Article 47
By Steven J. Hogan
1. God is a perfectly righteous judge. Because God is holy and hates sin, then He must judge sin. Throughout history, whether it’s in individuals, families, cities, countries, or the entire world, God has judged sin. Many examples of this are in the Bible: the flood (Gen. 7-8), Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19), Achan and his family (Josh. 7:16-26), Israel and Judah (Prophets), Babylon (Jer. 51), Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-10), Herod (Acts 12:21-23), etc. Then there’s God’s eschatological wrath, also called the day of the Lord, His fierce and just judgment of the entire world, which will happen in the near future.
What’s most amazing is that the holy and merciful God also judged His own Son, Jesus Christ, who took our sins upon Himself, and paid for them by dying on a cross so that we could be made perfectly righteous. All those who repent of their sins and believe in Jesus Christ are completely forgiven and receive eternal life, and they will never be judged for their sins – they will be saved from God’s wrath, this end-of-the-age wrath, and from eternal wrath, that forever and fiery hell. Matt. 25:41, 46; Mark 1:14-15; John 3:16; 2 Cor. 5:21; Rev. 20:11-15
2. The eschatological day of the Lord, the climactic judgment of this world, takes place at the end of this present evil age, which, since we now live in the end-times, won’t be long from now. This awesome and righteous judgment will be extremely destructive, devastating the entire planet as well as human life, the greatest global demonstration of justice since the Noahic flood. Rev. 8-9, 16
3. God’s holiness is the reason for His justice and wrath during the day of the Lord. God is perfectly just in unleashing His wrath upon an unjust world. The execution of His justice is a vivid demonstration of His righteousness and brings Him great glory. Rom. 3:4-6, Rev. 4:8 – “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.” Rev. 19:5 – “Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great.”
4. The day of the Lord results in the exaltation of Christ, the vindication of Christians, the punishment of unbelievers, the defeat of the Antichrist, the end of Satan’s rule on earth, and the beginning of Christ’s reign on earth. Matt. 6:9-10, Eph. 1:9-11, Rev. 1:4-7, Rev. 8-9, Rev. 19:20-21, Rev. 20:1-6
5. A scroll written by God contains instructions for the day of the Lord. This scroll has seven seals, and Jesus Christ is the only One who can break these seals. Once He does, then the scroll is opened, and this sets in motion the day of the Lord – for soon as all the seals are broken, then there is the blowing of the seven trumpets, the outpouring of God’s wrath, resulting in Christ reclaiming the earth and receiving “power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise… and dominion forever and ever.” Rev. 5
6. The events associated with the first six seals are not part of this “day of the Lord” wrath, but are judgments that happen here and there and now and then, and they are also wake-up calls, signs to those on earth that Christ is coming soon. The first four seals are the “birth pains” (wars, earthquakes, famines, plagues) which affect Christians and non-Christians in various parts of the world. The fifth seal is great tribulation affecting Christians and Jews. The sixth seal, speaking of great signs in heaven and a great earthquake, is announcing to the world that the day of the Lord is at hand, “that the great day of Their wrath has come.” Note – this eschatological wrath of God begins after the breaking of the 6th seal, and not before. Matt. 24:4-9, 29; Rev. 6:1-17
7. Christ’s coming will be like a “thief in the night” to non-Christians. Unbelievers in the end-times will not know and / or not believe what will soon be hitting the world. Similar to sinners in Noah’s day, they will be eating, drinking, working, marrying, sleeping, etc. Suddenly they will see these heavenly signs and feel this huge earthquake, and be shocked, scared to death, and try to escape, for they know God’s wrath will soon be poured out upon them. “There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among the nations at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world.” Luke 21:25-26, 1 Thess. 5:1-9, Rev. 6:12-17
8. The coming of Christ will not be like a “thief in the night” to Christians. Christians “are not in darkness” and should not be surprised by these cosmic signs announcing the immediate outpouring of God’s wrath upon a wicked world. Those knowledgeable about the end-times are sober, alert, and doing the Lord’s work, and understand that the signs are not just signaling the wrath of God, but also the imminent rapture of the church. Matt. 24:29-31; 1 Thess. 1:9-10, 5:1-11
