...Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

Romans 5

...Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. 1 Thessalonians 1:10

I maintain a pause of my study of 1 Corinthians as I continue using DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotion, which today shares details of the eternal damnation of those who spurn God's love and reject Him as Lord and Savior.  Piper starts the devotion by sharing 1 Thessalonians 1:10 where Paul describes the hope he has in Jesus who delivers believers from "the wrath to come."  Piper then provides several verses that share the ominous details of what it will be like for those damned for eternity: Romans 2:8, Ephesians 5:6, Revelation 14:10-11, Revelation 20:15, Revelation 19:15, and Revelation 14:20.

Besides 1 Thessalonians 1:10, Piper provides Revelation 22:17 and 21:4 to encourage believers with what awaits them in Heaven.  

As Piper concludes the devotion for today, he urges believers with: encouragement and a message to save others from the fire: "I tremble with joy that I am saved! But oh, the holy wrath of God is a horrible destiny. Flee this, brothers and sisters. Flee this with all your might. And let us save as many as we can!" 

[H]ave mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire[.] Jude 22-23a

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of grace and mercy for me - thank You Jesus for saving me from the wrath to come.  I am not deserving of such love and grace.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome  and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus. Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”

Revelation 12-15

This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus. Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.” Revelation 14:12-13

Session #7 of  David Platt - Revelation: The Hope of Glory (requires login which I have though my church) focuses on Revelation 12-15.

Broad reflections from Platt's recent mission trip as context and as lead for this study today: We are ordinary believers doing extraordinary things with God's Word for God's glory...making disciples, multiplying churches.  The point is not to coast out our comfortable Christian life! We must multiply...knowing the cost is great!  Just like the 1st century church who serves as the original audience for Revelation...believing that the reward is great.  We cannot do business as usual.

Revelation "pulls back the curtains" to help us understand that nothing in this world happens naturally and that scientific explanation is not the key to all dilemmas most importantly sin and salvation; all is controlled by and tied to a supernatural being - God Himself.  We are caught up in a cosmic battle between God and sin. Chapters 12-15 include seven visions or signs that play out in this battle:

• 12:1 and 12:3 Satan has been conquered by Christ the Savior and is being conquered by Christians as they suffer.  Woman is the picture of people of God (church) spanning the Bible (OT, NT).  The child is Jesus.  Red dragon is Satan (evil).  Birth of Christ declares the death of the ancient serpent (from Genesis 3).  Satan kept trying to disrupt God's plan to defeat sin but the death of Christ defanged the adversary; and the resurrection of Christ demolished all his accusations against the church. From the very entrance of sin, God promised to send His Son to defeat evil and sin and Jesus accomplished what no one else could do.  Satan goes after the church (12:13-17) but is defeated! When Satan attempts to use suffering and persecution to defeat Christians, he ultimately contributes to their eternal delight and his own eternal destruction (Philippians 1).
• 13:1 Satan works through government that functions as divine authority instead of divine authority; God permits the beast to curse His name, crush His people, and control the nations (13:5-7).  But we should be encouraged - see 13:8-10; Satan deceives through teachers who look like friends (13:11 - "like a lamb") yet speak like enemies, stimulating idolatry while slaying the innocent.  He massacres all who refuse him.  But remember, there will always be a price to pay for believers who refuse to worship the ways of this world.  He (Satan) marks (with an incomplete number 666 vs 7 that represents Jesus) all who follow him. 
• 14:1 Faithful followers of Christ will one day stand boldly with Him, sing loudly to Him and be satisfied completely in Him (14:4). This is the reward of uncompromising purity in the world. 14:5 This is the reward of unapologetic proclamation of the gospel.  Who we worship on earth determines where we go in eternity. 14:6 All who indulge in the enticing wine of this world will one day drink from the everlasting wrath of God. 14:9-11 Wake up non believers to what awaits you eternally!  Yet hope for believers - All who endure amid the trials and temptations of this world will one day enter into the rest and relief of God.  14:12-13
• 14:14 The judgment of God is inevitable and intense. He will harvest all the saints who trust in Him. He will tread every sinner who turns from Him.  Everyone will one day come face to face with God.
• 15:2-4 Soon all saints throughout history will rejoice together in the song of the redeemed. Conquering Christians will shout as they consider God's incomprehensible works. Conquering Christians will sing as they behold God's incomparable worth.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who is with us TODAY to help with our struggles against the forces of this world and You have saved believers from the wrath promised during the end times - thank You Jesus for adopting me into Your family.  I am not deserving of such a gift - I continue to gossip, worry, etc. Please forgive me Jesus!  Help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply your message for me today and every day.  Help me also snatch others from the fire!

Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices, and you can stay in the land the Lord gave to you and your ancestors for ever and ever. Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them; do not arouse my anger with what your hands have made. Then I will not harm you.

Jeremiah 25

Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices, and you can stay in the land the Lord gave to you and your ancestors for ever and ever. Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them; do not arouse my anger with what your hands have made. Then I will not harm you. v5-6

The Lord sent many of his servants (v4) to deliver this message to the Israelites who had turned away from God.  Yet they did not listen (v7). God is extremely patient with us, full of grace and mercy, slow to anger and abounding in love, yet He does NOT have unlimited patience.

What is great is that we DO have a God who sent His Son to drink from the same cup of wrath taken by others before Him such as those who did so as described here in Jeremiah 25 and elsewhere in the Bible.

We all have earthly fathers we love but we none of us have an earthly father who can do what Jesus did for us at the cross.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God - You have done for me what no earthly father can or could ever do.  Thank You Jesus. Thank You for my earthly father and thank You for being so full of grace, mercy, and love for me.  I am not worthy of such love.  I miss the mark daily.  Please forgive me and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Please help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.