Quote Originally Posted by tdidymas View Post
The wrath these verses are talking about is the lake of fire, which is a permanent condition. The wrath poured out on the earth during the Great Tribulation pales in comparison, it being a mere taste of the wrath of God on each unrepentant individual at the Great White Throne Judgment. Believers who are alive on the earth during the G.T. are not receiving the wrath of God, because God is able to protect each one of them from harm, even as He protected the Israelites in Egypt from the plagues He inflicted on the Egyptians. However, the scripture says "through many (great) tribulations shall we enter the kingdom of God." Peter wrote for us to prepare ourselves for suffering!! Therefore, your ****ogy is neither reasonable, nor scriptural. When God chastised Israel, both the righteous and the unrighteous suffered with it. Righteous men like Daniel were carried off to slavery. Even the remnant that remained was seriously affected. Heb. 12 tells us to consider hardship as God's discipline for us to share in His holiness. Therefore, although none of us desire to suffer, we must be willing to go through it for His name -- Rom. 8 "if we suffer with Him, we shall also be glorified with Him." None of us have any hope of going through the G.T., however we must prepare ourselves as though we were. We shall certainly suffer persecution, even though God has the power to protect us from the kind of harm that the world will receive. We should hope for the best, and prepare for the worst. "...Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil" - God uses trials to deliver us, even though we ask Him not to. We don't want the trials, but we know we're going to get them.
TD
Hi TD,

Interesting view, but how do you come to the conclusion that the "wrath" in these verses is referring to the lake of fire? Hardship and suffering are part of the human condition, both the saved and the unsaved go through them. The saved person is declared righteous and has been justified, suffering and hardship do not enhance these positions. Does God allow suffering, hardships and does He chastise the saved? Yes. Wrath is not chastisment or hardship or persecution, wrath is vengance and condemnation. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.