“for then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall.”

– Matthew 24:21

Our Lord’ s prophetic discourse continues dealing with mid-tribulational events. He says that the second three and a half year period will not only be ” tribulation,” as noted of the first half (Matt. 24:9), but a time of ” great tribulation.” In fact, it will be the greatest time of tribulation since the beginning of creation (cf. Mark 13:19), or will ever be. The focus of this time of tribulation will revolve around the Jewish people and their land of Israel.

The Tribulation

This verse starts with a reference back to the preceding section. Ed Glasscock explains: ” Verse 21 offers an explanation (gar) for the illustrations of urgency just presented and uses the temporal adverb tote (” then” ) to connect the previous statements with the prediction of the worst tribulation every.” [1]This tells the Jewish remnant in Jerusalem and Judea why they need to immediately head for the hills when they learn of the abomination of desolation event (Matt. 24:15) has taken place. ” Evidently, this will be the last possible moment for escape,” notes James Gray. ” If they do not escape, they will be caught in this great and terrible trouble. It will come so suddenly that they do not have time to get their things together to get out.” [2]

Previously, we have seen that the word ” tribulation” was used to refer to the first half of Daniel’ s seventieth week (Matt. 24:9). Dr. J. Dwight Pentecost provides an excellent statement of the usage of ” tribulation” :

the term tribulation is used in several different ways in Scripture. It is used in a non-technical, non-eschatological sense in reference to any time of suffering or testing into which one goes. It is so used in Matthew 13:21; Mark 4:17; John 16:33; Romans 5:3; 12:12; 2 Corinthians 1:4; 2 Thessalonians 1:4; Revelation 1:9. It is used in its technical or eschatological sense in reference to the whole period of the seven years of tribulation, as in Revelation 2:22 or Matthew 24:29. It is also used in reference to the last half of this seven year period, as in Matthew 24:21.[3]

The tribulation period is not exclusively a New Testament doctrine. The tribulation period is a topic that has a rich Old Testament background and the events of this time are directed toward and involve the nation of Israel. The Old Testament speaks of a time of tribulation that Israel is destined to endure (in the latter days), but when this period is past it will result in national repentance and the nation in a right relationship with the Lord. Note some of the following key passages:

• ” When you are in distress [i.e., tribulation] and all these things have come upon you, in the latter days, you will return to the Lord your God and listen to His voice.” (Deut. 4:30)

• ” Alas! for that day is great, there is none like it; and it is the time of Jacob’ sdistress [i.e., tribulation], but he will be saved from it.” (Jer. 30:7)

• ” Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress [i.e., tribulation] such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.” (Dan. 12:1)

In addition to these specific tribulation passages noted above, there is the general theme dominate in the Old Testament of individuals and the nation crying out to the Lord when in a time of distress and tribulation. For example this is a major theme in Psalm 107. Verse 6 says, ” Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble [i.e., tribulation]; He delivered them out of their distresses.” Note the following passages that have a similar pattern: Gen. 35:3; 1 Sam. 10:19; 26:24; 2 Sam. 4:9; 1 Ki. 1:29; 2 Chron. 15:4; Psa. 20:1; 25:22; 34:17; 46:1; 50:15; 81:7; 86:7; 107:6, 13, 19, 28; 116:3; 120:1; Isa. 33:2; Jer. 14:8; 16:19; Jonah 2:2; Nahum 1:7.

In fact, Paul writes about Israel’ s deliverance from tribulation in Romans 9- 11. Romans 10:11-15 tells us that one day Israel will call upon the name of the Lord and be saved. This redemption will occur one day to national Israel, but it will come during the tribulation period- the great tribulation.

Great Tribulation

Matthew 24:21 speaks about the great tribulation. What is the great tribulation? The great tribulation is the last three and a half year period of the tribulation, which will culminate in the second advent of Christ. Dr. John Walvoord says:

The great tribulation, accordingly, is a specific period of time beginning with the abomination of desolation and closing with the second coming of Christ, in the light of Daniel’ s prophecies and confirmed by reference to forty-two months. In Revelation 11:2 and 13:5, the great tribulation is a specific three-and-a-half-year period leading up to the second coming . . .

