Pray to escape the tribulation

This study has been included in the series on prayer because it involves prayer. And for those who obey our Lord's instruction and pray the prayer, it could be one of the most important prayers they ever pray.

A warning from Jesus

'Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.' (Luke 21:34–36)

I'm sure the disciples thought that what the Lord had said to them would be fulfilled in their lifetime, but it wasn't. An event of such magnitude would have been recorded in history, and no such event has been recorded.

Jesus wasn't addressing those disciples specifically, but the disciples who would be alive when the event he was speaking about takes place.

The wrath of God

Earlier in the chapter he said:

'There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.' (Luke 21:25–27)

The Book of Revelation describes a series of catastrophes that will engulf the world prior to our Lord's return. They are God's judgements against sinners and are referred to as the wrath of God and of the Lamb (Revelation 6:16–17).

Verse 17 speaks about the great 'day' of their wrath (singular), but the Greek word used (hemera), as well as meaning a day of twenty-four hours, can also mean an indefinite period of time. I believe that is what it does mean, and the judgements we read about may take place over many days, or even years.

That the Church will be present on earth when at least some of these things happen is apparent from what Jesus said in Luke 21:28.

'When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.'

Righteousness

So, if the Church is going to be on earth when these judgements begin, how will it escape them? The answer is by living righteously.

It will not be the first time God has judged the world for its sin. When he brought a flood upon sinful man, he protected Noah because of his righteousness (Genesis 6:8–9). Similarly, when he destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because of its sin, he protected Lot, who also was living righteously (2 Peter 2:6–8).

Indeed, when God told Abraham about what he was going to do to Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham reminded him that he will never punish the righteous with the wicked (Genesis 18:22–25)—which he won't, because of his justice.

Walking with God

Jesus told his disciples not to be weighed down with dissipation (overindulgence in sensual pleasures), or with drunkenness (sin), or to be too occupied with the things of the world, lest the judgements come upon them unexpectedly like a trap.

If we are weighed down with those things, we won't be watching (v36), and we won't be prepared, which we must be.

The Church will need to stay close to the Lord at that time, listening to his voice, and obeying his Spirit. Remember Lot's wife. It was God's will she escaped the judgement, but she didn't obey what the angel said to her, and perished (Genesis 19:15–17, 23–26). He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

By what means will we escape? We don't know. But both Noah and Lot escaped while they were still on earth. Think about that. It is possible. They weren't taken away from the earth.

The Church thinks (or hopes) that to escape these things it will be raptured, but that is not what the Bible teaches. There will be a rapture, but not before the judgements begin, or before the Antichrist is revealed (2 Thessalonians 2:1–4).

2 Peter 2:4–9, after telling us that God protected both Noah and Lot from judgement, says that God knows how to rescue godly men from trials, while continuing to punish the unrighteous. The emphasis there is on the word 'godly'.

God knows how to do it; let's leave the method to him. The plagues that fell on Egypt didn't fall on his own people, he protected them from them (Exodus 8:22–23; 9:4; 11:4–7). And he'll do the same for us—providing we are walking with him.

But if we are living like the world at that time, we'll perish with the world. God will never punish the righteous with the wicked. Live godly lives! Live righteous lives!

However, that wasn't what Jesus told his disciples to pray about. We shouldn't have to pray to escape the judgements God is going to bring on the ungodly: Christians should be living godly lives as a matter of course. So what was he referring to?

The wrath of Satan

In the last days, the earth will not only experience the wrath of God against sinners, it will also experience the wrath of Satan against the Church.

This is known as the great tribulation—Greek: trouble, distress, oppression (Revelation 7:13–14)—and is described in Revelation 13:5–10.

At that time the Church will be persecuted in every country on earth, by Satan, through the Antichrist, for a period of forty-two months. Some will be imprisoned and some will be put to death.

It was this event that Jesus told his disciples to pray to escape from. We know that from three key words used in the passage.

Trap

'…and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.' (v34)

The Greek word used is pagis, which means 'snare' or 'trap'. It described a noose of hair that was used to trap birds and small animals in order to kill them. They would walk, unsuspectingly, into the trap and be caught.

In the New Testament it's used not only to describe the sudden judgements of God that will come upon Christians whose hearts are weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness—as Jesus warned—but also the enticements to evil that Satan uses to ensnare believers (1 Timothy 3:7; 2 Timothy 2:25–26).

Escape

'…and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen…' (v36)

The Greek word used is ekpheugo. It means 'to flee from (danger), to escape from (danger), to evade capture'. In 2 Corinthians 11:32–33 Paul described his escape from a trap that Satan had set to capture him and kill him (Acts 9:23–25).

In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me. But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through [ekpheugo: escaped from] their hands.

But by far the most significant use of the word is found in Matthew 2:13.

When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. 'Get up,' he said, 'take the child and his mother and escape [pheugo: to flee, to escape] to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.'

Why was Jesus sent to Egypt to escape a threat to his life? Thirty years later he was about to be thrown off a cliff, but walked through the crowd because his time had not yet come (Luke 4:28–30).

