No one will ever be able to answer the question "What will trigger the great tribulation?" until he knows what "the tribulation | the great tribulation" IS, and in this regard, Jesus our Messiah repeatedly stated that only he who has ears to hear, will hear.
At least half of the Christian population of the world do not even know what "the great tribulation" IS, but due to decades (and longer) of false teaching in the churches, they all think they do.
So it's important to know and to understand that the Biblical authors did not read what we wrote, nor interpret what we said. The Bible does not use our own personal choices of terminology: the biblical authors used their own terminology when they recorded what Jesus said about tribulation and great tribulation, or when the apostles wrote about the tribulation that the saints would experience in the world, choosing the words they would use in reference to this tribulation of the saints - and this includes the reference to the greatest period of tribulation that would ever be.
They also chose their own terminology when they spoke about the judgment / wrath of God that will come upon the world.
Christian Bible-teachers can - and many do - use their own terminology and ignore the Biblical terminology used by the authors of the Bible when they interpret the Bible the way they choose to, turning what is written about tribulation and great tribulation in the scriptures into a reference to the judgment / wrath of God that is to come upon the world. However, the Bible does not use our terminology. It uses its own. We can either align our interpretation with Biblical terminology, or continue to misconstrue what is written.
THE BIBLE ON:-
1. Wrath.
2. Judgment.
3. Universal Judgment.
4. Persecution.
5. Tribulation.
6. Great Tribulation.
PERSECUTION, TRIBULATION, & GREAT TRIBULATION
Persecution of Jesus: John 5:16
Persecution of Christians: Matthew 5:10-12; John 15:20; Acts 22:4; Acts 26:11; 1 Corinthians 4:12; 1 Corinthians 15:9; 2 Corinthians 4:9; Galatians 1:13 & 23; Galatians 4:29; Galatians 5:11
Persecution of "the woman" who gave birth to the Messiah: Revelation 12:13
TRIBULATION OF NON-CHRISTIANS
There are only two verses in the New Testament referring to tribulation experienced by non-Christians:-
1. Of all who do evil: Romans 2:9.
2. Of the world as repayment for bringing tribulation upon the saints: 2 Thessalonians 1:6.
TRIBULATION OF APOSTLES OR CHRISTIANS:-
Matthew 13:21 (Parallel: Mark 4:17); Matthew 24:9 & 29 (Parallel Mark 13:24); John 16:33; Acts 11:19; Acts 14:22; Acts 20:23; Romans 5:3; Romans 8:35; Romans 12:12; 2 Corinthians 1:4, 6 & 8; 2 Corinthians 2:4; 2 Corinthians 4:8; 2 Corinthians 4:17; 2 Corinthians 6:4; 2 Corinthians 7:4-5; 2 Corinthians 8:2; Ephesians 3:13; Philippians 1:16; Philippians 4:14; Colossians 1:24; 1 Thessalonians 1:6; 1 Thessalonians 3:3-4 & 7; 2 Thessalonians 1:4, 6-7; 2 Timothy 1:8; 2 Timothy 3:11; 2 Timothy 4:5; Hebrews 10:32-33; 1 Peter 5:9; Revelation 1:9; Revelation 2:9-10, 22; Revelation 7:14.
GREAT TRIBULATION
[Greek: mégas thlîpsis]
Mentioned only three times in the New Testament:-
First mention: The Olivet Discourse: Matthew 24:21-22 (Parallel: Mark 13:19-20) *
"for then shall be mégas thlîpsis (great tribulation), such as has not been since the beginning of the world to this time; no, nor ever shall be.
And unless those days should be shortened, no flesh would be saved. But for the elect's sake, those days shall be shortened." (Also see Matthew 24:9).
"And immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from the heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.
And then the sign of the Son of man shall appear in the heavens. And then all the tribes of the earth shall mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of the heaven with power and great glory.
And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other." (Matthew 24:29-31).
Third mention: Revelation 7:13-14:
Revelation 7:9-10, 13-15
9 After these things I looked, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, out of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues, stood before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palms in their hands.
And they cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God sitting on the throne, and to the Lamb.
And one of the elders answered, saying to me, Who are these who are arrayed in white robes, and from where do they come?
Therefore they are before the throne of God, and they serve Him day and night in His temple. And He sitting on the throne will dwell among them.
They will not hunger any more, nor thirst any more, nor will the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will feed them and will lead them to the fountains of living waters. And God will wipe away all tears from their eyes.
