Studies in Matthew 24—Lesson 9
Revelation, pp. 205-280). Revelation 6:9-11 refers
Lesson 9— THE GREAT TRIBULATION
A. There is a sequence of events in
Matthew 24:15-21:
✓ The abomination of desolation (the national
Sunday Law) that divides the world into two
groups.
✓ The flight from the large cities preparatory to
leaving the smaller ones.
✓ The close of probation—everyone has taken
sides.
✓ The great tribulation ‘such as has not been since
the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor
ever shall be.'
In order to understand the ‘great tribulation’, we
must first understand that there is only one
tribulation composed of two stages with a pause
or respite in between. When a person watches a
movie on a DVD player and presses the pause
button, the movie stops. When the person presses
the play button again, the movie picks up where it
left off. This illustrates the two stages of the great
tribulation. The first phase of the great tribulation is
past and was the worst when it comes to length and
the second when it comes to intensity.
Which are the two stages of the great
tribulation?
The first was the period of papal supremacy
during the 1260 years from 538 to 1798 AD. God
shortened that period with the Protestant
Reformation. The second will be a short period of
severe persecution after the close of probation and
God will cut it short by the second coming of Christ.
B. One Tribulation with a Pause in Between
What is the biblical evidence for this scenario? The
answer is that the book of Revelation portrays two
stages of papal supremacy with a pause in
between. The beast of Revelation 13:1-10
oppressed the people of God for 42 months, after
which the deadly wound would be healed and the
whole world would wonder after the beast
(Revelation 13:3).
We can see the same two periods of papal
persecution in the fifth and sixth seals of the book of
Revelation (for a complete study of the fifth and
sixth seals read my study notes, ‘The Seven Seals of
1
to a group of martyrs of the past and a group of
martyrs of the future who are crying out for justice.
Revelation 6:9-11 and the martyrs of the past:
“The mangled forms of millions of martyrs cried to God
for vengeance upon that apostate power.” [Ellen G.
White, The Great Controversy, p. 59]
Revelation 6:9-11 and the martyrs of the future:
“The cries of the faithful, persecuted ones ascend to
heaven. And as the blood of Abel cried from the
ground, there are voices also crying to God from
martyrs' graves, from the sepulchers of the sea, from
mountain caverns, from convent vaults: "How long, O
Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge
our blood on them that dwell on the earth?" [Ellen G.
White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 451]
Daniel 11 portrays a similar scenario. The king of
the north persecuted God’s people in the past
(verses 30-39) and will persecute them in the future
(verses 40-45). Regarding these two stages, Ellen
White wrote:
“We have no time to lose. Troublous times are
before us. The world is stirred with the spirit of war.
Soon the scenes of trouble spoken of in the prophecies
will take place. The prophecy in the eleventh of Daniel
has nearly reached its complete fulfillment. Much of
the history that has taken place in fulfillment of this
prophecy will be repeated. In the thirtieth verse, a
power is spoken of that "shall be grieved, and return,
and have indignation against the holy covenant: so
shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence
with them that forsake the holy covenant." [Verses
31-36, quoted.] Scenes similar to those described
in these words will take place.” [Ellen G. White,
Manuscript Releases, vol. 13, p. 394]
Both stages of tribulation are the worst in history.
The first is so because of its length and the second,
because of its intensity.
Toward the conclusion of the first period, there
were signs in the heavens (Revelation 6:12, 13)
announcing that God was about to pronounce a
judgment in favor of the martyrs (see the parallel in
Daniel 7).
Toward the conclusion of the second period, there
will be global signs in the heavens announcing the
coming of Jesus to avenge the blood that the papacy

shed in both stages of dominion (Revelation 6:14-
17; Matthew 24:29, 30).
Both stages have a relationship with the Sabbath.
During the 1260 years the papacy thought it could
change the Sabbath to Sunday (Daniel 7:25). In the
endtime the false prophet will impose the papacy’s
change in the law (the mark of the beast) by
enforcing Sunday observance (Revelation 13:11-
18).
Ellen White wrote about the two periods of
tribulation:
Matthew 24:21 as past:
“Then shall be great tribulation,’ He said, ‘such as was
not since the beginning of the world to this time, no,
nor ever shall be. And except those days should be
shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the
elect's sake those days shall be shortened [Matthew
24:21, 22].’ For more than a thousand years, such
persecution as the world had never before known
was to come upon Christ's followers. Millions upon
millions of His faithful witnesses were to be slain.
