Can we identify God's acts of judgment today or in recent history?

 Can we identify God’s acts of judgment today or in recent history? (Part 1 of 3)

Scripture reveals many ways in which Jesus is at work in our world, ways that we can identify Him, and through “seeing” Him, praise Him, work with Him, and make Him known to others. Clearest of these ways are things He said He would do, and these have been discussed in my previous blogs.  But are there other whole categories of ways that it is possible to see Jesus at work around us? One of these categories I want to consider in this blog is His acts of judgment. This will not be a review of all of what Scripture says about God’s acts of judgment. 

In communion we remember and celebrate the judgment of the cross.  We rejoice that the ruler of this world has been judged (John 16:8) and that when Jesus died and rose “judgment (was) now upon this world and now the ruler of this world (was) cast out.” (John 12:31).  I will not discuss any of the many passages that speak of God’s judgment in a future time, future from when the passages were written and mostly future from our day as well.  But both Old and New Testaments also contain many passages that document God acting in judgment in present time.  Has He continued to do so in recent times and in our lifetime? And if so, are there good reasons to look for Jesus in conditions in our day and/or the history of our city similar to those which Scripture revealed were His actions of judgment?

Before I refer to specific passages, as an introduction I want to pull out a few statements from Leon Morris’s The Biblical Doctrine of Judgment, Tyndale Press, 1960.

Judgment, as the Hebrews came to understand it, is first and foremost an activity of God. [p. 7]

Basically, judgment is the process whereby one discerns between the right and the wrong and takes action as a result. [p. 17]

The Old Testament writers insist that the Lord is active in judging. Over and over they use the various judgment words to describe His activity past, present and future. [p. 20]

The New Testament makes it clear that God is engaged upon a present activity of judging…. An understanding of the activity of the Lord in judging His people here and now can be a powerful incentive to Christian men. It gives a dignity and a meaning to all of life. Everywhere in the Bible judgment has this characteristic. It incites men to self-examination and repentance. It is never merely a threat. [p. 45]

Leon Morris cities one and only one example in his book from U.S. history, quoting Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War:

“‘Fondly do we hope―fervently do we pray―that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman’s two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said, ‘The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.’” [p. 47]

President Lincoln was obviously holding the possibility that the Civil War was God’s judgment on the nation for the evils of slavery.

The history of Idaho Falls and Southeast Idaho are full of times or events that in the Old or New Testament have been connected with God’s acts of judgment: plagues, epidemics, droughts, floods, destructive storms, destructive fires, loss of life…  I compiled a list of 100 of these that span from 1879 to 2019, and I’m sure that many more could be added to my list.  Are any of them cases of God’s judgment?  Can we discern God speaking to His people, calling them to repent, through the windstorm of 1886 that reduced the population of Eagle Rock by two-thirds (not by loss of life, but loss of employment), or the fire that destroyed the entire business district of Idaho Falls in 1904, or the plagues of crickets from 1914 to 1916, or the severe drought of 1919 in which no rain fell for over 100 days in late spring and summer, or the severe storm that passed through Eastern Idaho in 1954 that flooded many basements in town and ruined nearly half the potato crop of the area?  This blog, in three parts, will try to answer this question.

1. Review of passages from the New Testament; God’s judgment on believers or churches

a.  Acts 5:1-11

The apostles witnessed the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira.  Peter and perhaps other apostles knew beforehand that because of the couple’s deception regarding their gift to the church, God would take their lives. It would be interesting to know whether the apostles had just had a prayer meeting before Ananias and then Sapphira came in to them, and if so, exactly what their prayers were regarding this couple. But the passage concludes, “And great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard of these things.”  So assuming this was an act of God’s judgment, which I think is reasonable, there was a benefit in seeing it as such and sharing it with both the church and the community.

            b. I Corinthians 11:27-34

In this passage, God’s judgment is explicit. Paul writes that the reason many in the church of Corinth were weak and sick, and quite a few had died, was because of God’s judgment due to their careless participation in the Lord’s supper, of their failing to examine themselves and hence taking communion in an unworthy manner. Paul writes to the church, “But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.”  Paul took the weakness, sickness and deaths he saw in the church of Corinth as God’s judgment and explained to the church God’s purpose – that those who take the Lord ’s Supper in an unworthy manner would not be condemned with the world.  Attributing the sicknesses and deaths solely to other causes would have been a mistake for the Corinthian church.

            c. Hebrews 12:5-13

The fact that God disciplines His children is also present in the book of Hebrews. Recognizing it as such, as discipline from the Lord, leads to acceptance of difficult circumstances, endurance, holiness and the fruit of peace and righteousness.  Not recognizing the painful experiences as from the Lord would likely lead to resisting them and missing out on God’s purposes and development of Christ-likeness.

            d. John 15:1-6

The Father prunes branches that are in Jesus, so that the branches that remain on the vine can produce more fruit. Articles on pruning grape vines recommend cutting off 90% of the total mass of the canes.  They also say that grapes are produced only on 1-year old canes; thus pruning involves cutting off the canes that have just produced grapes that year as well as much of the new growth.  It’s probably extending the analogy too far to think that pruning as drastic as this is needed either in a believer’s life or the life of a church. But can we err on the other side as well, by resisting all pruning, allowing all growth, new and old, to remain, regardless of how unfruitful it is?  

