THE GREAT TRIBULATION IN SCRIPTURE

Scripture relating to “The Great Tribulation.”
Daniel 9:27,  And he shall confirm the covenant with 
many for one week:  and in the midst of  the week he 
shall  cause  the  sacrifice  and  the oblation to  cease, 
and  for  the overspreading of abominations he shall 
make it  desolate,  even until the consummation, and 
that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Daniel 11: 31, And  arms shall stand on his part, and 
they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength,  and shall 
take away the daily sacrifice,  and they shall place the 
abomination that maketh desolate.

Daniel 12:11, And from the time that the daily sacri-
fice  shall be  taken away,  and  the abomination that 
maketh  desolate set up,  there  shall  be  a  thousand 
two hundred and ninety days.

Revelation 3: 10, Because thou hast kept the word of 
my  patience,  I also will  keep  thee from the hour of 
temptation,  which  shall come upon all the world, to 
try them that dwell upon the earth.

Revelation 7: 9-14 (9) After this I beheld, and, lo, a 
great multitude, which no man could number, of  all 
nations,  and   kindreds,  and  people,  and  tongues, 
stood   before  the  throne,   and  before  the  Lamb, 
clothed  with white  robes, and  palms in their hands;

(10) and cried  with a loud  voice, saying, Salvation 
to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto 
the Lamb.

(11) And  all  the  angels  stood  round  about  the 
throne, and  about the elders and  the four  beasts, 
and fell before the throne on their faces, and wor-
shiped  God,  

(12) saying, Amen:  Blessing,  and  glory, and  wis- 
dom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power,
and  might,  be  unto  our  God  for  ever and  ever. 
Amen.

(13) And one of  the elders  answered, saying unto 
me,  What  are  these  which  are  arrayed in  white 
robes? and whence came they?

(14) And I said unto him, Sir,  thou knowest. And 
he said to  me, These are they which  came out of  
great  tribulation,  and  have  washed  their  robes,  
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
  
(kjv)      donporter 8.22.13

“OLIVET DISCOURSE” (Part 1,2,3) Matthew 24: 1 – 14, 15-16

And Jesus said unto them,  “See ye not all these things?  Verily I say 
unto you, There shall not be  left here one stone upon  another,  that 
shall not be thrown down.”   And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, 
the disciples came unto  him privately,  saying,  "Tell us,  when shall 
these things be?  And what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the 
end of the world?"  (Vs. 2-3)

   At this time Jesus Christ began to expound to them things to come 
to pass in the future.   My understanding of this prophecy is that the 
same words/events our Lord was discussing are in two parts.  There 
would be a fulfilling of the words in the life of the Apostles and early 
church of that generation as well as future fulfilling of the prophecy.  
Those words came about,  indeed, in the lives of  those listeners, but 
there is a future  fulfilling not yet experienced  in full.  There can be 
no doubt in the mind of one who is a sincere believer  in the efficacy 
of   Scripture;  These same  prophecies are indeed coming to pass in 
the life of  the Church,  even the whole world, today.  Do we need to 
look  further  than things that occur around us every  day to  realize 
the truth of this prophecy?

  Vs. 4-5 “Take heed that no  man deceive you.”  Just as the Hebrews 
(Jews) of Jesus’ day were deceived because of their refusal to accept 
the Messiah in their day, those who fail to receive Him of this genera-
tion,  during their lifetimes on the earth are also deceived and will not 
participate in  the resurrection from the dead to eternal life.They will, 
as did the Jews of Christ’s day, run quickly to believe false messiahs 
and accept doctrines that tickle their ears rather than express faith in 
the one true Messiah and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  They are predis-
posed to do this for their own reasons or  reasons undisclosed to them-
selves or to us. We could, at this point digress into Election or Predes-
tination  as  part of the discussion.   Since we are  unable to explain it, 
we will  discuss that doctrine  in another setting,  as my understanding 
of this widely held doctrine increases..

Vs. 6-7 “And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be 
not troubled:  for all these things must come to past, but the end is not 
yet.”

       There  have  always  been conflicts as nations rise against nations.  
Although those incidents seem  to increase and are a  reminder of  the 
imminent  return of  our Lord  to claim  His church,  we  are  unwise to
set dates or suggest  the Lord will come for  His followers by a certain 
date.  Evangelical believers are looking for the soon return of the Lord 
to  this earth to claim His Bride,  the Church.  We believe he will come 
our lifetime.  This does  not mean we are absolutely sure He will catch 
His church away during your  lifetime or mine,  but certainly tells us to
be looking  for  this  event as imminent.  This gives our  lives an air of
much needed expectancy not present among those among  us who say 
He is delaying His coming and  forgotten about us. They were  predic-
ted in the New Testament in  Matthew 24: 4-6,  as  the  Lord  warned  
about false  messiahs in vs. 32-51 in the parable of  the fig tree,  and 
Luke 12: 42-48,  as Christ related a story of servants  taking advan-
tage, in their master's absence, to abuse his fellow servants. There is 
also a statement in Luke 24:14, "And this gospel of the kingdom shall 
be preached in  all the world for a  witness unto  all nations;  and then 
shall  the end come."   The very  next verse,  (15) states,  "When  ye 
therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel 
the prophet,  stand in the  holy place,  (whoso  readeth,  let him under-
stand:)   (The  space between vs. 15 and 16 might  be a good place to  
look for our Lord's return) (16)  Then let them which be in Judea flee 
into the mountains:...

     The Olivet Discourse is in approximately eight parts in Scripture. 
The above relates to the first three parts.  Next comes  the remarks 
about the Great Tribulation spoken of here and in Daniel 9:27, 11:31 
and 12:11 as well as in the Revelation 3:10, 7: 9-14.

     We must take care to refrain  from commenting on  Scripture in a
manner  that is beyond our  understanding.  Being convinced that the 
Word  is understood on differing levels, according to ones knowledge
and  Spiritual maturity.  The commentary here  has been kept simple 
and  direct in line with  my limited  knowledge  and  understanding of  
this fascinating and timely subject.
  
 donporter  8.9.13                                       edited 4.02.12