Chapter 5 – THE WRATH OF GOD

Duration: At least 5 months | 150 Days (Rev. 9:5, 10)
Timing: Immediately following the tribulation (Mt 24:29)
Key Scriptures: Rev. 6, 8, 9, 15, 16; MT 24:29; Dan. 12:12; Joel 2; Micah 1:3-4; Habakkuk 3

As we go through this chapter on God’s Wrath, it is important for us to recognize one vital distinction regarding God’s Wrath. I say distinction, because there are apparently two kinds of wrath that God delivers: Temporary and Eternal.

This chapter will deal with God’s TEMPORARY Wrath. By Temporary, I mean that the wrath event is for a period of time. This could be a short time (and usually is), or it could be for a long time (as with the Jews being spread out around the world from the 1^st century until the 20^th century). 

As we study His acts of Temporary Wrath in this chapter, notice how each element is temporary in nature. And contrast these with His act of Eternal Wrath, which is meted out in the Final Judgment. Also, we are not going to look at all of His wrath events throughout time; just certain key events in the last days.

God’s ETERNAL Wrath is initiated only twice, but it lasts forever. First, He sends those who take the Mark of the Beast directly to the Lake of Fire at the beginning of the Millennium (separation of the Sheep and Goats). The Final Judgment is at the end of the Millennium, while He is on His Great White Throne of Judgment. When He finally judges the people who never accepted His plan of salvation and He proclaims them guilty, He will throw them into the Lake of Fire from which there is no escape for all eternity. Saints do not receive judgment (see John 3:18).

In addition to seeing how God’s Wrath is split into these two types, it is also of note to see that He doles out His wrath on three types of recipients: Individuals; Groups or Nations; or the Entire World. Since groups, nations, and the world are inherently temporary, any wrath poured out on these will necessarily be temporary as well. Only individuals will experience His Eternal Wrath. Just as eternal salvation is personal, so too is eternal judgment.

Note: Even though God permanently destroys the earth after the millennium, this is not considered wrath upon the entire world because by then many billions have been saved from His eternal wrath.

Another important point regarding God’s Wrath is that His Temporary Wrath allows for repentance – and is usually designed to accomplish this. But His Eternal Wrath offers no repentance. By then it is too late to repent.

Lastly, the word “judgment” can be used for either temporary wrath or eternal, along with any of the other synonyms of wrath (anger, rage, fury, indignation, vengeance, etc.).

Why this teaching regarding God’s Wrath is not widespread is a mystery to me. It seems to me to be an important thing to keep in mind.  Anyway, with the above important distinctions in mind, let’s now look at God’s Temporary acts of Wrath in the Last Days.

Revelation 6:¹² When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, ¹³ and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. ¹⁴ The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. ¹⁵ Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave [servant] and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, ¹⁶ calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, ¹⁷ for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

For many of us, it is difficult to think of Christ as raging against the nations in acts of unspeakable destruction. After all, when He arrived for His First Advent, He came as a baby, born of a teenage virgin. And apart from a few isolated displays of anger, such as in the temple and when arguing with the religious criminals, He presented Himself as extremely loving, peaceful and gracious. He miraculously healed people and brought them back from the dead. He showed us His loving side. However, when He returns for His Second Advent, He is going to show us His righteous side, with boiling righteous indignation at the incessant sin of man. 

Already, most people in the world ignore Him on a daily basis, but when He shows Himself to the world, He will demand our attention. There will be no mistake that the calamities assailing the earth are at His hand.

At this point, I’d like to share with you a mental image I have in mind of what God’s Wrath might look like. I see it, primarily, as a shotgun blast of stellar objects (meteorites, meteors or asteroids), which emit a caustic red substance that poisons water and causes painful sores on skin upon contact. These would also spread fire upon impact with land. Their barrage would send massive amounts of matter (smoke, dust, debris) high into the atmosphere, causing the Sun, Moon and stars to be blotted out (obscured). Then, to round it out, throw in a coronal mass ejection (CME), utter darkness over the seat of Satan’s kingdom, locusts that are driven to attack only those who are not God’s people, and a massive, worldwide earthquake that devastates even mountains and islands (dare I add tsunamis and volcanoes, as well?). Needless to say, all the people of earth will be in great dismay, if they see these events. 

Also, everyone on earth will be able to see Him in full glory as He appears in the sky with His angel armies. But I’ll talk more about this in the next chapter. For now, I’ll just say that I don’t know exactly when we will see Him in the sky. Will He send His barrage of asteroids and meteorites just ahead of Him? Will He get our attention with these flaming balls from outer space just before showing Himself to us? The Bible isn’t clear on just when we will first see Him in the sky (next to Pluto or above Jerusalem in the atmosphere), but it definitely alludes to Him being present during His End Times wrath.

Zechariah 9:¹⁴ Then the Lord will appear over them,
    and his arrow will go forth like lightning;
the Lord God will sound the trumpet
    and will march forth in the whirlwinds of the south.

Many commentators express a belief that the entire seven-year tribulation period is a time of God’s Wrath. I believe this position to be incorrect. As already shown previously in the Great Tribulation, there is a distinct and vast difference between the wrath of God (on a global, planetary scale) and the wrath of Satan (in the form of war and violent acts of terror). And while I don’t consider the acts of the Two Witnesses to be God’s Wrath, I do think that they and Christ are working together. I mean, this should be obvious by the supernatural nature of their abilities. But they will be acting, I believe, in the Great Tribulation. Perhaps they’ll be the warm-up act, just before the main event (Jesus Christ’s arrival in full power and wrath) is seen in the sky.

