Wrath

The coming of the law also released another cosmos dominator called Wrath into power. Sin, Death and Destruction had controlled the evil side in the spiritual realms up until the time of Moses, but Accuser and Wrath rose above them by using the law to accuse people of sin and demand their punishment for their failures. Accuser found it useful to work with Wrath because he and his followers would release plagues to accomplish Accuser’s purposes. Wrath is frequently associated with plagues (Num 16:46; Ezek 6:12; 14:19).

Wrath was always one of the more powerful spirits in the hierarchy of evil. Accuser often had Wrath with him when he attacked the earth.

The devil has come down to you having great Wrath (Rev 12:12).

The role of Wrath is confirmed in Psalm 78:49.

He unleashed against them his hot anger,
Wrath, indignation and hostility—
a band of destroying angels.

Wrath is the leader of a band of destroying angels. He is not a manifestation of God's character as is often assumed, but is an evil spiritual being.

Wrath is sometimes referred to as the “wrath of God” because although he rebelled against God at the beginning of human history, he had originally been created by God. His character was different when he was created, so he had probably been given a different name. God knew when he created the angels and gave them freedom that some would go wrong, but he decided to create them anyway. God does not disown his creation. He does not avoid responsibility for what he has done. The spiritual powers of evil are still his, although they have rebelled against him.

Despite their rebellion, God still uses the spiritual powers of evil, despite themselves, to accomplish his purposes. He has sometimes incited this spirit called Wrath to do things that he needs done, particularly when restraining political powers that are doing harm on the earth.

Paul explained to the Romans the relationship between wrath and law.

The law brings about Wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression (Rom 4:15).

Prior to the giving of the law through Moses, transgression was undefined. The law specified the behaviour that God required from the people that he had called. The law also spelt out in detail the curse that was the consequence of transgression. Once the law of the covenant was in place, the spiritual powers of evil demanded the right to enforce the curses of the law against the children of Israel whenever they transgressed it (I presume that they used it against other peoples as well). Accuser and Wrath were often the leaders of this activity. This is why Paul said that the law brings about Wrath. The giving of the law with curses specified for disobedience increased the power of Wrath and the destroying angels working with him.

The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his powerful Wrath is against all who forsake him (Ezra 8:22).

In his letter to the Romans, Paul explains that the political powers are "agents of Wrath" (Rom 13:4). This should change the way that we think about them. God might use them from time to time, but the political-spirits and government-spirits (principalities and powers) that control the political powers are intent on evil. This is why the proverb warns,

A king's Wrath is a messenger of death (Prov 16:14).

Daniel described an evil political leader who will emerge during a time of distress on earth. He will do terrible evil on earth, because he is controlled by Wrath. When he is disturbed,

He will go forth with great Wrath to destroy and annihilate many (Dan 11:44).

Paul warned that Wrath will often avenge people who suffer injustice.

Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to Wrath (Rom 12:19).

We should often wait for him to act, rather than seeking revenge ourselves.

From A Short History of Cosmic Spiritual Struggle.

Mercy or Wrath

A commentator on the book of Romans says that Paul describes the “intersection between God’s wrath and mercy”, but that statement is illogical. God can be both faithful and true. He can be just and loving, although that will require immense wisdom. But he cannot be full of wrath and full of mercy. Likewise, he cannot be good and evil.

Although some theologians pretend otherwise, wrath and mercy are opposites. Wrath wants and demands vengeance. Mercy wants to put things right. A person cannot be full of wrath and full of mercy, even if they are God, because when wrath overwhelms, mercy inevitably gets squeezed out. When mercy prevails, anger has to dissipate. Wrath and mercy cannot remain together.

Reading Romans (12) Wrath Intrudes

In My article on Reading Romans, I noted that the first chapter of Romans has a jarring intrusion between verse 17 and verse 18. Paul has been describing his gospel and explaining that it reveals the rightness of God's actions and character.

In the gospel the rightness of God is revealed (Rom 1:17).

God's response to the human condition is grace and mercy. He wants to rescue his people from the mess they have got into. The following verse is a shocking intrusion.

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven (Rom 1:18)

This is not good news. The Jewish Judger sees humans as being under the wrath and condemnation of God and wants to ram that home. This is a harsh message compared to Paul's message of grace and salvation. Paul focusses on God being right in everything he does, whereas the judge claims that God is angry and hostile to the people of the world. This is a shocking distortion of the gospel, but modern Christians are not shocked, because we have been trained to be comfortable with the wrath of God.

