By the Scripture’s Own Writers
World Distress
Definition
The tribulation brought upon Satan’s world (heavens and earth) by Christ the King taking action to unseat Satan from his position as ruler of the earth. Note two things about this: (a) Actual combat against Satan and his demon horde in heaven. This began with Christ’s enthronement, A.D. 1914, and was cut short A.D. 1918, to be resumed at Armageddon against Satan and his invisible and visible hosts, (b) In between, while this tribulation is cut short, there is a work of proclaiming the Kingdom and its day of vengeance, and of exposing Satan’s filthy organization, interfering with his hold upon mankind and wasting the pastures of false religion, and bringing confusion among the ranks of Satan’s earthly organization.
The anguish and sorrows brought upon the peoples of earth by reason of satan’s desperate all-out attempt to crush all truth and righteousness out of the earth and to turn all men against God before Armageddon, with a view to a depopulated earth. By playing upon man’s sinfulness and selfishness, and by his oppressive demonic and visible organization, satan has whipped up violence and great distress.
Christ the King’s Action in Literal Warfare Against Satan’s World A.D. 1914-1918
Revelation 12:5-9 “And she gave birth to a son, a male, who is destined to shepherd all the nations with an iron rod…. And war broke out in heaven: Michael and His angels battled with the dragon, and the dragon and its angels battled but it did not prevail, neither was a place found for them any longer in heaven. So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth; he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him.”
Psalm 110:2 “Jehovah will send forth the rod of Your strength out of Zion: rule among Your enemies.”
Luke 10:18 “At that He said to them: ‘I began to behold Satan already fallen like lightning from heaven.'”
Revelation 18:2 “He cried out with a strong voice, saying: ‘She has fallen! Babylon the great has fallen, and she has become a dwelling-place of demons and a lurking-place of every unclean exhalation and a lurking-place of every unclean and hated bird!'”
A time of rejoicing for all righteous creatures
Revelation 12:10-12 “And I heard a loud voice in heaven say: ‘Now have come to pass the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ, because the accuser of our brothers has been hurled down, who accuses them day and night before our God! … On this account be glad, you heavens and you who reside in them!’ “
Luke 21:28 “But as these things start to occur, raise yourselves erect and lift your heads up, because your deliverance is getting near.”
This action temporarily halted when satan’s organization was completely cleaned out of heaven
Matthew 24:7, 8, 21, 22, 14 “For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be food shortages and earthquakes in one place after another. All these things are a beginning of pangs of distress. For then there will be great tribulation such as has not occurred since the world’s beginning until now, no, nor will occur again. In fact, unless those days were cut short, no flesh would be saved; but on account of the chosen ones those days will be cut short. And this good news of the Kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for the purpose of a witness to all the nations, and then the accomplished end will come.”
Hebrews 12:26, 27 “At that time His voice shook the earth, but now He has promised, saying: ‘Yet once more I will set not only the earth but also the heaven in commotion.’ Now the expression ‘Yet once more’ signifies the removal of the things being shaken as things that have been made, in order that the things not being shaken may remain.”
Mark 13:20 “Unless Jehovah had cut short the days, no flesh would be saved. But on account of the chosen ones that He has chosen, He has cut short the days.”
Allowing this interim is a great mercy of God
2 Peter 3:9, 15 “Jehovah is not slow respecting His promise, as some people consider slowness,
but He is patient with you because He does not desire any to be destroyed but desires all to attain to repentance. Furthermore, consider the patience of our Lord as salvation.”
Revelation 14:6, 7 “I saw another angel flying across the sky and he had everlasting good news to declare as glad tidings to those who dwell on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people, saying in a loud voice: ‘Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has arrived.’ ”
Isaiah 1:9 “Except Jehovah of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, we should have been like unto Gomorrah.”
Provides opportunity for remnant to be gathered and prove integrity
Luke 13:29 “Furthermore, people will come from eastern parts and western, and from north and south, and will sit at the table in the kingdom of God.”
Matthew 24:45-47 “Who really is the faithful and discreet slave whom his master appointed over his domestics to give them their food at the proper time? Happy is that slave if his master on arriving finds him doing so. Truly I say to you, He will appoint him over all his belongings.”
