Page 39 - The Rapture Question by John F. Walvoord

The Tribulation
The Scriptures reveal in many passages that the church
may expect tribulation. Christ said to His disciples, “In the
world ye shall have tribulation” (John 16:33, Kjv). Christ
faithfully warned His disciples, “If they persecuted me, they
will persecute you also” (John 15:20). Paul and Barnabas, in
exhorting the believers of Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch,
warned that “through much tribulation” we must “enter into
the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22, Kjv). Paul wrote the Ro­
mans, “We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know
that suffering produces perseverance” (Rom. 5:3). Similar
references to endurance of tribulation are found elsewhere
(Rom. 8:35; 12:12; 2 Cor. 1:4; 7:4; Eph. 3:13; 2 Thess. 1:4;
Rev. 1:9; 2:9-10). All these passages have to do with tribula­
tion that is characteristic of the warfare of the saints and to be
expected in any dispensation.
The Scriptures teach plainly, however, that in sharp con­
trast to the general tribulation, which all may expect, there is
in prospect a future period of unprecedented tribulation that
will overshadow and be distinct from all previous times of
trouble. This future time of trouble, according to Scripture,
will concern three classes of people: (1) the nation Israel,
(2) the pagan Gentile world, (3) the saints or elect who will
live in that time of trouble. It is of utmost significance that
every Scripture describing the participants in this future
tribulation period refers to Israelites as Israelites, Gentiles as
Gentiles, and the saints as saints without ever once using any
of the distinctive terms that apply to believers in this present
age.
The tribulation passages in the Old and New Testaments
further illustrate that there is a twofold purpose in the time of
Great Tribulation: (1) to bring to conclusion “the times of the
Gentiles” (Luke 21:24); (2) to prepare for the restoration and
the regathering of Israel in the millennial reign of Christ fol­
lowing the Second Advent. The purpose of the Tribulation,
therefore, is not to purge the church; nor is it primarily a
41