God's Character:

The Best News in

the

Universe

by Dr. Elliot O. Douglin

Author of The New World Economic Order, The Hour of His Judgment is Come,

Ministration of Holy Angels, Absolute Rest and Principles of Sabbath Rest,

The True Church Prepares For Her Final Conflict, The Mystery Of Three Choices,

The Gathering Of The Nations, The Sealing Work, Abiding In Christ,

The Power of God's Word in the Science of Faith...

Copyright © 2001 by

Truth For The Final Generation

Contents

Chapter Fourteen
Not By Might Or By Power

Chapter Fifteen
Three Outstanding Examples
One: The Flood
Two: Sodom And Gomorrah
Three: The Destruction Of Jerusalem In A.D 70

Chapter Fourteen
Not By Might Or By Power

Because we live in this sinful world we have become so well educated in the ways of Satan's government, and to such an extent, that it is very difficult for us to understand that there are other ways, indeed better ways of doing things.

We have grown all too accustomed to the routine of sinful living in a sinful world where the use of force is commonplace. In order to overcome criminals and evil men the law-enforcing agencies must use superior force and fighting power to crush out the criminal element. Sinful man has no other way.

God has even given to our sinful world the good advice, in fact the best advice, on how to deal with the unruly.

"Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:

For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.

For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour." Romans 13:1-7.

You will remember that God appointed Israel a king when they chose to be like all the other nations.

Similarly God has permitted and appointed the judicial system, magistrates and judges and the court system to allow those accused to be given a fair trial and, if found guilty, to be given the appropriate punishment. He permitted ancient Israel to use the death penalty for severe civil or criminal offences.

In a sinful world where the vast majority care nothing for God's ways there must be a method of dealing with those whose behaviour threaten the stability, order and livelihood of society. That method is the civil-criminal-justice system with the judiciary and fair court trials which make decisions and execute just punishments based on the rule of law and the equality of all men before the law.

But all of this is still the way of the world. It is the best of all the systems of worldly justice, but it is still the way of the world.

What is God's perfect way for dealing with His enemies?

Does God use force to put down rebellion?

Does God crush His enemies, killing them by violent, coercive destructive force?

Is God the executioner of sinners?

Will God overcome Satan's government of sin by the power of might or by the power of right?

These are questions, which must be answered honestly and truthfully.

Let us, in fact, begin with Zechariah 4:6.

"Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." Zechariah 4:6.

However massive the problem, God solves it not by might nor by power but by His Spirit.

God is love. His nature, His law is love. The very essence of God's Spirit is Agapé love, which is an all-for-the-other love.

"He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love." 1 John 4:8, 16.

"Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." Romans 13:10.

The principle of unselfish, self-sacrificing ever-giving love is the foundation of God's Government. It is a principle from which God never varies even to the slightest degree. It is a principle from which He can never change.

"For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed." Malachi 3:6.

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." James 1:17.

The infinite, eternal, selfless, Agapé love of God is functionally constituted in the Holy Spirit.

"And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us."

So we can go back to Zechariah 4:6 and understand now what God is saying to us:

NOT BY MIGHT NOR BY POWER BUT BY MY SPIRIT OF INFINITE LOVE.

Not by force but by love, not by might but by right, this is God's perfect way, this is the method by which He triumphs over those who oppose His Government. And this is the method by which He will ultimately triumph over Satan's government of sin.

"Love suffereth long, and is kind; Love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Love never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away."

"For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth."

How Does God Treat His Enemies?

In The Sermon on the Mount Jesus gave to the world the correct understanding of the foundation principles of God's government. In fact He contrasted the way of the world with the way of God's kingdom.

"But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also. Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.

And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful." Luke 6:27-36.

God loves His enemies and does only good to them. God is changeless. He is the giver only of good gifts. His love for His creatures is always unconditional and with Him there is not the slightest tendency of variation. He constantly and consistently does only good to all because that is His nature.

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." James 1:17.

"The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works." Psalm 145:17.

"In the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death." Proverbs 12:28.

How Does God Overcome Evil?

"Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." Romans 12:21.

God's way is the way of overcoming evil with good. He does not retaliate. He does not return evil for evil.

"For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously." 1 Peter 2:21-23.

"Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?" Romans 2:4.

How Then Are His Enemies Destroyed?

