It's Not Fair that
God’s People Have to Go
through the Great Tribulation!
There are some people
after looking over our web site, have
to say out of Christian love and duty
that our views on God and the Great
Tribulation are totally wrong. This
particular person says that a God of
love will not permit His children to
suffer persecution and death during
the Great Tribulation. He also says,
start reading your Bible and stop
distributing this garbage. Yes, a
great tribulation is coming upon the
world, but it won’ t touch
God’s people. They will be taken
to Heaven before it begins. Please
read Luke 21:36 and get a life. The
people who deserve God’s wrath
are evil people, not the saints.
My friend please let
me begin by saying you are free to
believe whatever you want to believe
about the Great Tribulation. However,
I hope you do not overlook this
truth: Prophetic beliefs, no matter
how sincere and dogmatic they may be,
may not necessarily align with
reality. For example, do you remember
that almost the entire world’s
population refused to believe that a
flood was coming in Noah’s day?
What effect did their disbelief have
on the event? Zero. Therefore, we
must be careful to align our
prophetic beliefs with all that
God has said on a given topic.
As I read it, the Bible indicates
that God will permit His children to
suffer persecution and even death
during the Great Tribulation, but it
is reassuring to know that God’s
children will not have to face their
adversaries with human strength. God
will pour out His Spirit on His
people and this will empower His
children to deal with the conflict
that is coming. Even more, through
their response to the persecution and
their personal testimony, God will be
glorified. I may not be able to
change your view or attitude on this
topic, but I may be able to help
someone who is struggling with this
question. So, here’s a short
response to your comments. Please
consider the following six points:
1. Just
before His death, Jesus told His
disciples: “All this I have
told you so that you will not go
astray. They will put you out of the
synagogue; in fact, a time
is coming when anyone who kills you
will think he is offering a service
to God. They will do such things
because they have not known the
Father or me. I have told
you this; so that when the time comes
you will remember that I warned you.
I did not tell you this at first
because I was with you.” (John
16:1-4, emphasis mine) The words of
Jesus are perfectly clear and a
casual survey of Church history
leaves no wiggle room. Early
Christians, such as Stephen, boldly
stood for the cause of Christ
and they suffered to the point of
death for their faith in Jesus. (Acts
6) History indicates that nine of the
twelve disciples were martyrs for
their faith. So, we should not be
surprised that Jesus allowed His
disciples to die as martyrs. Jesus
said, “All men will hate
you because of me, but he
that stands firm to the end will be
saved.” (Mark 13:13) “Remember
the words I spoke to you: ‘No
servant is greater than his
master.’ If they
persecuted me, they will persecute
you also. …” (John
15:20)
2. The
book of Revelation plainly states who
will be persecuted during the Great
Tribulation. “The [composite]
beast was given a mouth to utter
proud words and blasphemies and to
exercise his authority for forty-two
months… He was given power
to make war against the saints and to
conquer them. And he was
given authority over every tribe,
people, language and nation.” (Revelation
13:5,7, insertion and emphasis mine)
Jesus knows the future. He knows what
will befall each saint during the
Great Tribulation and He tells His
children not to worry about it. He
said, “If anyone is to go
into captivity, into captivity he
will go. If anyone is to be killed by
the sword, with the sword he will be
killed. This [suffering]
calls for patient endurance and
faithfulness on the part of the
saints.” (Revelation
13:8) So, the book of Revelation
leaves no wiggle room. The saints are
going to be persecuted during the
Great Tribulation.
3. Some
people say that it is not fair that
God should put the final generation
through the Great Tribulation when
many Christians have lived and died
without having to endure persecution
and torture for their faith. This
argument only arises when history is
not consulted. If we go back and
review the past 2,000 years of
Christian history, we find that only
a very small segment of Christians
escaped persecution and torture for
their faith. This small segment
appeared after 1776 and they were
fortunate enough to live in a nation
that was founded on the principle of
separation between church and state.
However, prior to the
formation of the United States and
the establishment of religious
freedom, Protestants in Europe were
persecuted and tortured for 1,260
years by the Catholic Church, and
prior to the authority of the church
at Rome, Christians were constantly
persecuted and tortured throughout
the Roman empire. Form the time of
Christ to the present day; freedom
from persecution for Christians is an
anomaly. Actually, the question of
fairness should be inverted. We
should be asking, “Why should a
large percentage of Christians today
be free of persecution and torture
when history says that Christians
have been objects of hatred for
nearly 2,000 years?” This
question is addressed in my
friends’ book, A Study on the
Seven Seals and The 144,000. Please
see Chapter 4. www.wake-up.org/Revelation/RevSeg4.htm
4. Some
people use Luke 21:36 to prove that
God’s children will escape the
Great Tribulation. Jesus said, “Be
always on the watch, and pray you may
be able to escape all that is about
to happen, and that you may be able
to stand before the Son of Man.”
This verse requires some
explanation because the intended
meaning is often distorted.