In the Olivet Discourse, our Lord presented the timing of the events of the last days. In His broad summary, He included the wrath of God by citing familiar prophetic phrasing that refers to that catastrophic sequence of events. Here is what He said (note the correlation with Rev 6:12-13 above):

Matthew 24:²⁹ “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”

This particular statement about the Sun, Moon, stars and powers makes an obvious connection to the Day of the Lord, which includes His wrath, return, millennial reign, and consequent judgment. To illustrate, if you heard the New York mayor talk about a “9/11” type of event, you’d know exactly what he was talking about due to the mental image it conjures in your mind. I think that the same is true here. Is it a direct statement that is literal in nature? No. Is it clear? Yes. Read these other references to the Day of the Lord to see how familiar this phrase would have been to the Jewish reader in the first century AD (see Amos 5, Isaiah 13, 60, Joel 3, Ezekiel 32 (another act of God’s Wrath), and Joel chapter 2):

Joel 2:³¹ The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.

With the verses that describe the Day of the Lord as being a day of His wrath, the connection of these celestial events (involving the Sun, Moon and stars) to that day is virtually undeniable. 

Also, the connection between God’s Wrath against Egypt and these End Times events makes it clear in my mind that Jesus was alluding to God’s Wrath in Matthew 24:29.

In Peter’s speech on the day of Pentecost, he quoted the prophet Joel with a message that agrees with Christ’s timing of these things. First the sun grows dark and the moon turns to “blood” and then the Day of the Lord is seen. Acts 2:21 is important to remind us that salvation awaits those who call upon the name of the Lord; not that we will be saved from the tribulation.

Therefore, it is obvious to me that in Matthew 24:29 Jesus is telling us that God’s Wrath will occur IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING the seven-year tribulation (not during it). This is an important reason why the tribulation cannot be His wrath. This is reinforced by the descriptions of God’s Wrath found in the book of Revelation:

• The sun will be darkened – 1^st and 4^th Trumpets
  Revelation 8:12
• The moon will not give its light – 4^th Trumpet
  Revelation 8:12
• The stars will fall from heaven – 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd Trumpets
  Revelation 8:7-8, 10; 16:21
• The powers of the heavens will be shaken – 7^th Trumpet, 5^th and 7^th Bowls
  Revelation 16:10; 11:15-19; 16:17-21

Will God’s Wrath destroy the world? Is this the end of the world? If we are not careful about how we read the Bible, we might think so.

2 Peter 3:¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

Peter here seems to be saying that the Great Judgment and the destruction of this universe will be after the Day of the Lord. And since the Day of the Lord includes His acts of wrath, which occurs prior to His millennial reign, the world will not be destroyed by his temporary wrath. It will not be until after the Great White Throne of Judgment that this happens. There will be more on this in the chapter on the Judgment.

Acts 2:¹⁹ “And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; ²⁰ the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. ²¹ And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” 

In the excerpt above from Peter’s sermon at Pentecost, his timeline agrees with that of Christ. However, Peter seems to be saying that God’s Wrath precedes the Day of the Lord, while I’ve been saying that the Day of the Lord includes God’s Wrath. Well, could it be that Peter is more concerned with the Lord’s appearing in the sky than with His wrath? It’s because of Acts 2:19-21 (and other scriptures) that I think Christ will show up in the sky during His wrath. In other words, His wrath will have already commenced before we see Him above the earth. It’s this seamless blending from one event to another (like God’s Wrath to the Lord’s Return) that we begin to get confused about the timing of things. If we look at things in the big picture, perhaps we will start to see how it isn’t possible to show clear, distinct separations between events all of the time.  And perhaps this is one reason why we have so many versions of End Times events among the believers.

Isaiah put it this way:

Isaiah 26:²⁰ Go home, my people,
    and lock your doors!
Hide yourselves for a little while
    until the Lord’s anger has passed.
²¹ Look! The Lord is coming from heaven
    to punish the people of the earth for their sins.
The earth will no longer hide those who have been killed.
    They will be brought out for all to see. (NLT)

 When we think back to the events of THE TRIBULATION (chapter 2), those events, in contrast, did not involve acts of God as described here. They were acts of warfare and terror, or their effects. Additionally, those events were attributed to Satan and his followers in Revelation. 

Revelation 12:¹¹ And they [the brethren] have conquered him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death… ¹⁷ Then the dragon [Satan] became furious with the woman [the Jews] and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus [Christians]. And he stood on the sand of the sea. 

Revelation 13:⁵ And the beast [antichrist] was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months [1,260 days]. ⁶ It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. ⁷ Also it was allowed to make war on the saints [Christians] and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, ⁸ and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. ⁹ If anyone has an ear, let him hear:

¹⁰ If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain. 

Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.

So, the main points here are that:

• The Tribulation is not God’s Wrath
• God’s Wrath immediately follows the Tribulation

A clear understanding of the part that Christians play in the Great Tribulation makes any attempt at a pretribulational rapture of the Church spurious, no matter how many ways it is explained. Likewise, a clear understanding of the nature of God’s Wrath makes any attempt to show the Great Tribulation as an act of God’s wrath just as lacking. It is recommended for the reader to allow the Word of God to speak – without muddling it with the din of men, who may wish to explain away that which frightens them.

We should also see that the Wrath of God is actually the Wrath of Christ. I am now of the opinion that the Lord returns in the very midst of His wrath; that the world will literally see with the naked eye Jesus Christ in the sky unleashing His fury at the unbelievers in the world who have persecuted His faithful and defamed His holy name.

