Dear friends, the Word of God states that no prophecy is for private interpretation, (2 Peter 1:20) and that we only see now through a darkly glass, (1 Corinthians 13:12) and therefore let us as the Body of Christ, having many members trust in the Holy Spirit only to guide us into all Truth.

The topic relates to the terms called “The Tribulation and Rapture”. Now I have a motto; “If the Bible doesn’t fact it then I know it’s a lie”. So let’s first examine the word “Tribulation”.

According to the “Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries” the word “Tribulation” in the Greek is translated according to the # Strong 2347 number, which define the word as follows;

From G2346; pressure (literally or figuratively): - afflicted, (-tion), anguish, burdened, persecution, tribulation, trouble.

Matt 13:21
Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

Matt 24:21
For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

Matt 24:29
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:

Mar 13:24
But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,
John 16:33
These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Act 14:22
Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

Rom 2:9
Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;

Rom 5:3
And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

Rom 8:35
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Rom 12:12
Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

2Cor 1:4
Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

2Cor 7:4
Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my glorying of you: I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation.

1Thess 3:4
For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know.

2Thess 1:6
Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;

Rev 1:9
I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Rev 2:9
I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.

Rev 2:10
Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

Rev 2:22
Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.

Rev 7:14
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.

(Very interesting that all these Scriptures has the same Strong no. and word and that means it carries the same meaning, which is referred to “pressure (literally or figuratively): - afflicted, (-tion), anguish, burdened, persecution, tribulation, trouble.”)

Just to show that the general word ‘tribulation’ does not necessary means what the church normally see as the time period (7 years) just before the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, I want to refer you to the following Scriptures;
(My commentary is given in bracket Italics)

John 16:33
These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

(See, here the LORD specifically say that you WILL have tribulation in this world, but it doesn’t point to the time period (7 years) referred to the time just before the coming of our LORD. Here the Lord said to be of good cheer. So now my question to the reader will be, should you be afraid of the tribulation? If not, so why are there organizations that spend their time to put fear into the hearts of the called-out flock? )

Act 14:22
Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

(Interesting to note this Scripture clearly stipulates that they HAD to go THROUGH MUCH tribulation to enter into the Kingdom of God.)

Rom 2:9
Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the
Jew first, and also of the Gentile;

(Clearly here it is also shown that every man that does evil will have Tribulation and Anguish. So now you will see that this scripture has nothing to do with the time period (7 years) referred to the second coming of our LORD.)

Rom 5:3
And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

(Here again we are encourage to GLORY IN TRIBULATIONS because we should know that our tribulation works patience. Now that sounds to sense knowledge to me, knowing that you should know that in order to get to patience you have to go through TRIBULATION.)

Rom 12:12
Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

(No need to expound on this Scripture, seeing that it is very clear to the reader.)

Rom 8:35
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

(Here you will see that the LOVE of CHRIST will never leave us whether we are going through tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword.)

2Cor 1:4
Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

(You will see in verse 3 that it is GOD the Father that comforts us in our tribulation so that we can comfort others which are in trouble. I still cannot make the connection to the time period (7 years) referred to the time just before the coming of our LORD?)
2Cor 7:4
Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my glorying of you: I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation.

(Well, what can I say? Paul is very joyful in his tribulation, so why are we so depressed when tribulation come our why? Again here I do not see the connection as to the time period (7 years) before the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.)

1Thess 3:4
For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know.

(Here it is also very interesting that they had to suffer tribulation, as if there was no option. I come to the conclusion that when you come to Christ and give your life to HIM, then you WILL have tribulation. At this point I want to refer to the following Scripture which clearly state that you will have tribulations because of the WORD.

“Matt 13:21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.”

(But I do not see these words as prophetic because Paul was talking to his fellow brethren in his time period. See “even as it come to pass, and ye know”.)

2Thess 1:6
Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;

(Seeing here it is a RIGHTEOUS THING with GOD to recompense (repay) those people that trouble you with tribulation! Now isn’t this a righteous thing, so trouble makers be ware. I would also point out that the LORD is no respecter of persons (Act 10:34) when it comes to tribulations, and the above Scripture has proven it.)

That the early believers in Jesus the Messiah had a lot of pressure, afflicted, anguish, burden, persecution, tribulation, and trouble.

I think that the Jews in the Holocaust also had all of the above persecutions and tribulations.

And in the war just after Israel become a nation in May 1948 and the six day war in June 1967, Israel had also all of the above persecutions and tribulations.
The point that I want to make here is that one should not equate the word “Tribulation” with the time period just before the return of our Jewish Messiah.
But there are other Scriptures that do tell us about a time period which is prophetic, meaning that it hasn’t happened yet. So let’s have a look at those Scriptures shall we?

Matt 24:21
For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

(With this Scripture one has to read it in context, otherwise you could create a new doctrine as many have. I want to quote some of the verse in Chapter 24 to put some more light on the subject.)

V.3; 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?

V.4; And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

(With this Scripture my friend, that includes me. Let the Spirit of Truth lead you and not my writings.)

V.5; For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

(Christ means “The Anointed One”. Have heard this being preached, ‘I’ve been anointed to preach….’)

V.6; And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
(What end was Jesus referring to?)

