6th Seal 4 - The Great Tribulation

(Mat 24:21-23) For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. -22. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

Our subject today is The Great Tribulation. The questions that we will consider are: 1. What does our Lord mean by Great Tribulation? 2. When is this Great Tribulation that our Lord is talking about? and 3. When Tribulation arrives, what happens to you?

1. Great Tribulation: afflicted, anguish, burdened, persecution, trouble. The fact that Jesus told us that tribulation would be great lets us know that it would be overwhelming and over powering. He had previously taught us that all who will live for Him would suffer tribulation (persecution).

(John 16:32-33) Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. -33. These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

So when we live for Jesus we can expect to have _tribulation_ in the world and we should not be overtaken by it but remember that our Lord overcame the world and that through His power, we too can overcome the world. We can overcome any evil that attempts to coerce, force or deceive us into forsaking our Lord. Jesus warned us that living a righteous life through His power would lead to tribulation.

(Mat 10:16-39) Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

Can you imagine the position of being sheep in the midst of wolves? Most of us have never witnessed such an event. I remember in my younger days of hearing a pack of dogs attacking a flock of sheep. I remember the bleating of the sheep as they were being torn asunder and the barking of the dogs as they enjoyed their sport. To think of us as Christians suffering such a fate causes me to cringe and yet our Lord told us it would happen. Therefore, we should be prepared for such events. Remember that when you fight against evil, the Devil is not going to simply lay down and give up. No, indeed, he is going to fight with all the strength that he can muster and he is going to fight through those men that he has control of.

-17. But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; -18. And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. (This has been going on for at least 1900 years. You can read in the Book of Acts how the Apostle Paul was brought before the Governor, Felix and before the King Agrippa. You can read in history of the millions that have been brought before the leaders of nations and empires to be judged of them. Many suffered such things as torture by being slowly pulled apart on the rack, burnt at the stake, tossed to the lions, cut apart with the sword, and any other heinous methods that man is capable of devising. We are hard pressed to think that any tribulation of the future could possibly be any greater or worse than what has taken place since our Lord warned us of it. The important thing is for you as a Christian to expect tribulation and to be prepared for it. Jesus, goes on now instructing us how to prepare for it.) -19. But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. -20. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. (We need to be prepared to trust in the Holy Spirit of God for our direction and even for the words that we should speak. Remember that your Lord overcame the world and through His power you too can overcome.) -21. And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. (Now it is not a pleasant thought to think that you may be required to die for the cause of the Gospel and yet it is a possibility that you must consider. How important is Jesus to you? Only you can decide that as only I can decide for me. It is a possibility that we all as Christians must be prepared to face. This becomes especially important in some of the more troubled spots of our world. You may now enjoy relative peace and safety from government oppression. But there are places in this world where such is not the case and to testify that you are a follower of Christ would put you in jeopardy.) -22. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. -23. But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come. -24. The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. -25. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household? -26. Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. -27. What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. -28. And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. -29. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. -30. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. -31. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. -32. Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. -33. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. -34. Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. -35. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. -36. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. -37. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. -38. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. -39. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

2. When is the great tribulation that our Lord was talking about in Matt. 24?

(Mat 24:1-36) And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to show him the buildings of the temple. -2. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. -3. And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? (These things be - Jesus had just told them that the temple at Jerusalem would be destroyed. This was a magnificent building and they wondered at His prediction that it would be destroyed and so they asked when? Also they asked him two additional questions.) and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? (Now because Jesus is answering three questions, we need to sort out which question is being answered for He did not specify. And so we see that He addressed the last question concerning the end of the world first and then the first question which we are discussing today - when shall the destruction of the temple take place?) -4. And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. (from here thru verse 14 He talks of the end of the world and then beginning with verse 15, He talks about the destruction of Jerusalem): -15. When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) -16. Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: -17. Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: -18. Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. -19. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! -20. But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: -21. For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. -22. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

The great tribulation our Lord told us about here was a prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem under the Roman General, Titus which took place some 35 years after our Lord told the disciples that it would in the year 70. It was during this conquest that the temple was completely destroyed. The historian, Josephus, gives us the best account of the warfare that was waged against the Jews and of the conquest of Jerusalem. He describes the suffering as being beyond belief. The suffering was made to be much greater because of the uniqueness of the situation. The Jews had rebelled against the Romans and they were determined to fight to the death to regain their independence. On top of that the Jews could not agree on who their leaders and high priest would be and as a result while the Roman army surrounded the city, a civil war was raging within between the Jews. The city had food reserves stored that would have lasted a siege of several years but in their fighting among themselves, they burned and destroyed most of the food reserves. As a result thousands of men, women, and children starved to death. There was no escape for the Roman Army had the city surrounded. When any would try to escape, they were killed because some had tried to trick the Roman soldiers by swallowing gold to get it by them. When the soldiers became aware of this, they then killed everyone that came out of the city and cut them open in search of gold that they may have swallowed. So the people were starving within the city and there was no way to surrender and still live. This was the great tribulation.

