“There is no escape from the living God”.
The Bible testifies that God does not take back His words:
“God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19).
God Himself declares:
“My word that goes forth from My mouth shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11).
Let us deal here with something God has said that must surely come to pass. God says:
“Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” (Romans 12:19).
I always saw this as a scripture telling us not to retaliate. But I have come to realise that it is saying something more fundamental than that. It means God is a God of vengeance. He has sworn to avenge every sin committed by men. Every sin is either avenged on the cross of Jesus Christ or in the fiery furnace of hell.
Blood of Abel
Those who have endured persecution for Christ’s sake are holding God to this word.
“When (the angel) opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, ‘How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?’ Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.” (Revelation 6:9-11).
Jesus confirms that all such wrongs shall be avenged. He asks:
“Shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily.” (Luke 18:7-8).
Even Moses, whose ministry was primarily to the Jews, also spoke the same comforting words to persecuted Gentiles on God’s behalf:
“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people; for He will avenge the blood of His servants, and render vengeance to His adversaries.” (Deuteronomy 32:43).
God of wrath
Christians easily overlook the fact that God is a God of wrath, despite over 600 scriptures telling us this in the Bible. The psalmist asks God:
“Who can comprehend the power of Your anger? Your wrath is as awesome as the fear You deserve. Teach us to realise the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.” (Psalm 90:11-12).
The scriptures warn that God’s wrath against sin and sinners is going to explode at the end of the ages. Nahum asks:
“Who can stand before (God’s) indignation? And who can endure the fierceness of His anger? His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by Him.” (Nahum 1:6).
Jesus, who eloquently displayed the love of God, also warned us about the wrath of God.
“He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” (John 3:36).
John, the so-called apostle of love, talks about the wrath of God more than anybody else in the Bible.
“Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, ‘If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” (Revelation 14:9-11).
Fierce anger and wrath
Many times in the scriptures, the Bible aligns God’s anger with His wrath. But Christians ignore this and only talk about God’s love. The psalmist pleads with God:
“O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.” (Psalm 6:1).
“We have been consumed by Your anger, and by Your wrath we are terrified.” (Psalm 90:7).
Paul warned that:
“For those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.” (Romans 2:8).
God Himself acknowledges this:
“I gave you a king in My anger, and took him away in My wrath.” (Hosea 13:11).
Jesus displayed an inkling of God’s anger when He sacked the buyers and sellers in the Temple:
“He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, ‘Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!’” (John 2:14-16).
Fear of the Lord
The Bible warns that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Many hear this and simply forget about it. But Jesus gives us friendly advice:
“I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!” (Luke 12:4-5).
The writer of Hebrews amplifies this:
“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:31).
You can escape from a man through death, either by dying yourself or through the death of your oppressor. But there is no escape from the living God. He does not die, and you cannot escape from Him by dying. The living God will deal with you in life and even after you are dead.
Listen to what David says to God:
“(Even) if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.” (Psalm 139:8).
Terror of the Lord
Paul says the God who is love is also a terror.
“Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.” (2 Corinthians 5:11).
Joel says more or less the same thing:
“The day of the Lord is great and very terrible; who can endure it?” (Joel 2:11).
The very fact that God sent Jesus to save us shows how terrible the wrath of God will be. Accordingly, Paul tells us Jesus delivers us from the wrath to come. (1 Thessalonians 1:10).
John the Baptist warned his countrymen about this:
“When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” (Matthew 3:7).
The message is clear: beware of the Day of the Lord. Joel proclaims:
“Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the Lord is coming, for it is at hand: A day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, like the morning clouds spread over the mountains.” (Joel 2:1-2).
Isaiah presents an equally scary picture:
“Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust, from the terror of the Lord and the glory of His majesty. The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the Lord of hosts shall come upon everything proud and lofty, upon everything lifted up, and it shall be brought low. Upon all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan; opon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up; upon every high tower, und upon every fortified wall; upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all the beautiful sloops. The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day, but the idols He shall utterly abolish. They shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, from the terror of the Lord and the glory of His majesty, when He arises to shake the earth mightily. In that day a man will cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, to the moles and bats, to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the crags of the rugged rocks, from the terror of the Lord and the glory of His majesty, when He arises to shake the earth mightily. Sever yourselves from such a man, whose breath is in his nostrils; for of what account is he?” (Isaiah 2: 10-22).
CONTINUED.