Have you ever heard one of the street corner preachers, screaming that the end is near?  Now I don’t personally think this is the most effective approach, but I’ve always had a spot in my heart for these guys; at least they were out there proclaiming the truth (mostly).  After all, I myself, always like to joke about my last ditch evangelism approach – for the most stubborn of persons it includes dousing them with holy water, taking a 30 pound Gutenberg Bible and beating them over the head with it (a true Bible beater), and telling them to TURN or BURN!!!  Well, I probably will never do that (although I’m still holding it out as a possibility for a few select people….) but I haven’t really had a good fire and brimstone message… until today.  So here it is, my toast to the street corner preachers and bible wielding assaulters of the world.

The reality is, that the end is near.  How near, we do not know, only God knows (Matthew 24:36), but we are told in 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3 – “²For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. ³While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

Many people go about life, presuming upon the grace of God, saying that they will change their life later, they will be more dedicated to God later, they will be the husband or wife they should be later… these are the people that will be caught up in the judgment of God, when he comes.  These are the “many” that will cry out to the Lord on that day, professing his name, only to be silenced in horror when he says “begone from me, you workers of iniquity… I never knew you”.  What will that day look like?

2 Thessalonians 1:5-10 – “⁵This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— ⁶since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, ⁷and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels ⁸ in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. ⁹They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, ¹⁰ when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.”

Isn’t it interesting how there isn’t a caveat after the claim that Christians will be suffering?  It isn’t, Christians in China will be suffering, or Christians in Afghanistan will be suffering – no, suffering is a mark of all Christians.  If you have gone 5-10 years as a Christian without any mocking, without any persecution at work, without any alienation from supposed friends, without any measure of personal lack due to giving for God’s Kingdom – you are not a Christian.  I can’t say this any clearer.  If you obey the gospel of Jesus, these things will come, because the world is at war with God.  Therefore, if you are at peace with the world in every way, what does that mean?  If you want to test yourself to see if your faith is real, as 2 Corinthians 13:5 calls you to do, ask yourself the question of how you are suffering for God’s Kingdom.

Now God’s righteousness on that day of judgment will include two things – wrath against those who have persecuted Christians, and relief from that affliction for believers.  God will make things right.  Jesus will not come at this time as a meek and lowly, suffering servant, but as a mighty conquering King, in flaming fire, unleashing judgment surrounded by an army of angels.  These will not be, the fluffy angels you see on TV, think about the biggest person you’ve ever met, times two, with unimaginable power, that cannot be defeated because God is with them, and those will be the angels surrounding Jesus.

What is the wrath of God?  It is eternal separation from Himself.  The irony is that God is giving people exactly what they professed to want.  If you don’t believe in God, and don’t trust on the Gospel of Jesus alone for reconciliation to Him, and live for yourself, Jesus will finally say – “ok, you can have exactly what you want.”  The result for that person will be a place of eternal torment – why?  Nothing is good, except God alone (Luke 18:19).  Everything that people have in their life currently that is good, will be removed.  There will be no friends, there will be no family, no good food… despite what books may claim – you will not be toasting your friends with a beer in hell.  There will be no sunrise, there will be no beauty of life, there will be no quiet peace, you will feel the weight of what it means to exist apart from God completely.  Days, will turn into years, will turn into centuries, will turn into eons, and pain and tears will be the only companion to those who rejected God.  This is what these people chose.  Despite the infinite patience of God towards them, despite making His purity and holiness known to them through creation, they rejected God, to pursue a life of their own choosing, and spat in the face of their Creator.  God is infinitely holy, and justice demands the offense against an infinitely holy God, be equally eternal and infinite.

Who is this wrath directed against?  Two groups – those who do not know God, and those who do not obey the Gospel of Jesus.  We know from Romans 1, that everything about God can be clearly seen through creation, so that no one can defend their judgment before God by saying “I never knew about you”.  The second group, however, is clearly a group that understood the gospel of Jesus, but did not obey it.  Isn’t that interesting?  God isn’t going to judge the belief of a person in the gospel, but rather their obedience to it?  That is because many people are deceived to believe a “decision” is going to save them.  It isn’t.  The only thing that will save a person on that day, is a heart that has been changed by God, that produces from authentic faith fruit in keeping with obedience.  This makes sense, if you love football, you will probably watch it when possible.  If you love God, then you will pursue those things which bring more of Him into your life, and tell others about Him.  On that day, people will not be saved by their works, but many will have their “belief” proven false due to their lack.

But for those who believed and obeyed the gospel of Jesus, what remains?  Infinite joy.  God’s judgment will remove all affliction those Christians have been enduring.  The full weight of the glory of God will be put upon those who have believed, so that for all eternity, we will marvel at the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.  There will be nothing bad, no disease, no sin, no fear, only infinite, unending, ever-increasing joy in the presence of the glory of God.  Days, will turn into years, will turn into centuries, will turn into eons, and every heart will feel no lack, but only an overflowing fullness of joy in God.

People don’t speak about these things enough.  We need to awaken ourselves to this reality, and push forward in obedience to the Lord.  My hope in expounding this scripture is that no one would find themselves caught up in the wrath of God on that day, and to that end we should all struggle, for the Kingdom of God.  My encouragement amidst this scripture, is to refresh yourself with the gospel.  Fall on your knees in thankfulness to God, that although he is infinitely holy, he still loves and pursues the sinner, like me, and like you.  With thanksgiving in the grace of God through the blood of Jesus, break free from sin, and live hard for the glory of God and His Kingdom.  Grasp each day, as though it may be the last, because we know it will come without warning, like a thief in the night.

Grace and Peace,
Adam