Did Christ Endure The Wrath of God? Are We Appointed To Wrath?

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Did Christ Endure The Wrath Of God? Are We Appointed To Wrath?

The purpose for this study is to correct my own misconception of this verse of scripture and to help us all see a little better just how special we all are in the eyes of our Lord. Here is the verse I must confess I have not fully understood until being brought to see that this verse is actually telling us just how special in this age we are to our Lord:

1Th 5:9  For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
1Th 5:10  Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.
1Th 5:11  Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

I had been written to by a gentleman expressing his understanding  that Christ could not have endured the wrath of His Father as we do, simply because Christ had not sinned to deserve His Father's wrath. That doctrine immediately caused my defenses to go up because I knew that this was a subject which we had dealt with as a body back in 2006 when a brother, not believing that Christ "was made sin" (2Co 5:21), made this same argument, not realizing that Christ's flesh was the same sinful flesh as ours.

We will begin with this statement:

Heb 2:16  For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
Heb 2:17  Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
Heb 2:18  For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.

The seed of Abraham is the same as the seed of "the first man, Adam".

1Co 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

Abraham was a carnal human being just as we all are. He had both a natural mother and a natural father. Christ, on the other hand, had a natural mother also, but He did not have a natural father:

We are told:

Heb 4:15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

Look what Christ told Peter when Peter wanted to save Christ's flesh from death:

Joh 18:10  Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus.
Joh 18:11  Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?

Did our heavenly Father give Christ one cup and then give us a worse cup? I think not!

Christ was "without sin", and yet we are told He "was in all points tempted like as we are." Now what exactly does "in all points tempted like as we are" include? Specifically does "in all points" include the wrath of God, which is filled up in the seven plagues of the seven angels:

Rev 15:7  And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

Would "all points" include the contents of this verse, which tells us how the Lord tries us?

Act 14:22  Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

None of us would doubt that Christ suffered "much tribulation" throughout His entire ministry. From the time of the very beginning of His ministry, when He was baptized by John, He was immediately "driven of the spirit into the wilderness" to be tempted of the devil, then He went back to Nazareth where, after hearing His first 'sermon', His own home town acquaintances attempted to "cast Him down headlong [from] the brow of the hill whereon their city was built."

Luk 4:28  And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,
Luk 4:29  And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.
Luk 4:30  But he passing through the midst of them went his way,

All the way through His ministry, Christ was hated and harassed by the very people who came to hear His parables and the very people whose sick loved ones He healed, and the very people who had eaten of His miraculously provided loaves and fishes (Joh 8:30-47), as well as the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and all the chief priests and elders of the Jews. It was "the Jews which believed on Him" to whom He spoke these words:

Joh 8:47  He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.

You and I have been given to hear the words which inform us that our Lord was "in all points tempted like as we are yet without sin." Exactly what are we being told when we read that "it is through much tribulation" that we must enter into the kingdom of God? Most people are not given to 'hear' that the "much tribulation [required to] enter into the kingdom" includes the seven last plagues which fill up the wrath of God, without which we cannot "enter into the temple of God".

Rev 15:7  And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

"No man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled" would necessarily include "the man Christ Jesus".

1Ti 2:5  For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

It was Christ Himself who insisted that His own flesh was not better than ours when He said:

Luk 18:19  And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.

Those are Christ's words. They are not mine. Christ is not confessing to committing sin, but He most certainly is telling us that His flesh is no better than ours. It was corruptible flesh which, without a resurrection, would have corrupted and would have rotted back into dust, just as all flesh has returned to dust after death since Adam. The point being is that if Christ were above enduring the wrath of His Father, then there is no way He can say that He "was in all points tempted like as we are..."

In Isaiah we read this about the wrath of God being poured out upon Christ:

Isa 53:1  Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
Isa 53:2  For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
Isa 53:3  He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Isa 53:4  Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
Isa 53:5  But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Isa 53:6  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Isa 53:7  He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
Isa 53:8  He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
Isa 53:9  And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
Isa 53:10  Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
Isa 53:11  He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
Isa 53:12  Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

"The Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all" by pouring out on Christ "the seven vials of the seven angels" which fill up His wrath toward our old man. "The chastisement of our peace" is the "much tribulation [and] the seven plagues of the seven angels" which all men must endure before we can enter into the temple or the enter into the kingdom of God. That is the very meaning of "surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows." That is God's wrath that was poured out upon "the captain of our salvation". If Christ did not endure the wrath of His Father, then He was not at all "in all points tempted like as we are, and He certainly would not be "the captain of [our] salvation":

Heb 2:10  For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
Heb 2:11  For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,

If Christ did not suffer His Father's wrath, then there is no way He can say that He is "the captain of our salvation through sufferings." What sufferings? Were His sufferings less than ours?

There were no chapter breaks in the original scriptures so this very same narrative about what the Father intended to do with and to His own Son for our benefit continues into what we now call Isa 54:

Isa 54:1  Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD.

