Did the U.S. Election Delay Great Tribulation?
The provocative title may raise some eyebrows. But I think it’s a valid question. During the the past years of accelerating evil/tyranny in the United States, many people asked me whether I thought we were living in the “last days.” Their deep concern was this:
“If America loses its freedom and global influence, what’s to stop the emergence of a one world government and an era the Bible describes as Great Tribulation before the triumphant return of Jesus Christ?”
I told them I didn’t know the answer.
But I do have some thoughts and I welcome yours.
Did the 2024 Election Delay Great Tribulation?
The Bible, our compass for life and historical perspective, is clear that in the “last days” (end of human history) an evil one world government will form on earth as Satan’s final act of human destruction. This global apostasy will be judged by God for its vicious tyranny in the “Great Tribulation.”
Jesus himself shares the most details about it in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 17 & 21. For example:
Matthew 24:9-14, and 29-31:
9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. 10 And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
This last gasp of evil is described in Revelation–the final book in Scripture. (It’s also prophesied in Daniel 9). The “new world order” that precipitates the Great Tribulation is explained in Revelation 13:2-8:
2 The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority…The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast.4 People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?”
5 The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. 7 It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.
To summarize: Earthly history will climax with the rise of an antichrist authoritarian dictator. He will control the world briefly causing great persecution of believers. Then God will intervene in justice and mercy and the one-world tyranny will be destroyed through the glorious return of the King of kings and Lord of lords, Jesus Christ.
Revelation 11:15:
And the seventh angel sounded, and there were great voices in Heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever!”
Thus begins a glorious new era of “eternal life” for those who have been reconciled to God through Jesus’ shed blood and their faith in Him.
For two thousand years, many followers of Christ have wondered whether they were living in the last days. First generation believers believed it, and in other centuries too–including Martin Luther in the 16th century (I’m currently studying the Reformation era).
But the “signs” of the last days (Great Tribulation & Jesus’ Return) aligned most clearly in the 20th and 21st centuries A.D. for four primary reasons.
Missions. Missionaries like me live with excitement for the fulfillment of a verse quoted above:
And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come (Matthew 24:14).
We believe that the Return of Jesus is contingent upon completing the Great Commission–which is within reach. History is dynamic, not static. We have a job to do to share Good News with everyone on earth,” and then the end will come.”
Technology. Early believers were impacting the “known” world (Roman Empire & nearby), but they didn’t know how large the globe was nor could they travel everywhere. In the 20th/21st centuries, airplanes, the Internet, cell phones, and now AI make the entire planet–all 200 nations–reachable for the first time. And Jesus’ followers are doing it.
Israel. The 1948 rebirth of the nation of Israel in the Middle East validates God’s reality in our world and the veracity of the Bible. How else do you explain it? And if Israel-reborn is a “sign” from God, then the biblical view of what follows makes more sense than any other philosophy or worldview.
United Nations. Since the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9), there has not been a reasonable possibility of “uniting the world” until the establishment of the United Nations in 1945. In the eighty years since its founding, the U.N.’s reach has greatly expanded.
During Covid, the WHO (World Health Organization) issued medical mandates worldwide. Other global groups are pushing for a one world order to fight climate change, poverty, and human wars. It could take just one more “global crisis” to convince the world’s inhabitants that world rule is preferable to chaos.
Enter Antichrist. And it won’t be pretty.
Which brings us back to the 2024 election and political/spiritual renewal in America (and other nations).
If the Democrats had been elected bringing increasing censorship, open borders, deep state controls, socialism/Marxism, and rising persecution of believers in the USA, we might we be on a shorter track to global tribulation. Did the U.S. election of 2024 place at least a pause in global evil and the Last Days scenario?
Only God knows, but I see a few possibilities.
First, if we are not in the Last Days, then 2024 election at least disrupted the inertia of evil in this generation. The Great Tribulation is still coming, but most likely in the distant future.
Second, the U.S. turning back to God and his principles is meaningful, but short-lived–like the Josiah Revival in Judah which lasted thirteen years (2 Chronicles 34-35). The Jews relapsed quickly, and were destroyed by Babylon. We live in a time of short reprieve.
Or third, a great awakening has begun that will ignite the completion of the Great Commission–and that “the end will come” soon following its completion.
Those are my thoughts. I’d love to hear yours.
Are you ready for whatever happens and hastening the day (Great Commission) of Jesus’ glorious return?
