Tribulation of The Last Days! Continuation from Introduction.
Let us now consider the tribulation and Armageddon in more scriptural detail:
We hear religious people speak often of the tribulation of the last days, or even say we are living in the last days. What are the last days, and what is the tribulation? Is the tribulation the same thing as Armageddon? Some will even be pleased to provide you a day and an hour for the "end." Most want you to give them money in exchange for their insight. Do not be misled! (Matthew 24:23-28) No one knows the day or hour. (Matthew 24:36) All we are able to know today (by means of our faith), is what Jesus clearly taught us through the Bible. Jesus said terrible times would accompany his second appearance, and that tribulation would actually be a sign of his coming in kingdom power. (Hebrews 9:28) Jesus said conditions would be so bad, that if God did not cut those days short, no flesh would be saved.(Mark 13:20) Please take special note of this Bible teaching: God must cut the wicked days of tribulation short, or everyone would be killed. What might bring about such horrible conditions on earth, and should we be in fear of them? Or, should we rather find hope in them (hope to lift our heads up)? (Luke 21:28)
No one (who is righteous) wants harm to come to others. God does not want that either! (2 Peter 3:9) The simple fact is, however, rebellion against God's laws and standards is bad, and it always causes harm. (Job 21:16 ; Isaiah 48:17) That answers the question so many ask, then: Where does bad come from? God did not create wickedness! Bad actually comes from abuse of a wonderful gift given us by our creator: The gift of freedom as sons (Romans 8:15) and daughters of God.
could not, at one and the same time, give us the free will to become his friends without also giving us the power to become his enemies; by our free will choice to abuse that same freedom. We have the ability, by abusing our gift of free will, to choose to actually become resisters of what is doing in creation. That does not make responsible for the badness chosen by such an individual. The defect is their own! (Deuteronomy 32:5) God has, for example, given you the power of procreation (if you have health and youth). When you produce a son or daughter, you have hope they will become an upright person; and they do have the choice to become such. If they choose to be become bad, by doing harm to others, you are not responsible for their choice (assuming you have been a good and loving parent). The gift of the freedom to become upright and moral sons and daughters of God is too wonderful nearly to comprehend. We are not robots, acting within the bounds of some predetermined program, but have the opportunity to choose to become friends of the God and Creator of all we can know. (Proverbs 27:11-12 ; James 2:23) That same wonderful gift, however, made room for us to create bad by choosing to resist the God of righteousness - choosing bad by our being disobedient to him. God is perfect! (Deu_32:4) Any disobedience to God's perfect law of love is thus bad. (Jam_2:8 ; Gal_5:14)
How, though, is this tribulation Jesus spoke of brought about? (Mark 13:19)
Men have misused God's gift of freedom to act rebelliously against the directions of our creator since Adam and Eve sinned in the garden of Eden. Since then, acting against God's law and the common sense which He gave us, we have stripped away the rain forests that protect against flooding. We have polluted the earth, it's air and it's oceans. Many live immoral life styles that spread both disease and despair; fueling the breakdown of the family unit. Others live shamelessly in opulent luxury, while they watch their brothers in Adam starve, [or watch them live through the slow motion starvation of famine] thus flaming hatred. Mankind has pumped untold billions of gallons of oil out of the earth, leaving great empty spaces and/or taking away any lubricating effect the oil might have on earth shift. Has a significant portion of the earth's water been diverted to fill those emptied caverns, and what impact does that have? Men have built, and continue to develop and build, weapons that can bring destruction on an unimaginable scale. If they can develop a weapon they know will destroy all life when used, they will most certainly still do so. Some assert they already have. They even have a name for it: The doomsday machine. We have detonated nuclear explosive devices on, and down inside, our earthly home. During the dark ages, religious men burned others alive at the stake, or boiled them alive in pots, while they held the Bible in hand as justification for their wicked acts. Many "religious" people continue that same spirit of judgmental hatred for others today. Religious bigotry is responsible for unimaginable acts of destruction and hatred. Just as the Bible says, "man has dominated man to his injury." (Ecclesiastes 8:9) All this abuse has harmed not only mankind, but the earth itself. Today we face floods, earthquakes, weather disasters, famine, war, and disease; that are all of our own making. We live in a world so vile there are people alive who will steal little children and sell them into sexual slavery. They starve and abuse them, and satan can only imagine what else. Some assert they maintain so called "orphanages," where those with enough wealth can harvest body parts for themselves or loved ones. Who can fully enjoy life knowing these horrible things are happening? There is a saying: "When a good man is hurt, all who would be called good must suffer with him." Who can lay down tonight without thinking about all this suffering? All this badness impacts all who are righteously inclined! When Jesus said if God did not cut those "last days" short, no flesh would be saved; he was saying we would destroy ourselves completely if left to our own devices. (Mark 13:20) Thus, the Bible foretold tribulation of the last days is of our own doing. The Bible indicates God has been holding back the destruction of that tribulation, so individuals might educate themselves by means of his word [the Bible], and choose to serve him rather than continuing as part of the problem. By choosing to serve God, we have opportunity to accept protection for our very lives. (Revelation 7:1-2 & 13-14)
