, this ‘pre-Great tribulation’ period, whatever its first century application, must have its major fulfilment in our time when the good news will be preached in all the nations!) But when they are leading you along to deliver you up, do not be anxious beforehand about what to speak; but whatever is given you in that hour, speak this, for you are not the ones speaking, but the holy spirit is. Furthermore, brother will deliver brother over to death, and a father a child, and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death; and you will be objects of hatred by all people on account of my name. But he that has endured to the end is the one that will be saved.”

Then, in verse 14 the Great tribulation is introduced, clearly marked off with: “However, when you catch sight of the disgusting thing…” Let’s see how the developments in the ‘pre-Great tribulation’ period differ from what is to happen during the 3½ years of the Great tribulation. In the ‘pre-Great tribulation’ the good news will be preached in all the nations first, before the Great tribulation comes, at which time we will flee to the “mountains”, the “wilderness;” no preaching there! The worldwide preaching work has to happen before the disgusting thing stands in a holy place, as it will be impossible to preach when it turns on religion, including Christianity during the Great tribulation, when we have to go into hiding to survive. (The prophesying of the two witnesses during the Great tribulation will not be the good news, but the message of doom that torments the beast-worshippers.) Clearly the element of fleeing is absent during the ‘pre-Great tribulation,’ and although we will be objects of hatred by all the nations, referred to by Matthew as “tribulation,” it is unlike the “Great tribulation” such as has not occurred since the world’s beginning. Also, the element of ‘cutting short’ is absent from the ‘pre-Great tribulation;’ it will be endurable.

This clear demarcation between ‘a pre-Great tribulation period’ and the Great tribulation can be seen in all three Gospels as follows:

• Pre-Great tribulation period: Mat. 24:4-6, 9-14 Mk.13: 5-7,9-14 Lu.21: 8,9,12-19

• Great tribulation: Mat. 24:15-28 Mk.13:14-20 Lu.21:20-24

Since the witnessing work has got to be done in the ‘pre-Great tribulation’ period, we can expect an outpouring of Holy Spirit at its start, as predicted by Joel. So, too, Daniel 11 verses 32 to 35 will happen in this ‘pre-Great tribulation’ period, the whitening, the refining work and the cleansing, until the time of the end, the start of the Great tribulation. But how long will this ‘pre-Great tribulation’ period be? Daniel 9 gives us revealing insights, starting in verse 24

Part 2 – The Seventy Weeks