Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid



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“And I will set My glory among the nations; and all the nations will see My judgment which I have executed and My hand which I have laid on them." – Ezekiel 39:21

 

 Three words that people often times forget about when they think of the Lord: “smite”, “wrath” and “forsaken”.  Perhaps because we don’t want to think about that part of God’s character because it creates fear and requires that we actually try to abide by His guidelines.  There is references throughout the scriptures that God is Holy, Perfect and Righteous and at the same time Vengeful, Jealous and Omnipotent.  As such, as is demonstrated in Kings and Judges and throughout much of the Old Testament; He has very little tolerance for those that choose to refuse Him and the love He has offered to the world. 

  In the times before the Messiah came to the earth, mankind dealt with the realization that there was a God through the Prophets: Daniel, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Zephania, Zecharia and Malachi just to name a few.   They were intercessors and communicators from God to the children of Israel and Judah, delivering instructions on how to live within God’s plan, and what would happen if they did not.  Kings, Priests and Governments listened intently to their every word to better understand how to serve the one true God, or in some cases how to battle against His people.

  So, did God’s character change?  Is God still a God of wrath, judgment and vengeance?  The answer is unequivocally – Yes.  The book of Revelation was revealed to John, the beloved, while banished to the prison Isle of Patmos.  In this book Jesus Christ, Himself, reveals to John what will happen in the last days.  War, pestilence, suffering, death, destruction and inhumane acts from one upon another will envelope the earth and those that remain during the tribulation.  There is much discussion on whether that includes or does not include the believers and followers of Jesus Christ.  Many, including myself, believe we will be taken up before the tribulation, but there are just as many that believe we will all go through tribulation and then be drawn up.

  The reality is that the day is coming that God will unleash His wrath once again upon the earth’s inhabitants that have refused to accept His love and saving grace.  The time is coming when according to Ezekiel 38 and 39, we will see God, Himself, defend Israel in a manner of such magnificence that all mankind will know that it was God and nothing else.  As tensions mount in the Middle East, are we nearing the realization of a prophecy from 2700 years ago before our very eyes?  As we watch the unveiling of events in the high tension areas of the world, one must wonder if we aren’t drawing ever so near to the last days. 

  This then begs the question about your own salvation.  Should war break out in the Middle East, and God shows His wrath upon those that attack Israel, where do you stand in your belief and relationship with Jesus Christ?  Will it take the actual realization of this war to convince you that the Bible and all that is within is God’s own Truth revealed through man?  If you reference other prophecies from Ezekiel, Isaiah, Daniel or others, you will find the majority have already come to be.  Is that enough to convince you of His existence?  What is it that you are waiting for? 

  God’s wrath and judgment are very real and will bring bitter pain and suffering to those who refuse to follow Him.  The scriptures of war, destruction and vengeance in the Old Testament are all the proof you should need that mankind cannot withstand the wrath of God and I can only believe that come tribulation and ensuing judgment day will be greater than anything recorded in the scriptures of old.  You are right in fearing God, but you are also covered by the grace and love of Jesus Christ as your mediator and intercessor between you and God.  He has taken the wrath intended for you and I and carried it to the cross where He became the sacrifice for our iniquities.  Therefore, we will not receive the full wrath of God as we deserve, as those in the Old Testament did (reference the Midianites, those in Sodom and Gomorra, and the Philistines).  We experience the full love, grace and mercy of the Lord in our life, because we follow the One True Messiah – Jesus Christ.

             
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