That the period would be a time of unprecedented trouble is brought out clearly in Revelation 6- 19. . . . Putting all these Scriptures together, it indicates that the great tribulation will mark the death of hundreds of millions of people in a comparatively short period of time.[4]

The New Testament uses the term ” great tribulation” in three other places, in addition to Matthew 24:21. While Acts 7:11 does not refer to the last half of a future seven-year period, the other two do as follows:

• ” Behold, I will cast her upon a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds.” (Rev. 2:22)

• ” And I said to him, ‘ My lord, you know.’ And he said to me, ‘ These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.’ ” (Rev. 7:14)

The ” great tribulation” is said by Jesus in Matthew to be the greatest since the world began, or ever will be for the Jewish people. Mark 13:19 is even clearer where our Lord says, ” For those days will be a time of tribulation such as has not occurred since the beginning of the creation which God created, until now, and never shall.” ” Since the beginning of the creation” makes it very clear that this time period will be the greatest time of tribulation for the Jewish people in all history. John MacArthur says

No time or event in the history of Israel fits the description of the holocaust Jesus is here speaking of. The horrifying time is further described in some detail in Revelation 6- 16, where the seal, trumpet, and bowl judgments exhibit the escalating intensity of God’ s wrath upon sinful, rebellious mankind. Both the books of Revelation and of Daniel make clear that the Antichrist will tyrannize the world for ” a time, times, and half a time” (Dan. 7:25; 12:7; Rev. 12:14), that is, a year, two years, and a half year, or three and one half years (Rev. 11:2; 13:5). Clearly, the events described by our Lord, by Daniel, and by John must refer to the same great holocaust at the end time, just before the millennial kingdom is established on earth.[5]

Christ is clearly using the language of Daniel 12:1, which says, ” And there will be a time of distress [i.e., tribulation] such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people.” Joel 2:2 also employs similar language when it says, ” A day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness. As the dawn is spread over the mountains, so there is a great and mighty people; there has never been anything like it, nor will there be again after it to the years of many generations.”

It is significant that in both of these passages, the time of tribulation results in the redemption of the Jewish remnant. Just such a redemption is described in Matthew 24:29-31 where it says, ” But immediately after the tribulation of those days . . . 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.”

Purging The Rebels

As I have been saying, the purpose of the tribulation, especially the great tribulation, in relation to the nation of Israel is to prepare her for final redemption. This is taught in the passages cited above about her deliverance from tribulation. We also find in passages, like Ezekiel 20 and 22, the Lord providing an overview of Israel’ s entire history. Often the prophet recounts the nation’ s past history of disobedience and then predicts that there will come a time in the future when the nation will finally become obedient to the Lord. Usually this will come after the nation has gone through a time of great trial and tribulation as we see in Ezekiel 20:33-38. But the significant thing is that at the end of this process the nation is brought into ” the bond of the covenant.”

• ” As I live,” declares the Lord God, ” surely with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out, I shall be king over you. And I shall bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out; and I shall bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I shall enter into judgment with you face to face. As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you,” declares the Lord God. ” And I shall make you pass under the rod, and I shall bring you into the bond of the covenant; and I shall purge from you the rebels and those who transgress against Me; I shall bring them out of the land where they sojourn, but they will not enter the land of Israel. Thus you will know that I am the Lord.” (Ezek. 20:33-38)

Zechariah 13- 14 records a similar scenario as we have seen in many of the Old Testament passages noted above. This passage speaks of all the nations of the world sending armies to surround Jerusalem, yet through this time of tribulation, the Israel is converted and rescued through the personal return of Christ. The following passage from Zechariah 13 speaks of God purging out two-thirds of Israel, but saving the remaining third.

• ” And it will come about in all the land,” declares the Lord, ” that two parts in it will be cut off and perish; but the third will be left in it. And I will bring the third part through the fire, refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, and I will answer them; I will say, ‘ They are My people,’ and they will say, ‘ the Lord is my God.’ ” (Zech. 13:8-9)

Conclusion

Matthew 24 is similar to these Old Testament passages in that Christ predicts the nation will pass through the time of great tribulation (verse 21), but when these events have transpired, Jesus will return and rescue the elect remnant (verses 29-31). Christ’ s prophetic sermon as recorded in Matthew follows the well-established pattern found in the Old Testament. Since Matthew 24 speaks of tribulation followed by immediately by rescue (verse 29), then His prophecy has to be future to our time since the Jewish people have never gone through anything like that in past history. Maranatha!

(To Be Continued . . .)

 

Endnotes
[1] Ed Glasscock, Matthew: Moody Gospel Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1997), pp. 470-71.

[2] James R. Gray, Prophecy on The Mount: A Dispensational Study of the Olivet Discourse (Chandler, AZ: Berean Advocate Ministries, 1991), p. 78.

[3] J. Dwight Pentecost, Things To Come: A Study in Biblical Eschatology (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1958), p. 170.

[4] John F. Walvoord, Matthew: Thy Kingdom Come (Chicago: Moody Press, 1974), p. 188.

[5] John MacArthur, Jr., The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Matthew 24- 28 (Chicago: Moody Press, 1989), p. 44.

