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"The Wrath of the Lamb" We are living in turbulent times. Terrorism coupled with the threat of nuclear bombs, political corruption, crime and natural disasters afflict the entire world. When Jesus’ disciples asked Him what would be the signs of His return and the end of the age, Jesus described a world that sounds like the headlines on CNN: “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows” (Matthew 24: 6-8). These events will increase worldwide in intensity and frequency, like the labor pains of a delivering mother: “Wail, for the day of the Lord is at hand! It will come as destruction from the Almighty. Therefore all hands will be limp, every man’s heart will melt, and they will be afraid. Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them; they will be in pain as a woman in childbirth…I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold…” (Isaiah 13: 6-8,11-12). The Bible foretold that “wicked men will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” The “wicked one,” the antichrist, will control the world’s economy, government, and religious system for seven years. He will persecute and kill all who do not bow down to him. What is God’s response to the wicked? He is not in heaven wringing His hands because of the evil in the world. Scripture declares that “He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall hold them in derision” (Psalm 2: 4). The violence and inhumanity that men wreak upon one another will be as nothing in comparison to God’s wrath on the day of Jesus’ return: “Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and the 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 day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” (Revelation 6: 15-17). Amazingly, in the midst of judgment, men’s hearts will be hardened against God. Like Pharaoh’s heart was hardened against God when He struck Egypt with plagues, men will curse God, shaking their fists at the Almighty. “By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed…but the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands…that they should not worship demons…and idols…and they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts….And every man blasphemed God because of the plague of hail, since that plague was exceedingly great” (Revelation 9: 18,20-21; 16: 21). How can man not fear God and repent when His terrible power and holiness is displayed? The Bible teaches that there is a “point of no return” that some will cross. For those whom have rejected the mercy of God over and over again, God will harden their hearts in unbelief as He hardened Pharaoh’s heart. He will blind them to their need of the Savior and they will not be able to find repentance: “The coming of the lawless one (antichrist) is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason, God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, and that they may all be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thessalonians 2: 9-12). This “mystery of lawlessness” is already at work in the earth. Dear Reader, God’s Spirit will not always strive with man. If we cannot love and serve God in a time of freedom and prosperity, what will we do when the day of calamity falls upon us? We are still in the age of grace when we can find repentance and salvation. However, like the door to the ark that God sealed shut before the great flood, not allowing another soul on board, there is an appointed time when the curtain of grace will fall. Then every man will reap the consequences of his decision: eternal life if he has followed Jesus, or a fearful, fiery judgment if he has rejected Jesus. Today is the day of salvation. Do not delay, deceiving yourself into believing that there will be time later to repent of your sins and receive Jesus as your Savior. Every one of us is one breath, one heart beat away from eternity. Choose life and flee the wrath to come.
“He who is
unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is
filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is
righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is
holy, let him be holy still” (Revelation 22:11).
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