Wrath
Wrath - Greek word is thumos. rage, fierce anger. A
passionate anger.
Galatians 5
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance,
emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
Wrath is one of the "works of the flesh"
mentioned in Galatians.
Luke 4:27
28 And all they in the synagogue, when they heard
these things, were filled with wrath ,
The scribes and the Pharisees grew angry to the point
of wrath at the preaching of Jesus.
Acts 19
28 And when they heard these sayings, they were
full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.
The people had great anger and wrath at Paul for his
preaching. They felt that their form of worship of Diana was threatened. They preferred
worship of idols to the grace and freedom that comes with receiving Jesus Christ and being
free from sin.
2 Corinthians 12
20 For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find
you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not: lest there
be debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings,
tumults:
Paul feared that the church at Corinth was being
infiltrated with the "works of the flesh." Wrath is one of the traits mentioned
as being a failing of the church .
Ephesians 4
31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and
anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
Wrath is one of the evils that should be put away
with after becoming a Christian.
We see more and more the strength of the commandment,
"Love thy neighbor as thyself."
Colossians 3
8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath,
malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put
off the old man with his deeds;
10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed
in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
Put off the old garment and dress in the new. We are
to become new creatures in Christ Jesus. The old man is to be put off. If this were not
possible God would not have commanded us to do these things. He will not make commandments
and then not make a way for us to keep them.
Hebrews 11
27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath
of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.
Moses chose to identify with his own people even
though it would incur the wrath of the king of Egypt.
Revelation 12:12
12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that
dwell in them. 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.
The devil has great wrath because he will not be
allowed to continue much longer and he is trying to take with him all that he can.
Revelation 14:8
8 And there followed another angel, saying,
Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the
wine of the wrath of her fornication .
Revelation 18:3
3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the
wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her,
and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
Here the word wrath is used to explain the influence
of evil from the city of Babylon. Many nations are influenced to follow the evil ways of
Babylon until the day when severe judgment falls upon it and God brings it's evil to a
halt suddenly. Evil will not continue forever. Sin will finally be judged and brought to
and quick end. It may seem like a long time to us but in the mind of God the end is
quickly approaching .
Romans 2
8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not
obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man
that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;
10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that
worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:
11 For there is no respect of persons with God.
Now we see the description of the wrath of God. God
is angry at sin and evil. Yes, He loves us but that love also causes him to hate anything,
which destroys or defiles his creation. He prefers to save and heal but if people
continually reject and do the opposite of what he commands judgment will come eventually.
We see the wrath of God poured out on those who are contentious and do not obey the truth.
Revelation 14:19
9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a
loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his
forehead, or in his hand,
10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath
of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall
be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the
presence of the Lamb :
11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for
ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image,
and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are
they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me,
Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit,
that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.
14 And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and
upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in
his hand a sharp sickle.
15 And another angel came out of the temple,
crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for
the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
16 And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his
sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.
17 And another angel came out of the temple which
is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
18 And another angel came out from the altar,
which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp
sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the
earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the
earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath
of God.
Taking the mark of the beast is so serious a crime
against God that it incurs His wrath. The type of people who continually reject the gospel
and take the mark of the beast are those that have hardened their hearts against God,
persecuted and killed believers in Jesus Christ and worship the beast. These are those
that have refused to repent even though God sent preachers to warn them.
Revelation 15
1 And I saw another sign in heaven, great and
marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath
of God.
Even after the plagues and judgments from God the
people refuse to repent. This describes hearts that have been so hardened and deceived
that they do not repent.
Revelation 15
7 And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven
angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
Revelation 16
1 And I heard a great voice out of the temple
saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon
the earth.
Revelation 16:21
fierceness
19 And the great city was divided into three
parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before
God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
20 And every island fled away, and the mountains
were not found.
21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of
heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the
plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
God's anger rises because of the continual refusal to
repent and change.
Revelation 19:15
15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that
with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he
treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
The worst thing we could do to incur the wrath of God
is to reject the plan he made for our salvation. He gave His Son to die in our place and
suffer for our sins. He actually took our punishment for us. To reject this plan of
salvation is to refuse the only way to escape hell and inherit eternal life. There remains
no other way to be saved. God loves us and wants to save every one of us. All we have to
do is repent, allow Jesus to take our sins away and give us a refreshing new life filled
with His Spirit. You can have that living water abiding within you today.