I will now read from Josephus an account of some of the suffering that took place within the city: Quote: “while I am going to relate a matter of fact, the like to which no history relates, either among the Greeks of Barbarians! It is horrible to speak of it, and incredible when heard. ... There was a certain woman that dwelt beyond Jordan, her name was Mary; her father was Eleazar, of the village Bethezub, which signifies the House of Hyssop. She was eminent for her family and her wealth, and had fled away to Jerusalem with the rest of the multitude, and was with them besieged therein at this time. .. What she had treasured up besides, as also what food she had contrived to save, had been also carried off by the rapacious guard, who came every day running into her house for that purpose. This put the poor woman into a very great passion, and by the frequent reproaches and imprecations she cast at these rapacious villains, se had provoked them to anger against her; but none of them, either out of the indignation she had raised against herself, out of the commiseration of her case, would take away her life; and if she found any food, she perceived her labors were for others, and not for herself; and it now became impossible for her any way to find any more food, while the famine pierced through her very bowels and marrow, when also her passion was fired to a degree beyond the famine itself; nor did she consult with anything but with her passion and the necessity she was in. She then attempted a most unnatural thing; and snatching up her son, who was a child sucking at her breast, she said, “O, thou miserable infant! for whom shall I preserve thee in this war, this famine, and this sedition? As to the war with the Romans, if they preserve our lives, we must be slaves! This famine also will destroy us, even before that slavery comes upon us; - yet are these seditious rouges more terrible than both the other. Come on; be thou my food, and be thou a fury to these seditious varlets and a by-word to the world, which is all that is now wanting to complete the calamity of us Jews.” As soon as she had said this she slew her son; and then roasted him, and ate the one half of him, and kept the other half by her concealed. Upon this the seditious came in presently, and smelling the horrid scent of this food, they threatened her, that they would cut her throat immediately if she did not show them what food she had gotten ready. She replied, that she had saved a very fine portion of it for them; and withal uncovered what was left of her son. Hereupon they were seized with a horror and amazement of mind, and stood astonished at the sight; when she said to them, “This is mine own son; and what hath been done was mine own doing! Come, eat of this food; for I have eaten of it myself! Do not you pretend to be either more tender that a woman, or more compassionate than a mother; but if you be so scrupulous, and do abominate this my sacrifice, as I have eaten the one half, let the rest be reserved for me also.” After which, those men went out trembling, being never so much affrighted at anything as they were at this, and with some difficulty they left the rest of that meat to the mother. Upon which the whole city was full of this horrid action immediately; ..” Vol. I Pg. 443-444.

And so we see that the great tribulation that Jesus prophesied of came to pass. And, although that time of tribulation is past, there have been and are many other times of tribulation in our world. Even as we speak today, there are people starving to death in some parts of our world. Others are suffering the ravages of war. Horrible and inhumane things are being done to people. We thank God for the present time of peace within our country, but we also realize that this is no guarantee from God. The suffering that we as Christians in our nation are called upon to suffer are light things when compared to what others are suffering and to the sufferings of many in time past.

There are in our time preachers and writers that are prophesying of a coming time of tribulation and using Jesus’ warning in Matt. 24 as the basis of their prophecy. There may indeed come times of tribulation on our country as there are in other nations at this present time. However, none of those times of tribulation is the Great Tribulation that Jesus warned us of. That tribulation is clearly past. It took place in AD 70 when the Roman Army destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple was completely destroyed. Not one stone was left upon another as Jesus had prophesied.

3. And now for our third question: When Tribulation arrives, what happens to you?

(Mat 13:20-21) But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

Here in the parable of the sower, Jesus is explaining to us that _tribulation______ will arise because of His word being planted in our hearts and when it does, it will reveal what kind of ground we are. The stony heart is the stony ground. It is the heart of a person that is shallow in their experience with the Lord. They have no depth of love and commitment to the Lord and when persecution comes, they give up and go back to the world of sin. They are offended. Thank God for those that have learned to trust in the Lord, and remain faithful to Him through whatever tribulation Satan brings their way.

(Rev 7:9-17) After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; -10. And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. -11. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, -12. Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. -13. And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? -14. And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. -15. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. -16. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. -17. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

This is a picture of the survivors of great _tribulation. I intend to be among them. You can be one of them too if you will take Jesus as your Saviour, learn to trust Him, and stay faithful to Him regardless of what ever persecution you may have to suffer.

And so we have seen that the great tribulation that Jesus told us about in Matt. 24 was the tribulation suffered by the Jews during the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. We have learned that all Christians suffer persecution and will go through some tribulation. We too can enjoy the same kind of faith in God that the early church had. After all he is still the same Lord and will keep us through all things.