Mt 24:21 — “For then there will be great suffering unlike anything that has happened from the beginning of the world until now, or ever will happen.”

Rev 7:13 ‘Then one of the elders asked me, “These dressed in long white robes—who are they and where have they come from?” 7:14 So I said to him, “My lord, you know the answer.” Then he said to me, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb! 7:15 For this reason they are before the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his temple, and the one seated on the throne will shelter them.”‘

The expression ‘the great tribulation’ is variously thought to refer to the suffering that took place at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, the totality of suffering between Christ’s first and second comings, or to a final period of suffering, just before our Lord’s coming in judgment.

The habit of translating the expression in Rev 7:13 as ‘the great tribulation’ (so also AV, RSV, NASB, NLT, ESV, NIV) suggests that it is a somewhat technical term for a specific period of time.

Moreover, the presence of the definite article in the same verse (‘the great tribulation’) confirms to many that a specific period of time is being referred to.  In other words, it does not refer to human history or church history more generally.

I shall now consider each of the main competing interpretations.

(a) Preterist view: refers mainly or solely to the events of AD 70.

Many ancient commentators (and some modern ones) thought that Jesus’ prediction of ‘great tribulation’ was totally fulfilled at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.

Schnabel (40 Questions About the End Times) remarks that there is no reason to suppose that this is a technical term for a seven-year period of time just before the End.  Mt 24:21 refers to a period of horrific suffering during the siege of Jerusalem.  It must be a local event, otherwise Jesus’ followers would not be able to flee.

Chamblin (commentary on Matthew): In Mt 24:21 Jesus is looking at the immediate, rather than the distant, future:

(i) The opening ‘for’ (gar) logically joins this subject to that of verses 15–20, and points to the reason why flight is urgent.

(ii) The opening ‘then’ (tote) links this tribulation chronologically to ‘those days’ (v. 19) of flight before the advancing Roman armies.

(iii) The closing words ‘nor ever will be’ (oud’ ou mē genētai) are very fitting if a considerable period is to elapse between this ‘great tribulation’ and the dawn of the end (cf. 24:14; Luke 21:24), but they are hardly necessary if ‘final tribulation’ is here in view.

(However, according to Chamblin, this historic period of tribulation presages that which will occur just prior to Christ’s return, Rev 7:14.  See (c), below.)

‘This generation’, Mt 24:34 refers to people alive when Jesus spoke.

Some adopt a partial preterist position: the primary reference is to the catastrophic events of AD 70, with a secondary application to the ongoing suffering of the church.

(b) The totality of suffering between Christ’s first and second comings

According to this view, the great tribulation includes all the trials and pressures to which Christians have been and will be subjected and views them from the perspective of the climactic end. Some Asian churches already experienced eschatological tribulations in their initial stages (Rev 1:9; 2:3, 9, 10, 13).

Koester: Cannot be limited either to the immediate historical context, or to some remote future.  Jesus’ teaching would need to have made sense, and been applicable to, his hearers and to John’s early readers.  Yet even they would not have limited it to their own time, because the group is so vast and so diverse.  The vision itself contians no specific time markers.

Compare:

John 16:33 — “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In the world you have trouble and suffering, but take courage—I have conquered the world.”

Acts 14:22 — ‘They strengthened the souls of the disciples and encouraged them to continue in the faith, saying, “We must enter the kingdom of God through many persecutions.”’

Ian Paul:

‘For Daniel, the ‘great suffering’ would be an intense time of distress immediately preceding the End and the resurrection of all the dead, through which those ‘whose name is written in the book’ would be delivered. But as we shall see clearly in Revelation 11–12, John reconfigures Daniel’s understanding of this time; it now becomes the time from Jesus’ death, resurrection and exaltation all the way until he returns again, so it is the time which John and his readers (and we) are already experiencing.’

Beale (Shorter Commentary) lists the following reasons for adopting this interpretation:

• In Rev 1:1, 13, 19 it is clear that the prophecies of Daniel are being fulfilled from the time of Christ onward.
• Daniel’s prophecy of resurrection (Dan 12:2) is fulfilled spiritually in Jesus’ own ministry and then physically at his return (John 5:24–29).  It follows that the resurrection of the saints in Dan 12:2 has begun in Jesus ministry (see the reference to the ‘first resurrection’ in Rev 20:6).
• In Rev 1:9; 2:9–10, 22 the tribulation is a present reality. So also the ‘hour of testing’ in Rev 3:10, which alludes to Dan 12:1, 10, and apparently includes the entire period between Christ’s two advents.  The definite article in v14 probably refers back, in part, to the tribulation which was to occur very soon in the church of Thyatira.
• Tribulation is seen as a present reality in John 16:33, and also in 21 out of 23 uses by Paul.

