Welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the book of Romans. Tonight is study 34 of Romans, chapter 1, and we will begin with Romans 1:18-20:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

I will stop reading there. In our last study, we were looking at verse 18 and the word “wrath,” and we went to some verses that taught us about the wrath of God. For example, it says in Revelation 19:13-15:

And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

This is describing Judgment Day, and I wanted to read the earlier verses because we see a strong focus on the Word of God. It said that the Lord Jesus’ name is called “the Word of God,” and, of course, we know He was the Word made flesh. But this is Judgment Day. It is the time when He would be treading the winepress of the “fierceness and the wrath of Almighty God.” Notice the emphasis on the Word of God in verse 14 regarding the armies in heaven that followed Him, and that would be the saints or everyone that had become saved. Then it said in verse 15, “And out of his mouth,” and what comes out of the mouth of the Lord Jesus who is Eternal God? It is the Word of God. “And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword,” and the sharp sword is another reference to the Word of God, as it tells us in Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword.” So that is three times in three verses that it focuses on the Word of God:

1. Jesus’ name is called the Word of God;
2. what proceeds out of His mouth would be the Word of God; and
3. the sharp sword is a figure used to represent the Word of God, the Bible.

With it (the sharp sword), He should smite the nations and rule them, and we have talked a lot about that word “rule,” which is translated as “feed” in some places, including John 21:_ “Feed my sheep.”_ So the same Word that rules the wicked with a rod of iron (to express the wrath of God) is the same Word, the Bible, that serves to “feed” the ones that have become saved. It is the identical information that comes from the Bible, and we do not have to pander to one or the other or change anything. And we do not need to differentiate because we do not know who is saved or who is not saved. But God is not calling for us to try to teach one thing to the elect and another thing to the unsaved. No – we teach the same truth to all, and God will apply it either as wrath to those still in their sins and “filthy still,” or as spiritual nourishment to feed the sheep that became righteous by the righteousness of Christ and are “righteous still.”

So that is the focus of God in the Day of Judgment, and the purpose of the Word of God is to do one of those two things to the hearers of the Word. And, of course, we know that it says in John 12:48:

He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.

The Word is the Bible, and it is no coincidence that as we read the Bible, we have learned that Jesus came in judgment on May 21, 2011. It was a spiritual judgment, but judgment all the same, and the Bible has brought forth much information in support of that. We are continually learning as we search the Scriptures, and we are finding more and more scriptural support and evidence proving these things, which, in turn, is fulfilling Matthew 24:30:

And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

It is a continual coming. We see Him coming today as God shows us in His Word which is judging in these last days. And we will learn more about this tomorrow and in the months and in the years to come, as we continually “see” His coming in the clouds, as the clouds are a figure of the Word of God, the Bible.

You know, I am not making that up. Actually, I learned that from Mr. Camping as he referred to Numbers 9 in one of his studies, showing that God associates the movement of His cloud in the wilderness to His commandments. It is a very powerful link. Please read about that in Numbers 9. Mr. Camping did not just come up with that, but he just recognized what God did. Clouds are equated to commandments. Commandments are found in the Bible, and the whole Bible are the commandments of God, the Law of God. Christ coming in the clouds means that Christ is coming in the commandments of God, which is the Bible, and this just so happens to agree with Revelation 19:15 where it says that His name is the Word and out of His mouth proceedeth a sharp sword. And the sword is another figure that is the same as the cloud, and with the sword (His Word), He will smite the nations and rule them. It serves to smite the wicked as He rules with a rod of iron and, simultaneously, it serves to feed sheep. It is the Word of God the Bible – it does both – and it is strong proof that we have been understanding things correctly, and we have been on the right track.

Remember we are following this verse in Romans 1:18:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven…

And in our last study, we also went to Romans 2:5:

… treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

The day of wrath can only be pointing to Judgment Day, the day we live in. Why did God add the second part of this verse? He could have just said of these sinners, “…after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath.” But He added the conjunction, “the day of wrath and…” so what follows is happening at the same time as the day of wrath. It is “the day of wrath and revelation (the revealing) of the righteous judgment of God.”

