Segment VI
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William Miller
(1782-1849)
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Three Types of Wrath
Pre-tribulation
advocates have been led to believe
that God’s children will escape
His coming wrath. They typically put
1 Thessalonians 5:9 and Romans 5:9
together to support their claim.
Unfortunately, these texts do not
apply to the Great Tribulation. (I
wish they did.) Instead, they speak
of God’s wrath as the penalty
for sin, that is, the second death
– not the wrath of the Great
tribulation. There are three types of
wrath, and understanding the nature
and purpose of these different types
is crucial to understanding the
fourth seal:
- Wrath as
the fruit or consequences
that comes from wrongdoing: If
we violate a physical or
moral law, we suffer wrath
– the consequences of
the law. Paul wrote, “Because
[the] law brings
wrath. And where there is no
law there is no
transgression.” (Romans
4:15, insertion mine) For
example, if we eat too much
at Thanksgiving, we will
suffer (wrath) for
overeating. If we commit
adultery, we will suffer pain
(wrath) (the social
consequences) for our sin and
the innocent around us
(spouse, children, families)
will suffer too. The Bible
says, “Do not be
deceived: God cannot be
mocked. A man reaps what he
sows. The one who sows to
please his sinful nature,
from that nature will reap
destruction; the one who sows
to please the Spirit, from
the Spirit will reap eternal
life.” (Galatians
6:7,8) Sin always causes
sorrow, suffering, pain and
death because these things
are the consequences of
wrongdoing.
A victim of wrongdoing
seeks justice (revenge). Once revenge
has been administered, wrath is
satisfied. The Middle East is a
painful demonstration of a revenge
process that cannot achieve justice.
This is why Jesus taught, “But
I tell you: Love your enemies and
pray for those who persecute
you…. And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.” (Matthew
5:44; 6:12) Jesus said these words
because the power of forgiveness is
God’s way to peace. The power of
forgiveness comes to those who are
willing to receive it from God.
Forgiveness terminates wrath. This is
why Paul wrote, “Do not take
revenge, my friends, but leave room
for God’s wrath, for it is
written: ‘It is mine to avenge;
I will repay, ‘ says the
Lord.” (Romans 12:19)
Of course, Jesus
ordained the establishment of
government when he created man. He
permits humanity to execute corporate
justice on wrong doers. (Romans 13)
Jesus also empowers governments to
administer justice as long as they
uphold righteous principles. (Numbers
35) When governments overstep their
authority, Jesus brings them down.
(Daniel 4:17,35) Babylon,
Medo-Persia, Grecia, Rome and many
other governments fell because they
degenerated into arbitrary rule
(lawlessness). Sin has consequences
that are called wrath.
- Wrath as
the penalty for sin: When
Adam and Eve were placed in
the Garden of Eden; they were
put under the obligation of
law. “But of the tree
of the knowledge of good and
evil, thou shalt not eat of
it: for in the day that thou
eatest thereof thou shalt
surely die.” (Genesis
2:17, KJV) Adam and Eve were
to be executed the very day
they ate the fruit, because
the penalty for sin is death
by execution. This point
was proved every time a
sacrificial lamb died in the
Old Testament. The animal was
slaughtered on an alter
– it did not naturally
die from disease. Even more,
Jesus was executed for our
sins (1 Thessalonians
2:14,15) because the penalty
for sin is death by
execution. This point will be
demonstrated when the wicked
die at the end of the
thousand years. No wicked
person has received the
penalty for his sins yet.
Billions of wicked and
righteous people have died
from the consequences of sin,
but God has not executed one
wicked person with the
penalty fro sin! The
execution of the wicked
occurs at the end of the
thousand years. Think about
this, if God had executed a
wicked person, how could an
eternally condemned person be
resurrected “to
life” (Revelation
20:5,6) at the end of the
thousand years only to perish
in the fires of Hell again?
(Revelation 20:14, 15) The
doctrine of soul sleep is
highly important because it
clarifies this aspect of
God’s wrath so clearly.
