WHAT IS GOD'S WRATH - REALLY?
by Richard Burkard
The numbers kept building and building, until they were almost incomprehensible. As I write this, the death toll from a massive earthquake and tsunami in south Asia stands at about 75,000 - and growing. One relief agency estimates 500,000 people may be displaced from their homes by the disaster.
Amid all the destruction and chaos, a question may have come to the minds of many Church of God members - and it certainly came to mind among Christians in mainstream denominations. Is this the "wrath of God," or the work of "the god of this world" known as Satan? (II Cor. 4:4) Members might have been quick to call it God's wrath, since the quake was centered near the world's largest Muslim country, Indonesia. Yet the damage was widespread far beyond there - reaching countries such as India and Sri Lanka where COG groups have members and congregations.
It happened that only eight days before this disaster, I heard a United Church of God sermon on "the wrath of God." The preacher took a scattershot approach in mentioning items for which God's wrath was deserved -- everything from the movie Texas Chainsaw Massacre to the TV series Desperate Housewives. But the Pastor raised my eyebrows when he suggested the wrath of God was poured out with subtlety these days, on people who die or have heart attacks after taking the controversial medicines Vioxx and Celebrex.
"What if church members took those medicines?" I asked myself. Would God pour His wrath upon them, even if they acted on the basis of published and reviewed scientific tests? (Even if a drug company covered up other results, to its detriment.) And in a more general way, doesn't membership in a Sabbath-keeping Church of God give you immunity from heavenly punishment? Or does God send wrath like rain - on both the just and the unjust? (Mt. 5:45, KJV)
The answers to these questions could let you rest more easily tonight - or could give you spiritual nightmares. Let's do a "whole-Bible" search for "wrath" and related words, and see if we can find a proper view of God. We'll get to the "how" part of wrath in a moment, but we begin with a "who" question.
If He Can Do It....
At first it may seem God is unfair when it comes to wrath. Dozens of verses indicate He's wrathful often, yet humans made in God's image are advised not to be. "A wrathful man stirs up strife," warns Proverbs 15:18 (KJV). Paul lists wrath among the "acts of the sinful nature" in Galatians 5:19-21, alongside everything from idolatry to drunkenness and orgies. "Do not take revenge, my friends," Paul goes on to write in Romans 12:19, "but leave room for God's wrath.... 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord."
So if it's OK for God, why isn't it OK for humans? We could speculate the answer lies in the fact that several different Hebrew and Greek words are translated as "wrath" in the Bible. The verse we cited from Proverbs is chemah in Hebrew, which has a base word of "heat." God's wrath is mentioned with this word at times (e.g., Deut. 29:25, 28; II Kng. 22:13) - but other Hebrew words such as charown (Ex. 15:7; Neh. 13:18) point to a wrath of a higher caliber: "a burning of anger.... fierce, fury...." (Strong's Concordance #2740)
Yet there are several other Hebrew and Greek words translated as "wrath" which apply to both humans and God. So this speculation is logical, yet Biblically faulty. Could a better answer be that God can repair the wrath He brings, even on a grand scale - while humans often cannot?
The Tools of Wrath
God can use all sorts of means to dole out his wrath on people - and yes, they include the "natural disasters" which occurred in South Asia.
"But the Lord is the true God.... at his wrath the earth shall tremble...." (Jer. 10:10) Revelation indicates the seven bowls of God's wrath include a severe earthquake (Rev. 16:1, 18-19) - severe enough to split major cities in three pieces. (See also Psm. 18:7)
And as for tsunamis: "Your wrath lies heavily upon me; you have overwhelmed me with all your waves." (Psm. 88:7) While some could see the verse about waves as poetic, it may also back a comment made by one of Job's friends about godless people: "God will vent his burning anger against him.... a flood will carry off his house, rushing waters on the day of God's wrath." (Job 20:23, 28)
How else can God extend wrath? Let us list the ways we found:
* A sword (Ex. 22:24; II Chr. 29:8-10; Psm. 78:62; Rev. 19:15)
* Actions by kings of other nations (I Sam. 28:18-19; II Chr. 28:9; Ezra 5:12; Rom. 13:3-5)
* The weather, such as a lack of rain (Deut. 11:17), a scorched earth (Isa. 9:19; Rev. 16:8) or huge hailstones (Rev. 16:21)
* Darkness (Rev. 16:10; Zeph. 1:15)
* Burning sulfur from heaven (Deut. 29:23/Gen. 19:24)
* Fire in general (Psm. 21:9; Rev. 16:8; perhaps Mt. 22:2-7)
* Famine (Ezek. 7:12-15)
* Turning seas and rivers into blood (Rev. 15:7, 16:3-4) - or drying them up (Rev. 16:12
* Severe plague (Num. 11:33; Ezek. 7:12-15)
* Painful sores (Rev. 15:7, 16:2)
* A death penalty (Psm. 78:27-31) - even in military battle (Josh. 22:20)
* Ultimately, by denying eternal life (Jhn. 3:36)
Our God Must Be Crazy?!?!
