01A.02. The Tribulation Defined
2. The Tribulation Defined The Tribulation is the cataclysmic seven year period which precedes the Second Advent of our Lord Jesus Christ. It comprises the final seven years of the Church Age as well as the final seven years of the Jewish Age (Daniel 9:24-27). As its primary name indicates, the Tribulation will be a period of intense judgment and severe trial – judgment from God against the unbelieving world, and persecution for believers at the hands of our adversary the devil and his earthly representative, antichrist (Isaiah 24:1-6; Isaiah 26:20-21; Jeremiah 23:19-20; Jeremiah 30:23-24; Daniel 8:19; Daniel 11:36; 2 Peter 3:10).
A. The Tribulation: Derived from the root thlib (θλιβ), meaning "to exert pressure", the Greek word thlipsis (θλῖψις) is used commonly in secular Greek for discomfort, extreme difficulty, and, in general, physical and emotional pressures of every sort. In scripture too, the word is not restricted to being a technical term for the future time of distress we call the Tribulation, but often refers to personal tribulation here and now (cf. John 16:21; John 16:33). However, thlipsis is the most common term employed to designate the final, intense trial of human history which we have come to call the Tribulation (Matthew 24:21; Matthew 24:29; Mark 13:19; Mark 13:24; cf. Daniel 12:1).
B. The Great Tribulation: Scripture also distinguishes between the Tribulation as a whole (i.e., the entire seven year period of the apocalypse) and "the Great Tribulation", a term which properly refers to second half of this period (i.e., the final three and a half years before the return of our Lord Jesus Christ). The Great Tribulation will be the time of greatest pressure and intensity of persecution in human history as the Great Apostasy of the first half is replaced by the Great Persecution of the second half (Matthew 24:21; Revelation 7:14).
C. The Apocalypse: The book of Revelation is sometimes entitled "the Apocalypse" (Revelation 1:1), since "apocalypse" is an English transliteration of the Greek word which means "revelation" or "unveiling" (i.e., apokalypsis, ἀποκάλυψις). However, the full Greek title of the book is "the Revelation of Jesus Christ", and it is well to note that it is Jesus Christ who is unveiled to the world in all His glory when He returns at the end of the Tribulation (Luke 17:30; 1 Corinthians 1:7; 2 Thessalonians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:7; 1 Peter 1:13; 1 Peter 4:13; Revelation 1:1). At that time, we, His bride, will be unveiled with Him (Romans 8:19; cf. Romans 16:25-26; Galatians 3:23; Ephesians 3:5-6). The term "apocalypse" or "revelation", therefore, is truly focused on the end of the Tribulation and our blessed hope of resurrection and reunion with our Lord (1 Corinthians 1:7-8; 2 Thessalonians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:7; Revelation 1:1).
D. The Time of Jacob’s Trouble: This phrase in Jeremiah 30:7 is a clear reference to the Tribulation as the context indicates. It will be a time like no other (Jeremiah 30:7), but one followed by liberation (Jeremiah 30:8), the rule of the Messiah (Jeremiah 30:9), and the regathering of the nation (Jeremiah 30:10).
E. Daniel’s 70th Week: The final "seven" in the vision of the seventy sevens (or "weeks" of years) given to Daniel (Daniel 9:20-27) is a clear reference to the Tribulation. In the middle of the final week of years, for example, the "abomination of desolation" is set up in the temple by antichrist ("the prince who is coming", Daniel 9:26; cf. Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14).
F. The Hour of Testing: Because of their faithful service, the Philadelphia generation of the Church would not pass through the Tribulation (Revelation 3:10).
G. Other Passages: There are also many other places in scripture where the Tribulation is referenced without the use of specific terminology (e.g., Genesis 49:18; Daniel 8:17-19; Isaiah 2:2; Acts 2:17; 1 Timothy 4:1; 2 Timothy 3:1; James 3:5; 2 Peter 3:3-7; Jude 1:17-18).