You see, we did not understand this (and I do not think we could possibly have understood it) prior to May 21, 2011. Yes – we understood many things. We understood the date of Judgment Day. We understood there would be a prolonged period of judgment thereafter, although we incorrectly understood that literally to be five months, which was wrong; it was a parable or hidden truth, which pointed to a much longer period of judgment.

We did not understand that the elect would remain on the earth, and we thought we would be raptured and escape the judgment. Now I hope you are as clear as I am, by God’s grace, on that point, because I could turn to three or four verses right now that show that it had always been God’s plan to judge the “living and the dead,” the righteous and the wicked. All must appear, and the elect must also appear before the judgment seat of Christ, as 2Corinthians 5:10 declares. The word “appear” in that chapter does not apply to the wicked because it is the word that relates to “demonstration,” and as the wicked are coming before God for judgment, they are not simply demonstrating because they had not been judged in Christ at the foundation of the world as He made payment for the sins of His elect. Therefore, the elect have already been judged and experienced the judgment in the Person of Christ, so only we can “appear” or “be made manifest” before the judgment seat, as 2Corinthians 5:10 tells us, which is a strong proof that the elect will be here for the judgment.

But we did not understand, at first, that it would be a spiritual judgment (that began on May 21, 2011), just as God first brought spiritual judgment upon the churches and congregations. Then the cup of wrath that He had given to the churches, He turned and gave to the nations of the world. It is the same cup, according to Jeremiah 25, but we thought it would a physical judgment because we knew that the wicked cannot see spiritual things, or perhaps it was our desire that they “see” the judgment. And, yet, the churches did not see the spiritual judgment either because they were tares and unsaved, so they cannot truly see spiritual things or that God was judging them spiritually. Then He followed that up with a spiritual judgment on the world, and now that we have entered into the “day of wrath” (and we have been in it for years), we are seeing many things that God is revealing to us to help us, to feed us, to comfort us, and to strengthen us for the trials we must faith, in order that we can endure to the end. We are able to spiritually partake of this information.

And I know, thanks be to God, that this has certainly helped me in my life early on, right after May 21, 2011. The horrible thing was the confusion. What was going on? Because we knew the truth of the Word of God and we knew that Mr. Camping was a faithful man and proclaiming the truth. But it all seemed to be “upside-down,” and he became the target – even after his death – of people that call him a false prophet and all kinds of ugly things. Early on (after May 21, 2011), it was really a hard thing and a grievous thing to experience, but then God began revealing more truth to us, the information that came down from Him (through His Word) and we learned, and these things have been a soothing medicine to the soul that strengthens us.

And it was a hard thing for us to learn that we may be here until 2033, as God has revealed a great deal of Biblical evidence pointing to that year. It was not an easy matter because we had been focused on a time, and we thought that time had come, but then we found that we would be here for some years. It was a hard blow at first, but then we learned, and God has given us patience. No wonder He had said, “In your patience, possess ye your souls,” and He also said, “Here is the patience of the saints.” And that latter statement was made in Revelation 14 where the cup of the wrath of God is in view: “Here is the patience of the saints.” Because Jesus is patient and because Jesus indwells His people, we can exercise patience and wait on the Lord, but the wicked cannot do that.

Here in Romans 2:5, it says, “the day of wrath and revelation.” And the word “revelation” is Strong’s #602, a related word to the word used in Romans 1:18 regarding the wrath of God being revealed from heaven. So we are going to look at some Scriptures that will have either one of these words, and they are so closely related that sometimes in a passage you will find both of them. You can check it out – it is either going to be #601 or #602, and I may not mention which one at times.

Let us look at 1Corinthians 2:9-10:

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

This is the process of “revelation” and it is how God reveals truth to His people by His Spirit. His Spirit will guide us into all truth, as John 16 tells us. How does the Spirit guide us into truth. We will not read it, but it says in verse 13 that the Holy Ghost teacheth when we compare spiritual things with spiritual. We follow the Biblical methodology (the Bible’s own hermeneutic) for coming to right doctrine, here a little, there a little, comparing Scripture with Scripture. And as we do so, making sure that it harmonizes with the Bible as a whole, then the Spirit teaches and, therefore, the Spirit has revealed it to us. Just think of that when we are reading the next verses we are going to read, and when we are reading Romans 2:5 about the “day of wrath and revelation,” as it is revealed by the Spirit through the process of comparing Scripture with Scripture. That is what Romans 2:5 is telling us. So in this present day of wrath, we are no longer shocked or surprised by what we have learned about the elect being on the earth throughout the judgment period until the end.

