Biblical Purposes of the Tribulation

1. Introduction

In biblical eschatology, the Tribulation is a future, seven‑year period of unprecedented distress immediately preceding the second coming of Christ (Dan 9:27; Matt 24:21; Rev 6–19). Scripture emphasizes not only the reality and severity of this time, but also its divinely designed purposes. The Tribulation is not random catastrophe; it is a focused phase in God’s redemptive and judicial program for Israel, the nations, and the whole created order.

This article surveys the biblical purposes of the Tribulation, explaining why God will send this climactic period of judgment and salvation.

2. The Tribulation as Global Judgment on Sin

2.1 To Pour Out Divine Wrath on a Christ‑Rejecting World

One dominant purpose of the Tribulation is to consummate God’s wrath against persistent, unrepentant sin on a worldwide scale.

Revelation portrays this period repeatedly as wrath:

"

"...hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come…"
— Revelation 6:16–17

Other key texts describe it as:

• “the day of the wrath of the LORD” (Zeph 1:18)
• “the day of vengeance” (Isa 34:8; 63:4)
• “the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth” (Rev 3:10)

The Tribulation is the moment when the world’s accumulated rebellion reaches “harvest” maturity:

"

“Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread, for the winepress is full; the vats overflow, for their wickedness is great.”
— Joel 3:13

Revelation 9:20–21 and 16:8–11 show that even under escalating judgment, mankind largely refuses to repent, confirming the righteousness of God’s severe dealings. The Tribulation thus vindicates divine justice by demonstrating that persistent unbelief will not go unanswered.

2.2 To End the Dominance of Gentile Rebellion

The Tribulation also brings to a close “the times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24), the long era of Gentile domination over Jerusalem and international rebellion against God. During these years, the nations are judged:

"

“For behold, the LORD is coming out from his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity…”
— Isaiah 26:21

The seals, trumpets, and bowls of Revelation 6–16 systematically dismantle the political, economic, and religious structures of a God‑rejecting world system in preparation for the visible reign of Christ.

Click to enlarge

3. God’s Purposes for Israel in the Tribulation

Although global in scope, the Tribulation has a special, covenantal focus on Israel. The Old Testament often calls it “the time of Jacob’s trouble”:

"

“Alas! That day is so great there is none like it; it is a time of distress for Jacob; yet he shall be saved out of it.”
— Jeremiah 30:7

3.1 To Chasten and Break National Rebellion

Daniel 9:24–27 presents the seventieth “week” (seven years) as the final segment in God’s program to deal with Israel’s sin:

"

“Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin…”
— Daniel 9:24

Daniel 12:7 indicates that the end of this period comes “when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end”—that is, when Israel’s stubborn resistance to God’s rule is broken. The Tribulation functions as covenantal discipline, culminating centuries of hardness toward their Messiah.

3.2 To Bring Israel to National Repentance and Salvation

This chastening is not an end in itself. Its ultimate goal is Israel’s spiritual restoration:

"

“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him…”
— Zechariah 12:10

Other passages describe the same future turning:

• Jeremiah 30:7–9 – Israel delivered and serving “David their king”
• Romans 11:26–27 – “And in this way all Israel will be saved…”
• Zechariah 13:1 – “a fountain… opened… to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness”

Under the intense pressures of the Tribulation—including persecution by Antichrist (cf. Dan 7:25; Rev 12:13–17)—a refined remnant of Israel will repent and believe. The Tribulation is therefore a preparatory furnace, out of which a regenerate Israel emerges, ready to receive her Messiah and enter the millennial kingdom.

3.3 To Regather and Reconstitute Israel for the Kingdom

Many prophetic texts connect a time of unparalleled distress with a subsequent regathering and restoration of Israel in the land:

• Deuteronomy 4:27–30 – in “latter days” Israel will experience tribulation and then return to the LORD
• Ezekiel 36–37 – physical regathering followed by spiritual renewal
• Zechariah 8:7–8 – the Lord gathers His people “from the east country and from the west country”

The Tribulation thus serves as the transition from dispersion to restoration, preparing a believing nation both geographically and spiritually for Messiah’s earthly reign.

4. God’s Purposes for the Nations and Individual Sinners

4.1 To Judge the Nations for Their Unbelief and Hostility

Besides Israel, the Tribulation targets Gentile powers for their idolatry, injustice, and opposition to God’s people:

"

“I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel…”
— Joel 3:2

Revelation portrays this climax in the campaign of Armageddon (Rev 16:12–16; 19:11–21), where the world’s armies unite against Christ and are decisively overthrown. The Tribulation culminates in a judicial separation of the nations (cf. Matt 25:31–46), determining who will enter the millennial kingdom.

4.2 To Test and Expose “Earth‑Dwellers”

Revelation uses the phrase “those who dwell on the earth” as a technical term for hardened unbelievers. The Tribulation is specifically described as:

"

“…the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.”
— Revelation 3:10

This testing does not merely discover but publicly exposes the true spiritual condition of mankind. Under escalating judgments, the majority respond not with repentance but with blasphemy (Rev 16:9–11). The Tribulation reveals that apart from sovereign grace, humanity will persist in rebellion even under unmistakable divine intervention.

