In evidence of that last assertion, I direct your attention to the fabulously popular "Left Behind" series of books and movies. There are sixteen (16)! books in the "Left Behind" series, many of which books were among the New York Times Best Seller listing for more than a decade. Two major motion pictures were based upon that series of books. Obviously, a great number of people have been influenced by the teaching contained in those books and movies. The central theme of "Left Behind" is that salvation is still going to be available to those who miss the Rapture ~ which is to say, those who miss the Rapture can nevertheless be saved during the Tribulation!
I don't want to spend time in this essay refuting currently popular ideas about the Tribulation. But I want to elaborate somewhat upon the meaning and purpose of the Tribulation. As I have written elsewhere (see my seven-part series on this blog site, titled, "Between Two Ages: here is part 1), the Tribulation can essentially be thought of as being a transitional period between two Ages, namely, the present Church Age, and the soon coming Millennial Kingdom Age, respectively. That one idea, alone, goes very far to suggest the meaning and purpose of the Tribulation. Let me very briefly unpack that claim, as follows.
Judgment of Demonic Entities and Powers
At present in the Church Age, the entire world (excepting Christian persons) is overruled by demonic powers. Whereas, in the coming Millennial Kingdom Age, there shall then be no demonic powers in the world (for a thousand years to come). By contemplating the implications of that one, important difference between this present Age and the Age to come, one should be capable to perceive that ~ whatever must occur in order to effect that difference (that is to say, to eliminate all demon powers from the world), must be extraordinary, to say the very least. The Tribulation is that brief time period (less than a decade) during which time that change just mentioned shall occur.
We see, then, that one important purpose and meaning of the Tribulation is related to apprehending, constraining and confining virtually ALL demon powers ~ including Satan himself.
But how shall that be accomplished? It is widely taught or at least suggested (by "mainstream" Bible prophecy teachers) that Satan and his host shall be overthrown (in a day?), but not until the Second Coming of Christ ~ which, it is further suggested, shall not occur until the very end of the Tribulation. But essentially none of that teaching is correct.
In fact, according to Scripture, the then glorified saints (after the Rapture) shall be given what the Bible calls the "honor" of "binding...with chains [and]...with fetters of iron" every demonic entity (see, Psalm 149; Joel 2; et al) ~ and that, at some time during the Tribulation.
Judgment of Sinners and the Ungodly
But what, then, is the purpose and meaning of the person and work of the Antichrist? I'm glad you asked. In the back of most professing Christians' minds, I suppose, the rise of the Antichrist appears as Satan's successful efforts finally to overtake the world and to impose his power and authority overtly, as it were, in the face of God. Those same professing Christians perhaps further imagine that God evidently will let Satan have full control of the world (at least for a while), so that (what?) "the greatest Revival in the history of time" (as Jack VanImpe has said,) can then occur during the Tribulation!
Any thinking, Christian person should be appalled by such perverted "exposition" of Scripture. Yet, the above described scenario does fairly well represent the ideas of "mainstream" prophecy teaching ~ and thus also of many professing Christians.
What, then, is the truth concerning the person and work of the Antichrist?
- The Antichrist shall be instrumental ~ in the hands of God: to deceive every person in the world who missed the Rapture because they "received not the love of the truth" of God. (Note, carefully, the Bible does not say they did not hear the truth; but, rather, they refused to receive the love of the truth.)
- The Antichrist shall be instrumental ~ in the hands of God: whereby all those who will give their allegiance to the Antichrist shall thus be marked (literally) for destruction and eternal damnation.
- The Antichrist shall further be instrumental ~ in the hands of God: to bring unparalleled suffering and trouble upon large portions of the world. The Antichrist, at a certain place in Scripture (Is. 10:5), is termed, "the rod of [God's] anger."
- The Antichrist shall be instrumental ~ in the hands of God: to chasten (and to purge) Israel during that time which is properly called, in Scripture, the "time of Jacob's trouble."
God never has been, nor shall He ever be, out of control of the world's affairs. God is always in control. Of course that does not mean that God is thus guilty of any evil deed. It means, rather, that God has set the bounds both for the appearing as well as for the disappearing, of the Antichrist; the purpose of whose (Antichrist's) appearing, shall be to fulfill the will of God. (Important it is to assert, however, that God's purpose, in allowing the appearing of the Antichrist, has nothing whatsoever to do with Revival during the Tribulation.)
In sum, the appearing and work of the Antichrist, reveals yet another important purpose and meaning of the Tribulation period, which is, to rid the world of sinners ~ in preparation for the Millennial Kingdom Age, which is to follow.