“then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains; let him who is on the housetop not go down to get the things out that are in his house; and let him who is in the field not turn back to get his cloak. But woe to those who are with child and to those who nurse babes in those days! But pray that your flight may not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath;”

– Matthew 24:16- 20

Previously, we saw that verse 15 describes an event that fixes the chronological mid-point of the seven-year tribulation. Verses 16- 20 describe the recommended response of the faithful who see the abomination of desolation in Jerusalem. They are to get out of Dodge as fast as they can. Why? It is because the second-half of the tribulation will be a time of persecution and great tribulation for the Jewish remnant.

The Command to Flee

This passage is saying that the moment the Jewish Remnant (the elect in verses 22, 24 and 31) sees the watershed event of the abomination of desolation then they are to flee to the Judean hills. Why are they to flee instantly? It is because with the instantaneous event of the Beast (antichrist) setting up the abomination of desolation in the rebuilt Jewish Temple, he goes from protecting Israel to persecuting her. Therefore, the sooner that the Remnant can get out of town, then the less likely it will be that antichrist will be able to persecute the Jews. Another reason why they will be able to flee instantly is because they will be miraculously provided for and protected as they make their way to Petra for three and a half years of safekeeping.

Matthew 24:16- 20 provides a set of instructions for the Remnant. Christ tells them where to go: the Judean mountains. Jesus says to flee instantly. Don’ t even take a few minutes to collect a few personal belongings like your cloak in the field or a few items from your house for the journey. He warns that it will be difficult to navigate the mountainous terrain if pregnant or nursing a newborn. Jesus does not say that it will be impossible, but it will be difficult. Difficulty will be compounded if this event occurs in winter or on a Sabbath, because of the added restrictions that these times pose. The winter in Israel is the rainy season which increases the hazards of travel in the Judean hills because the creeks and rivers provide an obstacle not there during other seasons. The Sabbath imposes a travel restriction that is not in force on the other six days of the week that poses a real problem to the observant Jew. So why are the Jewish Remnant supposed to be aware of a special event which triggers their escape into the Judea wilderness, yet they are not told to make any preparations for that day?

Miraculous Provision

While Matthew 24:16- 20 focuses upon the divinely suggested response to the abomination of desolation by the Jewish Remnant, other passages provide a more complete picture of this three and a half year wilderness sojourn. The parallel passage of Revelation 12 provides further details of this mid-tribulational escape. Revelation 12:6 says, ” And the woman [Israel] fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she might be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.” The key word in this verse is ” nourished.” This explains why the Jewish Remnant is told to flee without consideration for any provisions, because God has prepared a place where Israel will be nourished and taken care of for three and a half years (the second-half of the tribulation).

Notice some of the Old Testament passages that describe God’ s provision for His people during this three and a half year period:

The afflicted and needy are seeking water, but there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst; I, the Lord, will answer them Myself, as the God of Israel I will not forsake them. I will open rivers on the bare heights, and springs in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land fountains of water. I will put the cedar in the wilderness, the acacia, and the myrtle, and the olive tree; I will place the juniper in the desert, together with the box tree and the cypress, that they may see and recognize, and consider and gain insight as well, that the hand of the Lord has done this, and the Holy One of Israel has created it.

– Isaiah 41:17- 20

” I will surely assemble all of you, Jacob, I will surely gather the remnant of Israel. I will put them together like sheep in the fold [Hebrew word is basrah]; like a flock in the midst of its pasture they will be noisy with men.”

– Micah 2:12

The drama is further explained in Revelation 12:12- 13, which reads as follows:

For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time. And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child.

Satan’ s wrath is directed toward the Jewish Remnant at the middle of the tribulation. This requires Divine protection. There is cause and effect relationship between the heavenly (the casting of Satan from heaven to earth) and earthly (the abomination of desolation) events. At the mid-point of the tribulation, Satan now indwells the human antichrist and commences his campaign of anti-Semitism against the Jews with all haste. Thus, the need for a hasty retreat by Israel as advocated by Jesus.

Next, Revelation 12:14 says, ” And the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, in order that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.” The ” two wings of the great eagle,” do not refer to the Israeli or American Air Forces. Instead, it is a figure of speech denoting Divine assistance, like that which was given to Israel during the Exodus and for her forty-year wonderings. That very same language was used in Exodus 19:4 of God’ s miraculous provision for the nation: ” You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself.” Deuteronomy 32:10- 12 speaks of a similar miraculous provision at the Exodus in relationship to eagles’ wings.

Putting the pieces of the puzzle together, it appears that the Jewish Remnant can flee Jerusalem without concern for provisions, since God will nurture and care for them as He did the Exodus generation through miraculous means. Very likely the Lord will provide food (perhaps manna), water, and clothing for His Remnant that will be on the run and in hiding so as to escape the persecution of the dragon during the final half of the tribulation.

