Jesus has returned from the wilderness... Matthew 4:13-18.

 When we last saw Jesus, He had been taken, by Satan, up onto an exceedingly high mountain.

You might ask yourself, why does this guy get so elaborate?

That is because my understanding of scripture is still, to some degree, segmented and broken. This has much to do with the traditional methods with which I was taught when I was young and the fact that the gospel writers told somewhat similar versions of these narratives but inadvertently changed the order of the details or unwittingly left details out.

Is this segmentation I speak of life-changing?

No, but I have an inquiring mind and need to know, so you are going along on my journey, and I hope my digging for answers answers some of your own questions as well.
Seeing as I cannot simply stay glued to Matthew, we will be bringing in the other gospel writers at times to hopefully fill in the blanks or add color commentary.

Several days into this, my wife reminded me that I have Chronological Bible that might be helpful. I looked at it, and it has already done what I am doing with you all. Sorry, bear with me.

On that note, here is a little about the gospel writer, Mark: We have NO record of him interacting with the disciples or Jesus until Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss on the Mount Of Olives. John Mark is the one writing this gospel. 

Adam Clarke's commentary conveys this about John Mark, “John Mark, ...was the son of a pious woman called Mary, who dwelt at Jerusalem: she was an early believer, and the disciples used to meet at her house. Peter, having been delivered out of prison by an angel, came to the house of Mary, mother of John, whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying, Act_12:12. This very first mention of John Mark assures us of Peter’s intimacy in that family: it is almost universally allowed that Mark, mentioned by Peter, 1Pe_5:13, is this evangelist, and that he is the same with him who is called sister’s son to Barnabas, Col_4:10, and is supposed to have been converted by Peter to the Christian faith.”

Since John Mark most likely picked Peter's brain, and Peter was “competing” with John, the disciple, for Jesus' attention. I would assume that Peter would have told this family friend and young evangelist everything he could think of.

We will also use bits of Luke's gospel and the Apostle John's.

We cannot assume that Dr. Luke saw any of these events first-hand and, therefore, had to glean as much information as possible from the others.

I might add that the Apostle Paul was also known as the “Pharisee Saul” in his younger days and may have had first-hand information concerning the trial and crucifixion of Jesus. I doubt Brother Paul would have spoken about events like that with any pride.

I am still in my introduction, and since our last look at Jesus showed Satan, tempting Him with all the world's kingdoms. It evokes a question.

What is the highest mountain in Israel?

Mount Hermon, which is on the Northernmost border with Syria and Lebanon. A place where war tensions are mounting. It is also the closest mountain to Capernaum, where Jesus established a base camp, at least for a while.

Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
Matthew 4:8 NKJV)

But who are we to limit where Satan would have taken Him.

There is a massive clue that we need to consider: The context of the narrative( that makes up the majority of our biblical readings) is the Holy Land. That knowledge does not limit Satan's actions or methods because there is always God. 

I am implying that this high mountain was within the boundaries of the Holy Land; therefore, I don't have to speculate how he might have taken Jesus to the top of Mt. Everest, even though Satan did show Him all the kingdoms of the world.

I am barely getting started on this portion of the trek through Matthew's gospel. As I compare how others, such as Dr. Luke, give you their understanding of the details, I am immediately aware that the order in which these events happen is different. 

Is that a problem?

Only if you do something as I did, and speculate on how convenient it was for Satan, who has been moving Jesus around, has, according to Matthew's account, left Jesus sitting on a pinnacle of the temple. Putting the discomfort aside, he has placed Jesus, who is starving, in the City of Jerusalem, where there is the potential to obtain something to eat. This doesn't work so well if the last stop is a high mountain.

Today's date is 06/23/23, and yesterday I watched a short video where a police investigator shared how when there are multiple witnesses of the same event, most will see things differently.

Much of how we see things has to do with perspective, and we know that Dr. Luke was not among the group of disciples until the end, at best. Luke, therefore, was working off second-hand information and may have inadvertently changed the order of events, which you can see in Luke chapter four.

I am not telling you these things to diminish your perspective of the gospels but to use your brain and logic and trust the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart as you study.

