The Bride Of The Son is Not Appointed To The Wrath of The Father
I believe that before I enter into this sermon this morning I help bring some context to this sermon regarding Gods Wrath. The sermons title is a summary of what is presented both in the sermon and in the Bible, The bride of the Son is NOT appointed to the wrath of the father. But what is the wrath of God? What specifically is that referring to?
Multitude of places in the Old and New Testament we see that there is to come an expected time when God will pour out his wrath upon the world for its evil. It’s a time when the Lord says, “Enough”.
In the Old Testament it is perfectly evident that the time of this event was to coincide with the appearing of Christ. When the Messiah comes, he would come for Israel and judge the world in vengeance. Your Newsletter this morning has an illustration demonstrating all that the prophets could see, but the Church is not seen in the Old Testament, Messiah (the christ comes), then Judgement.
Isaiah 61 is the most evident and simple account of this.
Isaiah 61:1–2
1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that arebound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
Those of you that recall Jesus testifying that he is the fulfillment of this passage in Luke 4:18-19, also recall that Jesus stopped abruptly in the middle of verse 2, “closed the book, ….sat down…and began to say….this day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears” (Luke 4:21)
What was fulfilled was the coming of Christ and not yet “the day of vengeance of our God”.
The New Testament shows a full stop where Jesus ended his quote, but the Old Testament has a comma. It is that comma that has lasted the better part of two thousand years.
That “day of Vengeance” is the day of wrath, it is a day of darkness and not light,
Amos say that that day will be “As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him” (Amos 5:18-20)
There will be no escaping it.
Men will go into the mountains and say “…Rocks, fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb” (Rev 6:16, see also Isaiah 2:19, Hosea 10:8, Luke 23:30).
This is a day of great evil that is yet to come upon the earth. It is a day, a time and an hour that has NEVER BEEN before and will NEVER BE AGAIN.
It will be a day when men will seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. (Rev 9:6)
Fire will burn up both field, man and beast. (Rev 8)
“The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood” (Joel 2:31, Acts 2:20), it is described as becoming “black as sackcloth of hair” when the sixth seal is opened in Rev 6:12.
There will be a quaking in the entire earth when God arises “to shall shake terribly the earth” Isaiah 2:19, 21. So severe will be the movement of the Earth it is described from Gods perspective by the Prophet saying that it “Shall reel to and from like a drunkard” (Isa 24:20).
Peace will be taken from the earth, and men will “kill one another” (Rev 6:4).
all the grass on the earth will be burnt up and a third part of ALL vegetation will be burnt up (Rev 8:7).
There will be extreme famine, extreme monetary inflation and runaway pestilence and plagues. The passage speaks of the one who sat on the pale horse of the apocalypse who’s name was “Death, and Hell followed with him” (Rev 6:8)
A third of all the drinkable water on the earth, both rivers and fountains, would be made bitter, and undrinkable (Rev 8:8). A third of all sea dwelling creatures will die (Rev 8:9).
The passage yet tells of an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice Woe, woe, woe to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet…which are yet to sound” (Rev 8:13)
Beloved, all this has occurred in this specific seven-year period of tribulation of the earth, and we are not even at the bad part yet. We are not even halfway through the period.
Jesus said that this time of Gods wrath is likened to the days of Noah (Mt 24:37, Lk 17:26), both in that it will come suddenly upon the world, but also that the manifestations on the earth will have its “behind the scenes” precedent as it was in the time of the flood.
Just in the Days of Noah, there was a spiritual behind the scenes working of princes and principalities, devils making havoc on the earth.
It’s the Apostle Peter who reveals the account of the devilish horde who caused mischief on the earth in those days as being to this day “…in chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgement” (2 Pet 2:4) and “which are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgement and perdition of ungodly men” 2 Pet 3:7.
It is these same angels that Jude refers to as having “kept not their first estate…{but God has] reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgement of the great day” (Jude 6), that is the day of Gods wrath;
Incredibly, it is these very devils that Revelation 9 states will be released from the bottomless pit, together with the four angels bound in the Euphrates,
15 …., which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. 16 And the number of the army of the horsemen weretwo hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.
Revelation 9:15–16
That’s 200 million horsemen.
But then add to this the war in heaven of Revelation 12, where “Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, awhich deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. (Rev 12:7-9)
So terrible is this time from the mid-point of this Day of Wrath, the text tells us in Rev 12:12 “Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time”.
Consider now the devils reserved for this day released from the bottomless pit onto the earth, Satan cast out of heaven with his devilish horde, what will the earth be like other than a virtual hell?
