Thlipsis
A. Classical
1. The noun thlipsis (qli~yi$) is derived from the root thleo (qlevw), which means “to squeeze, to crush.”
2. Its cognate verb is thlibo (qlivbw), “to oppress, affliction, press, crowd,” which appears in classical Greek
from Aristophanes onwards.
3. Both the noun and the verb are regularly used in a figurative manner in secular Greek in reference to the
“difficulties” and “tribulations” of life.
4. Thlipsis may be either external or internal in origin.
5. The noun thlipsis means “oppression, distress, affliction.”
6. It is occasionally found coupled with stenochoria, which from Thucydides onwards is used to express a
narrow place, and hence being pressed by inner and outer difficulties.
7. Thlipsis and stenochoria refer to the same thing under different images.
8. The proper meaning of the former is “pressure” whereas the latter means “narrowness of room, confined
space,” and the painfulness that is the result.
9. The terms thlibo and thlipsis are not very common in the philosophical terminology of Hellenism but they
play a prominent role in Epictetus’ doctrine of the self-assertion of man.
10. Liddel and Scott (Greek-English Lexicon, New Edition, page 802):
a. pressure
b. crushing, castration
c. metaphorically, oppression, affliction
B. LXX
1. The noun thlipsis is employed in the LXX to translate the following Hebrew terms:
a. `edh (dya@), “calamity” (2 S. 22:19).
b. de’aghah (hg*a*D+), “trembling” (Ez. 12:18).
c. lachats (Jj^L)^ , “oppression” (2 K. 13:4; Ps. 44:24 [43:24] ).
d. meghurah (hr*WgM+), “fear” (Ps. 34:4 [33:4] ).
e. mu`aqah (hq*u*Wm), “burden” (Ps. 66:11 [65:11] ).
f. matsoq (qw{xm*), “distress” (Dt. 28:53).
g. metsuqah (hq*Wxm+), “anguish” (Jb. 15:24).
h. metsar (rx^m)@ , “distress” (Ps. 118:5 [117:5] ).
i. `oni (yn.u$), “affliction” (Ex. 4:31).
j. `otser (rx#u)] , “oppression” (Ps. 107:39 [106:39] ).
k. `aqah (hq*u*), “oppression” (Ps. 55:3 [54:3] ).
l. `osheq (qv#u), “extortion” (Ez. 18:18).
m. tsar (rx^), “distress” (Dt. 4:30 [4:29]; Ps. 4:1).
n. tsar (rx^), “enemy” (Zech. 8:10).
o. tsarah (hr*x)* , “distress, trouble” (Gn. 42:21; 2 S. 4:9; Ob. 12).
p. tsarar (hr*x)* , “bind, oppress”; hiphil: “bring distress on” (Jer. 10:18).
q. ra`ah (hu*r)* , “affliction” (Ps. 34:19 [33:19] ).
r. sho’ah (ha*w{v), “devastation” (Is. 10:3).
2. These Hebrew words denote need, distress, and various afflictions depending on the context such as war,
exile and personal hostility.
3. The thlipsis of the LXX is often the oppression which belongs of necessity to the history of Israel and
which was regarded by the faithful as part of salvation history.
4. There is a connection between oppression (Ex. 3:9) and deliverance (Ex. 3:10) and even when the
oppression is a punishment, its purpose is deliverance (Neh. 9:27; Hos. 5:14-6:2).
5. The eschatological nature of the oppression is often emphasized (cf. Zech. 1:15; Hab. 3:16).
6. The OT understands tribulation in a variety of ways.
7. From the outset the OT accepts tribulation and distress as inherent circumstances of life.
8. Under certain circumstances they are the result of divine discipline or judgment.
9. The Lord brings in tribulation at times as punishment for rebellion.
10. He brings trouble and disaster upon a nation at times because of their wickedness.
1
11. In the OT there are many accounts of believers who endured much tribulation which was in fact undeserved
suffering.
12. Joseph, Moses, Jeremiah, Job and numerous other prophets of God suffering tribulation undeservedly.
13. Tribulation and adversity is the lot of God’s people who are living in enemy territory.
14. Satan and his cosmic system will persecute the Lord’s people.
15. The history of the nation of Israel is marked by bitter persecution from the kingdom of darkness against the
nation of Israel so that the Lord Jesus Christ would not be able to fulfill the 4 unconditional covenants to
history during that are prophesied for the Millennium.