Had not God's hand been stretched out to preserve
His people, all would have perished. ‘But for the elect's
sake,’ He said, ‘those days shall be shortened.’” Ellen
G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 631
Matthew 24:21 as future:
“We are to realize that the judgments of God are
about to fall upon the earth, and we should most
earnestly present before the people the warning that
the Lord has commissioned us to give: ‘For then shall
be great tribulation, such as was not since the
beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall
be [Matthew 24:21].’” Review and Herald, November
22, 1892
D. Sequence in Matthew 24 and
Revelation
Ellen White compared the ruin of Jerusalem with
the ruin of the world:
“The whole world will be involved in ruin more
terrible than that which came upon Jerusalem of
old.” [Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 614]
• Preaching the gospel to all the world—the
three angels’ message (Matthew 24:14; Revelation
14:6-12).
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Studies in Matthew 24—Lesson 9
• World divided into two groups by the seal of
God and the mark of the beast—the abomination of
desolation (Matthew 24:15); Revelation 14:14-19).
• The close of probation—those who flee and
those who stay (Matthew 24:16-20; Revelation 15:5-
8).
• The great tribulation (Matthew 24:21;
Revelation 16-18).
• The second coming (Matthew 24:29, 30;
Revelation 19:11-19).
C. Sequence of Events in the Synoptic
Gospels
• Social turmoil, wars, epidemics, famine,
earthquakes—the beginning of sorrows (verse 8).
• God’s people blamed for the convulsions in society
and the natural world (verse 9).
• Many of those who appeared to be genuine
believers will apostatize—the shaking (verse 10).
Relatives and friends turn on each other (Mark
13:12)
• Help of the Holy Spirit when taken before councils
and kings to witness—the latter rain (Mark 13:11).
• False prophets rise, lawlessness increases and the
love of many grows cold (verses 11, 12).
• Whoever endures until the end will be saved (verse
13).
• Preaching the gospel to the world—the three
angels’ message to every nation, kindred, tongue
and people (verse 14).
• The abomination of desolation separates humanity
into two groups— those who give heed to the sign
and those who ignore it (verse 15).
• The abomination of desolation is the equivalent of
the mark of the beast. Both have to do with the
sun—the object and the day.
• The lost stay in Jerusalem and the saved flee—the
flight from the large cities preparatory to leaving
the smaller ones (verses 16-20).
• Not one of God’s people perish during the time of
trouble
• The sun and moon darken and the stars fall from
heaven—the darkness of the fifth plague (Matthew
24:29; Revelation 16:10). At this point God delivers
His people from the death decree (Daniel 12:1).

• The sign of the Son of Man seen in heaven (Matthew
24:30)
• The second coming. Jesus sends His angels to
gather His people from the four winds (Matthew
24:30; see 1Thessalonians 4:15-17)
E. Daniel 11 follows the same sequence
• At the end, we have the loud cry through the
power of the latter rain (tidings from the north
and the east (from spiritual Jerusalem). At this
point, the king of the north is in Egypt, Ethiopia
and Libya).
• The tidings enrage the wicked (troubles the king
of the north, he goes out to destroy many).
• The abomination of desolation set up (the tents
of his palace between the seas and the glorious
holy mountain)
• The time of trouble follows (Daniel 12:1)
• God delivers His people when the king of the
north comes to his end with none to help him
(Daniel 12:1)
• The resurrection at the coming of Jesus (Daniel
12:2).
• Thus Daniel 11:44-12:1 follows the same
sequence as Matthew 24:14ff in the identical
order.
F. The Flight in Matthew 24
Matthew 24:21
“For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not
been since the beginning of the world until this time, no,
nor ever shall be.”
The word ‘then’ at the beginning of verse 21
indicates that when God’s people flee they will
experience the most intense time of trouble in
history.
In volume 5 of Testimonies for the Church, p. 451
Ellen White explained that the national Sunday
law—the abomination of desolation—is the sign for
God’s people to flee after which they will be plunged
into the time of trouble.
During the first stage of the tribulation, God’s people
fled to the Piedmont and during the second stage,
they will flee to the desolate places of the earth.
Regarding this, Ellen White wrote:
“The people of God--some in prison cells, some hidden
in solitary retreats in the forests and the
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Studies in Matthew 24—Lesson 9
mountains—still plead for divine protection, while
in every quarter companies of armed men, urged on
by hosts of evil angels, are preparing for the work of
death.” [Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p.
635]
G. Tribulation Shortened
Matthew 24:22 explains that God will shorten the
time of trouble:
“And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would
be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be
shortened.”
The Protestant Reformation cut short the first
stage of persecution and the voice of God will put
an end to the second (Revelation 16:17). If God did
not intervene to deliver His people in the time of
trouble, not one of them would remain. The death
decree would uproot every one of them.