And it will last Seven Years, and Christ will return WITH his bride (Rev 19:11-16, Jude 14-15)
Would you like to take a breath?
My apologies in beginning the sermon in such a manner as that, but without a glimpse into the horror of the wrath of God in those coming days that will fall upon a world who hates God, a world that has denied the truth and is set on self-destruction, you simply cannot grasp the incredible value of what the Bible teaches concerning the Bride of Christ.
Most who deny the Church will be caught up prior to the tribulation of those days, but will instead go through that horror, DOWNPLAY its terror. They make as if its just a slight uptick in the tribulations the world has always gone through.
My brief summary was intended to show that is not the case.
The Title of the Sermon is simply;
The Bride Of The Son is Not Appointed To The Wrath of The Father
Revealing The Virgin Bride
It was all that the young man could do to maintain a conversation with a fellow Christian while she waiting for her fiancé’s plane to bring him home to her after a three-week separation.
He drove her to the airport and they had awkward conversation as she seemed quite distracted, the cause of her distraction was not revealed to him until he was at the gate with her.
Once the plane was at gate, conversation was impossible as the engaged woman stood watching, eagerly waiting for moment when she could throw her arms around her loved one at last.
As she peered down passage, the friend with whom she had been talking earlier was heard to say, “What a beautiful picture of the church watching for the return her bridegroom.”[1]
You are the bride beloved. All you who have believed the Gospel of Christ are, theologically speaking, the Bride of Christ.
Sorry you men, I didn’t think that bit of knowledge was appropriate to share before you believed!
The Church as a whole is known theologically as the Bride of Christ.
15 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast. (Mat 9:15)
Jesus was speaking to his disciples. Three times we have this parable recorded in the Bible. ‘In the mouth of two or three witnesses’, says the scriptures, ‘shall everything be established’.
Christ was to be taken from them, and he is also set to return for them. The bridegroom as gone to prepare a place for his bride, and when he returns he will receive them to himself, that where he is there might we be also. (John 14:3)
Reading: 1 Thess 5:1-11
The sermons time points out the Church is not appointed to wrath. Gods wrath is rarely spoken of related to eternity, but in time and on earth. The word appears over 200 times in the Bible, only a couple of times can it be considered that understood of hell and the context bears witness. Wrath in the Thessalonians passage is clearly the temporal wrath of the Day of Wrath.
In the first verse he speaks of the times and seasons and in the second identifies the Lord coming as a “thief in the Night”, and that “Sudden destruction” comes upon an unsuspecting world where none will escape (v3).
Paul differentiates between the children of the day and those of the night in v5 and cautions the Church not to sleep, but to be aware, to “watch and be sober” v6
9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. (1 Thess 5:9)
We then see from the very beginning of the passage that Paul is addressing the “Day of the Lord”, it is this day that comes to the people unexpectedly, even “as a thief in the night”.
I want you to see that the motive of a thief is NEVER Benevolent, but ALLWAYS Malevolent.
There are those who to this day think that Jesus comes for His BRIDE as a “thief in the night”, NOT SO. This is not about the rapture of the Church beloved,
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: but Jesus is come… that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10:10
This is poor expositional preaching that sees the rapture here and ignores its context.
Yes, the Rapture is true but not here. The thief in the scriptures and in life are never presented as having your best intentions at heart. Therefore always take great care to question the context.
Paul in this passage is speaking of the wrath of God that is to be poured out upon the world, the sudden destruction that cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
This is the specific time in history I noted at the introduction.
It is SPECIFICALLY THAT VERY DAY of WRATH that Paul tells us “ For God hath not appointed us to wrath”.
And so should we trust this to be true, for the Bride awaits the groom to return for her after he had left.
When the disciples of John The Baptist asked Jesus about why his own disciples do not fast, Jesus response was simply;
John the Baptist was the first to identify Christ as the Bridegroom, so it makes sense that his disciples understood what it was Jesus was speaking about.
He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled John 3:29
In teaching his own disciples Jesus gave the parable of the marriage as a picture of the Kingdom of Heaven;
2 The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, 3 And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding….by verse nine Jesus says 9 Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. Matt 22:2-9
The Church is the Virgin Bride that now waits for her Groom.
We see even passages in the epistles, the letters to the Church speak of this same picture, Paul writes;
Turn to 2 Cor 11:2
2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 2 Cor 11:2
That famous passage in Ephesians 5 that likens our own marriage relationships as that between the Church and Christ, for after Paul speaks to all that and identifies that a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they two shall be one flesh (v31), he says;
32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Eph 5:22-32
Now what are we to say of;
Revelation 19:7
7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
Rev 21:9
And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife
Rev 22:17
And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely
We have here Revealed the Church to be the Virgin Bride of the Son of God.
