Flee the Wrath to Come!

Why is it that we hear very little warnings about fleeing the wrath the come? After all, the gospels start with such an exhortation and strong warning.

John Bunyan’s wonderful allegory, Pilgrim’s Progress, starts out with Evangelist warning Christian to “flee the wrath to come.”

Who’s wrath? Why so wrathful? These questions are worth answering.

Today we’re told very little, if anything at all, about God’s wrath, while everyone loves to talk about the love of God. And yet with all this talk of the love of God and many supposedly loving God with all their heart, mind, soul and strength, but in their works denying Him, could it be that we are building on a faulty foundation?

Let us first be very clear about WHO is full of wrath, and TO WHOM the wrath is justifiably targeted.

To whom is John the Baptist referring when he cries out “Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” God’s people! Those in the know. Those who should’ve known better, and who were without excuse. Today, this is the Church.

This is a warning of God’s wrath against His people. Listen to John’s followup: “And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

Yes, it is already clear that those who do not believe in Jesus are ALREADY under God’s judgment and wrath, albeit held at bay for a season.

John 3:36 (NKJV)
He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.

Notice the Word does not say “believed”, as in once-upon-a-time. Rather, this “believes” is an ongoing, active state of loving, faithful, belief today, with all of one’s heart. Faithful unto the End. Found serving. An overcomer!

What were the conditions of His wrath according to John the Baptist? Unbelief and Disobedience. We can’t have one without the other.

As one brother recently reminded, sin is deceitful and that is the reason we are to encourage one another daily. But what is the nature of that “daily” encouragement? I believe it is to remind each other of the both the wrath and condemnation of God, along with the awe-filled love of God in Christ Jesus, along with the wrath and condemnation of Satan, along with his intense vengeance upon all who are living faithful in Christ.

As with most everything, we find that the attributes of God can be applied to Satan, only his are counterfeit or perverse whereas God’s are true and pure. This includes “wrath.” Both God and Satan are the authors of wrath and condemnation.

Satan condemns those who are innocent, trying to destroy their faith in Jesus’ power to forgive their past sins and the power of His resurrection to walk in righteousness and holiness.

But the Holy Spirit convicts, yes, and even condemns those who are living in sin as a means to bring about repentance unto Christ and VICTORY – true POWER to overcome; as a means to destroy the works of the Devil, to destroy the false faith of believing the lies of the wicked one who whispers “you can’t overcome”.

Many will say those in Christ are no longer under condemnation, citing Romans 8:1. YES, and AMEN! However, let us not twist the scriptures to our own damnation. The qualifier is to those IN CHRIST…those who do NOT walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Jesus makes it plain that If anyone does not abide in Jesus, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather these castaways and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. By sending His Son, Jesus, in the likeness of sinful flesh, He condemned sin in the flesh so that if we are found walking in the power of His resurrection – having crucified the old man with his lusts – we will be found walking as Jesus walked.

Let it be known that God in Christ is seeking to destroy the flesh so that the soul may be SAVED! And if we understand and embrace the wrath of God, we will love Him and His Gospel of the Kingdom of God ever the more!

Though Satan may deceitfully whisper the doubtful seed of “Who then can be saved?”, Jesus’ soft still voice thunders back with the authority of “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.” But it IS impossible if we choose to obey Satan and live in the flesh, nurture and pamper the flesh and make excuses and provision for the carnal mind.

Then what is the wrath of God? The fierce wrath of God is holy, just, perfect, and even loving, if we have ears to hear. His holy wrath is revealed to be against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. God’s wrath is manifested not only against the sins of each sinful person, but against and upon the very person him or herself. Heaped and piled; overflowing and treasured up; multiplying with compound interest until the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who “will render to each one according to his deeds”. What are those deeds? The SELFish deeds of the carnal nature of the Old Man.

Satan’s wrath, on the other hand, is unholy, unjust, and SELFish. Yes, SELFish and foul. Totally SELF-centered. This “father of lies,” that foul wicked serpent of Old, is the chief murmurer and whiner of the principalities and powers; the chief ruler of his synagogue of darkness. Lucifer is dead set on pouring out his intense wrath toward God and His Saints because of his childish temper tantrum of displeasure having been disinherited by the Father of Lights. Not only him, but the whole of the spiritual hosts (armies) of wickedness in heavenly places who have believed his lies and have become his slaves of unrighteousness unto perdition are waging war with the Saints of God.

Who will win? God and those found in the authority (submission), power (grace), and love (service) of Christ.

One clear mark of Satanic servitude is found not only in the bizarre and shocking pagan sacrificial rituals and blood sacrifices to “the horned man” but in the less offensive and oft-accepted abominably wicked root of SELF-seeking. For James says, we lie against the Truth if we have self-seeking and bitter envy in our hearts. And that this wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and SELF-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.

Satan is the chief SELF-seeker. “Woe to earth and it’s inhabitants,” John warns, “For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.” How disgusting. Satanic and demonic attitudes are of such SELFish motives. “I’m hurting and angry, so I’m going to make sure I can hurt and wound as many as possible!” Satan’s crafty wrath (often disguised in righteousness and Christianity) is designed to kill, steal, and destroy.

Satan’s wrath is a distraction.

Jesus tells us that we are not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul, but rather to fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. It is God’s wrath that we should be concerned about as He is the only One who has the power to both condemn to eternal torment or commend unto ETERNAL LIFE.

God’s wrath has been revealed to bring about ABUNDANT LIFE for those who will radically change their way of life to embrace the fact that God’s wrath is justly upon them for a debt of sin that cannot be paid back and that we cannot please God in any other way but to wholly lay down our lives for His Life, His will and His Kingdom to be accomplished in us and through us, for His glory and not our own.

Once we understand that each of us were once the sons or daughters of disobedience and that there are none of us who can say we were righteous, but that ALL of us (including the Paul the apostle in his unconverted life) conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, we can THEN find rest from God’s wrath in JOYFUL, willing SELF-sacrificial service to our Savior and KING JESUS!

It is THEN, and only then, that the outpouring of His unspeakable LOVE through the work God in Jesus Christ on the Cross and offering His only begotten Son as the ONLY means of fleeing the wrath to come is made perfect.

Romans 5:9-10 (NKJV)
Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

John tells us there is a day coming when the sky will peel away 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 (those who are highly exalted in their own eyes), the great men (great in their own mind), the rich men (rich in their own eyes, not understanding their depth of inward poverty), the commanders, the mighty men (those operating in their own strength), every slave (to the world) and every free man (who refused to enter into service to the King), hide themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and will say 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?”

Who is able to stand? Jude tells us. The ones who keep themselves in the Love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. John agrees, writing “everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”

Because it is only through GOD in JESUS CHRIST Who is able to KEEP YOU from stumbling, and to present you FAULTLESS before the presence of His glory with exceeding JOY, to God our Savior, Who ALONE is wise, be GLORY and MAJESTY, DOMINION and POWER, both now and forever.

PRAISE HIM! PRAISE HIM!! PRAISE HIM!!!

Amen.