Back to the Basics: Theology Proper #16 God’s RIGHTEOUS WRATH! (Part 2)

In our previous post we began thinking a bit about God’s WRATH.  We don’t want to think about God’s wrath.  We would prefer a god who does not become wrathful, vengeful, furious with us sinners.  But that’s not the God of the Bible.

We listed many verses in Part 1, but only summarized through Proverbs 11:23 that says that “the hope of the wicked [ends] only in wrath.”  Let’s look at the 2nd section of those verses one more time in this second of two parts on God’s wrath.  Here are those verses again:

Isaiah 1:24
Therefore the Lord, the Lord Almighty, the Mighty One of Israel, declares: “Ah! I will vent my wrath on my foes and avenge myself on my enemies.
Isaiah 10:5
[ God’s Judgment on Assyria ] “Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of my anger, in whose hand is the club of my wrath!
Isaiah 13:5
They come from faraway lands, from the ends of the heavens— the Lord and the weapons of his wrath— to destroy the whole country.
Isaiah 48:9
For my own name’s sake I delay my wrath; for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you, so as not to destroy you completely.
Isaiah 59:18
According to what they have done, so will he repay wrath to his enemies and retribution to his foes; he will repay the islands their due.
Jeremiah 7:20
“‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: My anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place—on man and beast, on the trees of the field and on the crops of your land—and it will burn and not be quenched.
Jeremiah 7:29
“‘Cut off your hair and throw it away; take up a lament on the barren heights, for the Lord has rejected and abandoned this generation that is under his wrath.
Jeremiah 10:10
But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God, the eternal King. When he is angry, the earth trembles; the nations cannot endure his wrath.
Jeremiah 21:5
I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and a mighty arm in furious anger and in great wrath.
Jeremiah 25:15
[ The Cup of God’s Wrath ] This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup filled with the wine of my wrath and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it.
Jeremiah 36:7
Perhaps they will bring their petition before the Lord and will each turn from their wicked ways, for the anger and wrath pronounced against this people by the Lord are great.”
Jeremiah 50:25
The Lord has opened his arsenal and brought out the weapons of his wrath, for the Sovereign Lord Almighty has work to do in the land of the Babylonians.
Lamentations 4:11
The Lord has given full vent to his wrath; he has poured out his fierce anger. He kindled a fire in Zion that consumed her foundations.
Ezekiel 5:13
“Then my anger will cease and my wrath against them will subside, and I will be avenged. And when I have spent my wrath on them, they will know that I the Lord have spoken in my zeal.
Ezekiel 13:13
“‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: In my wrath I will unleash a violent wind, and in my anger hailstones and torrents of rain will fall with destructive fury.
Ezekiel 16:38
I will sentence you to the punishment of women who commit adultery and who shed blood; I will bring on you the blood vengeance of my wrath and jealous anger.
Ezekiel 20:21
“‘But the children rebelled against me: They did not follow my decrees, they were not careful to keep my laws, of which I said, “The person who obeys them will live by them,” and they desecrated my Sabbaths. So I said I would pour out my wrath on them and spend my anger against them in the wilderness.
Ezekiel 21:31
I will pour out my wrath on you and breathe out my fiery anger against you; I will deliver you into the hands of brutal men, men skilled in destruction.
Ezekiel 22:22
As silver is melted in a furnace, so you will be melted inside her, and you will know that I the Lord have poured out my wrath on you.’”
Ezekiel 25:17
I will carry out great vengeance on them and punish them in my wrath. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I take vengeance on them.’”
Daniel 9:16
Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us.
Hosea 5:10
Judah’s leaders are like those who move boundary stones. I will pour out my wrath on them like a flood of water.
Hosea 13:11
So in my anger I gave you a king, and in my wrath I took him away.
Nahum 1:2
[ The Lord’s Anger Against Nineveh ] The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. The Lord takes vengeance on his foes and vents his wrath against his enemies.
Nahum 1:6
Who can withstand his indignation? Who can endure his fierce anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; the rocks are shattered before him.
Habakkuk 3:2
Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.
Zephaniah 1:15
That day will be a day of wrath— a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness—
Zephaniah 1:18
Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the Lord’s wrath.” In the fire of his jealousy the whole earth will be consumed, for he will make a sudden end of all who live on the earth.
Malachi 1:4
Edom may say, “Though we have been crushed, we will rebuild the ruins.” But this is what the Lord Almighty says: “They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Wicked Land, a people always under the wrath of the Lord.
Matthew 3:7
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
Luke 21:23
How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people.
John 3:36
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.
Romans 1:18
[ God’s Wrath Against Sinful Humanity ] The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness,
Romans 2:5
But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.
Romans 2:8
But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.
Romans 9:22
What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction?
Romans 12:19
Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.
Romans 13:4
For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.
Ephesians 2:3
All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.
Ephesians 5:6
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient.
Colossians 3:6
Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.
1 Thessalonians 1:10
and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.
1 Thessalonians 5:9
For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Revelation 6:16
They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!
Revelation 6:17
For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?”
Revelation 11:18
The nations were angry, and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your people who revere your name, both great and small— and for destroying those who destroy the earth.”
Revelation 14:10
they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.

