Welcome to the 10th lesson in the “Bible Prophecy and You” series!

Many people have heard of the biblical Great Tribulation. But much of what one hears these days is misinformation and wrong ideas. It’s important to learn exactly what the Bible teaches. There are many Bible prophecies of the end-time Great Tribulation, and this lesson can only serve as an introduction to the subject.

The prophesied suffering is heartbreaking to contemplate, but God will allow it for mankind’s long-range good. God as a loving Father disciplines His disobedient children. God’s desire is for all mankind to eventually repent and become part of His family and Kingdom!

The Great Tribulation is how Jesus described the worst time of global suffering—ever. It will drag humanity to the very brink of extinction.

Those who are already God’s obedient children need not fear. They know that God can protect them, and that even if He allows them to die, they will soon be resurrected to be in His Kingdom!

What a blessing that we need not be in the dark about the future! God tells us what to expect and how to be prepared.

So, just what is the Great Tribulation? What nations and people are prophesied to suffer through that time? What is God’s purpose for it? We shall see this and much more!

What will the Great Tribulation be like?

During World War II, the Japanese took more than 130,000 prisoners, and the death rate was 27 percent! In an article titled “To Hell and Back” in the May 23, 2009, issue of World magazine, author Edward Pitts describes some of the horrific experiences related by his grandfather, U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Edward Treski:

“For two years, three months, and 15 days he survived as a prisoner in three Japanese internment camps spread around the Philippines—places where the punished found themselves hanging by their arms at the camp gate or beaten with electric cattle prods while standing in water . . . Places where prisoners would hide the dead to get extra food rations until the smell became too great and where the decomposing bodies would rise out of their graves every rainy season demanding to be reburied.

“Then, in the late summer of 1944 . . . [he] found his neck tethered by ropes to hundreds of other emaciated prisoners . . . [with guards ordering] these conjoined barefooted men to march.” Many exhausted men died along the way.

On reaching the port of Davao, “750 POWs were crammed into the hull of what survivors later called a ‘hell ship.’” Treski said they were “packed like sardines . . . It was like a furnace down there, no water, no facilities at all, nothing.”

Lee continues: “Guards used a rope to lower a five-gallon can of water and peelings of rotten tropical vegetables to the starving prisoners . . . ‘They’d send a tin can down there for waste [Treski added], and I believe it was the same can they put the food and water in . . .’ The prisoners of war managed to spend 14 days in that foul and steamy hold.” Most thought they would either starve to death or suffocate from lack of air.

The article goes on to tell about Treski’s amazing escape, which he believed to be miraculous.

Sadly, the suffering of POWs in WWII—the starvation, diseases, torture, injuries and executions—gives us an idea of the kinds of misery that many will suffer during what the Bible calls the Great Tribulation.

Know this: God can and will protect His people

Before we focus on the frightening events of the end time, let’s be assured of God’s desire and power to protect His followers! Countless times, God has miraculously protected people from all kinds of dangers.

Even when God allows His children to die, He often has protected them from other trials, such as captivity, torture or prolonged suffering.

Sometimes the way that God protects is to warn His people to “flee” from imminent danger to a place where He will keep them safe (Matthew 10:23). God told Lot to get out of Sodom before He destroyed it. God told Mary’s husband Joseph in a dream to take her and the infant Jesus and “flee to Egypt” (Matthew 2:13).

The term Great Tribulation is found in Jesus’ Olivet Discourse—the prophecy He gave on the Mount of Olives. Jesus told His disciples (including future disciples): “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place [explained in a future lesson] . . . then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains . . . For then there will be great tribulation” (Matthew 24:15-16; Matthew 24:21, emphasis added throughout). The term is also used in Revelation 7:14.

We find a prophecy about God protecting a large part of His Church during the Great Tribulation in Revelation 12:14: “But the woman [symbolic here of God’s Church] was given two wings of a great eagle [divine help—Exodus 19:4], that she might fly [flee] into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time [3½ years], from the presence of the serpent [Satan—Revelation 12:9].” However, God will allow some members of His Church to be persecuted and even martyred (Revelation 12:17).

Note that the theory of a secret “rapture” of saints to heaven before the Tribulation is not biblical! The saints will be protected in a “place” in “the wilderness”—on the earth, not in heaven. For a thorough analysis of the rapture theory, type in “rapture” at ucg.org/learnmore.

Christ was evidently referring to the time of the Great Tribulation when He promised certain members of His Church, “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth” (Revelation 3:10).

