Hey Now, Don't Dream It's Over

Most people assume the Wrath of God has been appeased since Jesus sacrificed Himself on the cross that fateful day. Especially Christians. I’ve met a lot of people who refuse to believe God would actually harm people, and that it’s “only their sin that is getting them hurt”. Well, that is true too, but Christ’s death has not relieved godless heathens from God’s judgment. Heck, followers of Jesus aren’t even completely exempt (Romans 14:12). Every day we see examples of God enacting penance for the ways of the world, and I know I’ll probably be crucified (no pun intended) for saying this, but Hurricane Katrina is the perfect example.

You take a city like New Orleans, make it home to the most perverse, godless, depraved acts of mankind, and of course God will see it the way He saw Sodom and Gomorrah. Think about it. New Orleans, really Louisiana in general, is voodoo capital of the United States. It hosts Mardi Gras, which is supposed to be the celebration leading up to Lent, one of the holiest and most important aspects of Jesus’ life. You can find out more about it here. As a way of celebrating Jesus’ time in the desert people get drunk, flash their boobs in the streets, and have crazy orgies in the hotels. Sounds like the part in Mark 11:15 where Jesus overturned tables in the temple.

Then, to top it off, the city has been this way for a very long time. “But what about the good people? What about the Christians?” First off, read Psalm 53 then think about the state of that city. If there were so many so-called ‘decent Christians’ living there the citizens’ practices would have floundered and the rest of the country would have noticed. However, this city remained to be one the most offensive, blasphemous, godless cities the world has to offer and was required to pay the price. God is still angry. He will always be angry until the rapture. He is still jealous, He is still great, He is still merciful, why would He stop being angry? Look at the accounts of Jesus’ death. Towards the end of His life He shouted “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani” which means “Father, Father why have You forsaken me?” I’m sure atheists and deists have a field day with this one. But, Jesus did not shout this because He was dying and was angry at God, it was because He was momentarily abandoned by God. It was at this point when all the world’s sins—past, present, and future—came upon the Christ and He became so ugly, so horrific in God’s eyes that the Heavenly Father couldn’t even stand to look at Him. This is great proof that Jesus is who He said He is, because He actually knew that God had temporarily left Him.

If the Father can completely turn away from the Son at this moment of sinfulness, imagine His reaction to our lives. This wasn’t Old Testament times anymore, this was a little less than 2000 years ago and God reacts thusly. We see examples in the book of Acts where God exacts justice. He never stopped being angry, He only started giving more grace because of Jesus. It is more true than ever now, accept Christ or die. Remember in Revelations a key point is that it will only get worse before it gets better. God still does kill people, only it’s become “Politically Incorrect” to say such a thing. God doesn’t change, people do. As one last little example to prove God is still mighty and powerful, when I was struggling with my porn addiction I held my Bible and asked God for a passage to help me. You know which one He gave me? The beginning of Ezekiel 7, the first six or seven verses. He could have shown me 1 Timothy 5:2 or Colossians 3:5, basically anything about sexual immorality, but He chose that particular message as a means of displaying His anger and hatred of sin.

Don’t be the lizard.