Paul D LeFavor
Contrary to popular belief, eschatology drives, or at least affects in large measure, one’s evangelical beliefs and efforts. For example, millions of professing Christians believe in a rapture which envisions an escape from tribulation. They ask: How could God allow His Church to suffer? Such thinking leaves God’s people unprepared for trials and, for the most part, socially irresponsible. However, Christ tells us to expect tribulation and even rejoice in it! Another prominent error in the Church, which correlates to and is driven by rapture theology, presents us with a separate saving program for the ethnic nation of Israel, leading many Christians, in large measure, to fall short in their evangelistic efforts to Jews. The purpose of this study is threefold: First, to confront issues like these with biblical truth and demonstrate from biblical studies, Church history and systematic theology that the phrase 'Great Tribulation' is a technical term referring to the end time trial which has already been set in motion by Christ’s first advent and will culminate with His second advent; second, to argue that God has a providential purpose for tribulation to be a means for: (1) the purification of the Church; (2) the gathering of the elect; and (3) the talionic judgment of the reprobate; and third, to demonstrate the manner in which John’s ’tribulation-kingdom-endurance’ triad in Rev 1:9 forms a paradigmatic structure in the Apocalypse, Christ’s end times discourses in the gospels as well as the Pauline corpus. Thus, the goal of this study is to persuade believers to adopt an eschatology that embraces suffering for Christ. A right understanding of this is crucial for the Church to fulfill the Great Commission.