I am NOT saying that His return to earth occurs at this time (that is, His physical touching down on dirt). I’m saying that He will be visible in the sky. For the purposes of this doctrine, “Return” means that Jesus sets foot on solid ground; not, being visible to the inhabitants of earth. 

Habakkuk 3:¹² You marched through the earth in fury; you threshed the nations in anger.

And we will hear Him as well as see Him (along with His angel armies).

Joel 2:¹¹ The Lord utters his voice before his army, for his camp is exceedingly great; he who executes his word is powerful. For the day of the Lord is great and very awesome; who can endure it?

His angels are also shouting to the world below:

Revelation 14:⁶ And I saw another angel flying through the sky, carrying the eternal Good News to proclaim to the people who belong to this world—to every nation, tribe, language, and people. ⁷ “Fear God,” he shouted. “Give glory to him. For the time has come when he will sit as judge. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all the springs of water.”

⁸ Then another angel followed him through the sky, shouting, “Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen—because she made all the nations of the world drink the wine of her passionate immorality.”

⁹ Then a third angel followed them, shouting, “Anyone who worships the beast and his statue or who accepts his mark on the forehead or on the hand ¹⁰ must drink the wine of God’s anger. It has been poured full strength into God’s cup of wrath. And they will be tormented with fire and burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb. ¹¹ The smoke of their torment will rise forever and ever, and they will have no relief day or night, for they have worshiped the beast and his statue and have accepted the mark of his name.”

Duration

Now that we know when God’s Wrath starts, and that it is not during the tribulation, we should wonder how long it will last. To find this out, we look to the prophecies of Revelation. Of all of the events of God’s Wrath recorded by John (hailstones, meteors, atmospheric obscurations, sea life dying, etc.), only one has a clear-cut duration. This is the account of the locusts in Revelation 9 – the 5^th Trumpet. 

Revelation 9:⁵ “They [the locusts] were allowed to torment them [the people who do not have the seal of God] for five months…¹⁰ They have tails and stings like scorpions, and their power to hurt people for five months is in their tails.” 

None of the other events is presented with a length of duration. Plus, there is no reason we should not expect some of the events to be simultaneous or overlapping. 

For the longest time, I viewed the End Times events as being neatly contained within blocks of time. The Early Tribulation, 3-½ years, the Great Tribulation, 3-½ years, each event was a stand-alone event with a sharp delineation between it and the others before and after. God’s Wrath, in my mind, had to end before His arrival to the earth. But now I see things differently. There is no clear distinction between Christ’s wrath and His return. After all, Jesus said that no one knows the day or the hour of His return (Mt 24:36). The easiest and simplest explanation is that we don’t know how many days and hours He will carry out His arial campaign before touching down on the Mt. of Olives. And we don’t know exactly when He will snatch us up during His wrath as a rapture.

I now see a merge, a gradient if you will, where it is impossible to see where Jesus’ wrath ends and His arrival begins (at least, until He sets foot on the ground). However, I do think that we have a clue as to how this will all play out. As I’ve already mentioned, I think that everyone on earth will see Jesus in the sky when He unleashes His wrath upon them. For most people, that will be a terrifying sight indeed. But for those who are to be saved from their sins, it will be a glorious sight. And the climax of it all will be when He pulls His faithful up into the clouds to be with Him, safely above the continuing calamity on the surface. All that remains then would be clean up at Megiddo.

I don’t mean to get ahead of myself here, since these things are discussed later in this study, but I just want to mention that Daniel has a clue for us to look at. In Daniel 12:12 we read the following: “Blessed is he who waits and arrives at the 1,335 days.” 

We’ve already seen how many days the tribulation lasts. Its total duration is 2,520 days, or 7 years according to Daniel. We also saw how the Great Tribulation will begin at the 1,260^th day and continue for the remaining 1,260 days. Now here’s our clue: beginning at the same day that the Great Tribulation starts, we count 1,335 days for something that will be a blessing. Keep in mind that this is during the 5 months or more of God’s Wrath. 5 months, using the prophetic way of counting days (30 per month) would give us 150 days of wrath. If we subtract 1,260 from 1,335 we get 75 days. Interestingly, 75 is half of 150. Looking at our clue with this in mind, we see that halfway through God’s Wrath we might have the blessed climax of our salvation: the glorification of the saints (when we are transformed). Dunno for sure.

Hopefully, this is not too much of a leap of logic for the reader. After all, Jesus told us in Matthew 24:29-31,

 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”

I really don’t want to cover the entire return of Christ, the resurrection and the rapture all at once in this discussion of God’s Wrath, but I do want us to keep this in mind and see that God’s Wrath may be in full swing when the saints are “blessed”. I call this view the “Mid Wrath” view of the rapture. Still posttrib, but sometime during God’s Wrath.

Justification

God shows us the reasons why He inflicts His wrath upon the earth. Partly, He’s doling out His vengeance on our behalf (the Cry of the Martyrs). But, of course, there are many verses in the Old and New Testaments that speak to His justification for punishing the world (I’ll just show a few).

Revelation 6:⁹ When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. ¹⁰ They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” ¹¹ Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants [fellow bondservants] and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been. 

So we see that the cry of the martyrs has something to do with why He sends His wrath.  And in the next chapter of Revelation (chapter 7) we see a vast gathering of Christ’s faithful who died in the Great Tribulation. Then in chapter 8 we read of John’s vision regarding the commencement of God’s Wrath. It would seem that it’s on behalf of the prayers of the saints that he hurls His wrath upon the world.

