The Wrath of God

Romans 12:19  "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord."

God Does Not Take Vengeance on the Innocent 

When God repays with vengeance, we know there has been sin and that there is something to repay. And since he is absolutely fair and just, that repayment will be a suitable vengeance, a proper vengeance. It will not be more than is deserved nor will it be less than required to fully satisfy justice and righteousness.

The Wrath of God can be defined as:  "God's anger toward sin that is expressed by the repayment of justified and righteous acts carried out upon the guilty sinner.

It is not my desire to cover all the minute details of God's wrath but to cover God's wrath as applied to the final wrath of God (or of the pouring out of his vengeance).

The Final Wrath of God is Eternal 

Jesus spoke many times about eternity, about those who would be cast out and about hell.  Mark 9:43-48 speaks of hell and a fire that shall never be quenched.  In fact, 3 times, Jesus made the statement:  "Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."  (Mark 9, 44, 46, 48)

Three times, Jesus said the fire is unquenchable, and three times, he said It is eternal (their worm dieth not).  Mark 3:29 declares:  "But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation. . .:

This is a shocking statement for many today.  Jesus gave us an example of a sin for which there is NEVER forgiveness.  Matthew records this same statement even more dreadfully than does Mark: 

Matthew 12:32  "And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.. . ."

"Neither in this world, neither in the world to come . . ."  Friends, I wouldn't be so quick to believe in an eternal heaven then shun the idea of an eternal hell.  I wouldn't reject the clear teaching of scripture that there is indeed a condition of eternal punishment!   Jesus plainly declared these things to us.  There are people who will never be saved and will be ETERNALLY lost.

Universalism's idea that people will eventually be let out of hell is a false one that can be easily discounted by one simple scripture: 

Revelation 20:10   "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."

Revelation 20:14  "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death."

Hell will eventually be cast into the lake of fire where there is NO END to that punishment.  It will be for all eternity.

Speaking of the wicked, Jesus said in Matthew 25:46:   "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal."  Jesus wasn't speaking in vain!  When he said everlasting and eternal, that is exactly what he meant.   There will be no end!

Paul also declared of the eternal reality of wrath in 2 Thessalonians 1:

2 Thessalonians 1:7-9  "And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;. . ."

We tend to think of the word destruction as being eliminated, obliterated, but this is not the meaning at all.  When one thinks of the "destruction of an army, it doesn't mean the defeated soldiers no longer exist, it means they are "undone", they are defeated.  This is exactly the way the words "everlasting destruction" are used in this passage.

The Apostle John also described everlasting punishment: 

Revelation 14:11  "And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name."

Revelation 19:3 "And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever."

The wrath of God as applied to the end of all things, is eternal.  There is no end to it. 

The Wrath of God is Terrible - It Results in Indescribable Pain 

Jesus described to us in specific terms exactly what eternal punishment would be like.  He used terms that we understand as human beings, however the horrors of hell cannot be described in simple words.  Look at what Jesus told us about eternal punishment:

Matthew 13:41-42 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

The phrase "wailing and gnashing of teeth don't even begin to describe the horrors of hell. 

Matthew 24:48-51  "But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Matthew 8:12 "But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Isaiah 66:24 "And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh."

When one considers this place of darkness, pain, suffering and torment and considers that it is eternal, it should open our eyes to realize there will be no escape. Now is the day of salvation. Now is the day of God’s patience. After you die, friend, there will be no offer of salvation and no way to obtain it. 

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