There definitely is a positive side to all the end-time calamities that will come on the earth. Not only will they bring many people to repentance, but they let us know that Christ will soon return, resurrect the saints, His faithful followers from this age, and establish the Kingdom of God on earth!

What is the Great Tribulation?

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake . . .

“For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be . . .

“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” (Matthew 24:9; Matthew 24:21-29).

Many people have suffered “tribulation,” meaning great affliction, trial or distress. But in speaking of the end time, Jesus said, “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matthew 24:21; see a parallel account in Mark 13:19).

Therefore, the Great Tribulation is how Jesus described history’s worst-ever time of widespread tribulation. Other prophecies that refer to this time of unprecedented suffering are Jeremiah 30:7, Ezekiel 5:9 and Daniel 12:1.

Jesus also said that by the time it ends, “If those days had not been cut short [by God from running their course], no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened” (Matthew 24:22, New International Version). This verse not only shows that the Great Tribulation will be terrible, but it points to the time we are living in now as the end time. Only since the invention of today’s nuclear, chemical and biological weapons has it been possible for mankind to utterly destroy itself.

The Great Tribulation is also described in many other Old and New Testament prophecies.

Is the Great Tribulation directed toward Israel (this name, as we saw in the previous lesson, often referring in prophecy to the modern American and British-descended peoples) as well as Judah (the Jewish people, particularly the modern Jewish nation called Israel)?

“Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it; and it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it” (Jeremiah 30:7).

The answer is yes. We see here that it is “the time of Jacob’s [Israel’s] trouble.” These people will be “saved out of it”—that is, after going through it.

In our previous lesson, we learned that the prophetic descendants of Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel, are the peoples who settled most prominently in Great Britain and later the United States of America and other nations of British descent—Canada, Australia, New Zealand and parts of other countries, such as South Africa.

In Luke’s account of the Olivet Prophecy, Jesus said, “For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written [by the prophets]” (Luke 21:22, NIV). In Luke 21:23, who is “this people”? Jesus probably meant descendants of both Israel and Judah.

He went on to say, “They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles [non-Israelites] until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled” (Luke 21:24, NIV). The reference to Jerusalem shows that the punishment will include the land of Judah, the modern Jewish state of Israel.

Why will God punish the Israelite people?

“Surely I have taught you statutes and judgments, just as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should act according to them in the land which you go to possess.

“Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’

“For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the Lord our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him? And what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day? . . .

“Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God which He made with you, and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which the Lord your God has forbidden you. For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

“When you beget children and grandchildren and have grown old in the land, and act corruptly and make a carved image in the form of anything, and do evil in the sight of the Lord your God to provoke Him to anger, I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that you will soon utterly perish from the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess; you will not prolong your days in it, but will be utterly destroyed.

“And the Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord will drive you . . . When you are in distress, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, when you turn to the Lord your God and obey His voice (for the Lord your God is a merciful God), He will not forsake you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them” (Deuteronomy 4:5-8; Deuteronomy 4:23-27; Deuteronomy 4:30-31).

God chose Israel to be His model nation to demonstrate to the rest of the world the goodness and wisdom of God’s laws. But with this understanding and other blessings comes a stricter accountability. The British and American people have been failing terribly in God’s mission as they increasingly ignore the Bible and reject God’s laws and moral standards. Therefore, as God promised, He will punish them. That punishment will be the Great Tribulation.

Prophecy indicates that the Tribulation will motivate many people to repent of their sins and turn to God. If you end up in captivity “in the latter days,” you can turn to God for mercy. “From there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart” (Deuteronomy 4:29-30).

God will begin punishing the rest of the world beginning about one year before the return of Christ. That period will be the first part of “the day of the Lord” (Acts 2:20), which will be explained in a future lesson.

Is the Great Tribulation also a time of persecution of true Christians?

“But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name’s sake” (Luke 21:12).

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake” (Matthew 24:9).

“And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved” (Mark 13:13).

God can easily be crowded out of our lives, not only by sinful things but also by just too many other things taking up our time.

In the Olivet Prophecy (recorded in these three chapters, Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21), Jesus was speaking to His disciples (and future disciples) about the persecution to come.

It is the time when a world religious power will “persecute the saints of the Most High” (Daniel 7:25). In league with the religious leader will be the “Beast” of Revelation 13:7 who will “make war with the saints and . . . overcome them” (see also Revelation 17:6). That religious leader and “the beast” will be explained in a future lesson.

As was explained above, God will miraculously protect a great number of His people—especially among those who are spiritually close to God. Remember that it is never too late to repent and surrender your life to God. No matter what kind of suffering you may find yourself in, God says: “Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:12-13).