Revelation 8:¹ When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. ² Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. ³ And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, ⁴ and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. ⁵ Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, [or voices, or sounds] flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

And do you remember this verse? 

Romans 12:¹⁹ Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

And I also think that an argument could be made that He is both saving the Jews and punishing them with His wrath at his arrival.

Micah1:² Hear, you peoples, all of you;
    pay attention, O earth, and all that is in it,
and let the Lord God be a witness against you,
    the Lord from his holy temple.
³ For behold, the Lord is coming out of his place,
    and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth.
⁴ And the mountains will melt under him,
    and the valleys will split open,
like wax before the fire,
    like waters poured down a steep place.
⁵ All this is for the transgression of Jacob
    and for the sins of the house of Israel.

That seems to make it pretty clear that God’s Wrath is at least partly executed due to the sins of Israel.

But of course that’s not the end of the story. When He returns to Israel and sets up His kingdom, He will protect His chosen nation from any and all threats upon them. In this regard, the millennial kingdom is a kingdom of salvation; not eternal salvation, just salvation from oppression and war.

Zephaniah 3:¹⁴ Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel!

Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!

¹⁵ The Lord has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil.

¹⁶ On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak.

¹⁷ The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

¹⁸ I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival, so that you will no longer suffer reproach.

¹⁹ Behold, at that time I will deal with all your oppressors.

And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth.

²⁰ At that time I will bring you in, at the time when I gather you together; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes,” says the Lord.

And so God’s Wrath is poured out on this rebellious planet for two main reasons: To punish a sinful human race; and to save His faithful followers. And Israel is embodied by both.

Trumpets and Bowls

In the book of Revelation, we see the accounts of John’s visions of God’s Wrath. These visions were given to him on the isle of Patmos by the Lord, Jeshua (Jesus). In the book, the visions of the trumpets are presented before those of the bowls, but there is no reason to deny that they are happening simultaneously or even in a different order. 

If we approach the book of Revelation as a strict chronological timeline of the events shown (as a whole), we will come away very confused. Instead, we should see John’s writings as they are – accounts of visions. Whether these visions (and their events) occur in the order that they are given to John is to be carefully scrutinized. For example, back when we read the accounts of the opening of the seals, we saw that the visions showed a broad overview of these End Times events. Obviously, the seals are not chronologically oriented with the trumpets and bowls, otherwise, there would be no hope of making sense of these things. Still, there are chronological elements to the visions.

For a chronology of the last days, we have two discourses from Jesus that pretty much lay everything out in order for us: The Olivet Discourse (Mt 24, Mk 13, Lk 21) and the Seven Seals (Rev 6 & 8). If you want a chronology of these events, those two passages are the best places to start. They both agree with each other but also show different details. The seals take us up to the beginning of His wrath and the Olivet Discourse takes us beyond the start of His wrath up to the gathering of the saints (mid wrath). When constructing a timeline, this is where I go first. It has served me well in understanding the timing of all of these things. This is key in making the End Times Easy to understand. 

The prologue to the trumpets (Rev. 8:1-5 above, under Justification) is another example of how we will get confused by trying to force a chronological timeline onto these accounts of the end in Revelation. Notice that it appears prior to the prologue of the bowls of God’s Wrath in the book, yet the bowls of God’s Wrath actually occur prior to the return of the Lord (according to the Olivet Discourse). Do we really want to believe that the Lord’s return precedes God’s Wrath? 

Likewise, when we read the visions of the trumpets and the bowls (below), we should carefully consider their relationship with each other. We should not automatically assume a strict chronological timeline that these events fall neatly into. Neither should we automatically deny it.

Instead, we should think about what is actually happening in the vision. What does it look like to you if seen in a plain-meaning fashion? We are modern people with millennia of history and knowledge at our fingertips. We have scientific means of observing the world and the cosmos. We should use all of the tools and knowledge available to us in this modern age to consider what we are being shown in these visions that were given to a man in the first century. We also recognize that it is nearly impossible to capture into words the timeline and intricate relation of certain strange visions that are of a spiritual nature, yet signify real world events. Especially to the mind of the early prophet or even the first century apostle.

As we go through each of these visions, the text may be best served, at times, by seeing the trumpets as heralding the events of the bowls, and the bowls completing the trumpets. Now, this will not work with all of the events, but some of them work quite well when we follow this rule. This is certainly a better approach than putting all of the trumpets before the first bowl, which is how they appear in the book. With this in mind, let’s now look at the events of God’s Wrath in His Revelation.

We will start with the prologue to the bowls of God’s Wrath. Although it is given before the accounts of the bowls (after the trumpets), it works well with the trumpets too.

I’ll not comment on every detail. Otherwise this study would zoom to twice its intended volume. I’ll just show most of the text and only comment very sparsely.

Revelation 15:¹ Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished.

² And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. ³ And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,

“Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways,

    O King of the nations! ⁴ Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy.

    All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

⁵ After this I looked, and the sanctuary of the tent [tabernacle] of witness in heaven was opened, ⁶ and out of the sanctuary came the seven angels with the seven plagues, clothed in pure, bright linen, with golden sashes around their chests. ⁷ And one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever, ⁸ and the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.

First Trumpet / First Bowl

Revelation 8:⁶ Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.

⁷ The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.

Revelation 16:¹ Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”

² So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.