Preterist Objections

Regular readers of this commentary will not be surprised to learn that preterists do not agree with this interpretation. Predictably, they believe Matthew 24:16- 20 was fulfilled in the first century. Gary DeMar says, ” Matthew 24:16- 20 clearly presents first-century-Israel living conditions.” [1]This presents no problem at all for a future fulfillment. In fact, I have been to Jerusalem a number of times over the years. In the old city, many of the houses are very old and have retained many of the features of ” first-century-Israel,” including the fact that the top of one’ s roof is still part of modern living in Jerusalem. In fact, one of the best ways to navigate across the old city is to walk on the roofs. I have done it many times. DeMar needs a good tour of ” modern” Jerusalem. The points he makes in his attempt to argue that this passage requires a first-century setting have no traction and does not at all render a modern fulfillment unlikely.

Dr. Kenneth Gentry speaks of ” Christ’ s dire warning to flee without turning back (Matt. 24:16- 18). Once Titus begins encircling the city, it will not take him long to seal it off from the outer world (Matt. 24:16- 20).” [2] There are a number of problems with trying to make Dr. Gentry’ s position fit the a.d. 70 event. Dr. Randall Price provides the following objections to Dr. Gentry’ s misguided assertion:

According to the fourth-century Church historian Eusebius, Christians fled to Pella in a.d. 61- 62, many years before the beginning of the Jewish Revolt in a.d. 66, and many more years before the ” abomination of desolation” (according to the preterist’ s interpretation) occurred with the Roman army surrounding Jerusalem or entering the Temple precincts in a.d. 70. To this problem should be added the fact that the Romans controlled the Judean countryside (to which Jerusalem belongs) as well as its immediate environs for some time prior to their siege of the city, which would have made it practically impossible for either Jerusalemites or those in fields outside the city, to make an escape. Neither Jesus could have meant that a flight should take place once the siege began, for any escaping at this time would have run into the hands of the enemy! Moreover, as many commentators have observed, the biblical command to ” flee to the mountains” (Matt. 24:16; Mk. 13:14; cf. Lk. 21:21) hardly agrees with the geographical setting of Pella in the low-lying foothills of the Transjordan valley on the other side of the River Jordan. Since Jerusalem is called ” the Holy Mountain” (Psa. 48:1; cf. 87:1-2), ” Mount Zion” (Psa. 74:2; 78:68-69), and is situated and surrounded by ” mountains” (Psa. 125:1-2; cf. 48:2) ” fleeing to the mountains” could not be interpreted as descending to a lower elevation and it is far more reasonable that ” the mountains” of Jesus’ reference would be those that immediately surrounded the city (i.e., the Judean hills, cf. Ezek. 7:15-16), since Jesus’ command was not to flee from Judea but within it.[3]

Conclusion

It is clear that the Jewish Remnant will be fleeing to the Judean wilderness where Old Testament passages teach (along with Revelation 12) that she will be miraculously protected for the later half of the tribulation. The place of her protection is said in the Old Testament to be Bozrah. ” ‘ For I have sworn by Myself,’ declares the Lord, ‘ that Bozrah will become an object of horror, a reproach, a ruin and a curse; and all its cities will become perpetual ruins. I have heard a message from the Lord, and an envoy is sent among the nations, saying, ‘ Gather yourselves together and come against her, and rise up for battle!’ ” (Jeremiah 49:13- 14) Bozrah is a region in southwest Jordan, where the ancient fortress city of Petra is located. Isaiah 63:1- 3 asks, ” Who is this who comes from Edom, with garments of glowing colors from Bozrah, this One who is majestic in His apparel, marching in the greatness of His strength? It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Why is Your apparel red, and Your garments like the one who treads in the wine press? I have trodden the wine trough alone, and from the peoples there was no man with Me. I also trod them in My anger, and trampled them in My wrath; and their lifeblood is sprinkled on My garments, and I stained all My raiment.” Bozrah (Petra) is the place where up to a couple million Jews have been hidden away since the middle of the tribulation when they fled from Judea. The Lord has nourished them for those three and a half years and now He defends this Jewish Remnant that by the time of the second coming has converted in mass to Jesus as their Messiah. Christ has blood on His garments from defending the Jews against the army of the antichrist, who have gathered themselves to attack the Jews at Armageddon. Such a force arrayed against the Lord’ s people requires His personal intervention. This He does first at Petra. Maranatha!

(To Be Continued . . .)

 

Endnotes
[1] Gary DeMar, Last Days Madness: Obsession of the Modern Church (Powder Springs, GA: American Vision, 1999), p. 111.

[2] Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr., Perilous Times: A Study in Eschatological Evil(Texarkana, AR: Covenant Media Press, 1999), p. 61.

[3] J. Randall Price, ” Historical Problems with a First-Century Fulfillment of the Olivet Discourse,” in Tim LaHaye and Thomas Ice, editors, The End Times Controversy: The Second Coming Under Attack (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 2003), p. 394.