Does God use enemy nations as instruments of judgment?

“Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger and the staff in whose hand is My indignation” (Isaiah 10:5).

God used Assyria as “the rod of [His] anger” to conquer and deport the rebellious house of Israel. Later, God used Babylon as His agent to conquer the increasingly sinful people of Judah and take them captive (Jeremiah 20:4). These punishments serve as types or models of the end-time punishments.

Britain and America and their allies suffered greatly through two world wars against Germany and her allies. It seems that God was giving Britain and America a strong warning about their sins while at the same time mercifully and miraculously intervening to give them victory. According to Bible prophecy, the time is coming when the American and British peoples will be defeated in warfare, with the survivors going into captivity.

The consequences for continued disobedience to God will be severe. “The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies . . . You shall beget sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours; for they shall go into captivity . . . The Lord will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you will not understand, a nation of fierce countenance, which does not respect the elderly nor show favor to the young” (Deuteronomy 28:25; Deuteronomy 28:41-50).

Does Satan instigate the beginning of the Great Tribulation?

“Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time. Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child” (Revelation 12:12-13).

Satan not only hates Christ’s followers, but he also has a special hatred for the descendants of Israel ever since God chose them to be His “holy people” to “keep all His commandments” as a role model for all other nations. The “woman” Satan persecutes can symbolize both God’s Church and physical Israel.

How long before Christ’s return does the Great Tribulation begin?

“But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent” (Revelation 12:14).

We took note of this verse earlier. The prophetic phrase “a time [one year] and times [two years] and half a time [½ year]” refers to 3½ years. We are told in Daniel 7:25 and Daniel 12:7 that the “saints” (“the holy people”) will be persecuted for 3½ years. A large part of the Church (“the woman”) will be divinely protected and “nourished” during that same time.

Apparently simultaneously, the gentiles, led by “the Beast,” will “tread the holy city [Jerusalem] underfoot for forty-two months” (Revelation 11:2; Revelation 13:4-5). At the same time, God’s “two witnesses . . . will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days” (Revelation 11:3).

All these phrases mean the same length of time—3½ years.

Does the Bible prophesy a “second Exodus” for the survivors of captivity?

“It shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people who are left, from Assyria and Egypt, from Pathros and Cush, from Elam and Shinar, from Hamath and the islands of the sea.

“He will set up a banner for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. Also the envy of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not harass Ephraim.

“But they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines toward the west; together they shall plunder the people of the East; they shall lay their hand on Edom and Moab; and the people of Ammon shall obey them.

“The Lord will utterly destroy the tongue of the Sea of Egypt; with His mighty wind He will shake His fist over the River [the Euphrates to the north], and strike it in the seven streams, and make men cross over dryshod. There will be a highway for the remnant of His people who will be left from Assyria, as it was for Israel in the day that he came up from the land of Egypt” (Isaiah 11:11-16).

Not everyone who is taken into captivity will die. Evidently, millions who turn to God and survive will be invited by Jesus Christ, shortly after His return, to His holy city of Jerusalem (see also Isaiah 27:12-13 and Isaiah 51:10-11). These scriptures portray a massive relocation of survivors. This “second exodus” will far exceed and overshadow the famous Exodus from Egypt (Jeremiah 16:14-15; Jeremiah 23:7-8). And the Bible has many other scriptures about this joyous future march out of captivity to the Promised Land!

Apply Now

Jesus warned: “But ever be on your guard, so that your hearts may not be loaded down with self-indulgence, drunkenness, and worldly worries, and that day, like a trap, catch you unawares” (Luke 21:34, Williams New Testament).

God can easily be crowded out of our lives, not only by sinful things but also by just too many other things—even good things—taking up our time. In the parable of the sower, Jesus warned about too many “cares of this world” and “desires for other things” and “pleasures of life” (Matthew 13:22; Mark 4:19; Luke 8:14). When someone has too many irons in the fire, it’s time to simplify!

How about you? While this is on your mind, this will be a good time to reexamine your priorities. Make Matthew 6:33 (“seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness”) the overall goal of your life, and then make all your subgoals compatible with that.

To reorder your life, start right now by writing down several changes you want to make to your priorities and activities. Review your plan at least once a day during the coming week. You’ll be encouraged as you see the evidence of real spiritual growth!

And to learn more about the earth-shattering events that will shake this world to its core in the coming years, be sure to read our free study guide Are We Living in the Time of the End?