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The Tribulation (or "''Great Tribulation''") is an event referred to in the ) and other passages. In the Futurism view of Christian Eschatology , the Tribulation is a relatively short period of time where believers will experience worldwide persecution and be purified and strengthened by it. This view was introduced to the modern church by John Nelson Darby , the father of Dispensationalism , became widely accepted through the notes in the Scofield Reference Bible of 1909, and was recently popularized through the novel Left Behind Series . In the Christian Preterist view the Tribulation took place in the past when Roman legions destroyed Jerusalem and its temple in 70 CE, and it affected the Jewish people rather than all mankind. This is a view that is growing in influence among certain scholars and theologians. In the Christian Historicist view also, the Tribulation came upon the Jewish people, beginning in 70 CE. An historicist approach was taken by Martin Luther and John Calvin , and prevailed among Protestants from the Reformation until the rise of dispensationalism. Some modern historicists see the Tribulation as continuing upon the Jews through the centuries, perhaps culminating in the Holocaust , and ending with the restoration of the state of Israel or the return of Jerusalem to Jewish control. THE DISPENSATIONALIST OR FUTURIST VIEW While it is considered a period of immense suffering and sacrifice, greater than anything before in history, believers are promised strong faith and powers to help them endure and prevail. Persecution is attributed to the believers rebelling against the Antichrist and his regime. The Tribulation is generally thought to occur before the Second Coming of Jesus and the End Of The World . Some Christians believe that it will last seven years in all, usually divided into two periods of 3.5 years each. Others believe it is for only a 3.5-year period. The time period for these beliefs is based on the phrases found several places in the book of Daniel , "time, times, and half a time," interpreted as "a year, two years, and half a year," and the book of Revelation , "a thousand two hundred and threescore days" and "forty and two months" (the prophetic month averaging 30 days, hence 1260/30 = 42 months or 3.5 years). Tribulation events Among Christians who hold a futurist view of the Tribulation, there are differing views about what will happen to Christians during the Tribulation:
Some—including many Roman Catholic theologians—do not believe in a "time of trouble" period as usually described by tribulationists, but rather that there will be a near utopic period led by the Antichrist . Others, unable to form an opinion or simply desiring to remain non-divisive, describe themselves as pantribulationists believing that everything will "pan out in the end." Judgments Here is a list of judgements mentioned in the book of Revelation, some of which (usually attributed to the seven trumpets) occur during the Tribulation period: Seven Seal Judgments
(Note: The Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse , are Symbols for the first four seal judgements. They represent events as seen in a Vision by the John of Patmos. As they are allegorical, and no horsemen are expected to be seen galloping during the Tribulation .) Seven Trumpet Judgments
Seven Bowl Judgments
(Note: Some believe that the seal and trumpet judgments will occur during the first half of the tribulation. The bowl judgments will occur during the second half, as the first one refers to those with the mark of the beast. The mark will not be implemented until the Antichrist dies and resurrects, and then defiles the Temple; and this will happen at precisely the mid-point of the tribulation. Thus, the bowl judgments will be more severe, and will last longer than any of the previous ones. (Others argue that the seals generally cover man's history from after the first coming of Christ up to the End Time (although several seem to go well into this period), with the trumpet judgements generally covering the Tribulation, and the most severe judgements — the Bowls reserved for the Wrath of God period — preceding the Millennium .) God is the way the truth and the life, and those that believe in him will never die but have eternal life! Trust in him and you will have forfillment. Trust him, and all that he says. THE PRETERIST VIEW Christian preterists believe that the Tribulation was a divine judgment visited upon the Jews for their sins, including rejection of Jesus as the promised Messiah . It occurred entirely in the past, around 70 CE/AD when the armed forces of the Roman Empire destroyed Jerusalem and its temple. A preterist discussion of the Tribulation has its focus on the Gospels, in particular the prophetic passages in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21, rather than on the Apocalypse or Revelation of John. (Preterists apply much of the symbolism in the Revelation to Rome, the Cæsars , and their persecution of Christians, rather than to the Tribulation upon the Jews.) Jesus' warning in Matthew 24:34 that "this generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled" is tied back to his similar warning to the Scribes and the Pharisees that their judgment would "come upon this generation" (Matt. 23:36), that is, during the first century rather than at a future time long after the Scribes and Pharisees had passed from the scene. The destruction in 70 CE/BC occurred within a forty-year generation from the time when Jesus gave that discourse. The judgment on the Jewish nation was executed by the Roman legions, "the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet" (Matt. 24:15), which Luke presented to his Gentile audience, unfamiliar with Daniel, as "armies" surrounding Jerusalem to cause its "desolation." (Luke 21:20) Since Matthew 24 begins with Jesus visiting the Jerusalem temple and pronouncing that "there shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down" (vs. 3), preterists see nothing in Scripture to indicate that another Jewish temple will ever be built. The prophecies were all fulfilled on the then-existing temple that Jesus spoke about and that was subsequently destroyed within that generation. THE HISTORICIST VIEW The historicist view of the Tribulation is similar to that of preterists in applying it to the Jews, rather than to a future judgment on the whole world. Armageddon will bring God's wrath against all mankind, but the Tribulation is confined to the Jewish nation. Historicists see Matthew's reference to "great tribulation" (Matt. 24:21) as parallel to Luke's reference to "great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people," the Jews. (Luke 21:23) Hence they conclude that it was fulfilled on the Jewish people alone. However, unlike preterists who see fulfillment entirely in the distant past, historicists are prone to see prophecy fulfilled down through the centuries and even in today's world. Thus, instead of expecting a single Antichrist to rule the earth during a future Tribulation period, Martin Luther , John Calvin and the other Reformers saw the Antichrist as a present feature in the world of their time, fulfilled in the Papacy and the Islamic invasion of Europe. Similarly, some modern historicists see the Tribulation on the Jews as beginning in 70 CE and continuing for centuries, covering the same time span as "the times of the Gentiles" during which "Jerusalem shall be trodden down by the Gentiles." (Luke 21:24) This view would have it encompass not only the death of a million Jews at the hands of the Roman legions, but also the death of six million Jews in the Holocaust . The Tribulation would have ended, according to this understanding, at the restoration of the nation of Israel in 1948 or at the return of Jerusalem to Jewish control in 1967. SOURCES
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