Are We In The Great Tribulation?

There have been some folks that are preaching that we are currently in the great tribulation. The question is are we? Join with me as we search out this answer. Where does the Great Tribulation begin in the book of Revelation? It begins in chapter 6 with the opening of the seals.

 Rev 6:1  And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures like a sound of thunder, saying, Come and see. 
Rev 6:2  And I saw. And behold a white horse! And he sitting on it had a bow. And a crown was given to him, and he went forth conquering and to conquer. 

Many would say there you see we are definitely in the tribulation because the white horse has to be on the loose because we have conquering going on in our world.

I guess they could say the same about Hitler's time or even about the first world war. Guess what? They did. Just because there is conquering going on in the world it does not constitute it as the time of the Great Tribulation. Can the terrible things that are happening today be compared to historical incidents in the past? Yes, and many are. We have witnessed comparably the same type of atrocities in past wars. Hitler slaughtered 6 million Jews. Have we witnessed the same type of atrocity today? No. What does scripture say about the Great Tribulation? Mat 24:21  for then shall be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world to this time; no, nor ever shall be. That is words from the mouth of the Lord Jesus, the Son of God. From that, we can construe that we have not witnessed a worse time, but we have witnessed a time that is equal to or less than has occurred in the world today. Some teach about the trees being burnt up in chapter 8.

They teach that we have never seen the destruction of our forest like we do today. They use Revelation chapter 8 to support their theory about this being a sign we are in the Great Tribulation.      Rev 8:7  The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mixed with blood, and they were cast on the earth. And the third part of trees was burned up, and all green grass was burned up. Some will say, See! A 1/3 of the trees were burned up. We can see that today! Let's take another look at that verse. A 1/3 part of the trees were burned up how? Hail and fire mixed with blood. Some will say that is a metaphor. Is it?

When talking about one of the 10 plagues, did God tell Moses I will send the worst hailstorm that Egypt has ever seen since its beginning? And was it? Yes. It was not a metaphor. When God speaks of a judgment and how it will occur, it occurs as He speaks. God does not speak in metaphors. Also, in verse 7 of chapter 8 there comes something after the trees burning up. A comma. It tells me there is more connected to this statement. What is the something? All the green grass will be burned up. You know I looked out at my lawn and I witnessed green grass in my front yard. So, we can witness that worse things are yet to occur and other things have not occurred. What does that tell us? We are not in the Great Tribulation. Of course, there are things that have to occur before the Great Tribulation.

First and foremost, the rapture. Some call this the Great Escape theory. I would agree with that statement. First, let's take a look at what the Son of God said about the Great escape theory. Luk 17:28  So also as it was in the days of Lot: they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; 

Luk 17:29  but the day Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from the heaven and destroyed them all.

Jesus spoke about days or examples of the time periods. Now, take notice that in regards to the Great Tribulation, Jesus stated that the tribulation would be unlike any other time that had ever been witnessed. However, He spoke about the day of the Great Escape that it would be just like the days of Lot before Lot escaped the city of Sodom they, ate, drank, bought, sold, farmed, built, life was normal as it could be. But, when Lot escaped from the city divine judgment fell upon the city.

What is the Great Tribulation? It is referred to in the Old Testament as the Lord's Day. Why is it the Lord's Day? Because it is the time period of the final divine judgment. Was this great escape foretold? Yes. Gen 18:17  And Jehovah said, Shall I hide from Abraham the thing which I do, Gen 18:20  And Jehovah said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous, 

Gen 18:21  I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which has come to Me. And if not, I will know. Gen 18:23  And Abraham drew near and said, Will You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? God explained to Abraham that He was about to divinely judge Sodom and Gomorrah. What was Abraham's response? Will you destroy the righteous with the wicked? Abraham knew that Lot and his family was there. Abraham knew that Lot was righteous. Lot was a man who stood in right standing with the Lord. Even Sodom knew that Lot was righteous. Gen 19:1  And there came two angels to Sodom at evening. And Lot sat in the gate of Sodom. Only a judge sat in the gate. He would hear grievances and complaints and make judgments over the cases. A judge was considered to be a righteous man. Though Sodom was sinful, Lot was righteous.

The nations around the world are full of sin, but they are also filled with the righteous. How are we deemed righteous? Through our faith in the finished works of the Lord Jesus. Jesus gave us another example of this Great Escape.

Luk 17:26  And as it was in the days of Noah, so it also shall be in the days of the Son of Man. 

Luk 17:27  They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark; and the flood came and destroyed them all.

Again, we can draw from this the same conclusion as we did with Lot. Life was good, as far as everyone knew. But, when Noah escaped by entering the Ark, divine judgment came upon the whole world. We see that divine judgment is coming upon the world. Jesus gave us the signs of that judgment. We know by the signs that it is soon upon us. However, before the Great Day of the Lord can commence the Great Escape has to occur. Is there more evidence of this? Yes.

1Co 15:51  Behold, I speak a mystery to you; we shall not all fall asleep, but we shall all be changed; 

1Co 15:52  in a moment, at the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For a trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall all be changed.