I was once part of this problem, because when I first became a Christian and a preacher, I was comfortable speaking about the wrath of God. I think that I was a bit of a Pharisee, better at seeing other people’s faults, than see my own, especially my judgmental attitude. I presume that was driven by personal pride and a false belief that I was better than others whom I considered to be under the wrath of God. Strangely I had never felt that I was under God’s wrath before I had decided to follow Jesus.

The first jolt to my comfort with wrath was when a friend challenged me to read James 2:3.

Mercy triumphs over judgment.

I presume that he thought I was overly judgmental and lacking in mercy, and in hindsight, he was right, but it took a long time for this truth to sink in.

More recently, God gave me greater insight into the role of the spiritual powers of evil. I came to realise that Wrath is a powerful evil spirit that pretends to be doing God’s work, but he actually loves wrecking God’s earth and doing harm to humans. Seeing that really changed my thinking about wrath.

I realised that the common belief that we serve a God of Love, who is also a God of Wrath is an enormous contradiction. Love and Wrath are opposites. Wrath demands vengeance. Love motivates mercy and forgiveness. A person cannot be full of wrath and full of love, even if they are as big as God, because when wrath overwhelms, love inevitably gets squeezed out. When love prevails, anger has to dissipate. Wrath and love cannot remain together.

“Wrath” is not an aspect of God’s character. It is the name of an evil spiritual power that seeks to dominate the world.

Getting back to Romans 1:18, the claim that God’s wrath is being revealed through Jesus represents a massive graunch of the gears of anyone who has not become comfortable with the ugly idea of God’s wrath. It might not shock Jewish listeners, but it would be a huge shock to Roman listeners. Wrath was what the Roman Emperors and the Roman army did, and it was ugly. Their wrath was revealed when they killed and destroyed without qualms.

For Romans, wrath was cruel, so saying that God was doing what was right and that his wrath was being revealed in the next sentence was an enormous contradiction. It would have jarred the Romans. They only reason that it does not jar us is that we have been trained to be comfortable with the idea of God’s wrath, which is really sad, because it grossly misrepresents God’s love and mercy.

Prodigal Son

The gospel preached by the modern church is often different from the good news that Jesus proclaimed. Jesus illustrated his gospel with parables. To make them fit the modern gospel, we would need to modify some of his most important parables. The parable of the Prodigal Son is a good example. For the modern gospel, the parable would have to go something like this.

There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate. So he divided his property between them.

Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth on wild living. When his father heard what his son had done, he was outraged. He declared that he could never have anything to do with a son who had behaved so badly. The only way that the son could ever satisfy his father’s sense of justice was to give his life.

After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to suffer badly and his life was a mess. So he hired himself out to care for pigs, but he was so hungry that he felt like eating the rotten food he was feeding the pigs.

When he came to his senses, he thought, ‘My father’s servants are better off than me. Perhaps he would take me on as a servant. It would be humiliating, but at least I would have food to eat. So he got up and went to his father.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with wrath. He wanted to receive his son, but his sense of justice prevented him. A servant ran and told the returning son to stay away until his father had calmed down.

So, the father sent for his older son who was working in the fields. When the older son arrived, the father drew a sword and killed him. He then sent a servant to meet the younger son and tell him that his older brother had paid the penalty for his bad behaviour. The younger servant was a bit nervous about returning to his father, but the servant persuaded him that his father standard of justice was now fully satisfied.

The father told his servants to bring a robe and put it on him. He put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. They killed a fattened calf and had a feast to celebrate the return of his son.

Obviously, this parable is a terrible distortion of the story that Jesus told. This suggests that we sometimes have a distorted understanding of the revelation of God’s character brought by Jesus’ gospel.

Wrath and Tabernacle

The spirit called Wrath made the tabernacle of God a dangerous place to be.

The Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that there will be no wrath on the Israelite community. So the Levites shall keep charge of the tabernacle of the testimony (Num 1:53).

God dwelt in the Holy of Holies, because the Covenant with Moses gave him the right to be there.