Everyone who commits
the unpardonable sin will be declared
“wicked” by Jesus during
the judgment bar of Christ because
the wicked rejected the demands of
the Holy Spirit. However, Jesus will
declare a person who submits to the
Holy Spirit “righteous”
because His blood covers everyone who
submits to the authority of the Holy
Spirit. This is the meaning and
context of Paul’s words, “For
God did not appoint us too suffer
wrath [as in the penalty of sin] but
to receive salvation through [the
blood of] our Lord Jesus
Christ.” (1 Thessalonians
5:9, insertion mine) “Since
we have now been justified by his
blood, how much more shall we be
saved from God’s wrath through
him!” (Romans 5:9) “For
the wages of sin is [eternal] death,
but the gift of God is eternal life
in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans
6:23, insertion mine) “But
because of your stubbornness and your
unrepentant heart, you are storing up
wrath against yourself for the day of
God’s wrath, when his righteous
judgment [of mankind] will be
revealed.” (Romans 2:5,
insertion mine) Sin not has its
consequences, but it has a deadly
penalty, too. The penalty for sin is
eternal death by execution. (Note:
The difference between the
consequences of sin and the penalty
for sin may be compared to the
difference between compensatory and
punitive judgments in a court
system.)
3.
Wrath comes in the form of redemptive
or destructive judgments: If a
nation
angers God by
persistent rebellion, He brings
against that nation by sending redemptive
judgments. If that nation
continues in rebellion, God brings
more wraths by sending destructive
judgments. Jesus told Israel,
“But if you will not listen
to me and carry out all these
commands, and if you reject my
decrees and abhor my laws and fail to
carry out all my commands and so
violate my covenant, then I will do
this to you: I will bring sudden
terror, wasting diseases and fever
that will destroy your sight and
drain away your life. You will plant
seed in vain, because your enemies
will eat it.” (Leviticus
26:14-16)
After centuries of
trying to get Israel to accomplish
the purposes for which He delivered
them out of Egypt, Jesus sent Israel
into Babylonian captivity in 605 B.C.
the first siege of Jerusalem and the
captivity of Israel’s finest
young men did not change
Israel’s behavior. Therefore,
Jesus sent Nebuchadnezzar a second
time in 598 B.C. Still no change of
heart. Finally, Jesus told Ezekiel: “For
this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
How much worse will it be when I send
against Jerusalem my four dreadful
judgments – sword and famine and
wild beasts and plague – to kill
its men and their animals! Yet there
will be some survivors –sons and
daughters who will be brought out of
it. They will come to you, and when
you see their conduct and their
actions, you will be consoled
regarding the disaster I have brought
upon Jerusalem – every disaster
I have brought upon it.” (Ezekiel
5; 14:21) Finally, King
Nebuchadnezzar attacked Jerusalem in
586 B.C. and totally destroyed it.
When redemptive judgments do not
produce repentance and reformation,
God’s wrath becomes grossly
destructive. Global destruction
occurred in Noah’s day for this
reason. “So the Lord said,
‘I will wipe mankind, whom I
have created, from the face of the
Earth – men and animals, and
creatures that move along the ground,
and birds of the air – for I am
grieved that I have made
them.’” (Genesis 6:7)
During the Great Tribulation, global
destruction will happen again. First,
there will be seven redemptive
judgments (the seven trumpets), and
then, there will be seven destructive
judgments (the seven bowls). “I
saw in heaven another great and
marvelous sign: seven angels with the
seven last plagues – last,
because with them God’s wrath is
completed.” (Revelation
15:1)
Four Deadly
Judgments
After examining the
breaking of the fourth seal, I want
to demonstrate two things. First,
throughout the Bible, God’s
deadly judgments are defined as
sword, famine, plague and wild
beasts. Second, the breaking of
the fourth seal has to be in the
future because the breaking of the
fourth seal has to happen after the
third seal was broken in 1844.
