Scarcer Than Pure Gold

Q

Your comments said that God is jealous and gets angry, He is just and righteous. I agree, but what do I say to those who believe that God is Love so he can’t get jealous or angry?

A

This is a great question. Here’s the answer. God is not arbitrary, nor is He contradictory. Therefore He can’t express any of His attributes at the expense of any other. Throughout the Old Testament times, He was constrained from expressing His love for His creation because His needs for justice and righteousness had not been met. During those times He was known as an angry and jealous God who periodically brought judgment upon the disobedient world.

At the cross His needs for justice and righteousness were finally met and He was free to express His love. In Colossians 1:19-20 Paul said God has reconciled Himself to all things by making peace through the blood of Jesus, shed on the cross.

Although only those in the Church accepted the sacrifice that made this peace with God possible, the whole world has been blessed by God’s love for the Church, in that His anger against those who rejected Him has been held in check. Because of the presence of the Church in the world, love has now become God’s most obvious attribute.

But one day soon, He’ll take the Church out of the world (1 Thes. 4:16-17). Once we’re gone God will vent the full fury of His wrath on those who’ve refused the most incredible gift of love the world has ever known, and by the time it’s over man will be scarcer than pure gold (Matt. 24:21-22, Isaiah 13:12).

Then His need for justice and righteousness will have been satisfied, and only those who believe in Him will be left. He’ll be free to express His love again, and peace will flow like a river across the world (Isaiah 66:12).

Sadly, even after 1,000 years of His peace, natural man will reject Him once again, and there will be one final rebellion and judgment (Rev. 20:7-10). After that, Heaven and Earth will enjoy peace with God forever.