Shalom everyone,
The current wars around the world have once more sent Christians and Jews into a full-blown messianic frenzy. I would agree that a time of tribulation is coming (I would even say that it has already started), but the mainstream approach is all wrong – they are all looking at the wrong things, the wrong signs, and doing it for all the wrong reasons. Threats of tribulation are instead being used as a tool for frightening people into conversion, increasing congregation sizes, and making money for the sensationalist preachers, rather than for addressing and correcting all the problems which have brought on the tribulation in the first place. The biblical prophetic concern with tribulation is not about making money or increasing reputation, but saving lives.
The main mistake that Christians make is in thinking that Tribulation is only a one-time event (it’s not), and that therefore signs of a tribulation are always signs that Christ is returning very soon (he isn’t; worse things by far have happened over the last 2000 years, and he still hasn’t come back).
In mainstream Jewish communities, they say that the Iran war is a sign that the messiah is soon to come (but my response is that no other signs are in place – see this article on the real messianic prophecies). Both Christians and Jews see tribulation as a good thing, a sign of salvation and redemption. In contrast, the biblical prophets were horrified by signs of tribulation in their day, and they would be turning in their graves at how people are reacting to their prophecies and warnings today and misusing them.
These are the main criticisms I have of mainstream approaches to tribulation:
1. Obsession with timing (claiming that, “This is it!”): This ridiculous obsession with knowing the exact timing of tribulations comes from Paul and his beliefs, not from Yeshua or the biblical prophets. Yeshua said that no one knows, not even him, only God.
2. A Tribulation does not mean the final end of the world: An Apocalypse is the end of the world, which is what Paul longed for and taught; in contrast, the biblical prophets and Yeshua taught a coming tribulation which would eventually conclude. The time would be cut short for the sake of the righteous (Mk 13:20), and afterwards the world will be restored to peace, following repentance (Isa 32:17-18, Mal 4:2, Dt 4:30-31, 30:1-3, Isa 54:7-8, Hos 6:1, Lam 3:31-33, Jer 31:13, Mic 7:8, Ps 30:5, Isa 65:17–19)
3. A Tribulation is nothing to be longed for (Amos 5:20), because it is not a sign of salvation but of darkness (Zeph 1:15); it is a sign that society has utterly failed in the Presence of God (Dt 28:15, Isa 1:15–17, 1:23-24, Jer 5:28-29, Hos 4:1-3, Amos 5:11-12, Mic 3:9-12, Ezek 22:29-31, Lam 4:13)
4. A Tribulation is a time of Judgment, not celebration; the righteous who die in a Tribulation will go to God, and the wicked who die in a Tribulation will be judged for their wickedness. God decides which is which, not us, and your religion doesn’t determine your fate – your actions, words and intentions do.
5. A Tribulation is NOT a one-time event; it happens whenever society has withdrawn from God’s values or abandoned them, or turned religion into a dark abomination of selfishness, money and greed, or brought the reputation of God into disrepute by making it into the opposite of what God intended (the Prophets often use language such as ‘again,’ ‘if you still do not listen,’ or ‘whenever’, indicating that tribulation is not a single final event, but a recurring sporadic pattern within history; Lev 26:18, 26:21, Judges 2:18-19, Neh 9:28, and others).
6. There have already been several Tribulations that have been and gone: The Assyrian and Babylonian Exiles were tribulations; the tribulation of Daniel was the Antiochian persecution which led to the Hasmonean revolt; the tribulation of which Yeshua spoke were the 2 Roman-Jewish Wars (66-74CE, and 132-136CE). The point being that Yeshua’s tribulation has already been and gone; Christians are still waiting for Paul’s apocalypse
7. A Tribulation does NOT have to be individually predicted in prophecy in order for it to be classed as a tribulation (the prophets did not provide a running commentary on every single calamity and disaster in the future from 750BCE until the very end of time – which just goes to show the ridiculousness of modern preachers). For example, the Holocaust is widely viewed as a tribulation, because the Nazis corrupted religion and their society (and it probably would have been prophesied by a prophet if the rabbis had not banned prophecy, yet it is not predicted anywhere in the biblical Prophets). Whenever societies abandon justice, compassion, and faithfulness to YHVH, suffering and disorder can follow, for both the innocent and the wicked. Prophetic biblical passages describe recurring patterns, not a fixed catalogue of individually predicted events – the books of the Prophets are not almanacks (Lev 26:14-16, Isa 5:20-21, Neh 9:28). Any time of overwhelming suffering, war and calamity that has been brought on by a breakdown in the values of human society, is a tribulation
8. No one knows the day or the hour of the next tribulation; only our Father in heaven (Mk 13:32, Mt 24:50), so trying to work it out is utterly pointless. It is far better to be watchful for the sins that lead to tribulations.
9. Yeshua advised us to be watchful (Mk 13:33-37), because a Tribulation can come at any time. That means, when we are living in good times, we should be wary and watchful of any worrying events, bad decisions or calamitous mistakes that might lead human society towards another tribulation, so that we can prevent them, not facilitate them!!
