Amir Tsarfati, Founder and President of Behold Israel, discussing on Wednesday the central question of his new book “Has The Tribulation Begun?” warned about the dangers of sensationalism.

“Sensationalism is using you and then throwing you away. It will never really give you the truth,” Tsarfati underscored, pointing a direct link between sensationalism and confusion surrounding the timing of the Tribulation.

“Why is sensationalism so dangerous? Sensationalism is the attempt to Hype things at the expense of the truth,” Tsarfati cautioned. “You want to make something known, but you don’t care if it’s true or not, you don’t care if it’s accurate or not, you don’t care if it’s scriptural.”

Amir pointed the finger at social media, where garnering likes and viewership is frequently preferred over a Biblically sound understanding of future events.

Many in the church today have been swept up in the undiscerning claim that the Tribulation has already begun. As Amir noted, this is not the first time members of the body of Christ have been stirred into such panic.

“The Bible is very clear about a specific set of events that will mark the beginning of the Tribulation, not only when it’s going to happen but also where and to whom. I believe that once you take these things out of context, you lose the ability to discern that, and this is exactly what happened to the Church of Thessalonica,” he highlighted. “In 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2, the first few verses, you can clearly see that they were absolutely convinced that the Rapture [had taken] place and the Tribulation had begun. Paul had to write them a letter and calm them down—he started giving them the set of events [of] what has to happen.”

“We must not fall into sensationalism,” Tsarfati stressed. “The biggest problem with the church today is that we are so much into sensationalism that it’s coming at the expense of biblical interpretation of the scriptures.”

“I think that the way to distinguish between the sensations and the truth, in this case, is timing. Timing is everything. If there is one event in history that is described in the Bible in accuracy of days, weeks, months, and years, it is the Tribulation,” he argued. “We know exactly when to start counting, and yet people choose to ignore this precious information and confuse one another with things that we see today as if they are part of it.”

Additionally, confusion surrounding the commencement and purpose of the Tribulation arises “the minute you take Israel out of the equation,” Tsarfati highlighted.

“If you read carefully, you know that the Tribulation is a set of seven years of God’s judgment. A set of seven years that was already promised to Israel in the Book of Daniel chapter 9,” he explained. “This is a set of events that are related to the nation of Israel, [and] related to the world in relation to Israel… It’s related to a certain person who is going to pretend to be their Messiah; it’s related to Jerusalem; it’s related to the temple. You cannot detach those things from it. You cannot just take things out of context.”

“Just because things are bad in the world, just because there are wars, and there are pandemics, and there are earthquakes—these things are mentioned in the Bible as the sign of the fact that we are at the end times… but Jesus Himself, when He gave those signs, said but the end is not yet,” Tsarfati described.

“The Tribulation is not just the set of events that brings about judgment, but it is also a set of events that are meant to bring Israel to their salvation. It’s the suffering of Israel that will bring about the repentance of Israel,” he added.

Late last year, pew research published a poll revealing that nearly 40% of all US adults believe we are “living in the end times.”

Behold Israel highlights on their website, “As local and international events and news reports become more troubling, interest in Bible prophecy continues to grow. Cultural anxiety is reaching unprecedented highs, and many Christians have begun to wonder if the tribulation described in Revelation is already upon us. As we wonder how close the end times truly are, we must return to God’s Word for clarity and wisdom.”

While the Bible provides a detailed description of the events to come, one of the earmarks of the time prior to the return of Christ is deception and apostasy (Matt. 24:5, 1 Tim. 4:1-2, 2 Tim. 3:13, 4:3-4), underscoring the importance of discernment as we examine world events and the timeline of Biblical prophecy.

Amir Tsarfati described “Has The Tribulation Begun?” as the most evangelistic book he has ever written. Its purpose, he explained, is not only to share the Gospel, which is “the whole hope of the world,” but also helping believers “avoid confusion and redeem the time in these last days.”

“I believe that the best preparation for any upcoming disaster has to begin with a crystal clear understanding of God’s plan, His timing, and what it is that He expects of us,” he concluded. “God gave us today a clear description of tomorrow… the knowledge today can save us from the experience of tomorrow.”