MacLeod (A Faith To Live By):

‘The great tribulation’ probably refers to the entire period of the Christian church.  After a short breathing-space, Acts 2:47, came severe persecution, lasting three centuries.  Then, and now, we live in ‘the sufferings of this present time’, Rom 8:18, when ‘all who live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution’, 2 Thess 1:5f; 2 Tim 3:12.  In recent years, this has been exemplified in the experience of believers in Uganda, Eastern Europe, China, Manchuria and Iran.

They are not just those who have been martyred (or otherwise persecuted) for the faith; nor does this refer to some specific future period of persecution. They are, as outlined above, God’s people in totality. In the present verse, they have two characteristics: they ‘have come out of the great tribulation’, and ‘have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.’

Fee: The word ‘tribulation’ is unfortunate, since it has been co-opted during the last century or so to refer to a specific time period.  But chronology is not John’s interest here.  He is referring to the great trial that the church of his own day was experiencing, and which would get worse before it got better.

ESVEC: Not a technical term with a single meaning, and not to be limited to a seven-year period at the close of history.   In Mt 24:21 is refers to the events of AD70.  But here it designate the entire period between the two advents of Christ.  Dan 12:1 describes this as a ‘time of trouble’ from which God’s people will be delivered.

Mulholland: The grammar indicates a continuing process (‘…are coming out…’), suggesting that the redeemed throughout Christian history are experiencing, and ‘coming out of’ persistent tribulation.

Krodel: All the trials that Christians have experienced, and will experienced.  The perspective is that of the climactic end.

Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible: Jesus’ teaching in the Olivet discourse (Mt 24; 25; Mk 13; Lk 21) is delivered to his disciples in private,

‘as a matter directly relevant to their lives (Mt 24:3).  Jesus told the 12 disciples that they would be delivered up to tribulation and that this tribulation would take the form of persecution to the death for his name’s sake (Mt 24:99).’

This marks the beginning of tribulation that would affect Christians throughout history.

Porter (DLNTD): Although some have (uneccessarily) sought to establish the character and chronology of this tribulation, Rev 6-9 does graphically depict events of tribulation prior to Christ’s return (Rev 19:11–21).  Like other biblical apocalyptic passages, it reflects persecution which is imminent if not actually present to the author’s own time, and which continues throughout the Christian era.  Contra to some writers, Christians will not be removed or exempt from this persecution: in Rev 1:9 John describes himself as a brother in the suffering of his readers, and in Rev 2:9-10 he assures the church in Smyrna that they can expect to have tribulation.

(c) Futurist: a final period of suffering

‘The Great Tribulation’ is a term given by some Bible interpreters to

‘a specific period of suffering at the end of earthly history,…hinted at in the OT (Dt. 4:30; cf. Dan. 12:1), developed by Jesus in His “Olivet Discourse” (Mt. 24:15–31; Mk. 13:14–27), and prophesied in the book of Revelation (Rev. 7:14).’ (ISBE, rev. ed.)

Thus understood, the term denotes:

‘a worldwide, unprecedented time of trouble that will usher in the parousia, Jesus’ return to earth in great glory.’ (EDT)

According to W.H. Baker:

‘Both postmillennialists and amillennialists regard it as a brief, indefinite period of time at the end of the millennium, usually identifying it with the revolt of Gog and Magog of Revelation 20:8–9. Postmillennialists view history as moving toward the Christianization of the world by the church and a future millennium of undetermined length on earth culminating in the great tribulation and final return of Christ. In contrast, amillennialists consider the millennium to be a purely spiritual reality from the first advent to the second, a period lasting already two thousand years and to culminate in the great tribulation, a somewhat less optimistic view of history and the progress of the gospel witness.’

This is also the view of both classical premillennialists (Spurgeon, Ladd, Grudem and others) and dispensational premillennialists (including Darby, Scofield, Walvoord, Ryrie and others).  The former tend to regard this period as one of indeterminate duration; the latter tend to regard it as literally 7 years in length.

Beasley-Murray (NBC): ‘not a general designation of the trials which are the Christian’s normal lot, but the tribulation that occurs at the close of this age.’

Ladd: A period of seven years during which the suffering of the church will increase.

Evans: A period of testing or suffering that will introduce the end times.

Mounce:

‘The use of the definite article in the phrase “the great tribulation” indicates that the angel is referring primarily to that final series of woes which will immediately precede the end. It is the hour of trial that is to come upon the whole world (3:10). It is not “the awesome totality of tribulation which from century to century has been the experience of the people of God” nor does it correspond to “the entire history of the church—past, present, and future.”38 It is that specific period of distress and cruel persecution which will take place prior to the return of Christ.’

