Misconceptions Clarified XVII; Pretribulation vs Posttribulation: Which One?
When it comes to the doctrine of eschatology also known as the doctrine of the end times, there are two main interpretations concerning the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. For instance, is Jesus going to return before the tribulation period, or is He going to return after the tribulation period? Before this episode of Misconceptions Clarified examines these two eschatological positions, it is important to note that the doctrine pertaining to the return of Christ is a secondary doctrine. Meaning, that even though this topic of discussion is very significant to the Christian faith, belief in either one of these two positions will not necessarily affect one’s salvation in Jesus Christ, unless they are trying to literally predict the Lord’s coming, which many have tried in the past and are still attempting to do so today. Nevertheless, the objective of this particular episode is not to convince someone to believe in one position over the other, but to explain them in a way that gives the reader a greater understanding so they can make an informed decision for themselves. Ultimately, whichever side you choose, try your best not to poke fun on those who may be leaning on the opposite side of the spectrum and remember, no one knows the time nor the hour of Jesus’ return.
Now, with that being said, Pretribulationalism and Posttribulationalism is pretty simple to explain by definition. Pretribulationalism refers to the Second Coming of Jesus “before” the Great Tribulation period and Posttribulationalism refers to the Second Coming of Jesus “after” the Great Tribulation period. What is the Great Tribulation? Well, according to GotQuestions.org, “The tribulation is a future seven-year period of time when God will finish His discipline of Israel and finalize His judgment of the unbelieving world.” According to Edward Hindson in his research, The Book of Revelation: Unlocking The Future, he defines the Great Tribulation as the “eschatological period of God’s wrath. It is not merely the persecution or troubles of John’s own time, but a time of future global retribution, called in Revelation 3:10 the hour of testing, and 6:16 the wrath of the Lamb.” The difficult part many people struggle with regarding the doctrine of the tribulation is the interpretation of certain passages of Scripture. Which side does the Bible actually support? Does the evidence lean toward pre or post-tribulationalism? Hopefully, after reading this episode you will have a greater understanding on the tribulation according to Scripture.
So, the first order of business that must be addressed is the root verse that tribulationalism derives from. A believer cannot gain a proper interpretation of the passages that refer to the tribulation in the New Testament unless they go back to the original source, which is the book of Daniel. In Daniel 9:25-27 it says, “Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven sevens, and sixty-two sevens, the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. He will confirm a covenant with many for one seven. In the middle of the seven he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that cause desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.”
This passage in Daniel is loaded with eschatological meaning. So, without going into a comprehensive overview of this passage, the prophet Daniel receives a vision of the end times from the angel Gabriel in the context during the time of the Babylonian empire that is intended to bring hope to Israel in the immediate aftermath of their exile along with a future hope of the end-times. The seven-sevens is to be interpreted seven years multiplied by seven years, which is forty-nine years, and the sixty-two sevens is to be interpreted as sixty-two years multiplied by seven years, which is 434 years. Add 49 years plus 434 years equals 483 years. The passage says in verse 25, “From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven-sevens and sixty-two sevens. In other words, after the 483 years pass from the time “the word goes out,” which was around 450 B.C. when Nehemiah gives the command in Nehemiah 2:17, “Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace,” until the “Anointed One will be put to death,” which refers to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ around 33 A.D. This is the main interpretation of the period of the sixty-nine sevens or the 483 years.
Before the seventieth-seven or the final seven, Daniel 9:26 says, “After the sixty-two sevens, the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed.” After the 483 years, after the sixty-two sevens, after Jesus Christ is put to death, and before the final seven, the rebuilt temple and Jerusalem would be destroyed again which occurred in 70 A.D. by Vespasian in his second year as emperor, and the nation will continue to be at war. Then in Daniel 9:27, it says, “He will confirm a covenant with many for one seven. In the middle of the seven he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.” Many scholars agree that the seventieth seven in Daniel 9:27 is referring to a seven-year tribulation period where the Antichrist will deceive many to follow him. This seven-year period also prophesies the existence of a third temple where animal sacrifice will be performed once again in Israel and in the middle of this period, in three and a half years, the Antichrist will put an end to sacrifice and offering, and set up an abomination that causes desolation similar to what Antiochus IV Epiphanes in 164 B.C. did when he sacrificed a pig on an altar erected for Zeus in the temple of the Lord, which sparked the Maccabean Revolt along with the festival of Hanukkah that commemorates this historic rescue by the Maccabees.
