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Emphasis Mine In Bible Verses
God's Wrath Vs. Man's Anger
The Wrath of God In The Old Testament
The Wrath of God In The New Testament
A Forgotten Doctrine
Ignoring What We Would Rather Not Face Up To
The Wrath of God and Evangelism
Why Does The Idea of a Wrathful God Bother Us?
Our Sanctimonious, Self-Righteous Attitude
What Does God Expect From Us?
Idol Worship and Dabbling In The Occult
Rituals Will Not Save Us
His Wrath.. Fully Justified
The "Day of The Lord"
Will Christians Be Spared? Yes and No
Mankind's Only Hope
God's Wrath Vs. Man's Anger
Man's Anger
The words anger, rage, fury, wrath, etc. all describe varying degrees of displeasure and belligerence usually (but not always) triggered by a genuine or perceived wrong.
There is no question that human anger can be wholly justified. In fact, anger can be a force for good if it is controlled and used to right wrongs. Unfortunately this is more the exception than the rule. All too many of us tend to get overreact and blow up over little things. We lose our tempers along with our self-control and any pretense to rationality The impulse to retaliate often leads us to do ugly or even cruel things.
The problem is we tend to view God through human lens and accuse Him of the same unreasonable reactions.
So is the God of the universe an endlessly angry and vindictive Being who flies off the handle at the slightest provocation, raves against His enemies, indulges in unreasonable whims, and is constantly having to be appeased and mollified.
Nope!
Human anger and Divine wrath are worlds apart.
Because the Lord's displeasure comes in response to one thing and one thing only, His feelings would be far more accurately described by the more formal word indignation - anger aroused by something perceived as unjust, mean, offensive, or unworthy. In other words, God's wrath is 'righteous anger' aroused by sin.
Support for this comes from the book of Romans
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, (Romans 1:18 NASB)
Our God is not politically correct - He has very clearly made known that justice and vengeance are as much as part of His nature as love and mercy.
The Wrath of God In The Old Testament
Over and over again, the Bible emphasizes the fact that God is good to those who trust, follow, and obey Him and terrible to those who do not. In fact, God's indignation (and the reason for it) is first mentioned a mere six chapters into the Bible.
Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. The Lord said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them." (Genesis 6:5-7 NASB)
And blot them out He did. All but a handful of people perished in the flood. And this was not the only time. The Old Testament records numerous examples of unrighteous and immoral people being on the receiving end of God's wrath - the "just recompense" the author of Hebrews spoke about.
The Father destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah with fire and brimstone because their sin was "exceedingly grave" and not even fifty righteous were found in the city, (Genesis 18-19).
When Moses was up on the mountain to receive the Law and the Israelites had Aaron fashion them a golden calf which they then began to worship, the Lord put three thousand to death.
Korah, Dathan and Abiram who led a rebellion against Moses were swallowed up by the earth and their followers struck with plague (Numbers 16).
Two of Aaron's sons, who were also priests, were struck dead because they violated the sanctity of the Temple. (See Aaron's Sons)
Eli's sons, Hophni and Phinehas took full advantage of their position as priests to seduce women and eat what they wanted of the sacrifices. The Lord told Eli that as a result both of them would die on the same day (1 Samuel 2:34) which they did. Their father who neglected to discipline his sons fell off his seat and broke his neck on that very day as well.
Note: Death was virtually always the penalty paid by the transgressors - the silence was deafening when it came to any punishment after they died.
See The Curious Silence of The Old Testament Regarding 'Hell' on THIS page
The Wrath of God In The New Testament ...
The word wrath occurs almost forty times in the NT - most often in reference to the Father. However, there is one difference. Because the Lord is now giving people the opportunity to accept His offer of forgiveness of sins, justice is being temporarily set aside. But make no mistake it will come as the following examples make evident.
In Matthew 3:7, when John the Baptist saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he called them offspring of vipers, then asked who had warned them to flee from the wrath to come?