10. Tribulations do not come suddenly; instead, they come slowly and they gradually build up (the ‘birthpangs’), because human societies make bad decision after bad decision, which make each successive step towards a tribulation easier, and make the tribulation itself much worse
11. A Tribulation is a sign that what we are all doing is heading in the wrong direction; the correct response is not in trying to figure out when it is (because no one can), but rather in repenting and changing course, returning back to God, and resuming the path of God’s righteous ideals, principles and ethical values in all aspects of society.
What any religious community is supposed to do
The job of any decent religious community is not to just sit and wait for a tribulation, or worse, to help it to happen, because in Yahwist theology, a tribulation is not salvation but a sign and consequence of faithlessness, and of making religion into an abomination of what it should be.
In times of peace, the job of a responsible religious community is to encourage faith in and adherence to God’s good ways in all aspects of society, so that a tribulation will not happen. In a Tribulation, suffering comes both to the faithful and to the wicked, so it is in everyone’s interests to work for righteousness throughout the world. A good person should not think, “Oh, I’m righteous, I’m better than those other wicked people, nothing is going to happen to me when the tribulation comes!” (Isa 57:1-2, Ezek 21:3-4, Ecc 8:14, Hos 4:3)
The current signs of the times indicate that a tribulation is well on its way, and we are in the early stages of it. However, no messiah came at the last few tribulations, and current signs are that no messiah will come in this next one. Christians long for a tribulation (more accurately apocalypse); because they believe that Jesus is coming soon, so they long for it. Rabbinic Jews also believe the messiah is coming whenever there is war, but none has appeared over the last 2000 years at any tribulations the Jewish people have suffered, and there have been plenty of opportunities. The messianic sign to look for is the return of the exiles of the northern kingdom first, and a worldwide turning to God (Zech 8:23, Isa 66:23, Zeph 3:9, Jer 31:34, Ezek 38:23, Ps 86:9, Hab 2:14).
The Consequences of thinking that all Tribulations have to be foretold
There are some people who think that if a particular tribulation is not foretold in the Bible, then it is not a tribulation. This is a mistaken and unhelpful view. The consequence of this is that they end up ignoring the warning-signs that God is giving us, and people then think that we do not have to do anything about it – we don’t have to correct our mistakes, call for repentance, return to God, or undo our failings. They say, “This isn’t a predicted tribulation, so we haven’t done anything wrong, and so there’s nothing to put right.”
In contrast, the Miqra implies that whenever society goes tragically off course, there will be a tribulation. Not every tribulation is prophesied – the prophets did not give us a list of the entirety of history from the beginning to the end of time!! Tribulations do not have to be prophesied in order to be classified as tribulations.
Tribulation is coming
I personally think that a Tribulation is coming; the first signs started with the tragedy of 9/11. Not all Tribulations are predicted in prophecy, so when preachers say that they are all there in the Bible, and try to work out precise dates, they are only fooling people in order to make money and gain prestige for themselves. My job as a mitnabbei (ecstatic) and as a religious teacher is not to jump for joy that a tribulation is coming, because even good people will suffer terribly as well as the wicked. My job is to encourage people in faithfulness to God’s ways, for people to change heart, and return to God, so that the time of tribulation will be cut short, and the lives of as many people as possible be saved.
What has caused the current Tribulation
The signs of tribulation are not in the sky; we are forbidden from seeking such astronomical omens (Jer 10:2, Dt 18:10-12, Isa 47:13-14). The way Christians interpret signs and prophecy, results in them looking at all the wrong things. Yeshua looked at the signs of the times – decay in the values society follows, violence, religion becoming the opposite of what it should be, etc. Christians look at cosmological signs and wars in general, not at the real signs of danger within society itself, which tell us that a tribulation is coming.
It’s not any one thing that has caused the current inevitable downward slide towards tribulation. Across the prophetic books, the same pattern appears repeatedly and precedes tribulations (the first three are the most indicative):
- Ethical corruption spreads in society (collapse of social justice)
- Religion becomes hypocritical, arrogant, exploitative or violent
- Society becomes morally blind, so that what is not acceptable to God becomes normal
- Leaders become unjust or corrupt, and corrupt leaders are praised for their sins
- The vulnerable are oppressed
- Violence and deceit increase
- Result: Society eventually experiences tribulation or collapse
Overlaying that on the modern world, there is:
- Increasing economic inequality
- Normalisation of political corruption
- erosion of public trust
- religious manipulation and hypocrisy for political purposes
- social and political polarisation and violence
- exploitation and oppression of the poor and vulnerable.
