GREAT TRIBULATION

"For then shall be great tribulation,
such as hath not been from the beginning of the world until now,
no, nor ever shall be."

 

Matthew 24:21

 

 

"This great cataclysm of trouble, which all intelligent people perceive with more or less distinctness, is described in the Bible under various symbolic terms. Sometimes it is described as a whirlwind; at other times the description is that of a storm; again, of a great tidal wave – the sea (representing the masses) will swallow up the mountains (representing the kingdoms). (Ps 46:2,3.) Again it is described as a fire, which will consume the whole earth. (Zeph 1:18; 3:8.) Yet in each case there is connected with the symbol something to show that it is merely a symbol, and that the utter destruction of humanity is not meant. As, for instance, after describing the storm, the Lord through the Prophet declares that He will command the nations to be still and to recognize Him as God, and that the result will be a great calm. (Ps 46:8-10) In the case of the fire, we read that after it has consumed the whole earth (the social fabric), then the Lord will turn to the people a pure language, a pure Message, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord to serve Him with one consent. – Zeph 3:9" R-5363

 

The foretold and expected wrath of God will come mostly upon the kingdoms claiming to be Christian, that is on Christians by name. Their punishment will be appropriate to the knowledge they had, but according which they do not live to.

 

The time came to hold Babylon the Great, which is erroneously called Christendom, accountable for all the crimes it has committed over the past centuries, both against God and His saints. Divine retribution will be tribulation "such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time." (Mt 24:21.) Some put the greatest emphasis on the word "as" in this verse, explaining that this may mean, not that the tribulation will be the greatest, but that it will be different from any previous tribulations.

 

We do not share this opinion. Our thought is that this will be the most violent, vast, and the most general tribulation than ever known. It can be clearly seen that in the present time, anarchy can engulf mankind sooner than in times past. When the final crisis comes – and it is already visible – a great, truly a whirlwind will sweep away the present civilization.

 

We should all remember that although God had foretold the Day of Wrath on the world, He shows elsewhere that this tribulation will arise from us, because of us, that it will be the result of human wrongdoing. The punishment for such conduct would have destroyed the entire system, both social and religious, if divine providence had not stopped the raging storm of human passions. It is evident that God will soon withdrave his restraing hand of power, allowing trouble to come at the end of this age. When mankind is paid for its conduct and learns what selfishness and various passions have led it to, and when all debts have been settled, then the Kingdom of Christ will begin, which will satisfy the wishes of all nations.

 

"The prophets declare that because of the increase of knowledge a still more general and widespread dissatisfaction will finally express itself in a world-wide revolution, in the overthrow of all law and order; that anarchy and distress upon all classes will be the result; but that in the midst of this confusion the God of heaven will SET UP his Kingdom, which will satisfy the desires of all nations. Wearied and disheartened with their own failures, and finding their last and greatest efforts resulting in anarchy, men will gladly welcome and bow before the heavenly authority, and recognize its strong and just government. Thus man's extremity will become God's opportunity, and 'the desire of all nations shall come' – the Kingdom of God, in power and great glory." A-264

 

 

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In the thirteenth chapter of Matthew, verses 42 and 50 have the same numerical value, which shows that the classes of men depicted in "evil fish" and "tares" will face the same fate in the Great Tribulation.

 

 

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"Biblical Comments" on Hag 2:6:

 

Shake the heavens ... Powers of spiritual control
And the earth ............ All organised and law-abiding society
And the sea .............. The restless, anarchistic masses of manking
And the dry land ...... The social aristocracy of wealth and social independence

 

 

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Israel entered the wilderness of Sinai in the third month after leaving Egypt, i.e. in 1614.5 B.C.

 

 

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The quoted below prophecy of Haggai was written in the fall of 521 B.C. (520.25). See notes in the "Biblical Comments" on Hag 2:1,2.

 

 

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"Biblical Comments" on Heb 12:26:

Yet once more ......... Once for all, finally
I shake ...................... In the time of trouble
Not the earth only ... Society; at which time the tribes of the "earth" shall mourn because of him (Mt 24:30)
But also heaven ...... The powers of spiritual control

 

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THE GREAT TRIBULATION AS A DAY OF VENGEANCE

 

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In the Scripture "the word heavens symbolizes the higher or spiritual controlling powers, and earth symbolizes human government and social arrangements. Thus the first heavens and earth, or the order and arrangement of things then existing, having served their purpose, ended at the flood. But the physical heavens (sky and atmosphere), and the physical earth, did not pass away: they remained. So likewise the present world (heavens and earth) will pass away with a great noise, fire and melting – confusion, trouble and dissolution." A-69

 

 

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"Biblical Comments" on 1 Thes 5:3:

Sudden destruction ... Sudden or rapid as compared with the slow processes

                                      of the past six thousand years.
As travail .................... Each succeding spasm will probably be more severe

                                      until the final one The relief from present conditions

                                      will come only with the birth of a new order of things.

 

 

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"But forget not this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." (2 Pet 3:8)

 

 

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The angels pouring out bowls of God's anger upon the world represent the Church at the end of the High Calling. The Church does not currently have the power to punish mankind with plagues, but she does so by divine command by announcing them. Likewise, the prophet Isaiah "poured out" vengeance on Babylon by Cyrus the Persian King of Persia (Is 14; 44:28-45:13). The seven bowls represent the complete set of teachings being at the disposal of the Church. These teachings build the Church, but for the world they portend the trouble and anger of God.

