The Wrath Of God-How Is It Described? Part I Series

"THE WRATH OF GOD-HOW IS IT DESCRIBED?

(Part I)

In II Peter 3:7,10,12 the Lord gives us a vivid portrait of the fiery destruction of the heavens and the planet earth which is the direct result of the wrath of God/Day of the Lord judgment!

"But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men...But the Day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up...Looking for and hasting unto the coming Day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat."

This great climactic judgment from God is characterized by Peter as an intense consuming fire purging the very elements/atoms that make up the heavens and the planet earth. This side of God’s character is one that we shy away from choosing instead to see Him as the merciful, loving and compassionate God of redemption.

However, His righteousness and justice require that sin must be dealt with and it is the God who is a "Consuming Fire" (Hebrews 12:29) that will bring this final fiery judgment on the rebellious Jews and Gentiles alike including the heavens and earth during the destructive, end-times Day of the Lord!

This "day of judgment" as Peter also calls it, is detailed further in the trumpet and bowl judgments of the book of Revelation. The angels, beginning in Revelation chapter eight, are directed by God to carry out His Day of the Lord trumpet judgments:

"And when He had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour: And I saw the seven angels which stood before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer...And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth...The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth; and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up. And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire...And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers..."(Revelation 8:2-10).

These devastating judgments, effecting 1/3 of the planet’s trees, seas, sea creatures, ships, and rivers, all green grass and multitudes of mankind, are the results of the ravaging fire and burning which will consume and destroy completely the objects they are unleashed upon!

Fire, fire mingled with blood and burning are words that portray a painful and devastating picture of these first three horrendous trumpet judgments! Even the imagination of man is incapable of envisioning such devastation, for the awesome destruction associated with the end of World War II in the atomic bomb attacks of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan although somewhat similar in devastation, did not equal the worldwide destruction which is here described.

The horrible thought that multitudes of men, women and children will experience the fierce wrath of God should be a real motivating factor causing the believer to be witnessing of the grace of God that is now available to all who will repent and believe! The Lord Jesus Christ died for all mankind that they might know Him and not have to go through this terrible time of God’s Day of the Lord wrath. "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he that wins souls is wise" (Proverbs 11:30). May we, with the wisdom of God win many to Him, before it is too late!

The fourth trumpet judgment begins as "the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise."(Revelation 8:12) The tragic outcome of the sun’s darkening for this length of time will be devastating. Four or five hours of no natural light or heat during the day will have a debilitating effect on the planet.

Weather, plants and animals will be adversely effected causing unusual storm patterns, natural growth of crops will be hindered, and the confusion among all animal life will be severe not to mention the extraordinary impact it will have on all mankind. It will be obvious by this time that God is the cause of these supernatural phenomenal occurrences, and although the majority will not repent, there will be those that will turn to the Lord and be saved! "A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God" (Isaiah 10:22,23) and not only Jews but also Gentiles: "the sons of the strangers (foreigners) who join themselves to the Lord" (Isaiah 56:6).