Participants:
Series Code: SCM
Program Code: SCM180011A
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00:41 Welcome to the 3ABN Spring Camp Meeting:
00:45 The Three Angels' Messages. 00:49 Hello friends, and welcome to 3ABN Spring Camp Meeting! 00:53 We are so glad you've taken the time to tune in. 00:57 We're going to welcome you with a hearty "Amen. " 00:59 Amen! 01:00 We have been under the unction of the Holy Spirit 01:03 here at 3ABN Camp Meeting, and right now is no exception. 01:06 Shelley Quinn, who is so very much a part of our 3ABN family, 01:11 is going to present a message this morning: 01:13 God's Holy Wrath: Fire and Brimstone. 01:16 And I know that God is going to anoint her. 01:18 So if you're listening by radio or watching by television, 01:21 we'd like to encourage you 01:22 to pray for the Lord to speak to your heart. 01:24 But before she comes, I'm going to lay the foundation 01:27 by sharing a song that I know is important. 01:29 It's important that as you speak about that topic 01:32 that I Give You Jesus. 01:59 If the ship of your life 02:03 is tossing on the sea of strife, 02:08 you need someone. 02:15 If you feel so all alone 02:19 and your house is not a home, 02:23 you need someone. 02:30 If you feel life isn't fair 02:35 and there's no one left to share 02:38 all the lonely days and nights 02:43 when things just won't turn out right, 02:47 and you want someone to share 02:51 and someone to just be there 02:56 you need someone. 03:03 So I give you Jesus... 03:08 He's the peace 03:10 that passes all understanding. 03:18 I give you Jesus... 03:23 He's that perfect love 03:25 that casteth out all fear. 03:33 I give you Jesus... 03:38 He's the water that we'll drink 03:42 and never thirst again. 03:48 I give you Jesus... 03:54 my friend, 03:57 I give you Jesus. 04:06 If the pressures all around 04:09 keep your spirits to the ground, 04:14 you need someone. 04:20 If your body is in pain 04:24 and your health you can't regain, 04:29 you need someone. 04:35 If the times that you have tried 04:39 with all the strength you have inside 04:42 and it seems that you have failed 04:46 remember on the cross He's nailed 04:50 all that bitterness and grief 04:54 to give you peace and sweet relief 04:58 He is the Someone that we need. 05:04 So I give you Jesus... 05:10 He's the peace 05:12 that passes all 05:14 understanding. 05:19 I give you Jesus... 05:24 He's that perfect love 05:26 that casteth out all 05:31 fear. 05:35 I give you Jesus... 05:39 He's the water that you'll drink 05:43 and never thirst again. 05:49 I give you Jesus... 05:54 my friends, 05:56 yes, I give you Jesus... 06:00 He's everything; He's the One we need... 06:05 I give you Jesus... 06:09 my friend, 06:13 yes, I give you 06:18 Jesus. 06:31 Amen! Thank you John! 06:34 Amen! Oh, you look good today! 06:38 Everybody's smiling. 06:40 I have to tell you first of all 06:43 let's pray that my tongue will not be tangled. 06:46 I have been so excited about this Camp Meeting. 06:51 When I get really excited I don't sleep. 06:53 I woke up looking like Rocky Raccoon this morning. 06:57 And it's like: "Oh, Lord, You're going to have to 07:01 make up for the sleep deprivation. " 07:04 And we're going to pray about that. 07:05 But our focus for this hour is Revelation 14:10: 07:12 God's Holy Wrath. And let me put it this way: 07:15 the good news, the gospel of God's holy wrath 07:21 and fire and brimstone. And believe it or not, 07:24 it is good news. 07:25 So let's kind of re-cap for those who... We just want 07:29 to welcome everybody that's watching 07:31 whether you're TV, Internet, or listening on the radio. 07:34 Let's re-cap the three angels' messages. 07:38 The first angel is seen in the sky 07:41 and he has the everlasting gospel. 07:45 The gospel as Hebrews 13:20 talks about it 07:50 the blood of the everlasting covenant. 07:53 This is the gospel that was introduced in Genesis 3:15. 07:56 It is the gospel that was revealed to Abraham 07:59 when he saw the day of Jesus and he was glad. 08:03 It is the gospel that was depic- ted in the sanctuary system 08:07 and it is the gospel that was fulfilled in the death, burial, 08:11 and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 08:13 The gospel - the everlasting gospel - is the foundation 08:18 of the three angels' messages 08:19 and you cannot preach or teach the three angels' messages 08:24 unless you begin with the gospel. 