The spiritual powers of evil hated this intrusion, because they thought the earth belonged to them. They didn’t want the children of Israel being close to God, so they gathered there and did their best to harm those who went near. God had put spiritual protection in place for the Priests and Levites, by specific sacrifices and keeping them away from activities that could open them up to spiritual attack. They camped around the tabernacle, because they were only ones who were safe in this dangerous place. They put up their standards to mark the safe area (Num 1:52).

When the tabernacle was being packed up was a dangerous time, because the boundaries and safe places were less clear.

Whenever the tabernacle is to move, the Levites are to take it down, and whenever the tabernacle is to be set up, the Levites shall do it. Anyone else who approaches it is put to death (Num 1:51).

It is usually assumed that God would put them to death, but that is wrong. Wrath and his evil angels would put people to death, if they got caught in the wrong place.

When Samuel was a boy, the Philistines captured the covenant box, but they experienced terrible sickness. People in the vicinity came out with awful tumours (1 Sam 5:1-10). They had been attacked by Wrath, so the sent the covenant box back to Israel. At Beth Shemesh some men looked into the covenant box, but many were killed.

Then he struck the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into the covenant box of the Lord (1 Sam 6:19).

They thought it was God, but they were most likely struck down by the spirit called Wrath.

When David was taking the covenant box back to Jerusalem, he forgot to involve the Levites. Uzzah touched the covenant box, when the oxen stumbled, and he died beside the covenant box. Most English translations imply that God struck him down, but that is misleading. The Hebrew text says that Wrath of God struck him, because he was careless with the things of God. David had failed to followed the instructions that God had given Moses, so the powers of evil got at one of his men.

The spiritual power of evil hated the covenant box, because it was the place where God dealt with the sin of the people and provided them with spiritual protection. They wanted to make the people fear it, and be unwilling to take it back and restore their spiritual protection.

Wrath (8)

The spirit called Wrath can have a go at those who reject Jesus.

Whoever rejects the Son... God’s Wrath remains on them (John 3:36).

Jesus warned his listeners that their rejection of him would release Wrath in their land.

There shall be great distress on the land, and wrath on this people (Luke 21:23).

The spirit of Wrath would bring great distress on the land.

Those who fill up sin will experience terrible Wrath.

They always fill up the measure of their sins. But Wrath has come upon them to the utmost (1 Thes 2:16).

Wrath attacks those who push into the depths of sin.

When the politicians get angry, they release the spirit of Wrath.

The nations were angry and your wrath has come (Rev 11:18).

When the Bible refers to the wrath of God, it is not describing God as an immature father who flies into a rage because his children ignore his instructions. It is mostly describing an evil angel who leads an evil army of demonic powers who are seeing opportunities to punish and hurt people who have moved away from God and lost their protection.

Wrath (7) and Mercy

The prophet prayed that the spirit called wrath would be turned away from the people.

I stood before God and spoke in their behalf to turn your wrath away from them (Jer 18:20).

God restrained wrath in answer to the prophets prayer.

Yet he was merciful; he forgave their iniquities
and did not destroy them.
Time after time.. he did not stir up his full wrath (Ps 78:38).

God restrained wrath from doing his worst on earth.

The people of faith are saved from wrath through Jesus blood.

Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from Wrath through him (Rom 5:9).

Jesus destroyed the power of Wrath when he died on the cross.

God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross (Col 2:13-15).

Wrath gained power by demanding to inflict the curse of the law. Jesus became a curse and experienced the worst that Wrath and his mates could do, and then rose from the dead. Wrath has not power over those who trust Jesus and walk in the Spirit.

Wrath (6) and the Tabernacle

The evil spirit called Wrath made the tabernacle of God a dangerous place to be.

The Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that there will be no wrath on the Israelite community. So the Levites shall keep charge of the tabernacle of the testimony (Num 1:53).

God dwelt in the Holy of Holies, because the Covenant with Moses gave him the right to be there. The spiritual powers of evil hated this intrusion, because they thought the earth belonged to them. They didn’t want the children of Israel being close to God, so they gathered there and did their best to harm those who went near.

God had put spiritual protection in place for the Priests and Levites, by specific sacrifices and keeping them away from activities that could open them up to spiritual attack. They camped around the tabernacle, because they were the only ones who were safe in this dangerous place. They put up their standards to mark the safe place (Num 1:52).

When the tabernacle was being packed up was a dangerous time, because the boundaries and safe places were less clear.

