Dear Ron -

The term "great tribulation" occurs only three times in scripture:  Matthew 24:21, Revelation 2:22, and Revelation 7:14.  Interestingly, Luke 21:20-24 describes the same events as Matthew 24:15-22 but does not use the term "great tribulation."  Instead, Luke refers to the event as "days of vengeance."  There may be merit to the idea that Matthew is speaking of the last days and Luke was referring to AD 70.  That's another discussion, I suppose.

The point is that by comparing the three uses of "great tribulation" and discarding unwarranted inferences and presuppositions, it becomes clear that Matthew and John are talking about different events.  By attempting to conflate, absurdity quickly emerges.

The "great tribulation" of Matthew is a local event.  Jesus says "great tribulation" will be preceded by the Abomination of Desolation and he admonishes those in Judea to flee.  I think it's totally unwarranted to suggest that "those in Judea" could be synonymous with "a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues" in Rev. 7.  Further, those who heed Jesus' warning in Matthew - those who obey Him - will be preserved.  They will remain alive.  The rest (or almost all of the rest) will presumably die in the "great tribulation" that follows.  QUESTION:  why would those who disregarded Jesus' words and perished be seen as having "washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" and be found in heaven?

Revelation 2:22 has the only other mention of the term "great tribulation."  One might think that if the "great tribulation" were really the centerpiece of the eschaton, the term would appear more often.  In this final passage, we see another local problem, this time in Thyatira.  There is no suggestion that this maps to the final seven years before the Millennium.  Rather, there is a sexually immoral woman.  Some are committing adultery with her.  These are threatened with "great tribulation" unless they repent.  QUESTION:  if they refused to repent and went into "great tribulation," on what basis would we expect to see them before the Throne in Revelation 7:9?

With one possible exception that I've found, "tribulation" and "wrath" are not the same.  We are not appointed to wrath, but tribulation is to be expected.  Acts 14:22 and Romans 5:3 come to mind.  When a farmer harvests his wheat, he fully expects that the kernels will have husks on them, so he uses a "tribulum" to make the wheat fit for use.  He isn't either angry or surprised at this state of affairs.  Similarly, we all have a "husk" of sorts - a corrupt core of things that are unfit for Kingdom use.  We don't naturally have perseverance, Godly character, or hope.  God engenders these in us through tribulation.  So to say we're "exempt" from tribulation is a fairly serious error.  We should expect and embrace it.

My conclusion is that the "great tribulation" mentioned in Revelation 7 is the general tribulation that Christians have endured since Pentecost.  It is "great" because it covered a long period of time.  The "great tribulation" of Matthew 24 is a local event.  It is "great" because it is intense.  It may be the Magog invasion, but it does not last 3 1/2 years and it is not global.  The "great tribulation" in Revelation 2 may not have happened.  It's a threat of a trip to God's woodshed for a Divine butt-spanking, predicated on a refusal to repent.  If the miscreants in Thyatira who were committing adultery with Jezebel took God's warning to heart and repented, they would avoid the punishment.  Again, nothing here about global unpleasantness or several years of distress.  There is no 3 1/2 year period of "great tribulation" in Scripture.

Best