C. NT
1. The noun thlipsis appears 45 times in the NT.
2. The verb thlibo appears in the literal sense twice (Mt. 7:14; Mk. 3:9) and 8 times in the metaphorical sense.
3. The noun thlipsis never appears in the literal sense but only in the metaphorical sense.
4. Like the OT, the NT considers tribulation and trail as part of the natural circumstances of life in the devil’s
cosmic system.
5. The noun thlipsis is an integral part of the church age believer’s spiritual life, which is an extension of
Christ’s spiritual life since the church age believer is in union with Him and a member of His body and His
future bride.
6. Tribulation and undeserved suffering will be the lot of God’s people while living in enemy territory.
7. Every instance of suffering has a reason and an explanation.
8. Christian suffering can be understood most clearly in relation to the individual believer’s spiritual growth.
9. From this perspective, adversities may be classified into 5 categories:
a. Two categories are related to spiritual childhood.
b. Three categories are related to spiritual adulthood.
10. The 2 categories related to spiritual childhood are called punitive.
11. The 3 categories related to spiritual adulthood are designed by God for blessing.
12. The 5 categories of suffering:
a. Self-induced misery: spiritual childhood.
b. Divine discipline: spiritual childhood.
c. Providential preventive suffering: spiritual adulthood.
d. Momentum testing: spiritual adulthood.
e. Evidence testing: spiritual adulthood.
13. The correlation of punitive suffering with spiritual childhood and of suffering for blessing with spiritual
adulthood is not a rigid law.
14. A limited amount of suffering for blessing comes in spiritual childhood and punitive suffering can and will
occur in the life of the spiritual adult believer.
15. Discipline from parents is a warning and a restraint but also a teacher and motivator as well.
16. It is for our own good that our parents discipline us.
17. Suffering for adults is like a parent.
18. What responsible parents do for their children, suffering does for adults.
19. The discipline and restraints of childhood imposed by parents are replaced by the discipline and restraints
of childhood imposed by parents are replaced by the discipline and restraints of adult life enforced by
suffering.
20. Suffering challenges the believer to rely upon the invisible assets that God has provided rather than our
human resources and it confronts us with our total dependence on the grace of God.
21. Suffering impresses upon us our need to conform to His plan.
22. Pain not only discourages us from going in the wrong direction, but it can also help to propel us in the right
direction.
23. The proper application of Bible doctrine under pressure produces spiritual growth.
24. The believer in the Lord Jesus Christ has been given 2 Great Divine Provisions which enable the believer to
endure undeserved suffering:
a. Word of God
b. Spirit of God
25. The most prevalent category of suffering in the human race is self-induced misery.
26. Before God created the human race, He has decreed that man would have a volition to choose to conform
to His plan or not.
27. Our decisions have repercussions for which we are responsible.
2
28. There are laws of human consequence in which each individual’s thoughts, decisions and actions establish
the trends of his life.
29. Volition is the source of sin, human good and evil in the world.
30. Personal sin is an act of volition contrary to the will and standards of God.
31. Personal sin results from volition’s saying yes to temptation, whether or not the individual knows he is
transgressing God’s will.
32. A principle of grace is far more powerful than is the unavoidable law of volitional responsibility: while
man manufactures his own problems and resultant suffering, God manufactures solutions and blessings in
the midst of suffering.
33. The believer who lives during the dispensation of the church age and wants to attain spiritual maturity must
go through undeserved suffering in this life (Acts 14:22).
34. This suffering is for blessing and not for discipline.
35. God disciplines believers who fall away from Bible Doctrine (Heb. 12:5-11).
36. Most believers suffer because they make bad decisions and therefore suffer the consequences for those bad
decisions.
37. The believer who is executing the Plan of God and learning Bible Doctrine will go through suffering which
is undeserved (1 Thess. 3:4).
38. It is called undeserved because they did not bring this suffering upon themselves (1 Pet. 2:19-20; 2 Cor.
1:6).
39. Suffering for Blessing is designed to build up your spiritual muscles and to bring you to spiritual maturity,
thus bringing glory to Him in the Angelic Conflict.
40. It is a privilege to suffer for Christ (Phil. 1:29; 3:10; 1 Pet. 3:14).
41. Suffering for Blessing is for the spiritual adult and not the spiritual child.
42. It is for the believer who consistently perceives, metabolizes and applies Bible Doctrine.
43. Suffering for Blessing is for the believer who knows and understands the Mystery Doctrine for the Church
Age.