2Thessalonians will confirm how God uses this word “revealed.” It says in 2Thessalonians 2:3:

Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

We know because it has been revealed. And how was it revealed? By the Spirit. For example, in Isaiah 14 the king of Babylon is likened to Satan, and that is it can “speak as a man,” and other verses have revealed that “the man of sin” is Satan himself that would take his seat in the temple. And the Bible reveals that the “temple” is the church, and it reveals the loosing of Satan, and so on.

The word “revealed” is also used in 2Thessalonians 2:6:

And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.

And it says in 2Thessalonians 2:8:

And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

(The “spirit of his mouth” would tie into Revelation 19:15.) And the word “brightness” is a word that is translated in other places as “appearing,” so it is the appearing of His coming. We spent some time looking at the word “appearing” in other study. But we can see how these things are revealed. The Wicked one is revealed. The man of sin is revealed. We did not see it with our physical eyes, did we? No – you cannot see Satan. You were not able to see him seated in a temple with your physical sight. It was through spiritual understanding that we saw with eyes of faith as the Spirit revealed the truth to us through His Word, the Bible.

This is the same way that Jesus will be “seen” as the Judge of all the earth. Let us turn to Luke 17, a chapter that speaks of the coming of the flood in Noah’s day and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. For example, it says in Luke 17:29-30:

But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

Again, the Son of man is revealed in the Day of Judgment. We “see” Christ as Judge coming in the clouds; that is, through the Word of God, the Bible. It is the Word that will judge in the last day. The Word itself is the judge. The holy book of God is the judge of all the earth, and this is where the people of God “see” Christ seated upon His judgment throne. The Word is smiting the nations and ruling with a rod of iron, while feeding His people. We could go to a couple of verses that show Christ upon the throne, for example, feeding the great multitude in Revelation 7.

Also, let us turn to 1Corinthians 1:6-7:

Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:

The word “revealed” is here. The word “revelation” is here. You may be thinking, “Well, where was it? I did not see it.” Right, because it was translated another way. It was translated as “coming” in verse 7: “So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the revealing or revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Then it says in 1Corinthians 1:8:

Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

You see, this is a synonym that God Himself is using for this word, as He allowed the translators to translate it this way. It is the word “coming,” or the day the Son of man is revealed or coming. We are living in that time of His revealing or His coming. They are one and the same; they are equivalent ideas in the Bible.

If we go to 1Peter 1, it says in 1Peter 1:5:

Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Here it is Strong’s #601, which was our word in Romans 1:18.

Then it says in 1Peter 1:6-7:

Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

You probably guessed it, but that word “appearing” is the same word as “revealing.” It is #602 in Strong’s Greek Concordance. It is the related word to “reveal.” Notice the connection to the “trial of your faith.” It is very similar to 1Corinthians 3, which we have looked at several times. To explain for anyone that may not have heard it before, this is speaking of the foundation, who is Christ, and then building upon it “gold, silver, precious stones” and “wood, hay, stubble.” That is, there are the saved and unsaved, or the wheat and tares, or the sheep and goats. Then it says in 1Corinthians 3:13:

Every man's work shall be made manifest…

And that would tie into the fact that we must all “appear” before the judgment seat – it is that word “manifest.” Then it says in 1Corinthians 3:13:

… for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.

You see, Judgment Day will “reveal by fire.” And we do not have time, but you can look at Isaiah 30:33 which speaks of the “breath of JEHOVAH” as brimstone, and remember that all Scripture is God-breathed, so the Word of God is as fire that shall reveal whether you and I are “gold, silver precious stones” or “wood, hay stubble.” It is just what it says in 1Peter 1:7:

That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

It is the appearing or “revealing” of the Lord Jesus Christ.