When should the "Great Tribulation" occur?

 

BACKGROUND SCRIPTURES 
IN 
THE GOSPELS

In the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus was asked by His disciples about the signs that would accompany the end of the age and time of His return. Since they were on the Mount of Olives at the time, the conversation is referred to as the "Olivet Discourse". You can find that discourse in (Matthew 24-25; Mark 13; and Luke 21), with those portions relevant to the Great Tribulation reading as follows:

 

(Matthew 24:1-3)
1 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.
2 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." 
3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" 

 NKJV

Jesus' response at first described the general nature of troubles leading up to the End Times, then He focused their attention on a time when an Abomination of Desolation and Great Tribulation would occur,  seemingly  just prior to His apocalyptic return.

 

(Matthew 24:15-30)
15 "Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation', spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand), 
16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 
17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 
18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 
19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 
20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 
21 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. 
22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened. 
23 Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There!' do not believe it. 
24 For false Christ's and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 
25 See, I have told you beforehand. 
26 Therefore if they say to you, 'Look, He is in the desert!' do not go out; or 'Look, He is in the inner rooms!' do not believe it. 
27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 
28 For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together. 
 29 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 
30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 

(Luke 21:20-27)
20 "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. 
21 Then let those in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. 
22 For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. 
23 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. 
24 And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. 
 25 "And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; 
26 men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of heaven will be shaken. 
27 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 

 NKJV

The Matthew and Mark scriptures pertaining to the time of the Abomination of Desolation and Great Tribulation are almost identical, so only the Matthew text is provided above. The Luke scripture that relates directly to those in Matthew and Mark is shown because it is worded differently. Although it omits the terms Abomination of Desolation and Great Tribulation, it speaks of a military siege against Jerusalem followed by an extended period of distress to befall the Jewish people, then also concludes with the Lord's return in power and great glory. Thus it deals with the same overall time period in question.


CONCORDANT TEXTS DEFINE THE TIMEFRAME FOR
THE "ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION"
AND "GREAT TRIBULATION"

Even though the above texts contain no dates nor do they give any information regarding the absolute time of occurrence for these two dramatic events, it is still possible to glean a very important bit of information about their relative timing by examining their overall position in the Discourse.

 

(Luke 21.24)
And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. 

NKJV

Consequently, this verse tells us that everything preceding those "celestial" effects in all three of the Gospel accounts must occur during the Times of the Gentiles, since all three of the accounts are chronological, and those linked verses pertaining to "celestial" effects must all be referenced to the same time. Accordingly, since both the Abomination of Desolation and the Great Tribulation are numbered among the events that precede those "celestial" effects, they too must occur during the Times of the Gentiles.

 

CONCLUDING REMARKS

Now while this rationale does nothing in itself to provide a specific date for the Abomination of Desolation and Great Tribulation, the result is very important for three reasons:

  1. Since both the Abomination of Desolation and Great Tribulation should occur during the Times of the Gentiles, and since the Body of Christ remains on earth until the completion of the Times of the Gentiles, these events should not be associated with God's judgement or wrath upon mankind, because the Body of Christ has been promised that they will not be subject to God's judgement or wrath.
(Romans 8:1)
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

(I Thessalonians 5:1-11)
5:1 But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. 
 2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. 
 3 For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. 
 4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 
 5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. 
6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. 
7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 
8 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. 
 9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 
10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. 
 11 Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing. 

NKJV

  1. Since these dreaded events must both occur during the Times of the Gentiles, we are free to search for possible occasions for their fulfillment, even in history.

  2. Finally, the Body of Christ may suffer "tribulation" during their earthly sojourn, but never "judgement or wrath". As such, the word used in the previous Gospel texts is in harmony with Bible lexicons that define the distinctions between "tribulation" and "judgement or wrath" in the following way:

"Thilipsis" is the word used in the previous Gospel texts for "tribulation". It means to crush, press, or squeeze, conveying the idea of grievous affliction or distress. Jesus told His disciples that "in the world you will have 'tribulation', but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." (John 16.33)

Conversely, "judgement" (krino) and "wrath" (orge), when applied to actions coming from God, convey the idea of condemnation or punishment from an angry God who is responding to mankind's continuing willful disobedience against Him. Of course, this is to be vented upon disobedient mankind during the latter phases of the End Times, but not before the Body of Christ is removed from the earth.


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