Whenever the tabernacle is to move, the Levites are to take it down, and whenever the tabernacle is to be set up, the Levites shall do it. Anyone else who approaches it is put to death (Num 1:51).

It is usually assumed that God would put them to death, but that is wrong. Wrath and his evil angels would put people to death, if they got caught in the wrong place.

When Samuel was a boy, the Philistines captured the covenant box, but they experienced terrible sickness. People in the vicinity came out with awful tumours (1 Sam 5:1-10). They had been attacked by Wrath, so the sent the covenant box back to Israel. At Beth Shemesh some men looked into the covenant box, but many were killed.

Then he struck the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the Lord (1 Sam 6:19).

They thought it was God, but they were most likely struck down by the spirit called Wrath.

When David was taking the covenant box back to Jerusalem, he forgot to involve the Levites. Uzzah touched the ark, when the oxen stumbled, and he died beside the ark. Most English translations imply that God struck him down, but that is misleading. The Hebrew text says that Wrath of God struck him, because he was careless with the things of God (2 Sam 6:7). David had failed to followed the instructions that God had given Moses, so the powers of evil got at one of his men.

Wrath (5) and Sickness

When the people of reject God’s words and the message of his prophets, Wrath releases sickness.

They mocked God’s messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the Wrath of the Lord was aroused against his people and there was no healing (rapha) (2 Chron 36:16).

Wrath has come out from the Lord; the plague has started (Num 16:46).

Wrath loves to inflict pain and sickness.

Wrath (4) Political Powers

In his letter to the Romans, Paul explains that the political powers are “Agents of Wrath” (Rom 13:4). This should change the way that we think about them. God might use them from time to time, but the principalities and powers that control the political powers are intent on evil. This is why the proverb warns,

A king’s wrath is a messenger of death (Prov 16:14).

We need the gospel and local judges applying God’s law, so that the agents of Wrath do not get hold in our society (Rom 13:5).

Shisak the ruler of Egypt was controlled by Wrath.

My wrath will not be poured out on Jerusalem through Shishak (2 Chron 12:7).

It is terrible to live in an empire whose ruler is controlled by Wrath.

Daniel described an evil political leader who will emerge during a time of distress on earth. He will do terrible evil on earth, because he is controlled by Wrath. When he is disturbed.

He will go forth with great Wrath to destroy and annihilate many (Dan 11:44).

Political powers are dangerous because they are often controlled by Wrath.

Wrath (3)

Paul explained to the Romans the relationship between wrath and law.

The law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression (Rom 4:15).

Prior to the giving of the law through Moses, transgression was undefined. The law specified the behaviour that God required from the people that he called. The law also spelt out in detail the consequences of transgression.

Once the law of the covenant was in place, the spiritual powers of evil demanded the right to enforce the curses of the law against the children of Israel whenever they transgressed the law. Wrath was often the leader of this activity. This is why Paul said that law brings about Wrath. The giving of the law with curses specified for disobedience increased the power of Wrath and the destroying angels working with him.

The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his powerful Wrath is against all who forsake him (Ezra 8:22).

You intend to add to our sins and to our guilt; for our guilt is great, and fierce Wrath is against Israel (2 Chron 28:13).

My Wrath will be aroused (Ex 22:24).

The law said that rejection of God is a bitter poison that releases Wrath to do evil.

Make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison (Deut 19:18).

Rejecting God’s law releases Wrath.

Great is the wrath of the Lord that is aroused against us,
because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book
Therefore my wrath shall be aroused against this place
and shall not be quenched. (2 Kings 22:13,17).

Nevertheless the Lord did not turn back his great wrath from the fierceness with which His anger was aroused against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked Him (2 Kings 23:26).

Wrath (2)

Like all the spiritual powers of evil, the spirit called "Wrath" was created by God, but rebelled against God at the beginning of human history. (His chraracter was different when he was created, so he had a different name back then). Because God created him, he is still called God’s wrath. I guess that God knew when he created the angels and gave them freedom that they could go wrong, but he decided to do create them anyway. God does not disown his creation. He does not avoid responsibility for what he has done. They are still his, although they have rebelled against him.

Despite their rebellion, God still uses the spiritual powers of evil, despite themselves, to accomplish his purposes. He has frequently incited the spirit called Wrath to do things that he needs done, particularly when restraining political powers that are doing harm to the earth. That is why the scriptures often describe him as God’s Wrath.

