Austin Bible Church
Old Testament Prophecy
The Tribulation was prophesied in the Old Testament. Jer. 30:7-8; Zech. 14:1-9; Dan. 9:26-27; Isaiah 34:1-6; Isaiah 63:1-6; Dan. 11:40-46; Ezek. 38-39; Zech. 12:1-3.
“'Alas! for that day is great, There is none like it; And it is the time of Jacob's distress, But he will be saved from it. 'It shall come about on that day,' declares the LORD of hosts, 'that I will break his yoke from off their neck and will tear off their bonds; and strangers will no longer make them their slaves.” (Jeremiah 30:7-8, NASB)
“Behold, a day is coming for the LORD when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city.” (Zechariah 14:1-2, NASB)
“And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one.” (Zechariah 14:9, NASB)
“"Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. "And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate."” (Daniel 9:26-27, NASB)
“The burden of the word of the LORD concerning Israel. Thus declares the LORD who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him, "Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. "It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it.” (Zechariah 12:1-3, NASB)
The Tribulation was also prophesied in Daniel 11:36, where “the king” refers to the Jewish dictator of the Tribulation. The “God of gods” refers to the Lord Jesus Christ. The “indignation” refers to the Tribulation. The Jewish dictator of the Tribulation will claim to be the Messiah and he will be successful in this deceit until the end of the Tribulation. Nothing that Satan tries in his opposition to the plan of God will change one thing in God’s plan. It will unfold exactly and in detail just as God decreed in eternity past.
“"Then the king will do as he pleases, and he will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will speak monstrous things against the God of gods; and he will prosper until the indignation is finished, for that which is decreed will be done.” (Daniel 11:36, NASB)
In Daniel 11:37, the Jewish dictator of the Tribulation will consider himself above God and above all other gods in human history. The Jewish dictator will even try to pass himself off as God himself. Many will believe him. He will also go by other names such as “the false prophet,” “the false Messiah,” “the beast out of the Land,” and the “man of lawlessness” and “son of destruction.” 2 Thess. 2:3; Rev. 16:13.
“"He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the desire of women, nor will he show regard for any other god; for he will magnify himself above them all.” (Daniel 11:37, NASB)
“Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,” (2 Thessalonians 2:3, NASB)
“And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs;” (Revelation 16:13, NASB)
Our Lord’s Prophecy of the Tribulation
The Tribulation was prophesied by our Lord in the Olivet Discourse of Matthew 24-25, in most of His parables, and by John in Revelation 6 through 19.
“As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" And Jesus answered and said to them, "See to it that no one misleads you.” (Matthew 24:3-4, NASB)
In Matthew 24:3-4, our Lord was instructing His disciples directly and Church Age believers indirectly that we should be alert to false teachers and false doctrine. You remain alert by persistence in learning and applying Bible doctrine in the spiritual life. Epignosis doctrine in the right lobe of your soul and the enabling power of the Holy Spirit are the only means of discerning false teachers and false doctrine. Believers who are not consistent in residing in the spiritual life (carnality) will always believe the public lie and distort the spiritual life into something that is false.
In Matthew 24:5, our Lord said there will be a trend of false messiahs that will deceive many. The “many” refers to believers.
“"For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will mislead many.” (Matthew 24:5, NASB)
In Matthew 24:6, there will be a trend of increasing warfare. The “end” refers to the end of the Tribulation. You cannot stop wars. They will continue to occur prior to the millennial reign of Christ. All you can do is be prepared for war as a nation.
“"You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end.” (Matthew 24:6, NASB)
In Matthew 24:7, “nation will rise against nation” refers to the red horse of Revelation 6:4. “Kingdom against kingdom” refers to the white horse of Revelation 6:2. “Famines” refers to the black horse of Revelation 6:5 and the pale or “ashen” horse of Revelation 6:8.
“"For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes.” (Matthew 24:7, NASB)
“And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him.” (Revelation 6:4, NASB)
“I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.” (Revelation 6:2, NASB)
“When He broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, "Come." I looked, and behold, a black horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand.” (Revelation 6:5, NASB)
“I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.” (Revelation 6:8, NASB)
In Matthew 24:8, our Lord indicates that the general trends of human history do not by themselves refer to the Tribulation. He referred to them as “merely the beginning of birth pangs.” By analogy the far more intense birth pains are the Tribulation.
“"But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.” (Matthew 24:8, NASB)
The “birth pangs” will continue until the Rapture of the Church and will intensify considerably during the Tribulation. Warfare, economic depression, natural disasters, and death throughout the Church Age are false signs of the Tribulation. These are the trends of human history.
New Testament Prophecy
The Tribulation will be the greatest period of intensified anti-Semitism such that Jews will betray and hate other Jews. Matt. 24:9-10,
“"Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. "At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another.” (Matthew 24:9-10, NASB)
The Tribulation will bring many false prophets, great lawlessness and people’s love “will grow cold.” Matt. 24:5; Matt. 24:11-12; Matt. 24:23-26.
“"For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will mislead many.” (Matthew 24:5, NASB)
“"Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. "Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold.” (Matthew 24:11-12, NASB)
“"Then if anyone says to you, 'Behold, here is the Christ,' or 'There He is,' do not believe him. "For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. "Behold, I have told you in advance. "So if they say to you, 'Behold, He is in the wilderness,' do not go out, or, 'Behold, He is in the inner rooms,' do not believe them.” (Matthew 24:23-26, NASB)
The Tribulation will also be the greatest period of Internationalism and ecumenical religion in all of human history. It will also be a period when believers will make the greatest use of faith-rest in the believers’ spiritual life in human history.
The Tribulation will be time of dictatorship resulting in power politics. It will be a time of warfare, famine and inflation. It will be a time of death and martyrdom of believers. There will be unusual natural and celestial disturbances. The spheres of influence will be dominant with certain personalities being dominant. The Tribulation will be worse in the Holy Land than in other places on earth.
Divine principles evident in the Tribulation will include grace before judgment, the Church Age ends before the Tribulation, and intensified evangelism will be provided by God before the judgments in the Tribulation. Matt. 24:14.
“"This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14, NASB)
All judgment will be to bring the unbeliever to a realization of their need for salvation. The only time a believer will get involved in these Tribulation judgments is if they get involved in religion while religion is being judged. Martyred believers will be killed by religion, but not by any judgment from God in the Tribulation.