(347) – WRATH 3

 

Wrath is a soul movement, which makes it cruel, touchy, angry, evil tempered, blind to virtues, vengeful and murderous. Wrath is a satanic passion; therefore John reveals that Satan was at war with Michael—two armies of angels in mortal confrontation. Satan certainly wished to establish his throne in heaven. But Satan did not prevail, and he was cast to the earth with his angels to deceive men. The earth was invaded by these dark spirits and conquered. Paul says: “For the creation was subjected to vanity, not of its own will, but because of him who subjected it, in hope” (Rom. 8:20). And Satan and his angels perverted men and their wives, planting vanity in their hearts; therefore Paul says: “That the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of decay into the liberty of the glory of the children of God” (Rom. 8:21). And John closes his revelation saying that Satan descended to us in Great wrath, knowing that he does not have much time left (Rev. 12:12). Jesus Christ is the only one who can brake the fetters of vanity and corruption, and deliver men from the grip of Satan. Jesus appeared to Paul in person and said to him in order to set him as ministry and witness to the things to come concerning the kingdom of God the Father, and also about his mission: “To open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me” (At. 26:18).

Just as wrath is peculiar to the devil, it is peculiar also to the fools; therefore Solomon tells us: “The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood” (Prov. 12:16). It is incredible that Jehovah, or Yahweh, also showed great anger, for he becomes angry every day (Ps. 7:11). And each time he gets angry he sends pestilences, plagues, and blasting fire from heaven. Once, when David carried the ark of the covenant of Jehovah from the house of Abinadab to Jerusalem, the cart carrying it tipped to one side and Uzzah, the son of Abinadab who watched the ark, took hold of it in his zeal. The wrath of Jehovah was kindled, and stroke Uzzah and he died. Solomon has very well said that the wrath of the fool is recognized on the same day. Moses was misinformed when he said that Jehovah is slow to anger (Ex. 34:6).

Solomon said another proverb: “A stone is heavy, and sand is a burden; but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both” (Prov. 27:3). What is foolishness? It is that which lacks sense, opposed to reason, contrary to every good sense. Let us reason together: it is not wise to send two female bears to kill 42 boys because Elisha had cursed them (2 Kings 2:23-24). David is another thing altogether. When he committed adultery with Bathsheba, there was a child who was born from it. Jehovah overlooked the sin of David who had committed the crime and killed the innocent child (2 Sam. 12:15-19). This is contrary to reason and good sense. But Solomon tells us more, with the wisdom of Jehovah: “Don’t be hasty in your spirit to be angry, for anger rests in the bosom of fools” (Eccl. 7:9). This is to say that, the more foolish someone is, the more he gets angry. And Jehovah gets angry everyday, that is, he plays the fool every day. It is easy to prove that. The people of Israel asked Samuel to set a king over them, for the children of Samuel were not good men. Jehovah chose the new king. It is obvious that the people world praise and glorify the name of Jehovah, if the king were a good king. But Saul was disobedient, rebellious, and senseless. Then Jehovah said: “It grieves me that I have set up Saul to be king; for he is turned back from following me, and has not performed my commandments” (1 Sam. 15:11). It is not becoming for a god to choose a king for his people and afterwards repent from what he has done. He was demoralized as a fool in front of the people. The only means he depended on to force his people into submission was to send plagues and pestilences. It was a diabolic strategy, for one does not catch flies with vinegar.

 Every malignant spirit, or demon, is violent and wrathful. Once, when I was casting out an unclean spirit from a possessed man, the spirit threatened to kill me, to scare me. When it was coming out of the man, he put up a big show. Jesus delivered a demon-possessed man: “The unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him” (Mark 1:26). Jehovah put a malignant spirit in Saul, who was relieved only when David played his harp. The malignant spirit made Saul so furious that he tried to pierce David with his sword (1 Sam. 16:23; 18:10-11; 19:9-10). Well, Jehovah, when his fury is aroused for any reason, kills men, women and children. Jeremiah said that Jehovah “established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding has he stretched out the heavens” (Je. 51:15). And he gets angry like Satan, does he not? When he gets angry, does smoke come through his nostrils, consuming fire out of his mouth, and burning coals catch on fire about him, and darkness and gloom from under his feet? (2 Sam. 22:8-10). It is a real show from hell. He says that his wrath is kindled to the depths of hell (Deut. 32:22). Where is the divine understanding in these dark shows?

Jehovah condemns human sacrifices. He declares that such sacrifices desecrate his holy name (Lev. 18:21). Whoever committed such abomination would die (Lev. 20:2-5). But when his anger is kindled, he, filled with hatred, accepts human sacrifices just as Moloch does. In Baal Peor, when the Hebrews prostituted themselves with the Moabite women, led by Balaam, Jehovah ordered: “Take all the leaders of the people and execute them in broad daylight before Jehovah, so that the fierce anger of Jehovah may turn away from Israel” (Num. 25:4). How much wisdom there is in making himself like the idols!

But this is not all. The sin of Balaam was very serious and the fury of Jehovah went overboard when the crazy prophet followed the prophets of Moab to the presence of Balak, who whished to pay a high sum for a curse against Israel. The text says: “God’s anger was kindled because he went; and the angel of Jehovah placed himself in the way for an adversary against him” (Num. 22:22). Some Bibles say “adversary”, but the Hebrew originals render SHATAN (Satan). The angel repeats it again in verse thirty-two. The angel of Jehovah and Jehovah are the same person (Ex. 3:2-4; Gen. 22:15-16). Logic and reason demand that the angel would say, “I came to punish you,” or, “Jehovah sent me to punish you.” But to say that he came to be Satan leads us to conclude that when anger is too great Jehovah comes to the level of Satan. That was what happened when Jehovah grew angry with Israel for no reason. The kingdom was in perfect peace. David, already old, walked in the presence of Jehovah in righteousness, and proposed to build the house of Jehovah (1 Chr. 17:1-2). Since they were in peace, and there came a hunger of three years over them, David asked of Jehovah what was the reason for it. Jehovah answered him that he was angry with Saul (who had been dead for more than thirty years) for the wrath of Jehovah against someone can never be quenched (2 Sam. 21:1-14).

Without any apparent reason the Scriptures say: “Now again the anger of Jehovah burned against Israel, and it incited David against them to say, ‘Go, number Israel and Judah’” (2 Sam. 24:1). The narrative in the chronicles of Israel is different: “Then Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel” (1 Chr. 21:1).  Neither David nor the people of Israel had given reasons to Jehovah to be angry. Jehovah had simply flown into an unjustified rage and incited David to sin, that is, he provoked, instigated, moved, and David obeyed. The action of Jehovah was so improper and so criminal because his intention was to destroy the people, for he killed 70,000 men by pestilence (1 Chr. 21:11-14).

Luckily God, the Father, sent Jesus to reveal the character of the true God through the works of Jesus (John 10:31-32, 37-38; 14:6-11).

By Pastor Olavo Silveira Pereira

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