God loves everyone. In fact it was when we were still His enemies that He demonstrated His unconditional love for us by sending His Son to die to reconcile us to Himself.

"For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:6-8.

"For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich." 2 Corinthians 8:9.

Those who respond positively to His love are saved from sin and its wages.

But those who persistently and irreversibly reject God's love eventually cut themselves off from God Who is the Source of Life, and suffer destruction including, ultimately, the second death.

"For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD. But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death." Proverbs 8:35, 36.

"And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." 1 John 5:11,12.

"O Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters." Jeremiah 17:13.

"Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts.

"For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water." Jeremiah 2:19, 13.

"The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them… The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way: but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness. The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them: but transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness… As righteousness tendeth to life: so he that pursueth evil pursueth it to his own death." Proverbs 11:3,5,6,19.

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23.

God Is Not In The Business Of Condemnation

Sin, itself, condemns and destroys. In the full presence of God's purity the unrepentant sinner's own conscience would be so crushed by its guilt that the result would be death.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God." John 3:16-21.

"To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation." 2 Corinthians 5:19.

"And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"

"He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities." Psalm 103:10.

God is therefore a consuming fire to sin because either His love banishes sin from the contrite and repentant soul or the guilt of sin crushes the soul to death when His wonderful, gracious love is fully manifested to the unrepentant sinner.

"For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death." 2 Corinthians 7:10.

And so we see that God's eternal love is all-conquering. We can do nothing against the truth but for the truth. Love never fails. God's infinite love, compassion and goodness, His absolute selflessness evokes either of two responses.

Either the soul repents and accepts God's love and righteousness, which is eternal life; or the soul rejects God's love and righteousness and thereby cuts itself off from God and that produces the second death.

God's Power And Authority Vindicated

God has such infinite and absolute power, life and authority that those who depart from Him destroy themselves. No one else can "destroy" his enemies like that.

This sets God apart from all others. God overcomes evil with good; hatred with love; violence with peace; death with life; force and hurt with kindness and gentleness. On the cross Jesus took all the hurt, all the abuse, all the cruelty, all the hatred, all the ridicule and scorn. He took all our sin and its crushing guilt. Yet never, in even a single thought, did he retaliate. He loved His tormentors and longed for their salvation. He prayed for their forgiveness. In dying for us He triumphed over Satan!

What love!

What a God!

Our response to God's love determines our destiny, either for eternal life or eternal death.

"Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin. Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye." Ezekiel 18:30-32.

"Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old."Micah 7:18-20.

We have already learned that Jesus demonstrated His Heavenly Father's character during His earthly ministry.

"For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." John 1:17, 18.

"This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." 1 John 1:5.

There is a very interesting account in Luke where the disciples actually urged Christ to destroy a whole village of Samaritans because they refused to show Him any hospitality. The disciples thought they had a precedent from the Old Testament scriptures and they quoted the prophet Elijah as their example.

But Jesus rebuked them and actually told them that the spirit of retaliation, the spirit of hurting and destroying those who oppose you, is Satanic, not Divine. In this account Jesus made it clear that God does not stand towards His enemies as the executioner of the penalty of transgression.

"And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem, And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him. And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem.

And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village." Luke 9:51-56.

"Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Matthew 5:43-48.

Chapter Fifteen
Three Outstanding Examples

God is the Protector. It is His restraining power which holds in check the sin-damaged powers of nature and, thereby, prevents mankind from passing fully under the malignity of Satan's government of sin.

Though they don't know or don't care, those who don't believe in God have great reason to be thankful for God's mercy and long-suffering in holding in check the cruel, malignant power of Satan's government of sin and the perverted powers of creation on our planet and its solar environs.

Yes, dear reader, God is infinitely merciful, loving, compassionate! He is not willing that any should perish. Destruction is not the result of any change in Him.

"For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed." Malachi 3:6.

"It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not." Lamentations 3:22.

But God is also a God of justice. In mercy He comes near to save and to protect. In justice He leaves the rejectors of His mercy to themselves to reap what they have sown.

"For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer."Isaiah 54: 7,8.

"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." Galatians 6:7,8.

God exercises His justice in the hiding of His face. And remember it is sin that hides God's face from us. Sin separates from God and produces death.

"But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear." Isaiah 59:2.

"Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." James 1:15.

When men pass the limits of divine forbearance, that is, when their minds are irreversibly made up that they do not want God, all that God can do is to "hide His face", withdraw His protective restraint and leave the rejectors of His mercy to reap the whirlwinds of destruction from the sown winds of sin. The Spirit of God, persistently resisted, is at last withdrawn from the rejectors of God's mercy and there is left no power to control or to protect from the malignant effects of sin.

"O Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters." Jeremiah 17:13.

We shall now turn our attention to three outstanding examples of the exercise of God's justice or wrath and learn more precious lessons about God's wonderful protection on one hand and the malignant nature of sin on the other hand.

One: The Flood

"And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them…

And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die." Genesis 6:5-7 & 17.

The language is typically punitive, it plainly states that God said, "I will destroy…." "I, even I, do bring a flood of waters …."

But by now we should fully understand how such language is to be interpreted.

The intensity of sin was so great that it was actually approaching the critical point of separation from God. We are sure of this from Genesis 6:3 and Job 22:15-17.

"And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years."

The Spirit of God would continue His work of striving with the antediluvians for only one hundred and twenty years more, (a relatively short time, considering the life-span of humans before the flood).

"Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men have trodden? Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood: Which said unto God, Depart from us: and what can the Almighty do for them?" Job 22: 15-17.

The antediluvians, in every thought and imagination, told God to leave them alone, to depart from them.

And when the minds of men are irreversibly fixed against God and they wish God to depart from them, what can God do?

The answer is given in Hosea 4:17.

"Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone." Hosea 4:17.

The antediluvians reached that critical point in sin at which mercy gave way to wrath. They suffered the hiding of God's face, that terrible separation from God caused by sin.

There is a passage in Isaiah where the mechanisms of wrath and mercy are linked to the Flood of Noah.

"For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer. For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee." Isaiah 54: 7,8,9.

We have conclusive evidence, here, that the Antediluvians reached that critical point in rebellion against God when sin separated them irreversibly from God (Isaiah 59:2) but is expressed as God hiding His face from them; when He forsook them; when He withdrew His Spirit; when He departed because He was asked to leave. And, as usual, the Bible describes God as doing what He did not prevent.

In order to understand how the Flood happened after God withdrew, we must learn about the special geophysical conditions which existed before the Flood.

On the first day of creation-week the earth was submerged in a vast quantity of water.

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."

On the second day God divided the vast quantity of water into two separate masses: water on the earth and water above the sky or firmament.

"And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so." Genesis 1:6,7.

On the fourth day God made two great lights, the Sun and the Moon.

"And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also." Genesis 1:16.

The language here in Genesis 1:16 suggests that the Moon when created was a self-luminous body, a great light, not a mere reflector. This is confirmed by Isaiah who informs us that when all things shall be restored the Moon will be as bright as our present Sun and the restored Sun will be seven times brighter.

"Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the Lord bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound." Isaiah 30:26.

The combined heat of the Sun and Moon supplied more than enough energy to keep the vast quantity of water above the firmament in the vapour state. This vast quantity of water vapour completely surrounded our planet and allowed a mild, beautiful, "air-conditioned" climate all over the earth. They were no frigid north and south poles and no torrid equatorial regions. The temperature was the same all over. The earth's surface was a paradise of beautiful vegetation and the climate was ideal.

In Job 38, God mentioned this cloud or swaddling band of water vapour, which surrounded our planet as a protective garment.

"When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it." Job 38:9.

God's infinite power, infinite wisdom and infinite love in His Son through His Spirit maintained that ingenious masterpiece of created geophysical technology in perfect working order.

The antediluvians were blessed with paradise conditions, they were strong, healthy and long-lived, but they rejected God's government of righteousness and as a result wickedness reached unimaginable and unprecedented proportions.

Rain did not fall in the antediluvian world, in fact that was a world so vastly different to our present world that it stretches the mind to grasp it.

All the water on the surface of the planet was in one place and all the dry land mass was in one body - a geographical topography unknown to our present system. During the night as the temperature cooled off, enough condensation occurred to allow a mist or dew to moisten the whole face of the ground. There were no storms, no extremes of climate, no weather disturbances as now obtain in our present world. Furthermore, the massive water vapour mantle prevented any beams of sunlight from entering directly into the atmosphere screening all radiant energy

or rays, which would have been dangerous to creatures on earth. Man and animals ate fruits and herbs as stated in Genesis 1:29, indeed everything was conducive to health, vigour and longevity.