Having been left, by Satan, on a high peak of the temple or on a high mountain, Jesus, who is literally starving, has migrated back to the area where John the Baptizer was operating. We know this because Jesus made passes by John's location on at least two consecutive days after the wilderness experience. You will not get that information out of Matthew.

"The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.' I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water." And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God."
John 1:29-34 NKJV)

So much for an introduction. Now onward through the gospel, for the most part.

As you read John's gospel, are you aware that he is sharing information he could only get by being an eyewitness to the event?

This very thing enforces the belief that John was the other disciple that witnessed Jesus being baptized. When John the Baptizer tells us that he witnessed the Holy Spirit descending and remaining on Him, he talks in the past tense. This past tense has an impact on this next piece of information.

“Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God!" The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, "What do you seek?" They said to Him, "Rabbi" (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), "Where are You staying?" He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour). One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.”
John 1:35-40 NKJV)

Merely saying the words “Again, the next day,” means that Jesus has made it back, at least, to the area where John has been baptizing. It may be that the entirety of this visit is to gather two specific disciples. However, John the Baptist announces to anyone who will hear that Jesus is: “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

Try to imagine how this statement sounded to the Jews who were merely gawking. Look at this conversation between Issac and Abraham.

“But Isaac spoke to Abraham, his father, and said, "My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." Then he said, "Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?"
Genesis 22:7 NKJV)

Isaac knew that they had come to this place to sacrifice, but since lambs were not merely bought in those days, nor were they simply bounding about, waiting to be caught. Something was not right, or Issac was about to be the sacrifice. Abraham responded.

“Abraham said, “God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they both went together.”
Genesis 22:8 WEBA)

For years I missed the enormity of this passage. God provided himself as the Lamb. Look at those words from the Baptizer once again; Jesus is: “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

So the hostile accusations are made, you put Jesus on that cross, when the reality is that He put Himself on that cross.

What did the writer of the letter to the Hebrews (Jewish believers) say?

“looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Hebrews 12:2 WEBA)

Jesus comes off the 40 days; what happened next?

He comes back by His cousin.

“The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned, and saw them following, and said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, being interpreted, Teacher), “Where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.”
John 1:37-40 WEBA)

Andrew went and found Peter. Jesus then found Philip, and Philip found Nathanael.

“On the next day, he was determined to go out into Galilee, and he found Philip. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, wrote: Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
John 1:43-45 WEBA)

Notice that John's account doesn't explain the reason for the rapid migration to Galilee, where He found Philip, but Matthew's does.

“Now when Jesus heard that John (the baptizer) was delivered up, he withdrew into Galilee.”
Matthew 4:12 WEBA)

Herod took John the Baptizer, Jesus’ cousin, captive. One of the main reasons Herod had this done was because John refused to keep his mouth shut concerning Herod, and he called him out (the half-Jew/Roman tetrarch of Galilee) for his sin of taking his brother’s wife as his own.

I had often wondered why Jesus told so many people to say nothing about whatever miracle He had just performed. This unusual policy rarely stopped people who were previously lame or blind from saying anything. Many have indicated that His admonishment had more to do with staying below the radar of those who might prematurely kill Him.

Consider this. If my pastor, Jack Hibbs, can say, “You are immortal and cannot be killed until it is your time,” how different was my Jesus?

Jesus had this to say to Pilate.

“.... So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”
John 19:8-11 ESV)

Mark’s perspective on going to Galilee. 

“Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,” Mark 1:14 NKJV)

Matthew at least took Him to Nazareth first. Why Nazareth? That was where His mother was.

“And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali,” Matthew 4:13 ESV)

We saw Jesus, close to John the Baptizer, before the forty days in the wilderness and after, and though it was a slow start, two of the Baptizer's disciples began to follow after Jesus.

A situation arose that could have shut most people down. Herod took John, Jesus’ cousin, prisoner. This happened for a couple of reasons:

1. God had a course of action that was uncomfortable for us. If you think of this in light of Joseph, who was sold into slavery and then sent to prison when he was innocent, all to get God's people into Egypt – to save their lives during a coming time of starvation.

2. John the Baptizer, having done his job, was now meant to fade away, which appropriately puts the focus on Jesus, the Lamb of God.

