NoOne
Gone but not forgotten.
Before men can truly appreciate the grace of God they must recognize the wrath of God.
Just a casual look at the facts will confirm to us this declaration from God’s Word. His wrath against ungodliness (spiritual wrong) and unrighteousness (moral wrong) is revealed in many ways. Not only does God’s Word say that His anger is kindled against sin, but He visits it, even here and now, with trouble and misery, sorrow and death. Moreover the conscience, when awakened, can so trouble the sinner as to make him completely miserable though no one but he and God know about his sins. So unbearably wretched have some men become about their hidden sins that they have been driven to confess them even though faced with long imprisonment or death.
But God’s wrath against sin is most clearly and solemnly revealed at Calvary’s Cross and in the “lake of fire.”
At Calvary a just and holy God unsheathed His sword and smote even His own beloved Son, as He took our sins upon Himself. The Cross was at the same time, however, the crowning demonstration of God’s mercy and love to sinners, and those who reject or ignore this love will suffer the sorrows of “the second death,” the “lake of fire.”
Regarding the essential nature of the lake of fire, Dr. Joseph A. Seiss has said: “What that `lake of fire’ is, I cannot tell, I do not know, and I pray I may never find out.” One thing, however, is clear. It is an expression of divine anger over love spurned. Here those who have rejected God’s gracious payment for sin will have to pay the price themselves—and take an eternity to do it.
GOD’S WRATH INFINITE
We are aware of the fact that many people, even many religious leaders, reject the Bible doctrine of everlasting punishment, but their arguments are not valid.
First they fail to recognize the infinite character of sin. If I smite a stranger unprovoked I have committed a grave sin. If I smite a friend, my sin is much more grievous. If I smite my brother, still more so; if my mother, it is multiplied again; if the ruler of my nation, it is multiplied still further and I stand guilty of unspeakable wrongdoing. Yet the stranger, my friend, my brother, my mother, and the ruler of my country are all themselves poor, finite, sinful, dying creatures. It immediately becomes evident, then, that sin against a holy and infinite God takes on infinite proportions, and warrants an infinite penalty.
But second, those who deny eternal punishment fail to recognize the infinite character of God. Strangely, unbelievers are glad to acknowledge that God is infinite in everything except in His wrath against sin. They know He must be infinite in wisdom and power. All one needs is a microscope and a telescope to see that. Generally they also readily agree that He is infinite in love and mercy. But if this is so, must we not conclude that He is infinite and that therefore He must be infinite in every respect and in all His attributes: in wisdom and power, in love and mercy and grace—and in His wrath against sin?
If God’s grace is beyond our finite comprehension, does it not logically follow that this must be equally so with respect to His wrath? Is it not altogether fitting that as we stand amazed at God’s grace, so we should stand aghast at His wrath? Should we revel in His infinite mercy and love, but tone down His wrath to fit our finite notions? Should we rejoice that “God is love,” but ignore the fact that “our God is a consuming fire”? (See I John 4:16; Heb. 12:29).
Does some reader object that in writing thus we are departing from our God-given calling to preach grace? We reply that it is impossible to truly proclaim the grace of God apart from the wrath of God. It is Paul, the apostle of grace who, commenting on a list of sins, warns:
This he repeats in Colossians 3:6 and elsewhere, while in Romans 2:5 he declares that those who are hard and impenitent as to sin “treasure up to themselves wrath against the day of wrath.”
GOD’S WRATH UNDILUTED
But God’s wrath against sin is not only revealed every day, and at the Cross and in the lake of fire; it will also be revealed historically in His dealings with men here on earth. This coming time of God’s wrath will mark the end of the day of man, described in Daniel 2:31-43, and the beginning of “the day of the Lord,” so often referred to in prophecy, and will follow soon after the close of the present “dispensation of the grace of God.”
First God will allow man, with his “clever solutions,” to bring his own troubles to a head, as it were. Man will have his Antichrist (see John 5:43; II Thes. 2:3-12) and seemingly all will go well, until it becomes evident what he has done to them. Then God will begin to intervene directly. Both the prophet Daniel and our Lord described this period of time as one of unprecedented trouble.