The online satire/humor site "The Onion" once had an article in which an "expert" declared God bipolar. God portrays Himself as so loving and so merciful, according to this expert - then He turns around and angrily wipes thousands of people off the map.
When a disaster strikes like the tsunami, even believing Christians are led to ask why God allows such death and destruction to occur - not to mention the grief and agony on surviving friends and relatives. The Bible shows when it comes to extending wrath, God actually is more merciful than some ministers might lead you to believe.
"What if," Paul asks, "God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath - prepared for destruction?" (Rom. 9:22) Paul concludes in Romans that's exactly God's strategy - because people who don't repent "are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath...." (2:5) In fact, all people who lived in a "sinful nature" were by that nature "objects of wrath" - God's, that is. (Eph. 2:3)
We live in a world steeped in thousands of years of sin. At any point, God could have declared a heavenly "re-rack," wiped out almost the entire human race as He did in the time of Noah (Gen. 6:5-8), and start all over again - but have you noticed so far He hasn't?
He Has a Reason
It's not that God is without cause for extending wrath on humanity. The Bible is filled with reasons why He could. Let's make another list - this one filled with godly indictments against our world:
* Opposing God (Ex. 15:7; Psm. 2:2, 5) - or forsaking Him (II Chr. 29:6-8; Ezra 8:22; Josh. 22:18)
* Taking advantage of or afflicting widows and orphans (Ex. 22:22-24)
* Making a false god (Ex. 32:10-12; Deut. 9:7-8; II Chr. 24:17-18; Psm. 78:58-59)
* Worshiping such a false god (Rev. 14:9-10)
* Priests showing emotion or protest if their sons die for disobedience (Lev. 10:5-6)
* Levites not living near the tabernacle (Num. 1:53) or caring for the sanctuary and altar (18:5)
* Wailing or grumbling against God (Num. 11:18, 33; Psm. 78:20-21; Deut. 1:26-27)
* Not knowing God's ways (Psm. 95:10-11; Heb. 3:10-11, 4:3)
* Abandoning the covenant of Mount Sinai (Deut. 29:25-28)
* Not obeying "the Book of the Law" (II Chr. 34:21; see also Rom. 4:15; II Chr. 36:16, Zech. 7:12)
* Suppressing the truth by wickedness (Rom. 1:18)
* Breaking oaths made to other people (Josh. 9:19-20)
* Stealing things God said not to take (compare Josh. 22:20 with 7:5, 20)
* Numbering the people of Israel (I Chr. 27:24)
* Helping wicked people (II Chr. 19:2)
* Loving "those who hate the Lord" (II Chr. 19:2 -- there's one for further exploration!)
* Judges failing to warn litigants in cases "not to sin against the Lord" (II Chr. 19:10)
* Israelites taking other Israelites prisoners (II Chr. 28:9-11; also possibly slaughtering Israelites in rage -- compare NIV with KJV)
* Having a proud and unthankful heart toward God's healing (II Chr. 32:24-25)
* Mocking God's messengers, scoffing at His prophets (II Chr. 36:16) - or even killing them (I Thes. 2:14-16)
* Desecrating God's Sabbath by selling food (Neh. 13:15, 18)
* Being "self-seeking" (Rom. 2:8)
* Rejecting "the truth" and following evil (Rom. 2:8; Col. 3:5-6)
* Not speaking right things (Job 42:7; I Thes. 2:14-16) - or falsely prophesying (Ezek. 13:10-16)
* Not "kissing the Son" (Psm. 2:12) - or rejecting Him (Jhn. 3:36)
* Being stubborn (Rom. 2:5)
* Having an unrepentant heart (Rom. 2:5)
* Sexual immorality (Eph. 5:3, 6; Col. 3:5-6)
* Impurity (Eph. 5:3, 6; Col. 3:5-6)
* Greed (Eph. 5:3, 6; Col. 3:5-6; Isa. 57:17)
* Lust (Col. 3:5-6)
* Not trusting God (Deut. 1:32-34)
* Not forgiving your brother from your heart (Mt. 18:34-35)
* A phrase that may sum up all of the above: "grievous sin" (Deut. 29:23, cf. Gen. 18:20; also Hos. 5:5, 10), even against those who "do right" (Isa. 64:5, NIV). Paul writes that "our sinful nature" makes us all "objects of wrath." (Eph. 2:3)
*** UPDATED 1/8/05 ***
His or Whose?
Talk about a foreboding list! And you don't have to violate many of those items to incur God's wrath. Five times in Amos 1, God warns He will not hold back wrath even for three or four sins. But we need to add an important note here -- sometimes what seems to be God's wrath is really that of someone else.
A close look at the book of Job shows he apparently was tricked by this. "God assails me and tears me in his anger and gnashes his teeth at me...." (Job 16:9) King James uses the word "wrath" here, as well as in 19:11: "He (God) hath also kindled his wrath against me...."