4.3 To Bring Multitudes to Salvation

Paradoxically, amid judgment the Tribulation is also a harvest of grace. Revelation 7 pictures:

"

“…a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages…
…These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
— Revelation 7:9, 14

God will use various means—faithful Jewish witnesses (often associated with the 144,000 in Rev 7:1–8), the two witnesses in Jerusalem (Rev 11:3–13), and the global proclamation of the gospel of the kingdom (Matt 24:14)—to bring Jews and Gentiles to saving faith.

Thus, the Tribulation magnifies both justice and mercy: it is the final, intensified context in which God judges persistent unbelief and yet draws innumerable sinners to Christ.

5. God’s Purposes for His Own Glory and the Coming Kingdom

5.1 To Display God’s Power and Glory Before a Defiant World

The plagues on Egypt in Exodus provide a paradigm: God confronted a ruler who asked, “Who is the LORD…?” (Exod 5:2), and answered through judgments that made His name known in all the earth.

Revelation consciously echoes Exodus. The Tribulation plagues—on land, sea, sky, and society—constitute a global theophany:

"

“Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations!…
For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”
— Revelation 15:3–4

By the end of the Tribulation, no creature—angelic or human—will be able to deny God’s sovereignty, holiness, and justice. The period functions as a cosmic demonstration of who truly rules history.

5.2 To Unmask the True Character of Satan

A further purpose is to fully expose Satan’s nature and agenda. When the present restraint is lifted (2 Thess 2:7), the dragon works through the Beast (Antichrist) and the False Prophet (Rev 13), producing a counterfeit trinity and a global system of blasphemy and persecution.

In this period:

• Satan’s hatred of God and humanity is unrestrained.
• His fraud as a supposed benefactor of mankind is unveiled.
• His final revolt ends in public defeat and disgrace (Rev 19:20; 20:1–3).

The Tribulation thus reveals why Satan must ultimately be confined and destroyed, justifying God’s final sentence.

5.3 To Purge and Prepare the Earth for the Millennial Kingdom

Another crucial purpose is to cleanse and reorder the world for the reign of Christ. The Tribulation judgments:

• Destroy corrupt political and religious systems (e.g., “Babylon the great” in Rev 17–18)
• Eliminate entrenched wickedness and lawlessness (Isa 13:9; 24:19–21)
• Remove many of the unrepentant wicked so they do not enter the kingdom

From another angle, the Tribulation prepares government and spirituality for the Millennium:

• Governmentally – Human power structures are shattered so that Christ alone rules “with a rod of iron” (Ps 2:9; Rev 19:15).
• Spiritually – Idolatry and overt rebellion are judged so that the millennial age begins with a predominantly believing population and a renewed Israel at its center.

The result is a world ready for the fulfillment of promises like Isaiah 11:9: “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.”

Click to enlarge

6. Summary: Purposes of the Tribulation by Focus

7. Conclusion

The Bible presents the Tribulation as the most intense period of judgment and crisis in human history, yet it is also a carefully designed stage in God’s redemptive story. Its purposes are multi‑layered:

• To judge entrenched evil.
• To discipline and restore Israel.
• To test and expose the hearts of the nations.
• To save an innumerable host.
• To unmask Satan and terminate his world rule.
• To prepare the earth for Christ’s righteous kingdom.
• To display the glory and justice of God beyond dispute.

Understanding these purposes guards us from viewing the Tribulation merely as religious catastrophe. Instead, we see it as the decisive, God‑ordained transition from the present age of rebellion to the coming age of Messiah’s visible reign.

FAQ

Q: What is the main biblical purpose of the Tribulation?

The primary purpose is judicial and redemptive: God pours out His wrath on a stubbornly unbelieving world while simultaneously using those events to discipline Israel, bring a remnant of Jews and Gentiles to salvation, and prepare the earth for Christ’s millennial kingdom. Judgment and mercy operate together throughout the period.

Q: Why is the Tribulation especially connected to Israel?

Scripture calls it “the time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jer 30:7) and ties it to the final “week” of Daniel’s seventy weeks prophecy (Dan 9:24–27), which is explicitly “decreed about your people and your holy city.” God uses this seven‑year period to finish Israel’s transgression, end covenant rebellion, and bring the nation to repentance and faith in the Messiah.

Q: How does the Tribulation demonstrate God’s glory?

Through the Tribulation judgments, God displays His power, justice, and faithfulness on a global stage. Like the plagues on Egypt, these events prove that He alone is God. Revelation 15:3–4 records heaven’s song declaring His deeds “great and amazing” and His ways “just and true,” showing that the Tribulation ultimately magnifies His glory.

Q: Does the Tribulation have any purpose for Satan?

Yes. God uses the Tribulation to remove restraint and allow Satan’s program—through the Antichrist and False Prophet—to operate openly. This exposes Satan’s true character as deceiver and destroyer and sets the stage for his public defeat at Christ’s return and subsequent confinement (Rev 19:20; 20:1–3).

Q: Is the Tribulation only about judgment, or will people be saved during it?

While dominated by judgment, the Tribulation is also a time of great salvation. Revelation 7:9–14 describes a “great multitude” from every nation who “come out of the great tribulation” having washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb. God uses the pressures of that period to draw many to repentance and faith in Christ.