44. It comes in 3 categories:
a. Providential Preventive Suffering
b. Momentum Testing
c. Evidence Testing
45. Providential Preventive Suffering prevents the believer in spiritual self-esteem from getting arrogant and is
designed to bring the believer to spiritual autonomy (2 Cor. 12:7-9).
46. There are 4 categories of Momentum Testing:
a. People Testing
b. Thought Testing
c. System Testing
d. Disaster Testing.
47. There are 4 Categories of Suffering in 2 Cor. 12:10 which Momentum Testing consists of:
a. “In slanders”: People Testing
b. “In pressures”: Thought Testing
c. “In persecutions”: System Testing
d. “In stresses”: Disaster Testing
48. Momentum Testing is for the believer in spiritual autonomy and is designed to bring them to spiritual
maturity.
49. Evidence Testing is exclusively for the believer who has reached spiritual maturity.
50. It is for the believer who has been entered by God into the Rebuttal Phase of Satan’s Appeal Trial as a
witness for the Prosecution (Job 1-2; Mt. 4:1-11).
51. Undeserved suffering serves to identify the believer experientially with Christ in His death (Phlp 3:10-11),
which in turn enables the believer to experience identification with Christ in His resurrection.
52. The believer is able to exchange the old Adamic nature and cosmic viewpoint for the new Christ nature and
divine viewpoint.
53. Philippians 3:10-11, “that I come to know Him experientially and the power from His resurrection and
the participation in His sufferings by my becoming like Him with respect to His death. If somehow (by
becoming like Him with respect to His death), I may attain to the exit-resurrection, namely, the one out
from the (spiritually) dead ones.”
3
54. The believer must adopt the same attitude of humility, which the impeccable humanity of Christ exhibited
when He voluntarily, self-sacrificially died a substitutionary spiritual death on the cross of Calvary 2000
years ago in order to serve both God and all of mankind.
55. In Philippians 3:10, the phrase summorphizomenos to thanato autou, “by my becoming like Him with
respect to His death” means to adopt the same attitude of humility, which the humanity of Christ exhibited
when He voluntarily went to the cross to serve both the Father and all of humanity.
56. This is what it means to be identified with Christ in His death experientially.
57. It point back to Philippians 2:5-8, “Everyone keep on thinking this (humility) within yourselves, which
was also in the mind of Christ Jesus, Who (Christ Jesus) although existing from eternity past in the
essence (morphe) of God, never regarded existing equally in essence with God an exploitable asset. On
the contrary He denied Himself the independent function of His deity by having assumed the essence of
a slave when He was born in the likeness of men. In fact, although He was discovered in outward
appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by having entered into obedience to the point of spiritual
death, even death on a cross.”
58. The unique voluntary substitutionary spiritual death of the humanity of Christ in hypostatic union
eradicated the power of the old Adamic-nature and provided the power of the new Christ-nature.
59. Thus to be become like Christ in His death means to adopt the same attitude of humility that He had by
appropriating His death.
60. It is appropriating what is true positionally, that of retroactive positional truth, i.e., when Christ died the
believer died.
61. The believer becomes like Christ in His death by renouncing his pre-salvation unregenerate life that derives
its function from the old Adamic nature, which is enslaved to Satan and his cosmic system.
62. The renunciation of the believer’s pre-salvation unregenerate life is in fact the denial of the function of the
believer’s old sin nature, which results in freedom from Satan’s cosmic system.
63. This renunciation is mandatory in order for the believer to appropriate eternal life after salvation.
64. The unique voluntary substitutionary spiritual death of Christ on the cross eradicated the power of the old
Adamic-nature.
65. Thus Paul in Philippians 3:10 is stating that he is appropriating the death of Christ on the cross, which
delivered him from the power of the old Adamic-nature.
66. He is appropriating the death of Christ on the cross in order that he might appropriate the life of Christ.
67. He is in effect exchanging the old Adamic-nature for the new Christ-nature.
68. It is essential in order for the believer to attain Christ-like character and identification with Christ in His
death and resurrection experientially.
69. This renunciation of the believer’s pre-salvation unregenerate life results in undeserved suffering which is
manifested by opposition to this process in the believer from 3 sources:
a. Old sin nature
b. Cosmic system
c. Satan
70. It is during this process after salvation that the believer can experience the power of eternal life received at
the moment of salvation through regeneration.
71. The power of Christ’s resurrection is only known experientially by the believer when he appropriates the
power of eternal life that is experienced through the function of the new Christ-nature.
