Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary

TRIBULATION

An experience of suffering, distress, affliction, trouble, or persecution. The Greek word appears in the NT about 45 times. There is a Hebrew equivalent that appears in four or five OT passages, never in the prophetic books. Therefore, it is appropriate to focus mainly on the NT for a definition of tribulation.

The NT contains a few references where the word “tribulation” is used to denote the hardships that occur in the lives of common people. The labor pains of a woman in childbirth (Jn 16:21), the worldly concerns that arise in marriage (1 Cor 7:28), and the affliction of widows (Jas 1:27) are all called tribulation. In a more general way, a scourge like the famine that afflicted Egypt and Canaan during the patriarchal age is characterized as “great tribulation” (Acts 7:11).

In a more narrow sense, the word “tribulation” refers to a specific Christian experience. The teachings of Christ provide basic definitions for this meaning of “tribulation.” He said that whenever the gospel is present in the world, tribulation becomes its unavoidable corollary. As the word of the gospel is sown, tribulation and persecution appear spontaneously (Mt 13:21).

This concept of the ineluctable presence of tribulation during the church age is carefully developed in Jesus’ teaching on future events in the Olivet discourse (Mt 24–25; Mk 13; Lk 21). This discourse provides the only explicit description of, and clear chronological reference available in the Bible to, the tribulation of his followers. In it, Jesus predicted the time of the beginning, the extent, and the end of tribulation. This teaching on the tribulation was handed down to the 12 disciples privately, as a matter directly relevant to their lives (Mt 24:3). Jesus told the Twelve that they would be delivered up to tribulation and that this tribulation would take the form of persecution to the death for his name’s sake (v 9). The context of this teaching indicates that the tribulation taught by Jesus would affect Christians in many places throughout history. But the fact that Jesus predicted to the 12 disciples that they would fall victim to the tribulation, at the very beginning of the sufferings (v 8), provides a clear reference to the starting point of the tribulation during the disciples’ lifetimes.

Likewise, the same group of disciples were to be witnesses of the “great tribulation” that would befall Jerusalem as predicted by the prophet Daniel (Mt 24:15-21). It is clear that, in the Olivet discourse, Jesus was referring to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. The fall of Jerusalem at the hands of the Roman legions was to be viewed as an archetypal representation of the perennial tribulation. This is attested to by Matthew’s parenthetical editorial comment in 24:15 (“let the reader understand”), intended to alert his original readers to the fulfillment of Jesus’ prediction within their lifetimes. Moreover, the parallel section in Luke 21:20-24 makes it clear that the desolation of Jewish Jerusalem would be followed by a long period of gentile domination, which is precisely what happened after AD 70.

The NT forewarns believers of the inevitability of tribulation; it also prescribes the appropriate response of Christians. They should rejoice because tribulation produces perseverance and strength of character (Rom 5:3-4). They should bear it patiently (12:12), knowing that God comforts the faithful in all tribulations (2 Cor 1:4) and that the present tribulation prepares believers for incomparable glory in eternity (2 Cor 4:17).

Except for rare and exceptional circumstances that enable Christians to enjoy affluence and freedom, most believers throughout history have suffered tribulation. The normal vocation of the church has been to endure as a beleaguered and persecuted minority in a hostile world. For Christians providentially protected from tribulation, it is easy to relegate tribulation to a future period in history. For Christians suffering in the throes of opposition, however, the tribulation is an ever-present reality. The virulence and the severity of the tribulation may vary from time to time and from place to place, yet Christ’s promise remains true, “In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33, rsv). See Suffering; Eschatology; Persecution.