JUDGMENT!
JUDGMENT!
And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.— Judges 2:11; 3:7; 3:12; 4:1; 6:1; 10:6; 13:1
So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. —Luke 7:30
It is surely true that God is love (I John 4:8). God loves, but God also hates sin (Proverbs 6:16-19). God is also compassionate, merciful and patient (Psalm 86:15; II Peter 3:9). But God’s Holy Spirit “will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned” (John 16:8-11). Judgment is not only coming upon Satan, but also on all who follow him, doing his will (II Timothy 2:26).
Warnings of judgment are clear in the Book of Judges. Again and again the people did evil in the sight of the Lord. He was patient, but then His patience ran out and He brought judgment upon them. Did they learn their lesson? It appears just briefly. They called on the Lord for deliverance and the Lord was merciful and gracious to them and delivered them from their enemies. But it did not take long for the people to do “what was evil in the sight of the Lord” again. The Israelites wanted to do “as they saw fit” or “what was right in their own eyes.” They did not want the Lord to be their King (I Samuel 8:7).
We need to heed the warnings today. This corona virus is being used by God to get the world’s attention. Look how one little germ has impacted the world! God can bring one nation against another in judgment, but He can also work through a germ to bring judgment on the whole world. Some might ask if this is a judgment from God. Why wouldn’t it be? You don’t think each nation on this planet has done evil in the Lord’s sight again and again and again? Is there any nation on this planet that wants Jesus as King? No! Just like the Israelites did not want Him King over them, so the nations of the world do not want Him as King over them. They want to do what they see fit or what is right in their own eyes.
May this be a wake-up call for many because there is coming a time when “the kings of the earth, the nobles, the commanders, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and free man, hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. And they said to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of Their wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?” (Revelation 6:15-17). Nobody will be able to withstand His judgment and all who do not know Jesus will be “thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire. And if anyone was found whose name was not written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:14-15). Those who do not know Jesus are in eternal danger right now—“Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” and “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.” (John 3:18, 36). The call is to trust Jesus now! You do not know when you will draw your last breath. Today is the day of salvation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYZw0dfLmLk&t=37s
Dear Father I am so grateful to know Jesus. Thank You for drawing me to Him. Now may I gratefully and thankfully live for Him in the power of Your Holy Spirit and in the authority of Jesus. So be it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QANH8MWuyaE