This verse is referring us back to what we were just told about Christ:

Isa 53:8  He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

Christ did not convert a single soul while in the flesh. Yet Isiah goes on here in the very next chapter:

Isa 54:2  Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;
Isa 54:3  For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.
Isa 54:4  Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.
Isa 54:5  For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
Isa 54:6  For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.
Isa 54:7  For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.
Isa 54:8  In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.

Notice here once again that the Biblical formula for "not be[ing] put to shame" is that "you shall forget the shame of your youth."

"You that did not bear [and] you that did not travail with child" is the same person of whom it is said, "thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles." It is Christ who died not having converted a single soul and of whom this question is asked:

Isa 53:8  He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

In Acts 8 Philip the evangelist told the Ethiopian eunuch that this verse of Isaiah 53 referred directly to Christ. I have been asked repeatedly how Christ, "the Son of God", could be referred to as having a husband if indeed Isaiah 54 really is also referring to Christ as "a wife of youth"?

Isa 54:5  For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
Isa 54:6  For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.

Act 8:33  In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.

1) Is Christ the wife of a "husband"? 2) Was Christ "a woman forsaken? 3) Was He ever "grieved in spirit? 4) How is it even possible for "the Son of God" to at the same time be called "a... refused... wife of youth"? What say the scriptures? Here is what the scriptures say to those questions:

1) Christ as the wife of a husband:

1Co 11:3  But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.

2) Christ as a woman forsaken:

Mar 15:34  And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

3) Christ "grieved in spirit:

Mat 26:38  Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.

Mar 15:34  And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

4) How is it possible for Christ to be both the Son of God and at the same time be a woman forsaken and a wife of youth?

The answer to this question is:

1Jn 4:17  Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

This being true, all we need do is demonstrate that we are both a wife of Christ as well as His sons, and both are clearly stated as such in these verses:

1Jn 3:1  Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

At the same time we are also called:

2Co 11:2  For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

So when we read all the words of Isaiah 53 and these words of Isaiah 54:

Isa 54:5  For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
Isa 54:6  For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.
Isa 54:7  For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.
Isa 54:8  In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.

Are we to believe that because the word 'wrath' is used in this chapter that therefore the subject has changed and Christ is not even in view in this 54th chapter? Of course not. Everything we read in chapter 53 is God's wrath being poured out upon Christ "for our iniquities" (Isa 53:5). If indeed Christ were "in all points tempted as we are" and if indeed "it pleased the LORD to bruise him; [and to] put him to grief: [and] make his soul an offering for sin,  [and if He] saw... the travail of his soul, and [was] satisfied, [and] he ... bore our iniquities, [then He also experienced] a little wrath... for a moment, [and His Father] foresook Him for a moment", just as He does with us and as He will do with every man.

Is not the pouring out of Christ's soul unto death the same as the pouring out of God's wrath upon the old man within us? It was expedient that Christ had to leave His physical body before He could enter into the kingdom of God through the pouring out of His soul, just as it is expedient that our old man must die via the wrath of God before we can enter into the kingdom of God or enter into His temple:

Joh 12:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

1Co 15:31  I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

Gal 2:20  I am [my old man is] crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live [my new man, Christ within me]; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

"As He is so are we in this world". As our heavenly Father did to the sinful flesh of His own Son, the captain of our salvation, so also must we "fill up his afflictions in [our] flesh... [and] fill up His wrath".

Isa 54:7  For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.
Isa 54:8  In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:

Now let's look at how we must fulfill the seven plagues of the wrath of God before we can enter into the temple, and yet we can say "we are not appointed unto wrath" (1Th 5:9).

Christ cried out to His Father to deliver Him from His enemies and we are told "He was heard in that He feared":

Heb 5:7  Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;

Christ was heard by His Father, and His Father "saved Him from death"! It happened to Him just as He assured Martha when she complained that if Jesus had come when she sent for Him that her brother, Lazarus would still be alive. This is what Christ told Martha:

Joh 11:25  Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
Joh 11:26  And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

Lazarus was lying dead in his grave, and here is Christ, who will also shortly die, telling Lazarus's sister, Martha, "whosoever lives and believes on me shall never die". So how is it that if we live and believe in Christ we will never die? Here is the only way to live and believe in Christ and never die. I repeat:

Joh 12:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it [our old man] die, it [our new man] bringeth forth much fruit.

1Co 15:31  I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I [my old man] die daily.

1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood [my old man] cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

Gal 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I [not my old man], but Christ [my new man] liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me [my new man].

In other words Christ speaks almost as if He thinks that flesh and blood profits nothing, and indeed that is exactly what He thinks, and that is what He tells us:

Luk 9:60  Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.