We had already seen John the Baptizer south of Jerusalem because there was water available to baptize, and we logically assume this is the region from which John was taken. It is understood that John refused to restrain himself as he called out Herod (the half-Jew/Roman tetrarch of Galilee).

“Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.”
Matthew 3:5-6 ESV)

But then there is this.

“John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized.”
John 3:23 ESV)

The Bible maps place this location in Samaria or on the border of Decapolis, about halfway between Jerusalem and Galilee. Walking from the southernmost area near Jerusalem to Nazareth in a day does not seem practical. And then the fact that Herod's rule was in the region of Galilee.

As you can see, not everything is so clear.

Mark's gospel tells us that He came from Nazareth to be baptized by John.

“In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.” Mark 1:9 ESV)

According to Mark's gospel, He has NOT started His public ministry, nor has He begun to gather disciples. Look at this statement from the Apostle John's point of view, and by the way, he was, most likely, one of the disciples that chose to follow Jesus.

“One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter). The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
John 1:40-45 ESV)

We have no record of anyone following Jesus in the moments after His baptism, and we have no narrative of anyone attesting to the fact that he merely disappeared as Philip did later on, nor did anyone tell us that He just walked off into the wilderness. If you read the account above, you saw this “One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah.””

The speaker, whom we assume is John, the disciple, is telling you what happened, but he does not inform you when it occurred. If this was before the wilderness, it is absurd for Jesus to invite Andrew and Simon to see the rock on which he was laying His head at night. So it is clear that there is a large gap between these moments in time.

John first describes this.

“And John (the Baptizer) bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.” The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.” John 1:32-40 ESV)

If John can say “the next day,” as he did, then it is clear that Jesus has returned from the wilderness and that they already saw Him the day before, excluding the baptismal. This scenario seems to be spelled out because “Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).”

With little effort, He already has a small following: Andrew, Simon, John?; Philip; and Nathanael. And He has yet to gather disciples.

“and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: "THE LAND OF ZEBULUN AND THE LAND OF NAPHTALI, BY THE WAY OF THE SEA, BEYOND THE JORDAN, GALILEE OF THE GENTILES--"THE PEOPLE WHO WERE SITTING IN DARKNESS SAW A GREAT LIGHT, AND THOSE WHO WERE SITTING IN THE LAND AND SHADOW OF DEATH, UPON THEM A LIGHT DAWNED." From that time, Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." “
Matthew 4:13-17 NASB)

“ From that time, Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Repent is the Greek word metanoeō means to think differently or afterwards, that is, reconsider (morally to feel compunction): - repent.

According to Webster's Dictionary, repent means to:

1. To feel pain, sorrow, or regret for something done or spoken; as to repent that we have lost much time in idleness or sensual pleasure; to repent that we have injured or wounded the feelings of a friend. A person repents only of what he himself has done or said.

2. To express sorrow for something past.

Other translations proclaim this statement differently.

- The BBE says, "Let your hearts be turned from sin."

- The CEV, which I am not particularly fond of, conveys that Jesus told His audience to "Turn back to God! The kingdom of heaven will soon be here."

- The Douay-Rheims Bible (DRB) tells the reader to do penance.

Penance applies to The suffering, labor, or pain to which a person voluntarily subjects himself or which is imposed on him by authority as a punishment for his faults or as an expression of penitence, such as fasting, flagellation, or wearing chains that injure and, therefore, remind you of your faults and the need for perpetual repentance.

As a side note, the DRB comes off as works and leans toward ancient Roman Catholic methods of bringing about change.

- The ERV states, "Change your hearts and lives because God's kingdom is now very near."

The problem is that none of us can change ourselves. We needed a savior, and He put himself on the cross, suffered, and died because we could not and would not do that.

- The GNB tells us to "Turn away from your sins."

There are some things in your life, like lust, which are so magnetic; the best advice I could give you is to sprint away from those things. 

- The God's Word translation (GW), "Turn to God and change the way you think and act."

This is in opposition to the idea of simply turning away from sin because you have to displace the “sin” with something. The only reasonable thing is God and His Word. If you choose to turn to God, you have to figure out what turning to God means. I can tell you it is not like taking up a new hobby that you do occasionally. If fly fishing was your new hobby, sometimes pulling out the rod to practice casting will not help you much. A few snags later, and you will give it up.

