The Wrath of God

 The Completeness of His Wrath

The tribulation was to be great, because the transgression of the House of Judah was great. Yahweh has repeatedly warned Israel what would happen if they turned from Him and their covenantal promise. There are many things we can choose from to illustrate the severity of this rejection, but we will choose just one, as foretold by the prophets:

And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the LORD thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee: (Deut 28:53)

And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they shall eat every one the flesh of his friend in the siege and straitness, wherewith their enemies, and they that seek their lives, shall straiten them. (Jer 19:0)

Regarding the horrible, fiery destruction of the Holy City in 70AD, Josephus records:

There was a certain woman of the region that lieth [100] eastward of Jordan , and her name was Mary, the daughter of Eleazar, of Bethezob, which is by interpretation the "house of hyssop." She was of a noble house and wealthy, and had taken refuge in the City. But the men of war had robbed her of all the possessions which she had brought with her from beyond Jordan . This had stirred her up to great anger, and she reproached the men daily with all manner of hard words and revilings; but when no man would slay her either for anger or for pity, and she was grievously tormented by hunger, she did a horrible deed and contrary to nature, for she caught up the sucking child that she had, and roasted his flesh, and having eaten the half of it herself put by that which was left. And in a short space of time came the men of war, for they smelt the savour of the food, and threatened that they would slay her forthwith, if she would not bring forth that which she had prepared. And the woman said, "I have kept a goodly portion for you," and uncovered that which remained of her son. And when the men stood astonished, she cried, "Eat ye, even as I have eaten. Why should ye be softer than a woman or more merciful than a mother? But if perchance ye have a scruple, and will not eat of my sacrifice, then as I have eaten the half, so may ye leave me that which remains." And the men departed trembling. This thing was noised abroad throughout the City, and all who heard it said that they were happy indeed who had died before that they had seen or heard such things.

The Greek word for WORLD used in Matthew 24:21 can be defined, according to Strongs (2889):

- the ungodly multitude; the whole mass of men alienated from God, and therefore hostile to the cause of Christ

- world affairs, the aggregate of things earthly

- the whole circle of earthly goods, endowments riches, advantages, pleasures, etc, which although hollow and frail and fleeting, stir desire, seduce from God and are obstacles to the cause of Christ

Matthew 24:21 differs little from the language of the prophet Ezekiel, who was describing the fate of Jerusalem in the 6 th century BC at the hands of the Babylonians:

Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye multiplied more than the nations that [are] round about you, [and] have not walked in my statutes, neither have kept my judgments, neither have done according to the judgments of the nations that [are] round about you; Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, [am] against thee, and will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations. And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like , because of all thine abominations. (Eze 5:9)

 The Place of the Wrath

The tribulation of Matthew 24 was confined to Judea . Let's prove it:

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, [thou] that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under [her] wings, and ye would not! (Matthew 23:37)

And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What [city is] like unto this great city! And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate. Rejoice over her, [thou] heaven, and [ye] holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her… And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth. (Rev 18:18-24 pertinent portions)

Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come ? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to [our] father:… (Luke 3:7,8) (Here, John the Baptist is talking to living, breathing Israelites in the first century.)

Who [the Jews in Judea ] both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men: Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost. (1 st Thes 2:14-15)

 The People to Whom the Wrath is Directed

A few years ago, I found myself cringing when, at a Judeo-Christian Sunday School class, the teacher said: “We all are responsible for each stroke of the hammer which nailed the spikes through Jesus' hands.”

I wasn't at the crucifixion site, were you? Were you wielding a hammer? Were you or I members of the Jewish Sanhedrin, which determined our Savior should die? This kind of language is used to paint images of guilt in our minds for something we have not done. Like images of hellfire and brimstone, phrases like this are exploited to motivate us to change how we view ourselves in relation to our God. We've heard it so long that we've never considered what it is, and how it is used so successfully in conjunction with another even more insidious lie from the pulpit:

One of those deadly New Testament myths is that the Jews killed Jesus. No justification can be found in the New Testament to support that myth. - Dr. James Parks

Can Dr. James Parks tell us, then, just who DID kill Jesus? And what people conspired to kill him?

And the chief priests and scribes (?Romans?) sought how they might kill him; for they feared the people. (Luke 22:2)

Was it the Romans who cried:

But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. (Luke 23:21)

To what people did Pilot deliver Jesus?

And he released unto them him that for sedition and murder was cast into prison, whom they had desired; but he delivered Jesus to their will. (Luke 23:21)

Jesus, upon being sentenced, said to believers in His midst:

Daughters of Jerusalem , weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. (Matthew 23:28)

Were the children Jesus was referring to ROMAN children? Non-Israelites?

Does your Bible say that Jesus prayed: “ Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” to the Jews? No, it was the Roman soldiers.

Was it the Romans that sought to lay hands on Him by trickery and deceitfulness?

And the chief priests and the scribes the same hour sought to lay hands on him; and they feared the people: for they perceived that he had spoken this parable against them. And they watched him, and sent forth spies, which should feign themselves just men, that they might take hold of his words, that so they might deliver him unto the power and authority of the governor. (Luke 20:19-20)

Denying that the writers of the New Testament epistles were actually inspired is epidemic among people who call themselves Christians. Here's an example. Was the apostle Paul was misinformed, or in error when he stated unambiguously the following:

For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews: Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men: Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost. (1 st Thes 2:14-15)

After all, he was wrong about Christ returning soon – and to whom the coming wrath is to be directed, right?

It's imperative that we discard outright lies from the pulpit which place the will and power of the Jew above the Will and the Power of the Almighty, who, according to classic premillenial doctrine, was unable to deliver His Kingdom and complete His work here on earth because the Jewish people didn't accept Him, and thus had to resort to “Plan B.”

Here's a question: How do we know that, when he comes again, that the Jews won't reject Him again, and the Almighty will have to resort to “Plan C?”

Then, as now, the requirement stands: believe and obey, or perish. On one hand, the liars from the pulpit will state that salvation is available to all, because God is no respecter of persons, then turn around and claim that the Creator of the Universe was unable to do what He promised He would do because the Jews decided to reject Him!