It is important to realize that the ‘elect’ will go
through the tribulation; God will not take them to
heaven in a pre-tribulation rapture. When Jesus
comes, he will send His angels to gather his elect
from the four winds. If they already went to heaven
before the tribulation, why would He come to gather
them? Clearly, Jesus will come for His elect at the
end of the great tribulation, which means that they
went through it.
Satan will use false teachers to persuade Christians
that they will not go through the tribulation
because he knows that believers will need a special
quality of faith in order to stand. Now is the time to
develop this faith because when the tribulation
begins it will be too late.
Let me illustrate what I mean. Would a person
prepare for a hurricane in Accra if the
weathercasters predicted that it was going to hit
Sekondi? If, as futurists believe, all of the events of
Revelation 4-22 occur after the rapture, why
would Christians even bother to study these
chapters?
Who are the elect?
Romans 8:33-37, explains that they are those who
have accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord (see also
1Peter 2:9; Colossians 3:12) Revelation 17:14 refers
to these as the ‘chosen’.
The parable of the persistent widow applies to the
tribulation period. In this parable, the judge
represents God, the widow represents the elect, and

the adversary symbolizes the devil. The plea of the
widow for the judge to avenge her over her
adversary symbolizes the elect who cry out day and
night for God to deliver them from the hand of their
enemies (Luke 18:1-8). We know that this parable
applies directly to those will go through the final
time trouble because of the context. Immediately
before and after the parable are references to the
second coming.
In The Great Controversy, p. 631 (the chapter on the
time of trouble) Ellen White universalized the
meaning of the tribulation and alluded to Matthew
24. She referred to the shortening of the tribulation
for the sake of the elect and to the flight of God’s
people from the cities.
“Yet for the elect's sake the time of trouble will be
shortened. . . The heavenly sentinels, faithful to their
trust, continue their watch. Though a general
decree has fixed the time when commandment
keepers may be put to death, their enemies will
anticipate the decree in some cases, and before the
time specified, will endeavor to take their lives.
However, none can pass the mighty guardians
stationed about every faithful soul. Some are assailed
in their flight from the cities and villages; but the
swords raised against them break and fall powerless
as a straw. Others are defended by angels in the form
of men of war.” Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy,
p. 631
Matthew 24:25
“Behold, I have told you beforehand.”
Jesus explained all these things to His followers to
keep them from being deceived. This shows that the
central purpose of Jesus’ sermon in Matthew 24 was
to keep His own people from deception.
Ellen White described vividly Satan’s counterfeit:
“As the crowning act in the great drama of deception,
Satan himself will personate Christ. The church has
long professed to look to the Savior's advent as the
consummation of her hopes. Now the great deceiver
will make it appear that Christ has come. In
different parts of the earth, Satan will manifest
himself among men as a majestic being of dazzling
brightness, resembling the description of the Son of
God given by John in the Revelation. Revelation 1:13-
15……In gentle, compassionate tones he presents
some of the same gracious, heavenly truths which the
Savior uttered; he heals the diseases of the people,
and then, in his assumed character of Christ, he
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Studies in Matthew 24—Lesson 9
claims to have changed the Sabbath to Sunday, and
commands all to hallow the day which he has blessed.
He declares that those who persist in keeping holy the
seventh day are blaspheming his name by refusing
to listen to his angels sent to them with light and
truth. This is the strong, almost overmastering
delusion.” Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p.
624
“But the people of God will not be misled. The
teachings of this false christ are not in accordance
with the Scriptures. He pronounces his blessing upon
the worshipers of the beast and his image, the very
class upon whom the Bible declares that God's
unmingled wrath shall be poured out.
Furthermore, Satan is not permitted to counterfeit
the manner of Christ's advent. The Savior has
warned His people against deception upon this point,
and has clearly foretold the manner of His second
coming…….This coming there is no possibility of
counterfeiting. It will be universally known—
witnessed by the whole world.” Ellen G. White, The
Great Controversy, p. 625
God’s people will not trust their ears, their eyes,
their feelings, their emotions their impressions or
the testimony of others. The faithful will detect the
counterfeit in two ways:
• The manner of Satan’s coming is not in harmony
with Scripture. Matthew 24:30 tells us that Jesus
will send His angels to gather His elect from the four
winds. 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17 tells us that the
faithful will be caught up in the clouds to meet the
Lord in the air and 2 Thessalonians 2:1 states that
at the Parousia we will be gathered to Him, not He
to us. John 14:1-3 explains that Jesus will take His
people to His Father’s house in heaven.
• The content of his teachings is contrary to
Scripture. Satan will persuade the world that the
desecration of Sunday is causing the global
problems.
Matthew 24:28
“For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be
gathered together.”
One cannot help but remember that the eagles of
Rome brought desolation to Jerusalem and the
eagle of the United States will do likewise to the
nation and the world. !!!