Mankind's judgment is thus brought upon him by his own disobedient actions. God will stop, or has stopped, holding back the destructive forces of the tribulation man has brought. Without that restraint, the tribulation will escalate, forcing all sensible persons to consider repentance. At the appropriate time, God will end the tribulation by means of the battle of Armageddon, so as to finally and forever bring wickedness to an end. What will remain is peace and happiness for all who are wise. Salvation from this tribulation will come to the righteous by their faithful obedience to God's word, just as it did with Noah and his family. (Matthew 24:37) Saying the tribulation is brought upon mankind by his own badness is not to imply God will not destroy the wicked! The Bible teaches He has done so in the past, and it teaches He will again. Only though, as a last resort, and after he has given every person the opportunity to repent and change. When the righteous have been carried safely through the tribulation by their faith, God will end the tribulation [cut those days short] in the battle of Armageddon:
Armageddon then, is very different from the tribulation. The battle of Armageddon is the destruction of the wicked by God, and is "the end" of this wicked world system of things. Armageddon, or "the end," is to us what the flood was to Noah: While the flood meant destruction for the world, (2 Peter 3:6) it meant deliverance for Noah and his family. Faith in Christ Jesus is our Ark, and "our days" correspond with the days during which the Ark was being constructed. (Matthew 24:37-39) The wicked only know how to fight and do harm. The Bible defines, and evidence indicates, the wicked are not happy and can never be happy. (Psalms 1:4) Their destruction is likely a kindness even to them: It puts them out of their misery. While the "tribulation" is brought by mankind's disobedience, "Armageddon" is brought by God, and is his action against the wicked. (2 Thessalonians 2:8 ; Revelation 19:21) Armageddon thus proves to be the solution to the tribulation. All this Bible news, the news about looming disaster, and more importantly about the hope of deliverance through Christ Jesus: This all amounts to the "good news of the Kingdom." (Matthew 24:14) This "good news" needs to be told to all people, so they might have the chance to be protected through the tribulation and to survive Armageddon; and then to live on forever in the promised paradise. We might - you might - speed us to the end, and more quickly bring peace, by helping to warn people: By simply telling people "this good news of the Kingdom." (Matthew 24:14) By sharing truth, you can help both yourself and any who will hear, to survive. You can also become friends with ; the provider of this salvation. (James 2:23) We join John in saying: "Amen, come quickly Lord Jesus." (Revelation 22:20)
As we live through the tribulation, we should be cautious not to judge someone who suffers loss or dies to be a bad person. In his day, Job was the most righteous man in all the earth; (Job 1:8) but there was a time when God did not protect him. That was because Job was caught up in an issue raised by satan: Job 1:9-12 had judged Job to be an upright man. God knew He would very soon fix anything Satan might cause Job to suffer. And... Because of his faithfulness under test, Job was again blessed after his abuse by satan. And even now, Job awaits a resurrection to eternal life. (Eze_14:14 ; Luke_14:14) Our foremost example, of course, is Christ Jesus: As a perfect man and God's own son, even Jesus was not protected from dying the most terrible death conceivable [except a death outside God's favor, of course]. These examples illustrate God's protection of life is extended only when that life is in harmony with his grand purpose of salvation, and, at his chosen time. We should thus understand, there may be individuals who are not wicked, but still suffer or die during the tribulation. Those individuals will later receive a resurrection. Remember: The "tribulation" is not a judgment as to who is wicked, but is an opportunity for the righteous to demonstrate their integrity and for the wicked to repent and change. The tribulation may also prove to be for the salvation and protection of the righteous. "Armageddon" on the other hand, will be a judgment against the wicked. There will be wicked persons, of course, who die during the tribulation. So... The tribulation is brought about by man and by sin, and may be indiscriminate in it's destruction. The righteous will start [or have started] to receive protection as the tribulation escalates. In any case, the judgment of who are wicked is wisely left to God through Christ. (2_Thes_1:6-10) Armageddon will not be indiscriminate, but will precisely target all remaining wicked individuals. (Revelation 6:16-17) No righteous person will be harmed by Armageddon.
We were not favored to live when we could see Jesus walk on water, or see Moses split the red sea to protect God's people. We may be even more fortunate, however: We may be favored to be alive to see the end of this wicked system, and to be among those who will "never die at all." (John 11:26) We may be favored to live on into eternity in the paradise being created. (Isaiah 11:6-9) Every single person needs to be helped to have the opportunity to understand: Faith gained through Bible knowledge means life everlasting. (John 12:50) Tell everyone you know! Direct them to Christ Jesus (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) and this website: Share what the Bible really teaches.
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