By Steven J. Hogan
~ A Saturday Morning Post #103 ~
Jesus Christ is coming to judge the world (Psalm 98:9), and you don’t want to be here when it happens, for it will be a fierce and fiery world-wide devastation. This is the great and holy wrath of God, often called the day of the Lord, and it will be directed at unbelievers who are on earth at the return of Christ. But Christians living on earth at that time will be supernaturally rescued from this wrath to come.
Now that we are in end-times, we can see this day of the Lord drawing near (Hebrews 10:25). It won’t be long before “there will be signs on the earth below, blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord” (Acts 2:19-20). These dramatic signs will get everyone’s attention! With a huge exclamation point, they mark the end of this age, letting us know that God’s wrath will soon be poured out upon this sin-infected planet.
But the good news of salvation means Jesus will rescue all Christians from this coming world-wide wrath. “To wait for His Son from heaven, …, Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come” (1 Thessalonians 1:10). The means of this miraculous rescue is the rapture, for Jesus will return in the clouds, and Christians will suddenly and safely be taken from this earth to be with Him (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). This rapture is also the means of relief, of being delivered from great tribulation. Some of you may not believe what I am saying, or want to hear what I am saying, but it’s true. Christians alive in the end-times, specifically during the rule of the Antichrist, will go through great tribulation for awhile, and then it will be cut short by the signs on earth and in the heavens. Matthew 24:21-22, 29-30
This teaching that Christians won’t be here when the Antichrist is dictator of the world, and are therefore exempt from great tribulation, is wrong, is error, and actually very harmful. You see, many Christians have heard that great tribulation is God’s wrath, but that’s not true. You see, tribulation can’t be God’s wrath, for tribulation is defined as pressure, distress, suffering or persecution, and is what the Bible says all Christians go through. Jesus said, “In the world you have tribulation” (John 16:33), and Paul said, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). Now great tribulation just means great pressure, great distress, great suffering, great persecution, and will affect Christians still on earth in that last couple of years or so before Christ’s coming.
This great tribulation is great because of its severity, for Christians will be killed for their faith, and because of its scope, for it will occur all over the world. “They will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name” (Matthew 24:9). But who of us should not be willing to suffer and die for Jesus in view of the fact that He suffered and died for us? This great tribulation is nothing compared to the eternal life and love that God has given us, and which we will forever experience and enjoy with Jesus and other believers. “Momentary, light tribulation is producing for us an eternal weight of glory, far beyond all comparison.” 2 Corinthians 4:17
What does Revelation 6-9 say about all this? Revelation 6 talks about great tribulation (verse 9), and signs on earth and in the heavens telling us that it’s the end of the age (verses 12-14). Unbelievers are scared to death, for they know God’s wrath is coming, that they are damned and doomed, and that there’s no escape (verses 15-17). Revelation 7 then tells us about a great multitude suddenly appearing in heaven, and worshiping God and Christ (verses 9-10). The angel says these believers “are the ones who come out of great tribulation” (verse 14), that is, were just raptured from the earth. Finally, Revelation 8-9 describes God’s punishing wrath on earth. This is the sequence of coming events: great tribulation, end of the age, rapture, and wrath. It’s can’t be any clearer.
This means the rapture of the church is after the great tribulation, persecution brought on by the Antichrist, but before the wrath, punishment brought on by Jesus Christ. Again we see that believers will be rescued from this cataclysmic, torturing and deadly wrath. But woe to those who reject Christ and the gospel, who don’t get saved, who are left behind on earth, and who are justly tormented by this, the righteous wrath of God.
Judgment is coming for unbelievers, except for those Jews and some others who are protected by God. But the rapture, the greatest rescue operation this world has ever seen, is coming for believers. God only knows, but you might be alive on earth when Christ returns to rapture the church. Be thankful that you will be rescued, not only from this earthly wrath, but also from the eternal wrath, that very painful, everlasting lake of fire. “God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:9). As a Christian, be glad that Jesus Christ, through His death and resurrection, saved your soul and, at the rapture, will give you a new body. Now is your time to live for Him, share His gospel with the lost, and use your gifts for the good of the church and the glory of God.
P.S. Here are three other posts that go along with this post, giving you more understanding about the tribulation Christians experience, and the wrath of God that unbelievers will go through. The Day of the Lord: The Wrath of God on Earth, Christians Will Go Through Great Tribulation, The Pre-Tribulation Rapture Teaching is False.