John stated that "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."
Paul warned the Colossians that if they did not put to death fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness the wrath of God would descend on them...the sons of disobedience. (Colossians 3:5-6)
Paul spoke of "Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come (I Thessalonians 1:10)
See Salvation on THIS Page
A Forgotten Doctrine
It is sad to find so many professing Christians who either completely disregard everything the Scriptures says about the wrath of God, wish there were no such thing, or treat it as something for which they need to make an apology. Perhaps, deep down they believe that God's wrath is not consistent with His goodness - a blot on the Divine character if you will. They see Him solely as a God whose one ambition is to keep us happy - and heaven forbid that He should ever cause us any grief.
It is almost as if there is a disconnect between the Bible stories well known to all Christians and the God they profess to serve.
In fact, many Christians will tell you that Jesus is called the "Savior" because He saves people from their sins. This is not true. What we need to be saved from is not a what - but a Who, ie. the Father Himself.
Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. (Romans 5:9 NASB)
The Father did not get more tolerant and easygoing by Christ's time. God's unchanging nature includes His response to sin.
This large-scale rejection of the doctrine of the wrath of God and the emphasis placed almost exclusively upon His love is one of the prime bits of evidence that much of the modern church has long deviated from Christianity as taught by the Bible. The opening paragraph of a 2001 article entitled Savior or martyr? Christians struggle with the meaning of the cross quotes Philip Lyndon Reynolds (professor at the United Methodist Candler School of Theology in Atlanta), as saying... (Emphasis Added)
His students are studying to be ministers and theologians. They've committed their lives to following Jesus' teachings.
But more and more, some reject the usual Christian talk about Jesus' death.
They don't consider Jesus a ransom for sin. They shudder at hymns glorifying the "power of the blood." They cringe at calling the day Jesus died Good Friday.
They say a God who requires human sacrifice sounds mean and vindictive. It doesn't mesh with their idea of a God who loves and forgives. [01]
The words "their idea" tell us that they (like many others) are determined to fashion a god made in their own image - an image that bears no resemblance to what the Bible tells us about God. They perceive the Father as they think He should be.
Common sense should tell them that it doesn't work quite like this. But then again common sense is a commodity that this world is remarkably short of.
People's characteristics and personalities are not based on our perspective. People are what they are, and it is our image of them that needs to conform to reality. It is no different when it comes to an unchanging God. Considering that none of us have ever actually ever sat down and had a cosy tête-à-tête with the Almighty, our knowledge of Him comes from one source and one source only - what He has said about Himself and what His actions reveal about Him in the Bible.
Pick And Choose Theology
One of the most unbelievable examples of pick and choose theology is when in his book The Secret Message of Jesus, Brian McLaren referred only to one half of the story of Nineveh. He spoke of the "amazingly subversive" book of Jonah, but completely ignored the book of Nahum.
Although the book of Nahum is often neglected because it tends to fade into obscurity in the shadow of the more weighty (and certainly more wordy) works of the major prophets, this small book is extremely significant.
The Assyrians, who had a terrible reputation as cruel and ruthless warriors that spared no one, had for many years shaken their fists at God and gotten away with it. They even carted the northern kingdom of Israel into exile without repercussions - or so they thought.
In a clear demonstration that grace is not the prerogative of the New Covenant, the prophet Jonah went to Nineveh with a very short and succinct message - "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown" (Jonah 3:4). As a result the entire population of Nineveh repented in sackcloth and ashes and God spared both them and the city.
However, their repentance didn't last and they soon relapsed into their old ways. It fell to the prophet Nahum, about whom we know next to nothing, to proclaim to the Ninevites that they were once again the target of God's wrath - Divine trouble was brewing and it was only a matter of time before it came to the boil.
Jonah's mission was a call to repentance that typified God's message to the world. Nahum's mission was to pronounce on Nineveh its doom... a forerunner of the judgment to come.
