The WRATH of GOD (1 Thessalonians 1:10)
- Quin. A
- Aug 6
- 5 min read
Umm.
From the title, this article may not appear too pretty or inviting. But actually, it’s downright beautiful. Paul wrote the following to the believers at Thessalonica: “… to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.” (1 Thessalonians 1:10).
The wrath of God is, without question, the scariest thing on God’s green earth, under His earth, and above it. It is petrifying. When the Children of Israel were merely in God’s presence on Mount Sinai, they were terrified. They were afraid of His presence, not his wrath, but His mere presence. (Exodus 20:18-19) The thunder, the fire, the billows of smoke, the flashes of lightening that accompanied God’s mighty essence was enough to make them cower.
So, imagine what God’s wrath will do if His presence commands that time of terror. Glimpses of God’s wrath is found throughout scripture. In the days of Noah, God destroyed the entire earth due to mankind’s wicked and unrepentant hearts. When the Israelites were taken into Babylonian captivity because of their refusal to repent, we saw how daunting God’s judgement was. Even the New Testament shows that God has not changed—that He still reigned down his wrath. Ananias and Sapphira were unfortunate witnesses of this in Acts 5.
Often, we speak about the love of God. We glory and testify of how massive, how deep, how wide, how unimaginable God’s love is. It is a love that I don’t think we’ll ever completely understand. Yet, it is one that we should continuously explore. For sure, God’s love should be spoken of, boasted in, and proclaimed until all have heard.
Yet, if we only speak of God’s love and never of His wrath, we miss the entire picture of Him. My husband not only sees my good days, but he sees my bad days too. He not only sees me when I attempt to doll myself up, but he also sees me when I roll out of bed with glamor far from my mind and appearance. But if he only saw my glamorous days without my normal, or even ugly days, he wouldn’t see all of me … he’d see only part of me.
We must view God for all that He is. He is undoubtedly a God of love, but He is also a God of wrath. And that wrath is promised to be poured upon those who disobey God in the end, just like it was poured upon the disobedient souls in the days of Noah. Colossians 3:5-6 reads, “Therefore, put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience.”
God’s wrath comes only because of our disobedience. It comes because we sin with no repentance. And when the wrath of God comes, there is no turning back. When it comes, it comes with vengeance. When it comes, it rules, reigns, and everything in His path gets consumed.
And yet, the beauty of it all is that God has provided us a way to avoid His wrath. Paul wrote, “even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath of God.” We have a way out from God’s wrath and it’s through Jesus Christ.
God has always provided an escape from His wrath, along with time to take the escape route. In Noah’s days, mankind had the many opportunities and plenty of time to repent, but they didn’t. Scholars estimate that it took Noah 50-75 years to build the ark. Yet, no one repented. Jeremiah preached to the Israelites 23 years, before they were sent into Babylonian captivity.
God is a just God. He is more than fair. He does not send wrath or judgement without the opportunity to repent. But if I were to be honest here, I think some folks just don’t like the way out. They don’t like Jesus, and they don’t like the fact that Jesus is the only way to be cleansed from sins and to be right with God.
Remember Naaman? He was a commander of the Syrian army, but he had leprosy. He heard that he could be healed from his skin disease by God and through the Prophet Elisha. So, he visited Elisha for his healing. But when he arrived, Elisha sent a messenger to Naaman and told him to go wash in the Jordan River seven times.
But Naaman despised that idea. He hated the avenue in which he was instructed to be healed. He complained that Elisha did not come out to meet him and he proclaimed that there were far greater rivers to be washed in other than the Jordan.
Yet, healing was said to be found by the way in which the Prophet Elisha had instructed. It didn’t matter whether Naaman liked it or not. And so, after considering wise counsel, Naaman received his healing by dunking in the Jordan River seven times. 2 Kings 5:14 states his flesh was restored like that of a little child. He had baby smooth skin. He was renewed because he agreed to the one selected way of healing.
To be healed of our sins and to avoid the wrath of God, the one selected way of healing is Jesus. But many people despise that. They want another way. They murmur and complain against coming to God through Jesus, but I pray that mankind will take heed to wise counsel. “For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12). It’s only through Jesus. The wrath of God can only be avoided by Jesus.
And so, the beauty of the text is that God has provided us a way of escape. And that way is beautiful. It’s not just a way to avoid God’s wrath, but also to experience God's love and peace. It is so that we might live and live abundantly. It is so we can have brand-new skin like Naaman. For anyone in Christ is a new creation, old things have passed away and all things have become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Dear reader, be thankful that God has given us an escape from his wrath! We don’t have to endure that. We can be covered like the Israelites at Passover when the death angel passed over them because of the blood of the lamb. Because of the Blood of Jesus, death and wrath will pass over all who accept Him, and that is a beautiful, joyous thing.
I’ve nothing else for you today. May the wrath of God pass over you and your household through the accepting and following of our Lord Jesus Christ. And may it pass over me and my family as well. Praise God for the escape.
Have a blessed and wonderful day, and until next time, take care.
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Again, thanks for reading. Have a beautiful day.
Sincerely,
Quin Arrington
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