Leviticus 26,
Deuteronomy 32 and Ezekiel 14 leave
no wiggle room on the meaning of
“sword, famine, plague and wild
beasts.” God’s wrath is
executed on mankind through these
four instruments. (See also Leviticus
26; Jeremiah 21:7, 42:17; Ezekiel
7:15.) “For this is what the
sovereign Lord says: How much worse
will it be when I send against
Jerusalem my four dreadful judgments
– sword and famine and wild
beasts and plague – to kill its
men and their animals!”
(Ezekiel 14:21) Jesus sent the flood
in Noah’s day. He kills people
when sin becomes so pervasive that
recovery is impossible. Jesus warned
Moses that He would do the same to
Israel if they rebelled against His
covenant: “See now that I
myself am He! There is no other God
besides me. I put to death and I
bring to life, I have wounded and I
will heal, and no one can deliver out
of my hand.” (Deuteronomy
32:39)
The Bible indicates
repeatedly that these four judgments
are punitive in nature; that is,
Jesus deliberately uses them to
punish nations when wickedness
exceeds the limits of divine
patience. This is why the language of
the fourth seal is so succinct. The
Great Tribulation will begin with the
breaking of the fourth seal.
Judgments from God are upon us
because we have exhausted the limits
of divine forbearance. If only
Catholics and Protestants understood
the subject of God’s wrath. A
correct understanding of this subject
will change your thoughts. We are
accountable to God for our words and
actions. God has not changed! His
word has not changed. Our arrogance
and ignorance keep us from
understanding God’s wrath. This
is why the world remains in great
darkness and this is why the Holy
Spirit will soon be sent out of
Heaven’s courtroom on a campaign
of wrath. Seeing is believing.
Summary
Now that we have
examined the four horseman of
Revelation 6, you should notice a
very interesting progression. The
first campaign to the world of
salvation through faith in Jesus. The
second campaign focused on the
translation and distribution of the
Bible throughout the world so that
the teachings of Jesus could be
rediscovered and understood. The
third campaign was a message to the
world that the judgment bar of Christ
was under way. Jesus is cleansing
Heaven’s temple by reviewing the
records of the dead. The fourth
campaign will be a mission of wrath
that will kill 25% of the
world’s population. This coming
display of God’s wrath will
accomplish a very important task.
Humanity’s arrogance and
ignorance will be subdued for a short
time so the world can hear His
servants; the 144,000 present the
following messages from Jesus:
1.
The judgment of the living has begun.
Honor the Creator; Worship the
Creator on His seventh day Sabbath.
2.
Do not worship God according to the
laws of Babylon, the Crisis
Government.
3.
Do not worship or obey the Antichrist
or receive his mark.
4.
Come out of Babylon – avoid her
plagues.
We will examine these
messages in Revelation 14 later, but
when the fourth seal is broken, the
wrath of Jesus will begin, the
judgment of the living will begin,
the ministry of the 144,000 will
begin, and the Great Tribulation will
begin. In days to come, the teachings
of Jesus will explain why the
wrath of God is upon us. Everyone
will be able to see Bible prophecy
fulfilled before his or her very
eyes. The fulfillment of prophecy
will give the Bible an incredible
amount of believability and
authority! In fact, this credibility
will eventually cause evil men to
kill those who obey God’s
commandments. This killing is
described in the next seal! (Remember
how the distribution of the Bible
under the second seal is connected to
the killing that occurs during the
fifth seal – see the chart
below)
At this time, the
stage is set. The people of Earth are
about to be actors in a drama they do
not anticipate. The five essential
doctrines have gone as far as they
can go. Bibles have been translated
and distributed. The 144,000 will be
empowered at the right moment and the
wrath of Jesus will arrest the world.
Earth’s cup of iniquity is full.
The only thing that is holding back
the “four winds” of
God’s wrath is the sealing of
the 144,000. (Revelation 7:1-4)
During the Great Tribulation, the
sheep in every religious system will
hear the voice of Jesus speaking
through His servants, and many of
these sheep will call on the
name of the Lord and be saved. The
goats will rebel against the
testimony given by the servants of
Jesus and they will punish His saints
for refusing to go along with their
rebellion. Jesus has deliberately and
carefully designed a course of events
so the Great Tribulation can
accomplish several purposes. Through
the testimony of the 144,000, Jesus
will overcome the bias and hatred
that exists toward Him, and a large
number of people will be saved. Jesus
will be revealed to the world as the
only Savior of man. Jesus will be
revealed as Almighty God through the
ministry of the Holy Spirit. As these
revelations occur, God’s sheep
will abandon their false gods and
serve Him who saves to the utmost.
