“It’s Jacob’s Trouble”

Some people say the Tribulation is Jacob’s Trouble, so what would be the point of the believers experiencing it?  Can we assume we won’t be there?

The actual phrase, “Jacob’s Trouble” comes from Jeremiah 30—a passage about the people of Jacob at the end of the Tribulation, terrified, until the Lord delivers them.

Jeremiah 30:5-9 (NKJV)
5 “For thus says the LORD:

‘We have heard a voice of trembling,
Of fear, and not of peace.
6 Ask now, and see,
Whether a man is ever in labor with child?
So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins
Like a woman in labor,
And all faces turned pale?
7 Alas! For that day is great,
So that none is like it;
And it is the time of Jacob’s trouble,
But he shall be saved out of it.
8 ‘For it shall come to pass in that day,’
Says the LORD of hosts,
‘That I will break his yoke from your neck,
And will burst your bonds;
Foreigners shall no more enslave them.
9 But they shall serve the LORD their God,
And David their king,
Whom I will raise up for them.

Here we see great fear among the people of Jacob, and slavery by foreigners.  At the end, Israel is spared and freed, and serves the LORD.

The seventy weeks (sevens) prophecy in Daniel 9 was given to Daniel by an angel, concerning his people—the Jewish people, and the holy city, Jerusalem.  Explaining it all is beyond the scope of this article, but just observing the clauses here, it’s clear that it is not yet fulfilled.  The first 69 weeks have been fulfilled (culminating in Christ being cut off for us), and the 70^th week (Dn 9:27) is still future.

Daniel 9:24 (NKJV)
24 “Seventy weeks are determined
For your people and for your holy city,
To finish the transgression,
To make an end of sins,
To make reconciliation for iniquity,
To bring in everlasting righteousness,
To seal up vision and prophecy,
And to anoint the Most Holy.

Though the prophecy is focused on the Jews and epicenter of action (Jerusalem), that doesn’t limit its scope from affecting the rest of the world.  The one who stops the sacrifices and places the abomination that causes desolation (Dn 9:27) is spoken of in Daniel 8:9-14 (the little horn), Daniel 11:24-45 (the last king of the north), and (implicitly) in Daniel 12:7, 11.  He’s also the horn in chapter 7, who speaks against the Most High and persecutes the saints for a time, times, and half a time (Dn 7:24-25; compare Dn 12:7).

Moving over to Revelation, the times, time, and half a time are there, too, also in connection with the persecution of the saints.

Revelation 12:6, 13-17 (NKJV)
6 Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days.
13 Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. 14 But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. 15 So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. 16 But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

The male Child is Christ (see Rv 12:1-5), Who will reign with rod of iron (Ps 2:8-9, Rv 19:15).  The woman is the family of Jacob (Ge 37:9-11), through whom Christ was born.  The dragon is Satan (Rv 20:2).  In the quoted portions above, “the woman” appear to be believers, since her offspring are described as, “those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”  Who are the rest, who are persecuted for their faith?

Revelation 13:5-8 (NKJV)
5 And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. 6 Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. 7 It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. 8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

The beast of the sea is given his dominion by the dragon (Rv 13:2).  Notice he is given authority over every tribe, tongue and nation—not just Israel.  And it was granted him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. Forty-two months is equal to 1260 days—the same duration of time the woman is fed in the wilderness (Rv 13:6).  Some of the believers are off limits (most likely the ones sealed in Rv 7:1-8), but the rest are given into the hand of the beast.

Let us look now at Daniel 12, another passage about the same events, focused on Jacob (“your people”).

Daniel 12:1 (NKJV)
12 “At that time Michael shall stand up,
The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people;
And there shall be a time of trouble,
Such as never was since there was a nation,
Even to that time.
And at that time your people shall be delivered,
Every one who is found written in the book.

A time of great trouble is followed by deliverance, which includes the resurrection (Dn 12:2).  The resurrection is at the end of the days of trouble—and Daniel will be included (Dn 12:9-13).

One of my favorite passages about Israel’s end times revival is Hosea 5:14-6:3.  “I will return again to My place till they acknowledge their offense.  Then they will seek My face; in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me” (Ho 5:15).  So, Jesus’s return is contingent on Israel’s revival.

Her revival is prophesied also in Romans 11.  Paul was explaining to Gentile believers how Israel’s rejection of Christ was not permanent.  God’s plan was to use Israel’s disobedience to bring salvation to the Gentiles—but the people of Israel still have a future, even salvation (and of course, there has always been a remnant).

Romans 11:11-15 (NKJV)
11 I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. 12 Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!
13 For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, 14 if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them. 15 For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?

Look at this carefully: “For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?”  What this means is that Israel’s revival will come before the resurrection of the dead.

Now, this truth brings to my mind a well-known passage concerning the hope of the resurrection:

1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 (NKJV)
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

So, Israel’s revival (in the context of affliction) will precede the resurrection, and the resurrection will precede those who are alive and remain being caught up to meet the Lord in the air.  1 Thessalonians 4 is often used to teach an imminent rapture, but the resurrection is not imminent.  Its exact date is unknown to us, but the timing is well-established.  I pray that the Holy Spirit may impress these truths deep into your heart.

Since we are going to be here, what could be the point of believers experiencing the Tribulation?  This question is best answered from these two passages:

Mark 13:9-13 (NKJV)
9 “But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them. 10 And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations. 11 But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. 12 Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. 13 And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.

Revelation 6:16-17 (NKJV)
15 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, 16 and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

We’re kept here for our witness.  Though they will slay us (most of us), they will hear us.  How else will the world know about Him who sits on the throne, and about the Lamb, and His wrath?