Luke 18:7, 8 “Certainly, then, shall not God cause justice to be done to His chosen ones who cry aloud to Him day and night, even though He is longsuffering toward them? I tell you, He will cause justice to be done to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man arrives, will He really find this faith on the earth?”
Malachi 3:1-3 “The Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, behold, he comes, says Jehovah of hosts. But who can abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appears? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: and he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi, and refine them as gold and silver; and they shall offer unto Jehovah offerings in righteousness.”
Isaiah 12:1 “And in that day you shall say, I will give thanks to You, O Jehovah; for though You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me.”
Isaiah 6:5-8 “Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for my eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphim to me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: and he touched my mouth with it, and said, Lo, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin forgiven. And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us? Then I said, Here am I; send me.”
Isaiah 52:11 “Depart, depart, go out from there, touch no unclean thing; go out of the midst of her; cleanse yourselves, you that bear the vessels of Jehovah.”
Matthew 24:16-18 “Then let those in Judea begin fleeing to the mountains. Let the man on the housetop not come down to take the goods out of his house; and let the man in the field not return to the house to pick up his outer garment.”
Isaiah 45:1 and Revelation 3:7 “Thus says Jehovah to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held, to subdue nations before him, and I will loose the loins of kings; to open the doors before him, and the gates shall not be shut.” “And to the angel of the congregation in Philadelphia write: These are the things He says who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens so that no one will shut, and shuts so that no one opens.”
Allows other sheep to hear and be saved
John 10:16 “And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; those also I must bring, and they will listen to My voice, and they will become one flock, one shepherd.”
Matthew 25:31-33 “When the Son of man arrives in His glory and all the angels with Him, then He will sit down on His glorious throne. And all the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate people one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And He will put the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on His left.”
Revelation 22:17 “And the spirit and the bride keep on saying, ‘Come!’ And let anyone hearing say, ‘Come!’ And let anyone thirsting come; let anyone that wishes take life’s water free.”
War to be resumed and completed by Christ at Armageddon
Isaiah 28:21 “For Jehovah will rise up as in mount Perazim, He will be angry as in the valley of Gibeon; that He may do His work, His strange work, and bring to pass His act, His strange act.”
Revelation 6:2 “And I saw, and, look! a white horse, and the one seated upon it had a bow, and a crown was given him, and he went forth conquering and to complete his conquest.”
2 Peter 3:7, 10 “But by the same Word the heavens and the earth that are now are stored up for fire and are being reserved to the day of judgment and of destruction of the ungodly men. Yet Jehovah’s day will come as a thief, and in that day the heavens will be rolled up with a great noise, and the substance of the earth will be changed by violent heat, and the world and everything in it will be burned up.
1 Thessalonians 5:3 “Whenever it is that they are saying, ‘Peace and security!’ then sudden destruction is to be instantly upon them just as the pang of distress upon a pregnant woman, and they will by no means escape.”
Matthew 24:20, 21 “Keep praying that your flight may not occur in wintertime nor on the sabbath day; for then there will be great tribulation such as has not occurred since the world’s beginning until now, no, nor will occur again.”
Distress Brought on Satan’s Organization Between 1918 and Armageddon
Luke 21:25 “Also there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth anguish of nations, not knowing the way out because of the roaring of the sea and its agitation.”
Revelation 1:7 “Look! He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will beat themselves in grief because of Him. Yes, Amen.”
Revelation 6:15-17 “And the kings of the earth and the top-ranking ones and the military commanders and the rich and the strong ones and every slave and free person hid themselves in the dens and in the rock-masses of the mountains. And they keep saying to the mountains and to the rock-masses: ‘Fall over us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne and from the anger of the Lamb, because the great day of Their anger has come, and who is able to stand?’ “
Revelation 16:21 “And a great hail with every stone about the weight of a talent descended out of heaven upon the men, and yet the men blasphemed God due to the plague of hail, because the plague of it was unusually great.”