08:27 Nothing else makes sense. 08:29 So he is then saying... He says: "I've got the everlasting gospel 08:35 for every nation, tongue, tribe, and people. " 08:37 We're to preach it, right? 08:39 And he says: "Fear God and give Him glory 08:42 for the hour of His judgment has come. 08:44 Worship Him who created heaven and earth 08:47 the sea, and the springs of water. " 08:49 Then the second angel comes along 08:52 and he says: "Babylon is fallen! Is fallen! " 08:56 Satan's errors are crumbling and Babylon has fallen. 09:02 Now the third angel comes along with a dire warning 09:06 and this warning is this: 09:08 "If anyone worships the beast 09:11 or receives his mark in his forehead or in his hand... " 09:17 their choice brings this consequence. 09:20 Revelation 14:10... Revelation 14:10 says: 09:44 You know, I grew up fearing God the Father. 09:47 All I ever heard about the Father was about His wrath. 09:51 And people twisted scriptures 09:55 to make Him seem demanding and severe. 09:59 And I hope in our short time today 10:02 that we are going to put that fallacy to rest. 10:05 So let's pray. Heavenly Father, we come before You 10:08 holy and righteous God in the name of Jesus Christ 10:12 thanking You for the gift of salvation, 10:14 thanking You for Your greatest gifts of grace: 10:18 Jesus Christ, Your Holy Spirit, and Your Word. 10:21 Oh Father, pour out Your Holy Spirit now on me. 10:24 Pour out Your Holy Spirit on the people... 10:27 on all who are hearing my voice. 10:29 And Father, may the Spirit be our teacher 10:32 and empower us to not only share this message 10:36 but to put it into practice. 10:38 We thank you, Father for the answer to the prayer of faith. 10:41 In Jesus' name, Amen. 10:43 Let me ask you a question: 10:45 what is the most important thing about you? 10:51 What matters most in your life? 10:55 The answer's going to surprise you. 10:59 What? That's a great answer, by the way. 11:01 But the most important thing in your life is what you believe 11:05 about the nature and character of God. 11:10 What you believe about the character of God is critical. 11:14 Do you see Him as a loving Father? 11:18 Or is He to you a stern and demanding taskmaster? 11:23 Do you see the God of the Old Testament 11:25 portrayed with different characteristics of the God of 11:29 the New Testament? 11:31 Do you realize that Jesus came 11:34 to reveal the Father? To show us the Father? 11:39 And Hebrews 1:3 says that He is the exact representation 11:44 of the Father's character, of His nature and His being. 11:48 So as loving and kind and gentle as Jesus was 11:52 that's the Father. 11:54 You know, it is sad but many religious denominations 11:59 view their picture of God as through a kaleidoscope. 12:03 Do you know what a kaleidoscope is? 12:05 That little cylinder thing that you twist the bottom. 12:08 It's got broken pieces of glass 12:10 and as you twist it makes different patterns. 12:13 Many religious denominations take Bible fragments; 12:18 they put them together to come up and reflect 12:23 a disjointed picture of God. 12:27 Many Christians base their beliefs on denominational creeds 12:33 and on traditions of men 12:36 rather than making the Bible their rule of faith. 12:39 And we have to remember God's thoughts are higher 12:43 than our thoughts, are they not? 12:46 His Word is settled; it stands firm forever. 12:50 And we have to put away preconceived opinions. 12:56 You know, the things that we thought were true about God 13:00 because they can insulate our mind against truth. 13:05 And we've got to put those away 13:06 and we've got to search the scriptures 13:09 to verify that what we believe is true. 13:11 Amen? Amen! All right. So this is the way much of the 13:15 religious world views God. But what about the secular world? 13:20 What is their picture of God? 13:23 I know intellectually honest atheists 13:26 who have come to scripture 13:29 to study with an admitted bias 13:33 that they wanted to prove that 13:34 God was nothing more than fiction. 13:36 And you know what has happened? 13:38 They have found proof of the existence of God. 13:44 The evidence of God. 13:46 They have seen in scripture the beauty of His love 13:49 and they've become Seventh- day Adventist Christians. 13:53 But now there are others in the secular world 13:57 who are atheists and agnostics 14:00 who actually started with a Christian background. 