Ignoring What We Would Rather Not Face Up To
Preaching today often caters to what Dr. Ronald W. Scates of the Central Presbyterian Church in Baltimore amusingly but accurately describes as "Coddled Christians in the Hands of a Soothing Celestial Therapist". In his words,
"There has been a kind of a movement in American theology along those same lines to "bell the cat", if you will; to de-fang, to de-claw God, and replace the Almighty One True Living God of the Bible with a hybrid of Barney, Big Bird, Santa Claus, and everybody's grandfather. The only problem with that God is that he is not a God at all. He is an idol, a human construction." [02]
To these 'coddled Christians' a wrathful God is the antithesis of the 'gentle Jesus' of childhood prayers.
The pictures of Jesus as a rather ascetic, gentle and may I say it? - even soppy looking individual cradling a lamb have so influenced our perspective of Him, that we are apparently quite blind to His other side. Yes, He is gentle with His flock, but the book of Revelation paints a metaphorical yet very alarming picture of the 'King of kings' who, in the final moments of this era, will ride down on a white horse followed by the armies of Heaven.
He will be clothed in a robe dipped in blood, His eyes will be a flame of fire, and He will carry a sharp sword to strike down the nations and treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God. (Revelation 19:11-16).
If our eyes have managed to glaze over at this and similar extremely chilling apocalyptic pictures painted in the book of Revelation, I doubt we have paid much attention to other passages that less explicitly, but just as definitively, contradict the God wouldn't hurt a fly idea.
John 3:16 reads.
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish (Gr. apollumi) but have eternal life"
This is one of the best known, most quoted, and most comforting verses in the Bible - but has it escaped our attention that when John said believers will not perish the obvious implication is that unbelievers will.
Apollumi - the Greek word John used means to destroy or kill this made clear by other occurrences in the New Testament . For example,
Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord *appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy (Gr. apollumi) Him." (Matthew 2:13 NASB)
But as they were sailing along He fell asleep; and a fierce gale of wind descended on the lake, and they began to be swamped and to be in danger. They came to Jesus and woke Him up, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing (Gr. apollumi) "and He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm. (Luke 8:23-24 NASB)
through which the world at that time was destroyed (Gr. apollumi), being flooded with water. (2 Peter 3:6 NASB)
See apollumi and other overlooked Greek words in Part IV of What and Where is Hell?
The Wrath of God and Evangelism
Even when we present the gospel to someone we talk about the love of God and His forgiveness. We talk about how Jesus paid the penalty we so rightly deserve. We talk about an eternal life to come. We talk about felt needs (more of the modern church's poppycock) What we never ever talk about is the wrath and judgment of God - and we are not alone. Preachers and pastors, who should know better ...
"... affirm the wrath of God in theory, but they refuse to preach it for fear of alienating cultured people who may come to church. Instead, they preach, "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Come to our church, where you will hear only great music and soothing messages." In fact, many twenty-first century preachers take polls to see what their people want to hear. People say they want to hear pastors preach about their felt needs: how to be happy; how to be not anxious; how to get rid of bad habits; how to lose weight by eating; how to deal with loneliness, sexual frustrations, marital discord, co-dependency, and addictions to drugs, alcohol, sex, pornography, and credit card abuse.
No one says he wants to hear about the wrath of God, the sinfulness of man, the atonement of Christ, the cross, repentance, saving faith, the fear of God, obedience to God's word, Satan, eternal judgment, or hell. They just want to be told that God loves them and will bless them, no matter what they do. They want a psychological cure for their problems." [03]
Diametrically opposed to our usual methods, the gospel message should begin with the wrath of God. The bad news has to come before the good news... Telling someone that a pardon is available to them is totally pointless if they do not know they have already been sentenced to death.
See Sin, Repentance and Salvation on THIS Page
Why Does The Idea of a Wrathful God Disturb Us?