Reading the scriptures with an understanding that Wrath is not an aspect of God’s character, but an wicked spirit controlling an army of spiritual powers gives a very different perspective. I will just give some examples in the next few posts.

Wrath (1)

When David counted his fighting men, he brought terrible judgment on the nation. An interesting aspect of the incident is the way that David was incited to do evil. Samuel and Chronicles describe the event in different ways that are actually the same.

Again the Wrath of the Lord burned against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of Israel and Judah (2 Sam 24:1).

Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel (1 Chron 21:1).

Samuel says that God’s wrath burned against evil. The Chronicler says that Satan incited David. The difference is more important than we realise. This is not a contradiction, but an insight into the structure of the spiritual world.

Satan is one of the spiritual powers of evil. These powers are controlled by a powerful hierarchy of evil spirits, but they do not like each other. Throughout history, they have jockeyed for control of their hierarchies of power. A spirit called Satan controlled this empire for a long time, but for much of history it has been controlled by a spirit called Death. One of the more powerful spirits in this evil hierarchy is called Wrath.

The devil often has Wrath with him when he attacks the earth.

The devil has come down to you having great Wrath (Rev 12:12).

This understanding of Wrath is confirmed in Psalm 78:49.

He unleashed against them his hot anger,
Wrath, indignation and hostility—
a band of destroying angels.

Wrath is the leader of a band of destroying angels.

Wrath is not a manifestation of God’s character, but an evil spiritual being.

Mercy or Wrath

When the people of a city or nation cast off restraint and reject God, they lose their spiritual protection and leave the powers of evil unrestrained. They have the authority to bring judgment against the city or nation, but they often wait until sin is filled up so they can do more evil. The powers of evil execute judgment in a way that causes the most harm and pain, because they love to rob, destroy and kill.

God will sometimes pre-empt this judgment so that less harm is done, and to ensure that his purposes are accomplished. Because the people have turned away from him, he does not have authority to bless them, but the does have the right to send judgment.

By getting his angels to bring the judgment, rather than waiting for the powers of evil to deliver it, he can turn it for good, and use it to achieve his purposes. The holy angels hate executing judgment, because they love to do good. They will only do it, if they have a clear prophetic word from God’s prophets explaining how it will bring glory to God.

God’s people sometimes need to choose. Will they wait for the power of evil to execute their plans, or should they ask God to bring a pre-emptive judgment that is more merciful.

An example is the judgment after David counted his fighting men (2 Sam 24). When he realised he had done wrong, the prophet Gad came to him with three options:

• Three years of famine in the land.
• Three months of running before his enemies while they pursued with the sword.
• Three days of plague.

David chose the third option. This was a bit selfish, because he was the one who had sinned, but the people would suffer most. This is a reminder that when the leaders of a nation sin, it is their people who suffer most.

When the judgment started, David realised that he had been selfish and cried out,

I have sinned; I, the shepherd, have done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? Let your hand fall on me and my family (2 Sam 24:17).

But it was too late, because the decision had been made.

Nevertheless, David had made the right decision, perhaps for the wrong reason. He explained the reason to the prophet when he made his decisions. He said to Gad,

I am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man (2 Sam 24:14).

There were really only two options. One option was to come under judgment executed by God. The other option was to fall into the hands of man, literally the hands of Adam. David did not fully understand this, but Adam had lost his authority when he sinned, so falling into the hands of Adam literally meant falling into the hands of the powers of evil.

Two of the three judgments, would be executed by the powers of evil. The famine and defeating war were their plans for Israel once David’s sin had given them the right to do it. (The powers of evil are often divided and disagree over what they want to do. If David had chosen the plan of one group, the Holy Spirit would have rested the other group, so they would not be able to fulfil their plans.)

Even though David did not realise that he was avoiding falling into the hands of the power of evil, he did realise that it was best to choose the judgment that would be executed by God. God opened David’s spiritual eyes and he saw the angel of God with the sword of death outstretched. This was terrible, but it was better than would have happened if the powers of evil had been able to execute evil for three years or three months. Three days was merciful by comparison, and when David repented of his selfishness, God cut it short to less than a day.

