Understanding the Tribulation
Delivered 5/17/2009 on Matthew 24:1-35 by Carter Sanger
If you don’t get the details of the end times right, it’s not going to keep you out of heaven. Nonetheless, it will impact the way you live today. One of the ways it impacts you is with respect to your view of Christ. People in America today tend to view Jesus in a variety of ways. Some view Jesus as simply a good moral teacher and a model for social justice. Others view Jesus as a meek and gentle friend, always there for us when we feel down and discouraged, patiently waiting for us in our times of struggle. He’s viewed as a buddy, like one we might “hang out” with. There is a sense in which this is true. Jesus refers to his disciples as friends in John chapter 15. But he’s not using the word to mean that he is their peer, he uses it to explain why he would be willing to lay down his life for them. His friends are identified as those who obey him.
When we think of Jesus as merely a “friend”, then we maintain our own autonomy. We obey when it seems prudent and we understand why. (We carry this over to our view of the church as well. We see the church also as just a bunch of peers. We listen and learn from each other but maintain our own autonomy.) Our apparent obedience to Christ is only a veiled obedience to our own wisdom.
When we look at Jesus’ teaching of the last things, we find a very different picture of Jesus. We find Jesus is not a meek and gentle peer, patiently trying to convince us of the truth, but a mighty and fearful king who brings judgment upon those who reject him. He is the king of Psalm 2 about whom is said, “kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you perish in the way.” He requires our submission to his authority, period. He is not to be trifled with. He is in complete control as all authority in heaven and earth has been given to Him. We forget that. The tribulation isn’t a product of the war between Satan and God, where people are just somewhat innocent bystanders and unfortunate collateral damage, but the pouring out of judgment upon those who reject him.
Jesus is the ultimate King. Let’s look at the various aspects of his teaching that point us to the “tribulation.” We’ll look at the terror of it, the timing of it, and finally the triumph that it signifies.
