Prepare For Tribulation
and the coming persecution
Contents
Tribulation – What It Is and Its Purpose
Tribulation – Today: Hostility and Persecution
Why are Christians Abandoning Faith?
Tribulation – How To Prepare and Respond
Will the Church Go Through the Great Tribulation?
What is a Christian Who is My Brother What is the Church?
The Information War and Big Tech
My journey from atheism to faith in Christ
This purpose of this site is to encourage and help Christians prepare for tribulation: through persecution, affliction and hardship which will test our faith in Jesus Christ. In particular this is intended for Christians in the West who have not had to endure persecution for over 500 years. This is a work in progress and I intend to expand and update it regularly.
Jesus taught his disciples to expect affliction as a Christian in this world:
Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few (Matthew 7:13,14 ESV).
Jesus says the way is hard that leads to life, the word ‘hard’ here meaning to suffer affliction (from the Greek verb thlibo). As we also read in Acts:
Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22).
This affliction, or tribulation, will be encountered as part of a spiritual battle against the world, our flesh and the devil which no child of God will be spared.
In Matthew chapter 24, Jesus instructs and forewarns his disciples what would happen in the end time and how they should prepare. He specifically told of a time of ‘great tribulation‘ – a time of unprecedented trial, persecution, apostasy and spiritual deception such that, if it were possible, even the elect might be misled.
Jesus used the word ‘tribulation‘ in describing this time (the Greek noun thlipsis), meaning a time of affliction or pressing circumstances (the word ‘tribulation’ comes from the Latin word tribulum which was a wooden sledge used in Roman times to remove the husk from grain by pressure and friction).
Yet in such a time we can be encouraged and not lose heart. God’s love for us will in no way diminish because through Jesus ‘we overwhelmingly conquer‘ as Paul tells us in his letter to the church in Rome:
Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, “For your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35-39)
And as David says in the beloved Psalm:
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me (Psalm 23:4).
In Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth he assures us of God’s comfort in times of tribulation or affliction.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.
Ten times in this passage (2 Corinthians 1:3-10) Paul uses the word ‘comfort‘.
Therefore in time of tribulation or affliction we need not fear for God is with us. He will comfort us and be our comfort.
While the focus here will be on preparing for persecution, we can also expect, as the end of the ages draws closer, for natural disasters, epidemics and national conflicts to increase in frequency and intensity. Christians will also have to endure these (many have died as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic) and in such times our faith and hope in God and Christ needs to be strong.
From the earliest days of the Church – from the time of the first Christian martyr Stephen, Christians have experienced persecution. The Roman empire of the first two centuries persecuted Christians who refused to make sacrifices to the Roman gods. Since that time persecution has occurred under many different regimes but for the same basic reason: our refusal to bow to the gods of this world.
Today Christians are experiencing unprecedented tribulation through persecution, discrimination, political pressure and temptation to conform to the world’s mould: politically, religiously, socially and morally. Tens of thousands of Christians have perished for no other reason than for their faith in and loyalty to Christ. This has become particularly evident in Islamic societies with the rise of a puritanical and militant Islam. In Nigeria over 60 thousand Christians have perished as a consequence over the last 20 years. In India, there has arisen a militant Hinduism which seeks, first to prevent Hindus from leaving their religion and secondly to purge non-Hindu faiths from the nation. In communist regimes, such as China and Vietnam, Christians are increasingly under pressure to conform to the ruling government’s ideology.
In Western countries, where for five centuries we have enjoyed relative peace and security, Christians are now experiencing greater antipathy as society becomes increasingly secular as it drifts from its Christian heritage. This is evident in the media, on Internet platforms, in educational and scientific institutions and by governments which no longer see the truth or relevance of Christianity. However we can be thankful that there are many Christians in these and government bodies who work to be a positive witness for Christ and the truth of God’s word.
Many have noted that we have moved from being a post-Christian society to one which is increasingly pluralistic and relativistic. Diversity has become the foundational principle of the modern generation and traditional Christian values are seen as old hat or even oppressive.
This should not surprise or alarm us for Jesus warned us 2000 years ago: these are warning signs of coming tribulation which will only increase in frequency and intensity, like birth pangs, as the time of the end draws closer (Matthew 24:8), culminating in a time of great tribulation. Jesus said we would be hated by all nations (Matthew 24:9). The temptation to compromise our faith in Jesus and the truth of God’s word for the sake of peace, acceptance and our own security will be great. So we need to be aware, prepared and take to heart the many warnings given to us in the Bible of such times.
At the same time we have seen the rise in antisemitism – hatred of Jewish people and especially that directed against the nation of Israel. It is the declared goal of many Islamic organisations and states to ‘wipe Israel off the map’.
When we see signs that a storm, a hurricane or cyclone (as they are known in the southern hemisphere) is approaching we prepare – by securing, strengthening and ensuring we have essential supplies to see us through. If we wait until the storm is on us, it will be too late. The signs of coming tribulation are evident and so we need to prepare now.