14:05 But what happened is they had erroneous teachings 14:09 that painted God as a reprehensible being 14:14 and they turned their back on God 14:17 concluding that the Bible was nothing more than fiction. 14:21 Are you familiar with 14:22 the militant atheist Richard Dawkins? 14:25 Not Stephen... Oh boy, I always get them confused... 14:30 Richard Dawkins not Stephen Hawking 14:33 who was the theoretical physicist that just died. 14:35 But Richard Dawkins embraced Christianity 14:40 till half-way through his teenage years. 14:44 And then guess what happened? He turned his back on God; 14:48 he turned his back on the Bible; 14:50 he said "It's just fiction. " 14:51 He doesn't believe in creationism; 14:54 he doesn't believe in intelligent design. 14:56 He has become a full-fledged supporter of Darwin's theory 15:01 of evolution. 15:02 Now let's look in his book The God Delusion. 15:07 This is what Richard Hawkins - Dawkins - 15:11 I'm going to confuse this... what Richard Dawkins says. 15:15 And I'll tell you: for a tired tongue this is a tongue twister. 15:19 But in his book The God Delusion Dawkins says: 15:57 Let me ask you: what lens is he looking through? 16:03 Have you ever seen a more disjointed picture of God? 16:08 But there are people who believe this. 16:11 Now let's consider one other 16:14 who embraced Christianity and his name is Chas. Templeton. 16:19 He's now deceased, but he was a pretty famous Canadian. 16:22 Charles Templeton converted to Christianity; 16:26 he became a very popular evangelist. 16:30 But along the way he began to settle into 16:34 a theologically and socially 16:38 more liberal stream. 16:42 And as he did he began to doubt 16:46 and he lost his faith. 16:49 And he declared himself to be an agnostic. 16:54 And agnostic is one who doesn't claim either 16:58 disbelief or faith in God. 17:00 But they think nothing can be known about God. 17:04 Now listen to this man who was an evangelist 17:08 at one time. In his book Farewell To God 17:11 Charles Templeton writes: 17:30 I wonder what half-baked distorted doctrines 17:35 these men were exposed to. 17:38 Think about this! 17:40 It is, I know... I mean I just know that I know... 17:44 that the fallacy of the immortal soul 17:48 and unceasing torture in hell 17:51 was right at the top of the error that they were taught. 17:56 You see, that fallacy infiltrated the church 18:02 by pagan philosophy. 18:05 And this erroneous teaching 18:09 has disfigured God's image 18:13 turning many away from Him completely while keeping 18:17 countless Christians at arms' distance from Him. 18:21 Ooh! That was me! 18:23 I loved Jesus but I feared the Father 18:26 and I kept Him at a distance. 18:29 A complete misunderstanding of God's wrath 18:34 leaves people trembling in doubt and despair. 18:39 And I just have to say it is a travesty 18:43 to portray God as stern and unyielding 18:46 in the Old Testament 18:48 and God of love in the New Testament. 18:51 Because a careful examination, 18:54 a thoughtful study of both Testaments, 18:56 will reveal He's the same in both Testaments. 19:00 The Old Testament is this grand story 19:04 of God's covenant love, redemption, and grace. 19:08 He shows Himself to be a righteous God 19:12 of truth and justice. A Creator who is filled 19:15 with wisdom and goodness. But more than anything 19:19 a Father who is slow to anger and abounding in love. 19:24 While it is true... 19:27 Yes, the Old Testament does emphasize 19:33 more the wrath of God. 19:37 Because the New Testament is magnifying His mercy, 19:42 love, and grace to us in Jesus Christ, right? 19:47 But let me tell you something: the New Testament 19:50 does not lose the emphasis on God's righteousness 19:55 or His severity of punishment on sin. 19:59 In fact, the New Testament... 20:02 the element of wrath is not overlooked, 20:05 it is intensified because God has sent His Son 20:10 to die for us. God is unchanging. 20:12 He is perfect in character. 20:14 He is the same in both Testaments. 20:18 The Old Testament He says: I am the Lord; I change not. " 20:22 And the New Testament says Jesus Christ is "the same 20:25 yesterday, today, and forever. " 20:29 I'll tell you what: our language, our understanding 20:35 is so limited. God is so much bigger - 20:39 so much grander - than any human language 20:43 can describe. And do you realize 20:46 we only have seen a glimpse of His grace. 20:51 We don't understand the depth of His love. 20:54 But God longs to be understood. 