Perhaps because we do not truly understand God's holiness nor what the kingdom He intends to establish right here on earth will be like - a place that virtually all of us would give our left arm to be a part of, a place where where there is no crime, hunger and disease, war, and above all no death.
If we really understood this, then we would also understand that no sinner could ever be a part of this kingdom lest it soon deteriorate into exactly what we have now. What God calls heaven can only be inhabited by people who think like He does. Who want the same thing and whose sins are forgiven.
See The Message of The Bible
All too many people picking out a random phrase or two, think 'love' was Jesus' core message. Unfortunately, they are terribly wrong... In fact, Jesus never stopped talking about the "kingdom of God", which phrase is used over 50 times in the four Gospels alone. He even said that the proclamation of the Kingdom was the reason He was sent to earth (Luke 4:43). But what and where is this kingdom? Here is what is really paradoxical ... the Bible's description of this kingdom of God, also called heaven is no pie in the sky ethereal place 'somewhere out there', but matches, in every respect, the world most men and women would choose to live in. A place of peace and safety, where there is no crime, hunger and disease, war and above all... no death. Far from being outdated, out of touch, and largely irrelevant to modern society, Christianity promises exactly the utopian world most men and women can only dream of.
Our Sanctimonious, Self-righteous Attitude
The litany of man's greed, stupidity and inhumanity to his fellow man is a never ending one yet when told that God is actually going to do something about this miserable planet of ours we rear up on our hind legs and adopt our best sanctimonious, holier-than-thou, mealy-mouthed, self-righteous attitude....
How could He do that? How could this "loving" God actually sit in judgment against humanity and find them sadly wanting. How can He then rain mayhem down on this planet? What kind of God would actually be so mean? Not one we would want to serve surely!
We Are Never Satisfied
Were God to offer a blanket pardon to all sinners, including murderer and rapists, we would complain that there is no justice. However, were He to give people what they deserve in the here and now, we would complain that He was severe, cruel, unloving, and unmerciful.
How many will find comfort in knowing that those hundreds of thousands of unreported or unsolved crimes are neither. Someone knows who did it, and that Someone will get the guilty person to pay - unencumbered by man made rules that all too often work in favor of the guilty.
The name Nahum means "consolation," or "comfort". One can only imagine how comforting it was to the people of Israel to have this prophet stand up and tell them that God was going to utterly destroy Nineveh, the capital city of the people that had brought them so much misery for so long. The prophet's words must have been music to their ears.
As the old saying goes - the mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly small. Justice will come and although you wont be tortured in hell for all eternity because you haven't been forgiven them, you will pay for all wrong doings - big or small. See What and Where is Hell?
And by the way, if you do not get righteously angry - burn with outrage when you hear of child abuse, crimes against the elderly, sex slavery, domestic violence, cold blooded murder, vandalism, the complete indifference much of modern society has towards the poor and disadvantaged, the greed of modern corporations that have set the bottom line up as their god, power hungry governments etc. etc. etc. then something has to be wrong with you.
In Fact, You Are Most Unlike Our God.
What Does God Expect From Us?
Because there will be no place in the Father's kingdom for sin and crime, He has given us a choice - live the way we choose and face a death sentence or keep His commandments and live in His kingdom forever.
But what are His commandments? What does He expect from us?
Be assured that God is not a celestial version of the consummate killjoy who takes perverse pleasure in the fact that His laws have left us with no joie de vivre or enjoyment in life. Nor does His kingdom resemble one of the very disciplined boarding schools that rigorously enforces rules and procedures. In fact, the Scriptures assure us that His commandments are not "burdensome" and Jesus told us to come to Him, for His burden was light (1 John 5:3 and Matthew 11:28-30).
He asks people to practice kindness and compassion, administer true justice, defend, protect, avoid bitterness and anger, speak the truth, and take care of those who cannot do it for themselves.