When we review all of
Luke 21, we find that Jesus was
talking to His disciples about (a)
the upcoming destruction of Jerusalem
in A.D. 70, and (b), His return at
the end of the world. “For
this is the time of punishment [predicted
to befall Jerusalem] in
fulfillment of all that has been
written [about this evil city]. How
dreadful it will be in those days for
pregnant women and nursing mothers
[because mothers and child will
perish together]! There will be
great distress in the land and wrath
against this people [the Jews]. They
will fall by the sword and will be
taken prisoners to all the nations.
Jerusalem will [in ruins] trampled
on by the Gentiles until [the
very end of the world, when] the
times of the Gentiles are
fulfilled.” (Luke 21:22-24,
insertions mine)
Now, consider
Jesus’ words concerning His
return at the end of the world. “There
will be signs in the sun, moon and
stars. On the earth, nations will be
in anguish and perplexity at the
roaring and tossing of the sea. Men
will faint from terror, apprehensive
of what is coming on the world, for
the heavenly bodies will be shaken.
At that time they will see the Son of
Man coming in a cloud with power and
great glory. When these things begin
to take place, stand up and lift your
heads, because your redemption is
drawing near.” (Luke
21:25-28)
So, Jesus discussed
the end of Jerusalem and the end of
the world within the same context
because there are ominous parallels.
Jesus closed His remarks with a
parable. “…Look at the
fig tree and all the trees. When they
sprout leaves, you can see yourselves
and know that summer is near. Even
so, when you see these things
happening, you know that the kingdom
of God is near.” (Luke
21:29-31) Then He said, “Be
careful, or your hearts will be
weighed down with dissipation,
drunkenness and the anxieties of
life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly
like a trap. For it will
come upon all those who
live on the face of the whole earth.
Be always on watch, and pray that
you may be able to escape
all that is about to happen, and that
you may be able to stand before the
Son of Man.” (Luke 21:34-36)
Jesus is not indicating that
Christians can escape the Great
Tribulation. No, the end of the world
will affect everyone living on the
face of the whole Earth! No one will
be able to escape it. So, Jesus is
telling His disciples to consider
themselves blessed if they live at
any other time when these things and
events impact the whole world.
Consider this verse: “Since
you [the church at Philadelphia] have
kept my command to endure patiently,
I will also keep you from [through]
the hour of trial that is going to
come upon the whole world to test
those who live on the earth.” (Revelation
3:10) Some people read this verse and
they conclude that the church at
Philadelphia [whoever that is] will
not have to go through the Great
tribulation because the Greek
preposition ‘ek can be
translated in various ways, including
“from” and
“through.” But, using the
word “from” in this verse
makes no sense since the other six
churches will have to endure the
Great Tribulation. Consider these
words directed to the church at
Smyrna: “Do not be afraid of
what you are about to suffer. I tell
you, the devil will put some of you
in prison to test you, and you will
suffer persecution for ten days. Be
faithful, even to the point of death,
and I will give you the crown of
life.” (Revelation 2:10)
Why would Jesus tell the believers at
Smyrna to be faithful to the point of
death and then tell the believers in
Philadelphia they will escape the
Great Tribulation? This is a
rhetorical question because the
premise is false. Jesus does not
favor one church above the other.
Basically, Jesus encourages the
church in Philadelphia and the church
in Smyrna with the same message: Stand
firm in your faith, even to the point
of death, and I will give you eternal
life.
5. Jesus
knew that His disciples would suffer
persecution and death. Jesus’
request to the Father occurred just
before His crucifixion: “I
have given them your word and the
world has hated them, for they are
not of the world any more than I am
of the world. My prayer is
not that you take them out of the
world but that you protect them from
the evil one. They are not
of the world, even as I am not of
it.” (John 17:14-16)
6. Jesus
warned His disciples, “Be on
your guard against men; they will
hand you over to the local councils
and flog you in the synagogues. On my
account you will be brought before
governors and kings as witnesses to
them and to the Gentiles. But
when they arrest you, do not worry
about what to say or how to say it.
At that time you will be given what
to say, for it will not be you
speaking, but the Spirit of your
Father speaking through you.
‘Brother will betray brother to
death, and a father his child;
children will rebel against their
parents and have them put to death.
All men will hate you because of me,
but he who stands firm to the end
will be saved.’” (Matthew
10:17-22)
In closing, the Great
tribulation will be
Christianity’s finest hour. The
fires of persecution will purge the
Christian movement of much dross, and
after the refiner’s fire has
accomplished this purification, this
dark world will be able to clearly
see the difference between those who
love righteousness and truth versus
those who love evil, lust and lies.
God has predetermined that good and
evil will be clearly presented during
the Great Tribulation. By putting the
whole world in a position of
suffering, many who are now blinded
by prejudice, lies, ignorance, and
hatred will see the light. They will
repent and choose salvation through
Jesus Christ. In other words, God
will first clean house and then He
will use the faithfulness of genuine
saints to save millions of people who
at the present have nothing but
contempt for Christianity. No,
that’s what I call a God of
love!
