The Great Tribulation and the Church (Part One)
…you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10
Revelation 3:10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.
NOTE THIS. THE CHURCH IS THE BODY OF CHRIST CAN CANNOT GO THROUGH THE GREAT TRIBULATION, WHICH IS THE GOD’S ANGER ON SINNERS
In Revelation 14:10 the Great Tribulation is referred to as the indignation and wrath of God. When the seals are opened in Heaven corresponding judgments come upon the earth. The angels are given trumpets in Heaven, and as they blow the trumpets corresponding judgments come upon the earth. The vials from the living creatures are opened by the seven angels, and again corresponding judgments come upon the earth. All these judgments come from God and have their origin in Heaven.
In Psalm 69:20-28 we have a prophecy concerning Jesus – it speaks of His disciples forsaking Him in the hour of need and of vinegar being given Him for His thirst. It then calls for God to pour out His indignation and His wrathful anger upon those who had persecuted the One whom God had smitten. Indignation is a word used in the Old Testament especially to describe the time of the great tribulation. Isaiah 26:19,20; Isaiah 34:1-8; Jeremiah 10:10; Daniel 8:19; Daniel 11:36; Nahum 1:5,6; Zephaniah 3:8. Note that in Isaiah 66:14 the hand of the Lord will be known toward His children but His indignation toward His enemies.
Paul tells us in Romans 2:6 that God will render to every man according to his deeds. To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: but to them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth evil. Hebrews 10:27 speaks of the fiery indignation that will devour His adversaries.
The tribulation experienced by the child of God comes from the Satan-governed world. The Tribulation that is coming on the sinful world will come from God. Why is this Great Tribulation coming? The Scripture says that its purpose is threefold: (1) to try men who dwell upon the earth (Revelation 3:10); (2) that God might vent His wrath upon the wicked (Revelation 15:7), and (3) to destroy those who destroyed the earth (Revelation 11:18). Those who fall in one or all these categories will be on the earth to experience the Tribulation period. In the Old Testament the Lord spoke to Abraham and told him of the impending judgment on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. In response Abraham challenged the fairness of God. He asked, “Shall not the Lord of the earth be just? Would You destroy the righteous with the wicked? What if there are 50 righteous?” The Lord responded that if He found 50 righteous, He would spare the city for the sake of the 50 righteous.
Notice the whole premise of Abraham’s intercession with God was that it wouldn’t be fair for God to judge the righteous with the wicked. If the judgment proceeds from God, then it surely wouldn’t be fair for God to judge the righteous along with the wicked. Nowhere in the scripture when we find judgement proceeding directly from God do we find the righteous being judged with the wicked. When the angels arrived in Sodom, they couldn’t even find the ten righteous for whom Abraham had interceded.
So, they delivered the one righteous man, Lot, out of the city. Not until he was delivered did the judgment of God come. They declared in Genesis 19:22 that they could not do anything until he was safely out of the way. In Luke 17 when Jesus makes reference to Lot’s escape, Jesus clearly points out that in the same hour Lot was brought out of the city, the judgment of God fell. In II Peter 2 the apostle points out that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, “making them an example.” However, God delivered that righteous man, Lot, who was vexed by the way people were living around him. Then Peter goes on to say, “For God knows how to deliver the righteous… and to reserve the ungodly for the day of judgment” (II Peter 2:9). We’re told in I Thessalonians 5 that God has not appointed us unto wrath. Also, in Romans 5:9 we’re told that “being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.”
Wrath is not what God has in mind for His church. Do you think the Lord wants to pour His vials of wrath out upon His bride, the Church? Oh, indeed it is true that our Lord allows us to go through tribulation. “In this world ye shall have tribulation.” It is true that the Lord allows the devil to torment us and the wicked to persecute us. Because we have our human frames, we suffer sickness and woe. But it is not true that almighty God would pour out His wrath upon His beloved. “God did not appoint us to wrath…. therefore comfort each other.” The thought of our Lord rescuing us is a comforting, edifying thought.
Please study Ephesians 2
To be contunued!
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