In concluding this study, we see that —
His anger is described as the blood vengeance of His wrath and jealous anger, the fire of His jealousy.

From these verses we learn that God will vent His wrath and avenge Himself on His enemies. He will repay wrath to His enemies. God used Assyria as the club, the weapons, of His wrath. God takes vengeance and is filled with wrath.

His wrath and anger will be poured out, will burn and not be quenched. We read of a generation that is under His wrath. We learn that nations cannot endure His wrath. He has given full vent to His wrath and poured out His fierce anger. God threatens to pour out His wrath and spend His anger on His people. He will breathe out His fiery anger. He will punish them in His wrath. His wrath is poured out like fire.

There will come a time when His anger will cease and His wrath against His people will subside (after He has spent His wrath on them).

About His own people God says He will fight against them in furious anger and in great wrath. His cup is filled with the wine of His wrath. God looks for repentance, for the anger and wrath pronounced against this people by the Lord are great. In His anger God gave them a king and in His wrath He took him away.

God will even unleash the elements of weather (violent wind, hailstones, torrents of rain) against His people. We read of a day of wrath.

The good news is that God’s wrath may be delayed. We can pray that He will turn away from His anger and His wrath. We can ask that He will in wrath remember mercy. We can warn others to flee from the coming wrath.

The hard truth is that those who have not believed on the Son, those who reject the Son, God’s wrath remains on them.

The reality is that we have to leave room for God’s wrath. It is clearly taught in the Word of God (one wonders if there are more verses on God’s wrath than on His love?). And we need to warn people with the gospel to FLEE God’s wrath.

Thank God today for the Son of God who rescues us from the coming wrath!

 

Jonah: Belief Contradicted by Behavior (Part 40)

I heard one preacher say, “The world is so evil.  If I were God, I would have stomped the world to death by now.  Aren’t you glad I’m not God?”  Yes.  We are thankful for God’s mercy.  And He shows that mercy to His sun-burned, suicidal servant whose mantra seems to be “It would be better for me to die than to live.”

God asks His disgruntled missionary, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” (v. 9).  Man was made in the image and likeness of his Creator and possesses a moral system, one aspect of which is his conscience.  But Jonah’s conscience does not appear to have kicked in throughout this book!

He responds, “It is right for me to be so angry that I wish I were dead.”  How should Jonah have responded?  He should have said, “Lord, I’m so sorry for valuing my comfort more than the souls of these Ninevites.  Give me another chance?”  (to be continued)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jonah: Belief Contradicted by Behavior (Part 33)

“But to Jonah this seemed very wrong . . .”  Jonah is morally outraged that God would forgive the Ninevites!  Jonah is elevating his sense of morality above God Himself!  He is the one doing the judging — and he’s judging GOD!  And Jonah’s certainty that God has made a huge mistake leads Jonah to become furious with the Lord.

What do you do when you are furious?  Maybe throw a temper tantrum (as we saw in our last post).  Maybe go and sulk in the corner somewhere. Not Jonah.  He prays!  He speaks to the Lord and he voices his disgust at God’s decision not to judge the Ninevites.

What is the content of Jonah’s prayer?  “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home?”  So, Jonah apparently talked to the Lord when he first got his assignment to go to Nineveh.  Jonah chapter 1 doesn’t give us details of that conversation, and maybe Jonah means something like “that is exactly what I thought when I was still at home.”

He then explains why he fled to Tarshish — Jonah knew something of God’s character.  And Jonah knew God would be true to His own character.  And Jonah hated that.  (to be continued)

 

 

 

 

(to be continued)

 

What Animals Are Thinking #41 (scroll down)

 

PASTORS SHOULDN’T GET MAD!!! (time for a good cartoon)

 

Anger toward Self, One of the “Seven Deadly Sins”

Some of you may not be tennis fans, but the anger which professional tennis player Mikhail Youzhny shows towards himself is quite illuminating.  Please watch the following short video:

“Of the Seven Deadly Sins, anger is possibly the most fun. To lick your wounds, to smack your lips over grievances long past, to roll over your tongue the prospect of bitter confrontations still to come, to savor to the last toothsome morsel both the pain you are given and the pain you are giving back–in many ways it is a feast fit for a king. The chief drawback is that what you are wolfing down is yourself. The skeleton at the feast is you.” (Frederick Buechner)