"Then say to the household of the king of Judah, 'Hear the word of the Lord , O house of David, thus says the Lord : "Administer justice every morning; and deliver the person who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor, That My wrath may not go forth like fire and burn with none to extinguish it, Because of the evil of their deeds. (Jeremiah 21:11-12 NASB)
Then the word of the Lord came to Zechariah saying, "Thus has the Lord of hosts said, 'Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion each to his brother; and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.' (Zechariah 7:8-10 NASB)
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Therefore, laying aside falsehood, Speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity. He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need. (Ephesians 4: 25-28, 31-32 NASB)
For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. (Ephesians 5:5-6 NASB)
Idol Worship and Dabbling In The Occult
The one other thing that arouses God's wrath is our chasing after false gods and man made religions and/or dabbling in the occult.
'As for the person who turns to mediums and to spiritists, to play the harlot after them, I will also set My face against that person and will cut him off from among his people. (Leviticus 20:6 NASB)
So as I live,' declares the Lord God, 'surely, because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your detestable idols and with all your abominations, therefore I will also withdraw, and My eye will have no pity and I will not spare. (Ezekiel 5:11 NASB)
The worship of the "queen of heaven" provoked God to great anger.
As for you, do not pray for this people, and do not lift up cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with Me; for I do not hear you. "Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? "The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods in order to spite Me. "Do they spite Me?" declares the Lord. "Is it not themselves they spite, to their own shame?" Therefore thus says the Lord God, "Behold, My anger and My wrath will be poured out on this place, on man and on beast and on the trees of the field and on the fruit of the ground; and it will burn and not be quenched." (Jeremiah 7:16-20 NASB)
See Is Mary Queen of Heaven?
There is a very good reason for the absolute ban on idol worship and/or any form of occultism. In the Bible, false gods are clearly associated with the demonic, and the worship of idols is called the worship of unclean spirits- which may explain the hideous faces given many of these images. In other words, pagan images and statues of ancient gods and goddesses are simply the face of the daimonia (demons).
Rituals Will Not Save Us
These two verses tell us very clearly that God is not exactly concerned with rituals.
"I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them. "So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood. "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow... "But if you refuse and rebel, You will be devoured by the sword." (Isaiah 1:14-17, 20 NASB)
"I hate, I reject your festivals, Nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies. "Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them; and I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings. "Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps. "But let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. (Amos 5:21-24 NASB)
In fact, as said by more than one prophet, He actually hates rituals unaccompanied by justice and righteousness.
His Wrath.. Fully Justified
The escalating collapse of ethics and morals in this country and many others is a symptom of a deeper sickness and out-of-control internal problems. Many in our self-centered world seem hell-bent on living any way they please. Our societies stifle anyone who opposes their self-serving appetite. People weigh in for a bigger slice of the pleasure pie. They seem willing to do anything in their lust for power, possessions and prestige. Meanwhile, traditions, customs, culture and laws based on the Bible are casually cast aside.
At almost every turn we see an escalation of brutality, violence, slander, theft and sexual perversion. In Western civilization this is matched with a determined effort to remove any mention of God and His standards from public life.
The apostle Paul warned of an age like ours when he wrote that
But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, (2 Timothy 3:1-4 NASB)
The catalogue of man's greed, ruthlessness, and inhumanity to his fellow man is one that has no end. God's Word has forecast this slide into lawlessness and moral depravity since ancient times. Vivid descriptions of where it ultimately leads are mentioned widely throughout the Scriptures. Increasingly, modern society, flaunts its sins like Sodom once did, without the slightest effort to conceal them (although the prophet Isaiah was referring to Jerusalem, our time is no different)
...And they display their sin like Sodom; They do not even conceal it. Woe to them! For they have done evil to themselves.
There is a day looming on the horizon when mankind's iniquity exhaust the patience of God Himself, at which point in time He will pour out His wrath, or retributive justice, on the earth, punishing transgressors, and ending all the injustice and suffering in this world. God's kingdom will be preceded by a devastating period of time such as man has never before seen. This will be the darkest time in human history, when even the heavens and earth will tremble at His power and fury, the moon will turn to blood, and the sun will no longer gives out its light.