Daniel’s vision from the angel Gabriel must be the backdrop of interpretation for any passage concerning the Great Tribulation period in the New Testament. What is widely agreed upon by scholars on both sides of the eschatological debate is the literal Second Coming of Christ, His literal millennial reign for a thousand years, the rapture of the church, the tribulation period, and the resurrection of the dead; one to everlasting life and one to everlasting condemnation. However, where scholars differ regarding the tribulation period pertains to the timing of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Is it before the Great Tribulation period, is it in the middle, or is it after the Great Tribulation period?
Let’s first consider the Posttribulational position. The verse that proponents of the Second Coming of Jesus believe occurs after the Great Tribulation is Matthew 24:29-31. which says, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Obviously, at first glance, the phrase, “immediately after the tribulation of those days” is evidence for those who believe in posttribulationalism that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ is going to occur after the tribulation as Jesus affirmed in the passage. Those who subscribe to the posttribulational perspective are of the mindset that the church will constantly experience tribulation of all sorts according to Scripture. Therefore, the church going through the period of the Great Tribulation will be something they have been prepared to experience and endure, which makes sense from those who believe in this point of view. In addition, after the tribulation not only will the Second Coming of Jesus occur, but Jesus will also be seen coming on the clouds from heaven, the angels will sound the trumpet, and then gather His elect, which insinuates the rapture of the church.
Another passage that posttribulationalists use to affirm their position comes from 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, which says, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” The phrase at the end of verse 16, “the dead in Christ will rise first” is connected to the first resurrection in Revelation 20:5-6 that occurs after the Great Tribulation period. Anyone who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ when they died will rise during the first resurrection, and proponents of the posttribulational view believe the first resurrection to be one single event.
On the other hand, those who hold to the pretribulational perspective also use 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, but they do not connect the phrase “the dead in Christ will rise first” to the first resurrection in Revelation 20:5-6. Part of the reason why they do not connect the dots is simply because in the context of Revelation 20:4 it refers to “the martyrs,” also known as the “tribulation saints” who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word and they reigned with Christ a thousand years. The label, “tribulation saints’ derives out of Revelation 7:13-14, when one of the Elders questioned John about the great multitude wearing white robes and where did they come from. The Elder responded in verse 14, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation: they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” One thing is certain regarding this particular passage is that there will be saints present who come to faith during the tribulation period who avoid the mark of the beast and remain faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ. Pretribulationalists do not believe the great multitude in Revelation 7 to refer to the actual church as they believe the rapture will occur before the Great Tribulation.
Additionally, the pretribulational point of view believes that the first resurrection is not one single event as the term may indicate but occurs in phases. According to GotQuestions.org, “The first resurrection takes place in various stages. Jesus Christ Himself (the “first fruits,” 1 Corinthians 15:20), paved the way for the resurrection of all who believe in Him. There will be the resurrection of “the dead in Christ” at the Lord’s return (1 Thessalonians 4:16) and the resurrection of the martyrs at the end of the Tribulation (Revelation 20:4).” Even the disciples of the disciples who sat under their tutelage believed that the doctrine of the end times would occur in phases. According to the Didache 16:5-8 says, “Then shall the creation of man come to the fiery trial of proof, and many shall be offended and shall perish; but they who remain in their faith shall be saved by the rock of offence itself. And then shall appear the signs of the truth; first the sign of the appearance in heaven, then the sign of the sound of the trumpet, and thirdly the resurrection of the dead not of all, but as it has been said, The Lord shall come and all his saints with him; then shall the world behold the Lord coming on the clouds of heaven.” Although this passage is not considered inspired Scripture and although this passage does not automatically assume a pretribulational position, it certainly can give insight into what the disciples of the disciples believed about the doctrine of eschatology. Considering early church history can be an additional hermeneutical tool applied in solving certain theological enigmas.