If the 1^st bowl is a completion of the 1^st trumpet, then we could surmise that the 1^st trumpet describes a truly massive meteor shower upon the earth, unlike any ever seen before. These meteorites would have the following properties: fire (which of course is associated with all meteors, however is spread upon impact here); a reddish composition, which may be flammable and caustic. I say caustic because of the 1^st bowl – “sores came upon people” – and because of what will follow.

Now it should also be observed that the sores only broke out on those who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. This tells me that the Lord will protect His people from at least that property of these meteorites. (And by extension, perhaps the fire and impact – perhaps.)

Just because God’s people will be present on earth during these cataclysmic events does not necessarily mean that they will suffer from them. Nor does it mean that they will not. For now, at least, God’s people will not suffer from the sores that come upon the skin. Also, in this first barrage, it may very well be that the trumpet’s hailstones and the bowl’s sores are not directly connected.

Second Trumpet / Second Bowl

Revelation 8:⁸ The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. ⁹ A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

Revelation 16:³ The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing died that was in the sea.

In this pairing of God’s Wrath between the trumpet and the bowl, it seems very likely that the vision of the trumpet shows what causes the vision of the bowl. As modern folks, we can see this as a large meteor impacting the ocean somewhere. Again, its composition would include a substance that is red in color and caustic to life forms. One thing it does not tell us, but that we may assume, is that massive tsunamis would impact shorelines on at least two continents. Indeed, in Luke 21, one of the companion passages of the Olivet Discourse, we read the following:

Luke 21:²⁵ “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, ²⁶ people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”

Sounds like massive tsunamis to me. And this is in concert with Matthew’s account of God’s Wrath.

Third Trumpet / Third Bowl

Revelation 8:¹⁰ The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. ¹¹ The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the water, because it had been made bitter.

Revelation 16:⁴ The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. ⁵ And I heard the angel in charge of the waters [angel of the waters] say,

“Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was, for you brought these judgments.

⁶ For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink.

It is what they deserve!”

⁷ And I heard the altar saying, “Yes, Lord God the Almighty, true and just are your judgments!”

Once again, the parallel between the trumpet and the bowl is compelling. Also, the large meteor in this vision seems to be just like the other one that hit the sea. Only this time it impacts the land and possibly poisons the fresh water. 

While it may seem incomprehensible that such a thing could happen from a meteor, just imagine that it is very large and its plume of debris is far reaching. If that debris is caustic (like acid rain), it very well could affect a huge area (1/3 of the world?).

Fourth Trumpet / Fourth Bowl

Revelation 8:¹² The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night.

Revelation 16:⁸ The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire. ⁹ They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed [blasphemed] the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory.

Here, the bowl does not complete the trumpet; it is a separate event. But they very well may happen simultaneously, making them connected in time.

However, it would follow that if the first three trumpets were a massive meteor shower, then the fourth trumpet could simply be the atmospheric obscuration that would result. Also, just because these events are given one at a time does not mean that they cannot be happening simultaneously in reality. This is why I envision a single, massive meteor shower striking a 3^rd of the earth and the resultant obscuration blotting out the Sun, Moon and stars over one 3^rd of the earth (maybe the 10-40 window?). Also, we don’t know if the 1/3 refers to land area or population.

This account of the 4^th bowl affecting the sun sounds very much like a coronal mass ejection (CME). But the trump also harkens back to the 9^th plague of Egypt (Ex. 10:22).

The 4^th Bowl reminds me of the warning issued in Revelation 7:¹⁶

“They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.”

Will God’s people feel the heat of His wrath? Will it be as severe as what the godless suffer? We can only wait and see. To me, it is no enigma that God’s Wrath would strike His followers as well as the unrepentant, since we are ALL under the curse of sin and deserve punishment. The difference is in how we will be reconciled with Him or not for all eternity. Remember the difference between God’s Temporary wrath and Eternal wrath. 

Let’s pause right here and reflect on something. Jesus’ chronology in the Olivet Discourse said that “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Perhaps these events of God’s Wrath (sun and moon growing dark and stars falling) are all that must take place before the world sees our conquering Savior in the sky. Perhaps it is at this point in time that He calls His faithful into glorification (Posttrib/Midwrath). 

This hypothesis may be supported (loosely) by Joel 2. I’m convinced that Joel 2 and Revelation 9 both talk about the same campaign of locusts in the 5^th trumpet. In Joel 2:11 we read, 

“The Lord utters his voice before his army, for his camp is exceedingly great; he who executes his word is powerful. For the day of the Lord is great and very awesome; who can endure it?” 

If the world hears His voice, then maybe, just maybe, they’ll be seeing Him in the air as well.

And before moving on, I just need to add a couple of quick comments.

The darkness, meaning the Sun, Moon, and stars giving no light is something that continues from this point on into and through the millennium. So, while it might be partially the result of some kind of atmospheric obscuration, it most definitely is continued as long as this Earth exists.

By this time, Jesus is the undisputed Ruler of the earth. It is His light that shines and lights up the world. 

Isaiah 60:¹ Arise, shine, for your light has come,
    and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
² For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
    and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
    and his glory will be seen upon you.
³ And nations shall come to your light,
    and kings to the brightness of your rising.

During His millennial reign there will be no light but the light that comes from Him. (See Revelation 22:5; Isaiah 13:9-11; Ezekiel 32:6-8; Matthew 24:29-30; Zechariah 14:6-7)

Isaiah 60:¹⁹ The sun shall be no more
    your light by day,
nor for brightness shall the moon
    give you light;
but the Lord will be your everlasting light,
    and your God will be your glory.
²⁰ Your sun shall no more go down,
    nor your moon withdraw itself;
for the Lord will be your everlasting light,
    and your days of mourning shall be ended.

