There are a lot of differing views of the end times, what will happen, when and how, and how to interpret the book of Revelation. People get awfully worked up about this sort of thing, and a thread that seems to run through Evangelical circles is a kind of fear of what we refer to as the “great tribulation”, a period not only of intense persecution of believers, but also of the outpouring of God’s wrath on the earth.
I’m not writing this to provide a breakdown or study of Revelation, but there are a couple of things to bear in mind with the book that seem to get lost in many churches today. First off, there is a tendency among evangelicals to “over-spiritualize” the book. What I mean by that is that many people read and teach Revelation as though the entire book is one grand spiritual, prophetic allegory, which it is not. The book opens with Christ asking John to write letters to seven churches. It is sometimes lost on us that these churches actually existed, and that if you look at each of the cities these letters were addressed to, the manner in which Christ addresses and the imagery he uses connects with important and prominent aspects of the cities in which they lived, as well as the historical struggles being faced by them. It is true that we can draw spiritual principles from these letters, but they do not exist as pure spiritual metaphor, but were practical letters to real people living at the time of John.
But I think the most important issue to address is the one of fear on the part of believers. Certainly Revelation details some significant persecution and many incredible judgments that God pours out on the earth. If these things are to be taken as an indication of what is to come, how do believers deal with it? For many the answer is to defend the idea of a pre-tribulation rapture of the church. Now, many can make very good scriptural arguments for this, and for those who do so, bravo. But in many cases it seems that the idea is often clung to out of a fear lest the end times should occur in their day, and a desire to escape the tribulation described in Revelation.
To those people I am compelled to point out two things: first, the persecutions described by John are nothing new. Remember that Jesus told us that “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33). From the time of the early church until now, God’s people have suffered violence at the hand of unbelievers. The Apostles knew full-well the sting of persecution, being hunted, beaten, imprisoned and put to death. Today in many corners of the world the persecution against our brothers and sisters in Christ is severe, and identifying oneself as a believer can be a death sentence. Consider Iran and North Korea. Will the “great tribulation” make matters worse for believers in these countries? There is only so much that man can do, and recognizing this the psalmist writes “The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?” (Psalm 118:6).
Let us consider then the judgments of God poured out on the Earth in Revelation. When God pours out His wrath, who will be able to stand? God’s children, that is who. Brothers and sisters, if you are fearful because the wrath of God will be poured out on the world, take heart, because that wrath is not for you. Paul says in Romans 8:1 that “now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.” Whatever believers may be on the earth at the time God pours out His judgment, it will not be for them. Indeed, Jesus Himself spoke to His disciples about the day when God would pour out His wrath, and to them He said “So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near!” (Luke 21:28) Jesus knew these things were frightening, and the persecutions from man hard to endure, but He encouraged His disciples telling them that not only will they be blessed when persecuted, but that when they see the signs of the end of days, they should look up in hope, because Jesus is returning to take them. What is judgment for the world is a sign of the impending, eternal and permanent salvation of the believer.
To that end I encourage you all to bear in mind that, whether in the normal course of life or because the end is drawing nigh, persecutions will come in this life, but no persecutions will come that have not been born by your brothers and sisters from the beginning of the church until now, and God will bless us through them. Jesus said in Luke 6:22, “What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man.” As for the judgments of God, it is a terrible and frightening thing to consider the wrath of God that will be poured out on the unbelieving world. But as God’s child, you are not subject to God’s wrath. As God pours out judgment on the world, He will bring out His salvation for His children. The words that God spoke through the prophet Isaiah, when he prophesied God’s salvation and judgment against enemies that would march against Israel, ring as true for us today: “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)
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