Isaiah 13:6-13  Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.  (7)  Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt:  ( 8 )  And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.  (9)  Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.  (10)  For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.  (11)  And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.  (12)  I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.  (13)  Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

We’re diving into a heavy topic today. Isaiah calls the Great Tribulation the “day of God’s wrath.” Some believe Christians will have to face part or all of that time, but as we’ve discussed before, that doesn’t align with Scripture. We can take comfort in the fact that God didn’t design His wrath for those who follow Him.

1 Thessalonians 5:9  For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

Jesus used Noah and Lot to show us how God handles judgment. Just as they were pulled out of harm’s way before the destruction started, we see a blueprint for the Rapture. It’s hard to square a Mid- or Post-Tribulation view with these stories, isn’t it? God consistently rescues His own before the judgment falls.

Luke 17:26-37  And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.  (27)  They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.  (28)  Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;  (29)  But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.  (30)  Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.  (31)  In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.  (32)  Remember Lot’s wife.  (33)  Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.  (34)  I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.  (35)  Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.  (36)  Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.  (37)  And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.

It is significant that the word “church” disappears from the Book of Revelation after chapter 3, verse 22. Immediately following this, Revelation 4:1 issues the command: “Come up hither!” This shift suggests a change in location; the Church is no longer mentioned on Earth during the dispensing of judgments because we have been delivered from the coming wrath. Through the grace of our Groom, Jesus Christ, we have been granted a way to escape the judgment intended for the world.

Luke 21:36  Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

I find such joy in these promises, and I hope you do too. But if you aren’t sure of your future, don’t ignore this moment. You aren’t here by chance; you are here by divine appointment. Today is the day to step into the safety of God’s grace. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab to You Can Be Born Again and Know It!