72. The new Christ-nature functions in the believer who applies the mind of Christ (i.e. the Word of God)
while controlled, guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
73. The believer who is conformed to the Lord’s death, experiences what is true positionally, i.e. retroactive
positional truth, which states that when the Lord died the believer died.
74. Retroactive and current positional truth are 2 sides of the same coin.
75. The believer cannot appropriate the new post-salvation regenerate Christ-life until he first renounces his old
pre-salvation unregenerate Adamic-life.
76. The believer comes to know Christ experientially and the power from His resurrection and the participation
in His sufferings by becoming transformed in character.
77. This character transformation or the attainment of Christ-like character in the believer is by appropriating
what Christ accomplished on the cross through His unique voluntary substitutionary spiritual death.
78. The appropriation of the death of Christ on the cross is the means of attaining Christ-like character.
79. The attainment of Christ-likeness and as a result identification with Christ in His death and resurrection
experientially demands that the believer adopt the same attitude of humility that the Lord Jesus Christ
4
expressed when He voluntarily died a substitutionary spiritual death on the cross in order to serve both God
and man.
80. By following Christ’s example of humility, the believer will be able to fulfill the Father’s will for his life as
the impeccable humanity of Christ in hypostatic union did during His 1st Advent.
81. In order to experience the power originating from His resurrection and thus the power of eternal life, Paul
states that he must share the experience of Christ’s sufferings which is accomplished through undeserved
suffering and this is expressed by the phrase ten koinonian ton pathematon autou.
82. It is through undeserved suffering that the believer is conformed to the image of Christ or attains faithful
Christ-like character and identification with Christ experientially in His death and resurrection.
83. There are 3 agencies that God employs to bring about suffering:
a. Old sin nature
b. Cosmic system
c. Satan
84. Undeserved suffering is essential in the formation of Christ-like character in the believer after salvation and
as a result identification with Christ in His death.
85. The process of experiential sanctification cannot take place in the believer after salvation unless he
undergoes undeserved suffering.
86. It is designed to put to death experientially the power of believer’s old Adamic-nature which was put to
death already positionally at the cross of Christ 2000 years ago.
87. The cross of Christ negated the power of the old Adamic-nature which will be permanently eradicated at
the rapture of the church.
88. This renunciation of the function of the old Adamic-nature enables the apostle Paul to appropriate the life
of Christ, i.e. eternal life which is operational and manifested through the function of the new Christ-nature.
89. The new Christ-nature is animated and empowered by eternal life.
90. The resurrection body will be animated and empowered by eternal life which is an attribute of God.
91. Eternal life is appropriated by the believer by applying the mind of Christ in order that the Holy Spirit can
produce Christ-like character in the believer.
92. Every believer receives eternal life at the moment of salvation and Paul wants to experience the power of
eternal life after salvation in time and does not want to wait till the rapture to experience it.
93. The soul-life animates and empowers the old Adamic-nature and every member of the human race has
soul-life.
94. This is why an unbeliever and a believer out of fellowship are described in the Greek New Testament as
psuchikos, “soulish,” whereas a believer in fellowship is described as pneumatikos, “spiritual.”
95. In order for Christ-like character to be formed in the believer and to be identified with Christ in His death
and resurrection, he must renounce his pre-salvation unregenerate life and then appropriate his postsalvation regenerate life.
96. In order to attain Christ-likeness, the believer must function according to the new Christ-nature which in
turn is utilized by applying the mind of Christ while in fellowship with God.
97. Undeserved suffering is designed to put to death experientially the old Adamic-nature which has already
been put to death positionally at the moment of salvation through the Cross and the subsequent act of the
Spirit identifying the believer with Christ in His death and resurrection through Spirit-Baptism.
98. It is designed to make the believer depend totally upon the life that God has provided him in order that he
might experience the same life that Christ manifested to the world during His 1st Advent.
99. It is an opportunity for the pneumatikos, “spiritual” believer to experience after salvation before the rapture
the eternal life that the Father has already imputed to him at the moment of salvation.
100. The humanity of Christ in hypostatic union experienced undeserved suffering during His 1st Advent in
order that He might be the perfect example for the church age believer to follow.
101. In the same way that the humanity of Christ in hypostatic union denied Himself the independent function of
His divine attributes through the function of kenosis in order to serve both the God and man so the believer
is to deny himself the function of his Adamic-nature in order to appropriate the life of God to serve both
God and man.
102. Undeserved suffering is designed to put the believer in a helpless situation which cannot be endured
through the function of the old Adamic-nature but can only be endured through the function of the new
Christ-nature and eternal life.