We now have before us two great purposes of the Tribulation period, viz.: 1) to rid the world of all demonic entities and powers; and, 2) to rid the world of sinners. All in preparation for the advent of the Millennial Kingdom Age.
Judgment of the Nations
Yet there are other, very important purposes of God, which shall be fulfilled during the Tribulation. A very small proportion of the world's current population shall actually survive the coming Tribulation and shall also be permitted by Christ to continue to live into that time involving the Millennial Kingdom. God is going to use the Tribulation in some ways to test, with the goal then to judge, the nations of the world, with respect to their disposition toward the people of Israel, during the Tribulation. Those, who: a) refuse the mark of the beast; and, who also b) will be favorably disposed toward the Jews; and, finally, who also c) survive the Tribulation: they shall serve to constitute and to rebuild those respective "nations" which shall be allowed to survive and to persist unto the Millennial Kingdom Age. It is important to note, however, that none of those individuals shall be regenerate ("born again") persons; they shall yet be "natural," unregenerate persons ~ both throughout the Tribulation period and, then, during the Millennial Kingdom Age. (As far as I yet understand, their continuance must be related to their personal response to the Jews, in order as those (non-Jews) may at that time witness God's divine power and dealings involving the Jews.)
Vindication of the Saints
Certainly by no means least important, yet another purpose of the Tribulation has to do with the Kingdom-related work of the then-glorified saints. I have not in all of my Christian life I have met very few who much understand, from Scripture, the role of the then-glorified (post-Rapture) saints during the Tribulation. As a matter of fact, the saints shall have a central role in the events which shall then occur on the earth, during that time. Which is to say, the saints shall largely (if not solely) be responsible for at least two important tasks, namely: 1) apprehending and confining in the bottomless pit all demonic entities; and, 2) destroying all those people who receive the mark of the beast.
Deliverance of the Jewish Remnant
During the Tribulation, the Jewish people and nation shall then be in grave danger of being completely annihilated. The Antichrist will especially seek to destroy the Jews. The context of the Tribulation essentially describes World War III ~ in the midst of which there shall be a concerted effort, especially, to eliminate the Jews. (In light of which, it is evident that the time of the Tribulation surely must be at hand.) Yet, God has decreed that Israel shall be saved; the Jews shall never again be without a national homeland; and that a godly Remnant shall be divinely preserved throughout the Tribulation, particularly, from the malevolent hatred of the Antichrist. In the course of which, "the God of Israel" shall be revealed as Israel's God, and thus shall He be magnified in the sight of all the nations.
Christ as Conquering King
Lastly, and most important of all, the Tribulation shall entail the occasion of Christ's Second Coming ~ which, quite unlike the Rapture, the Second Coming shall not be a split-second event. The Second Coming of Christ should not be perceived so much as being an "event" as that rather should be understood as Christ's "advent," His coming and appearing. And when He does come, bodily, He is coming as the world-conquering King of kings. Whereas, I suppose, most professing Christians apparently think of the Second Coming in terms of events which shall transpire in the course of perhaps a single day or even a single hour. Yet, the reality shall be much different than that. Christ is coming to wage war; He is coming to interpose Himself and His heavenly host in the midst of what shall then be occurring, that is to say, World War III. Even Christ (not to diminish His power or fame,) shall not subdue the earth in one moment of time. But the work: of subjugating the nations; of arresting and delivering into prison all demon powers; of subduing all the world's military forces; of destroying every single person who shall have received the mark of the beast: all of that great work must entail some significant amount of time ~ during the course of (at least the latter part of) the Tribulation.
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The foregoing is but a very brief and very broad outline pertaining to the true meaning and purpose(s) of the Tribulation. As you can see, it represent a substantially (I would say, radically) different view of that time period than what is typically (mis)represented by "mainstream" Bible prophecy teaching.
I intend, God willing, soon to publish a book-lenth treatment of this important subject matter; a right understanding of which, I believe, must be relevant and important to every Christian person ~ else, God would not have put it in His Word.
I reluctantly (because I don't want to be misunderstood) confess that the more I deal with countering the multifarious errors and outright falsehoods associated with "mainstream" prophecy teaching, the more disgusted I am with that corrupt system of interpretation. I do not mean that I am disgusted with those persons who teach those ideas; I believe that most of those persons are well meaning Christians. Yet, that system of interpretation, that body of ideas related to future events and their meaning, I have come to believe, is largely the result of Satanic influence.
At the very least, the gross confusion surrounding the teaching of Bible prophecy, should alert every sincere Christian to the preeminent need to prayerfully study the Bible, and to faithfully seek to be led by God's Spirit "into all truth" (John 16:3).
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