Rescue from?
Not too long ago, I was reading in Isaiah and 1 Thessalonians on the same day. In Isaiah I read about how God rescued the Southern Tribe from the wrath of Assyria. Then I read in my old 1984 NIV that Jesus will rescue us from the coming wrath. I looked it up in several other versions.
… wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come. 1 Thessalonians 1:10 NASB
I have heard this verse used in conjunction with 1 Thessalonians 5:9 as proof of a pre-trib rapture, so I typically read it with that idea in mind. However, on this day, something jumped off the page for me. Rescue from.
I began using the phrase in real life scenarios. The lifeguard rescued the boy from drowning. The firefighters came to rescue people from the raging forest fire. We might rescue someone from poverty or a bad decision. The governor’s decision to have mandatory evacuations rescued people from the hurricane.
What is in common with all these scenarios? To be rescued from something means that the threat is real and present.
Who rescues someone from a fire that isn’t there? How could you rescue someone from poverty when they were wealthy? Here is what Thayers Greek dictionary, says about 1 Thessalonians 1:9.
(“rescue”) implies removing someone in the midst (presence) of danger or oppression, i.e. delivered “right out of”
That leaves me wondering, “Then why do so many teach that we must be out of here before “The Tribulation”?
Let’s take a closer look at my Old Testament example. The Assyrians came to the walls of Jerusalem and shouted blasphemy against the Lord God, threatening the people, trying to convince them that God could not save them from might Assyria. Hezekiah came before the Lord with the letter the king of Assyria had written. He cried out to the Lord in prayer, acknowledging that God alone could save. God heard King Hezekiah’s humble prayer, and God intervened to remove the Assyrians from Jerusalem.
Hezekiah and his people were rescued in the midst of the trouble. God spared them from captivity at that time. Their deliverance didn’t come before the Assyrians showed up to ridicule. No, their deliverance came right in the middle of Assyria’s wrath.
The wrath to come
Next, I went over to 1 Thessalonians 5:9 in NASB.
For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
What is this wrath Paul’s talking about? Is the wrath of God “the Tribulation? Not likely since the beginning of that seven years will be a time of peace and safety. Jesus named the time after the abomination of desolation “great tribulation’, as recorded in Matthew 24:21. The only fact we have from Scripture, if we’re honest, is that the second half of Daniel’s 70th week will be tribulation. Whether the wrath to come is all or part of the final seven year on planet earth, what God was showing me is that Jesus will rescue us from it, not before it.
This is a fresh reminder to me of just how important it is to expect trouble in this life. It is fine to hope for a pre-trib rapture, but it is probably wiser to plan to be here for the long haul.
We are not destined for or appointed to wrath. Our final destiny is heaven not hell. As faithful followers of Jesus who stand firm to the end, God will rescue us from the wrath to come!
Lisa Gallington has been studying the Word since she was 12 years old, with a special interest in end times prophecy. She has a passion for preparing the Church and everyone she comes in contact with for the return of Christ. She leads women’s ministry at her church and teaches a Bible study, often connecting the studies to end times prophecies and prophetic headlines. She has authored several books including End Times Preppers Devotionals and the accompanying End Times Preppers Bible Study and Foundation of Faith: Hebrews 11.
