Revelation 6:1; Come and See

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Revelation 6:1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. 

The Great Tribulation is mentioned once in the New Testament in Matthew 24:21, 21 “For then shall be great tribulation  such as was not  since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.“

As one Pastor puts it well, “The Great Tribulation will be a time unique in all of human history. It consists of a seven-year reign of terror that will be inflicted upon all of mankind. God’s unmitigated wrath, consisting of twenty-one consecutive judgments, will be unleashed upon the world in ever-increasing intensity.”[1]

The word “tribulation” or “thlipsis” in Greek means literally a pressing, pressing together, pressure. Metaphorically, it means oppression, affliction, affliction, tribulation,  distress, straits.[2] It is derived from the noun “thlao” which means to break. The stress is so great that it reaches a breaking point. The divine Spirit included the adjective “great” to emphasize that it is an unprecedented period of affliction and suffering for all mankind that is in the coming future.

In the Old Testament it is called (1) The day of the LORD (lsaiah 13:6-9) (2) The indignation (Isaiah 26:20, 34:2) (3) The day of God’s vengeance (Isaiah 34:8, 63:1-6) (4) The time of Jacob’s trouble (Jeremiah 30:7) (5) The overspreading of abominations  (Daniel 9:27) (6) The time of trouble such as never was  (Daniel 12:1) (7) The 70thweek  (Daniel 9:24-27) (8) The time of the end (Daniel 12:9)  (9) The great day of His wrath (Revelation 5:17) (10) The hour of His judgment (Revelation 14:7) and (11) The end of this world [Matthew 13:40, 49).[3]

Revelation 22:7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed ishe that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

Amen.

[1]http://www.sermoncentral.com./sermons/the-seven-seal-judgmentsJarry-cockerhamsermon-on-second-coming-48106 06.asp

[2]The Complete Word Study Dictionary of the New Testament by Spiros Zodhiates

[3]A Theology for Every Christian, Tow and Khoo, 411-412.