When a nation hardens its heart, the power of evil get authority to work their plan in it. The Holy Spirit often shows a prophet what the powers of evil have planned. The prophet must be careful not to prophesy these plans, except as a warning (if you keep doing this, that will happen), because it increases the authority of the powers of evil to do their stuff. Sometimes, the prophets may see several forms of evil, that different factions of the power of evil would like to do (they are seldom united).

The prophets in this situation should ask God if there is a pre-emptive judgment that he can bring that would be better for the nation than what the Holy Spirit has shown them the powers of evil intend to do. It will often not be nice, but it will usually be better than falling into the hands of the powers of evil. The prophets may need to pray for a lesser more merciful evil, so that God has authority to execute it.

David, and through him Gad, had authority in Israel. When Gad prayed and told God their choice, it gave God authority to send his angel to release the plague. It was a terrible plague, but at least it was a good angel bringing it. This was better than releasing evil angels to do their thing.

In the same way, prophets may sometime have to make a similar choice. They might need to choose to give God authority to bring a pre-emptive judgment. That will be hard to do, but it is usually better than waiting for worse evil to come from the hands of the power of evil.

Gad had a relationship with David, so he was able to consult with him. Many prophets will not have a link to the political powers, so they will not be able to consult. They will have to seek the wisdom of the Holy Spirit and make the decision for their nation.

Many prophets have seen terrible things happening to their nation. They should check before prophesying them, to make sure that God has not shown them what the powers of evil want to do, because their vision might be what will happen if the nation is left to its own devices, but it might not be what God wants to do. The prophets should acknowledge that judgment is inevitable for the nation, but recognise that there is a milder judgement that God could bring, if he were given permission to act in the nation.

Some prophetic people have bitter stomachs, often through frustration and rejection. If they are not careful, they can become hard, and slip into enjoying and prophesying what the enemy plans to do. They have the wrong half of the truth. True prophets make sure they understand God’s purpose, before they prophecy judgment.

In New Zealand, prophetic people have warned of a tsunami that destroys Christchurch, an earthquake that destroys Wellington, and a volcano that destroys Auckland. I suspect that these people have heard what the powers of evil would like to do, if sins are filled up and they get authority in the land. But these events are not God’s intent for the nation.

Wrath of God (2)

When the Scriptures refer to the wrath of God, it is often a euphemism for the powers of evil working evil in situations where sin gives them the freedom to do harm. There are many examples, but here are a few.

Great is the wrath of the LORD that is aroused against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us (2 Kings 22:13).

The king was really saying that the sins of the fathers had released the powers of evil to do great harm in their nation. This is referred to as the wrath of God.

They mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, till there was no remedy (2 Chron 36:16).

When the people mocked God’s message, they lost his blessing and allowed the forces of evil back into their nation. The prophet called this the wrath of God.

The wrath of God brings destruction.

Leave me alone so that my wrath may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation (Ex 32:10).

Jesus explained that the devil is the one who destroys (John 10:10). When the Israelites lost God’s blessing and protection, the devil would take the opportunity to destroy them.

Wrath sometimes manifests in fire.

Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the LORD, and when he heard them his wrath was aroused. Then fire from the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp (Num 11:1).

We know from Job 1:16 that fire falling from the sky was referred to as the “fire of God”. We also know that it was the work of Satan (Job 1:12). When the Israelites grumbled against God, they lost his protection, and the powers of evil were able to set fire to the outskirts of the camp and some of the people. This evil is described as the wrath of God.

Miriam got attacked with leprosy when God withdrew his presence and protection from evil attack

The anger of the LORD burned against them ,and he left them. When the cloud lifted from above the tent, Miriam’s skin was leprous—it became as white as snow (Num 12:9-10).

God did not inflict the leprosy directly, because it only came after he had gone and the cloud had lifted. The evil one moved in and inflicted the sickness when God’s protection was removed.

Wrath has gone out from the LORD. The plague has begun (Num 16:46).

The plague was inflicted by the powers of evil, but it is described as coming out from the wrath of the Lord, because God was forced to withdraw his blessing by sin.

The wrath of God is sometimes linked with fury.

I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and a mighty arm in furious anger and in great wrath. I will strike down those who live in this city—both man and beast—and they will die of a terrible plague (Jer 21-5-6).

But we know from the Revelation of John that the one who is furious is the devil.

He is full of fury (Rev 12:12).