Revelation 9:5, 6 “And it was granted the locusts, not to kill them, but that these should be tormented five months, and the torment upon them was as torment by a scorpion when it strikes a man. And in those days the men will seek death but will by no means find it, and they will desire to die but death keeps fleeing from them.’
God’s servants have part in this proclamation work; no physical violence used
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage warfare according to what we are in the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, but powerful by God for overturning strongly entrenched things. For we are overturning reasonings and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are bringing every thought into captivity to make it obedient to the Christ.”
Ephesians 6:12 “Because we have a fight, not against blood and flesh, but against the governments, against the authorities, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the wicked spirit forces in the heavenly places.”
False religionists and oppressors of the people discomfited, bring opposition and persecution to God’s servants
Jeremiah 25:36 “A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and the wailing of the principal of the flock! for Jehovah lays waste their pasture.”
Luke 13:28 “There is where your weeping and the gnashing of your teeth will be, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God, but yourselves thrown outside.”
Many will come forth to stand with God’s servants, to their salvation
Revelation 7:9-17 “After these things I saw, and, look! a great crowd, which no man was able to number, out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes, and there were palm branches in their hands. And they keep on crying with a loud voice, saying: ‘Salvation we owe to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb.’… ‘These are the ones that come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb…. because the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them, and will guide them to fountains of waters of life.'”
Micah 4:1-3 “But in the latter days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of Jehovah’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it. And many nations shall go and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem; and He will judge between many peoples, and will decide concerning strong nations afar off: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”
Zechariah 8:22, 23 “Yea, many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek Jehovah of hosts in Jerusalem, and to entreat the favor of Jehovah. Thus says Jehovah of hosts: In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold, out of all the languages of the nations, they shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”
Jonah 3:5, 10 “And the people of Nineveh believed God; and they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil which He said He would do to them; and He did it not.”
Woes upon People, Wickedness, All Caused by Satan
Isaiah 14:16, 17, 20 “They that see you shall gaze at you, they shall consider you, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; that made the world as a wilderness, and overthrew the cities thereof; that let not loose his prisoners to their home? … you have destroyed your land, you have slain your people; the seed of evil-doers shall not be named for ever.”
Hebrews 2:14, 15 “Therefore, since the ‘young children’ are sharers of blood and flesh, He also similarly partook of the same things, that through His death He might destroy the one having the means to cause death, that is, the Devil, and might emancipate all those who for fear of death were subject to slavery all through their lives.”
John 8:44 “You are from your father the Devil and you wish to do the desires of your father. That one was a manslayer when he began, and he did not stand fast in the truth, because truth is not in him. When he speaks the lie, he speaks according to his own disposition, because he is a liar and the father of the lie.”
Acts 10:38 “He went through the land doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him.”
Increased now because satan knows Armageddon near
Revelation 12:12 “On this account be glad, you heavens and you who reside in them! Woe for the earth and for the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time.”
Revelation 6:4-8 “And another came forth, a fiery-colored horse, and to the one seated upon it there was granted to take peace away from the earth so that they should slaughter one another, and a great sword was given him. And when he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, ‘Come!’ And I saw, and, look! a black horse, and the one seated upon it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard a voice as if in the midst of the four living creatures say: ‘A quart of wheat for a day’s wage, and three quarts of barley for a day’s wage; and do not harm the olive oil and the wine.’ And when he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, ‘Come!’ And I saw, and, look! a pale horse, and the one seated upon it had the name Death. And hades was closely following him. And authority was given them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with a long sword and with food shortage and with deadly plague and by the wild beasts of the earth.”
Persecution to break Jehovah’s witnesses is satan’s main effort
Revelation 12:13, 17 “Now when the dragon saw it was hurled down to the earth, it persecuted the woman that gave birth to the male child. And the dragon grew angry at the woman, and went off to wage war with the remaining ones of her seed, who observe the commandments of God and hold fast to the testimony to Jesus.”