V.7; For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

(Should say according to the Strong “sorrows” is described as “a pang or throe, especially of childbirth: - pain, sorrow, travail.” Think this is where the Lord told us it will be like a woman in childbirth and that the birth pangs cannot be stopped. Very important Scripture, keep this one in mind.)

V.9; Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.

(To whom was Jesus talking to, and what time period do you think was HE referring to?)

V.10; And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

V.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.

V.15; When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

(Now this is a very profound Scripture regarding the time line and the period and the place when this is supposed to happen, and one has to go back to the book of Daniel to get the bigger picture.)

(I know of only one place where there is a place called JUDEA and that is in the Holy land of ISRAEL! So again the question arises, to whom did our Lord talk to?)

V.17; Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:

(Do you stay on your housetop? I didn’t think so, so what type of people and culture had stairs going up to their housetops? Ponder on that one.)

V.19; And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!

V.20; But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:

(Do you keep the Sabbath day? We have freedom in Christ because HE is our REST now because HE is LORD of the Sabbath! So who was Jesus talking to?)

V.21; For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

(So you see that there is a difference between “tribulation” and “Great tribulation”, and I arrive at this from the fact in the second half of the verse it is stated that “not since the beginning of the world to this time, no nor ever shall be.” Here you see that the LORD talk about two time periods, the first one is “from the beginning of the world to this time” meaning from creation up the time that HE was speaking the words, and the second one is “nor shall ever be” meaning forward into the future from the time HE spoke the words. This also tells me that the Holocaust and WW I & II will not be a match to the intensity of the “GREAT TRIBULATION”.)

A lot of people thought that this period as mentioned in verse 15 was the time when the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD, (Anno Domini) but if it was the case then how do you explain verse 21, seeing that the scriptures from 15 to 20 accumulate up to verse 21. According to the Jewish Historicist, Flavius Josephus in the book “Josephus The Jewish War” on page 337, it is recorded that “All the prisoners taken from the beginning to end of the war totalled 97,000; those who perished in the long siege were 1,10000.” And in the Holocaust about 6,000 000 Jews perish under the Nazi regime.

And then our Lord tells us that the Great Tribulation will be worse than all these wars combined, and that includes any future skirmishes or wars. Bottom line is that the “Great Tribulation” hasn’t occurred yet, because there are certain events that have to happen as spoken by Jesus and the following Scriptures reveal the truth.

Matt 24:29
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:

Mar 13:24
But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,

(Here you see that there are four events that will take place AFTER the TRIBULATION of those days. Question, when are “those days” as mentioned in the said Scripture, Matt 24:29? I want to refer you to verse 27 where it is said that “For as the lighting cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”
Here we see that the Lord doesn’t distinguish between the “Tribulation” and the “Great Tribulation” and I believe the answer is clear and that is that we should look at the events that will occur after a Tribulation.)

The sun be darkened,
The moon shall not give her light,
The stars shall fall from heaven, and
The powers of heaven shall be shaken

What is interesting is that, where in the Bible do you find the same events described above?

Rev 8:12
And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.

If one looks at the chronological events of Revelation you will notice that when these events happen, it was the fourth angel that sounded!

Revelation 8:1 tells us that the Seventh Seal was opened and there was silence in heaven for half and hour, and the seven angels were given seven trumpets and it looks to me that the first sign that points to the blowing of the trumpets is an ‘earthquake.’

The magnitude of this earthquake is not mentioned but I believe that it must be big seeing that the first angel is going to blow his trumpet in Revelation 8:7.

So what happened, and Revelation 8:7 give us a clear sign as to what happened and I quote; “The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.”

The second angel sounded his trumpet and what happened? “And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood. And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.”

The third angel sounded his trumpet and what happened? “And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters. And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.”

Now just think about it, a third of the trees and all the green grass, a third of sea and a third of the creatures in the sea, a third part of the ships and a third part of the rivers and of the waters were destroyed!

If for an example take the amount of people on the earth – 6 billion and take away one third that means that 2 billion people will perish or will be destroyed. And then there is the fourth angel that gives the four events. No wonder the Word tells us that after that tribulation wills the sun be darkened, the moon shall not give her light, the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

In Matt 24:29 and Mark 13:24 it only states that “after the/that tribulation”, it never make mention of the “Great Tribulation” but look closely you will see that Mathew 24:21 make mention of the “Great Tribulation” which links up with Matthew 24:29 which states that ‘after the tribulation in those days’ meaning that the first angel to the third angel will happen during the second 3½ Biblical years, the “Great Tribulation”.

Rev 7:14
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.

(At this point I’m not going to expound on this Scripture because it is not part of the current study.)

So, now let’s look at the prefix “Pre” which means according to the Oxford Dictionary, ‘before, beforehand’.

That is where you get the term “Pre-Tribulation” meaning that something is going to happened before the tribulation, as to “Mid-” and “Post-” pertaining to the “Rapture”.

There is one thing that we have to make clear is that the term “Pre-Tribulation” does not exist in the Word of God, the KJV (Authorized Version).

We did determine that there will be a Tribulation period and a Great Tribulation period, and organisations has added the prefix “Pre-, Mid-, and Post” to the words to conform to their interpretation of the Word of God, and therefore taking it out of context and not rightly dividing the Word of God. So now we will examine the term “Rapture” in the second part of this easy.

In the second part I will try to expound on the event called the “Pre-Tribulation Rapture.”