Godlessness has a price. For all who deny the Lord God through His Son, Jesus Christ, judgment will come upon them swiftly and disastrously. God Almighty is love, mercy, and grace. These are inherent in His character. He wants none to perish, but all to have eternal life. Yet, many choose not to accept His free offer of salvation, peace, and joy for all eternity. They decide their own desires and outcomes supersede anything the God of heaven and earth might offer. The flip side of who God is reveals Him as One who will judge and punish. He does so because He is just and righteous.
Paul described the condition of mankind in the latter days shortly before Jesus will return. We are in the midst of those days – let no one convince you otherwise. Here is what Paul said in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 concerning these current times:
But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.
This kind of attitude among all of mankind throughout the earth is the result of a hardened heart and a seared conscience. Such people reach the point of hating God and everyone who professes Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. It is this hatred that Paul declares in 2 Timothy 3:12-13 which leads to the following:
Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
Long before Paul, the ancient prophets warned Israel and all nations upon the earth that such anti-God fervor will cause their destruction. It’s why in Jeremiah 25:15-16 that He had the prophet declare:
Thus the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. They shall drink and stagger and be crazed because of the sword that I am sending among them.”
Every nation on this planet has already partaken from this cup of the Lord’s wrath because God already had the prophet make them swallow it (Jeremiah 25:17-26). It is only a matter of time before their drunkenness causes them to be completely crazed. We know from observing what’s going on in the world that nations are already inebriated and staggering. But more is coming, just as Jeremiah 25:27 proclaims:
“Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Drink, be drunk and vomit, fall and rise no more, because of the sword that I am sending among you.’”
A time is coming, and is very near, that no nation upon the face of this globe will remain in its sinful condition. The Lord will make sure of that. The reason for this that God states is because “ … I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth…” (Jeremiah 25:29).
None shall escape. There is no one who despises or even simply ignores God whom He will allow to get away with that attitude. Every person upon the planet will be required to make a choice: God or not-God. The wrong decision is deadly. Jeremiah 25:31 tells us why:
“The clamor will resound to the ends of the earth,
for the Lord has an indictment against the nations;
he is entering into judgment with all flesh,
and the wicked he will put to the sword,
declares the Lord.’”
From this what happens? Note Jeremiah 25:33:
“And those pierced by the Lord on that day shall extend from one end of the earth to the other. They shall not be lamented, or gathered, or buried; they shall be dung on the surface of the ground.”
It is an ignoble end for every single person not in Christ.
All this, of course, occurs during the Tribulation. The wickedness of man that Paul prophesied will reach a crescendo as the Holy Spirit – the Restrainer – is removed when the true church of Jesus Christ is snatched away in His return for us in the clouds. The kings and all the peoples of the earth will descend completely in chaotic lawlessness in the darkness of this 7-year period. It will be a horrible time – the worst of any ever to come upon the planet – and there will never be another time like it because of God’s gracious plans for the future of earth.
The cup of the Lord’s wrath brings utter destruction, but in His mercy, God reveals that following these terrible days, light will shine as Jesus Christ ascends to the throne in Jerusalem and reigns over the earth for 1,000 years. What a difference! From absolute evil to absolute goodness.
Those who desire to create an earthly utopia in man’s image will all come to ruin. They will find that none of their hopes and dreams will be realized. It is only God who is sovereign and can bring about the ideal that men thought was theirs to make.
Thankfully, the Lord has revealed all His plans and purposes to those who will listen and heed. For those of us in Christ whom He will bless for our faithful obedience, let us lift our voices in praise and thanks to the One who has delivered us!