20:57 He wants to be known and understood by His creatures 21:01 so that He can strike a responsive chord 21:06 of love in us. 21:09 The apostle John sums up the essence of God's character 21:14 in I John 4 and verse 8. 21:18 I John 4 and verse 8 he says: 21:31 The inherent essential essence 21:36 of God's nature is love. 21:40 Love... that's who He is! 21:43 He IS love. 21:45 And if that is His nature, 21:47 all character attributes have to be derived 21:54 from nature, right? 21:56 So we've got God with this nature of love. 22:00 That means all of the attributes of His character 22:04 must be compatible with love. 22:07 God - when we think of His character - 22:11 God is holy. He is righteous; He is morally pure. 22:16 He is just. And what does it mean to be holy? 22:20 Holy means to be separated from sin. 22:24 So God is totally separated from sin. 22:30 His nature of love... and let me explain why. 22:34 Love and sin are polar opposites. 22:39 They are irreconcilably incompatible. 22:44 So it is God's nature of love 22:48 that establishes His perfect holiness. 22:53 Did you know it is God's nature of love... 22:56 When He pours His love into us by the power of the Holy Spirit 22:59 did you know that's what establishes our holiness? 23:02 Look at I Thessalonians 3:12-13. 23:07 Paul is writing. He says: 23:21 OK... who is doing the work? 23:23 The Lord. 23:25 He's the One that's going to cause you to increase 23:27 and abound in love. 23:29 He says: "Just as we do to you so that... " 23:32 Any time you see so or so that 23:36 this is a purpose statement. 23:54 Do you see what that's saying? 23:55 As we grow in divine love - 23:58 we open up our heart and let God pour His love into us - 24:01 we grow in holiness... we become more like God. 24:05 We are separated from sin. 24:09 Hebrews 12:29 is a scripture that makes many tremble. 24:13 And Hebrews 12:29 says this: 24:25 "Our God is a consuming fire. " 24:30 If I've got gold ore here and I put it through the fire, 24:34 what happens? 24:36 The dross is burned off and it is purified. 24:40 Fire purifies. 24:43 Let me tell you: this is what this scripture means. 24:47 When it says "Our God is a consuming fire" 24:50 love consumes sin. 24:55 Love consumes sin. 24:58 That's why you and I cannot stand in the presence 25:02 of a holy God... a God of love. 25:05 If He were to embrace us as we are, 25:08 if we didn't have the robe of Christ's righteousness, 25:12 if God put His arms around us 25:15 we'd be gone... we'd be obliterated, incinerated. 25:19 We would be gone! 25:21 So love consumes sin. 25:24 How do we then reconcile 25:27 the love of God and the wrath of God? 25:30 The juxtaposition of these two ideas... 25:33 putting them side by side... 25:35 has caused much angst in the Christian community. 25:39 But they are compatible... totally compatible. 25:42 Let's look at His anger. God has a visceral response to sin. 25:49 It is deep-seated, deep-rooted. 25:51 He finds sin absolutely reprehensible. 25:56 It is disgusting... it is repulsive to Him. 26:00 And He gave us the gift of free will. 26:05 But what man has done is we have misused 26:10 that freedom. Man has taken the gift of free will 26:14 to do wrong instead of right. 26:18 And when you think about this 26:20 God's government operates by the power of love. 26:27 But the sin-sick world operates by the love of power 26:33 where the strong exploit the weak. 26:37 And man is angered... Don't you get angry 26:41 at man's inhumanity against man when we see it? 26:45 Why do we think God would not be angered? 26:48 Of course He's angry. It is unthinkable 26:52 to see sin ruining lives and not be angry at it. 26:57 But thankfully God is slow to anger. 27:01 He is very patient and longsuffering. 27:04 And that is repeated throughout the Old Testament 27:07 but let me say... we're going to quote Nahum 1:3. 27:11 Nahum 1:3 says: 27:25 Those who are unrepentant aren't going to be excused. 27:29 God loves the sinner and hates the sin. 27:34 Amen! His love is not sentimental. 27:37 He does not blindly ignore our sin. 27:42 The idea that God is not angry with sinners 27:46 is not found in the Old Testament or the New. 27:49 God is... What we find is that 27:53 only sincere repentance - which is a gift by the way - 27:58 but as we come before Him in repentance 28:01 then God forgives us and His anger is remitted. 