9. A vast number of Jews will be physically protected during the day of the Lord and will not experience God’s wrath. Between the breaking of the 6th and 7th seals there will be the sealing of 144,000 Jews. There will also be a large remnant of Jews who escape from the devil (the Antichrist) when he comes chasing after them. Matt 24:15-20; Rev. 7:1-8, 12:13-16
10. At Christ’s coming the church is raptured, which happens before the day of the Lord. Thus, all Christians will escape the fierce and deadly judgments, for “Jesus… rescues us from the coming wrath” (1 Thess. 1:10, 5:9). The rapture occurs between the breaking of the 6th and 7th seals, and at a time unknown to us. Matt. 24:36, Rev. 7:9-14
11. The day of the Lord begins right after the rapture and on the same day. Luke 17:26-35
12. The day of the Lord is comprised of the trumpet and bowl judgments. The trumpet judgments (Rev. 8-9) begin after the rapture, after the breaking of the seventh seal, and during the 2nd half of Daniel’s 70th week. The bowl judgments (Rev. 15-16) begin after the blowing of the 7th trumpet, and after the end of this 70th week.
13. The breaking of the 7th seal results in the scroll being completely opened which sets in motion the first phase of God’s wrath, the trumpet judgments. Once the 7th seal is opened, there will be exactly 30 minutes of silence before God begins to pour out His wrath on earth. This will be a most sobering and suspenseful time for unbelievers, for they will be in utter agony, dreading the destructive and deadly day of the Lord. Zeph. 1:7, Zech. 2:13, Rev. 8:1
14. Just before the trumpet judgments, the pleasing smell of incense mixed with our prayers arises up to God. These prayers are from great tribulation saints crying out to God to judge their persecutors (Rev. 6:9-10), as well as from believers throughout history, praying, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth” (Matt. 6:9-10). Then this censer, filled with incense, prayers, and also fire, is thrown down to earth, a signal to the world that God’s wrath is starting.
15. Seven angels, standing before God, prepare themselves to sound their trumpets. These angels, these agents of God, are carrying out His righteous work. They know what to do, and that the trumpet blasts are a battle cry for God’s justice, for His holy wrath to be poured out upon an extremely wicked world. Psalm 103:20-21, Rev. 8:2, 6
16. The blowing of the seven trumpets happens consecutively, one after another, the first, then the second, and all the way to the seventh. After the blowing of the seventh trumpet, there is the outpouring of the seven bowls, and these too do not happen simultaneously, but are consecutive, each one occurring after the previous one.
17. The fact that the judgments are sequential, and take place over a period of time, tells us that the entire day of the Lord is not quick and sudden. It won’t be done in a day or two or even a month – and so there won’t be a complete and instantaneous end of this earth and the people on it like some may think. But rather, the outworking of God’s justice is gradual and takes time – God’s punishing wrath is drawn out, cumulative, and terrible. The effect on the unrepentant unbelievers will be tormenting and torturing, mentally, emotionally, and physically, resulting in great fear, great pain, and death – and rightfully so.
18. We do not know how long the trumpet judgments will last. We do know they begin after the rapture, at an unknown time during the last half of Daniel’s 70th week, that the fifth judgment goes on for five months, and that they conclude with the seventh, which is at the end of the 70th week. Since the last half of Daniel’s 70th week is 42 months, then we know these trumpet judgments last more than 5 months but less, and I’d say, much less than 42 months, for the Antichrist-led persecution (great tribulation) of Christians and Jews goes on for at least a little while. Dan. 12:11; Matt. 24:36; Rev. 9:1-6, 10:7, 11:15, 12:13-17
19. The first three judgments are cataclysmic, destroying plants, animals, rivers, and seas. The fourth judgment impacts the sun, stars, and moon, darkening the earth. These particular aspects of God’s wrath don’t affect the entire world, only thirds of it, those parts specifically targeted by God. The blasting of the fifth trumpet results in unbelievers being tormented by the stings of scorpion-like-locusts – and it lasts for five long months and is so painful that people want to die but they can’t. The sixth judgment is the worst, for 200 million horsemen go out and kill one third of mankind, which I believe will be between 1 -2 billion people.
