“Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything. For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how 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 1:8b-10).
Each new day brings with it new troubles we watchmen and watchwomen have dreaded we might live to see if the Lord tarried. From the videos of entire groups of people violently losing their lives because they don’t adhere to the correct Islamic creed, to the protests of spoiled rotten Americans staging “lie-ins” and die-ins” on city streets, one has to wonder just how much longer this world will hold together.
If respect for authority is the glue that is binding what’s left of ‘civil”-ization together, then even the casual watchman can predict that the entire planet is about to come unglued. Only the hand of God is keeping this world from flying apart, although the powers that be would beg to differ.
For reasons known only to God, He still has a purpose and a plan for each one of us believers who are alive and remain on this planet. He still expects us to continue to be busy with our daily lives of providing care and support for our loved ones, while at the same time letting our lights shine for Christ in the hope that one last person will obey the gospel before He shouts: “Come up hither!”
We do not need to fear the wickedness that is closing in around us. In order for the plan of the Antichrist to come to fruition, there has to be a worldwide “broke” for him to step in and “fix” (it).
We know that the Antichrist will not be fully revealed until after we are caught up from the midst:
“For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now “(2 Thessalonians 2:7-8a).
Now I don’t know about you but I don’t much care for the fiery darts of doubt continuously launched at us by the sons of Satan. In my opinion, most of those filled with hate are just jealous that we hold to the blessed hope of the deliverance from the wrath to come by the Lord Jesus Himself.
Since they refuse to commit to the faith that is required to believe in the Pre-Tribulation Rapture of the TRUE church, they decide to bully those of who do. Well, don’t let them shake your faith. Your Father in heaven has strength that far outweighs anything Satan and his minions can muster. You have far more strength through your faith in God than they have in their doubts and allegiance to Satan.
“The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” (Psalm 28:7; Ephesians 6:10).
When you put on the whole armor of God, you become like a healthy T-Rex fighting off a toothless lion, no contest… you win”
“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11).
I would now like to call attention to the truth of the Pre-Trib Rapture through certain patterns portrayed through specific Bible verses. These verses can serve as armor against the fiery darts of doubt endlessly hurled by the wicked one.
The wrath of God is going to be revealed against those who trouble His children, not against His children.
“Since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you” (2 Thessalonians 1:6).
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18).
“Even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come” (1 Thessalonians 1:10b).
What exactly is the wrath to come that Jesus will deliver us from? Was Paul referring to hell? No, because that is a current and ongoing punishment, not just a future punishment.
Paul was obviously referring to the Time of Jacob’s Trouble that Jesus warned those of the house of Israel about. Jesus told us to pray that we “may be accounted worthy to escape” the wrath to come and to stand before Him at His Judgment of believers (Luke 21:36).
Notice how the following portion of the book of Revelation identifies the wrath of the Tribulation as the wrath of Jesus Christ Himself:
“You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood… Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals… and behold, a white horse… When He opened the second seal… Another horse, fiery red, went out. When He opened the third seal… behold, a black horse… When He opened the fourth seal… behold, a pale horse… When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held.
He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake… And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?’” (Revelation 5:9, 6:1a, 2a, 3a, 4a, 5, 7a, 8a, 9, 12a, 14-17).
Jesus, the Lamb, will open every one of those Seals at the beginning of the Tribulation. How can the trouble at the beginning of the Tribulation be ascribed to the wrath of Satan? The Bible clearly says that every man will know that the trouble of the entire Tribulation is the wrath of God Himself.
The Bible is also very clear that God uses Satan and the men he possesses to accomplish the actions of His own wrath. Whether they were the evil kings of nations past (Isaiah 14) or the Antichrist of the future, God will use men to accomplish His own wrath.
Don’t let anyone tell you that you will be subjected to the wrath of the Antichrist during the Tribulation. The wrath of the entire Tribulation is God’s wrath and He has promised to deliver you from His wrath to come.
Just because someone can take dozens of verses out of context and twist their meaning does not make them right. They have no power over the strength of your faith. The riotous hordes roaming the streets of America have no strength over your faith either.
Just keep on standing firm on the Word of God while you physically occupy and prepare for any trouble ahead. Don’t get too caught up in the craziness that you see exploding by the second. As long as you are putting forth the physical and spiritual effort to stay busy for the Lord, you have nothing to fear.
And we all know that “God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:9).
“Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all” (1 Timothy 4:15).
Contact: payne_daniel@outlook.com