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In Christian eschatology, the Tribulation (also called the "Great Tribulation") is a relatively short period of time where believers will experience worldwide persecution and be purified and strengthened by it. While it is considered a period of immense suffering and sacrifice, greater than anything before in history, believers are promised strong faith and powers to help them endure and prevail. Persecution is attributed to the believers rebelling against the Antichrist and his regime.

The Tribulation is generally thought to occur before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and the end of the world. Some Christians believe that it will last seven years in all, usually divided into two periods of 3.5 years each. Others believe it is for only a 3.5-year period. The time period for these beliefs is based on the phrases found several places in the book of Daniel, "time, times, and half a time," interpreted as "a year, two years, and half a year," and the book of Revelation, "a thousand two hundred and threescore days" and "forty and two months" (the prophetic month averaging 30 days, hence 1260/30 = 42 months or 3.5 years).

Among Christians who study the Tribulation, there are differing views about what will happen to Christians during the Tribulation:

Pretribulationists believe that all Christians then alive will be taken bodily up to Heaven (called the rapture or Parousia) before the Tribulation begins. Those who become Christians after the rapture will live through (or perish during) the Tribulation. After the Tribulation, Christ will return. This position was embraced by John Nelson Darby, an early leader of a Fundamentalist movement that became known as Dispensationalism. Darby’s pre-tribulational view of the rapture was then picked up by a man named C.I. Scofield, who taught the view in the footnotes of his Scofield Reference Bible, which was widely distributed in England and America.

Midtribulationists believe that the rapture of the faithful will occur halfway through the tribulation, after it begins, but before the worst part of it occurs.

Posttribulationists believe that Christians will not be taken up into Heaven until Christ returns at the end of the Tribulation. This position is called the "post-tribulational" view because it says the rapture will come after the tribulation. "Immediately after the tribulation ... then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man [Jesus] ... and he shall gather his elect" (Mat.24:29-31).

 In pretribulationism and midtribulationism, the rapture and the Second Coming (or Greek, paraousia) of Christ are separate events; while in posttribulationism the two events are identical.

Some others claims that there will not be a single rapture where all believers are gathered to Christ, but that there will be a series of mini-raptures that occur at different times with respect to the tribulation.Other groups, such as many Roman Catholic theologians, do not believe in a tribulation period as usually described by supporters. In fact most believe the opposite, a near utopic period led by the AntiChrist will occur before the end of the world coming.