The warning given by Noah was ridiculed and rejected. Yet for 120 years God's spirit pleaded with the antediluvians.

Because God foreknew the consequences of sin's irreversible separation, He advised Noah to build an ark, and all who had faith enough to go into that ark would have been saved from the flood.

When Noah and his family were safe in the ark the angel of God closed the door and for seven days no change appeared: the antediluvians did not realize that probation was closed, that God had withdrawn and that the Sun and Moon were undergoing drastic changes. Then 7 days after Noah had entered the ark "all the springs of the great deep burst forth and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights." Genesis 7:11, 12 (NIV). Yes, the vast quantity of water above the firmament came down; the Sun had been reduced to its present state, the Moon had gone out. The controlling protective, sustaining power over the elements was no longer present and one great upheaval occurred. It was the day of judgment for that corrupt civilization. They understood too late that the wages of sin is death, they did not want God and He departed from them.

The Apostle Peter refers to the great change that took place in 2 Peter 3:3-7.

"Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men." 2 Peter 3:3-7.

After the flood the world was so different, so inferior to what it was before! The burial of the immense forests gave rise to the formation of coal and oil, volcanoes and earthquakes. Thus the next time God withdraws there will be fiery destruction. 2 Peter 3:7.

The Sun, Moon, the entire Solar System and even beyond were profoundly affected by the terrible separation from God, which caused the Flood of Noah's day. Astronomical pictures of the moon and planets of the present Solar System show chaotic surfaces with volcanic activity and fierce wind storms, in other words, the

forces of nature on the planets are as disordered as they are here on earth. We know that God made a perfect creation in the beginning so wherever we see disorder we know it is the result of the sin problem on earth.

There can never again be a global flood as in Noah's day because the vast quantity of water vapour, which was above the firmament, came down at the Flood. Direct beams of light have since then been entering our atmosphere and whenever such direct beams pass through an area of cloudiness there is refraction of the light producing the spectrum of colours found in white light. This is called the RAINBOW. Whenever we see it we should remember the changes in geography which occurred at the Flood.

"And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth…

And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh." Genesis 9: 11, 14, 15.

Two: Sodom And Gomorrah (Genesis Chapters 18 and 19).

Sodom and Gomorrah were two of five cities in the plentifully watered and very fertile plain of the River Jordan. We are first introduced to these cities in Genesis 13 when Lot and Abram parted ways and Lot chose to live in the plain of Jordan.

"And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.

And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other. Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom."Genesis 13:8-12.

Right away we are told about the character of the inhabitants of Sodom.

"But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly." Genesis 13:13.

The five cities of the plain are mentioned in Genesis 14 when they were collectively under a military attack by four kings led by the king of Elam. The battle took place in the very fertile plain of Jordan in an area called the Vale of Siddim (which is now the salt sea).

"And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations; That these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar. All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea." Genesis 14:1-3.

Some very important information is given in verse 10.

"And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain." Genesis 14:10.

The vale of Siddim, the beautiful fertile valley surrounding the cities of the plain, was full of slime pits. The slime pits oozed out asphalt from beneath the earth's surface. Obviously this was an area where immense amounts of trees had been buried during the Flood resulting in the formation of petroleum products.

The cities of the plain were sitting, as it were, on a natural "time-bomb" and they neither knew nor cared.

God's protection, God's blessings, God's mercy sustained the cities of the plain maintaining life and fertility. But their probation was fast closing.

In Genesis 18 Abraham was visited by three Heavenly Beings, One was the Son of God!

Abraham addressed Him as LORD meaning Jehovah.

The LORD announced to Abraham and Sarah that the son of promise would be born a year later and then He announced the fact that probation for the cities of the plain was rapidly closing. The LORD revealed to Abraham that Divine Judgement would be pronounced and executed upon Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbouring cities.

The actual description of the execution of Divine Judgement is written down in Genesis 19: 23-29.

"The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord: And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace. And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt." Genesis 19:23-29.

Again the language is clear, it says that the LORD rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven. He destroyed, He overthrew those cities!

