When John was baptizing people in Israel he said to the Pharisees and Sadducees, “who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” According to Matt 3:7 wrath is coming. In Matt 3:10-12, God’s wrath is an unquenchable fire. Wrath is coming because he’s coming.
God is a consuming fire [Heb 12:29]. When he appeared on Sinai, the mountain burned with fire [Heb 12:18]. His angels are a flame of fire [Heb 1:7]. The angel who appeared to Manoah and his wife ascended in the flame off the altar [Jud 13:20].
Malachi describes Jesus returning as the Sun of Righteousness [Mal 4:1-2]. The Sun is a mass of fire. Jesus returns with his angels. Therefore, he returns in flaming fire [2 Thes 1:7-8]. Those who know not God and who obey not the gospel will be instantly burned. They will burn up like those who die in the spontaneous combustion of the plague in Zech 14:12. The destruction of these disobedient agnostics is everlasting.
The unrighteous who die are immediately in hell upon their death [Lk 16:22-24]. From there they are cast into the lake of fire in eternity [Rev 20:13-15]. That’s where the devil will be [Rev 20:9-10] after leading his last revolt against Jesus. The lake of fire is everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels [Matt 25:41]. Even the earth and heaven will eventually be burned up [2 Pet 3:10-12] after Christ’s millennial reign.
You need to flee the wrath to come. The prudent man forseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished [Prov 27:12]. I’m hiding in Jesus. I’m like the hymn “Hiding in Thee.” The simple don’t realize that the wrath of God abideth on them [Jn 3:36]. It’s like walking around with an atom bomb on your shoulder waiting to detonate when you die. And you don’t know the time of your death.
People need to believe on Jesus [Jn 3:16-18]. He is the only one who can save you so that you can dwell in his presence without burning up. You will be like Moses. Moses was able to ascend into the mount and he didn’t burn [Ex 19:18-20]. You will be like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They stood in the fiery furnace and were not even singed. They didn’t even smell like smoke [Dan 3:20-27]. They were in that fire with Jesus. Thus, they were fire proof. And you will be fire proof when you believe on Jesus.
Flee the wrath to come. God has already poured out his wrath on Jesus. When you are in him you are fire proof. The place where you stand with Jesus has been burned out already. An illustration of this is a back-fire started by a wagon master to protect the wagon train from an on-coming prairie fire.
Some people find this preaching abhorrent. We are just warning you of your true condition and of the remedy that has been provided for you in Jesus Christ. We are like your doctor. It’s not the doctor’s fault when he finds cancer. He tells you of your problem and of the cure for your cancer. If you die because you don’t like the diagnosis and you don’t take the cure, that’s not the doctor’s fault. It’s yours for rejecting the cure. And it will be your fault that you burn if you don’t take the protection offered to you in Jesus Christ.