Furthermore, the passage in Matthew 24:29-31 that posttribulationists use regarding the Second Coming of Christ returning after the Great Tribulation is not considered to refer to the Great Tribulation period according to the pretribulational perspective, but interpreted to refer to the tribulation Israel would experience approximately 40 years later when Jerusalem and the temple that is referred to in the same context of Matthew 24:1-2 would be destroyed; mimicking God’s judgment against Israel in Ezekiel 5:9 and even in 1 Samuel 4:18-19 when Eli heard the Ark of God was captured by the Philistines. The tribulation Israel had to endure in witnessing the Romans destroy Jerusalem and the temple should not be overlooked in the context of Matthew 24:29-31 when interpreting the phrase, “after the tribulation.” Nor should we be quick to assume that when Jesus says “then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven” that it should be interpreted without a gap of time between the tribulation and His second coming knowing that a day is like a thousand years to the Lord and a thousand years like a day. It is completely plausible that there is a gap of time that needs to be considered between verse 29 and verse 30. It is also important to remember that the context of Matthew 24:29-31 is in reference to the temple and the nation of Israel, not the body of Christ since the church itself would not begin to advance the kingdom of God until the Day of Pentecost, 50 days after the resurrection. Although many on the side of posttribulationalism point to the verse that insinuates the Second Coming of Christ where all the peoples of the earth will see “the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.” It is not uncommon according to Hebrew genre to speak of the present things to come and in the next breath, speak of realities in the distant future. In other words, when it comes to Matthew 24:29 where Jesus says “immediately after the tribulation,” Jesus is pointing to the destruction of the temple, then in the very next verse, Jesus is pointing to His own Second Coming that no one knows the day nor the hour of His return, and then Jesus points his disciples to the lesson of the fig tree in verse 32-34 where Jesus says, “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened,” speaking of those things the present generation would witness before they died. This back and forth is common in Hebrew narrative and we can find a good example of this in the book of Daniel where he speaks about King Nebuchadnezzar from chapters 1 - 4, then proceeds in chapter 5 to speak about King Belshazzar, Nebuchadnezzar’s successor, then focuses on King Darius who defeated the Babylonian Empire in chapter 6, then switches back to King Belshazzar in chapters 7 -8, and then reverts back to Darius and Cyrus in chapter 9 - 10. Another example can be found in the book of Ezra where he goes back and forth between the various Persian rulers, and this constant back and forth in the text can be a little confusing at times if one does not understand Hebrew genre.
It is so easy for people in the twenty-first century to apply modern day literary standards and interpret Scripture chronologically. The discipline required to apply the hermeneutical principles, especially passages relating to the doctrine of eschatology is absolutely essential. Again, when it comes to interpreting these difficult passages pertaining to the end times, deciphering author’s intent is what makes biblical interpretation very complex for those who are on the outside looking in and almost twenty centuries removed. How they spoke and how they wrote are not the same as we who live in America in the twenty-first century. So, it is incumbent upon the faithful people of God to handle the Word of truth correctly. In other words, certain questions must be asked when it comes to interpreting the passages relating to the end of times and Scripture in general. For instance, What did Jesus really mean to say in the context? What did Paul really mean to say to the church? And what did John’s vision really mean in the book of Revelation? Is there an Old Testament prophecy that can assist in interpreting a particular verse in the New Testament? The task of biblical interpretation is much more intricate than just reading a particular passage in the translated language of English. At face value, one can believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Word of God is clear on the doctrine of the Second Coming of Jesus. One can read the text in English and believe the author intended to mean exactly how it is read, but that’s not always the case.
For those on the side of posttribulationalism, the connection of the first resurrection and the dead in Christ will rise first is a clear point of evidence that cannot be refuted. However, those on the pretribulational side of the equation interpret the first resurrection to occur in phases beginning with Jesus as the First-Fruits of the resurrection along with those who came out of the tombs after the resurrection who went into the holy city and appeared to many people in Matthew 27:51-53. Three other points of disagreement posed by pretribulationists question the point of the rapture of the church after the Great Tribulation. What is the point of rapturing the church after the Great Tribulation just for the church to return immediately with Christ to reign with Him for a thousand years? If the church has to endure the Great Tribulation, after the seven years of God’s great wrath is fulfilled, the church should then remain on the earth to reign with Christ a thousand years. The other point of contention to the posttribulational perspective is the imminency of Christ return. There was a sincere belief throughout church history that Christ could return at any moment, but if posttribulationalism is true, Christ return cannot be imminent for a minimum of seven years because His return cannot occur until after the Great Tribulation. Some attempt to escape this quandary by ascertaining that the world is currently experiencing the Great Tribulation and that Christ return remains imminent. Additionally, at what point will the Restrainer be removed to inaugurate the rise of the antichrist if the church that is led by the power of the Holy Spirit endures the Great Tribulation? Or what about verses such as Romans 8:1, 1 Thessalonians 5:9, & Revelation 3:10 that reassures the church that she will not experience the wrath of God? The Great Tribulation period is supposed to be a great period of God’s wrath practically never seen before, and if the church is not raptured before God’s great demonstration of wrath, what is the ultimate purpose of the church being raptured up for? Can the Holy Spirit be present at the same time of God’s great demonstration of His wrath on the earth? These are all questions that should be considered.