The Bible speaks of two times of tribulation: tribulation generally, which we can expect as followers of Christ at any time, and the time which Jesus forewarned us of as the Great Tribulation (as revealed in Matthew 24 and Mark 13). It will be a relatively brief time but one of unprecedented and intense persecution, trouble and spiritual deception (which I believe presents the greatest danger) such that many will fall away from the faith. Though Jesus and the apostles warned of this time, many today believe true Christians, the Church, will be secretly raptured, or caught up, to be with Christ before the Great Tribulation and before His visible coming to earth. This will examined more closely in ‘Will the Church Go Through the Great Tribulation?’. Never-the-less, whatever you believe, it is evident that tribulation for Christians – by persecution and through spiritual deception, is increasing world-wide on multiple fronts.
Tribulation through persecution of Christians in the past and in recent history is well documented and there are many resources and websites dedicated to this. While Western Christians have been spared persecution for some 500 years, our brothers and sisters in Asia, Africa and the Middle East have in recent decades not been. We would be wise to learn from their experiences (see Resources).
Yet Western Christians need to take note and prepare for the tide is beginning to turn. There have been many instances recently of Christians finding themselves on the wrong side of the law through coming into conflict with ‘equality’ and ‘diversity’ laws because they have spoken what the Bible plainly teaches or practised what they believe Christ would have them do. The Internet is increasingly becoming a battle ground for truth.
We will need to face the fact that, despite seeking justice, we will increasingly not obtain it from the secular justice system. Our hope and trust must always be in God and in Him alone.
There are increasing instances of Christians who have fled persecution in their home countries and then experienced persecution at the hands of other citizens of those nations in the Western country of refuge.
Most Western countries are now in a ‘post-Christian’ era. The foundations of Christianity: salvation through Christ alone, the truth and authority of the Bible as God’s word and its moral code – are being challenged by secular humanism and what is known as ‘woke’ politics. While this is not surprising or unexpected what is most troubling is the battle within the professing Christian church by revisionist theology. Revisionist theology has revised traditional Christian understanding of the past 1900 years to conform to modern ideas of what is moral and what is truth. The redefinition of marriage and the acceptance of evolution as scientific fact are two examples.
Knowing these things should not cause us to fear, become defensive and/or retreat from engaging with the lost of this world. This is because we have the love and power of Christ within and eternal life with Him.
False Teachers and Prophets
The greatest and most insidious danger to Christians will be (and is now) spiritual deception from within the church by false prophets and teachers. These have caused and will cause many to depart from the way of the Faith as taught by Jesus, the prophets and apostles, unsettle others by questioning and doubting the Scriptures (to conform with popular opinion) or by novel interpretations contrary to sound historical understanding.
False teachers typically find receptive ears by telling what is comforting to our own desires, by compromising with the world’s consensus on morality so as to be ‘inclusive’ and avoid censure, by minimising or denying the need to take up our cross, to live a holy life and to suffer, if needs be, for Christ’s sake. Such teachers and false shepherds are described in the Bible as wolves in sheep’s clothing who have crept in unnoticed (Matthew 7:15, Jude 1:4). The battle within the professing church will be one of the most difficult to contend with.
While we might lament the moral decline and antipathy towards Christianity in western culture we need to see that that, in part at least, it is because modern cultural philosophies have infiltrated the church. At one time the Bible, as God’s authoritative word, was the basis of western society. This has, by and large, been abandoned and replaced with human wisdom, ‘reason’ and ‘enlightenment’, effectively another religion: secular humanism. Marriage and gender, for example, are no longer what God’s word plainly teaches, but now just whatever someone feels is right for them.
Secular humanism denies the existence of God and says that man is accountable to no one except himself. As a consequence of this ideology man effectively becomes his own ‘god’ believing the age-old lie ‘you will be like God (or ‘as gods‘)’ (Genesis 3:5) deciding for himself what is right or wrong.
Tragically within many churches this worldly wisdom has been mixed with or supplanted God’s wisdom as revealed in the Scriptures. In particular the foundational book of Genesis is not considered real history. The importance of Genesis and the impact of not taking it as real history will be examined.
Expect Tribulation
We should not think we will escape tribulation. It is in fact promised (Acts 14:22, 2 Timothy 3:12). Jesus said Christians ‘will be hated by all nations‘ (Matthew 24:9). However, it is how we prepare and respond to tribulation that is most important. While we who are living now may not face the Great Tribulation, for the time is in God’s hands, we can expect before that time for our faith to be tested. Jesus and Paul forewarned us there would be a time of great apostasy when many will fall away and depart from the faith. Such warnings need to be heeded and the reasons why many will fall away so we can be prepared to stand firm. Jesus specifically warns us with these words:
Don’t be led astray; don’t be alarmed; don’t be anxious (Mark 13:5,7,11 ESV) and…
But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand. (Mark 13:23 ESV).
If we take Jesus’ words to heart and are prepared we need not fear or be discouraged in tribulation but always have hope and peace. As He also said:
“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
Furthermore we can be greatly encouraged by God’s promise:
No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Next: Tribulation – What It Is and Its Purpose
Unless otherwise indicated Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission (www.Lockman.org).
Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.