But you asked about the tribulation mentioned in Revelation. Let’s look at each verse where it is mentioned.<\/p>\n
“I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ<\/em>” (Revelation 1:7).<\/p><\/blockquote>\nRather than speaking of a future event, John speaks of the tribulation as something that has already begun and is currently continuing. John was a partaker with others in this tribulation.<\/p>\n
“I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life<\/em>” (Revelation 2:9).<\/p><\/blockquote>\nIn speaking to the church in Smyrna, Jesus states they have been facing tribulation. Again, it was something occurring at the time of the writing of Revelation — not something in the distant future. This tribulation would get worse, but it would only last a short period of time.<\/p>\n
“Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds<\/em>” (Revelation 2:22).<\/p><\/blockquote>\nJesus told the church in Thyatira that if they did not clean up their act that he would visit tribulation upon them because of their sins. Again, this cannot be something in the far distant future. If it was, the threat would make no impact on those committing these sinful deeds.<\/p>\n
“And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb<\/em>” (Revelation 7:14).<\/p><\/blockquote>\nAt the beginning of Revelation, John stated, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants–things which must shortly take place<\/em>” (Revelation 1:1). One of the things John saw were martyrs (Revelation 6:9). His vision showed that they were not permanently killed. They continued to live and were with God. They had survived the tribulation that killed them — not on earth, but eternally in heaven. Again we see references to something that is ongoing.<\/p>\nThe tribulation in Revelation is a reference to the great persecution of the church by the Roman government; a persecution that had already begun when John wrote Revelation and was going to continue for a while. Paul had mentioned that the persecution had begun or would soon begin when he gave his advice about marriage. “I suppose therefore that this is good because of the present distress–that it is good for a man to remain as he is<\/em>” (I Corinthians 7:26). From history, we know that this started under Nero when Paul lived and became incredibly severe under later emperors, such as Domitian. The tales of the early Christian martyrs come from this era.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Question: In the Book of Revelation, when is Christ coming back on a cloud, before or after the tribulation? Answer: In premillennialist doctrine, there is a reference to a “great tribulation,” but the various believers in premillennialism cannot make up their minds about the details. Some claim that Jesus will come and take the righteous…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[410,344,102,840],"class_list":["post-12985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-judgment","tag-premillennialism","tag-revelation","tag-tribulation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7020,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-you-werent-a-part-of-the-rapture-and-had-to-face-the-tribulation-would-that-shake-your-faith\/","url_meta":{"origin":12985,"position":0},"title":"If you weren’t a part of the rapture and had to face the tribulation, would that shake your faith?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 5, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question for you concerning the rapture. I have been thinking about this a long time and I was wondering what you thought of this. With all that is happening in the world today, we all know the end of the world is at hand. My question\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1362,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/will-there-be-a-rapture\/","url_meta":{"origin":12985,"position":1},"title":"Will There be a Rapture?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 10, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: I Thessalonians 4:13-18 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0People have always been fascinated with the second coming of Christ \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0That fascination increased greatly as the 21st century approached. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A very popular series, called \u201cLeft Behind\u201d by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins claims to tell the events of Christ\u2019s return in fictional form.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":70236,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/will-the-tribulation-come-after-the-rapture\/","url_meta":{"origin":12985,"position":2},"title":"Will the Tribulation Come After the Rapture?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 9, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Be careful not to assume that what you hear about the tribulation and the rapture is grounded in sound biblical exegesis. Reading into the Scriptures and twisting the Scriptures can mean destruction to you and others (II Peter 3:16). So, make sure you are not following\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20610,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-there-any-evidence-of-the-rapture-being-written-or-spoken-of-prior-to-1909-and-scofield\/","url_meta":{"origin":12985,"position":3},"title":"Is there any evidence of the rapture being written or spoken of prior to 1909 and Scofield?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 23, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is there any evidence of the rapture being written or spoken of prior to 1909 and Scofield? Answer: It depends on which version of premillennialism you have in mind. At its root, premillennialism holds to the idea that Jesus reigns over an earthly kingdom. Such an idea originated among\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7828,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-do-you-believe-in-regards-to-premillennial-and-dispensational-theories\/","url_meta":{"origin":12985,"position":4},"title":"What do you believe in regards to premillennial and dispensational theories?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 17, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I just came across an article on your website that talked about premillennialism. Current events seem to have got them talking. Basically, I'd like to ask you several questions about premillennial and dispensational theories that these people believe. Do current events in the Middle East, particularly those between Israel\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7830,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/premillennial-theories\/","url_meta":{"origin":12985,"position":5},"title":"Premillennial Theories","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There are a lot of ideas floating about concerning the Second Coming of Christ \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Most of them are strange fantasies that have little to do with the teachings in the Bible. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Many of the myths are repeated over and over so many times that many people\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12985"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12985\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}