I believe that His blotting out the Sun, Moon, and stars, and also shaking the powers of the heavens (which probably refers to demons going to the abyss) is His way of removing all things that are worshipped besides Him. Since people worship the Sun, Moon, stars and demons, He will completely remove them from the peoples’ sight when He returns. This is just one more way that He establishes His authority over His creation. To the praise of His glorious Name!

 Fifth Trumpet / Fifth Bowl

Revelation 9:¹ And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit [the abyss]. ² He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. ³ Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth. ⁴ They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. ⁵ They were allowed to torment them for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone. ⁶ And in those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.

⁷ In appearance the locusts were like horses prepared for battle: on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were like human faces, ⁸ their hair like women’s hair, and their teeth like lions’ teeth; ⁹ they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings was like the noise of many chariots with horses rushing into battle. ¹⁰ They have tails and stings like scorpions, and their power to hurt people for five months is in their tails. ¹¹ They have as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon. [Abaddon means destruction; Apollyon means destroyer]

Revelation 16:¹⁰ The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish ¹¹ and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds.

The fifth trumpet is obviously a stand-alone event (at least from the meteoric events just seen), as is the 5^th bowl. These locusts, as mentioned already, have the power or potential to harm for 5 months. The “star” of Revelation 9 is most likely an angelic being.

Although this Trump and Bowl seem to be independent of each other, it could be argued that the darkness of the bowl is resultant from the darkness of the locusts’ swarming (coupled with the atmospheric obscuration). I personally do not hold this view. I think that the darkness is more akin to the darkness that struck the Egyptians in Exodus 10. One other possibility is that the Sun, Moon and stars literally go black, or disappear altogether. If this is the case, then the earth’s light would be from Christ, Himself (as just mentioned), and He could easily deny it to anyone.

Since we have been counting the duration of the wrath of God based on this event of the locusts, and since they only attack certain people (who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads) and not all people, it may be reasoned that the locust attack happens closely on the heals of the meteor barrage in the earlier trumps and bowls, while the saints are still on earth. For example, could it be that the meteor barrage lasts for 24 hours or less and the locusts appear the next day? We’ll have to wait and see. Maybe the falling rocks open a hole in the crust.

Also, since “the Lord utters his voice before his army” of locusts (Joel 2:11) and He will be marching through (perhaps above) the Earth in fury (Habakkuk 3:12), I do not think it unreasonable to say that the inhabitants of Earth will see Him in the sky, especially since He will be displaying His full glory and light. Just as the Sun can be viewed behind the clouds, His glory should be seen behind the obscuration of smoke, dust and debris. He is, presumably, executing an arial campaign across the globe from East to West, that takes up to 5 months to complete. That’s plenty of time to make it up-close and personal everywhere He goes. He should stop at the valley of Megiddo, if I am reading it right.

I also suspect that the uttering of His voice at this point could be for His departed saints to appear with Him in the clouds and His faithful on the ground to be caught up with them. Again, the precise timing of these things is not given to us and we are left to speculate about it. But very soon from here in the timeline things are going to get even more dangerous for us mortals and if anyone would repent of their sins at this point it would be the saints. At any rate, I do not see any reason why this could not be the time of the rapture – just after the locust attack. Now, I’m not going to be dogmatic about this hypothesis but I will say that this timing is extremely more likely than the notion of a pretrib, midtrib or prewrath rapture. This is after the tribulation and in the middle of God’s Wrath. Also, don’t forget about Daniel’s 1,335 days, which would take us to halfway through the 150 days (5 months) of Christ’s Wrath.

And my last little point on this is that we have seen that God’s Wrath is partly to pay back the worldly wicked for all of the evil done to His faithful by them. Well, as we are about to see, the efforts of the antichrist and his followers are about to peak (in the march to Armageddon). What better time to pull us up than right here – just as the enemy is about to do his worst? Also, some of the following events, like the devastating earthquake will be too huge to imagine many people surviving.

But as I’ve already said, it shouldn’t matter if some of God’s children are killed during His acts of wrath, since we are just as sinful as anyone else. But there are enough passages of scripture that denote His rescuing His faithful to say that He will not subject us to the entirety of His vengeance. So I think that this posttrib/mid-wrath view is biblical.

So, can it be that the meteorites and the locusts were to get the world’s attention just before He appears above the earth? And could it be that right then He grabs up His beloved – just before things reach a crescendo? 

Sixth Trumpet / Sixth Bowl

Revelation 8:¹³ Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar before God, ¹⁴ saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” ¹⁵ So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, were released to kill a third of mankind. ¹⁶ The number of mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand; I heard their number. ¹⁷ And this is how I saw the horses in my vision and those who rode them: they wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire and of sulfur, and the heads of the horses were like lions’ heads, and fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths. ¹⁸ By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths. ¹⁹ For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents with heads, and by means of them they wound.

Revelation 16:¹² The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east. ¹³ And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. ¹⁴ For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty. ¹⁵ (“Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”) ¹⁶ And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.

The 6^th trumpet and 6^th bowl are undoubtedly connected. These are two accounts of basically the same event: the gathering of a huge army for the battle of Armageddon. (We’ll see this more completely in the sixth chapter, ARMAGEDDON.)

Now, the trumpet also adds significant details (perhaps of nuclear weapons) that are separate but most likely occur at the same time. But this does not mean that the method is flawed. In fact, it works quite effectively with these events. 