Does scripture give us the correct interpretation of such language in terms of the mechanism by which those cities were destroyed? Yes!

Our first evidence comes from Deuteronomy chapter 29 where Moses reminded the Israelites of God's covenant with them, the blessings of obedience and the curses of disobedience which are listed in Chapter 28.

He particularly mentioned in Deuteronomy 29:18,19 the sins of idolatry, false worship and boastful defiance.

Moses then clearly outlined the punishments which would befall the people and their land in Deuteronomy 29: 20-29. Let us consider verse 23.

"And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath." Deuteronomy 29:23.

Here Moses clearly stated that God would do to them like He did to Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboim. He would overthrow the land with fire and brimstone and salt. This would be the result of God's anger kindled against the land.

"And the anger of the Lord was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this book." Deuteronomy 29:27.

But over in Deuteronomy 31: 16-18 God explained the mechanism of wrath.

"And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them. Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide

my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us? And I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evils which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods." Deu. 31:16-18.

Therefore the overthrow of the land with fire and brimstone and salt would be the result of God forsaking them and hiding His face from them.

Obviously then the sins of the cities of the plain reached that point where the inhabitants passed the limits of divine forbearance, their minds were irreversibly fixed against God. They did not want God and God withdrew from them. They did not realize that God's Spirit through His angels was holding in check the sin-perverted forces of nature around them. When God let go there was nothing to prevent the fiery explosion which destroyed them.

This is further confirmed in Amos 4:9-11, where God rehearsed some of the curses with which Israel was smitten. He told them:

"I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord." Amos 4:11.

It is clear then that the mechanism of Sodom's overthrow was the same mechanism stated in Deuteronomy 31:16-18.

Our third confirmatory evidence is written down in Hosea 11:7,8.

"And my people are bent to backsliding from me: though they called them to the most High, none at all would exalt him. How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I deliver thee, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboim? mine heart is turned within me, my repentings are kindled together." Hosea 11:7,8.

God asked Ephraim and Israel:

"How shall I give thee up? "How shall I deliver thee?"

And in giving Israel up He would be making her as Admah and Zeboim, the cities of the plain.

Therefore the cities of the plain were "given up" or "delivered up." And they were delivered to trouble and commotion.

"Wherefore the wrath of the Lord was upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he hath delivered them to trouble, to astonishment, and to hissing, as ye see with your eyes. For, lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons

and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this." 2 Chronicles 29: 8,9.

In Romans chapter 1 Paul explains that God's wrath is exercised when He gives up those who reject His mercy. (See Romans 1:18, 24, 26, 28, see Chapter 7).

Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities of the plain were given up by God. He hid His face from them. He forsook them. He withdrew His protection and they were consumed by a fiery explosion.

One last point must be clarified.

The fire with brimstone is described as falling from God out of heaven. We met a similar term in Job 1:16 when it is said that "the fire of God is fallen from heaven…." But such fire resulted when God handed over Job's possessions to Satan, Job 1:12. In other words the "fire of God fallen from heaven" is caused by sin's separation from God.

Three: The Destruction Of Jerusalem In A.D 70.

In the parable of the Wedding Garment in Matthew 22:1-14, Jesus described the fate of Jerusalem in verse 7.

"But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city."Matthew 22:7.

Notice the language. God (the king) was wroth and He (God) sent forth His armies, and He (God) destroyed those murderers and (He) burned up their city.

God is described as the One who directly and personally performed the destruction of the people and the burning of the city.

But by now we have mastered the principles of interpretation. We know that such language must be correctly understood not according to the apparent meaning of the language but according to the deeper principles of allowing the Bible to explain itself and therefore to explain the mechanism by which the destruction occurred.

In Luke 21:20-24 Jesus predicted the destruction of Jerusalem. Listen to what He said in verses 22, 23.

"For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people." Luke 21:22, 23.

Two points of special significance are in these verses.

The first point is His statement that the time of Jerusalem's destruction would be "the days of vengeance, that all things which are written be fulfilled." (verse 22).

Where was Jerusalem's destruction written down long before the Messiah's birth?

It was written down in Deuteronomy, Chapter 28, the chapter of the blessings and the curses, verses 49-57.

The second point is His statement in verse 23 that wrath would be upon the people.

In other words Jerusalem, in its destruction in A.D 70, suffered the vengeance of God, the wrathof God.

