Like many, I have been watching the American elections over the last few weeks, and I would like to remind you that God is still in control. He’s not surprised, troubled, or worried about the events in the USA. On the other hand there are some things that are more important than politics.

Years ago I came to the realization that God has placed a lot more information in the bible than any of us suspects. You and I can’t access that information as fleshly persons, but only as we lean on Him, and ask Him to guide us!

I was recently thinking about Jesus statements in John 5

45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust.

46 For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.

47 But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?

If Moses wrote about Jesus, and he did, did he also write about the End Times events of the Tribulation, and the book of Revelation?

This was the thought that was in the back of my mind as I recently started reading the books of Moses again. I wasn’t really searching for anything in particular, but just looking for what He has for me today. I encountered several things that I hadn’t seen before, and each one is a blessing, but I was stunned when I got to Deuteronomy 4! Here is the first mention of the Tribulation in the bible;

25 When thou shalt beget children, and children’s children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the Lord thy God, to provoke him to anger:

26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed.

27 And the Lord shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the Lord shall lead you.

28 And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.

29 But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.

30 When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice;

31 (For the Lord thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.

Moses actually prophesied the entire future of his people, Israel, in these few verses!

The tendency of Israel to serve false gods is spoken of in verses 25 – 28, and their resultant dispersion among the nations in verses 27-28. Oh, if only they could have been faithful!

Notice the faithfulness of God, in verse 29, that though they would spend millennia serving false Gods, if they would turn and seek the Lord their God, that He would save them, even in the places where they were scattered!

God has always had a remnant of believers among the Israelites, even during the Church Age. At times the number of Jews in the Church has been very small, but there has always been a few descendants of Jacob who have received Jesus as their Lord and Saviour!

The verses in question, in relation to the Great Tribulation, are verses 30 and 31.

30 When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice;

31 (For the Lord thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.

The word “tribulation” simply means “trouble” but in the context of “even in the latter days” it sets the event as the one known as “the time of Jacob’s trouble”, or the Great Tribulation as found in the book of Revelation! Yes, this is a reference to the time of the Antichrist, the beast, the little horn, found in the book of Daniel!

The latter days are the days in which we live. When this age is over, there will be only a seven year Great Tribulation period, and then the thousand year rule of Jesus Christ. This will be the closing age of this earth!

Israel is back in the land, although not all of them have returned just yet, but they will, and the events of the next few years will accelerate their return.

Indeed this event is also referred to in the book of Zechariah 10-14, and only one third of the nation will survive, as stated in chapter13:8-9. It is to that one third that God’s promises are directed in Romans 11:26.

Though Moses only mentions this period very briefly, his summary shows some of the very important things about this time period; when he says “ When thou art in tribulation” he shows that this period is about Israel. This is why the Rapture of the Church will occur before this period begins; it is about Israel, and it is Israel’s time to come to Christ, and to evangelize the world, which they were originally commissioned to do, but failed!

If the Church was still here, evangelizing the world, there would be no need for Israel to send out missionaries, however they will actually send out 144,000 missionaries into all the world!

There will be remnants of the Church here, the apostate Church, however, they won’t be evangelizing the world at that time, but actually supporting the Antichrist! No, the Great Tribulation is about Israel, and the multitudes of Gentiles who are saved in that time will be jewels in Israel’s crown!

This is the mercy of God, that He would give Israel another change to obey, after thousands of years of disobedience!

The first mention of the Tribulation in the bible is in Deuteronomy 4:30, written by the pen of Moses the prophet. It has been there since the beginning of the bible!