While I could go on at length discussing this passage, one thing that’s clear is that Jesus wants His disciples to be fruitful through abiding in Him.  Like other passages in the gospels about fruitfulness, that fruit is to be visible so that it testifies to the life of Jesus. Thus looking for God’s judgment through pruning is not as crucial as examining our lives and churches for fruitfulness, and when found lacking, looking to the Father to prune us and accepting that pruning as painful as it may be.

            e. II Thessalonians 1:4-5 & I Peter 4:12-17

Perhaps these passages in Thessalonians and I Peter identify exactly how the Father prunes the church, through persecution, affliction and suffering.  After Paul boasts about the Thessalonian believers’ endurance in tough times, he writes, “This is a plain indication of God’s righteous judgment so that you will be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed you are suffering.” So cases of persecution and affliction may be places to look for God at work, and the benefit of recognizing and enduring them being worthy of Go's kingdom.

I Peter 4:12-17 expands on what Paul wrote to the church in Thessalonica. Peter writes to the scattered believers that they should rejoice when they share the sufferings of Christ and are insulted for His name. He warns them that suffering for committing crime is of no benefit, only suffering for their faith, concluding, "For it is time for judgment to begin, starting with the house of God." 

            f. Revelation Chapters 2 & 3

The first of the seven churches of Revelation, in Ephesus, sounds like a pretty good church. Acts 19:10 documents that the church was evangelical, taking the gospel to all of Asia.  Jesus commends them for the works, their perseverance, discernment of good and evil and not putting up with false apostles.  They have endured much for Jesus’ name and not grown weary.  Yet Jesus tells them that unless they realize that they have departed from their first love, repent and do the deeds they did earlier, He will remove their lampstand.  Since their lampstand is symbolic of the church itself, the vessel that allows Christ’s light to shine, I take removal of the lampstand to mean that they will no longer have His presence with them!  This should give us pause, and cause us to reflect on how Jesus views our churches.

The Father’s pruning of the church in Smyrna is evidently more severe and hence there is no word of correction for this church.

Apparently the church in Pergamum resisted the removal of those among them that followed the teaching of Balaam and also those who follow the teachings of the Nicolaitans.  So if they don’t repent, the Lord promises to come quickly to make war against them with the sword of His mouth.

The church of Thyatira was too tolerant of a woman who was leading believers astray in several ways. So the Lord made her sick with a deadly disease and promised to do the same to her partners and her followers if they would not repent.

The church in Sardis thought they were alive but in the Lord’s eyes were dead. If they did not repent, wake up and complete their deeds, Jesus said that He would come to them like a thief and presumably they would suffer great loss.

Jesus promises the church in Philadelphia that He is coming soon, but for relief rather than like a thief.

The church in Laodicea could easily represent the church down through the ages.  Jesus tells them, “All those I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent!” Neither hot nor cold, the Laodicea church is content and unaware that in the Lord’s eyes they are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.  They are also apparently unaware that the Lord is not among them, but standing at their door, knocking.

With the exception of how Jesus deals with Jezebel and her followers in the church of Thyatira, most of the Lord’s actions in judgment of the churches involve His coming or going.  He departs, or He comes as a thief, comes to rebuke, comes to save or He knocks on the door seeking entrance.  This suggests a way that we can discern His judgment, or equivalently, our need to repent as a church - is the Lord among us? Do we know His presence?  Do we see Him at work? Are we content being lukewarm and unaware of His absence and His attempts to fill us with His presence? 

In addition to the Lord’s actions of correction, these two chapters contain additional things the Lord says that He would do for those who overcome in the different churches:

•          Grant them permission to eat from the tree of life in the Paradise of God. (2:7)
•          Keep them from harm from the second death. (2:11)
•          Give them hidden manna and a stone with a new name. (2:17)
•          Give them authority over the nations. (2:26)
•          Dress them in white clothing and not erasing their names from the book of life. (3:5)
•          Write on them the name of God and the city of God and Jesus’ new name. (3:12)
•          Grant permission for them to sit with Jesus on His throne. (3:21)

Summary

From this brief review of the above Scripture passages, I conclude that there is a need for us as the church to consider ways in which the Lord may be judging us as His people.  Without becoming like Job’s friends who assumed Job’s sickness were a sign of his sin, we should not automatically rule it out but take it to the Lord and seek His word.  What seems to be the common thread in these passages is that the Lord acts to bring His children to repentance.  While pinpointing God’s acts of judgment in the history of our city or area may be extremely difficult, looking for events and beliefs and practices that invite His judgment and call for repentance may keep us becoming like the church in Laodicea – lukewarm, wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.

Part 2 of this blog will review additional New Testament passages, those that speak of God’s ways of judgment on unbelievers or the society as a whole.  There is a massive amount of material on God’s acts of judgment in the Old Testament, and Part 3 of this blog will review a few of these passages.