The Wrath of God

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The Wrath of God

MANY CLAIM THAT WE WILL BE removed from the earth before the Antichrist releases his great tribulation. The reasoning for this is because Scripture tells us that we will not go through God's wrath: " "For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ," (1 Thes. 5:9)

It is true that we will not experience God's wrath. It is not true that we will escape the persecution brought by the Antichrist. There is a difference between the wrath of the Antichrist and the wrath of God. Those believing we will be removed prior to the Antichrist's wrath do not distinguish the difference between the great tribulation and the wrath of God.

Scripture is clear that the Antichrist's wrath is against God's people (Rev. 6:7-11; 12:17). Scripture is equally clear that god's wrath is against those who are not God's people (16:1-11). We will experience the great tribulation, which is brought by the Antichrist, but escape the judgment brought by God. The persecution by the Antichrist takes place at the beginning of earth's last seven years when the Antichrist is in power. The wrath of God takes place at the end of earth's last seven years during the earth's last sixty minute hour.

We must also look at another wrath clearly outlined in Scripture, and that is the wrath of Christ. Scripture outlines three wraths: the wrath of the Antichrist (7 seals), the wrath of Christ (7 trumpets), and the wrath of God (7 vials). The wrath of Christ is also mistakenly looked upon as the wrath of God; however there is a difference between the wrath of the Antichrist, the wrath of Christ, and the wrath of God.

The wrath of Christ begins to take place after the wrath of the Antichrist when the seven trumpets begin to blow, and before the wrath of God when the sixth seal is opened. It will last for 3 1/2 years and will be judgment, in the name of Christ, against the Antichrist's kingdom. Look at this Scripture from Revelation 6:12-17:

"And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; 13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casts her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. 14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; 16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"

This Scripture makes the transition from the great tribulation of the Antichrist (7 seals) to the wrath of Christ (7 trumpets). Christ's wrath is released upon the Antichrist's kingdom through the two witnesses. These witnesses are Israel and the Church [1]. This revived people of God exercise power and bring judgment upon the Antichrist's kingdom in the name of Christ in the same way that Moses and Elijah brought judgment in the name of God upon the people and kings of their day. (FN see my book " " for more information on l...) Judgment is brought by God's revived people for 3 1/2 years after the 3 1/2 years of the great tribulation. At the end of this time, God's people will be killed by the Antichrist and then come alive and taken alive to Christ. This is what we call the rapture. After the rapture, God's hour of wrath is then released.

The wrath of God does not take place within a 3 1/2 or 7 year period, as some suggest. It is without question that the Antichrist's great tribulation takes place for 3 1/2 years and that the wrath of Christ is also 3 1/2 years, we do not question how long these 3 1/2 years are and take them at face value. There is no reason to think that the day and hour of God's judgment means something different than a literal 24 hour day and 60 minute hour. Throughout Scripture we are told of the day and "hour" of God's wrath that will come upon the whole earth. Some have argued that there is a lot taking place in one sixty minute hour; however when you consider that God created the entire universe and all that can be seen and unseen within only six days, surely He is able to rapture His people and destroy the elements for life on one planet in one hour?

Here's how these wraths look in chart form:

THE THREE WRATHS
WRATH OF THE ANTICHRIST	WRATH OF CHRIST	WRATH OF GOD
7 SEALS	7 TRUMPETS	7 VIALS
3 1/2 Years	3 1/2 Years	1 Hour
Revelation 6:1,2	Revelation 6:12-17	Revelation 11:18, 14:10, 15:1, 16:1

The conclusion as we follow the prophetic timeline and the natural ordering of the books of Daniel, Matthew 24, and Revelation is that three wraths are revealed: the wrath of the Antichrist, the wrath of Christ, and the wrath of God. When we understand the three wraths, then we also understand that we will go through the great tribulation of the Antichrist, will be instrumental exercising Christ's wrath on the Antichrist's kingdom, and will be removed before God's hour of wrath is released upon the earth.

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[1] See my book, Revelation and the Age of Antichrist page 133.

May also be downloaded from my website at The Two Witnesses.