Will Christians Endure the Wrath of God?

Will Christians Endure the Wrath of God?

I recently started studying Genesis again. I was seeking revelation about creation and the incorrect beliefs promulgated by conventional teachings. I had no intention of discovering evidence of the incorrect teachings of the end times, but that is exactly what the Holy Spirit showed me.

I grew up believing what I was taught, that all Christians will be raptured before the Tribulation, and all those left behind, even those that were saved during the Tribulation, would have to endure the Wrath of God. I accepted that all the great preachers and evangelists had discovered in the Word evidence to support pre-tribulation doctrine. But after studying the Word for thousands of hours, I couldn’t find the passages that proved that doctrine. That led to a complete surrender to the Holy Spirit for wisdom, knowledge, and discernment and the result of that was a book I wrote called Wrong All Along: Revelation Revisited. This blog was not started to serve as a promotion tool to promote that book. However, today as I meticulously dissected every word in Genesis 18, the Holy Spirit asked me, “Do you see it?” I said, “See what?” He said, “The God of Genesis is the same God of Revelation and the Messenger in Genesis is the same Messenger of Revelation.” I didn’t quite understand what He was saying so I closed my eyes and meditated on what I had just read. As I was meditating, the Holy Spirit put this verse in my mind and told me to “consider” it.

Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Then He asked, “Do you believe this verse?” I said “yes.” He then said, “Look for the common denominators of Who was speaking, to whom was He speaking, what was the purpose of the conversation, what message was He delivering, and what was the final result. You will find the answer in Jesus’ words about the end times.” When He said that, it all came together, and my mind immediately took me to Jesus’ response to His disciples when they asked Him about the end times. Let’s see what He said to them.

Luke 17:26-27; 26 "And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: 27 "They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.

Let’s start with Noah, since Jesus did.

Genesis 6:5-8; 5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 So the LORD said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them." 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

Genesis 6:13 And God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

Genesis 6:17-18; "And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die. 18 "But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark--you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you.

Genesis 7:20-22; 20 The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered. 21 And all flesh died that moved on the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man. 22 All in whose nostrils [was] the breath of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died.

• Who was speaking? God
• To whom was He speaking? Righteous Noah.
• What was the purpose of the conversation? To warn the righteous of the coming wrath.
• What was the message being delivered? The land was going to be destroyed by God’s wrath because of the wickedness of men.
• And what was the result? The wicked were destroyed but the righteous were removed and saved.

Now let’s look at Lot’s life. First, what did Jesus say about the time of Lot?

Luke 17:28-30; 28 "Likewise, as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; 29 "but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 "Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.

When will Christ be revealed? Jesus tells us in the verses immediately preceding the above verses. He said it will be so obvious that everyone will see it, from one side of heaven all the way to the other side.

Luke 17:22-24; 22 Then He said to the disciples, "The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 "And they will say to you, 'Look here!' or 'Look there!' Do not go after them or follow them. 24 "For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day.

Jesus is speaking of the Rapture. He said the days will be filled with evil as in Lot’s days. What were Lot’s days like. He was surrounded by evil, and it was torture to him; he was in tribulation just like Noah. Both had to endure their evil surroundings until they were removed, and the Wrath of God was poured out.

2 Peter 2:4-10; 4 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; 5 and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; 6 and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; 7 and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked 8 (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)-- 9 then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment, 10 and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority.

What does verse 9 above say? It says God knows “…how to deliver the godly out of temptations.” The entire context of that passage is the evil surroundings. The Greek word used for “deliver” used in this verse is ryomai, and it means “to rescue”. The Greek word used for out of is ek, and it means “away from.” So, the Holy Spirit is not saying God will keep the godly from the surrounding tribulation. He is saying that God will snatch them from or out of tribulation.

How many righteous people had to endure tribulation during Noah’s day and Lot’s day in Sodom? All of them. How many righteous had to endure God’s wrath? None of them. Did Lot’s wife receive warning about the wrath to come? Yes, even while she was in the midst of the temptation, but she longed for the world and could not let go of her love for it EVEN AFTER seeing two angels cause an entire city to go blind so that they could escape. She saw the miracle but still wouldn’t release her love for the world.

Luke 17:30-36; 31 "In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise, the one who is in the field, let him not turn back. 32 "Remember Lot's wife. 33 "Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. 34 "I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left. 35 "Two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left. 36 "Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left."

During the Tribulation, everyone will see the miracles and prophecies of Revelation coming to pass, but only the Elect will be “delivered from” the Wrath of God. It is from a time of turmoil, before Christ is revealed, that believers will be “caught up” to be with the Lord. One will be gone and the other will remain.  Did God warn the righteous in Genesis?