All we need to do now is to carefully examine the scriptures to find out the precise mechanism by which the "vengeance" and "wrath" of God caused the destruction.

Incontrovertible evidence is found in Matthew 23:37, 38.

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate."

In these verses Jesus explained that He longed to save and protect Jerusalem, to keep her children under the protective wings of His mercy and grace, but the Jewish Nation rejected all His mercy, all His love, all of His saving grace. And Jesus told them that their house would be left unto them desolate. This means He would have to give them up, withdraw His protection and blessing and leave them to reap the consequences of centuries of repeated apostasy.

When, at the crucifixion of Christ the Jews shouted out "Away with this man and release unto us Barabbas:"

"And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabba." Luke 23:18,

When they cried out:

"Away with him, away with him … we have no king but Caesar," John 19:15, they closed their National probation, and sealed their fate by completely rejecting the only One who could bless, save and protect them from evil.

In A.D 70 Jerusalem suffered that terrible separation from God's protective mercy; she was given up. God handed her over to the kings of her choice - Caesar the

Roman king who was under the control of Satan the king of evil.

Jerusalem suffered the retributive vengeance, the awful justice, the terrible wrath of God.

And what was the mechanism? It was consistently the same as in every other case. God exercised His wrath by withdrawing His blessings and His protection and by handing Jerusalem over, giving her up to reap the whirlwind from the wind she had been sowing for centuries!

But this was exactly what God had told Moses in Deuteronomy 31:16-18.

All the evils, every single one of them would befall the Israelites because they rejected God and He left them to the consequences of their choice. Here is Deuteronomy 31:16-18 as translated in the Today's English Version of the Bible.

"The Lord said to Moses, 'You will soon die, and after your death the people will become unfaithful to me and break the covenant that I made with them. They will abandon me and worship the pagan gods of the land they are about to enter. When that happens, I will become angry with them; I will abandon them, and they will be destroyed.

Many terrible disasters will come upon them, and then they will realize that these things are happening to them because I, their God, am no longer with them. And I will refuse to help them then, because they have done evil and worshiped other gods." Deuteronomy 31:16-18 (TEV).

In 586 B.C Jerusalem had also suffered "punishment" for her sins. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded and destroyed the city and the Jews started their 70-year Babylonian captivity.

Jeremiah's description is recorded in Jeremiah 25:9-11.

"Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the Lord, and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations.

Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle.

And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years." Jeremiah 25:9-11.

Notice the language. God said:

"I will … bring Nebuchadnezzar against the inhabitants … and I will utterly destroy."

In Ezra 5:12 the same event is described and Ezra explained that God exercised His wrath by giving up Jerusalem and the Jews into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar who destroyed the city and took the people captive.

"But after that our fathers had provoked the God of heaven unto wrath, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house, and carried the people away into Babylon."Ezra 5:12.

In each case of punishment God had exercised His wrath by withdrawing His protection and giving them up to their enemies.

In fact they destroyed themselves by forsaking the Lord.

"Israel, you brought this on yourself! You deserted me, the Lord your God, while I was leading you along the way. What do you think you will gain by going to Egypt to drink water from the Nile? What do you think you will gain by going to Assyria to drink water from the Euphrates? Your own evil will punish you, and your turning from me will condemn you. You will learn how bitter and wrong it is to abandon me, the Lord your God, and no longer to remain loyal to me. I, the Sovereign Lord Almighty, have spoken." Jeremiah 2:17-19 (TEV).

The prophet Hosea also expressed the fact that all Israel's punishments were caused by separation from God through persistence in sin.

"O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity." Hosea 14:1.

"O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help."Hosea 13:9.

"Woe unto them! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me." Hosea 7:13.

"Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men. Therefore shall a tumult arise among thy people, and all thy fortresses shall be spoiled, as Shalman spoiled Betharbel in the day of battle: the mother was dashed in pieces upon her children.

So shall Bethel do unto you because of your great wickedness: in a morning shall the king of Israel utterly be cut off." Hosea 10:13-15.

God had always been willing and eager to heal their backsliding. His love is unconditional. His heart yearned for their salvation.

"When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt…

I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love: and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them."Hosea 11:1,4.

"O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity…

I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him." Hosea 14:1,4.