The Antichrist and the Tribulation

In the last episode, we reviewed a thought-provoking book called "Three Views on the Rapture: Pretribulation, Prewrath, or Posttribulation" that delves into one of the most debated topics among Christians: the timing of the rapture. Implied in the discussion of the rapture is an understanding of the event closely related to it, called the Tribulation. One of the key features of the Tribulation is the rise of a person who has come to be called Antichrist. The scholars who authored this book disagree about the timing, but also about the nature of the Tribulation. Will Christians be there? This question shapes how we might understand the timing of the Tribulation and the return of Jesus. But are there other questions? 

Introducing the Antichrist

At the end of history as we know it, evil and rebellion against God will rise, represented by an earthly ruler known as Antichrist. The prophetic chapters of the book of Daniel reveal a sequence of empires ended by the kingdom of God. They predict a future time when a powerful king arises to oppress God’s people. This king will be the ultimate, satanically inspired opponent of God, a climactic person of wickedness and arrogance. 

• Daniel 9:26-27 (NLT) “After this period of sixty-two sets of seven, the Anointed One will be killed, appearing to have accomplished nothing, and a ruler will arise whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple. The end will come with a flood, and war and its miseries are decreed from that time to the very end. The ruler will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of seven, but after half this time, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings. And as a climax to all his terrible deeds, he will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration, until the fate decreed for this defiler is finally poured out on him.”
• Matthew 24:14 (NLT) “The day is coming when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about - the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing in the Holy Place.”
• 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12 (NLT) Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed—the one who brings destruction. He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God. Don’t you remember that I told you about all this when I was with you? And you know what is holding him back, for he can be revealed only when his time comes. For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way. Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, but the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the splendor of his coming. This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles. He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them. So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies. Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth.

According to Daniel 9:27, this Antichrist will make a covenant with Israel, which he will break to desecrate the temple. (Compare Matthew 24:15) Called the Man of Lawlessness, he will exalt himself and defy God, actually claiming to be God (2 Thessalonians 2:3-9; Daniel 11:36) In the book of Revelation, this character is described as a “beast”.

• Revelation 13:1, 5, 7-8 Then I saw a beast rising up out of the sea…. The beast was allowed to speak great blasphemies against God. And he was given authority to do whatever he wanted for forty-two months…. And the beast was allowed to wage war against God’s holy people and conquer them. And he was given authority to rule over every tribe and people and language and nation. And all the people who belong to this world worshiped the beast.

The “Great Tribulation”

Christians face tribulation throughout the present age. But a period of intense suffering is coming at the end of history, often called The Great Tribulation. It will be a time of terrible calamity, a time of trouble never seen before (Daneil 12:1; Matthew 24:21-22). It will be a  time of warfare, blasphemy, deception, persecution of God’s people (Daniel 7:8,11,20-22,24-25; 9:27; 11:45), with terrible calamities in the natural world (Revelation 6:3-13). This Tribulation will not be local or regional, but will encompass the whole world. It will take shape in two primary ways.

1. Persecution. As we’ve seen, the Antichrist opposes God and seeks to destroy God’s people. Many will be martyred for their loyalty to God.
2. God’s Judgment. God will rain down his judgment upon the Antichrist and his followers, in fact, upon sinful humanity as a whole. This is the second element of the Tribulation: divine wrath.

• Revelation 16:1 Then I heard a mighty voice from the Temple say to the seven angels, “Go your ways and pour out on the earth the seven bowls containing God’s wrath.”

At the end of the tribulation period, Christ will publicly return. He will destroy the Antichrist and his followers, and establish his earthly kingdom. 

Debates About the Tribulation

One area of debate about the Tribulation and the Antichrist has to do with whether these events are future or past. Some Christians interpret the prophetic passages as referring to the general conflict between God and Satan that has been occurring throughout history, resulting in many “antiChrist” characters and many times of tribulation for believers. 

Within those who hold a futurist view, any debate surrounding the Tribulation centers around whether the rapture will occur before, during, or after this final period. To put it another way, will Christians be in the Tribulation to suffer, and in what ways?

• The Pretribulation rapture position holds that the Tribulation is a time of God’s wrath on sinful, rebellious humanity. Christians are not appointed to suffer wrath (1 Ths 5:9). (Rev 3:10). God’s means of deliverance from his judgment is to remove the church from the earth. Since the church will not be in the Tribulation, Christians will not experience persecution under the Antichrist. Those who suffer from persecution in Rev 13 are either Jews, or people who believed in Jesus after the Rapture, or both.
• The Prewrath rapture view believes that the Tribulation falls into two parts. The first involves persecution. The second is a time of God’s wrath on sinful, rebellious humanity. Since the Rapture occurs after the rise of Antichrist, but before the wrath of God is poured out in judgment, the church will be present for the first aspect but not the second.
• The Posttribulation rapture position holds that because the Rapture occurs when Jesus comes in public triumph over evil, the church will experience persecution under the Antichrist. It will be present on the earth during the time of God’s wrath on sinful humanity. Believers are forever exempt from God’s wrath (Rom 5:9; 1 Thess 1:10). But this promise does not require Christians to be physically absent. Consider how God spared Noah from his judgment on humanity during the flood. Isaiah 26:20-21 portrays a situation where people escape God’s judgment without being removed. Also, in Revelation, the expressions of God’s wrath are not applied to every person (see Rev 9:4; 16:2). 

The Takeaway

Christians who honor God have held all these positions over time. Good arguments can be made for any position. So it’s wise to welcome Christians with different views. It also seems prudent that Christians should prepare for times of tribulation. Those times of trial and pressure come throughout history, and we aren’t promised any exemption. The encouragement is that we can be faithful knowing that God will sustain us and be present with us no matter what happens.

• James 1:2-4 (NLT) Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.