Why Does There Need to Be a Tribulation Period?

Posted on Aug 18, 2016 Topic : Prophecy

Everything God does has purpose, so we can expect that the horrendous seven-year Tribulation period will accomplish something specific. An examination of the Word of God does not disappoint us. Like everything our Lord does, He has more than one purpose in mind.

1. To bring time to an end.

When introducing the events that culminate with the Tribulation and return of Christ (Daniel 9:24), the prophet Daniel spoke of the consummation of time as “bring[ing] in everlasting righteousness” (9:24). The Tribulation is a fitting consummation of the grand experiment of the ages from Adam to the second coming, giving individuals an opportunity to worship God voluntarily.

2. To fulfill the prophecies about Israel.

Many prophecies about Israel have yet to be fulfilled. The Jewish people’s return to their land during this last century and the recognition of Israel as a nation in 1948 are two (described in detail in Ezekiel 36–37). The prophecies regarding the rebuilding of the temple and renewing of the temple sacrifices will also be consummated during the Tribulation period. And there are still other prophecies that concern Israel as well. God is not through with Israel!

3. To shake man from his false sense of security.

A stable world leads people to think that they can function independently from God. Earthquakes, plagues, and other physical phenomena will so shake people’s natural confidence that, when they hear the gospel through the preaching of the 144,000, some of them will be more open to its offer of forgiveness and grace.

4. To force man to choose Christ or Antichrist.

One major purpose of the Tribulation is to give the billions of individuals living at that time seven years of opportunity in which to make up their minds to receive or reject Christ. That may be part of what Daniel meant in calling it “the consummation” (Daniel 9:27). Billions of people will not have an opportunity to live out their normal lifespan, so amid these traumatic events, they will make an eternal decision. If they choose Christ, they will, as “servants of our God,” receive the mark of the Father on their foreheads (Revelation 7:3). If, on the other hand, people accept the Antichrist, they will have the mark of the Beast, or 666, placed on their foreheads or hands. This seems to be a final, irrevocable decision.

Though the Tribulation is a cataclysmic time of judgment, God’s love and compassion will still be evident. In Revelation 14:6-7, the “angel…having the everlasting gospel” is seen preaching to “those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people.”

God will offer mankind one last opportunity to accept His Son as the way of salvation through the testimony of His 144,000 witnesses. But just to make sure everyone hears and has opportunity to respond, He will send a special angel to earth to preach the gospel message within the hearing of every person. The people will be challenged to “fear God and give glory to Him…and worship Him.” Those who refuse will worship the Satan-filled Antichrist and be lost; those who do will be saved eternally.