SO WHAT ABOUT GOD’S WRATH?

The fear of the LORD is embedded in our awe for His holiness, (Is 6:1-7). His purity and splendour cannot accommodate ungodliness, and thus His maintains a holy anger (wrath) against sin and impurity. The full measure of this anger (wrath) is contained in the cup of His wrath and is kept for Judgment Day, (Ps 75). The outpouring of the cup of God’s wrath is foreseen by the prophets as a distinct period of time, predestined for a generation at the end of this age. [See these foreshadows by the prophets in Is 13:1-16; Is 24; Is 33; Jer 25:15-33.]

We can liken this time of wrath to Noah’s Day. Noah’s Ark is a type of redemption provided through the author of our salvation Jesus Christ. Noah is a type of Messiah, and his name in Hebrew stems from the root word for “rest,” thus symbolizing Messiah leading us into the literal fulfilment of the Shabbat – the final Day of Rest, (Gen 5:29; Heb 4:4-10). Noah lived in a day when evil reached the limit of God patience, and thus Almighty God pronounced, ‘My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh,’ (Gen 6:3); ‘And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart,’ (Gen 6:6). Messiah and the apostles warn that the very same conditions preceding the flood of Noah will also occur in the days preceding His second appearance, (Luke 17:26-27; 2 Peter 3:3-12). In fact, the prophet Daniel states that the Antichrist will appear on the scene “when transgressions have run their course” (Dan 8:23), literally meaning that sin will have reached its fullest measure.

To fully understand Almighty God’s counsel for this time, it remains essential to apply every aspect of typology pertaining to Noah’s Day. It is in the context of building the Ark that we find the first reference for atonement, for when God commanded Noah to apply the pitch to the in- and outside of the Ark, He used the Hebrew word “kippur,” a clear reference to Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement. The “pitch” is thus a type of the blood of Messiah providing a “covering” for those who would find refuge in the redemption provided by the death and resurrection of His only Begotten Son. Almighty God will thus seal every soul whom belongs to His Kingdom with the blood of His Son before He would commence with the outpouring His wrath on earth. A clear foreshadow of the sealing of God’s bond-servants become evident in the 7th chapter of Revelation.

There were 8 people in the Ark, Noah and 7 members of his household. The number 7 is symbolic of completion and perfection. The 4 angels at the four corners of the earth are prohibited from harming the earth until the number of God’s bond-servants are complete and sealed, (Rev 7:1-3). The WHOLE HOUSEHOLD of God will thus be sealed by the blood of Messiah and covered by the protection of the redemption provided by His atonement (“kippur”), BEFORE the onset of the coming flood – the outpouring of God’s wrath on all ungodliness and unrighteousness. It is thus the blood of Christ Jesus, providing atonement (“kippur”) that exempts us from God’s wrath on earth on Judgment Day, (Rom 5:9).

Those who are in the Ark, namely the whole Household of God, will be protected from His coming wrath. The apostle Paul stated this clearly in his epistle to the church in Thessalonica, declaring, ‘For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,’ (1 Thes 5:9). The Household of God will be complete and will be sealed during the time of final judgement (great tribulation); yet, NONE OF HIS CHILDREN WILL BE EXPOSED TO HIS WRATH!

The apostle Peter gives a precursor of how events will unfold during this latter period preceding the second appearance of Messiah. Peter clearly indicates that JUDGMENT (testing and persecution) will begin with the Household of God (1 Peter 4:12-18), encouraging us with these words, ‘Therefore, let those also who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right,’ (1 Peter 4:19). He continues to explain that this latter generation will also be subject to the wrath of God, and that this current world will be destroyed, not by water, but by fire (2 Peter 3:3-7). Peter states, ‘But the present heavens and earth by His word are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men,’ (2 Peter 3:8).

The righteous man, who wants to live godly, will be persecuted, not only during his life journey, but also during the time of the great tribulation, (1 Peter 4:12-19); yet, THEY WILL BY NO MEANS BE EXPOSED TO THE OUTPOURING OF GOD’S WRATH WHICH WILL BE POURED OUT ON UNGODLY MEN, (1 Thes 5:9). [See also the breaking of the 6th and 7th Seals in Revelation.]