By Timothy Johnson
Preacher’s Point
Jeremiah 30:7 calls it “the time of Jacob’s trouble.”
The prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27 causes us to use the term “Daniel’s 70th week.”
It is called “the day of the Lord” thirty-one times in twenty-nine verses throughout the Bible.
It will be the most horrific time in history (Matthew 24:21; Daniel 12:1; Joel 2:2).
The “it” being described here is the coming seven-year tribulation period.
The purpose of this great judgment comes upon the world is described in Daniel 9:24, “…to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.” In other words, God will purge the world before Christ returns to set up His kingdom.
Some will say that “God is love. He would not bring the catastrophic destruction Biblical prophecy speaks of.” Interestingly, people will quote the Bible when they want to point out that “God is love” (1 John 4:16), yet, they will deny the parts of the Bible that speak of God’s judgment.
Twice the Bible calls God “a consuming fire.” In a third spot, the Scriptures say God will act like “a consuming fire” (Deuteronomy 4:24; Hebrews 12:29; Deuteronomy 9:3).
God is love; God is also a consuming fire. God is holy, and God is just. He is the Creator, the Saviour, and He is also the judge.
A relationship can be a partial example of the relationship between God and humanity.
We all know someone, usually a woman, that is in a bad relationship. The man is selfish and shows little to no love toward her. He is always demanding and sometimes abusive. He will blame her for everything, even when it is his fault. He will insult her and speak poorly of her to others. The woman says she loves him and refuses to end the relationship. All her friends encourage her to leave him, but she hangs on, trying to make it work. She goes above and beyond what he needs and more than what he deserves.
The man in the example is the human race; the woman represents God.
We humans hardly think of God. He is not in our daily thought process. We tend to look out for number one – ourselves – and pay little attention to the actual number one – God.
When God enters our thought process, it is usually when we want something. A demand then follows the desire.
We speak poorly of God. We will blame Him for all the world’s faults when what is wrong with the world is a direct result of our sinful nature. In other words, we blame Him for what is our fault.
God, like the woman, keeps on providing for our needs. He offered His Son on the cross to solve the sin problem. God sends out His children to get the message of salvation to everyone. He has given us the instructions to handle finances, children, marriage, depression, anxiety, and hundreds of other problems, all written in his book, yet, we do not read it. Often when we do read it, we do not heed its words.
Earlier, we mentioned some of the things God is – love, a consuming fire, holy, just, and so on. Another thing that is an attribute of God is longsuffering. God puts up with a lot. The fact that we are still here is all the proof needed to show that God is longsuffering.
The Tribulation Period includes three sections of seven judgments each. There are seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven vials. The seals are opened, the trumpets sound and the vials pour. The vials are the pouring out of God’s wrath.
Before the Tribulation starts, there is a great “falling away.” The falling away involves the church and the secular world. The church moves into apostasy, while many deny or change the basic teachings of Christianity. In the secular world, the world plunges into sin that few see coming. There is talk out there on if pedophilia classifies as a sexual orientation.
We are on the cusp of the rapture, the Antichrist’s rise, and the Tribulation’s start.
Some of the twenty-one judgments are – war, famine, pestilence, hail mingled with fire, a giant meteor crashing into the sea, the earth’s rotation speeding up, stinging locusts released from hell, every living thing in the oceans dying, immense heat, and a major worldwide earthquake that levels the cities of the world. These are only a few.
The judgments during these seven years are global – not local or regional – global. Recently, we had some severe storms rip through our area. Some people were without power for several days. We witnessed linemen from other states working to restore power in our area. During the Tribulation Period, no one can summon help from afar – they will be dealing with their problems.
Christ returns at the end of the seven years and sets up His Kingdom. The world will finally be living in the utopia everyone has sought.
Judgment is coming. Are you ready?
Preacher Johnson is Pastor of Countryside Baptist Church in Parke County Indiana. Website: www.preachers-point.com; Email: [email protected]; Mail: 25 W 1200 N; Kingman IN 47952. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Timothy-Preacher-Johnson-101171088326638. All Scripture KJV.