And he is the one who brings plagues on the earth (Rev 16:1). The fury associated with God’s wrath is a euphemism for the word of the evil one.

Disasters and calamities come when God withdraws from his people.

In that day I will become angry with them and forsake them; I will hide my face from them, and they will be destroyed. Many disasters and calamities will come on them, and in that day they will ask, ‘Have not these disasters come on us because our God is not with us (Deut 31:17)?

When God hides his face, the powers of evil are free to work.

They made their hearts like flint, refusing to hear the law and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets. Thus great wrath came from the LORD of hosts… Thus the land became desolate after them, so that no one passed through or returned; for they made the pleasant land desolate (Zech 7:12-14).

The land became desolate, because God had gone, and the powers of evil had moved in.

The same practice continued in the New Testament.

Those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth,
but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation (Rom 2:8).

Those who reject the truth and follow evil are obeying unrighteousness, wrath and indignation, but they are really submitted to the forces of evil. They have fallen into the hands of the powers of evil, but God deliberately chooses to minimise their activity, so that they do not gain too much glory.

The law brings wrath (Rom 4:15).

The powers of the evil use the law to get an excuse to attack and harm people.

Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever (Rev 15:7).

The bowls contain the wrath of God, but what actually happens is that evil on earth releases the evil one to great harm.

God is holy and just, so wrath is his natural response to sin and evil. However, sometimes what is called the wrath of God is actually the activity of the forces of evil, which have moved in when he withdrew his blessing and protection.

I had better stop here. I have already given evil more publicity than it deserves.

Wrath of God (1)

Many modern people have a problem with the wrath of God. They find it hard to understand how a God who is loving and good can demonstrate such terrible wrath. They have a similar problem with the cross. Many cannot understand why Jesus had to die. Why could God just not forgive those who have sinned, without the need for Jesus to die. Many Christians ignore this issue and just stick to the New Testament, because they cannot reconcile the character of Jesus with the way God seems to be portrayed in the Old Testament.

Translation issues are one reason, but another important reason is that God will not give the enemy any glory that he does not deserve. The scriptures do not give a full description of the devil’s operations, but just gives enough information for us to understand what we are up against. God’s unwillingness to give glory to evil, means that the activity of evil is often understated in the scriptures, especially in the Old Testament. The actions of the evil one often described as the wrath of God.

Humans invited evil into the world when they sinned against God. By submitting to devil, they gave him authority over the earth and allowed him to work out his evil purposes on earth. Evil became part of the normal situation on earth.

God broke back into the world by establishing a covenant with the children of Israel and placing them in their own land. This covenant made it possible for God to shut out the forces of evil and bless his people. Blessing became normal in the land of Israel, but only while the people were faithful to God. This was the basis for the curses and blessing described in Deuteronomy 28 and 29. While they trusted and obeyed God, they would experience the blessing that he promised. If they rejected God, they would come under the curse.

The curse had two sides.

1. God is holy, so he must remain separate away from sinful people. When the people fell into sin without repentance or sacrifice, God had no choice but to withdraw from his people, and his blessing went with him. Seeing his people desert him for evil, and having to leave caused God great pain. Their unnecessary sin really upset him. This is the wrath of God.

2. By rejecting God, the people of Israel lost the protection of his presence. They moved from the place of blessing to a situation like the rest of the world, where the powers of evil are free to do their will. With God shut out of the land, the powers of evil were free to come back in and work their evil tricks. The curses were a description of what the powers of evil would so if they regained access to the promised land. This is the curse of evil.

God did not want to give glory to evil, so he rarely describes the second side of the curse. The scriptures use the term the “wrath of God” to describe the outworking of the curse, even though the forces of evil are the ones doing the harm. The problem with this is that God gets blames for a lot of stuff that is not directly his doing. He is happy for this to happen, because he would sooner take blame for or stuff that he has not done, than give glory to the powers of evil.

Describing the works of the devil as the wrath of God is legitimate, because this is the other side of the curse. The evil occurs because God hates sin, and has to draw back from it. The evil happens because he has withdrawn his protection, so it is correctly called the wrath of God. He takes responsibility, because the curse is the consequence of his character. God decided to create spiritual beings with the freedom to rebel and become agents evil. He takes also takes responsibility, because he created them, but they are direct cause of the evil on earth.