Biblical Forensics©
“Deliverance before Judgment”
Part 3
The Great Tribulation was not something brought about by recent thinking and understanding. It is important to acknowledge that the Old Testament prophets wrote incessantly about a future time of trouble. Isaiah's long ministry ranged from about 740 to 680 B.C. -(Isa 1:1), and the book of Isaiah no doubt contains prophetic writings written throughout this period. He writes: “Behold, the name of Jehovah comes from far, burning with His anger, and uplifting of smoke; His lips are full of fury, and His tongue like a devouring fire. And like an overflowing stream, His breath shall reach to the middle of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity. And a bridle will be in the jaws of the people, causing them to go astray. You shall have a song, as in the keeping of a holy feast night; and gladness of heart, as when one goes with a flute to come into the mountain of Jehovah, to the mighty One of Israel. And Jehovah shall cause His glorious voice to be heard, and the bringing down of His arm shall be seen with raging anger and flame of a devouring fire, cloudburst and storm and hailstones. For through the voice of Jehovah, the Assyrian shall be beaten down, who struck with a rod.”
-(Isaiah 30:27-31). In this prophecy, Isaiah speaks of the Creator’s indignation against the Assyrian, of His anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones. Common reasoning treats the prophets as just men for their time period, without recognizing that prophecies can and often do apply to the future, reaching sometimes all the way to the present time. This rationale is something that overlooks the often dual nature of prophecy. Biblical prophecy can have multiple meanings and fulfillments.
Such language has no kinship with what we understand as tribulation. Rather, the Great Tribulation is the consummate fury of a holy God who has given perfect judicial opportunity for man’s redemption. Now, His spurned holiness has become a full cup and He will march through His creation to cleanse it of every defilement. It is indeed a beautiful sight to see the glory of God in holiness as He goes forth to punish and purify His Earth.
Imagine a courtroom scene in which a white-haired judge listens to the cries of a mother, whose daughter’s life was snuffed out after having been ravaged by a maniacal man. The mother is absolutely devastated, the innocent life of her beautiful young daughter destroyed needlessly. The mother wonders if there is any justice in this world. Finally, the evidence is completely clear, and the perpetrator is guilty beyond question. Hell has spewed its damaging fire on another home, but the Judge sees the truth in the mounds of evidence that was presented. He finally and emphatically declares his verdict: Guilty! Death by hanging at sunrise the next morning! The grieving mother tearfully rises from her seat and with strong conviction leaves the courtroom. Her entire persona finally relaxes into relief as she realizes justice has won the day. Her daughter did not die in vain. A serial killer will never kill again. After months of torment, she can finally sleep with a deep abiding sense of peace.
Herein lies the beauty of this day when God executes his vengeance upon a world of ungodly people. Evil has stalked the land like a thousand, million rapists. A night of dark deeds has permeated the world of mankind with deep sorrows. Good people have been subjected to endless attacks because they chose to be different. Sin has no satisfaction except in destruction, but now the Supreme Judge of all creation will foreclose on this beast and put him out of business. It’s a beautiful sight indeed to see the Light of the World coming with justice to destroy the darkness and bring the earth back into harmony.
Judgment marches relentlessly forward because humanity has rejected His Son, the Lord Jesus and God’s sole Redeemer! This is the “unpardonable sin” spoken of in Scripture. In other words, today the “unpardonable sin” is that of continued unbelief. There can be no pardon for a person who dies in his rejection of Christ. The Holy Spirit is at work in the world, convicting the unsaved of sin, righteousness, and judgment -(John 16:8). If a person resists that conviction and remains unrepentant, then he is choosing hell over heaven. “Without faith it is impossible to please God” -(Hebrews 11:6), and the object of faith is Jesus -(Acts 16:31). There is no forgiveness for someone who dies without faith in Christ.
This terrible day of Tribulation has an ultimate purpose beyond the earlier description. Our Holy Heavenly Father hates sin. That fact is not debatable. In fact, He hates it so much that He gave His Only Son to save the world from sin and its consequences. Now, most of the world has rejected God’s Only Begotten Son and has chosen instead to take a thousand paths other than the one that streams from Calvary. God will judge the world because it has rejected His Son and His ultimate love for His creation. Jesus describes this judgment Himself in Matthew: “And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables, and said, “The kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king who made a marriage for his son. And he sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they would not come. Again he sent out other servants, saying, Tell those who are invited, Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatlings are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the marriage. But not caring, they went their ways, one to his field, another to his trading. And the rest took his servants and treated them spitefully, and killed them. But when the king heard, he was angry. And he sent out his armies and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.” -(Matthew 22:1-7).
When the portrayal of this event Jesus calls the “Great Tribulation” is understood Biblically, it bears no resemblance to the present tribulation that all believers endure to some degree. The gas chambers of Hitler were hell on Earth and snuffed out millions of lives. Tens of millions have died during the two great wars alone. But this judgment that is coming is not the death of men that will yet be raised in resurrection to face God in judgment. This tribulation is the wrath of God Himself to which there are no claims to be made for higher appeal.
