Great Tribulation
Definition
The Great Tribulation is the eschatological period of unprecedented distress preceding the second coming, grounded in Dan. 12:1 (âa time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nationsâ), Matt. 24:21 (âgreat tribulation, unequaled from the beginning of the worldâ), and Rev. 7:14. In the dispensational schema the Great Tribulation lasts 7 years (Danielâs 70th week) or 3.5 years (the second half). In this corpus it is connected to Jacobâs trouble (Jones) and the purifying trial that precedes the manifestation of the sons of God (Warnock).
Usage in the Corpus
E.W. Bullinger
Bullinger documents that the half-week of Danielâs 70th week (3.5 years = 1260 days = 42 months) is recorded seven times in Scripture in three languages and three forms: âAlthough the period is given in three different languages, two Testaments, and three forms (years, months and days) the number is still seven.â The passages are Dan. 7:25; Dan. 12:7; Rev. 11:2; Rev. 11:3; Rev. 12:6; Rev. 12:14; Rev. 13:5. The sevenfold occurrence is for Bullinger evidence of divine design. The Great Tribulation is the period of the Antichrist. [Bullinger, Number in Scripture, Part I, Ch. II]
Stephen Jones
Jones links the Great Tribulation to Jacobâs trouble (Jer. 30:6-9). The key note is its redemptive purpose: âhe shall be saved out of itâ (Jer. 30:7b). Jones works this out typologically through Jacobâs two 21-year periods of trouble and applies it nationally through 210-year cycles. Tribulation has a corrective, not destructive, purpose â consistent with Jonesâ broader doctrine of corrective divine judgment. [Jones, Secrets of Time, Ch. 14-15]
George Warnock
Warnock sees the overcomers as operationally exempt from the Great Tribulation in its suffering dimension: âThey shall be completely triumphant over all the powers of darkness that are arrayed against them â and shall in no wise partake of the worldâs coming Tribulation, except to fulfill the works of God on behalf of the Church.â The Day of the Lord is simultaneously a day of judgment and blessing. [Warnock, The Feast of Tabernacles, Ch. 14]
In Seven Lamps of Fire (SLF), Warnock refines this further: the Tribulation is a refining process. Rev. 3:12 promises the overcomer: âHim that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God.â This is not an escape from suffering itself, but a transformation within suffering â the temple-building happens through refining. Victory is blessing in the midst of distress; Godâs work is done precisely on behalf of the Church in that season of distress. The Tribulation of the world is thus not something believers undergo but something they are perfected against. [Warnock, Seven Lamps of Fire, SLF, Eschatology]