God does not wish to bring judgment upon America, but He will. God does not wish to condemn anyone to hell, but he will. Why do I say this? Because God Himself says it.
I’ve been reading in Isaiah of late and comparing the burden of the LORD against the nations which were neighbors to Old Testament Israel and Judah and then comparing that to the fulfillment of those prophecies in history. In some cases world powers were overthrown and wiped out in a single night. Nations and kingdoms which were the envy of the civilized world were reduced to rubble and ashes. Again and again, accounts from secular history show the fulfillment of the warnings recorded by the prophets.
And, of course, the warnings of impending judgment for wickedness and pride did not stop with Israel’s surrounding nations and peoples. God warned His own people of the judgment which would come upon them because of their rejection of Him and His Word, for their turning aside into the ways of the world around them. Again, God’s Word was fulfilled. Not only did the neighboring nations harass and threaten God’s people, the Assyrians destroyed Israel and much of Judah and carried away those not killed as captives. And though God spared Jerusalem and Judah from utter destruction under the Assyrians, He sent the Babylonians to conquer and destroy God’s people and carry away a remnant as captives and slaves.
Why? They disobeyed God’s law and rejected His Word. Instead of trusting in the LORD God who gave them the land, they neglected His Word and walked in the ways of the ungodly nations around them. Did God wish to judge and destroy them? No. He warned them repeatedly and called upon them again and again to repent and return unto Him. Did God judge them? Yes, because they rejected Him and lived according to their own morals and values.
God commanded Ezekiel to say to them (33:11): “‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’”
Through Isaiah, God said (1:18-20): “’Come now, and let us reason together,’ says the Lord, ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword’; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
God did not desire to judge and condemn His people. He desired that His people repent and return to Him for mercy and forgiveness and then live in accord with His Word. Why did He then judge? Because, ultimately, the people did not repent and return to Him.
Does God desire to judge America? No, His first and primary desire is that the American people repent and return to Him and the truths of His Word. Will He judge America? Yes. He is a just God who punishes iniquity, transgression and sin (Ex. 20:5; 34:7). How could He not judge America for turning aside from Him and from the Bible and placing trust in our nation’s greatness and military might? How could He overlook the abominations our government protects — the killing of millions of unborn and the perversion of marriage and sexuality? How could He not punish a nation which calls good evil and evil good? Unless America and its people repent, judgment is coming and it may be swift and without mercy!
Does God wish to condemn you or anyone else to hell? The answer, of course, is no. When speaking of God’s delay in judging this world, the apostle Peter wrote: “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9). Did you get that? God is allowing this sinful and evil world to go on a little longer — He suffers it long — because it is not His will that anyone suffer eternal death and punishment in hell but that all repent and look to Him for mercy and forgiveness in Christ Jesus, who suffered and died for the sins of all and rose again on the third day. God does not desire to judge and condemn you to the fires of hell. He desires that you repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ!
Will God judge and condemn people to hell? If you listen to many of today’s preachers, you might think no one will be condemned and hell will be an empty place. But that’s not what Jesus said. According to Jesus, “He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels’” (Matt. 25:41). The apostle Paul wrote to the Thessalonians that the “Lord Jesus [will be] revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” (2 Thess. 1:7-9). Will people be condemned to the fires of hell? Most definitely!
Since God’s first and primary will is for our salvation, He sent His Son to redeem us and He is giving to each of us and to every other human being living in this world opportunity to consider His Word, repent and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sins and for life everlasting in Christ’s heavenly kingdom. But, yes, if we do not repent and look to the Lord Jesus Christ and His cross for mercy and forgiveness, we will be condemned to the eternal fires of hell!
To quote the words of Mark 16:16, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (cf. John 3:18,36).
Randy Moll is the managing editor of the Westside Eagle Observer and pastor at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Rogers. He may be contacted at [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.