 

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Into the air – "Satan has long occupied the position of 'prince of the power of the air' (Eph 2:2), and has used for his co-workers and joint-rulers in it many of the great ones of Babylon, who, under his blinding errors, verily think they are doing God service. But in due time the present 'prince of the air' shall be bound, and shall deceive no more; and the present heavens, the great Antichrist system, will 'pass away with a great noise,' while the new prince of the air, the true spiritual ruler, Christ Jesus, will take the dominion and establish the 'new heavens,' uniting with himself in this power or 'air' his bride, the 'overcomers' of the Gospel age. Thus the 'new heavens' will supersede the present 'air' powers." C-238

 

 

 

THE GREAT TRIBULATION
AS THE GREAT WINEPRESS OF GOD’S WRATH

 

 

"The pressing of the wine press is the last work after the harvest of ripe grapes has already been completed.

The Grapevine of the Earth – The nominal, false Church was not planted by the Heavenly Father and will therefore be uprooted. The destruction of the fruit of this vine will take place in the press of God's wrath known as Armageddon. There will be "the destruction of the corrupt fruitage of 'the Vine of the earth' (human ambition, greed and selfishness), which has been growing and ripening for centuries in the kingdoms of this world and in the various civil and social organizations among men." B-105

 

 

 

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THE GREAT TRIBULATION
SHOWN IN THE FLOOD AND DESTROYING OF SODOM

 

 

"Biblical Comments" on Mt 24:37,38:

 

But as in the days .. Not the coming, but the 'presence' after arrival
Of Noah's were ...... Before the Flood
So shall also .......... Before the time of trouble
For as they ............ The world in general
Were eating, etc. ... Pursuing the ordinnary, proper affairs of life, ignorant

                                 of the impending catastrophe
To the ark .............. Type of Christ and the power in Him which replenish

                                 and reorganize society

 

 

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"Biblical Comments" on Mt 24:36; Mk 13:32:

 

That day and hour ... When the Kingdom shall be set up
Knoweth no man ... At the time the Lord was speaking
                                  "But the wise shall understand"
Neither the Son ...... It does not say the Son never will know

 

 

 

 

"Biblical Comments" on Mt 24:39:

 

And knew not ............ Were ignorant of the coming srtorm

                                     and disbelived Noah’s testimony
Took them all away ... Intimating that the great catastrophe, corresponding to the flood,

                                      is to occur in the end of the Gospel Age.
                                     The threatened catastrophe will be anarchy.

 

 

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"Biblical Comments" on Lk 21:36:

 

Watch ye .. Watch yourselves and also the Word of prophecy.
                   Watch always watchful for the evidence of my parousia,

                   because the time will come when it will be very important to know it.
                   So that when the due time comes you may be one of the wise ones
                   Watching, will serve as an antidote on World Influences

 

 

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So shall be ... "Notice, that the comparison is not between the coming of Noah and the coming of our Lord, nor between the coming of the flood and the coming of our Lord. The coming of Noah is not referred to at all; neither is the coming of our Lord referred to; for, as already stated, parousia does not mean coming, but presence. The contrast, then, is between the time of the presence of Noah among the people 'before the flood,' and the time of the presence of Christ in the world, at his second advent, before the extreme trouble of the Day of the Lord with which this age ends.

 

And though the people were wicked in Noah's day, before the flood, and will be wicked in the time of our Lord's presence, before the trouble comes upon them, yet this is not the point of comparison or likeness to which our Lord refers; for wickedness has abounded in every age. The point of comparison is stated clearly, and is readily seen if we read critically: The people, except the members of Noah's family, were ignorant of the coming storm, and unbelieving as to the testimony of Noah and his family, and hence they 'knew not'; and this is the point of comparison." B-161

 

 

 

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A reminder of the connection already given:

 

The number of Hebrew words contained in God's words to Noah, recorded in Gen 6:13-21 and 7:1-4 are 198. This number shows 1980 as the date of the Great Tribulation on a scale of 1:10.

 

 

198  x  10  =  1980

 

 

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The revelation of the Lord's Presence and the coming of the antitypical Flood will happen at the same time.

 

 

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The above compilation tells us that the all-knowing Father shows us ahead of time the exact date of the Great Tribulation and the Epiphany of Christ's Presence. This is the same situation as prevailed just before the destruction of the first world, when God revealed to Noah the time of the flood and the need to hide in the ark (Gen 7:1-4).

 

 

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"As in the days of Noah the world went on with its affairs as usual, not in the least disconcerted, and without the slightest faith in the preaching of Noah with reference to the coming flood, so in the early part of the Day of the Lord, the world, having no faith in the announcement of his presence and of the impending trouble, will go on as usual, giving no heed whatever to any such preaching until, in the great flood of trouble, the old world – the old order of things – goes down, passes away, preparatory to the full establishment of the new order, the Kingdom of God under the whole heavens – "As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days [of the presence] of the Son of man." B-143

 

 

 

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The destruction that the world took uderwent in Noah's day is described in the Greek text as: Ho Kataclusmos. On the other hand, the destruction suffered by Sodom, Gomorrah and the surrounding cities is described in the Greek text with the word: He Katastrofe. When invoked by our Lord, these two events are a picture of the end of "this evil age" (2 Pet 2:6; Gal 1:4).

 

 

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Cataclysm and catastrophe are equivalent to the third woe that Elijah saw on Mount Horeb as fire (Rev 11:14; 1 Kgs 19:12).

 

 

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The word "Woe" is translation the Greek word "ouai" into English and includes not only righteous anger but also compassion and sorrow. It reflects the atmosphere of a triple painful plague that affects the modern world. It is the plow of various crises, tragedies and wars that will plow the role of this world, to prepare it for the sowing in the future new age.

 

 

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The beginning of the third woe, in which the Lord in a special way will take over the control of the world, will be the revelation of his presence. This great event is also shown in the picture of the destruction of the first world in the flood and the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah.

 

 

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