Skip to main content

THE WRATH TO COME

There is a wrath to come upon the world and it is nearer now more than ever. It is the wrath of God unleashed upon a wicked and repentant world, upon those who glory in their sin and gloat about their unrighteousness (See Philippians 3:19). It cannot be taken lightly. In all scripture, it is probably the sternest warning to man. John talked about it when baptizing at River Jordan in Luke 3:7 saying, "John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?" (NIV). Paul also talks about it in the epistle to the Romans. "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth Romans 1:18 (ESV)".
Upon who is this wrath visited?
It is obvious from the text above that the wrath of God is poured out against all ungodliness. That's right. All ungodliness. From the book of Philippians we get a clearer picture of those upon who this ripening wrath will fall. "Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things.." (Philippians 3:19). Revelation 14:9-10 says, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand,the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb"( Revelation 14:10).
Why is God angry?
"They have roused my jealousy by worshiping things that are not God; they have provoked my anger with their useless idols?" (Deuteronomy 32:21). Those who worship the beast and receive his image are of particular interest to the wrath of God. We also read in Revelation 14:10, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath  of God..." It is as clear as day. God is provoked by ungodliness and sinfulness but more so by those who worship the devil and receive the mark of the beast. We see many people entering satanic cults for fame and money and live lives of self indulgence and open rebellion to God. Some in deed show a form of godliness (calling him Lord, Lord) but are opposers of God and of truth (See Timothy 3:4-7 and Mathew 7:21). They preach prosperity instead of the gospel of salvation. They perform pretended signs and deny Christ as the only way to God. For them the wrath of God is stored up ready to be unleashed, unless they repent.
When will this wrath be revealed?
Revelation 14:7 says, "Fear God," he shouted. "Give glory to him. For the time has come when he will sit as judge. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all the springs of water."
In 2 Peter 2:2-3 we read, "In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed." We are in fact living on borrowed time. The wrath of God is at hand. God in his forbearance and love has given us time to repent and return to him. The ball is on our court. We see in Hebrew 3:15, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion" and in Revelation 3:10 we read, "Because you have obeyed my command to persevere, I will protect you from the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world."
How can we escape this wrath?
Romans 5:9 gives us a clue on how we can escape the wrath to come."Therefore, since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from wrath through Him!" (Romans5:9, NIV). The word of God says we can only escape the wrath via the blood of Jesus Christ. Our own goodness, self-righteousness, good works and religious piety can not save us. In 1 Thessalonians 5:9, we read, "For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ." It is only through Jesus Christ in which we can find salvation.We are therefore to put away all lusts of the flesh as it is written in Colossians 3:5-6, "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming." God loves you. He wants to save you from the coming coming wrath. Ezekiel 18:21,30 (NIV) says "Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?... Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall." Will you accept Jesus today as Lord and saviour of your life and escape this wrath or will you continue in rebellion and partake in the wrath to come? The choice is yours.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

THE DECEITFULNESS OF SIN

No force is more clandestinely deceitful, irreparably destructive and intrusively addictive as sin. Sin is not just something we do. It is a destructive force. It has a mind of its own and is unwittingly deceitful. That's what we are up against - we shouldn't underestimate our enemy - and that's what we have to overcome. Sin is the source of all the suffering in the world. And, worse still, it wars against the soul (1 Peter 2:11). Sin presents itself as something that satisfies the soul while in real sense it wars against it. Hebrews 3:13 warns us against being "hardened by the deceitfulness of sin." Ephesians 4:22 warns us against deceitful desires. Our enemy has one device, a lone trick up his sleeve: deception. Sin comes draped in the mantle of necessity, need, urgency, natural inclinations or unavoidable urge but its aim is to get us to depend on something, love something or trust something other than God and His Word, all the while it whispers in our hears, ...

SUNDAY OR THE SABBATH DAY?

  It is clear from the Bible that Jesus and all the Apostles kept the seventh day Sabbath on a day we commonly refer to as "Saturday" while many Christians of today do not. Some observe Sunday as the sabbath day while others say that observance of the day is unnecessary. In this article we'll investigate some arguments in support of observing the Sabbath day rest on Saturday. So why, if at all, should Christians observe the original Sabbath? The Sabbath was in God’s original plan  – The sabbath day was in God's plan from creation. The sabbath was instituted before the fall of man. Genesis 2:2 says “ And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.” This portion shows us why the sabbath was instituted, and it is because God rested on ...

DOES GOD REALLY LOVE US?

If there is one question that I have struggled with throughout my Christian life, it must be this one. The introductory note to the Form One course book on Christian Religious Education (C.R.E) read in part "God created us to be happy." The New Life evangelistic training programme states in one of their Four Spiritual Laws, and I paraphrase, "God Loves us and offers a wonderful plan for our lives". Ellen G. White wrote in The Desire of Ages, "God desires us to be happy.." {pg 307-308}. All these I have known, but the reality of life sometimes differ from what we know or expect of God. Most of the time I've felt "not loved enough" by God, let down by Him, and/or even hated.  How then do we reconcile our nasty experiences of life with the claim of God's love? This brings us to the classical "Problem of Evil" debate. The problem of evil is a philosophical debate which explores the apparent contradiction between the character of Go...