28:07 Psalm 30 and verse 5 says this: 28:20 When we repent God cleanses us. 28:24 He forgives us and cleanses us of all unrighteousness. 28:28 You know, He remembers that He formed us from the dirt. 28:32 He remembers that we are but dust. 28:35 Psalm 103:11-14 says: 29:06 Hallelujah! Aren't you glad? Amen! 29:09 God's anger is always morally right and justifiable. 29:15 It is not easily aroused 29:17 but it should be dreaded. 29:20 When human iniquity runs over 29:24 God's anger is aroused to wrath. 29:27 And the way I would explain the difference between anger 29:30 and wrath is wrath is anger on steroids. 29:34 So God's anger and wrath is aroused 29:38 and to express His grief and His unrighteous... 29:45 Let me say that again: 29:46 His righteous indignation 29:49 He pours out His wrath to restrain evil, 29:54 to correct sinners, 29:56 and to punish the stiff-necked rebel. 30:01 Now sometimes God's wrath is active intervention. 30:06 Can you think of a time when He actively intervened 30:10 to destroy evil? 30:13 How about the flood 30:15 when He turned the world into a lake of water? 30:20 Sometimes God's wrath is passive. 30:24 He steps back and He lets sinners suffer the consequences 30:30 of their own choice. 30:32 But you know what? It wounds God... it hurts Him. 30:38 He doesn't want to let people go. 30:42 And when they reject His love and He just steps back 30:46 from them He is bleeding. 30:50 His heart is bleeding over those He loves. 30:53 God wants all to be saved. 30:55 In I Timothy 2:4 30:57 Paul expresses this. He says: "God desires 31:01 all men to be saved 31:04 and to come to the knowledge of the truth. " 31:08 So let's further analyze the wrath of God. 31:12 Both God and humans express wrath 31:16 but there can be no comparison between the two. 31:19 None whatsoever. 31:21 We are warned against human wrath 31:24 because it is usually an emotional response 31:27 to a perceived wrong or injustice. 31:31 And we have to recognize our nature is stained by sin 31:37 so our wrath is usually uncontrolled unrighteous anger 31:42 and it is an evil to be avoided. 31:45 But God's wrath is rooted in His love. 31:51 All right! Let me repeat that 31:53 'cause you don't want to miss that one. 31:55 God's wrath is rooted in His love. 32:00 His wrath is a response to something outside His nature 32:05 against ungodliness and wickedness. 32:08 And it is aroused to protect the objects of His love 32:12 from the situations and elements that are not of His creation. 32:18 God is a moral, personal being 32:22 who is unalterably opposed to evil. 32:27 And when He makes a righteous decision of justice 32:31 and He takes personal actions against evil 32:35 He confronts sin in holy love, 32:38 holy anger, and holy judgment. 32:42 And most often His wrath is tempered by His mercy. 32:47 Aren't we glad for that? Amen! 32:50 Because He wants to bring about repentance. 32:55 BUT the day will come 32:58 when He does His strange act and He will pour out His wrath 33:03 full strength, not mingled with mercy 33:07 to annihilate sin and by association 33:13 sinners will share in its fate. 33:16 What we see is that as we study scripture 33:23 God's wrath is not a permanent attribute. 33:27 No sin... no wrath... 33:30 but it is an ever-present potential 33:35 to carry out the sentence of sin. 33:38 And what is the sentence of sin? Death. 33:41 Both the Old Testament and the New Testament agree on that. 33:44 Ezekiel 18:20 says: 33:46 "The soul who sins shall die. " 33:50 And in Romans 6:23 Paul writes: "The wages of sin 33:54 is death but the gift of God 33:59 is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. " 34:02 Again, God is love, but He doesn't blindly ignore our sin. 34:09 Rather, the extreme depth of His love for us 34:13 we're shown when He sent His Son an offering for our sin. 34:19 When Jesus came and drank the cup - 34:23 the bitter cup - of God's wrath and His fury against sin 34:29 to satisfy the demands of love's justice. 34:33 Let's look at Romans 5:8-9. 34:36 Romans 5:8-9. I love this passage! 34:41 It says: 35:13 You see, humanity had just sunk into the depths of depravity 35:19 and we were utterly unable to fulfill the righteous demands 35:24 of our Creator God. We deserve nothing more... 35:28 we deserve nothing more than His wrath against sin. 35:31 But God did not spare His own Son. 35:37 Isn't that amazing? 