Lastly, the Great Tribulation period is believed by many scholars to be for the nation of Israel not the church, which circles back to the beginning of this episode regarding the seventy-sevens prophecy of Daniel 9. The first sixty-nine sevens or the 483 years of Daniel’s prophecy are all in reference to events surrounding the nation of Israel, not the church. Likewise, it is assumed that the last seven years of Daniel’s prophecy, which refers to the Great Tribulation period is also in relationship to the events that are going to occur in Israel with the third temple that will be put to an end. In Revelation 11:2-4 it says, “they will trample on the holy city (in Israel) for 42 months. And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth. They are the two olive trees and the two lampstands, and they stand before the Lord of the earth.” Notice that the 42 months is symbolic to the “middle of the seven” in Daniel 9:27 where the holy city will be trampled, and the sacrifice and offering will be put to an end in the temple. Furthermore, the two olive trees and the two lampstands is directly tied to the prophecy of Zechariah chapter 4 regarding the events surrounding the nation of Israel. As God called two witnesses, the prophet Haggai and Zechariah to minister to the nation of Israel during the rebuilding of the temple, likewise, God is going to call two witnesses to minister to the nation of Israel as the holy city is being trampled on during the Great Tribulation. The church is ruled out as one of these two witnesses because the two witnesses are going to be two individuals called to minister during the tribulation similar to the prophecy of Zechariah.
Either way, regardless of which side of the equation one might believe in, there are four points that must be weighed to answer the question of this episode, “which one?” First, it’s important to remember that much of John’s vision in the book of Revelation pertaining to the tribulation is grounded in Daniel’s prophecy. Even the prophet Malachi alludes to the judgment of the Second Coming and how it is directed specifically towards the Levites, Jerusalem, and Judah, not the church. In Malachi 3:2 it says, “But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. He will sit as a purifier of silver, he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in the former years.” Remember, Malachi’s ministry is during the Second Temple period when He rebukes the nation of Israel for not honoring their covenantal obligations to the temple, which means that his prophecy is pointing toward a future time after the judgment when they will finally honor their covenant as in the former years. It is always important to remember that one’s interpretation of Scripture such as the verses surrounding the Great Tribulation must be consistent with Old and New Testament passages combined. For example, does your interpretation of the Great Tribulation in the New Testament consistent with passages contained in the Old Testament? If not, one must reconsider their interpretation. Second, it is never recommended to isolate Scripture from its context to validate one’s theological persuasion. Often times, people isolate certain verses of Scripture devoid of its context to affirm their position, which will often lead to a misinterpretation of any given verse of Scripture. Third, understanding genre of Scripture goes a long way in effectively interpreting Scripture. How they wrote, how they spoke is different from how we write and how we speak. It is not uncommon in Hebrew narrative for them to bounce around within one particular context, or to go back and forth chronologically, or for a particular phrase to refer to multiple events. If we truly desire to understand author’s intent, we must take ourselves out of our own shoes and place ourselves in the shoes of the author and ask the question, “what does the author really mean in this passage.” A person must also utilize the six principles of hermeneutics (Scripture interpreting Scripture, Author’s Intent, Context, Original Language, Genre, Early Church History), and ask the Holy Spirit to lead you and guide you into all truth and understanding, which requires much practice! Lastly, our theological understanding must be consistent across the board of all our beliefs. One minute the church cannot preach that Christ return is imminent and in the next breath assert Christ cannot return until certain events have transpired. This is why pretribulationalism remains the most popular interpretation of the Great Tribulation because it is consistent with its message that Christ and the rapture can occur at any time, it is consistent with Daniel’s prophecy, and the church must be ready because the Lord will come like a thief in the night, for no one will know the time nor the hour of His coming!
Stay born-again my friends!
1). What is the Tribulation? How do we know the Tribulation will last seven years? | GotQuestions.org
2). Hindson, Edward. The Book of Revelation: Unlocking the Future. AMG Publishers, Chattanooga, TN. 2002. 92.
3). What is the first resurrection? What is the second resurrection? | GotQuestions.org