The Great Day of God's Wrath # 3

 The Great Day of God's Wrath # 3

1. First of all, this day will be a day of ASTONISHMENT to the wicked and ungodly, as it is said, Deuteronomy 28:28, "The Lord shall smite them with madness and blindness, and astonishment of heart!" Oh, it will be with the wicked, as it was with Nebuchadnezzar, who was astonished to behold the works and wonders of God which the Lord wrought for the deliverance of those that put their trust in Him, "Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisors, "Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?" They replied, "Certainly, O King." He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods." (Daniel 3:24-25).

Oh, sinners! do but see here how this proud Nebuchadnezzar was astonished at the beholding of this sight! Here are three things which astonished this great king:

First, to see the fire, whose nature is to burn and consume, to have no power to seize upon the bodies of these men. Fire is one of the cruelest creatures; it is a merciless creature, and therefore the torments of hell are set forth by fire, "Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels!" (Matthew 25:41).

The second thing which astonished Nebuchadnezzar, was, to see the servants of the Lord walking in the fiery furnace, "Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire." These were cast in bound - but now they are loose; now, that the fire should have power on their bonds, and not on their bodies, oh, this caused astonishment in Nebuchadnezzar.

The third thing that astonished him, was, to see their number not decreased - but increased, "Did not we cast in three men bound into the fire? Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and the form of the fourth is like unto the Son of God." Now this astonished this great king. Now, as it was with Nebuchadnezzar here, so will it be with the wicked in this great day. Oh, you who now speak proudly, look highly, and walk contemptuously, it will astonish you to see God's judgments poured out upon you, and His wrath wax hot against you, until there is no remedy. Oh, do but see that text, "Babylon will be a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals, an object of horrow and scorn!" (Jeremiah 51:37). Thus it will be with the ungodly at that day.

2. It will be a day of TERROR to those who know not God, and that obey not the gospel of Christ! The terror of God will be upon such, as it was upon those cities, (Genesis 35:5). "Then they set out, and the terror of God fell upon the cities all around them so that no one pursued them." Oh, you graceless people who now have no fear of God, nor tremble at His Word - He will make you then tremble, as He did Belshazzar, when he beheld the hand-writing on the wall, (Dan. 5:6). "His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his knees knocked together and his legs gave way!" Oh! you drunkards and swearers, you who despise reproof, and hate instruction, and scorn all God's counsel; know this, that the day of God's wrath will be a day of terror to you, which will make your hearts to sink within you, your countenance to change, your joints to be loosed, and your ears to tingle, when the terrors of the Almighty God set themselves in array against you! Therefore, says the apostle, "Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men." (2 Corinthians 5:11).

3. This day of God's wrath will be a day of DISTRESS to the wicked. "I in turn will laugh at your disaster; I will mock when calamity overtakes you - when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelms you!" (Proverbs 1:26-27).

~William Dyer~

(continued with # 4)