WHO IS ABLE TO
STAND?
By Matt Leasher
As the Age of Grace
that we are
currently living in
draws nearer and
nearer to a close
and the lateness of
the hour becomes
more relevant to
those of us who have
our eyes on heaven
and the coming of
the Lord, we can’t
help but be
concerned about
those that do not
know their Savior
and are living for
the world and for
themselves.
Almost every
saved Christian has
some unsaved friends
and family that do
not accept the truth
of the gospel and
whom they know will
be left here on
earth to have to
endure the soon to
come Tribulation
period that Jesus
has clearly warned
us is sure to come
before He physically
returns to Earth to
set up His Kingdom,
(see Matthew
24:3-31, Mark
13:3-27 & Luke
21:7-28).
The Book of
Revelation lays out
much of the horrific
details of this
forthcoming
history-ending
period.
The actual
beginning of the
Tribulation itself
begins in chapter 6
with Jesus (referred
to as the Lamb),
opening the seals of
the scroll and
beginning the seven
seal judgments.
Since Jesus
is Lord, (see
Hebrews 1:8), this
is therefore the
beginning of the
wrath of God upon a
Christ rejecting
world.
The first
four seals are the
four horsemen of the
Apocalypse.
The fifth
seal is the cry of
the martyrs and the
sixth seal is of
cosmic disturbances
upon the earth.
All of these
seal judgments seem
to happen very
rapidly in
succession because
at the end of the
description of the
sixth seal it says:
And the kings of the
earth, the great
men, the rich men,
the commanders,
the mighty
men, every slave and
every free man, hid
themselves in the
caves and in the
rocks of the
mountains, and said
to the mountains and
rocks, “Fall on us
and hide us from the
face of Him who sits
on the throne and
from the wrath of
the Lamb!
For the great
day of His wrath has
come, and who is
able to stand?”
(Revelation 6:15-17)
We see from the last
verse that it isn’t
until the sixth seal
that the folks
hiding themselves in
caves have realized
that the wrath of
God has begun!
We know that
the Church is gone
at this point
because
“God has not
appointed us to
wrath”, (1
Thessalonians 5:9),
and it clearly
states that
“the day of His
wrath has come”,
but it is the very
last phrase of that
verse that also
reveals the absence
of the Church where
it asks the sobering
question –
“who is able to
stand”?
There are some
similar Old
Testament prophecies
about the dreadful
Day of the Lord in
the last days that
are almost identical
to Revelation
6:15-17 asking the
same question of who
will be able to
stand?
They are
Psalm 76:7, Malachi
3:2 and Nahum 1:6.
All of these
verses imply that it
will be impossible
to stand at the time
of God’s fierce
anger.
As I
mentioned above we
are still living in
the Age of Grace.
God is incredibly
merciful and
gracious to us even
though the world
continues to wax
more and more in
wicked opposition to
Him.
God has been
longsuffering and
patient but the
inevitable day of
His wrath is coming.
So what does it mean
to not be able to
stand at His coming?
Most all of
the verses where
this is used it is
referring as to
being able to stand
before Him
in judgment.
God is so
holy and righteous
that no sinful man
can stand in His
presence. Ezra 9:15
exemplifies this:
O LORD God of
Israel, You are
righteous, for we
are left as a
remnant, as it is
this day. Here we
are before You, in
our guilt, though
no one can stand
before You because
of this!”
Since all people are
sinful it would seem
that we are all
hopelessly lost in
the presence of the
Lord but the good
news is that we are
not!
Because of
the loving sacrifice
of Jesus Christ
those who believe in
Him can stand in the
presence of the Lord
and He doesn’t see
your sins, He sees
you through the lens
of Jesus Christ
standing before you!
God the
Father directed His
wrath against sin
upon His Son Jesus
Christ while He was
on the cross. Christ
endured what we
deserve. All we have
to do is simply
accept it.
It is God’s
free gift.
It is not
dependent upon
anything that you
can do but only upon
all that Christ did
for you.
It is so
simple yet so many
people refuse it.
They would
rather believe that
they can earn their
own way to heaven
through their own
good works but the
sad reality is that
when you stand
before a perfect and
holy God without
Christ, even if you
sinned only once in
your lifetime, you
are guilty on
judgment day.
But we are all like
an unclean thing,
and all our
righteousnesses are
like filthy rags;
(Isaiah
64:6a)
So now that we’ve
established what it
takes to be able to
stand before the
Lord the question
remains in
Revelation 6:17 –
who will be able to
stand?
In context
this is after the
Rapture and in the
early part of the
Tribulation.
Immediately
following this verse
in chapter 7 we see
the 144,000 Jewish
witnesses being
appointed and also a
great multitude of
martyred saints
standing before
the Throne of the
Lamb arrayed in
white robes which
were washed clean
with the blood of
the Lamb. These are
Tribulation saints!
Those that
came to Christ after
the Rapture but
undoubtedly had to
suffer severe
persecution.
Nevertheless
they are able to
stand! Even while
God is pouring out
His wrath upon the
Earth He is still
merciful and all
knowing to those
that come to Him.