As Christ warned
For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will again. "And if those days had not been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. (Matthew 24:21-22 NASB)
The "Day of The Lord"
The Day of The Lord is a phrase that has been used more than 20 times in the Bible. It refers to a period of time in the not too distant future when God's fury at man's cruelty, greed and sheer inhumanity will spill over and He will say, "No more!".
Whether or not your church preaches it, whether or not you know very much about it, whether or not you choose to bury your head in the sand and pretend that God cannot possibly render judgment on this planet - the wrath of God is real and when He unleashes it on this planet it will be the darkest days in human history eclipsing every war, natural disaster etc. that has gone before.
God is not, as some have chosen to believe, a kindly old gentleman in the sky that wouldn't say 'boo' to a goose. He is a God of great kindness and mercy as shown by Him sending His own Son to pay the price of our sin, should we choose to accept this gift. (See Salvation) But, from cover to cover, the Bible has clearly demonstrated that He is also a God of great wrath who will bring a final and terrible judgment down on sinners and evildoers. The unleashing of His wrath will also bring an end to this world as we know it.
And... it is very near at hand.
Old Testament prophets spoke of this time in very graphic language
It will be a period so terrible that, according to the prophets Joel and Isaiah, the earth will quake, the heavens tremble, and the sun, moon and stars will not give light (Joel 2:10, Isaiah 13: 9-10).
Peter added that "the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up". (2 Peter 3:10).
Ezekiel called it "A time of doom for the nations" (Ezekiel 30:3)
Zephaniah described this time as
"A day of trouble and distress, a day of destruction and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness" when "all the earth will be devoured and "He will make a complete end, indeed a terrifying one, Of all the inhabitants of the earth (Zephaniah 1:15, 18).
John stated that in trying to escape the most powerful men in the world will beg the mountains to hide them from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; "for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?" (Revelation 6:15-17)
Note: Many have tried to water down the frightening scenario that Revelation paints by turning it into a giant parable in which nothing can be definitely known except that in the end Christ will triumph, and all will be well. But this interpretation turns all the details of the visions into meaningless nonsense.
See The End Of The Age
The horrendous conditions of the last days are described in the book of Revelation by the metaphorical images of Seals, Trumpets and Bowls. Some say these run concurrently, while others are of the opinion that they are different and succeeding series of judgments. While neither point of view is correct, there is little doubt that conditions get progressively more devastating as the end times progress. Not only does the imagery and symbolism of Revelation describe the fearsome conditions of the last days, but tells us in what order they will occur.
Will Christians Be Spared? Yes and No
Many Christians rightly believe that believers will not be on the receiving end of God's wrath (after all, the whole point of salvation is being saved from the wrath of God). However, Jesus and John both spoke of a lot of trouble for Christians. How and when does this happen.
"Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his chid; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. "You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved. (Matthew 10:21-22 NASB)
"These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. "They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. "These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me. (John 16:1-3 NASB)
See The Seven Seals and Matthew 24
Mankind's Only Hope
First impressions aside, the Book of Revelation isn't the territory of the lunatic fringe portraying doom and gloom telling us that life on this planet will come to a screeching halt in a catastrophic series of events. In other words, the end of the world after which there is nothing.
Much to the contrary, Revelation describes the conclusion of the age of man on this planet - It assures believers that God's redemptive program will go forward - that there is a beacon of light at the end of the tunnel - a new world for the Father's people. In fact, the heart of Jesus' preaching was the good news that the kingdom of God was on its way, and that we could be part of it. Very importantly, the book gives us a general idea as to what to expect and helps prepare us for what is to come.
