Do Seventh-day Adventists believe in a seven-year tribulation?

Answer 1

The Bible certainly does teach that Jesus Christ will return for His people at the Second Coming. Jesus Himself said, "I will come again, and receive you to myself" (John 14:3). But we must let ourselves be deceived by those who twist the scripture especially with the idea of a the 'secret rapture' .

Without a doubt, the most quoted passage in the Bible now being used to support the idea of a the 'secret rapture' is found in 1 Thessalonians 4:17. Many Christians know it by heart, and it is cited in movie, LEFT BEHIND. Paul wrote that believers in Jesus Christ will someday be "caught up…in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air" (1 Thessalonians 4:17). According to some, the return of Jesus Christ actually takes place in two distinct phases. First, Jesus returns silently and secretly, unnoticed by the world. At that moment Christians will be "caught up," or secretly raptured, which is interpreted as the sudden vanishing of millions of people all over the globe. The rest of mankind, having been left behind, are then ushered into a "seven-year period called the Tribulation" . During the 7-year tribulation, the Antichrist rises to enforce his deadly mark. At the end of the seven years, Jesus returns visibly before the eyes of all, an event referred to as Christ's Second Coming or "Glorious Appearing." Thus, according to Left Behind, Jesus first comes silently to rapture away true believers, and then, seven years later, He comes visibly at the very end of the world. With minor variations, this sequence is now accepted by millions of Bible-believing Christians as an accurate picture of end-time events, but is this what scripture says.

So lets look to clear this up, as there are many trying to bring in false ideas out there in regards to the 70th Week of the Daniel 9 prophecy. The most prevalent is this 7-year tribulation just prior to Christ's second coming. Many believers in the 7-year Tribulation don't know that this belief is rooted in the Daniel 9 prophecy. In fact, one of the most important verses used to support this idea is Dan 9:27, which we will look at along with the entire prophecy. Also, it is from Dan 9:27 that the belief in "The Antichrist" and the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple on the temple mount comes from. The series of events outlined in this theory is that 1) there will be a secret rapture that takes all true Christians away leaving others behind, 2) then a 7-year tribulation occurs where those who were not taken in the secret rapture will get a chance to "clean up their act" so that when Christ's public appearance happens they can be judged worthy, 3) during the course of the 7-year tribulation the Antichrist will appear, make a covenant with the Jewish nation, then break that covenant in the middle of the 7 years, then he'll walk inside the Jewish temple and declare himself to be God. But is this theory biblically accurate? Lets take a look at an essay by Palehorse which explores this issue.

The Prophecy of Daniel 9

First, let's read through the entire prophecy so that we get the whole idea first and then we'll break it down.

Daniel 9

24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. 25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. 26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. 27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

One thing that must be understood first is the "a day for a year" rule established in Eze 4:6. For every day that is mentioned in this and all other biblical prophecies they are equal to a prophetic year. There is virtually no debate about this point in Christian circles and we'll find that the rule holds true in this prophecy.

The Timeframe:

The angel Gabriel starts the prophecy by giving a block of time in verse 24, seventy weeks. Seventy weeks is equal to 490 days, or 490 prophetic years. That is our timeframe for this prophecy from beginning to end.

Verse 25 tells us when this timeframe begins,"from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem". When did this occur? See Ezra 7; for this is the command where the rebuilding of Jerusalem was actually accomplished and that command was given by Artaxerxes, king of Persia; which occurred in 457 BC. There were two other kings that made similar commands to rebuild Jerusalem but those proved to not be fruitful.

This is the total 70-week block given by Gabriel in verses 25 & 27:

Block 1: 7 Weeks -(49 years)- Starts in 457 BC

Block 2: 62 Weeks -(434 years)- Starts in 408 BC

Block 3: 1 week -(7 years)- Starts in 27 AD

Let's look closely at the last week/ 7-year block (Block 3); for this is the period of time that many think will be the famous "Seven-year Tribulation" of the future:

3 ½ Years + 3 ½ Years = 7 years (one week)

o This block starts in 27 AD. What happened in this year? Christ was baptized, anointed, and started His public ministry.

o The "midst of the week" started in 31 AD (3 ½ years later). What happened in this year? Christ was killed on the cross. (New Covenant confirmed.)

o This block ends in 34 AD. What happened in this year? Stephen, the last disciple to the Jews, was stoned by the Sanhedrin and the Gospel went out to the Gentiles.