These are only two of many Scripture passages on this subject which indicate that the coming “great tribulation” will mark the total collapse of civilization. As we consider the present world-wide spirit of lawlessness and rebellion, and the unbelievably fast pace at which great nations are falling before the forces of evil—as we consider all this, does it not appear that the world is even now racing recklessly toward this very time when God, in His wrath, will finally intervene?
It is the Book of the Revelation, principally, that describes, often by signs and symbols, this dreadful day of God’s wrath. If anything is clear, as we study this book, it is the fact that God does not take sin lightly, especially presumptuous sin. He does not give sin a slap on the wrist, so to speak. Rather, those who have lived on in sin, resisting God’s love and grace, will then have to suffer His undiluted wrath here on earth, long before they are called to appear at the “Great White Throne.”
“Because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved,” says II Thessalonians 2:10, they will be given over to Antichrist, who will deceive them with “power and signs and lying wonders,” and they will “believe a lie,”
Let us see what we find as to this when we turn to the Book of the Revelation.
In Revelation 6:15-17, which describes the conditions existing more than one thousand years before the judgment of the “Great White Throne” (See Rev. 20:6-12), we read these terrible words:
This phrase, “the wrath of the Lamb,” is most significant. Our Lord died as a lamb for our sins, but He arose again and, “rejected of men,” ascended to the Father’s right hand, where the Father welcomed Him with these words:
For nearly 2,000 years now the Son has remained a voluntary Exile, sending His ambassadors forth in grace to offer reconciliation to His enemies. But this will not go on forever. One day, who knows how soon, our Lord will recall His ambassadors and the day of grace will be brought to a close. Then, not many years after, He will be “revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (II Thes. 1:7,8).
It is solemnly significant in Revelation 6:15-17 that even as men see this event approaching they will cry to the rocks and mountains to “fall on them” and hide them from “the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.”
Fearful as all this is to contemplate, it is but a foretaste of the sufferings that the worshippers of Antichrist will have to endure. In Revelation 14:10 we read of every such worshipper:
In that day it will be clear to all that it is not enough merely to be religious, or to “have faith in something or someone,” as we are so often told. Indeed, in Revelation Chapters 16-18 we find God dealing with Babylon, the headquarters of the great ecumenical Church that will emerge after the true Church has been taken to glory. This Church will be composed largely of professed, but apostate “Christians,” who never knew Christ and will then be red-ripe for the worship of Antichrist. Our Lord calls this Church, not “the Bride,” but “the harlot” and “the mother of harlots,” and in Revelation 16:19 we read:
It makes one shudder to read the full account of the fall of Babylon, and to see how God will force the leaders and constituents of this false Church of the future to drink the cup of His wrath.
Let us not suppose, then, that it is enough to belong to some church. The true Church, which will be caught away before this awful time of wrath, is made up solely of those who have been reconciled to God through faith in Christ as their personal Savior from sin.
Finally, in Revelation 19:11-15, we have the actual return of Christ to earth. The symbolism is most expressive.
This time He does not come “meek and lowly,” and “sitting on an ***’s colt.” Rather He appears on “a white horse,” to “judge and make war” (Ver. 11), and the armies of heaven follow Him (Ver. 14). This time He does not go submissively to Calvary. Rather He returns from Calvary with “a vesture dipped [drenched] in blood” (Ver. 13). This time He does not go about in compassion, preaching good news and healing the sick and afflicted. Rather His eyes are “as a flame of fire,” and on His head are “many crowns” (Ver. 12).
Thus, as the Mosaic dispensation demonstrated historically the total depravity of man and his utter inability to obey God’s law, and as the Pauline dispensation demonstrated historically the infinite grace of God to sinners, so the day of God’s wrath, coming before the kingdom reign of Christ, will demonstrate historically that God does not tolerate sin. His wrath against sin is not diluted by leniency, tolerance or indulgence. Men are either “justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24) or they must suffer the just consequences of their sins.
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold [Lit., restrain, or suppress] the truth in unrighteousness” (Rom. 1:18).
