Preparation for the Great Tribulation in Christian Eschatology
The question of how Christians should prepare for the Great Tribulation is a point of significant theological divergence among Christian traditions, primarily due to differing interpretations of eschatological timelines and the nature of tribulation itself.
One perspective emphasizes spiritual vigilance and prayer as the primary mode of preparation. This view often draws from passages like Luke 21:36, where Jesus instructs his disciples to "Watch . . . pray, &c." in anticipation of trials and the end times [6]. The Jamieson, Fausset & Brown commentary, representing a Presbyterian viewpoint, interprets these duties as essential for navigating the "tremendous calamities approaching" and for being able to "stand before the Son of Man" [6]. Similarly, 1 Peter 1:13 exhorts believers to "prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ" [4]. Protestant academic interpretations of 1 Peter suggest that Christians should expect hostility and trials in a sinful world, making spiritual readiness crucial [9]. This preparation is not merely passive but involves an active setting of hope on Christ's return [1, 4].
Another approach, particularly evident in some Puritan and Nonconformist thought, highlights repentance and faith as foundational preparation. Matthew Henry, commenting on Isaiah 40:3, suggests that God's people must be "prepared, by repentance and faith," for divine favor, especially in times of deliverance or impending change [7]. This perspective views tribulation as a period that necessitates a deep spiritual cleansing and alignment with God's will.
A third view, found in some Catholic scholastic thought, distinguishes between different types of grace when considering preparation. Thomas Aquinas, in his Summa Theologica, discusses whether human preparation is required for grace. one tradition argues that while a certain disposition is needed for grace as a habitual gift, no preparation is required for grace understood as God's help moving the soul to good [10]. This suggests that while human effort might dispose one to receive certain graces, God's active intervention does not always necessitate prior human action.
Despite these differences, traditions generally agree that tribulation involves "trouble or affliction of any kind" [3]. The concept of "preparation" itself, whether for a physical space or a spiritual state, is a recurring theme in scripture, from making ready a room for the Passover [2, 8] to preparing timber for a great house [5]. The divergence largely stems from whether the "Great Tribulation" is understood as a specific future event, a continuous experience of suffering for believers throughout history, or a combination thereof, and consequently, what form preparation should take.
Sources
- I Peter “I Peter 1:13 (BSB) — Therefore prepare your minds for action. Be sober-minded. Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
- Luke “He will show you a large, furnished upper room. Make preparations there.” -- Luke 22:12”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Tribulation — Trouble or affiction of any kind (Deut. 4:30; Matt. 13:21; 2 Cor. 7:4). In Rom. 2:9 "tribulation and anguish" are the penal sufferings that shall overtake the wicked. In Matt. 24:21, 29, the word denotes the calamities that were to attend the destruction of Jerusalem.”
- 1 Peter “1 Peter 1:13 (NASB) — Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
- 2 Chronicles “2 Chronicles 2:9 (NASB) — to prepare timber in abundance for me, for the house which I am about to build will be great and wonderful.”
- Luke (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Luke 21:36: Watch . . . pray, &c.--the two great duties which in prospect of trial are constantly enjoined. These warnings, suggested by the need of preparedness for the tremendous calamities approaching, and the total wreck of the existing state of things, are the general improvement of the whole discourse, carrying the mind forward to Judgment and Vengeance of another kind and on a grander and more awful scale--not ecclesiastical or political but personal, not temporal but eternal--when all safety and blessedness will be found to lie in being able to "STAND BEFOR”
- Isaiah (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Isaiah 40:3: The time to favour Zion, yea, the set time, having come, the people of God must be prepared, by repentance and faith, for the favours designed them; and, in order to call them to both these, we have here the voice of one crying in the wilderness, which may be applied to those prophets who were with the captives in their wilderness-state, and who, when they saw the day of their deliverance dawn, called earnestly upon them to prepare for it, and assured them that all the difficulties which stood in the way of their deliverance should be got over. It is a good sign t”
- Luke (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Luke 22:11: And he shall show you a large upper room furnished,.... With all things necessary, to eat and drink out of, at the passover; there make ready. The Ethiopic version adds, "for us", as in Mar 14:15. The Persic version renders it, "there prepare a place"; but this was prepared already; the words design the preparation of the passover, and every thing proper for it.”
- 1 Peter (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on 1 Peter 4:12: 4:12-19 Peter instructs Christians one last time about the way to face the trials that will inevitably come. 4:12 don’t be surprised: Christians, especially those seeking to lead godly lives, can expect to face the hostility of a sinful world (see John 16:33; Acts 14:22; Rom 8:17; Phil 1:29).”
- theology (Catholic (Scholastic)) “Aquinas, Summa Theologica, First Part of the Second Part (Prima Secundae), Of the Cause of Grace, Art. 2: Article: Whether any preparation and disposition for grace is required on man's part? I answer that, As stated above (Question [111], Article [2]), grace is taken in two ways: first, as a habitual gift of God. Secondly, as a help from God, Who moves the soul to good. Now taking grace in the first sense, a certain preparation of grace is required for it, since a form can only be in disposed matter. But if we speak of grace as it signifies a help from God to move us to good, no preparation i”