Is God's Wrath in the Tribulation?

 

This is a Scriptural study of some of the main arguments of pre-tribulationists.

For background, pre-tribulationists believe that all the true Christians will be raptured (caught up to be with the Lord) just before (pre-) the 7-year tribulation. They believe that the tribulation is God’s wrath, and since Scripture says we won’t suffer God’s wrath, therefore we must be raptured before the tribulation. So let’s start by defining terms.

The 7-year tribulation can be defined by looking at Daniel 9:27 (from the King James edition, as with others):

And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate...

Since I cannot cover everything in this small summary, let me say this: The “he” in the first sentence is the Antichrist. He confirms a covenant with “many,” which is Israel (and possibly others), to grant her safety, and to allow her to once again carry on her ancient sacrifices. The “week” only makes sense as the real definition of the Greek word, “seven,” is seen as seven years. The last sentence above has the word abominations, which is tied in to what Jesus said in Matthew 24 just below—please read it. Matthew, as you can see, says these actions ties in to tribulation. So it’s reasonable to say that Daniel 9 and Matthew 24 tie in to the same subject, the tribulation, and results in the greatest persecution the world has seen, even greater than the holocaust. Now here is part of Matthew 24:

¹⁵ When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place…¹⁶ Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains... ²⁰ But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: ²¹ For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. ²² And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

Finally, the word “elect” (all God’s chosen) suggests these are not Jews-only prophecies—they also combine us Gentiles, who have the chance to have eternal life too. I will be assuming so throughout this paper; so this paper is relevant to everybody.

Now let me admit that my putting the word Antichrist and the Jews in Daniel are speculative, but reading the verse, plugging in those words, certainly fits the current situation, doesn’t it? But saying that, asserts we are in the Last Days, which is speculative too. But none of those speculations has anything to do with my problems with the doctrines of the pre-tribulationists.

First, they believe that when the Scripture uses the term “wrath of God,” they assume the tribulation is the wrath of God. But the wrath of God is not mentioned in either of those verses above, even though both were on the subject of tribulation. But the pre-tribulationists argue that it is anyhow. And, they argue, since God wouldn’t subject us to His wrath, we must be raptured BEFORE the Tribulation—which is why they are “pre-tribulationists.”  That way we escape all that wrath. But I maintain the tribulation is not the wrath of God. In fact, it is the wrath of Satan. The wrath of God comes later. Therefore we might be here and NOT miss Satan’s wrath. Here’s what I want to prove:

Many Jews and true Christians in the tribulation will be killed by the Antichrist. The focus is on him, and his hatred of us. That doesn’t sound like the wrath of God.

And God’s vengeance (or the wrath of God) has not started in the entire tribulation.

Tribulation is even called the wrath of Satan.

Together, this defeats the main argument for “rapture before the tribulation,” since their doctrine wholly depends on the tribulation being the wrath of God, and “we don’t have to suffer from God’s wrath, so we would have to be raptured before the tribulation.” Or so the pre-tribulationists say it.

My proof is based on the fact that the first nine chapters of Revelation are chronological. For our brief study, we need to skip ahead to Revelation 6, where Jesus is opening the scrolls. The scrolls reveal the same cycle of events as Jesus says in Matthew 24, and since Matthew 24 is on the tribulation (see above), we have to consider that Revelation 6 is also the tribulation. For proof that they are the same point in time, we begin with Revelation 6:2-6:

And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. (This is DECEPTION—see below). ³ And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, Come and see. ⁴ And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. (WAR) ⁵ And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. ⁶ And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. (FAMINE).

Deception, followed by war, and famine. Now here is the same chronology in Matthew 24:4, 6-7,15-16:

And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you...⁶ And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.⁷ For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in diverse places...¹⁵ When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place…¹⁶ Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains…

As you can see that so far, their events follow the same path. This portion (seals 1-3 in Revelation) is called the “beginning of sorrows” by Jesus in Matt. 24:8. This is just before Antichrist reveals himself as a hater of Jews and Christians in the middle of the 7 years (See Daniel 9:27), and attacks Jews in Jerusalem by performing the abomination (that would be insolence against Jewish religion, such as sacrificing a pig in the holy of holies), and begins to kill them. So they are told to flee. (Remember, his covenant made him their friend. But his turnabout made them see who he really was—a Jew-hater. He revealed himself.)

Back to Rev. 6:7-11:

⁷ And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, Come and see. ⁸ And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: ¹⁰ And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? ¹¹ And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

 

At the fourth seal, note the emphasis on death—it says that ¼ of the people shall die—God help us. It has to be a nuclear assault. In the fifth seal, note the souls slain for the word of God (both true Christians and converted Jews, if you look up the meaning of the terms “fellow servants” and “brethren”). They are asking, How long before You judge and avenge our enemies? To me, vengeance and judgment represent the wrath of God. In all these Scriptures on the tribulation, Matthew and Revelation, Not One Time is the wrath of God mentioned—except in the fifth seal, when the souls are asking, basically, “when will it begin?” And His answer is, not yet—soon. Thus, the wrath of God hasn’t begun until after the fifth seal of the tribulation. This could well be in the sixth year of the 7-year tribulation—so it’s obviously not before the tribulation. That’s Proof #1.

Luke 21 has some added comments, talking about the same subject:

¹² … they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake…¹⁶ And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death.¹⁷ And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake.

