25:1 And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab.
25:2 And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods.
25:3 And Israel joined himself unto Baalpeor: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel.
25:4 And the LORD said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the LORD against the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may be turned away from Israel.
25:5 And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, Slay ye every one his men that were joined unto Baalpeor.
25:6 And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who [were] weeping [before] the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
25:7 And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw [it], he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand;
25:8 And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel.
25:9 And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand.
25:10 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
25:11 Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy.
25:12 Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace:
25:13 And he shall have it, and his seed after him, [even] the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel.
25:14 Now the name of the Israelite that was slain, [even] that was slain with the Midianitish woman, [was] Zimri, the son of Salu, a prince of a chief house among the Simeonites.
25:15 And the name of the Midianitish woman that was slain [was] Cozbi, the daughter of Zur; he [was] head over a people, [and] of a chief house in Midian.
25:16 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
25:17 Vex the Midianites, and smite them:
25:18 For they vex you with their wiles, wherewith they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a prince of Midian, their sister, which was slain in the day of the plague for Peor's sake.

Justice is doing the right thing. But the right thing is not always what seems right to you.

That's right. But I'm not the only one.

God has given in His word decisive evidence that He will punish the transgressors of His law. Those who flatter themselves that He is too merciful to execute justice upon the sinner, have only to look to the cross of Calvary. ... And every soul that refuses to become a partaker of the atonement provided at such a cost must bear in his own person the guilt and punishment of transgression. – {GC 539.3}

Just because God is not sitting there waiting to punish sinners doesn't mean he won't. All good fathers know that. Someday, if you ever have kids, you will understand what that means.

It is time to take off your filter.

And that seems to be the crux of the issue. There are those who say in their hearts, "I wouldn't do that, so God cannot do that." They have made themselves their own gods.

The right way to approach it is the exact opposite: God did something I wouldn't do, so there must be something wrong with me. Lord, help my unbelief.

If we want to know what God is like, look to Jesus. Look at his judgment and condemnation. The woman taken in adultery. And how did He treat those that accused her? It is God's kindness that draws us to repentance. But some don't like this picture of God.

Asygo :Keeping to the thread, will there be punishment at the end?

Elle : End of what? Great White Throne Judgment or the Great Jubilee(49,000 yrs after Adam)?

At the Judgment of the great white throne it says very clearly in Is 26:9 that the Judgment will produce righteousness in the inhabitants.

At the end of the Great Jubilee, it is law that all slaves are set free whether their debt is fully paid or not. This is LAW and prophecy showing what the mind of the Lord has planned from the beginning. The Lord will fulfill His Jubilee and free all humans.

So NO there's no punishment which that word has the Babylonian Judicial system written all over it. This is far from the Lords ways.

Asygo : I'm talking about the end of sin, when God restores everything. Will anyone be punished? Or will everyone be treated the same?

You are exactly right. Justice is doing the right thing. But the right thing is not always what seems right to you. Sometimes the right thing is to feed your enemies and to pray for them. Sometimes the right thing is to kill them. BOTH of these aspects of justice and judgment are clearly taught in the Bible.

Focusing on one side of the truth will never make the other side false. Truth is truth. Those who are imbalanced may not realize what is truth.

For a worthy example of this principle of executing justice and judgment in righteousness, one may look at Numbers 25.



Who did the honorable thing in the above story? It was the high priest's grandson. What was promised him for his deed? An everlasting covenant of priesthood. What deed secured for him this covenant from God?

Blessings,

Green Cochoa.

Green, consider the following:
Hebrews 1:1-3 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 Has in these last days spoken to us by his Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; 3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:

John 1:17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came about through Jesus Christ.

On the way they met Elijah, and instead of a message from the idol, the king heard the awful denunciation from the God of Israel, “Thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.” [2 Kings 1:4.] It was Christ that bade Elijah speak these words to the apostate king. Jehovah Immanuel had cause to be greatly displeased at Ahaziah's impiety. What had Christ not done to win the hearts of Israel, and to inspire them with unwavering confidence in himself? For ages he had visited his people with manifestations of the most condescending kindness and unexampled love. From the time of the patriarchs, he had shown how his “delights were with the sons of men.” [Proverbs 8:31.] He had been a very present help to all who sought him in sincerity. “In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the Angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them.” [Isaiah 63:9.] Yet Israel had revolted from God, and turned for help to the Lord's worst enemy. {CTBH 112.1}

The above response by APL to my post seems confusing at best. I'm not sure what was meant. It appears to my mind that APL is trying to say that God has changed. My post cited an Old Testament incident. APL seems to say God is different now, because He has now spoken to us by His Son. But Who was the spokesperson in those "times past?"

We should know Who has spoken to us in the Old Testament. In just one example of many, Mrs. White related the following.



Blessings,

Green Cochoa.