The trumpet shows God working through holy angels; the bowl shows Him working through demons (Revelation 16:13 describes demons that look like frogs). In both, the river Euphrates is mentioned. The trumpet describes what is most likely a nuclear holocaust, involving a huge army of 200 million (which may very well include China). The bowl shows a huge army from the east (China again?) marching across the Euphrates to the valley called Armageddon (Megiddo), driven along by demons. These, I believe are the casualties mentioned at the Lord’s return below (Revelation 19:21). 

Revelation 19:¹⁷ Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, ¹⁸ to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.” ¹⁹ And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army… ²¹ [they] were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh. 

See the seventh trumpet and bowl discussed in Chapter on THE RETURN OF CHRIST.

We end this chapter with more verses about the Day of the Lord. As you read them, see if they emphasize His wrath, return, or judgment – all of which are part of the Day of the Lord. Remember, the Day of the Lord begins with God’s Wrath and continues for a thousand years until the Great Judgment. Didn’t Peter say: “But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” (2^nd Peter 3:8)? 

Also, see if the text is referring to God’s temporary wrath or eternal wrath. You may have to see the verse in context to make this determination. And look at whether the wrath is toward an individual, a group (as in a nation), or the entire world. I only mention this because some Bible commenters don’t seem to see the difference.

Isaiah 13:⁶ Wail, for the day of the Lord is near; as destruction from the Almighty it will come!

Isaiah 13:⁹ Behold, the day of the Lord comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it.

Ezekiel 13:⁵ You have not gone up into the breaches, or built up a wall for the house of Israel, that it might stand in battle in the day of the Lord.

Ezekiel 30:³ For the day is near, the day of the Lord is near; it will be a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations.

Joel 1:¹⁵ Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is near, and as destruction from the Almighty it comes.

Joel 2:¹ Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near. 

Joel 2:¹¹ The Lord utters his voice before his army, for his camp is exceedingly great; he who executes his word is powerful. For the day of the Lord is great and very awesome; who can endure it?

 Amos 5:¹⁸ Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord! Why would you have the day of the Lord? It is darkness, and not light, ¹⁹ as if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him, or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall, and a serpent bit him. ²⁰ Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?

Zephaniah 1:¹⁴ The great day of the Lord is near, near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter; the mighty man cries aloud there. 

Objections to the Posttrib View Regarding God’s Wrath

I. Saints Not Appointed Unto Wrath

This seems to be a very popular objection. The argument goes like this:

“Since Paul told the Thessalonians that we are not appointed to suffer God’s Wrath (1Thess 5:9), we cannot be in the tribulation, which is God’s Wrath.” (This may also be why there is a rapture position called “Prewrath”.)

There are two looming problems with this statement:

1. The tribulation period is not God’s Wrath, but Satan’s (see Revelation 12:6, 12, 17)
2. The verse that they quote, 1 Thessalonians 5:9 does not say what they seemingly want it to say 

1 Thessalonians 5:9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

If this verse were to mean that we will escape the tribulation, then Paul would be speaking out both sides of his mouth. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul wrote to the same congregation and told them this:

2 Thessalonians 2:¹ Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, ² not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.   ³ Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness [sin] is revealed, the son of destruction [perdition], ⁴ who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.

Whether Paul understood what would soon happen to the temple or not is irrelevant; the Holy Spirit knew. Although the temple was destroyed in 70 AD, God’s word still stands. Therefore, there must be a temple rebuilt for the antichrist to reveal himself in. And since this event signals the beginning of the Great Tribulation, where much persecution comes upon the Church, he could not have meant that the Church would escape tribulation. 

And we know that Paul was talking about the antichrist because just a few words later he writes this:

2 Thessalonians 2:⁸ And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.

Whoever destroyed the temple in 70 AD was definitely not killed by the coming of the Lord!

What Paul is saying here is that we who are saved are not destined to be thrown into the Lake of Fire, which is the ultimate result of God’s eternal wrath, not some temporary wrath event. 

Also, read verse 10 again: “whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him”. This, too, shows that there will be living Christians on earth when the Lord returns. That’s how he defined the rapture, we (believers) who are living when the Lord returns….

Let’s take a look at this in another way. God’s temporary wrath is a series of events that are cataclysmic and far-reaching. There will be hailstones (meteors and hail), tsunamis, earthquakes… all kinds of things we now call “acts of God”. These things happen already. How many Christians are killed around the world by earthquakes alone? How about hurricanes or tsunamis? 

We cannot take this verse and twist it to mean something that it doesn’t. Death is something that comes to all mankind, saved or not. It is the result of sin in this fallen world, which we all have. If God wishes to rain down His wrath against this sinful world – of which we are a part – then what does it matter if some of His children get killed in the process? They would die very soon anyway. And it isn’t the saving of the mortal flesh that matters; it’s the saving of the soul from God’s eternal wrath.

Do not confuse mortal death with spiritual death.

Therefore, this argument denies the reality of death and suffering that has come and will continue to come upon believers every single day. It also confuses the clear distinctions between the events of God’s Wrath and those of Satan’s wrath listed below 

Satan’s wrath comes through acts of violence by men. God’s Wrath is mainly through supernatural cataclysmic events (as well as warfare). Between the wraths of Satan and God, over one half of earth’s population will perish, from just two events. After the totality of Satan’s and God’s Wrath has been completed, it’s anyone’s guess how many people will survive. I would not be surprised if only 1/7^th of earth’s population (or less) makes it through them both.