Just a casual look at the facts will confirm to us this declaration from God’s Word. His wrath against ungodliness (spiritual wrong) and unrighteousness (moral wrong) is revealed in many ways. Not only does God’s Word say that His anger is kindled against sin, but He visits it, even here and now, with trouble and misery, sorrow and death. Moreover the conscience, when awakened, can so trouble the sinner as to make him completely miserable though no one but he and God know about his sins. So unbearably wretched have some men become about their hidden sins that they have been driven to confess them even though faced with long imprisonment or death.
But God’s wrath against sin is most clearly and solemnly revealed at Calvary’s Cross and in the “lake of fire.”
At Calvary a just and holy God unsheathed His sword and smote even His own beloved Son, as He took our sins upon Himself. The Cross was at the same time, however, the crowning demonstration of God’s mercy and love to sinners, and those who reject or ignore this love will suffer the sorrows of “the second death,” the “lake of fire.”
Regarding the essential nature of the lake of fire, Dr. Joseph A. Seiss has said: “What that `lake of fire’ is, I cannot tell, I do not know, and I pray I may never find out.” One thing, however, is clear. It is an expression of divine anger over love spurned. Here those who have rejected God’s gracious payment for sin will have to pay the price themselves—and take an eternity to do it.
GOD’S WRATH INFINITE
We are aware of the fact that many people, even many religious leaders, reject the Bible doctrine of everlasting punishment, but their arguments are not valid.
First they fail to recognize the infinite character of sin. If I smite a stranger unprovoked I have committed a grave sin. If I smite a friend, my sin is much more grievous. If I smite my brother, still more so; if my mother, it is multiplied again; if the ruler of my nation, it is multiplied still further and I stand guilty of unspeakable wrongdoing. Yet the stranger, my friend, my brother, my mother, and the ruler of my country are all themselves poor, finite, sinful, dying creatures. It immediately becomes evident, then, that sin against a holy and infinite God takes on infinite proportions, and warrants an infinite penalty.
But second, those who deny eternal punishment fail to recognize the infinite character of God. Strangely, unbelievers are glad to acknowledge that God is infinite in everything except in His wrath against sin. They know He must be infinite in wisdom and power. All one needs is a microscope and a telescope to see that. Generally they also readily agree that He is infinite in love and mercy. But if this is so, must we not conclude that He is infinite and that therefore He must be infinite in every respect and in all His attributes: in wisdom and power, in love and mercy and grace—and in His wrath against sin?
If God’s grace is beyond our finite comprehension, does it not logically follow that this must be equally so with respect to His wrath? Is it not altogether fitting that as we stand amazed at God’s grace, so we should stand aghast at His wrath? Should we revel in His infinite mercy and love, but tone down His wrath to fit our finite notions? Should we rejoice that “God is love,” but ignore the fact that “our God is a consuming fire”? (See I John 4:16; Heb. 12:29).
Does some reader object that in writing thus we are departing from our God-given calling to preach grace? We reply that it is impossible to truly proclaim the grace of God apart from the wrath of God. It is Paul, the apostle of grace who, commenting on a list of sins, warns:
“Let no man deceive you with vain words, for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience” (Eph. 5:6).
This he repeats in Colossians 3:6 and elsewhere, while in Romans 2:5 he declares that those who are hard and impenitent as to sin “treasure up to themselves wrath against the day of wrath.”
GOD’S WRATH UNDILUTED
But God’s wrath against sin is not only revealed every day, and at the Cross and in the lake of fire; it will also be revealed historically in His dealings with men here on earth. This coming time of God’s wrath will mark the end of the day of man, described in Daniel 2:31-43, and the beginning of “the day of the Lord,” so often referred to in prophecy, and will follow soon after the close of the present “dispensation of the grace of God.”
First God will allow man, with his “clever solutions,” to bring his own troubles to a head, as it were. Man will have his Antichrist (see John 5:43; II Thes. 2:3-12) and seemingly all will go well, until it becomes evident what he has done to them. Then God will begin to intervene directly. Both the prophet Daniel and our Lord described this period of time as one of unprecedented trouble.
“And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time” (Dan. 12:1).
“For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matt. 24:21).