This permitted by Jehovah to test His servants and show satan’s world worthy of destruction
Revelation 2:18 “Do not be afraid of the things you are destined to suffer. Look! the devil will keep on throwing some of you into prison that you may be fully put to the test, and that you may have tribulation ten days. Prove yourself faithful even with the danger of death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
Proverbs 27:11 “My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproaches me.”
Mark 13:9 “As for you, look out for yourselves; people will deliver you up to local courts and you will be beaten in synagogues and be put on the stand before governors and kings for My sake for the purpose of a witness to them.”
Ezekiel 38:10-39:4 “Thus says the Lord Jehovah: It shall come to pass in that day, that things shall come into your mind, and you shall devise an evil device: and you shall say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates; to take the spoil and to take the prey; to turn your hand against the waste places that are now inhabited, and against the people that are gathered out of the nations, that have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the middle of the earth…. and you shall come up against My people Israel, as a cloud to cover the land: it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring you against My land, that the nations may know Me, when I shall be sanctified in you, O Gog, before their eyes.” “And I will turn you about, and will lead you on, and will cause you to come up from the uttermost parts of the north; and I will bring you upon the mountains of Israel; and I will smite your bow out of your left hand, and will cause your arrows to fall out of your right hand. You shall fall upon the mountains of Israel, you, and all your hordes, and the peoples that are with you: I will give you to the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.”
Satan tries to thwart God’s purpose of gathering remnant of Christ’s body, and of having earthly other sheep survive Armageddon
2 Thessalonians 2:1 “Brothers, respecting the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to Him.”
1 Peter 5:8 “Keep your senses, be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking to devour someone.”
Revelation 16:14-16 “They are, in fact, expressions inspired by demons and perform signs, and they go forth to the kings of the entire inhabited earth, to gather them together to the war of the great day of God the Almighty. ‘Look! I am coming as a thief. Happy is the one that stays awake and keeps his outer garments, that he may not walk naked and people look upon his parts of shame.’ And they gathered them together to the place that is called in Hebrew Har-Magedon.”
Zechariah 3:1, 2; 4:9 “And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of Jehovah, and satan standing at his right hand to be his adversary. And Jehovah said to satan, Jehovah rebuke you,… is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?” “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and you shall know that Jehovah of hosts has sent me to you.”
Distress will increase until Armageddon; no world conversion possible
2 Timothy 3:1-5, 13 “But know this, that in the last days critical times hard to deal with will be here. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, self- assuming, haughty, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, without gratitude, with no loving-kindness, having no natural affection, not open to any agreement, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, without love of goodness, betrayers, headstrong, puffed up with self-esteem, lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God, having a form of godly devotion but proving false to its power; and from these turn away. . . . wicked men and impostors will advance from bad to worse, misleading and being misled.”
Matthew 24:37 “For just as the days of Noah were, so the presence of the Son of man will be.”
Genesis 6:13 “And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.”
Such distresses are a sign of the last days
Matthew 24:3-10, 33-35 “While He was sitting on the mount of Olives, the disciples approached Him privately, saying: ‘Tell us, When will these things be, and what will be the sign of Your presence and of the consummation of the system of things?’… Jesus said… ‘For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be food shortages and earthquakes in one place after another. All these things are a beginning of pangs of distress. Then people will deliver you up to tribulation and will kill you, and you will be hated by all the nations on account of My name. Then, also, many will be stumbled and will betray one another and will hate one another… Truly I say to you that this generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.’ “
Luke 21:25, 31 “Also there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth anguish of nations, not knowing the way out because of the roaring of the sea and its agitation…. In this way you also, when you see these things occurring, know that the Kingdom of God is near.”
Distress to end for all time at Armageddon
Nahum 1:9 “What do you devise against Jehovah? He will make a full end; affliction shall not rise up the second time.”
Revelation 11:18 “The nations were angry, and Your own anger came, and the appointed time… to bring to ruin those ruining the earth.”
Psalm 72:4 “He will judge the poor of the people, he will save the children of the needy, and will break in pieces the oppressor.”
Isaiah 14:4 “How has the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!”
Isa. 66:23, 24 “And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me, says Jehovah. And they shall go forth, and look upon the dead bodies of the men that have transgressed against Me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.”
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