Monday, January 30, 2023

Grace and Love


There are many stories in the Old Testament that foreshadow future events.  Some are a foretaste of the coming Messiah, Jesus, while others speak of the End Times and a new heaven and a new earth.

Examples of some of these stories are those of Jonah, Moses, and Noah. They all reflect Jesus, a deliverer, who was yet to come.

The prophets Daniel and Ezekiel spoke warnings about wars and a tribulation period filled with God's wrath against a sinful people. Kind of like us now.

The story of Sodom and Gomorrah in the Book of Genesis is an example of God's wrath. It tells us that, although God is patient, He is not tolerant of sin.

When the two angels came to take Lot and his family out of Sodom, before God rained down death and destruction on the city, was this not a foreshadowing of God rapturing His church before the great tribulation?

The angels were in a hurry to get the righteous out of harm's way.

"With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished.

When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them. As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!
- Genesis 19: 15-17

God will take us out of this place BEFORE the tribulation begins. But it's not going to get any better between now and then. It will get worse. Trust in the Lord! On Him you can depend.

God has given the believer a ticket out of Sodom. The Holy Spirit. Jesus has paid for that ticket with His very life. We don't even have to flee from the coming wrath. Why?

Because God will graciously and lovingly 'deliver us from evil.' Because we trust in Him He will safely take us out of harm's way. All we have to do is believe in Him with all our hearts.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." - Proverbs 3:5-6

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