And these plain words concerning the value of flesh in the kingdom of God:

Joh 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

The only purpose flesh serves is to demonstrate its corruptible, sinful, dying nature, from which we all must be delivered. It does serve that purpose, but it is of no value at all in the kingdom of God, and so we are again plainly told:

1Co 15:49  And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

The reason I point all this out is to demonstrate that the life of our new man comes only "through death" - the death of our old man as the scriptures teach:

Col 1:22  In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

Heb 2:14  Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

Christ partook of a body of flesh and blood "that through death [of that flesh, our old man] He might destroy Him that had the power of death, that is the devil."

That is the Biblical formula for understanding all the apparent contradictions in scripture. If we want to be able to say we "had not worshiped the beast", then we will be granted to say that only through our old man first worshiping the beast, and then our new man, "Christ in me" overcoming his mark, name and number:

Rev 13:16  And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, [our old man] to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

Rev 15:2  And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast [our old man], and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, [our new man] stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.

Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands [our new man]; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

And the same principle applies to this verse in:

1Th 5:9  For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

I have gone to great lengths to demonstrate that the sum of God's word speaks as if the old man is not even being considered and that it is only our new man who is "not appointed to wrath", just as it is only our new man who has not worshiped the beast, and it is only our new man who will never die.

Joh 11:26  And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

1Th 5:9  For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

Having said all of this, and having taught for many years now that as surely as the only way to experience the salvation of Christ is to first confess to being a sinner in need of a Savior, so also the only way to avoid the wrath of God is to first confess that you were born under His wrath:

Mar 2:17  When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Joh 3:36  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

But there is one more verse of Isaiah 54 which I had not noticed, and it is the very next verse after verse 7 and 8:

Isa 54:7  For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.
Isa 54:8  In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.
Isa 54:9  For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.

Someone will now tell me that this is speaking only of Christ who has already been resurrected, and that therefore it can be said "I have sworn that I would not be wroth with you, nor rebuke you", but that simply cannot yet be said of any of us.

The answer to that contention is again, that indeed it cannot be said of our old man and his corruptible flesh, but it can, and it must be said of our 'resurrected... new man'. Yes, that is what I said; it can be said of our resurrected new man that he is "not appointed to wrath but to salvation", that he has not received the mark of the beast, and that he will never die.

This is actually how we are admonished to think of ourselves:

Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried [aorist tense] with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up [aorist tense] from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk [aorist tense] in newness of life.
Rom 6:5  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Rom 6:6  Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him [aorist tense], that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Rom 6:7  For he that is dead [aorist tense] is freed from sin.
Rom 6:8  Now if we be dead [aorist tense] with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
Rom 6:9  Knowing that Christ being raised [aorist tense] from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
Rom 6:10  For in that he died [aorist tense], he died [aorist tense] unto sin once: but in that he liveth [present tense], he liveth [present tense] unto God.
Rom 6:11  Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Rom 6:12  Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

We are to "reckon ourselves [our old man] to be dead... to sin, but [our new man] alive to God through Jesus Christ.... then we will be in the likeness of His resurrection".

We have all of this already in "earnest", meaning we have it in downpayment form, and while we are still in the process of being judged, we are right here in Romans 6 admonished to "reckon [ourselves] to be dead indeed to sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord".

Eph 1:13  In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Eph 1:14  Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

It is with that mind frame that we can say with Paul, "we are not appointed to wrath but to salvation" (1Th 5:9), whereas I once thought that the mention of being appointed to salvation was proof that Paul was speaking of all men. I thank that gentleman for helping me to see that not only can we say "We are not appointed to wrath, but to salvation" is true of our new man whom we are to reckon as "alive unto God", at the same time we are reckoning "our old man [as] crucified with Him that the body of sin might be destroyed, that from now on we should not serve sin." That is to be our mindset. Not only can we do so, we are admonished to let that be our mindset.

One more verse which helped me to finally see that the words "appointed to... salvation" does not necessarily include all mankind is found in:

2Th 2:13  But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:

There can be no doubt that this verse is being addressed to God's elect because this 2nd chapter of 2nd Thessalonians is the chapter which distinguishes our old man from our new man in these stark words:

2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work[within our old man]: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed [our old man], whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
2Th 2:9  Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
2Th 2:10  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
2Th 2:11  And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
2Th 2:12  That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

This is all being said of our old man who is then contrasted with our new man is the next verse:

2Th 2:13  But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:

This verse is a repetition of:

1Th 5:8  But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
1Th 5:9  For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

These words in 1st and 2nd Thessalonians have the same 'is, was, and will be' character as all the rest of the "word[s] that proceed out of the mouth of God" (Mat 4:4).

The 'us' of verse 8 is the same 'us' as the 'us' of verse 9. We can say with the apostle, "God has from the beginning chosen [us] to salvation... God has not appointed [us, our new man] to wrath but to salvation."

We really are "blessed and holy" above all men if we are granted to die to our old man in this age, and we are foolish to deny what is ours in Christ:

Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5  But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

It is now incumbent that anything denying this proclamation be removed from the web site, and for that chore I want to ask all of you to alert Sandi if and when you come across anything that needs to be changed to accord with the fact that we can say that our new man is not appointed to wrath but to salvation.

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