If this is true, how can it be possible for the bride of the Son to be appointed to the Wrath of the Father?
We will expound more about this as we go on in our studies, because those who believe this would also tell us that she will be protected, hidden as Israel were in Goshen before the exodus. I will show that that is NOT SO as we go on in later studies.
The Contrast to the Bride of Christ is The Adulterous wife;
Remembering The Adulterous Wife
There are two distinct peoples in the Bible, and we attend to this diligently because without understanding these distinctions, we run afoul of attributing to one the accounts of the other.
The greatest errors we find today is embedded in the somewhat lazy conflation, mixing together, of that which God clearly has as separated.
The Roman Catholic Church has long ago melted the Church into ancient Israel in what is commonly known as “Replacement Theology”, also known as “Suprasessionism”. Israel has been replaced by the Church.
Sadly, the protestants that came out of her never corrected this error, they included this false doctrine and call the same thing “Covenentalism”.
They still hold to and justify the Roman Catholic heresy that the Church has replaced Israel, so Old Testament Israel is also considered to be the Church.
(They misapply Acts 7:38 as their justification when the martyr Stephen was referring to an assembly of people.)
It seems repenting of error is an incredibly difficult thing to do.
But it was the faithful common man who heard the Lord gladly and read his bible plainly that could see there is NO NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH in the Old Testament.
The Old Testament shows distinct people groups, the Jew and the Gentile. The new Testament Church, There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. (Gal 3:28)
- The New Testament shows the Church as the Virgin Bride of Christ.
- The Old Testament shows Israel as the Adulterous Wife of God.
And this alone we will consider as distinction enough.
Now, before we consider them remember that Jeremiah’s prophecy was directed just before the taking away of the Israel and Judah into captivity for her sin. Even he was there when it occurred.
Jeremiah 3:1–2
1 They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man’s, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD.
The text goes on to refer to her behavior as “Whoredoms” in verse 2.
Jeremiah 3:20–21
20 Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD.
Now, the entirety of Ezekiel 16 deals with Israel and Judah as adulterous, fornicating wife. But suffice to consider verse 15 and 16;
Ezekiel 16:15–16
15 But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was. 16 And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy high places with divers colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon: the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so.
In this latter portion of Isaiah the context is Israel being returned the Lord in the last of days.
Isa 54:1
1 Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD.
Isaiah 54:5
5 For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
So we see God referring to the nation as his wife, but it is not difficult to see her recognised as adulterous.
Is this not distinct from a virgin Bride? Yes, she will be returned to God, but it is not yet.
Sadly beloved, she will not be returned until a remnant survives the outpouring of Gods wrath upon the world, it will be a time of great trouble, even Jacobs Trouble.
Jeremiah 30:7
7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.
Beloved this is the day and hour that Jesus spoke of; in the Olivet Discourse, Matthew chapter 24 and 25, Mark 13 and Luke 21.
What we can see as we read those chapters, remembering that the Church is not yet in existence, that it is NOT The Bride of the Son that is Appointed to The Wrath of The Father. But both the adulterous wife AND the HEATHEN.
In Fact, the time of Jacobs Trouble, is also known as The Time of The Heathen.
It is their day!
The Time of The Heathen
Ezekiel 30:1–3 (AV)
1 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Howl ye, Woe worth the day! 3 For the day is near, even the day of the LORD is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen.
Psalm 110:5–6 (AV)
5 The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath. 6 He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries.
Isaiah 24:21–23 (AV)
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth…….. 23Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.
Isaiah 34:1–5 (AV)
1 Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it. 2 For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter.
Joel 3:11–16 (AV)
11 Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD. 12 Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. 13 Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. 14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. 15 The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. 16 The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.
How The Bride Awaits the Groom
Romans 13:11–12 (AV)
11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
1 Corinthians 1:7–9 (AV)
7 So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: 8 Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
Philippians 3:20–21 (AV)
20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: 21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
Turn to
1 Thessalonians 1:6–10 (AV)
6 And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost: 7 So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing. 9 For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; 10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
1 Thessalonians 4:15–18 (AV)
15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive andremain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
Titus 2:11–15 (AV)
11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
15 These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.
Turn to James and see how it is we are to live WHILE WE WAIT
James 5:7–11 (AV)
7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. 8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.
10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. 11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.
Jude 17–25 (AV)
17 But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; 18 How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. 19 These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit. 20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, 21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. 22 And of some have compassion, making a difference:
23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, 25 To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
#imminent
[1] Michael P. Green. (2000). 1500 illustrations for biblical preaching (p. 61). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.
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