No 7 Year Tribulation. Follow Up

Q

Re: There Is No 7 Year Tribulation. You say there is no 7 year tribulation and the church will go through the world, but not suffer the wrath of God. In Matthew 24, Jesus says in verse 13, whoever endures to the end [of the events in verses 6-12], the same shall be saved. Can you explain how this pertains to tribulation survivors? I believe it does apply to tribulation survivors since church age believers have eternal security, but I just want to know how it pertains to tribulation saints if there is no 7 year tribulation.

A

Please read the article more carefully. What I said is there is no seven year period called “The Tribulation” in the Bible. The only period of time with “tribulation” in its name is the Great Tribulation, which is a 3 1/2 year time of judgment contained within Daniel’s 70th Week (Daniel 9:27). Daniel’s 70th Week is also known as the time of God’s wrath (Rev. 6:17) and is never called “the tribulation” or “tribulation time” or any other name with tribulation in it.

In Matt. 24:4-8 Jesus described conditions that would be common to life. He said as the end of the age comes closer they would get progressively more frequent and more intense. He called them birth pangs because they would resemble the progression of a woman in labor. They will become noticeably more intense during Daniel’s 70th Week, and will reach a level of severity previously unknown to mankind during the Great Tribulation.

Matt. 24:9-14 is an overview of the end times judgments. Matt. 24:15-31 is a description of the Great Tribulation, a phrase first used by Jesus in Matt. 24:21, and the 2nd Coming. The phrase “Abomination of Desolation” in Matt. 24:15 refers to Daniel 9:27 where we learn it will take place in the middle of Daniel’s 70th Week. This event kicks off the Great Tribulation.

There are several reasons why Matt. 24:13 “He who stands firm to the end will be saved” has to apply to post church believers.

1) The phrase is at the end of the Lord’s overview of the end times judgments. The Church will be gone by then, having been rescued from the coming wrath (Romans 5:9, 1 Thes. 1:10).
2) During the Church age believers are guaranteed our salvation from the moment we believe (Ephes. 1:13-14), and it is God who makes us stand firm in Christ (2 Cor. 1:21-22).
2) Post Church believers will not be given the promise of eternal security and will be responsible for making them selves stand firm (Matt. 25:1-13, Rev. 14:12).