- Aug 3, 2007
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You don't think the bible says that god was warning them of what he was going to do them? When the bible says he was going to cause it? Since he was doing it, does it not reflect his character?
God was warning about consequences of human action; He is not arbitrary. Innocent people are victims of the misdeeds of evildoers. Since Jesus Christ is God, the Son of God the Father & says those who have seen Him have seen the Father (John 14:9). He said that his purpose was to save men's lives not destroy (Luke 9:52-56) & that individuals who died innocently by the sword or of natural disaster were victims (plain & simple) & that those of us who speculate otherwise need to consider the need for repentance before death might happen to us (Luke 13:1-5).
The Old Testament sainted prophets were speaking in the fear of the Lord which is still what we are commanded (Luke 12:4-5).They did not have the New Testament full understanding since God had not yet become one of us & spoken to us person to person. They went through a lot of anguish receiving divine revelation from God, the Holy Spirit seeing mostly tragedy & trying to sort it all out.
For 2000 years since the Lord summed up the law & prophets in the golden rule (Matthew 7:1-12, Luke 6:31-49) & the 2 great commands (Matthew 22:36-40, Luke 10: 25-37, Mark 12:38-44 etc.). Still the Lord affirms that the Old Testament is the word of God:
Luke 24:44-45 New King James Version (NKJV)
The Scriptures Opened
44 Then He said to them, These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me. 45 And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+24:44-45&version=NKJV
Again, going back to the examples of divine wrath vs. consequences of human sinning human cruelty. As was mentioned re Jeremiah 19:9:
9 And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and everyone shall eat the flesh of his friend in the siege and in the desperation with which their enemies and those who seek their lives shall drive them to despair.
We have to understand what preceded this:
Jeremiah 19:4-5 New King James Version (NKJV)
4 Because they have forsaken Me and made this an alien place, because they have burned incense in it to other gods whom neither they, their fathers, nor the kings of Judah have known, and have filled this place with the blood of the innocents 5 (they have also built the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings to Baal, which I did not command or speak, nor did it come into My mind),
Again, the prophet warned (like a tsunami was approaching & to go to higher ground or die):
Jeremiah 19:14-15 New King James Version (NKJV)
14 Then Jeremiah came from Tophet, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in the court of the Lords house and said to all the people, 15 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring on this city and on all her towns all the doom that I have pronounced against it, because they have stiffened their necks that they might not hear My words.
Now, again with Isaiah 13, the prophet is not only warning Judah but is also warning Babylon of consequences of their future iniquities over a century ahead. As I pointed out earlier, the proclamation against Babylon extends into Isaiah 14:1-11; the Lord mentions His mercy towards those of Judah & even Babylon who did not choose evil (Isaiah 14:1-2). So clearly individuals can choose to do good or evil in all sorts of circumstances ( the fear of the Lord tells me to examine myself in things like this). The collective role of Satan is revealed in Isaiah 14:12-21. Groups like the Medes, Babylonians etc. were collectively inclined to evil and had their sites already on many nations including Judah yet all were actually warned generations previous.
If you underestimate human free will and God's will re forbearance, judgment, etc. then why did God send the prophet Jonah to the Nineveh ( early 8th c. BC)unless He saw their propensity to repent? Regrettably, Nineveh lapsed back into deep sin about 150 years later ( late 7th c. BC) & was judged as proclaimed by the prophet Nahum.
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