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Jesus said, “For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will” (Matthew 24:21, NASB1995).
When Jesus was asked by the Apostles to describe the end times, He used the word “tribulation.” Jesus went on the describe the end times with the following . . .
Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short (Matthew 24:22).
Considering culture, world events, and natural disasters, has anyone asked, “Can it get worse?” The Bible answers, “Yes!”
We often just notice the fires, hurricanes, typhoons, earthquakes, or tornados that make the headlines. One organization says that a weather, climate, or water hazard occurs somewhere in the world every day.
From 1970 to 2019, there have been 650,000 deaths from droughts, 577,232 from storms, and 55,736 from extreme temperatures.
When we consider the problems caused by people, one university estimates that wars increased by two percent between 1870 and the early 2000s (the study ended in 2001, but I’m sure the percentage continues). Another report indicates that we have more conflicts today than at any time since World War II and that six out of seven people in the world are faced with insecurity.
Jesus predicts the increase of wars when He says, “You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars” (Matthew 24:6). And He says this about fear in the end times, “Men fainting from fear and the expectation of things to come” (Luke 21:26).
The Bible mentions “tribulation” in the end times with an increase of natural disasters and wars. Scripture also predicts a great economic collapse, signs in the heavens, along with world-disrupting plagues.
The nations of the world will cry, “Peace,” and one political party will blame another political party (and let’s not forget our complicity by owning propane grills on our back porches).
Fortunately, Isaiah gives us the real cause of tribulation . . .
I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’ All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imagination – a people who continually provoke me to my very face (Isaiah 65:1-3, NIV).
The Bible refers to the connection of blessing or tribulation in relation to whether or not people seek God. Prophecy teaches that the tribulation of the end times has roots in our rebellion against God’s will.
A time will come (and I think it’s soon) when God will say, “Enough is enough.” The Bible says . . .
Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other (Matthew 24:30-31, NASB 1995).
Tribulation will cease when Jesus returns as the Prince of Peace.