Can you remember the last time you threw your whole heart into something?

The Father longs for you to turn wholeheartedly to Him.

Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Revelation 14:9-13.

 What I am about to say, is what I see, sense, and understand.

One of the goals of the New World Order is to bring the population down to a manageable 500 million people. The county that I live in has a population of 10+ million. Pause and think about that for a few seconds. There is nothing in the minds of these greedy people that says, let’s keep this guy. Consider our President Joe Biden, who claims he has taken both doses of the C19v and a booster shot. This seems like a critical mistake for a President, seeing as medical experts tell us that devastating health aspects will strike you at about six months, and for many people, will ruin you physically in as little as 10 minutes. 

In talking about this C19 garbage with my wife, she pointed out that for those we are calling Babylon - the harlot that rides the beast, there would be a benefit in eliminating senior citizens (think about this in terms of Social security payouts) and Christians – because many Christians find the boldness to cling to an attitude of faith and challenge the government over the C19 illegal mandates and restrictions, which are bogus, and to go after their local school boards over their integration of pornographic textbooks into the school curriculum. If you think this is funny and something you can ignore, it is not, as it sexualizes our children over and above the garbage that the world is trying to feed them. 

Revelation 14:8 NASB And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality."

Having covered this extensively in my previous post, I only include it here to point out that the “whole” world seems to think that Babylon and the Harlot, are good and fun. If you could only realize that you are the target of their pleasure and they do not care for you.

James 4:4 NASB You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

(The Christian community in America is riddled with fear, and fear is something that the Bible addresses and that we are NOT supposed to live in. The religious community is frequently the ones who will fight against you when you begin to share with them about something exciting, especially about Eschatology – end times events, and I speak from experience.)

Having sat under my fair share of hellfire and brimstone preaching, I do not find it captivating, nor are people drawn to it. One of my family members chooses to believe that a good God would not punish people.

Is that the case?

Scripture seems to be clear on the punishment for those who change masters.

Revelation 14:9  NASB Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand,”

If you give in, worship the beast, his image, and take his mark, you have condemned yourself to eternal punishment. Thus, verse 9 creates the context for verse 10 in which it says, the one who does this will:

Revelation 14:10 NASB “he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.”

The “he” is that person who gives themselves over to the beast, and unfortunately, there will be many.

Revelation 14:11  NASB “And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”

It sounds relatively black and white to me, but it is a three-part, intentional process. It would be inappropriate to condemn a small child to hell who was forced to be chipped. They, in many cases, do not have a clue, and to think otherwise about God and his mercy shows me that you know nothing about the character and nature of God. 

There is a day coming in which those in opposition to God will come to our “peaceful” streets with an overwhelming level of violence. And, just like we have seen in the African nations where Boko Haran members (a sect of Islam) have fired bombed churches with the attendees inside, or merely shot or beheaded those who claimed to be Christians.

Do you think that won’t happen here in America?

Then you are deceived already. The coming day falls under the category of “the day of the Lord,” the time of wrath. The time in which God pours out his wrath upon unbelievers - Israel and the nations. We, the church in general, were not meant to receive God’s wrath; this has nothing to with the tribulations of life.

1 Thessalonians 5:9 NASB (9) For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Why?

Because:

“He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” John 3:36 NASB

Romans 5:8-10 NASB “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (9) Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. (10) For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”

As Israel wandered and complained in the desert, God sent serpents (adders) to punish them [Look this up in Numbers 21.] People began to die and so cried out to Moses for mercy. At God’s instructions, Moses had an image of the serpent made and placed upon a pole. That was a type of Jesus Christ and, just as the serpents, which did not go away because of the serpent upon the pole, but became a salvation for the people when they looked upon it. Christ became sin upon that cross and took all of the wrath due to us because of the sin built into us. Sin did not go away, but its impact, the wrath, went away when we looked to the cross where sin hung and died. 

Why then are some continuing to migrate toward wrath and eternal punishment? 

Because some are suppressing the truth.

Romans 1:18 NASB For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,

While others, because of their stubbornness and unrepentant hearts, are storing up wrath for themselves.

