Tribulation And Great Tribulation?

Q

Would you clarify the Tribulation and the Great Tribulation? How I understand it is that the whole 7 year Tribulation begins when Israel signs a (7 year) peace treaty with the anti-Christ and the Great Trib. starts halfway through (3 1/2 yrs) when the abomination of desolation occurs in the Temple by the anti-christ. You seem to focus only on this period. In your opinion, will we believers be here when the treaty is signed and be here through the first half of the Trib.? I always thought we were out of here for the whole seven years. And what will take place during the first half and what about people who are still here in America and other nations who don’t travel/move to Israel… what will they experience?

A

The problem here is that the Bible never speaks of a 7 year tribulation. It speaks only of Daniel’s 70th week (the last 7 years before the 2nd Coming) and the Great Tribulation, the last half of the 70th week. That’s why you don’t see me mentioning a 7 year tribulation. It’s a man made term.

I believe the rapture will take place before any of the 70th Week begins. This position is commonly called the pre-trib rapture, but in reality it’s pre-70th week. Many people think of the first half of the 70th week as being a time of peace, but I don’t agree. I think it will begin with an illusion of peace, but that will soon be gone. Remember, both the seal judgments and the trumpet judgments will take place during that time and over 1/3rd of the world’s population will die.

People everywhere will be troubled by war, famine, pestilence, and what some will call natural disasters, but in reality they’ll be judgments from God. This period of time is described in Revelation 6-11, all of which take place before the Great Tribulation begins.