The Great Tribulation
Do Christians remain on earth during the great tribulation and the wrath of God? Many Christians believe they do and point to what Jesus said in Matthew 24:29-31. We need to look at what Jesus said and see what part of the end times He is relating it to.
In John 14:1-3 (immediatelly before His crucifiction) Jesus said to His disciples, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Fathers house are many mansions (Lit. dwelling places); if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” What a wonderful promise that He will return from heaven for His disciples and take them to be with Him.
On earth, in the last days before Christ returns to rule the earth with His elect, there will be tribulation, followed by the wrath of God, and after these Christ will return to subdue the nations and judge them acording to how they have dealt with His brethren (Matthew 25:31-46).
Christians do not go through the time of the wrath of God on earth. The Bible says that Jesus delivers them from the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 1:10, see also Romans 5:9, and 1 Thessalonians 5:9). Because Jesus saves them from the coming wrath this will be the time when Jesus returns for them to take them back to heaven with Him, as He promised them that He would.
In heaven (during the wrath of God on earth), there will be the gathering of the tribulation saints to worship God (Revelation 7:9-17), there will be the marriage feast of the Lamb and His bride (Matthew 25:1-13), followed by the judgement of the works of Christians where they receive their rewards for the works they have done on earth (Matthew 25:14-30, 1 Corinthians 3:11-15).
Let us look at the words that Jesus spoke to His disciples in Matthew 24.
In Matthew 24:29-31 Jesus said, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Verse 30 “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Verse 31 “And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
Verse 29 is the dividing line between the tribulation period and the actual wrath of God on earth, it is the declaration that the wrath of God is commencing, as I will show. The church is not appointed to wrath so will have been removed by this time. Verse 30 is the coming of the Son of Man to judge the nations. It is not the coming of the Bridegroom for His bride. Verse 31 is not the rapture of the bride, because Jesus comes himself for His bride (see 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). It is when Jesus is judging the nations and He sends His angels to gather the elect to be there with Him.
The procedure is, first the great tribulation, then the rapture of the saints (when the Bridegroom comes for His bride), then the wrath of God on the earth. During the time of the wrath of God on the earth there is the marriage supper of the Lamb of God in heaven. After the marriage supper there is the judgement seat of Christ when the saints are rewarded according to their works. After this Christ comes back with His angels to judge the nations. When the nations are subdued Christ sends for His brethren to witness the judgement of the nations.
In Acts chapter two we witness the pouring out of the Spirit on the disciples, then Peter stands up and in verse 19-20 he quotes from Joel chapter 2, “I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath: blood and fire and vapour of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.”
Now the “great and awesome day of the Lord” is the day of His wrath, so His wrath follows the sun being darkened and the moon turned to blood. In Revelation 6:12-17, we read that there was a great earthquake and the sun was darkened and the moon turned to blood and the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind, and then all the people were afraid and hid themselves saying “For the great day of His wrath is come and who is able to stand”. So the sun being darkened and moon turned to blood and the stars falling from heaven (as Jesus predicted in Matthew 24:29) is a sign that the tribulation is to be followed by the wrath of God.
Now we need to turn to Matthew 25 to see what happens at this time. The first thing that happens is that Christ comes back for His bride (often called the “rapture”), however some are not ready because they have let the oil of the Holy Spirit run low. Those who have enough oil go into the wedding feast but the ones who hadn’t enough oil miss out on the wedding feast.
After the wedding feast there is the judgement seat of Christ. This is where the Christians are judged according to their works. Those who produced works according to what they had been given receive a reward (see Matthew 25:14-30). However those who have no works to show are called wicked and lazy and are cast out. (See also 1 Corinthians 3:12-15).
After the judgement seat of Christ, there is the judgement of the nations, when the Son of Man comes in all His glory with His holy angels (compare Matthew 25:31 with Matthew 24:30). It is now that He sends His angels to bring His elect to witness the judgement of the nations.
Mark Greenwood
April 2024
Articles of,The Rapture and the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.