What I am about to say next is extremely important for those of you who are Bible-believing ‘born again’ Christians. There is no place in Scripture where this day can be identified as affecting the Godly servants of the Lord. Whenever the Old Testament prophets spoke of judgment, they always declared that God provided a haven for the righteous. Isaiah spoke of “a day of indignation”. He clearly revealed that provisions of the Lord were made for the saints. Examples: Isaiah 10:5; 10:25; 13:3; 26.20; 30:27; 30:30; 34:2; and 66:14
This fact not withstanding many will tell you that the believer will go through part or all of the Great Tribulation. The people who say such, be they laity or religious leaders, are not being truthful. They either lie or are deceived by ignorance. The situation evolves into nothing more than the blind leading the blind. Unfortunately, the blind become unwittingly used by Satan when they spread and perpetuate the lies that they themselves bought into. These are people, who for various reasons do not understand God's Word, its meaning, its message, or its overall purpose. They may or may not be encouraged to develop strong study skills or read their own Bible regularly. Instead they may be ensured a better understand can be enjoyed by reading Church literature explaining Church interpretations and doctrines on Scripture teachings. They include:
1. Those untrained in the Biblical languages of Greek or Hebrew.
2. People who fit the masochistic demeanor.
3. People who cannot differentiate between the meaning of wrath and grace.
4. People who feel they have to merit God's salvation.
5. People who do not or cannot maintain balance of the grand theme of the Bible.
6. People that have been hammered with the idea that God is a mean or evil taskmaster.
7. People who want to make the idea of salvation something they have to participate in.
This is just a partial picture of the struggle that can be had in the search for truths found in Scripture. Among this list description one will always find either current or former followers of Seventh Day Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, and Catholics. Some may not fully believe the Bible is an inspired work of God. Former cult members may be among this group. They have been indoctrinated by others who give the appearance of being "super-spiritual"! Many are threatened using a variety of fear tactics suggesting damnation or being led astray if they consider reading literature other than that approved by these organizations.
I could stop right here and say no more; however, in the time we have left until the Rapture, I will continue to provide an exhaustive comprehensive overview of the Word of God on this theme of “Deliverance before Judgment”. Let me encourage the reader to participate with me in this endeavor by sharing copies of this series with your friends, be they believers or otherwise.
God revealed to Isaiah, “Your dead ones shall live, together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust; for your dew is as the dew of lights, and the earth shall cast out the dead. Come, my people, enter into your rooms and shut your doors around you; hide for a little moment, until the fury has passed by. For behold, Jehovah comes out of His place to punish the people of the earth for their iniquity; the earth also shall reveal her blood, and shall no more cover her dead.” -(Isaiah 26:19-21).
Such language leaves no question that our God never includes a judgement of the righteous along with the wicked. Malachi spoke of this care, which the Father provided for His own, “Then those fearing Jehovah spoke together, each man to his neighbor. And Jehovah listened and heard. And a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who feared Jehovah, and for those esteeming His name. And they shall be Mine, says Jehovah of Hosts, for the day that I will make up My treasure. And I will pity them as a man has pity on his son who serves him. Then you shall again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between him who serves God, and him who does not serve Him.” -(Malachi 3:16-18).
The Holy Scriptures are filled with this unmistakable difference describing a God who makes a clear distinction between the holy and the unholy. “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord” -(Genesis 6:8). God would eventually come to vent His wrath on the antediluvian world of a wayward civilization. The ark became his haven above the storm. Lot was told by angels, “Hurry and escape there! For I cannot do anything till you have come there.” --(Genesis 19:22a). Can you imagine the angels saying, “I cannot do anything till you have come there?” It is impossible in God’s kingdom of judicial perfection for a righteous person to be treated as an unrighteous individual. The God of the Earth will do it right when he cleanses the world of evil once again and for all time!
The Apostle Paul identifies the Wrath of God in his inspired writings. This wrath is a specific action by the Creator. It is always limited to and directed towards a very specific, narrow concentration of transgressors. The Apostle Paul stated, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness”. -(Romans 1:18).
Paul speaks of a specific day – “a day of wrath” – which was to be manifest at a future time: “But according to your hardness and your impenitent heart, do you treasure up wrath for yourself in a day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each according to his works;” -(Romans 2:5-6).
There can be no question, the Biblical record is crystal clear. The “Great Tribulation”, which Jesus Christ spoke of is identical to the same period, which commences and is described in Revelation chapter 6. The Apostle John calls this period the “Day of Wrath”. “And they said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him sitting on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of His wrath has come, and who will be able to stand?” (Revelation 6:16-17). The Scriptures is abundantly clear: The Day of Wrath and the Great Tribulation period are one and the same event in God’s economy.
Pastor Bob