More specifically, over the past 26 years:
— believing that one’s political views and doctrines are far more important than God’s Will
— allowing and facilitating a polarisation of society and politics, and wrongly accepting that there is no middle ground any more
— accepting that the fracturing and abandonment of social decency, just governance and ethical mores is normal
— Excusing the sins of violent and extremist religion, and refusing to do anything about it (this desecrates God’s Holiness)
— misrepresenting the good and holy reputation of God as a tyrant and an authoritarian
— participating in the lies and slanders which lead to the unjust persecution of the Jewish people around the world
— using nationalist fervour to remove the legal protections that any society has to prevent abuse of power
— when a society breaks ethical boundaries on a regular basis, and then blames a minority among them for their problems (hypocrisy)
— accepting social injustice and oppression of the vulnerable as normal
— accepting corrupt, dishonest, heavy-handed and tyrannical governance as normal, and making excuses for it and even supporting it
— accepting high levels of bloodshed and violence in society as normal
— accepting that boastfulness, pride, greed, arrogance and deceit are normal
The Torah and the Prophets repeatedly explain that disasters – war, famine, exile, social collapse – are as the result of abandoning justice, mercy, and faithfulness to God’s covenant. Most people are not aware that a sharp decline in the fabric of society brings on the Day of YHVH – things such as corrupt religious and political leaders (Prov 29:2, Mic 3:11, Ecc 12:14) along with the adulation of these corrupt leaders (Prov 24:24); also, neglecting the needs of the least in society and exploiting them (Amos 5:11-12), deliberately working against justice and righteousness (Amos 5:7), extolling wealth for wealth’s sake (Zeph 1:18), corrupting the integrity of knowledge and wisdom (Hos 4:6), rulers misleading and oppressing the ordinary people (Isa 3:12-15), and creating conditions which lead to unbearable levels of murder and violence (Hos 4:2).
What needs to be done
Tribulations are not inevitable. God says, “If at any time I declare concerning a nation… that I will destroy it, and if that nation turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster.” (Jer 18:7-8).
and:
“If a wicked person turns away from all their sins…
they shall surely live; they shall not die…
Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked…
and not rather that they should turn from their wicked way and live?” (Ezek 18:21-23)
Unfortunately at the moment, very few have the humility to say, “What have I done!” (Jer 8:6). Their pride in their own opinions is greater than their faith and trust in God.
The first thing is that people on the far, extreme ends of the political spectrum need to get off their high horses and acknowledge that their extreme views have helped evil to flourish, and realise that in the pursuit of their own political ideals, they have abandoned God’s ideals.
One’s own opinions and thoughts are not God’s opinions or thoughts. God does not exist to agree with all your opinions. Your persistent prayers will not make God agree with you if your views are contrary to God’s values.
Repent of turning away from God’s values and ideals, change heart and embrace God’s ideals.
Look at the vulnerable you have helped oppress, and look at the corrupters of religion and the doers of violence you have turned your eyes away from.
Bottom line: Repent, change heart, return to God, embrace God’s ways and values, and follow God’s righteous path and purpose, both for individuals and for society as a whole, and how it functions. Those who remain righteous, and those who repent, will be accepted into God’s embrace. Those who persist in their arrogance and pride, who claim their face is set towards God when in fact it is towards everything that is not of God, will be brought before God and judged.
Early Days of a Coming Tribulation
We are in the early days of the next Tribulation. It is pointless to try to work out the day or the hour, because no one knows, Yeshua said so; the early stages are already here. Our job as Yahwists is to bring people back to the righteous path, not to whoop and jump for joy, and shout hurrahs for apocalyptic war. A broader war is coming – experts predict that war with Russia is only 5 years away, it’s one of the ‘signs of the times’. Then there is the global threat of fascist Islamism, which will still be here even when war with Russia is over. If we don’t act now to legally safeguard our democracies from tampering, fascist Islamism will take over most of the West by stealth (experts predict that if nothing changes, fundamentalist Islam will be in charge of the West by the end of this century). This is the reason I speak about the dangers of Islamism so often.
The Tribulation will come in many forms and from many directions: extreme polarising politics, perversion of the true values of God and of religion, wars with tyrants and dictators, and finally authoritarian rule under Islamist law. Many people will be fooled into supporting paths which lead to destruction.
“Repent! For the Kingship of God is fast approaching!“ (Mt 4:17)
The Bottom line
The bottom line is that we are not meant to eagerly long for Tribulation, because Tribulation is a sign of the failure of human society. Our job is not to waste time working out when it will happen, because it’s already started. Our job is not to try and work out a pinpoint-accurate date for it, because it is not just one day or one hour. Tribulation is not a sign of the coming of a messiah, because tribulations come and tribulations go (that’s why no messianic predictions have ever succeeded in the last 2000 years)!
I would also warn the Talmidi community not to make tribulations the central focal point of our faith; Evangelicals already do that, and we can see how fatalistic a religious community can become when tribulations are the sole purpose of religious faith. There is far more that we can be focused on! Our faith is so much more than tribulation!
The job of a responsible religious community is to stay awake and be watchful for the signs that humanity is heading towards tribulation, and try to stop that dangerous slide to collapse and breakdown. If it reaches a point where it is inevitable and beyond stopping, then our job is to call for repentance and a return to God’s values, so that as many lives will be saved as possible, because YHVH is our Saviour, our Shelter and our Deliverer – that is our good news! There is a place prepared at God’s right hand for the righteous and the repentant. YHVH stands ready to forgive, save and embrace!
Paul’s teaching was to just let it all happen, but YHVH’s teaching is to repent and turn back to God’s ways, ideals and values, so that any tribulation will be shortened, or might not happen at all.