Have you ever known someone who seemed to be the most loving, gentle person until they reached the limit of their patience? Once they had reached a certain point, their wrath was released, and it was not something you wanted to be around. This is a picture of God in many passages in the Bible. We know about God’s love and how deep, wide, and expansive it is, but we rarely study or even want to think about His wrath. Wrath is the expression of displeasure, vexation, or anger that is in contrast to God’s love. It is the emotion we see when God’s holiness, righteousness, justice, and love are violated. It is the right and righteous response of God to sin. In Psalms 86:15 and II Peter 3:9, we are taught that God is longsuffering toward us. He loves us and desires us to seek Him in repentance. But, for those who will not repent, they will experience His wrath. God is known by His wrath in the Old and New Testament, and it will be poured out on those who will not yield to Him as Master and Savior.
Psalm 86:15 “But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.”
II Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
The first indication of the wrath of God is when Satan was banished from Heaven because of his pride. In Isaiah 14:13-14 we see the plan Satan devised. He said in his heart, “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” He was banished from Heaven with those who followed him and, in the end, will be cast into hell forever. He was and is the opposite of everything good.
In Genesis 3:23-24 God revealed His wrath against the sin of Adam and Eve when He drove them from the garden, the perfect paradise He had created for them. They caused the wrath of God to be enforced because of their sin against a Holy God.
Genesis 3:23-24 “Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.”
In Exodus chapters 7-11, we see the wrath of God poured out on Pharoah and the Egyptians when they refused to allow God’s people to leave and go to a land where they could worship freely. Pharoah refused to submit to the authority of God until God’s wrath was poured out on the firstborn of each family that wasn’t under the protection of the blood of the Lamb.
In Numbers chapter 14, we see God’s wrath when He is angry with His people because they are fearful to execute His plan. They sent out the 12 spies into Canaan, and all, except Joshua and Caleb, came back scared. Because of their unbelief, God made them wander in the wilderness until all who were over 20 years of age, except Joshua and Caleb, died.
Numbers 14:33-35 “And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcasses be wasted in the wilderness. After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise. I the LORD have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness, they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.”
God reminds us of His wrath in Hebrews 3:7-12 where he compares us to those in the wilderness. He challenges us to keep a soft and tender heart toward Him. His longsuffering and His love give us plenty of opportunity to do right, but if we do not, His wrath will be executed.
Hebrews 3:7-12 “Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.) Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.”
In Revelation 20:14-15 we see God’s final wrath poured out on all those who have not accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Those who have rejected Him will be cast into the lake of fire with the devil and his angels. This final pouring out of the wrath of God will free the world of anything that is not holy and presentable to the Lord. This day of wrath will seal eternity for the unbeliever forever. There will be no escaping God’s wrath. Those who have trampled over the blood of the Lamb will be cast into hell fire. Separated from God and loved ones where, they will suffer torment and judgment eternally.
Revelation 20:14-15 “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
God’s wrath is real! It is not something we can wish away or ignore. God is God, and He will eventually execute judgment on those who violate His holiness. The only way we can escape His judgment is to repent and accept the payment made for our sins by His Son. It is our choice, but that choice is not open-ended. We have no idea when our end of life will be or when God will say enough is enough. We are not guaranteed another moment or opportunity. Escape His wrath while you can.