So we see that this breakdown perfectly follows the prophecy of Daniel 9 and we find that this prophecy was about the coming Messiah (Jesus Christ); history and later books of the Bible verify this.

Why do people want to put this last week of the 70 at the end times? There is no biblical reason to do so and it breaks the block of time Gabriel started the prophecy with. Let's ask some further important questions;

Is the antichrist mentioned anywhere in Daniel 9:24-27? No. The "he" mentioned in verse 27 is Christ, not Antichrist, for Christ is the focus of the whole prophecy. Also, we find that only Christ makes convenants in the Bible. Is there any mention of a rebuilding of the Jewish temple? No. Any mention of sacrifices being restarted? No. Any mention of a covenant being broken? No. In fact verse 27 says the opposite, that the covenant would be confirmed. So why do people believe this ridiculous theory that there will be a 7-year tribulation at the end of the world?

Here are 10 reasons why the 70th week of Daniel 9 was actually fulfilled by Christ about 2,000 years ago:

1. Verse 24 defines "Seventy weeks" as a single block of time.

2. The 70th week must come after the 69th week; else it can't really be called the 70th week.

3. It is illogical and unbiblical to move the last week of this prophecy to the end of the world.

4. The focus of the prophecy is on the Messiah, not the antichrist. "Messiah" and "Christ" means "anointed one" - who was anointed during the last "week" of the prophecy? Jesus Christ!

5. Verse 27 says a covenant is "confirmed" in the midst of the week, not broken in the midst of the week. Who creates/confirms covenants in the Bible? Christ only! See Romans 15:8 to see that it was Jesus who "confirmed" the promises made unto the fathers, not antichrist.

6. Verse 27 says "he shall confirm the covenant with many". Compare this to Matthew 26:28.

7. Verse 27 says "midst of the week" (3 ½ years) the sacrifices would cease. When Christ died the temple veil was "rent" from top to bottom and the Jewish sacrifices ceased. (see Matt 27:51) This was the mark that signified any further sacrifices were of no effect in the sight of God.

8. Verse 27 says "he shall make it desolate". Compare this to Matt 23:38. Who left the temple desolate? Christ!

9. The first 3 ½ years of the 70th week Christ ministered only to the Jews - the second 3 ½ years the disciples ministered to the Jews; thus the 70th week is finished at this point, 34 AD, not a future time.

10. The disciple Stephan was stoned to death by the Sanhedrin in 34 AD which caused the Gospel to go to the Gentiles.

Further, check out Christ's words in Matthew 18:21. 70x7=490 which is the 490 years of the Daniel 9 prophecy!

The second Jewish temple (Herod's temple) was destroyed in 70 AD when Jerusalem was ransacked by the Romans under Prince Titus (see Dan 9:26, you'll see a "prince shall destroy" = Prince Titus). Compare the "desolation" spoken of in Dan 9:27 to the "desolate" of Matt 23:38 & Matt 24:13-16. This is the very sign, the destruction of Jerusalem, that Christ was warning the disciples about (see Luke 21:20-22).

Conclusion:

There is no 7-year Tribulation at the end of the world. That teaching comes from a huge mistake resulting in reading much more into a verse than what is actually there. There will be tribulation at the end but it won't be 7 years long for it falls outside of the Daniel 9 prophecy.

Ramifications:

This means that there will be no second chance for salvation as many seem to be counting on. The false 7-year tribulation theory undermines the precept of living by faith for even a non-believer would suddenly change his ways after witnessing millions of people all over the world suddenly vanishing in one day.

Answer 2

Seventh-day Adventists do not have an official stance on a specific seven-year tribulation period as described in certain interpretations of biblical prophecies. However, they believe in the importance of being spiritually prepared for the second coming of Jesus Christ and the end times.