The subject of being betrayed by family is really dark. I suspect the Antichrist will pay a handsome reward for those who rat on their families as Christians. This has happened in the Dark Ages. I suspect the economy is in dire straits, and jobs and money are hard to get. “Death and Hell” says that people will possibly be asked, perhaps at the point of a gun, “Do you worship the Antichrist?” If you answer “No, I worship the real God,” you will experience Death at the hand of the Antichrist. But you will also experience an eternity in heaven with Jesus, for your love of Him is greater than your love of life in this world.  If you answer “yes,” you will keep your life—for a while—but you will also experience Hell. So your choice is Death or Hell. An angel will be announcing the choice; these are the only two choices in Revelation 14:9-11:

⁹ And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, ¹⁰ The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: ¹¹ And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

Truly a frightening description of Hell, and how severe is God’s judgment. Further proof of the multitudes which shall die in the tribulation are in Revelation 7:

After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes... ¹⁰ And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God… ¹³ And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? ¹⁴ … And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

That means that that great multitude of those children of His had been murdered; supposedly that’s what happened in God’s Wrath (?). I ask you, you’re saying the wrath of God will be this murder of Christians? This made no sense. But there is an alternative: Scripture proves, I believe, that it’s not God’s wrath, it’s Satan’s wrath. Here we go to prove this:

In Rev. 12:7:

And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels…

To explain: In II Corinthians 12:2, Paul alludes to a person caught up in the third heaven. So, maybe the first heaven is what we can visibly see in the universe; the second heaven is where God’s angels fight against the fallen angels under Satan’s command; and the third heaven is where God and His throne are.

Further verses in Revelation 12:

⁸ And he (Satan) prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. ⁹ And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him…¹² Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time…

Note the phrase that he “deceiveth the whole world.” No one has ever deceived the whole world. But the Antichrist can, with communication technology. So this is during the future, the tribulation, when he also will use technology for the mark of the beast (see Rev. 14:9 above), providing him a way to control each and everyone’s banking; and it will be useful for speaking his deceptive words to the whole world. Note that he has “great wrath.” And note that he knows he has a “short time”—only seven years, I believe.

Yet more in Rev 12:13,17:

Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child…. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

The “woman” is Israel. Many times in the Old Testament, God refers to His taking her as bride, and how she turned to worshiping other gods, and “played the harlot.” The dragon is Satan. The male Child is Jesus Christ. Note that Satan and his thousands of fallen angels were kicked out of heaven in vv. 9, 12, and 13. So his new base for evil activity is on earth—so every one of his powers will be intensified during the tribulation. Especially note what he felt in v.17, the word “wroth,” which was immediately followed by the intense persecution of Christians and converted Jews. This is further detail on the tribulation. It is reasonable to conclude this is Satan’s wrath during tribulation, not God’s wrath. Proof #2a

So here is my question for the pretribulationists: Is this God’s wrath, since it is Not Ever mentioned in tribulation verses, and since God’s children are murdered and persecuted by Satan, who is doing whatever he wants? Does that sound like God’s wrath? Is “God’s wrath” just allowing chaos, letting Satan strut his stuff, killing God’s children and Jews right and left? Do you see God’s vengeance upon all them that kill His children—at all?

Now focus on Rev. 12:12, 15-17, for a single, convincing proof of when is the wrath of God:

¹² And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair...¹⁵ And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; ¹⁶ And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: ¹⁷FOR THE GREAT DAY OF HIS WRATH HAS COME (“has come” means ready to begin); and who shall be able to stand?

This places the wrath of God definitely after the 6^th seal. That’s nearly the End of the 7 year tribulation. Proof #2b

In the Tribulation, the focus is on the activities of the Antichrist. But in the wrath of God, it’s the reverse; all men shall see and be humbled by His power and destruction. This is proved in Isaiah 2, even mentioning again the “holes of the rocks” that prophesies how the ungodly want to hide when Christ comes (see Rev. 12:15 above, under events in the sixth seal)

Isaiah 2:2, 11b-12, 19 ² And it shall come to pass in the last days … the Lord alone shall be exalted in that Day ¹² For the Day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low…¹⁹ And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.

Let me give an example of God’s wrath in Revelation 8 so you can see the flavor:

8 And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour… ⁴ And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand. ⁵ And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake. ⁶ And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. ⁷ The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

I don’t read anywhere in these verses about the Antichrist. All I see is God’s power, and His vengeance on the people and the earth. (It would be a good idea to assume that the Christians and saved Jews were not there. So I’m assuming, at this stage of my paper that Christians and saved Jews will be raptured between the 6^th seal (the great day of His wrath has come) and the 7^th seal in Ch  8, where God is pouring out His wrath.) Because the Lord alone shall be exalted in that Day. We have proved that the main argument of pretribulationists, that it must be before tribulation, or “God’s wrath,” is gone.

Now let’s focus on the rapture. When is it, now that we’ve blown away the pretribulation assumption about the wrath? I Thessalonians 5:9 says the rapture must happen before the wrath of God. Making the wrath happen later simply says it’s not required that the rapture is before the tribulation. But all it says that it’s before the wrath. We’ve proved our point on the timing of the wrath, but everyone wants to know, when is the rapture? We haven’t addressed that.

See next week for that.