35:39 If we had time, I could talk about that for an hour. 35:43 But John wrote in I John 4:10... he said: 35:47 "In this is love 35:49 not that we loved God but that He loved us 35:53 and sent His Son to be a propitiation for our sins. " 35:59 The good news of the gospel - 36:02 the good news of Revelation 14- 36:06 the good news of the gospel is that sinners who justly deserve 36:11 the wrath of God may be delivered from it 36:15 through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ. Hallelujah! 36:22 Amen! He came to be our substitute. 36:27 At the cross Jesus satisfied the penalty for sin. 36:32 He satisfied God's wrath against sin and sinners. 36:36 Mercy, lovingkindness, and truth met at the cross. 36:43 Righteousness and peace kissed at the cross. 36:48 Hallelujah! Aren't we glad 36:53 for a loving Father who put such value on us? 36:58 You are worth nothing less than the price that He paid 37:01 for you with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. 37:05 Now according to Paul the gospel reveals the righteousness 37:10 of God but it also reveals His righteous wrath. 37:13 Let's look on the screen at Romans 1:16-19. 37:19 Paul writes: 37:58 God's holiness demands justice 38:02 but His love demands grace. 38:06 Justice is to get what we deserve. 38:11 Mercy is to not get what we deserve. 38:18 But grace is to get what we don't deserve. 38:24 And God's grace will chase us down. 38:27 He does not want to condemn us. 38:29 He wants to save us for eternity. 38:32 That's why He created us. 38:34 And He revealed in humanity His saving love through Christ. 38:39 And when we are united with Jesus by faith 38:42 we're at peace with God. 38:43 Let's look at what Paul said in I Thessalonians 1:10. 38:49 I Thessalonians 1:10 Paul says: 39:07 Now look at John 3:36. 39:11 John writes, John 3:36: 39:24 We're going to come back to that idea in just a moment. 39:27 Everlasting life is only given to the righteous. 39:31 Those who do not believe in the Son don't get eternal life. 39:44 So can you see how important it is to believe in Jesus? 39:49 How do we know if we're believing in Jesus? 39:53 Believing in Jesus goes hand in hand 39:56 with obeying His commandments. 39:59 I John 2:3-4... this will be on the screen... 40:03 I John 2:3-4 says this: 40:22 Whew! Whoo! 40:27 Whoo! You know, John says in the next chapter 40:32 I John 3:24 40:44 What must we do to remain? 40:47 I believe that we can have total assurance of salvation 40:52 as long as we are abiding in Christ. 40:55 It is not once saved, always saved. 40:59 But as long as we remain in Christ... 41:03 See, He doesn't take free will away from us. 41:06 Some people may accept Christ as their Savior. 41:09 Something happens. They turn their back and they walk away. 41:13 And if they do, they are not remaining in Christ. 41:17 But to remain in Jesus we've got to obey His commandments. 41:21 Believing in Him means to be living in Him. 41:26 And breaking His commandment is a sin. 41:29 Sin is an offense against the Creator. 41:33 Against our personal loving Lawgiver. 41:36 The moral governor of the world 41:40 who vindicates His law of love through penalty. 41:45 Just think about this for a minute. 41:47 The finger that wrote this law of love - 41:50 those ten commandments on those two tablets of stone - 41:53 was nailed to the cross. 41:57 Can you imagine that? 41:59 No wonder God's wrath abides on those who reject His love... 42:04 on those who are ungodly and unrighteous. 42:08 They're living under a death sentence 42:10 awaiting God's coming judgment. 42:13 Those who cling to sin and refuse to honor His authority 42:16 are treasuring up wrath for the day of God's final judgment. 42:21 Romans 2:5-9 will be on the screen, and it says this: 43:02 Will God allow such rebellion to go unpunished? No! 43:07 He will obliterate sin in holy love and holy judgment. 43:13 You know, the Hebrew prophets warned 43:16 that the world was "kindling" the wrath of God 43:22 against unrighteousness. 43:24 They saw a cataclysmic day of judgment 43:28 when God will wipe out all sin. 43:32 Judgment against rebellion and sin is coming, 43:35 and unrepentant sinners will not be able to stand 43:40 when God's tribunal... He's sitting on His throne 43:43 and all the secrets of their heart are exposed... 43:46 they won't be able to stand before Him. 43:50 The wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience. 43:55 And the Hebrew prophets call this "His strange act. " 44:01 Look at Isaiah 28 and verse 21. 