BYM ONLINE DESK Blessing English Emagazine Oct 2018 | Page 5

www.bymonline.org | October 2018
prophet to call the nations of Israel and Judah to
repentance (2 Chronicles 36).
The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent word
to them again and again by His messengers, because
He had compassion on His people and on His
dwelling place; but they continually mocked the
messengers of God, despised His words and scoffed
at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose
against His people, until there was no remedy. God's
mercy in wrath is also manifested in the fact that He
always leads up to His final outpouring of wrath
through a series of progressive judgments. These
remedial judgments are outlined in detail in
Deuteronomy 28:15-57. This characteristic of God's
wrath is demonstrated in the prophecies concerning
the Tribulation. Rather than simply pouring out His
wrath on the rebellious nations of the world,
destroying them in one instant of overwhelming
catastrophe, He subjects the world to a series of
judgments that sequentially increase in scope and
intensity (Revelation 6,8-9,16). Although most
people refuse to repent in response to these judgments
(Revelation 9:20-21), there is “a great multitude,
which no one could count, from every nation and all
tribes and peoples and tongues” who do repent and
respond to Jesus in faith (Revelation 7:9).
These radically different responses to the
wrath of God illustrate the point that was often made
by Billy Graham: “The same sun that melts the butter
also hardens the clay.” The wrath of God melts some
hearts in repentance, but it has the effect of hardening
the hearts of many others.
Wrath and the Redeemed
Many Christians respond negatively to Bible
prophecy. It's not at all unusua l to hear a Christian say
something like this: “I don't want to hear anything
about prophecy because it's too full of gloom and
doom”.
Well, there is a lot of gloom and doom for those
who refuse to respond to God's gift of love in Jesus.
But there is only good news for the Redeemed. The
Old Testament ends with a passage that presents both
the gloom and the joy of end time prophecy. Malachi
says that when the Lord returns, the day will be “like a
furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will
be chaff” (Malachi 4:1). That's the bad news.
healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip
about like calves from the stall” (Malachi 4:2). There
is no reason for any child of God to fear the wrath of
God. Paul wrote that since we have been justified by
the blood of Christ, “we shall be saved from the wrath
of God through Him” (Romans 5:9). And in a most
comforting verse, Paul told the Thessalonians that
Jesus will “deliver” the Redeemed “from the wrath to
come” (1 Thessalonians 1:10). The reason, Paul
explained, is that “God has not destined us for wrath,
but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus
Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:9).
A Plea
Are you under grace or wrath? The choice is
yours. Jesus is coming soon. When He appears, will
He be your Blessed Hope or your Holy Terror? Will
you cry for the mountains to fall upon you? Or, will
you go forth leaping with joy like a calf released from
a stall? God loves you and He wants you to accept His
Son as your Savior so that you will come under grace
and can participate in an event that will occur when
Jesus returns (Isaiah:35:10):
“And the ransomed of the Lord will return
and come with joyful shouting to Zion, with
everlasting joy upon their heads. They will find
gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing will flee
away.”
(Taken from the magazine 'Lamplighter' Issue January -
February 2018)
But consider the good news: “But for you who
fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with
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