"16 For the time soon cometh that the fulness of the awrath of God shall be poured out upon all the children of men; for he will not suffer that the wicked shall destroy the righteous.
"17 Wherefore, he will apreserve the brighteous by his power, even if it so be that the fulness of his wrath must come, and the righteous be preserved, even unto the destruction of their enemies by fire. Wherefore, the righteous need not fear; for thus saith the prophet, they shall be saved, even if it so be as by fire."
These two verses are comforting to me in that verse 16 states clearly that the Lord will not suffer that the wicked shall destroy the righteous. The wicked may try to do many things against the righteous, and they may succeed, but the Lord will not let the wicked end their eternal progression. The key, then, to this verse for us is would the Lord consider us righteous? Are we following the commandments as He would have us? If we feel we must repent of something, then we should. Don't fall into a trap and think that all is lost. I read once that righteousness is more of a direction. Are we headed out of bad areas and habits into good ones? Remember that repentance is a change. If we head out of bad areas and habits, and then go back into them, that is not a change in behavior. But don't give up!
In verse 17, we see that the Lord will do what it takes to preserve the righteous, even if it means destroying them by fire. The thing is that now I don't think that the righteous have too much persecution. We seem to be doing okay, but that might change. Apparently it will change because these verses are about the last days. We'll see. Finally, we have a comment at the end of 17 that makes me scared a little, but I know that in the end it will be okay. It is the part where the prophet (Isaiah) says that the righteous will be saved, even if it so be as by fire. I interpret this comment in a way that means that the wicked will be taken care of, for example, by fire. It might be that the righteous (who are in the world, but not of the world) will be taken with the wicked, but their souls will be saved and the wicked ones not.
So, to end on a good note, Jesus said, "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have apeace. In the bworld ye shall have ctribulation: but be of good dcheer; I have eovercome the world" (John 16:33).
These two verses are comforting to me in that verse 16 states clearly that the Lord will not suffer that the wicked shall destroy the righteous. The wicked may try to do many things against the righteous, and they may succeed, but the Lord will not let the wicked end their eternal progression. The key, then, to this verse for us is would the Lord consider us righteous? Are we following the commandments as He would have us? If we feel we must repent of something, then we should. Don't fall into a trap and think that all is lost. I read once that righteousness is more of a direction. Are we headed out of bad areas and habits into good ones? Remember that repentance is a change. If we head out of bad areas and habits, and then go back into them, that is not a change in behavior. But don't give up!
In verse 17, we see that the Lord will do what it takes to preserve the righteous, even if it means destroying them by fire. The thing is that now I don't think that the righteous have too much persecution. We seem to be doing okay, but that might change. Apparently it will change because these verses are about the last days. We'll see. Finally, we have a comment at the end of 17 that makes me scared a little, but I know that in the end it will be okay. It is the part where the prophet (Isaiah) says that the righteous will be saved, even if it so be as by fire. I interpret this comment in a way that means that the wicked will be taken care of, for example, by fire. It might be that the righteous (who are in the world, but not of the world) will be taken with the wicked, but their souls will be saved and the wicked ones not.
So, to end on a good note, Jesus said, "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have apeace. In the bworld ye shall have ctribulation: but be of good dcheer; I have eovercome the world" (John 16:33).
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