44:05 Isaiah 28:21: 44:23 God's mercy will have reached as far as it can ever reach 44:28 and uncharacteristically God, the Creator, 44:33 will have to become the destroyer. 44:35 He will destroy what He did not create. 44:39 So now let's get back 'cause my time is just going away. 44:42 Let's go back to Revelation 14:10. 44:46 Do you remember in Revelation 13:5 44:49 Babylon proclaims and demands that anyone who doesn't worship 44:55 the beast is going to be what? They're going to be killed. 44:59 But now the third angel comes along 45:02 and in a loud voice he says: "No! No! No! 45:06 That's not true. If anyone does 45:11 worship the beast, he is going to have to drink 45:15 from... " Let's look at this: Revelation 14:10. 45:19 "Anyone who worships the beast and his image 45:22 receives the mark on his head or his hand... " 45:27 this is what their choice brings. 45:30 This consequence: Revelation 14:10: 45:47 The third angel is warning to anyone who shows allegiance 45:51 to the beast is standing at enmity to God's purpose. 45:55 And if they drink the intoxicating wine of idolatry 46:00 and spiritual adultery, 46:03 then they're going to have to drink the bitter cup 46:05 of God's indignation. The seven last plagues 46:09 will be poured out on them without mercy. 46:13 And you know what? There's no need to feel sorry 46:16 for them. They will have been warned 46:19 about worshiping the beast 46:22 before the visitation of God's judgment. 46:25 And earth's inhabitants are going to be without excuse. 46:29 It's too late to repent. 46:31 In fact, if God gave them more time they wouldn't repent. 46:35 That's why He's determined to come. 46:37 So they're going to receive the reward of their actions 46:40 and "the wages of sin is death. " 46:42 So the worshipers of the beast are tormented in fire and 46:46 brimstone. What is fire and brimstone? 46:49 This is an allusion to Sodom and Gomorrah. 46:51 In the science of hermeneutics - 46:54 Bible interpretation - there is a very useful principle 46:58 called "the rule of first mention. " 47:01 So when you see a term in the Bible 47:03 and you don't understand it, look up the first time 47:06 it was mentioned in the Bible 47:08 and in context it will help you understand 47:11 what that term means. First time fire and brimstone 47:14 is mentioned in the Bible is Genesis 19:24-25. 47:19 It will be on the screen. 47:34 God had revealed to Abraham 47:36 that He was about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah 47:38 and Abraham said: "Would You also destroy the righteous 47:42 with the wicked? " So Abraham began negotiating 47:45 with God. They finally settled. Abraham said: 47:48 "If You find just ten righteous 47:50 in the cities, will You spare them? " 47:52 God said: "Sure. " But there weren't ten righteous. 47:55 God sent angels, and the only ones who came out 47:59 were Lot, his wife, and two daughters. 48:01 And then He rained the fire of His fury 48:04 down on Sodom and Gomorrah and destroyed them. 48:07 Did God hate the people of Sodom and Gomorrah? 48:11 No... they hated Him. 48:13 And let me tell you something: 48:15 we've got 4,000 years of history in the Old Testament. 48:22 In that... just those few books. That's 4,000 years of history. 48:25 Don't think you're getting the entire story. 48:28 If God sent Jonah to wicked Nineveh, 48:30 I'm sure God had been trying to save these people 48:33 in Sodom and Gomorrah. 48:34 That's who He is. 48:36 Now in the New Testament Jude says this: 48:38 "As Sodom and Gomorrah... " Jude 1:7... 48:41 It'll be on the screen. 49:03 The vengeance of eternal fire. 49:05 Are they still on fire today? 49:06 No. No... they were reduced to ashes. 49:10 Yet many sincere-hearted Christians 49:13 have been taught that eternal fire means unceasing torment. 49:17 And this is untrue. 49:19 It is an unjust characterization of God. 49:22 In fact, that would make God worse than Mussolini, 49:24 Pol Pot, and Hitler all rolled into one. 49:27 Is any being who would torment another being 49:32 without end worthy of worship? 49:36 No! The apostolic church fathers 49:39 in the first century... You know, the apostolic church 49:43 fathers were the early Christian leaders 49:46 whose lives overlapped the times of the apostles. 49:48 So they knew the apostles. 49:50 And they taught... After Christ died in the first century 49:54 and 3/4 of the second century they taught 49:58 that there were only 2 options: the way of eternal life 50:01 or the way of eternal death. 