The mountains quake
before Him, The
hills melt,
And the earth heaves
at His presence,
Yes, the world and
all who dwell in it.
Who can stand before
His indignation?
And who can endure
the fierceness of
His anger?
His fury is poured
out like fire,
And the rocks are
thrown down by Him.
The LORD is good, a
stronghold in the
day of trouble;
And He knows those
who trust in Him.
(Nahum 1:5-7)
The will of the Lord
is that we should
come to Him today
while His grace is
still abounding.
Seek the Lord while
He may be found,
call upon Him while
He is near,
(Isaiah 55:6).
Accepting
Christ as your
Savior is much more
than just fire
insurance from the
coming Tribulation.
When you become a
born again Christian
all things become
new and He wipes
away any guilt of
sin that you may
have been lugging
around with you.
Your life
takes on new purpose
as you joyfully
serve Him.
You will
still have to endure
the hardships of
this world while we
are sojourning here
but we walk in His
promises knowing
that
as we abound in the
work of the Lord,
our labor is not in
vain in the Lord,
(1 Corinthians
15:58).
This current
existence that we
dwell in is only
preparation for the
real life that
is to come!
So the question of
who is able to stand
can be answered
individually amongst
ourselves. God has
granted us free will
to choose our own
eternal destiny. Are
you choosing life or
death? Will you be
able to stand at His
coming?
He who believes in
the Son has
everlasting life;
and he who does not
believe in the Son
shall not see life,
but the wrath of God
abides on him.”
(John 3:36)
This may sound
rather threatening
but Jesus said, “he
that is not with Me
is against Me,”
(Matthew 12:30). The
message of the
gospel is pretty
straightforward.
There are no
ifs, ands, or buts
about it.
God does not
strong-arm us to
obey and follow Him.
He allows us to make
our own choices but
there are
consequences for our
choices and He
lovingly warns us of
those consequences
just like an earthly
father or mother
warns their child of
the consequences of
their choices.
As we currently
observe the
conditions of the
world in relation to
Bible prophecy there
are several signs
that are signifying
that the Age of
Grace is soon about
to come to an end.
I cannot
express the
importance of
knowing and
accepting Christ as
your Savior this
very day. There is
soon coming a day
when God’s grace
will end and He is
going to draw the
line and receive
unto Him what He
bought and paid for,
(Ephesians 1:14),
and judge the
remaining world with
fiery wrath. In Luke
21:36 Jesus
encourages us to be
watching and to be
ready for this day:
“Watch therefore,
and pray always that
you may be counted
worthy to escape all
these things that
will come to pass,
and to stand
before the Son of
Man.”
Notice that Jesus
doesn’t just warn us
to be able to be
counted worthy to
escape the things
that will come, (The
Great Tribulation),
but also to be able
to stand before the
Son of Man.
This is a
clear indication
that those that take
part in the Rapture
are also worthy of
standing before Him.
This will be
when the saints are
given their crowns
and rewards. The
winner’s circle if
you will.
The apostle
Paul expounds on
this in his
valedictory at the
end of his life
recorded in 2
Timothy 4:6-8:
For I am already
being poured out as
a drink offering,
and the time of my
departure is at
hand.
I have fought
the good fight, I
have finished the
race, I have kept
the faith.
Finally,
there is laid up for
me the crown of
righteousness, which
the Lord, the
righteous Judge,
will give to me on
that Day, and not to
me only but also to
all who have loved
His appearing.
In the above passage
we see a reward for
those that love His
appearing but in 1
Corinthians 16:22 we
are giving another
warning regarding
those that do not
love the Lord Jesus
Christ at His
coming:
If any man love not
the Lord Jesus
Christ, let him be
Anathema Maranatha.
(KJV)
The word “anathema”
is Greek for
“accursed” and
according to the
American Heritage
Dictionary means to
be banned or
excommunicated.
The word
“Maranatha” was a
popular Aramaic
first century
greeting among
Christians that
translates, “Our
Lord Cometh”.
So if we
wanted to paraphrase
that verse it could
very well read like
this:
If any man does not
love the Lord Jesus
Christ, let him be
left behind at
the Lord’s coming!
My dear reader,
don’t let this be
you!
Even if the Lord
were to tarry for
several more years
or even decades you
still do not know if
you’ll be here
tomorrow. Your dying
day is your personal
judgment day and you
will want to be able
to stand on that
day!
The Bible
mentions nothing
about any second
chances after death.
I
began this article
mentioning those of
us that know Christ
as our Savior and
have loved ones that
we know that don’t.
Sometimes no matter
what we say or do we
cannot get them to
know and understand
the eternal life
saving grace of
Christ. That doesn’t
mean we are out of
options.
There is
still prayer!
In fact
prayer should be our
first option not our
last and is probably
the strongest thing
we can do for them
for we are not in
control of who is
saved and who is
not, that has
already been
determined by God
before the world was
even created,
(Ephesians 1:4).
What we need
to do is pray that
it is in His will
that they are saved,
(Ephesians 1:11) and
that they will be
able to stand at the
Judgment Seat of
Christ and hear the
words, “well done
good and faithful
servant come and
enter into the joy
of your Lord”.
Will you be
able to stand?