Isn’t this amazing?
In closing, I should
point out that a correct
understanding of the first four seals
unlocks several key points in
Revelation that we will soon study.
For example, the breaking of the
fourth seal initiates the Great
Tribulation. The breaking of the
fourth seal will be marked with a
global earthquake. (Revelation 8:5)
The 1,260 days of the Two Witnesses
begin with the breaking of the fourth
seal. (Revelation 11:3) The seven
trumpets of Revelation 8 and 9
explain how sword, famine, plague and
wild beasts occur during the Great
Tribulation. The breaking of the
fourth seal will produce a response
from man that is described in
Revelation. The horrific judgments of
Jesus will cause a Crisis Government
(the composite beast of Revelation
13:1) to rise and become a global
power. As our examination of
Revelation continues, these matters
will become clearer.
Take a few moments to
examine the charts below. Notice the
timing of the first four seals. The
length of time between seal four and
seal six is a maximum of 1,335 days.
Seal #5 – A
Campaign of Martyrdom – The
Faith of Jesus Demonstrated
“When he had
opened the fifth seal, I saw under
the alter the souls of those who had
been slain because of the Word of God
and the testimony they maintained.
They called out in a loud voice,
‘How long, sovereign Lord, holy
and true, until you judge the
inhabitants of the Earth and avenge
our blood?’ Then each of them
was given a white robe, and they were
told to wait a little longer, until
the number of their fellow servants
and brothers who were to be killed as
they had been was completed.” (Revelation
6:9-11)
The fifth seal will be
a somber campaign. These three verses
are full of information that will be
helpful and encouraging to God’s
people when the time comes. When
God’s people suffer martyrdom
under the fifth seal because of their
loyalty to God’s Word, the assurance
of the white robe will be worth
more than all the fine gold found on
Earth! I estimate that the
fifth seal campaign will begin about
1,040 days into the Great
Tribulation. (This timing will be
further discussed when we talk about
the Seven Trumpets.) This is about
seven months before the offer of
salvation is closed forever. Because
the end of redemption is near, Jesus
initiates a powerful campaign to
demonstrate the religious difference
between faith and presumption. (Few
people experientially know the
difference now.) Faith loves God Word
and humbly submits to God’s
demands. Presumption believes in God,
but justifies rebellion against the
commands of God. The behaviors of
Cain and Abel reflect these powerful
forces. Both men built altars to
honor God. One man humbly obeyed the
command of the Lord by bringing a
lamb from his flock. The other
man presumed God would accept his
offering of fruit and the rest of the
story is history. Presumption is
offended by faith, and ultimately,
presumption convinces itself that the
destruction of the faithful is
justifiable. This is why Revelation
says, “This calls for patient
endurance on the part of the saints
who obey God’s commandments and
remain faithful to Jesus.” (Revelation
14:12)
The Faith of Jesus
Reflected
The fifth seal is
different from the other seals in
that the faith of Jesus is revealed
in this campaign through His saints.
Consider this: The first four seals
were “delivered” to Earth
by four horsemen riding out of
Heaven’s temple, the sixth seal
will be a campaign revealing
Christ’s glory, and the seventh
seal will be the full disclosure of
His deity. Therefore, six of the
seven seals are direct revelations
from Jesus to the world, but the
fifth seal will be an indirect,
powerful revelation, showing the
faith of Jesus through the death of
His saints. The martyrdom of the
fifth seal will separate the faithful
from the faithless, and I have no
doubt, that like the martyr Stephen,
the faces of people who stand firm
for Jesus will shine like the faces
of angels! “All who were
sitting in the Sanhedrin looked
intently at Stephen, and they saw
that his face was [bright] like
the face of an angel.” (Acts
6:15, insertion mine)
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