50:03 And what happened is this pagan philosopher 50:08 by the name of Tertullian comes along. 50:10 He'd been a pupil of Plato. 50:13 Plato was a pupil of Socrates. 50:15 And they had put forth this pagan philosophy 50:19 of immortal life for the soul. 50:23 The Bible says only God has immortality right now. 50:27 We find that in I Timothy 6:16. 50:29 But what happened is Tertullian comes along, 50:32 he converts to Christianity, becomes an ecclesiastical 50:36 writer and then guess what he does? 50:38 He introduces his pagan philosophy to the church. 50:41 Said: "Oh well, if man's soul is immortal, he must have to burn 50:45 for eternity. " But in the Greek 50:49 the word for eternal and everlasting is aionios. 50:54 And that is a term that derives its meaning 50:59 from the thing with which it is associated. 51:02 So when you use aionios - eternal and everlasting - 51:05 associated with God it does mean an infinite 51:10 existence because God is immortal. 51:13 But when you use aionios - eternal or everlasting - 51:17 with mankind or perishable things 51:21 it means only as long as that person or thing exists. 51:27 Eternal redemption Hebrews talks about. 51:31 It's not an endless process of redemption 51:33 but its results are eternal. 51:35 Eternal judgment: it's not an endless process of judgment 51:40 but its results are eternal. 51:44 Eternal fire 51:46 consumed Sodom and Gomorrah 51:50 and the results are eternal. 51:54 II Peter 2:6 says this. 51:56 Whew! We're going to have to go from here... 52:00 II Peter says: 52:13 So eternal fire for humans 52:17 results in total everlasting destruction. 52:22 The lake of fire is the second death. 52:25 Revelation 21:8 says: 52:44 It mentions the second death four times. 52:47 Our God is a consuming fire, 52:49 and in His final embrace of love 52:52 for the whole world He is going to consume all sin 52:58 because love consumes sin. 53:01 Let's look at quickly Isaiah 66:22 and 24 53:07 in the context Isaiah's speaking of the new heavens 53:09 and the new earth. 53:32 Huh? See, unquenchable fire 53:34 means it's not quenched before it achieves its result. 53:39 And then he says: "They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh. " 53:43 And Malachi 4:1 says: 53:56 They'll be totally annihilated. 53:59 God says that it will leave them "neither root nor branch. " 54:04 Now Revelation 6:16-17... 54:09 and I'm skipping two pages of notes... 54:11 says that at His coming 54:15 those who rejected Christ's love, 54:20 His salvation... 54:23 Here's what it says. Revelation 6:16-17. 54:45 The wrath of God the Father and the wrath of Jesus Christ 54:49 are of equal intensity. 54:52 So let's summarize real quick. 54:54 God is love; that's His essence of His nature. 54:57 Unconditional, unselfish, other-centered love. 55:01 All attributes of God's character 55:03 are derived from that love. 55:04 So God's wrath against sin is rooted 55:09 in His nature of love. 55:11 God's judgment is absolutely necessary 55:15 to accomplish the redemptive purposes of man. 55:21 He promised us a place where righteousness dwells, right? 55:25 So there's no way to purge evil 55:27 except through the destruction of those who have set themselves 55:31 in irreversible hostility against God. 55:36 So there's a mutual relationship 55:38 between God's wrath and His love. 55:42 It is not unreasonable. 55:44 What's unreasonable - beyond our reason - is that God 55:47 would become a human being and die as our substitute. 55:51 But He's more than that. Hebrews 7:22. 55:54 My favorite scripture in the Bible: Hebrews 7:22 says: 56:07 See, He is our surety. 56:10 He's the surety from God to us 56:13 because II Corinthians 1:20 says 56:15 "All of God's promises are yes and amen in Him. " 56:19 But He is the surety from us to God that we'll walk 56:23 in covenant loyalty because 56:28 Philippians 2:13 says that He's going to work in us 56:32 both too will and to do His good pleasure. 56:35 And Philippians 1:6 promises 56:38 that He will complete the good work He has begun in us. 56:42 Isn't that exciting? 56:44 Amen! Isn't that exciting? 56:47 Whatever you believe 56:50 about the nature and the character of God 56:57 is the most important thing about you. 57:04 Why? Because what you believe 57:07 about the nature and the character of God 57:12 will determine your eternal destination. |
Revised 2018-10-25