God's wrath against sin occurs when He reveals Himself to them after the resurrection. This is the destiny of all (save the few exceptions who aren't resurrected). If they have been healed from their sin, then their is no sin, suffering, pain or death when they are resurrected in the first resurrection. On the other hand, for those who have not been healed, their is weeping and gnashing of teeth when God reveals His goodness to them.

God is not arbitrarily keeping tabs on sins, and marking books. He is trying to heal people from the damage of sin, and prepare them so that when they meet Him, they will be happy, rather than destroyed. It is a person's own sin which causes their suffering and death, not an arbitrarily imposed action on the part of God because of His displeasure.

The light of the glory of God which gives life to the righteous slays the wicked.

May I clarify a point, please Tom?:

There are recording angels, "writing" (could be much more advanced then feather and parchment, actually) down every deed, good or bad. Each of us is assigned one.

So who are they for? God needs no book-keepers; He knows all as soon as it happens. Therefore they must be for:

1) The trillions of beings (angelic and not)who are pinning the continued hope of the universe that God will win the Great Battle against His character's accuser, Satan. They will need proof they we the human survivors are utterly sanitary from the Sin Disease, body and mind before they would feel safe re-admitting the Earthly race into the normal streams of eternal union with them and Him.

2) For ourselves. Humans forget very quickly, a symptom of sin.

Certainly. I was speaking of for the purpose of punishment, so He could inflict the appropriate amount of pain for each given offence.

Gotcha! I'm trying to keep folks from thinking you were saying there were NO records; you were detailing their true purposes, as was I.

So will God's opposition to sin and revulsion against sin start to exist only at a specific moment in time _ that is, the second resurrection?

Phil,

quote:

---

Others simply ignore the words which they are unable to understand or do not really desire to accept, while they carefully collect the opposite set, building their faith accordingly.

---

Precisely so, and that's exactly what you've done with your "God does not kill" ideas. He does leave us to our choices, but in the end He will perform His "strange act." At times prior to then He has killed also, or has commanded His (unfallen) angels to do so. There are so many crystal-clear statements to that effect that none need err as you're doing.

You're taking statements such as the ones you've quoted above, and are using them to try and negate many others that show that God does indeed kill (not murder), and will do so at the end of the millennium. What we need to do is to harmonize all of the statements on the subject, but this you simply refuse to do.

John To accuse the ones who are posting the many many apparent "conflicting" Scriptural/SOP statements of ignoring them is pretty far-fetched! I'm afraid it is you and others who are having a hard time discussing them, not those of us that are willing to face them.

Again you state that we are pushing "God does not kill"; this shows your lack of comprehension of this topic. We have never said that, but have attempted to show that He does not kill in the human manner, the human blood-thirsty revenge heart, the legal "eye-for-an eye" method of enraged kings and despots. Granted, the ancient linguistic manner and translational/cultural syntax often appears quite savage, but to us, the only acid test of the Father's actions, the Holy Spirit's actions is how Christ Himself acted on earth.

If you would please at least comment on these SOP "counter statements" about destruction, you may gain much:


"God destroys no man. Everyone who is destroyed will have destroyed himself." Christ's Object Lessons, 84.

"God destroys no one." Testimonies 5:120.

"God does not stand toward the sinner as an executioner of the sentence against transgression; but He leaves the rejecters of His mercy to themselves, to reap that which they have sown. Every ray of light rejected, every warning despised or unheeded, every passion indulged, every transgression of the law of God, is a seed sown, which yields its unfailing harvest, The Spirit of God, persistently resisted, is at last withdrawn from the, sinner, and then there is left no power to control the evil passions of the soul, and no protection from the malice and enmity of Satan." The Great Controversy, 36.

"Satan is the destroyer. God cannot bless those who refuse to be faithful stewards. All He can do is to permit Satan to accomplish his destroying work. We see calamities of every kind and in every degree corning upon the earth, and why? The Lord's restraining power is not exercised. The world has disregarded the word of God. They live as though there were no God. Like the inhabitants of the Noachic world, they refuse to have any thought of God. Wickedness prevails to an alarming extent, and the earth is ripe for the harvest." Testimonies 6:388, 389.

"This earth has almost reached the place where God will permit the destroyer to work his will upon it." Testimonies 7:141.

"God keeps a reckoning with the nations. Not a sparrow falls to the ground without His notice. Those who work evil toward their fellow men, saying, How doth God know? will one day be called upon to meet long- deferred vengeance. In this age a more than common contempt is shown to God. Men have reached a point in insolence and disobedience which shows that their cup of iniquity is almost full. Many have well-nigh passed the boundary of mercy. Soon God will show that He is indeed the living God. He will say to the angels, 'No longer combat Satan in his efforts to destroy. Let him work out his malignity upon the children of disobedience; for the cup of their iniquity is full. They have advanced from one degree of wickedness to another, adding daily to their lawlessness. I will no longer interfere to prevent the destroyer from doing his work." The Review and Herald, September 17, 1901.

When Jesus was asked to destroy the Samaritans who had rejected Him, He replied to His disciples, "Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village." Luke 9:55, 56.

"There can be no more conclusive evidence that we possess the spirit of Satan than the disposition to hurt and destroy those who do not appreciate our work, or who act contrary to our ideas." The Desire of Ages, 487.

"Rebellion was not to be overcome by force. Compelling power is found only under Satan's government. The Lord's principles are not of this order. His authority rests upon goodness, mercy and love; and the presentation of these principles is the means to be used. God's government is moral, and truth and love are to be the prevailing power." ibid., 759.

"The exercise of force is contrary to the principles of God's government; He desires only the service of love; and love cannot be commanded; it cannot be won by force or authority." ibid., 22.

We know that God does nothing that is contrary to the principles of His government. Therefore, He does not use force.

"Sickness, suffering, and death are work of an antagonistic power. Satan is the destroyer; God is the restorer." The Ministry of Healing, 113.