See Overview of Revelation
As a new era dawns God will descend to earth to establish His kingdom. A world that will not only last forever, but where there will be no pain, no suffering, and no sin. The 'Day of the Lord' begins with a terrible descent into the darkest time in human history but as Jesus said,
Truly, truly, I say to you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy. Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world. (John 16:20-21 NASB)
So the only question that remains is whether you will be on the receiving end of His wrath or whether you will accept His offer of a free pardon which means you are no longer sentenced to death, but will have eternal life in a world that will be as He originally intended.
The Decision Is Entirely Yours
See What and Where is Heaven?
Christians who believe they will spend an eternity in "heaven", seem to have little or no idea where this heaven is, what it will look like, or what they will do there. Either they have fleeting, half formed ideas about some ethereal place 'out there' or resort to pious phrases that amount to little more than spiritual gobbledy gook. Apparently "heaven" will closely resemble an unending church service with everyone present in a nebulous state of disembodied blessedness - that is if we do not spend our time floating around on clouds strumming harps. Luckily the Bible isn't at all silent on where "heaven" is and, even more importantly, what it will be like. In fact, the Bible's description of the coming kingdom is far, far, more practical than that of our theologians.
Footnote I
Before we stand hand on hearts asking God to "bless' our country perhaps we should take a leaf from Daniel's book when he realized from Jeremiah's writings (Jeremiah 25:11) that the seventy years that the nation would be exiled to Babylon were about to come to an end. He was also aware of Jeremiah 29:9 - God's promise that they would be returned to their home.
For this is what the LORD says: ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. (Jeremiah 29:10 NASB)
He then 'gave his attention to the Lord God' -
to seek Him by prayer and pleading, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed, and said, "Oh, Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and faithfulness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, we have sinned, we have done wrong, and acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances. (Daniel 9:3-5 NASB)
Along with Noah and Job Daniel was described by Ezekiel as a righteous man. Yet he included himself in his confession of sin using "we" instead of "they"
As Pastor Scott L. Harris. Grace Bible Church, NY. said
Following Daniel's example we can cry out concerning our own nation,
"Lord God our Father, You are great and awesome. You are faithful to Your word and never fail Your promises. Father, we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly, and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances. Father, you are merciful and compassionate. You have extended your mercy and grace to us though we have become wretched. O God in heaven, our hearts have grown cold and we have turned against You. We have abandoned the teachings of your Word and instead teach our children the futile thoughts of men as truth. We pursue pleasure rather than holiness and inequity rather than justice. We have condoned evil calling it good while persecuting those who walk in righteousness.
O Lord, You are righteous and just in that we find our nation in its current calamity and merciful in that it is not already much worse. Father, even the church which you have called to Yourself to proclaim Your name has grown cold and has left its first love. We have not been effective in reaching our community for Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, for things such as entertainment programs, sports, hobbies, bank accounts, positions of power and creature comforts have become more important to us than serving You with the gifts You have given to us.
Father, we have sought to do things by following the wisdom of the world instead of coming to You in humility asking for Your wisdom and doing Your work in Your way. We have not come to You in lowliness of mind being fervent and diligent in prayer. Father, You are just in the current curses on this nation and whatever judgment is still to come.” [04]
End Notes
[01] Susan Hogan-Albach, "More Christians rejecting emphasis on Jesus' death." Dallas Morning News, Saturday, April 7, 2001, As quoted by Wayne Jackson in "Reinventing the Atonement Concept". Christian Courier.
https://christiancourier.com/articles/reinventing-atonement
[02] Dr. Ronald W. Scates. Sermon: "The Wrath of God" Delivered June 6, 1999. Central Presbyterian Church, Baltimore, MD.
[03] P. G. Mathew. The Wrath of God. Romans 1:18-20. Copyright © 2008,
Grace Valley Christian Center. https://gracevalley.org/sermon/the-wrath-of-god/
[04] Pastor Scott L. Harris. Grace Bible Church, NY. Daniel’s Prayer: An Example to Follow – Daniel 9:1-23.
https://www.gracebibleny.org/daniel?s_prayer_example_follow_daniel_9123
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