What wrath is this? Luke 21 is clearly a dual prophecy, and that is easy to see. Jesus is asked by His disciples (those who belong to Him and not unbelievers) what will be the signs of the last day or the day of the Lord’s vengeance. He tells them. The first thing He warns of was the destruction that was to soon come in 70 AD, when Jerusalem was indeed overtaken and totally destroyed, with not one stone remaining upon another. But this was not the day of the Lord’s vengeance that is to come upon the whole face of the earth, Luke records. So Jesus first warns the believers listening to Him then, and also all believers who would have been in Jerusalem when it was destroyed in 70 AD by what is commonly believed, the Romans. Greece is also a possibility. I read a great article which cites Josephus’ account of that battle under the Roman general Titus. I should research that myself. But he cited book and chapter. Josephus claimed it was Greece who actually did the destroying of the temple but Titus was blamed for it and it stuck. Both companies were all mixed up in the battle and according to the article, Josephus, who was there at the time, records that it was Greece and Titus wanted to retreat and leave the Jews alone and the temple. That is very intriguing of true.
But then He skips to another destruction, not just in Jerusalem now but upon the whole earth. This is clearly the last day, the day of His wrath. He is speaking of the wrath of the Lamb now.
Keep in mind that His instruction is not to unbelievers. This instruction is to believers. He says to keep watch for that day. He said there would be signs in the sun, moon and stars, and distress of nations. This is now not about just Jerusalem. Prophecy is always like this. There is very often a precursor that is a foreshadowing of a future prophetic fulfillment of the last day.
Jesus goes back and forth from one to the other and you have to pay close attention to the markers which identify which period He is talking about but it’s very clear.
So He wraps Luke 21 up by describing the events and the signs before His return. He says to believers…watch that you don’t be caught up in ungodly behaviors ( He lists them) and distractions (the cares of this life). He says this to believers : “ Watch therefore, and pray always, that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things ( His wrath in last day) that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man( Jesus as judge at the last day).
Current teaching in the church, to just relax if you are saved, is sloppy. It is false teaching with carelessness. It is not false teaching with malice however. It’s just lazy.
But the problem with it being lazy is that there is no excuse for it. This instruction could not be clearer and I encourage the reader to just read it slowly and pay attention. But bad teaching here can be very dangerous.
Jesus said, WATCH ALWAYS AND PRAY THAT YOU WILL BE COUNTED WORTHY TO ESCAPE THIS WRATH THAT IS COMING ON THE WHOLE EARTH.
So not all believers will be counted worthy to escape the wrath of the last day. Jesus isn’t talking to the lost here and telling them to get saved so they are worthy. He is talking to the saved and tells them to watch and pray that they’d be counted worthy to escape the last day wrath.
Immediately before He says this, He describes what would makes the believer unworthy… “hearts overcharged with excess or over-indulgence, drunkenness and the cares of this life”. Wow.
He finishes… “ so that day comes upon you unaware”. Luke 21:34.
Jesus clearly says to believers who would be alive at the time of the last day, that they should watch and pray and not be caught up in excess and drunkenness and cares of this life, or they would not escape the wrath that is coming…would not be raptured.
There will be believers who believed before the rapture of the church who are lukewarm and caught up in the cares of this life and its excesses and will not go, but suffer through the 3.5 year tribulation, or wrath, and we know these are the beheaded saints of Revelation.
When the man of perdition is revealed at the 3.5 year mark, the wrath begins. The 1st 3.5 years of the last 7, called Jacob’s Trouble, is a time of false peace and not wrath. God sends great delusion when He raptures His Church so that those who didn’t believe before, cannot believe. Any gentile alive and on earth at the tribulation who believes, did so before the church went. They just were not single minded. They were not watching. They were not hidden in Christ.
More next time…