Genesis 18:20-3;3 20 And the LORD said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, 21 "I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know." 22 Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD. 23 And Abraham came near and said, "Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? 24 "Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? 25 "Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" 26 So the LORD said, "If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes." 27 Then Abraham answered and said, "Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: 28 "Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lack of five?" So, He said, "If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it." 29 And he spoke to Him yet again and said, "Suppose there should be forty found there?" So, He said, "I will not do it for the sake of forty." 30 Then he said, "Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found there?" So, He said, "I will not do it if I find thirty there." 31 And he said, "Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose twenty should be found there?" So, He said, "I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty." 32 Then he said, "Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?" And He said, "I will not destroy it for the sake of ten." 33 So the LORD went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.

I know that was a long read, but what was the point? Even before Abraham pleaded with the Lord to spare Sodom if there were any righteous in Sodom, God had already purposed to remove ALL the righteous before the wrath. Look at what the angels said to Lot as he fled Sodom. They could not destroy Sodom until righteous Lot was safely away.

Genesis 19:22 "Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there."

• Who was speaking? God
• To whom was He speaking? Righteous Abraham.
• What was the purpose of the conversation? To warn the righteous of the coming wrath.
• What was the message being delivered? The land was going to be destroyed by of God’s wrath because of the wickedness of men.
• And what was the result? The wicked were destroyed but the righteous, Lot and his daughters, were removed and saved.

Now fast forward all the way to the last book of the Bible, Revelation. What is the purpose of Revelation? Let’s look at Revelation 1 says.

Revelation 1:1-3; 1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants--things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. 3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.

• Who was speaking? God
• To whom was He speaking? His righteous servants.
• What was the purpose of the conversation? To warn the righteous of the coming wrath.
• What was the message being delivered? The Wrath of God is going to be poured out on the wickedness of man, but the righteous will be delivered “out of” the surrounding tribulation.
• And what is going to be the result? The wicked, those that take the mark of the beast or worship his image, will be destroyed, but the righteous will be removed, and saved from God’s wrath.

Here in lies the problem with teaching that the body of Christ, the church, will be raptured from the earth before the Tribulation, aside from the lack of Scriptural evidence to support it. Pre-tribulation of the church doctrine implies that all believers will be raptured before the Tribulation except those left behind will still be able to get saved during the Tribulation. Those that promote a pre-tribulation rapture are not taking into consideration that their teaching also implies that those that are saved during the Tribulation, will have to endure God’s wrath. There is no way out of the Tribulation or Wrath of God for them. That is not only inconsistent with God’s modus operandi, but it also directly contradicts the Word of God.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-4,9-10; 1 But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. 2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. 3 For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. 4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.

Verse 9 states that believers, the Elect, will not be subject to God’s wrath. God’s Elect includes all believers, not just those that the pre-tribulation expositors claim will be raptured prior to the Tribulation. The doctrine of pre-tribulation does not allow for an explanation of removal for all those that are saved during the Tribulation and it sentences them to the Wrath of God that will be poured out. Did any righteous suffer God’s wrath when the earth was flooded in Noah’s day’? No. Did any righteous suffer God’s wrath when Sodom was destroyed in Lot’s day? No. Then neither will any righteous suffer God’s wrath during the seven bowls of wrath described in Revelation 16. Revelation 15 describes the celebration in heaven immediately after the Rapture for all those that endured the persecution of the beast during the Tribulation. At the last trumpet, the seventh trumpet of the Trumpet Judgements that will be blown during the Tribulation, ALL believers will be raptured. THEN, according to Revelation 15 and 16, the doors of the temple in heaven will be shut and the seven bowls of wrath will be poured out on ONLY unbelievers. No saved child of God will have to endure God’s wrath.

The Trumpet Judgements are NOT part of the Wrath of God. If they were, they would be called the Trumpets of Wrath. The Trumpet Judgements are God’s last plea to mankind to receive His Son and be spared from His wrath. The Trumpet Judgements will sound during the Tribulation. The Greek word for tribulation used by both Jesus and John, who wrote Revelation, is thlipsis, and it means pressure, oppression, distress, or affliction. The Greek word for wrath is orgē, and it means movement or agitation of the soul, impulse, desire, any violent emotion, but especially anger or indignation; anger exhibited in punishment, hence used for punishment itself. They are not the same thing. God will never punish a believer for their sins. Jesus took ALL the punishment for the sins of believers on the cross. There are no exceptions, not even for people that surrender to Jesus during the Tribulation. The Wrath of God consists ONLY of the Seven Bowls of Wrath. The Trumpet Judgements and the Bowls of Wrath are separated by the Rapture. The Rapture, like in the days of Noah and Lot, is God’s deliverance of ALL the righteous before the wrath is poured out; not a single believer left to endure God’s wrath as the Scriptures proclaim. The book of Revelation is God speaking to His servants, believers, warning them that the destruction is near, just like He warned Noah, Abraham, and Lot before the destruction of their time was released. The God and Author of Genesis is the God and Author of Revelation and as we have already read, Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

I hope this helps. Jesus loves you!