Here we see Paul talking about a mystery, a secret. What do we know already about divine secrets? God doesn't want you surprised. Just like He spoke to Abraham and asked him should I hide what I am about to do from you? The answer was no. The Apostle Paul was given a secret, a mystery and he shared it to the church. He speaks of the incident and he also speaks of the timing. The first is the incident in the twinkling of an eye we (the righteous) shall be changed. Notice that in each of the instances of Noah and Lot they were both changed. Changed from the guilty to the innocent, from unrighteous to righteous . They escaped divine judgment, they were changed. Next Paul speaks about the timing. The trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first.

The timing of this event will occur when the trumpet sounds. Israel sounded trumpets on what has been called by us as Israel's feast days. Of course, like most folks, I am sure when you hear feast days you think of great meals or feasts. Something like turkey and ham dinners for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Of course the word for feast was not properly translated by the King James translators. It is the same word translated as seasons in Genesis 1:14. It is the Hebrew word Moed which should be translated as appointed time or day. Also, these were not Israel's feast days as most believe. Leviticus 23:2 explains that this was the appointed days of God. So, God explains His appointed days to Moses and how Israel was to celebrate and keep these appointed dates. Some of these things were very curious, but Israel honored these days down to the very detail as God commanded them to do.

There were 7 appointed days. Passover, Unleavened bread, First fruits, Pentecost, Trumpets, Atonement and Tabernacles.These first four appointed days have been completed through the death burial and resurrection of Christ and the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit. These were all called Spring appointed dates. The last 3 are what we call the Fall appointed dates. The next to be fulfilled is the Trumpets appointed date. When the Apostle Paul talked about the mystery of the Great Escape he pinpointed the time period as being the appointed date of the Trumpets. Paul continues to speak about this mystery to the church at Thessalonica.

1Th 4:16  For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the

1Th 4:17  Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. And so we shall ever be with the Lord. 

Again we see the Great Escape prefaced with the timing of the trumpet day, the appointed day of Trumpets. We started this adventure talking about the Great Tribulation written about in Revelation. Another mystery that I will share with you is listed in the first four chapters of Revelation.

In the first four chapters you will notice that very great detail is given about the church. Here you will find that Jesus speaks to the churches and after chapter 4 verse 1 the church is not mentioned in the Earth again. Let us take a look at Revelation chapter 4 and see if we can figure out this great mystery and how it ties into the Apostle Paul's great mystery that he shares with the church.

 Rev 4:1  After these things I looked, and behold, a door was opened in Heaven. And the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me, saying, Come up here, and I will show you what must occur after these things. Notice that in Revelation as we have indicated in the Apostle Paul's writings that in every situation a trumpet sounds and then the catching up occurs afterwards? After John looks up he states something very significant in verse 2. Rev 4:2  And immediately I became in spirit. And behold, a throne was set in Heaven, and One sat upon the throne. We see that John was immediately in front of the throne of God where? In Heaven. Immediately, or as Paul wrote at the twinkling of an eye! 

The question of Abraham brings forth a truth that all need to understand. Abraham asked," Will you destroy the righteous with the wicked?" God has explained His character to mankind. He states I am the same, I will never change. Friend, that is something you can always count on, God will not destroy the righteous with the wicked. God also has always warned the righteous of his appointed days.

 Gen 1:14  And God said, Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to divide between the day and the night. And let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years. Remember, seasons should be translated as appointed days. Gen 1:14  And God said, Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to divide between the day and the night. And let them be for signs, and for His appointed days or divine appointments, and for days and years.
It is important for us to first know that God placed the sun, moon, stars, comets for more than just lights. They were placed for signs or for signals also. God has always used the lights in the heavens as a signal for His Appointed dates. 

We know there was a celestial event that took place during the birth of Christ. Wise men came to worship Christ because of His star. We know that comets have always been seen as Harbingers to Israel. We know that a solar eclipse meant bad news for the nations while a lunar eclipse has meant a bad time for Israel. God has always given signs and they would be signs on His feast days or appointed days.

The 4 blood moons that are currently happening are occurring on His appointed dates. Passover and Trumpets. The last of the 4 blood moons will occur on the appointed day of trumpets in 2015. Not only is this and important date for God's appointed date, but it is also know as the year of Jubilee. Will the last trump being sounded be the sign of the Great Escape? I don't know.

In Oklahoma, where I live, folks know during the springtime thunderstorms here have the ability to produce some of the biggest and most violent tornadoes. One thing we always tell one another, is you need to be weather aware. That means keep your ears and eyes tuned for changes in your environment. Folks Jesus said we wouldn't know the hour, but we would know the season. It is time to be Jesus aware. If you don't know Jesus as your Lord and personal Savior, it's not too late! Ask Him to forgive your sins and ask Him into your heart today. If you already know Jesus but you haven't been living the life testifying of your faith and think your walk could be better, ask Jesus to forgive you and start living a life worthy of Him. It is time for us to become Jesus aware. The Great Escape is soon to happen. There is only one that is righteous. That is through accepting Jesus as your Messiah (Anointed King), believing that He is the Son of the Living God. Live in His presence and follow His direction. Jesus stated that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He stated that there is no other way to the Father except through Him. Well, that simplifies everything. There is no other way. He stated that His sheep know His voice. Why do we need to know His voice? Because with a blast of the trumpet and His shout will call us home. Look up! Jesus is coming soon!