20. Three things result from the blowing of the seventh trumpet:
– Daniel’s 70th week, seven prophecy-filled years, comes to an end. Dan. 9:24, 27
– The mystery of God is finished, and a large number of Jews are saved. Dan. 9:24, Rev. 10:7
– “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ” (Rev. 11:15). Fantastic, for Christ reclaims the earth! This is one of the most important points in the history of the world – but it’s not at this precise time that Christ actually begins His reign. It’s the ensuing bowl judgments, the final defeating of His enemies, that enable Him to fully establish His reign on earth.
21. The Antichrist is present on earth during the day of the Lord, during both the trumpet and bowl judgments. He is given authority to rule for 42 months, lasting from the midpoint to the end of Daniel’s 70th week. During this time, people are worshiping the Antichrist and being influenced by him – but during the day of the Lord, his power is diminished, for God’s wrath is being poured out upon his kingdom. At the sound of the seventh trumpet his role as world ruler is officially over. Yet, the Antichrist still wants to be in control and refuses to accept Christ’s authority. The bowl judgments are a transitional phase from the rule of the Antichrist to the rule of Christ. They are God’s means to defeat the Antichrist, and all His enemies, so as to reclaim and establish Christ’s kingdom on earth. At the battle of Armageddon, the Antichrist puts up his final fight, but he’s quickly and royally defeated, and along with the false prophet, is thrown into the lake of fire, where he will greatly and eternally suffer. Rev. 17:14 – “These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lord, and King of kings.” Dan. 9:27, 12:11; Rev. 13:4-5, 16:12-16, 19:20-21
22. The bowl judgments are the final phase of God’s wrath on this earth. These bowls, being wide and shallow, are quickly poured out, meaning this aspect of God’s justice happens fast, for only 30 days, yet it’s terribly destructive and most effective, specifically wiping out the kingdom of the Antichrist. Daniel 12:11, Rev. 16
23. The bowl judgments are extremely painful, sickening, and deadly. The first bowl judgment results in all worshipers of Antichrist receiving “loathsome and malignant” ulcer-like sores. The second one results in all the seas becoming like the thick, coagulated blood of a dead person, resulting in the death of every sea creature. The third affects all the rivers, and they too turn to blood. The fourth causes all the people in the world to be “scorched with fierce heat.” How excruciatingly painful!! The pouring of the fifth bowl results in the Antichrist’s kingdom being darkened. These judgments are consecutive and cumulative, with the result that the people “gnawed their tongues because of pain, and they blasphemed the God of heaven…” Rev. 16:1-11
24. No one repents of their sins. It is incredibly sad that after all these fierce, fiery, hard-hitting judgments there are still all these hard hearts, unbelievers who won’t and don’t repent of their sins. “The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver… and they did not repent of their murders nor their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts” (Rev. 9:20-21). Not only did they not repent but they were angry at God and yelled back at Him – “they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and sores, and they did not repent of their deeds.” Rev. 16:1-11
25. The battle of Armageddon. The pouring out of the sixth bowl prepares the world for the battle of Armageddon. The river Euphrates is dried up so the kings of the east can march their armies to the battleground. Unclean spirits, God’s instruments, go out to the kings of the world, supernaturally gathering them together for this last battle, a place in Israel called Armageddon. But there’s no real battle. Yes, “the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him,” but they don’t have a chance, not against the “King of kings, and Lord of lords.” The Antichrist and the false prophet are quickly seized and thrown into the lake of fire, and “the rest were killed with the sword” of the Lord. Rev. 19:11-21
26. “A loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, ‘It is done!’” The most destructive bowl judgment is saved for last. There is a mighty earthquake, the most powerful ever, and every mountain is leveled, and all the cities of the nations collapse. Everyone knows that God is angry at them, and rightfully so. Finally, 100-pound hailstones rain down from the sky, crushing and killing millions of sinners – and “they deserve it” (Rev. 16:7). From before the creation of the world, God knew this day of the Lord would come, when His holy justice would be on display like never before, His righteous wrath being poured out upon a most sinful and wicked world, and that this particular day would come when the heavenly voice would finally say, “It is done!” Rev. 16:17
27. “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place of demons” (Rev. 18:2). The “whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19), and it has been this way since the sin of Adam and Eve. But the devil’s wicked rule climaxes in those last years before Christ’s coming, necessitating the day of the Lord, the powerfully awesome judgments described in Rev. 8-9, 16. Then we come to Rev. 17-18, two chapters that are parentheticals – they describe in detail the world system, and the devilish end-time’s kingdom of the Antichrist. We read about Babylon the Great, a phrase referring to both the religious and economic systems of the world (Rev. 17:1-7, 18). We also learn about the Antichrist’s ungodly and evil empire, and the nations aligned with him, and that these are destroyed by God’s catastrophic judgments (Rev. 17:7-18). You see, before Christ can come and begin His kingdom on earth, He must wipe out the Antichrist’s kingdom and the demonic world system.
28. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! God’s wrath is completed. “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, because His judgments are true and righteous.” (Rev. 19:1-2). The Antichrist’s authority comes to an end at the blast of the 7th trumpet, but it is by the pouring of the 7th bowl that the execution of God’s justice is completed, for at that time the Antichrist is fully defeated, Satan’s world system is totally destroyed, and Christ’s authority is finally and fully established on earth. The saints and angels in heaven are super-excited, and so there is this great celebration – and they are thanking and praising God and Jesus for Their incredibly awesome and glorious victory over the enemy. “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty reigns.” Rev. 19:6
29. The greatest world war is between God and Satan, and God is the winner. Since the sin of Adam and Eve, there has been a gargantuan battle, seen and unseen, raging between the seed of the woman and the seed of Satan, between the forces of God and the forces of the devil (Gen. 3:15, Dan. 10, Eph. 6:10-13, Rev. 12) – and it has been playing out on earth from that time in the past to the present, and now we look to the future when Satan and his Antichrist will be defeated. It’s 2021, and we are very close to that point in time when God’s plans for believers and planet earth will be completely carried out, and God’s victory, and ours, will be realized. “… with a view to an administration suitable to the fulness of times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth.” Eph. 1:9-11, Phil. 2:9-11
Let me summarize what Christians can expect in the years ahead: we will see this spiritual battle intensify, from the birth pains (Matt. 24:4-8) to the coming of the Antichrist (2 Thess. 2:8-9) to the great tribulation (Matt. 24:9) to the rapture of the church (Matt. 24:31) to the outpouring of God’s wrath (Rev. 8-9) to the salvation of a remnant of Jews (Rom. 11:25-26) to the defeat of the Antichrist and his kingdom (Rev. 16, Rev. 19:11-21) to Jesus Christ reigning over the earth – “The Lord will be King over all the earth” (Zech. 14:9, Psalm 47). I hope you understand how wonderfully blessed you are that you can be part of God’s eternal plans, that you are on earth at this key time in history, and that you will actually reign with Jesus Christ during the millennial kingdom. “He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father – to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him.” Rev. 1:6-7
30. “The Lord is coming to judge the earth” (Psalm 98:9). Be very excited and very thankful that you are now living on earth, for we are very close to the end of this age and the coming of Christ to rapture the church. Don’t be fleshly or worldly, and don’t be ignorant of what will soon be taking place on this earth (Rom. 13:11-14). This is our time to live for the Lord and do the work He wants us to do. Tell the lost to turn from their sin to Christ, to believe that He died to pay for their sins so they can be saved from sin and death. Warn them that if they don’t, then they may be here for that dreadful and deadly day of the Lord, and from there, descend to a fiery hell where they will have to “pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord, and the glory of His power” (2 Thess. 1:9). “Be encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near” (Heb. 10:25). “Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your work is not in vain in the Lord.” 1 Cor. 15:58