These are only two of many Scripture passages on this subject which indicate that the coming “great tribulation” will mark the total collapse of civilization. As we consider the present world-wide spirit of lawlessness and rebellion, and the unbelievably fast pace at which great nations are falling before the forces of evil—as we consider all this, does it not appear that the world is even now racing recklessly toward this very time when God, in His wrath, will finally intervene?
It is the Book of the Revelation, principally, that describes, often by signs and symbols, this dreadful day of God’s wrath. If anything is clear, as we study this book, it is the fact that God does not take sin lightly, especially presumptuous sin. He does not give sin a slap on the wrist, so to speak. Rather, those who have lived on in sin, resisting God’s love and grace, will then have to suffer His undiluted wrath here on earth, long before they are called to appear at the “Great White Throne.”
“Because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved,” says II Thessalonians 2:10, they will be given over to Antichrist, who will deceive them with “power and signs and lying wonders,” and they will “believe a lie,”
“That they all might be ****ed [Lit., judged] who believed not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (II Thes. 2:12).
Let us see what we find as to this when we turn to the Book of the Revelation.
In Revelation 6:15-17, which describes the conditions existing more than one thousand years before the judgment of the “Great White Throne” (See Rev. 20:6-12), we read these terrible words:
“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 freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
“And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
“For the great day of His wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand?”
This phrase, “the wrath of the Lamb,” is most significant. Our Lord died as a lamb for our sins, but He arose again and, “rejected of men,” ascended to the Father’s right hand, where the Father welcomed Him with these words:
“Sit Thou at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool” (Psa. 110:1 cf. Acts 2:32-38).
For nearly 2,000 years now the Son has remained a voluntary Exile, sending His ambassadors forth in grace to offer reconciliation to His enemies. But this will not go on forever. One day, who knows how soon, our Lord will recall His ambassadors and the day of grace will be brought to a close. Then, not many years after, He will be “revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (II Thes. 1:7,8).
It is solemnly significant in Revelation 6:15-17 that even as men see this event approaching they will cry to the rocks and mountains to “fall on them” and hide them from “the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.”
Fearful as all this is to contemplate, it is but a foretaste of the sufferings that the worshippers of Antichrist will have to endure. In Revelation 14:10 we read of every such worshipper:
“The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation.”
In that day it will be clear to all that it is not enough merely to be religious, or to “have faith in something or someone,” as we are so often told. Indeed, in Revelation Chapters 16-18 we find God dealing with Babylon, the headquarters of the great ecumenical Church that will emerge after the true Church has been taken to glory. This Church will be composed largely of professed, but apostate “Christians,” who never knew Christ and will then be red-ripe for the worship of Antichrist. Our Lord calls this Church, not “the Bride,” but “the harlot” and “the mother of harlots,” and in Revelation 16:19 we read:
“And great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.”
It makes one shudder to read the full account of the fall of Babylon, and to see how God will force the leaders and constituents of this false Church of the future to drink the cup of His wrath.
Let us not suppose, then, that it is enough to belong to some church. The true Church, which will be caught away before this awful time of wrath, is made up solely of those who have been reconciled to God through faith in Christ as their personal Savior from sin.
Finally, in Revelation 19:11-15, we have the actual return of Christ to earth. The symbolism is most expressive.
This time He does not come “meek and lowly,” and “sitting on an ***’s colt.” Rather He appears on “a white horse,” to “judge and make war” (Ver. 11), and the armies of heaven follow Him (Ver. 14). This time He does not go submissively to Calvary. Rather He returns from Calvary with “a vesture dipped [drenched] in blood” (Ver. 13). This time He does not go about in compassion, preaching good news and healing the sick and afflicted. Rather His eyes are “as a flame of fire,” and on His head are “many crowns” (Ver. 12).
“And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations; and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of almighty God” (Ver. 15).
Thus, as the Mosaic dispensation demonstrated historically the total depravity of man and his utter inability to obey God’s law, and as the Pauline dispensation demonstrated historically the infinite grace of God to sinners, so the day of God’s wrath, coming before the kingdom reign of Christ, will demonstrate historically that God does not tolerate sin. His wrath against sin is not diluted by leniency, tolerance or indulgence. Men are either “justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24) or they must suffer the just consequences of their sins.
Last edited: