End Times-
putting the pieces in place
by Sonny Bowman
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Chapter 3
Tribulation or Wrath?
1 Thessalonians 3:4 (NKJV) For, in fact, we told you before
when we were with you that we would suffer tribulation, just as
it happened, and you know.
1 Thessalonians 1:10 (NKJV) and to wait for His Son from
heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who
delivers us from the wrath to come.
As mentioned in the first chapter, all events of the Great
Tribulation occur before any events of the Wrath of God.
Therefore, the first step necessary for understanding end-time
events is to get a clear understanding of the difference between
the Great Tribulation and Wrath of God. Unless this difference is
clearly understood, it is virtually impossible to understand
end-time events. Therefore, the purpose of this chapter is to
provide an overview of the major differences between the Great
Tribulation and the Wrath of God. (Each of those time periods are
covered in detail in following chapters.)
The Great Tribulation
An important clue to remember when studying end-time events is
that the Great Tribulation is demonic in
origin. It includes the persecution and killing of many people by
Satan's emissary-the Beast. The Beast (also
called the Antichrist) will reign during the Great Tribulation.
He will demand worship and conquer many countries. The Great
Tribulation will be a time of intense evil. The source of the
Great Tribulation is Satan (Rev. 13:2-4). Satan's purpose for the
Great Tribulation is to kill, steal, and destroy (John 10:10). A
major characteristic of the Great Tribulation is the deception of
those who do not love the truth (2 Thes. 2:9-12).
The Wrath of God
The Wrath of God is godly judgment against
evil. This judgment takes the form of seven plagues poured out
against the Beast and those who worship him. These seven plagues are administered by the angels
of God. The purpose of the Wrath of God is to punish the Beast
and his followers (Rev. 14:9-10). The major characteristic of the
Wrath of God is severe punishment of those who do not belong to
God.
The Difference
The Great Tribulation and the Wrath of God are two separate
events coming from two different sources for two
different purposes. The Great Tribulation is a time of
intense persecution. It is instigated by Satan through the
Beast in an effort to deceive people and cause them to worship
him instead of Jesus. The Wrath of God is a time of judgment
which will be poured out upon the world by God. Its purpose is to
punish the Beast and those who have taken his mark during the
Great Tribulation.
The differences between the Great Tribulation and Wrath of God
have been summarized in this chapter. More details about each of
these time periods are given in later chapters.
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End Times - putting the pieces
in place
Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture quotations are from
the Holy Bible, New King James Version, copyright © 1982 by
Thomas Nelson, Inc.
NKJV indicates quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New
King James Version, copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
KJV indicates quotations taken from the King James Version
of the Bible.
Numbers associated with Greek (italic) or Hebrew (upright)
words refer to the corresponding words in the Strong's Exhaustive
Concordance of the Bible, by James Strong, S.T.D., LL.D.
Please make copies of this book to give to your friends. (A
searchable and printable version in Adobe Acrobat format is
available for download.) Your comments
and suggestion are also welcome. Thank you for helping others to
understand the Bible teachings on the End Times.
God bless you.
Sonny Bowman
If you have questions or comments, please contact
Sonny Bowman.
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