Koester (AYB):

‘Many interpreters assume that in Revelation the great affliction is imminent but has not yet begun (Aune; Mounce; Murphy; Osborne; Bauckham, Climax, 226). Dispensationalists argue that there will be seven years of tribulation at the end of the present age (Dan 9:27), and the last half will be “the great tribulation.” At that time the Jerusalem temple will be desecrated by the Antichrist (Matt 24:15–21; 2 Thess 2:4), and the conflict depicted in Rev 11–19 will occur. For those who think that Christians will be raptured, or taken up from the earth, before the tribulation begins, the crowd pictured in Rev 7:9–17 must consist of those converted to Christianity during the tribulation period (Scofield; LaHaye). A major problem with the dispensationalist view is that Revelation does not envision Christians being raptured but assumes that all Christians must be prepared to endure affliction.’

Paul Beasley-Murray (The Message of Resurrection): Primarily an application to a final, specific period of testing, as suggested by the definite article in Rev 7:14.  But the present participle (erchomenoi) suggests a secondary application to the ongoing experience of God’s people.

An important, if relatively modern, subset is dispensational premillenialism

Dispensational writers such as Scofield, Ryrie and Lightner typically teach that:

• The Great Tribulation denotes a period of time predicted by Jesus, Matt. 24:21, 29; Mark 13:19, 24, and preceding his second advent.
• It corresponds to Daniel’s seventieth week (of years), (or to the second half of that week), Dan. 9:24–27.
• It is preceded by the ‘rapture’, in which followers of Jesus who are alive at the time will be taken up to heaven.
• Its beginning will be signalled by the setting up of the ‘abomination of desolation’ (Matt. 24:15; Mark 13:14, cf. Dan. 11:31; 12:11).
• It will involve the whole earth, Rev 3:10, but will centre on the Jewish nation, who, having returned to Palestine in unbelief, will experience unprecedented suffering at the hands of antichristian powers, 2 Thess. 2:10–12; cf. Rev. 12:13–17).  It is also known as ‘the time of Jacob’s trouble (Jer 30:7).
• Those who ‘come out of the great tribulation’ are those who have come to faith during this period and are thus ‘stuck’ on earth, enduring persecution and even martyrdom.
• For Ryrie (Study Bible) the period of the Tribulation extends from Rev 4 to 19.  The first two chapters of this extensive section deal with the situation in Heaven; the remaining chapters deal with the situation in Heaven.

Some dispensational teachers refer only to the second half of the 7-year period as the ‘great tribulation’.  In Lightner’s view,

‘The first half of the Tribulation is going to involve great Tribulation while the second half, if anything, is going to involve greater Tribulation.’ (The Last Days Handbook)

Lightner sees the following sequence of events:

‘The Tribulation will begin when Israel signs a treaty with the Antichrist, who undertakes to guarantee Israel’s peace. Thereafter the devastating seal judgments are visited upon the earth. Around the midpoint of the Tribulation, the trumpet judgments devastate the earth, and then shortly before the Second Coming, the bowl judgments are poured out upon the earth. The effects of these judgments are lingering and compounding, and things on the earth dramatically and progressively deteriorate. The Tribulation ends with the Second Coming of Christ, who defeats Satan and the armies of the world at Armageddon, and ushers in a millennial kingdom of peace, prosperity, and righteousness.’

Among dispensationalists, various views are held regarding the relationship between the ‘Rapture’, the ‘Great Tribulation’ and the ‘Millennium’:

(a) Pretribulationists (the majority) believe that the Rapture will take place prior to 7-year Tribulation period.  Since the church will have been removed from the scene, the terrible suffering will particularly affect Jewish people.  However, some Christians – those who have been converted after the Rapture, through the evangelistic work of Jewish people – will be subject to the sufferings of this perod time.

Henry C. Thiessen maintained that the seven churches of Rev 2-3 represented seven chronological stages in the istory of the Christian church.  He linked this interpretation with a proposed time of the Rapture:

‘If we accept this interpretation of these Letters, then we have here important teaching as to the time of the Rapture. It is clear that we are now in the Philadelphia period of the Church’s history. The Laodicean Church is evidently the apostate part of Christendom, taking on more and more definite form in our day. On the basis of these facts we may say that while the Philadelphia Church is promised escape from the Tribulation, the Laodicean Church will be rejected by Christ and pass into that period.’ (Quoted by Elwell, in Handbook of Evangelical Theologians)

(b) Midtribulationists such as Gleason L. Archer hold that the Rapture will take place half-way through the 7 years.  The second half of this period  will be characterised by intensified suffering.

(c) Posttribulationists such as Ladd, Gundrey and Moo think that the Great Tribulation is a an intensification of the suffering the church has experienced throughout its history.

Conclusion

I do not feel ready to form a definite conclusion to this question.

If it were possible to ‘have my cake and eat it’ then I would tentatively suggest that the term ‘the great tribulation’ covers aspects of all three positions outlined above.  Firstly, it describes the terrible suffering associated with, and following, the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.   Secondly, it describes the ongoing troubles experienced by Christian believers throughout the history of the church.  Thirdly, it describes an intensification of suffering in the period leading up to our blessed Lord’s return in glory.