Will people be saved during the tribulation?
Question 10040
One of the most common questions about the tribulation period concerns salvation: will it still be possible? If the Church has been raptured, if the Holy Spirit’s restraining influence has been removed, if the Antichrist is deceiving the world—can anyone still come to faith in Jesus?
The answer from Scripture is resoundingly clear: yes, multitudes will be saved during the tribulation. In fact, the number of tribulation saints appears to be extraordinarily large—a “great multitude that no one could number” according to Revelation 7:9. The tribulation will be a time of unprecedented judgement, but also unprecedented evangelism and conversions.
The Great Multitude
Revelation 7:9-14 provides the clearest picture: “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’… Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, ‘Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?’ I said to him, ‘Sir, you know.’ And he said to me, ‘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.'”
Several features stand out. This multitude is innumerable—John cannot count them. They come from “every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages”—this is not merely Jewish converts but a global harvest. They are identified specifically as those “coming out of the great tribulation” (ἐκ τῆς θλίψεως τῆς μεγάλης, ek tēs thlipseōs tēs megalēs). They are saved by the blood of the Lamb—the same gospel that saves today. This passage alone demolishes any notion that salvation will be unavailable during the tribulation.
The 144,000 Jewish Evangelists
Revelation 7:1-8 describes 144,000 servants of God sealed from the twelve tribes of Israel. These are Jewish believers who come to faith after the rapture and are divinely protected during the tribulation. The sealing (σφραγίζω, sphragizō) indicates ownership and preservation—God marks them as His own and shields them from the judgements befalling the earth.
Their role, while not explicitly stated, appears to be evangelistic. They are introduced immediately before the innumerable multitude from every nation—suggesting a connection between their witness and this harvest. Just as Jewish apostles carried the gospel to the nations in the first century, Jewish evangelists will do so again in the tribulation. Revelation 14:1-5 describes them again, standing with the Lamb on Mount Zion, having followed Him faithfully. They are called “firstfruits” (ἀπαρχή, aparchē), perhaps indicating they are the first of a much larger harvest.
The Two Witnesses
Revelation 11:3-12 describes two extraordinary witnesses who prophesy in Jerusalem for 1,260 days (three and a half years): “And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”
These witnesses have supernatural power: anyone who tries to harm them is consumed by fire from their mouths; they can shut the sky so that no rain falls; they can turn water to blood and strike the earth with plagues. Their ministry echoes Moses (plagues, water to blood) and Elijah (stopping rain, fire from heaven). While their identity is debated, their role is clear: they proclaim God’s message to a rebellious world, centred in Jerusalem, for the first half of the tribulation.
The Angel with the Eternal Gospel
Remarkably, God even employs angels directly in proclaiming the gospel. Revelation 14:6-7: “Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. And he said with a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.'”
This is unprecedented. Throughout Scripture, the proclamation of the gospel has been entrusted to human messengers. But in the tribulation, God ensures that no one is without witness by sending an angel to proclaim the message globally.
The Means of Salvation
How are tribulation saints saved? By the same means people have always been saved: grace through faith, based on the work of Jesus. Revelation 7:14 says they “have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” This is atonement language—forgiveness through Jesus’ sacrifice. Revelation 12:11 describes overcoming saints: “And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”
The cross of Jesus remains the only basis of salvation in every age. Those who come to faith during the tribulation trust in the same Saviour who died for the Church, for Old Testament saints, for everyone who has ever been saved. There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).
The Cost of Salvation
While salvation is freely offered, accepting it during the tribulation will be costly. Many—perhaps most—tribulation believers will be martyred. Revelation 6:9-11 describes souls under the altar: “When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, ‘O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?’ Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.”
The mark of the beast system ensures that anyone who refuses the mark cannot buy or sell—and will likely be executed (Revelation 13:15). Faith in Jesus during this period will be faith unto death for many. Revelation 20:4 describes those “who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshipped the beast or its image and had not received its mark.” These tribulation martyrs will be resurrected and reign with Jesus in the millennium.
Will Some Survive?
Not all tribulation saints will be martyred. Some will survive to enter the millennial kingdom in their natural bodies. Matthew 25:31-46 describes the judgement of the nations that occurs at Jesus’ return. The “sheep” are welcomed into the kingdom based on how they treated Jesus’ “brothers” (likely the Jewish remnant and perhaps all tribulation believers). This indicates surviving believers at the tribulation’s end. Zechariah 14:16 speaks of those who survive the nations coming against Jerusalem later going up annually to worship the King.
The Question of Those Who Heard Before the Rapture
A difficult question arises: what about those who heard the gospel before the rapture and rejected it? 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 is often cited: “The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
Some interpreters understand this to mean that those who definitively rejected the gospel before the tribulation will be judicially hardened and unable to believe. Others interpret the passage as describing what happens to those who reject the truth during the tribulation itself. The safest application is obvious: do not presume on future opportunities. Today is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2). Anyone hearing the gospel now should respond immediately.
The Role of the Holy Spirit
2 Thessalonians 2:7 speaks of the “restrainer” being removed. Many dispensational interpreters identify the restrainer as the Holy Spirit, particularly His ministry through the Church. Does this mean the Holy Spirit is absent during the tribulation? Not at all. The Holy Spirit is omnipresent (Psalm 139:7-10) and cannot be “removed” in any absolute sense. What changes is the nature of His ministry. He no longer indwells a corporate body of believers (the Church) on earth, and His restraining work through the Church ceases. But the Holy Spirit continues to work as He did in Old Testament times—coming upon individuals, empowering believers, bringing conviction of sin. No one can be saved apart from the Spirit’s work (John 3:5-8).
Encouragement from This Doctrine
God’s grace is inexhaustible. Even in the darkest period of human history, God saves multitudes. The gospel remains the only hope—people are saved the same way they always have been, by faith in Jesus and His shed blood. This underscores the eternal sufficiency of the cross.
For those who have unsaved family members, the tribulation offers hope—not that we should delay witnessing, but that even if the rapture occurs before they believe, salvation remains possible. Pray earnestly for their salvation now, but know that God’s grace extends even into the tribulation.
Conclusion
Yes, people will be saved during the tribulation—vast numbers of them, from every nation, tribe, and language. The means of salvation remain unchanged: faith in Jesus and His atoning blood. The cost will be high; many will die for their faith. But the reward will be glorious: white robes, palms of victory, and eternal service before the throne of God and the Lamb.
This truth should fill us with hope regarding God’s grace and urgency regarding our witness. If you have not yet trusted in Jesus, do not wait for the tribulation. Today is the day of salvation. And if you are a believer, share the gospel with urgency. Some who hear your witness might not respond until they see the rapture—and then remember what you told them.
“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!'” Revelation 7:9-10
Bibliography
- Fruchtenbaum, Arnold G. The Footsteps of the Messiah: A Study of the Sequence of Prophetic Events. Ariel Ministries, 2003.
- Pentecost, J. Dwight. Things to Come: A Study in Biblical Eschatology. Zondervan, 1958.
- Ryrie, Charles C. Revelation. Everyman’s Bible Commentary. Moody Press, 1996.
- Walvoord, John F. The Revelation of Jesus Christ. Moody Press, 1966.