Romans 2:5 NASB But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,

I am telling you of things to come, although much of this has already happened in third world nations as Islam has been allowed to rise to power. Since Agenda 21 and now Agenda 2030 are designed to bring America and the Western European countries down to third world nation status for population reduction, we can expect to see Islam filling our streets with violence.

It seems like there is nothing you can do. But that is not the case as this time is not upon us yet; it will come. I know this because this is the pattern that I see in scripture. However, we have the power of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. This is the same power and Word that parted the Red Sea and drowned the Egyptian army in that same sea as they tried to cross. This is the same word that brought fire down from heaven to consume God’s enemies. The same Word of power caused the earth to open up and swallow the Philistines while blasting others with lightning. 

What’s my point?

That God is still looking for those through which he can show himself strong. 

Someday soon, God will remove His church from the earth. At that point, the game is on, and the wrath will begin to pour out of every crack. And, people will continue to be godless, killing machines, all in the name and power of their god, the beast.

So what happens after the rapture? 

Revelation 14:12-13 NASB (12) Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. (13) And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, "Write, 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!'" "Yes," says the Spirit, "so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them."

Who is he talking about when he says, Saints?

We love to generalize considering everybody sitting in the pews to be saints. However, Matthew 25 does not tell me that. It shows me that 50% are ill-prepared, having no extra oil, and will not make it through the gates when he comes because they are off roaming the streets in the middle of the night, looking for more oil. Revelation 14:13 says, “blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!”

It is God who does the generalizing when he defines saints as:

"O fear the LORD, you His saints; For to those who fear Him there is no want."

(Psalms 34:9 NASB)

We all comprehend fear as an aspect of cowering under an oppressive ruler, but God never wanted a relationship like that. Fear then conveys a respectful relationship in which we understand we have no control over anything and because of this relationship there is no want for anything.

Once the church is caught away, the number of people coming into a relationship with Jesus Christ will be uncountable. This also tells me that almost as many will be put to death because of their faith in Jesus Christ.

Revelation 14:13 NASB And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, "Write, 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!'" "Yes," says the Spirit, "so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them."

These, because of their relationship with Jesus Christ, are deemed, saints. They die because of their testimony – this testimony may or may not be elaborate and many, in their last utterance may cry out their newfound affection for the Savior. Their actions are their deeds and these acts of simple kindness follow them into eternity for a remembrance.

Those that embrace a judgmental, unforgiving God frequently have problems with God showing mercy to people. Here, in the time of wrath, it is so much easier to perceive what happens to these people as God punishing them for their rejection. The problem with that kind of thinking is that you fail to understand that Jesus took all the wrath mandatory for the punishment of sin, upon himself.

Whom then is God's wrath being poured out upon?

The nations and Israel for rejecting him. It is never about the church. Because of the timing involved with the gathering of the body to himself, some will escape all wrath; while others, joining themselves to the body of Christ after the in-gathering, will it seems, have to prove their allegiance through death. It seems the only alternative I can see.

Matthew 25: 31-46 offers us a comparable scenario when it comes to deeds that follow them. Jesus, at the end of the thousand years, having called the dead from the nations to himself, separates them into two groups – the sheep and goats. These are not Christians for they were not caught up in the rapture nor the resurrection of the saints prior to the thousand years. The nations are generally thought to be anyone outside of a relationship with Christ, and yet, the Sheep are given their status because of their deeds, acts of kindness.

This is defined as Jesus said,

'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; (Matthew 25:35 NASB)

These simple acts of kindness gained them entrance into the eternal kingdom.

If I thought it wise to take this gamble I would be making a serious mistake. I cannot even pick a line at the market without it coming to a screeching halt for some reason. It is wiser to live in the grace given to me, clinging tightly to his robe.

Consider a piece of wisdom we see in the story of the prodigal's son. Having spent all on riotous living, this Jew, a man who would not have considered touching an unclean pig, ends up not only slopping the hogs but having to eat what they would reject. This was the young man's bottom and looking up meant going back to his father that he had insulted. As he approaches the ranch, the father who had been looking and longing for his son's return spots him a long way off and runs to him with outstretched arms. This is the Father and an example of the love he has for us. So, it will not be so much you merely catching a corner of his robe, but Him wrapping his arms around you to welcome you home.