Isaiah seems to indicate that it will be much less. In his 24^th chapter he tell us this:

Isaiah 24:¹Look! The Lord is about to destroy the earth
    and make it a vast wasteland.
He devastates the surface of the earth
    and scatters the people.
² Priests and laypeople,
    servants and masters,
    maids and mistresses,
    buyers and sellers,
    lenders and borrowers,
    bankers and debtors—none will be spared.
³ The earth will be completely emptied and looted.
    The Lord has spoken!

⁴ The earth mourns and dries up,
    and the land wastes away and withers.
    Even the greatest people on earth waste away.
⁵ The earth suffers for the sins of its people,
    for they have twisted God’s instructions,
violated his laws,
    and broken his everlasting covenant.
⁶ Therefore, a curse consumes the earth.
    Its people must pay the price for their sin.
They are destroyed by fire,
    and only a few are left alive.
⁷ The grapevines waste away,
    and there is no new wine.
    All the merrymakers sigh and mourn.
⁸ The cheerful sound of tambourines is stilled;
    the happy cries of celebration are heard no more.
    The melodious chords of the harp are silent.
⁹ Gone are the joys of wine and song;
    alcoholic drink turns bitter in the mouth.
¹⁰ The city writhes in chaos;
    every home is locked to keep out intruders.
¹¹ Mobs gather in the streets, crying out for wine.
    Joy has turned to gloom.
    Gladness has been banished from the land.
¹² The city is left in ruins,
    its gates battered down.
¹³ Throughout the earth the story is the same—
only a remnant is left,
like the stray olives left on the tree
or the few grapes left on the vine after harvest.

¹⁴ But all who are left shout and sing for joy.
    Those in the west praise the Lord’s majesty.
¹⁵ In eastern lands, give glory to the Lord.
    In the lands beyond the sea, praise the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
¹⁶ We hear songs of praise from the ends of the earth,
    songs that give glory to the Righteous One!

But my heart is heavy with grief.
    Weep for me, for I wither away.
Deceit still prevails,
    and treachery is everywhere.
¹⁷ Terror and traps and snares will be your lot,
    you people of the earth.
¹⁸ Those who flee in terror will fall into a trap,
    and those who escape the trap will be caught in a snare.

Destruction falls like rain from the heavens;
    the foundations of the earth shake.
¹⁹ The earth has broken up.
    It has utterly collapsed;
    it is violently shaken.
²⁰ The earth staggers like a drunk.
    It trembles like a tent in a storm.
It falls and will not rise again,
    for the guilt of its rebellion is very heavy.

²¹ In that day the Lord will punish the gods in the heavens
    and the proud rulers of the nations on earth.
²² They will be rounded up and put in prison.
    They will be shut up in prison
    and will finally be punished.
²³ Then the glory of the moon will wane,
    and the brightness of the sun will fade,
for the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will rule on Mount Zion.
    He will rule in great glory in Jerusalem,
    in the sight of all the leaders of his people.

II. God Loves His Children

Much like the above objection, this one says that, “If God loves his children, why would He let them suffer?”

If this is an objection of yours, then you need to learn about the suffering that has been occurring to the followers of Christ since the beginning. Even Christ suffered – most of all. Almost all of the apostles were killed, and even John was tortured. Remember Stephen? In fact, Peter tells us that we will grow closer to God through suffering (1^st Peter 4:12-19, below).

Hebrews 2:¹⁰ For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.

Philippians 1:²⁹ For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake.

1st Peter 4:¹² Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. ¹³ But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. ¹⁴ If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. ¹⁵ But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. ¹⁶ Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. ¹⁷ For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? ¹⁸ And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

¹⁹ Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

Revelation 12:¹¹ And they [the brethren] have conquered him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death… ¹⁷ Then the dragon [Satan] became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus [i.e. Christians]. And he stood on the sand of the sea. 

Revelation 13:⁵ And the beast [antichrist] was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months [1,260 days]. ⁶ It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. ⁷ Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, ⁸ and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. ⁹ If anyone has an ear, let him hear:

¹⁰ If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain.

Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.

This objection does not come from Bible study. It comes from a fearful heart and clouded judgment. We must not forget God’s promise to wipe every tear from our eyes. However, God will wipe every tear from our eyes AFTER we die, not necessarily before. There is nothing more Christ-like than mortally dying for your God’s undying spiritual love.

Questions to Ponder

1. What are some differences between God’s temporary wrath and His eternal wrath?
2. Is the book of Revelation given to us in a strictly chronological manner from beginning to end?
3. In Revelation, the visions of the Trumpets and Bowls depict God’s temporary wrath upon the world, true or false?
4. The account of Revelation 20:11-15 depicts God’s eternal wrath, true or false?

Answers

1. There is no offer of repentance in God’s eternal wrath, like there is in His temporary wrath; His temporary wrath may be visited upon His own people; the cross brings salvation from His eternal wrath; etc.
2. No. It depicts visions of events, and the order of the presentation of the visions may be different than the order of the events they portray.
3. True
4. True

PREVIOUS | NEXT

Preface/Introduction
Ch 1: Ezekiel’s War
Ch 2: The Tribulation
Ch 3: 3rd Temple Built
Ch 4: The Great Tribulation
Ch 5: The Wrath of God
Ch 6: The Return of Christ
Ch 7: The Resurrection of the Dead in Christ
Ch 8: The Rapture
Ch 9: Armageddon
Ch 10: The Millennium
Ch 11: The Judgment
Ch 12: The New Creation
Ch 13: Conclusion
Ch 14: Summary
Glossary