God protected his Son supernaturally at that time; why didn't he do the same when he was a child? And why send him to Egypt rather than to another country? There was a reason.

Egypt, in the Old Testament, symbolized the world, whose people are prisoners of sin (Galatians 3:22). God brought his people out of Egypt—out of their captivity and slavery to sin—so they could serve him. He then told them not to go back there because of the spiritual implications (Deuteronomy 17:16).

So why send Jesus to Egypt? Because of what it symbolized. God is showing, through his Word, that he will protect us from satanic attacks to our lives while we are in this world; he won't take us out of the world to do it. He sent his Son to Egypt to illustrate that.

God didn't rapture Jesus to protect him from Herod, who was a type of the Antichrist: the world—not heaven—was our Lord's refuge.

The Church will go through the tribulation—all forty-two months of it—before the Lord returns. But we'll be able to escape from it—if we pray.

Stand

'…and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.' (v36)

The Greek word used is histemi. In the New Testament it means not only to stand in a physical sense, but also to stand in a spiritual sense, i.e. to stand firm in the faith. And that was what Jesus meant in this verse.

Satan, our enemy, wants us to abandon our faith, or to renounce our faith, because both bring spiritual death.

He tries to do that by luring us back into sin (Hebrews 12:1; 2 Peter 2:20), or by afflicting us (Job 1:6 – 2:10), or persecuting us (Mark 4:16–17). But we are told to resist him, standing firm in the faith (1 Peter 5:8–9).

The tribulation

Christians have been persecuted since the time of Christ. Stephen was the first martyr (Acts 7:54–60), and it's continued, sporadically, ever since.

But the Bible speaks of a 'great' tribulation that will take place in the last days. This will be the biggest and most widespread persecution the Church has ever seen.

It will affect every Christian, in every nation, and will culminate in the return of Jesus to rescue those who are still alive (1 Thessalonians 4:13–18).

Jesus said that in those days (the days of tribulation), because of the increase in wickedness (against the Church), the love of most (within the Church) will grow cold (Matthew 24:12).

Many (Greek: a great or large number) will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other (Matthew 24:10). Children will betray parents to death, and fathers their children (Mark 13:12).

Have you ever wondered why Jesus was betrayed by one of his own disciples. Why did he have to be identified by anyone; there was no need for it? He'd been teaching openly in the temple courts; they knew who he was and could have arrested him there (Luke 22:52–53). But it had to happen that way. Why?

Because, during the tribulation, Christians will betray each other to death. Can you imagine people you used to have fellowship with handing you over to the authorities and saying: 'This man is a Christian!' or 'This woman is a Christian!' Or being informed on by your own children?

Jesus said it will happen—he has seen the end from the beginning; he knows what is going to happen—and if it happens to any of us, don't forget that it happened to Jesus first. But if we stand firm in our faith to the end, we'll be saved (Mark 13:13).

This event will purify the Church; it will sort the wheat out from the chaff. Jesus is going to return for a radiant Church, without stain or wrinkle or blemish (Ephesians 5:27) and, after forty-two months of intense persecution, only those with a pure faith will remain.

Sifted as wheat

John the Baptist spoke of Jesus coming with a winnowing fork in his hand to gather the wheat into his barn and to burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire (Matthew 3:12).

Winnowing is an action that separates the wheat from the chaff. He didn't do that the first time he came; it's something that is done at harvest and will precede his return.

Jesus said that Satan had asked to sift the disciples as wheat (Luke 22:31—the Greek word translated as 'you' is plural). Sifting also separates and leaves a pure product.

But Jesus had prayed for Peter that his faith would not fail (Luke 22:32). And, even though it failed initially (Luke 22:54–62), it then remained strong to the end. Peter was crucified for Christ (John 21:18–19).

Satan has obviously asked to sift the Church as well, and has been given permission to do so. That sifting will take place during the tribulation.

Jesus had prayed that Peter's faith would not fail, and I'm sure he's prayed for every one of us, because he always lives to intercede for us (Hebrews 7:23–25). But we must also pray, because he's told us to.

Watch and pray

We are to pray, not only to escape from physical death at that time—as Paul escaped from King Aretas, and Jesus from Herod—but also to escape from the spiritual death that would come from renouncing our faith in him.

And now, dear children, continue in him [continue in your faith in him], so that when he appears [when he comes to gather his elect from the four corners of the earth—the rapture] we may be confident and unashamed before him [we will still be standing in our faith] at his coming. (1 John 2:28)

We should always be on the watch and, if we see that day approaching, we should pray that we may be able to escape all that is about to happen and that we may be able to stand before the Son of Man.

Watch for the judgements of God to start appearing on the earth: increasing numbers killed by earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, droughts, fires, famines, pestilences and natural disasters of many kinds, on a local and a national scale.

They are the beginning of birth pains (Matthew 24:7–8) and are signs that the day of the Lord is approaching. In fact they may already have begun.

Michael Graham
December 2011

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