Second mention: Revelation 2:21: "Behold, I will cast her (Jezebel) into a bed, and them (those Christians) that commit adultery with her into mégas thlîpsis (great tribulation), except they repent of their deeds."
* Luke 21:23 uses the words great distress and wrath to describe what was to come upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem (not the word tribulation):
"But woe to those who are with child, and to those suckling in those days! For there shall be great distress [anánkē] in the land and wrath [orgḗ] on this people."
but the tribulation or persecution of the disciples of Jesus in the days leading up to the coming of the Son of man is mentioned in Luke 21:12-19; Matthew 24:9-10; and Mark 13:9-13; and their redemption (ending their tribulation), is mentioned in Luke 21:25-36; Matthew 24:29-51; and Mark 13:24-37.
1 Thessalonians 5:9
"For God has not appointed us to wrath (ὀργή orgḗ), but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ."
Romans 5:8-10
"But God commends His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath (ὀργή orgḗ) through Him.
For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life."
WRATH
God's wrath has been poured out upon people and nations over the course of human history, but it has not necessarily been poured out upon the whole world in each case (for example: Exodus 15:3-7).
JUDGMENT
God's wrath being poured out upon a people is always a judgement, since it is always produced by God’s burning anger, but it’s not always a final judgement nor is it always a universal judgment:
A final judgement did not come upon Jerusalem when the wrath of God came upon the city at the time Jerusalem was destroyed by the armies of Babylon, but a final judgement did come upon Babylon (Jeremiah 50:13) when the wrath of God came upon the city a few decades later.
Hundreds of years later, Jesus prophesied about another judgement that was to come upon the people of Jerusalem, and He mentions this judgement as coming about as a result of God’s wrath:
"But woe to those who are with child, and to those suckling in those days! For there shall be great distress (ἀνάγκη anánkē) in the land and wrath (ὀργή orgḗ) upon this people." (Luke 21:23).
Notice the above is not called tribulation in the above verse, but wrath.
UNIVERSAL JUDGMENT
The first time in the Bible that we read about humanity being universally judged is in the account of the flood in Genesis, when only the elect (Noah and his family) were saved.
The last time we read about humanity being universally judged is in the Revelation, where we read about fire coming down from heaven and destroying the armies of the rebellious nations who had surrounded the camp of the saints (Revelation 20:9).
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THE 'PRE-TRIBULATION' MISNOMER
Referring to the judgement of God that is prophesied to come upon unbelievers | the enemies of Christ (which is produced by His wrath) as "the tribulation", or as "the great tribulation" is a complete and utter misnomer.
but the plagues were being experienced by the Egyptians as a result of God's judgment, in much the same way as the seven last plagues (a.k.a bowls of wrath) will be experienced by those "who had the mark of the beast, and on those who worshiped his image" (Revelation 16:2).
Excerpt from Matthew 24:9-31
"Then [ Greek tote: At the time of (the end) ] they will deliver you up to tribulation (Greek: thlipsis) and will kill you. And you will be hated of all nations for My name's sake."
And because lawlessness shall abound, the love of many will become cold.
Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand), then let those in Judea flee into the mountains.
For then shall be great tribulation (megas thlipsis), such as has not been since the beginning of the world to this time; no, nor ever shall be - and unless those days should be shortened, no flesh would be saved. But for the elect's sake, those days shall be shortened."
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"Abomination of Desolation" is a phrase from the Book of Daniel describing the pagan sacrifices with which the 2nd century BC Greek king Antiochus IV Epiphanes replaced the twice-daily offering in the Jewish temple, or alternatively the altar on which such offerings were made." (Abomination of desolation - Wikipedia)
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"And immediately after the tribulation (thlipsis) of those days, the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from the heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken, and then the sign of the Son of man shall appear in the heavens. And then all the tribes of the earth shall mourn,
and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of the heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. " (excerpt from Matthew 24:29-31).
The abomination of desolation placed in the temple by Antiochus IV Epiphanes - as prophesied by Daniel - is the type of the man of sin / son of perdition who is to be seated in the church (i.e of the temple of God), making himself God.
"Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand), then let those in Judea flee into the mountains.
For then shall be great tribulation (megas thlipsis), such as has not been since the beginning of the world to this time; no, nor ever shall be - and unless those days should be shortened, no flesh would be saved. But for the elect's sake, those days shall be shortened."
It does not mean that the temple of 2 Thessalonians 2:4 is in Jerusalem, but it does imply that those in Judea will be at the epicenter of what is coming.
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