But who really hurled the wrath against Job? Review chapters 1-2 and you'll find God allowed Satan to punish Job harshly -- in a great "third heaven level" test of how faithful Job would be. The New Testament shows at the end of this age, the devil will "come down.... having great wrath" to this earth AND the sea. (Rev. 12:12, KJV)
(Yet can we undisputably say Satan brought on the Asian tsunami? Perhaps not, given the context of Revelation 12 -- since verses 13-17 show he pursues a "woman" signifying God's church. There's no evidence of a church being pursued to a desert land or a "place of safety" in the days leading to the tsunami.)
How to Stop the Wrath of God
All this talk about wrath can be understandably scary - yet the Bible is a book of good news for mankind. It reveals ways you can escape God's wrath, and even turn it around. But let's clear one thing up right away -- donating money will not solve the problem!
"They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will be an unclean thing. Their silver and gold will not be able to save them in the day of the Lord's wrath." (Ezek. 7:19; see also Zeph. 1:18) This is not said to discourage donations to relief efforts in Asia. This is a warning about those who might claim gifts to their ministries, or even abandoning wealth completely, will somehow give people immunity from God's wrath.
That immunity is not found in finances or a church organization. It's found in a Man - the Man named Jesus, who came to earth as the Son of God. "Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!" (Rom. 5:9) By receiving salvation through Jesus (I Thes. 5:9), He "rescues us from the coming wrath." (1:10)
But is it as simple as saying the right words at a critical moment? A whole-Bible check shows God wants us to advance from there. For instance, God decided at a critical point in Israel's history not to pour out His wrath on Jerusalem. The secret: "The leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves...." (II Chr. 12:6-7, 12)
Beyond simple humility is action: "....serve the Lord your God, that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from you." (30:8, KJV) We should serve God in a wise way, not a shameful one (Prv. 14:35). Exactly how to serve that way will be left for another article, or your own Bible study. But it's clear from the Bible that we need to separate ourselves from this sinful world (Ezra 10:14)
A covenant with God also can stop His wrath. This is how King Hezekiah did it, as he purified God's temple (II Chr.29:8-10). But the king later discovered he also needed to repent of sin - in his case pride; "therefore the Lord's wrath did not come upon them during the days of Hezekiah." (32:25-26)
(We also should note Numbers 25:7-11, where Phinehas stopped God's wrath by killing a couple violating the "outside marriage" principle of God's Law. Check your local statutes before trying this approach - because in this day and age, we take no responsibility for what might happen to you.)
The End - and Beyond
The Bible warns of a future "day of God's wrath," around the time of Jesus Christ's return. It will be fiery and destructive, against His enemies (Psm. 21:8-10; Ezek. 22:21-22, 31; Nah. 1:2). And all sorts of agents are likely to carry it out - from kings or governing authorities (Rom. 13:1, 4; Isa. 10:5-6) to "a band of destroying angels" (Psm. 78:49).
The Lord told Ezekiel His wrath would include sword, plague and famine (7:2-3, 14-15) - a famine Psalms indicates could leave only ashes for food (Psm. 102:9-10). The Old Testament Zephaniah paints a bleak picture of that time: "A day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, a day of trumpet and battle cry against the fortified cities...." (Zeph. 1:15-16)
For those who have to endure such a time, it will seem God wrath is "beyond measure." (Lam. 5:22, NIV) - and they will feel "utterly rejected" (KJV). BUT the good news is that God's wrath WILL have an end point! "In a little wrath," the Lord says (and those going through it might find the word "little" hard to believe), "I hid my face from you for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on you...." (Isa. 54:8, KJV) As a loving parent might discipline a disobedient child, so God our Father will show compassion on us (see also 60:10; Zech. 8:14-15).
In fact, God promises through Isaiah the end-time wrath will be the end for all time: "To me this is like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah would ever again cover the earth. So now I have sworn not to be angry with you, never to rebuke you again." (Isa. 54:9; see also 57:16)
Conclusions
As scary and "strange" as it may sound, God can do a work through His wrath (28:21). And to answer our original questions - yes, God's wrath CAN touch the ones He calls His own: "I was wroth with my people, I have polluted (NIV "desecrated") mine inheritance...." (Isa. 47:6)
Yet unlike man tends to do, God can clean up the things He pollutes. Even though His wrath can leave someone lacking in health (Psm. 38:3) - and I suppose God might use pills such as Vioxx to do that - we've shown submission in humility to Jesus Christ can move our Father to call a halt to it. And in cases where wrath seems to last throughout our lives (90:9), God promises a resurrection for the believer to a new life where wrath will cease.
As fierce, destructive and punishing as it is, can the wrath of God be a good thing? Your Bible says it can. It can discipline sinners, turning them to God's righteous ways (Psm. 38:1). It can be accompanied by rewards for faithful saints and prophets (Rev. 11:18). And believe it or not, the psalmist Asaph writes: "Surely your wrath against men brings you praise...." (76:10).
So should we root for God's wrath to fall against a sinful world? No, that's going too far: "Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice, or the Lord will see and disapprove and turn his wrath away from him." (Prv. 24:17-18) Instead, we should walk humbly before God in service to Him and loyalty to Jesus - so that to borrow from the legendary cartoon clapboard signs, we can "flee the wrath to come."
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