103. It is designed to get the believer’s eyes off self or dependence upon self and eyes on the Lord or
dependence upon the Lord.
5
104. The believer who keeps his eyes on the Lord during undeserved suffering is operating in the new Christlife.
105. The believer who does not is operating in the old Adamic-life which is self-centered.
106. Undeserved suffering is designed for the believer experience the life of God which is eternal life and the
life of Christ.
107. The pneumatikos, “spiritual” believer who appropriates the life of God in the midst of undeserved suffering
does not have his happiness dictated by circumstances or people but rather has a happiness which
transcends his circumstances since the life of God transcends time, space and matter.
108. The believer cannot experience the new post-salvation regenerate Christ-life (i.e. eternal life) after
salvation, in time, until he first renounces his pre-salvation unregenerate Adamic-life and undergoes the
process of experiential sanctification which involves undeserved suffering.
109. The noun thlipsis is used in an eschatological sense in the Greek NT.
110. There are 2 Eschatological Dispensations:
a. Tribulation: The Rapture of the Church to the 2nd Advent of Christ (Rev. 6-19).
b. Millennium: The 2nd Advent of Christ to the Last Judgment and destruction of the earth.
111. The Great Tribulation takes place after the Rapture of the Church.
112. It is Satan's last attempt to rule the world.
113. The Great Tribulation ends with the Second Advent of Christ.
114. The Tribulation is also called Daniel's 70th Week or Satan's Desperation.
115. The Great Tribulation is the worst period in all of human history.
116. The Tribulation:
a. Prophesied in OT
b. Prophesied in Olivet Discourse by Christ (Matt. 24-25)
c. Prophesied by Christ in most of the Parables
d. Prophesied by the apostle John (Rev. 6-19)
117. Only believers are left following the Great Tribulation while unbelievers are taken from the earth (Matt.
24:24-25).
118. Salvation during the Tribulation is the same as in every Dispensation: Faith Alone In Christ Alone (Rev.
14:12).
119. Great Tribulation Outline:
a. Panorama of Great Tribulation (Rev. 6)
b. The Gospel (Rev. 7)
c. Trumpet Judgments (Rev. 8-10)
d. Two Witnesses & 7th Trumpet (Rev. 11)
e. Fall of Satan & Armageddon Motivation (Rev. 12)
f. 2 Dictators of the Tribulation (Roman & Jewish) (Rev. 13)
g. Principle of Grace before Judgment (Rev. 14)
h. Vial Judgments (Rev. 15-16)
i. Rise & Fall of Religion (Rev. 17-18)
j. 2nd Advent of Christ (Rev. 19)
120. Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, “thlipsis primarily means "a pressing, pressure" (see A,
No. 4), anything which burdens the spirit. In two passages in Paul's Epistles it is used of future retribution,
in the way of "affliction," Rom 2:9; 2 Thess 1:6. In Matt 24:9, the KJV renders it as a verb, "to be
afflicted," (RV, "unto tribulation"). It is coupled with stenochoria, "anguish," in Rom 2:9; 8:35; with
ananke, "distress," 1 Thess 3:7; with diogmos, "persecution," Matt 13:21; Mark 4:17; 2 Thess 1:4. It is used
of the calamities of war, Matt 24:21,29; Mark 13:19,24; of want, 2 Cor 8:13, lit., "distress for you"; Phil
4:14 (cf. 1:16); James 1:27; of the distress of woman in childbirth, John 16:21; of persecution, Acts 11:19;
14:22; 20:23; 1 Thess 3:3,7; Heb 10:33; Rev 2:10; 7:14; of the "afflictions" of Christ, from which (His
vicarious sufferings apart) his followers must not shrink, whether sufferings of body or mind, Col 1:24; of
sufferings in general, 1 Cor 7:28; 1 Thess 1:6, etc.”
121. The Analytical Greek Lexicon Revised (page 195):
a. pressure, compression
b. metaphorically, affliction, distress of mind
c. distressing circumstances, trial, affliction
122. The New Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon (page 291):
a. a pressing, pressing together, pressure
6
b. metaphorically, oppression, affliction, tribulation, distress, straits
123. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains defines thlipsis, “a general state
of distress and trouble – ‘trouble, distress, troublous times’” (volume 2, pages 242-243).
124. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (page 362):
a. of distress that is brought about by outward circumstances, tribulation, affliction, difficult
circumstances, distress, persecution
b. figuratively, of mental and spiritual states of mind, affliction in the spiritual sense, trouble, trouble and
anguish of heart
7