The Judgment of God

Our God is not only a God of love but also a God of judgment.  He is a just God.  He is a righteous God.  He is a holy God.   He cannot tolerate evil or sin.  The Bible says that God hates the following and they are an abomination unto him: proud look, lying tongue, shedding innocent blood, wicked imagination, mischief, false witness, discord  (Proverbs 6:16-19).  The Bible says that He will reward the just and punish the wicked.  God is  loving, tender hearted, merciful, gracious, kind, gentle and long suffering, but at the same time He is also a jealous God and a consuming fire (Deuteronomy 4:24).  From the book of Genesis until the book of Revelation we can see clearly that our God as a God of Judgment, also a consistency and pattern in execution of His judgment.  The different aspects or characteristics of God’s judgment can be listed as follows

The Reality of God’s judgment
The Equity of God’s judgment
The Severity of God’s Judgment
The Surety of God’s judgment
The Universality of God’s judgment

A.  THE REALITY OF GOD’S JUDGMENT
It is a fact that God judged and punished His people every time they disobeyed Him, violated His laws or committed a sin.  When Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden He not only drove them out of the garden but also cursed them severely.  God told Eve that in sorrow she would bring forth children and her husband would rule her.  God told Adam that the ground would be cursed for his sake and in sorrow and in the sweat of his face he would eat of the ground all the days of his life.  God told both of them that they would return to dust because they were dust 
(Genesis 3:16-19).

God punished Cain severely when he killed his brother.  God told Cain that the ground would not yield its strength when he tilled and that he would be a vagabond and a fugitive in the earth (Genesis 4:12).  When Cain heard it he said, that his punishment was greater than what he could bear.

In Genesis 6:5, it is written that in the days of Noah, God was grieved because the wickedness of man was great and every imagination of his heart was continually evil.  Therefore he utterly destroyed every living creature on the face of the earth, by floods of water by causing it to rain for forty days and forty nights.  However, God preserved Noah and his family in an ark, because he was a just man and he walked with God.

In chapter 19 of the book of Genesis we read that God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, by causing brimstone and fire to come upon them from heaven (Genesis 19:24).  However, God let Lot escape from that destruction.

When Pharaoh refused to let the children of God leave Egypt from the bondage they were in, God brought ten gruesome and terrible plagues upon Egypt, through his servant, Moses.  These plagues were turning the water into blood smiting all the borders of Egypt with frogs turning all the dust into lice bringing a grievous storm of flies smiting the people with pestilence causing it to rain a very grievous hail bringing locusts into the coastbringing total darkness in the land of Egypt for three days causing all the cattle of Egypt to die causing boils to break forth with blains upon men and upon beast smiting all the first born in the land of Egypt (Exodus 7-11).

God punished severely Korah and others that provoked Him.  The earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up, and they all went down alive into the pit and the earth closed upon them (Numbers 16:32-33).  Then it is stated in the same passage in verse 35 that there came out a fire from the Lord, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.

When the prophet Elisha was going to Bethel, some little Children came out of the city and mocked him saying "bald head."  When he turned back, looked on them and cursed them in the name of the Lord, two she-bears came and tore forty-two of them (II Kings 2:23-24). For laying and being unfaithful, God brought the leprosy of Naaman upon Ghehazi (the servant of Elisha) and his seed forever  (II Kings 5:27).

When David committed the sin of numbering the people without trusting in the Lord, God gave him three choices of punishments: seven years of         famine, fleeing three months before their enemies or three days’ pestilence.  David preferred to be smitten by the hands of the Lord, and the Lord           sent a pestilence in which 70,000 men died (II Samuel 24:12-15).

B.  THE EQUITY OF GOD’S JUDGMENT
It may seem that God is very cruel and unjust, but we should know that there is equity and justice in His judgments and punishments.  When Jesus came the first time He came as a Prince of peace but when He comes the second time He will return as a judge.  Psalms 98:9 says that the Lord will judge the world and the people with equity.  Deuteronomy 32:4 says, "for all his ways are judgment; a God of truth and without iniquity,  just and right is He."  Job 4:17 says whether man can be more just than God.    Many people accuse God of being unjust and indifferent.  The little sense of justice that we have is what we have received from God.  Sometimes we may not fully understand everything, but one thing is sure and that is God is a loving and just God.

C.  THE SURETY OF GOD’S JUDGMENT
The Bible says very clearly and emphatically that God will surely judge every one and no one can escape God’s judgment.  The Bible says that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) Jesus said that all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword (Matthew 26:52).  God caused those that accused Daniel to be killed by the lion along with their wives and children (Daniel 6:24).  Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead instantaneously for lying to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:5-10).  It is a terrible thing to face the judgment of God.

In the last days during the Great Tribulation, God’s wrath is going to be poured upon people who are going to be left behind after the Rapture takes place.  During these terrible days as we read in the book of Revelation there will be three kinds of judgments (seven-seal judgment, seven-vial judgment and seven trumpet judgment).  Further it is said that in flaming fire God will take vengeance on them that know not God and they that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ (II Thessalonians 1:8).  

During this time of judgment several terrible things will happen including the following 

(i)   Hail and fire mingled with blood will fall on the earth (Rev. 8:7)

(ii)  Locusts with the power of scorpions will come out of the bottomless pit and strike men and torment them for five months (Rev. 9:5)

(iii) Rivers and fountains of water will turn into blood (Rev. 16:4)

(iv)  Men will be scorched with great heat (Rev. 16:9)

These are just a few examples of the terrible judgment that is going to be faced by the sinners.  Eventually all the sinners will be cast into the lake of fire burning with brimstone (Revelation 19:20).

D.  THE SEVERITY OF GOD’S JUDGMENT
We have seen already through the examples of God’s judgments we reviewed from the Word of God, that His judgments are severe, but we should also know that they are just.  The Bible says that our God is like a consuming fire (Deuteronomy 4:24).  If we would compile a list of punishments that God gave to people for disobeying his laws, we can see clearly the severity of God’s judgment.  Some examples of such punishments are listed below

(i)     Destruction by Flood
(ii)    Destruction by Fire and Brimstone
(iii)   Being Stoned to Death
(iv)   Getting Leprosy
(v)    Being Swallowed by the Earth Alive
(vi)   Being Killed by Pestilence
(vii)  Being Tormented by Plagues
(viii) All the First Born Children being Killed
(ix)   Being Cursed
(x)    Being Torn by the Bears and Lions

E.  THE UNIVERSALITY OF GOD’S JUDGMENT
The Bible makes it very clear that ultimately everyone will have to stand before the Judgment Seat of God.  II Corinthians 5:10 says, "For we all must appear before the judgment seat of Christ…"  Revelation 20:12 says, "I saw the dead, great and small, stand before God; and books were opened….. and the dead were judged according to those things which were written in those books, according to their works."  No one can escape God’s judgment.  God’s judgment is real, sure, just, severe and universal.

CONCLUSION
Throughout the Bible we see clearly that God has been judging the people severely but justly for the violation of His laws and for committing sins in spite of repeated warnings that were given to them.  It is also clearly written in the Bible that God’s wrath is going to be poured upon all sinners at the End Times during the period of seven years of tribulation after the saints of God rapture and get into the presence of God.  Further it is stated clearly that after the final judgment the unsaved sinners will be cast into the lake of fire eternally.  The same Jesus that came to this world about two thousand years ago as a Savior is going to come back as a judge.  When He comes He will also come with rewards in His hands for the good works we have done.  Our God is a good and loving God but at the same time a just and righteous  God, and justice demands that people be rewarded for their wicked deeds.