In the biblical countdown of events leading up to the end of the world, God is often represented as exercising His power to levy punishment and sufferings upon the wicked. But is this the kind of God we read about in the scriptures? Are we to believe that the divine power that was once used for our protection is now to be exercised in the destruction of those who are not in deal with his Maker? If we are to hold this view of God then we have to admit that whether He is not the man He claims to be, or He is often represented in the scriptures as doing all the bad things that He merely permits.
In his second epistle, the apostle Peter thus describes the character of God towards the wicked:
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"The Lord is not slack about his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." 2Pet. 3:9
Accordingly, the prophet Ezekiel declared:
"For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye." Ezek. 18:32
It has never been God's intention to hurt any one of us. He has no pleasure in our sufferings. According to the scriptures, hell fire was never intended for us but was "prepared for the Devil and his angels" (Matt. 25:41). Anything happens to the wicked will come as a effect of their solidarity with Satan in their sinful practices. There are so many things that God can do to bring an end to this world's ills, and the destruction of the wicked is just one method. In His infinite wisdom, God must have considered this to be the most thorough means of punishment.
It is quite tasteless for many observers, in their countdown of end-of-the-world events, to suggest that God will use His miraculous power to send fire upon the earth and destroy the wicked. In other words, He will actively retaliate against every one who is not on His side. This view does not only contradict the general Bible teaching about the kind of man God is, but it also ignores the fact that there are many texts that attribute to God disastrous events that He does not interpose to prevent. Here are some examples:
1. God is represented as the One who killed King Saul (1Chron. 10:13, 14), but the fact of the story is that Saul was the one who fell on his own sword (1Sam. 31:4).
2. God is represented as sending strong delusions in the last days to deceive the wicked, but it will certainly be the work of Satan who will work with "all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness" (2Thess. 2:8, 9).
3. God is said to be the one who attempt to destroy Job (Job 2:3), but it was, in fact, Satan who tried to kill him (Job 1:9-12).
4. It is said that God is the One who send the fire that destroyed Job's sheep (Job 1:16), but from the story it was the work of Satan (Job 1:9-12).
5. The Bible said that God "moved" David to whole the habitancy in Israel (2Sam. 24:1), but it was in fact Satan who caused him to do it (1Chron. 21:1).
Attributing the work of Satan to God is clearly a manner of speaking governed by the belief that because God is sovereign, He has total control over what He prevents and what He permits. But in some of these cases in the scriptures, there is also the evidence that it was ordinarily believed that natural disasters come from God. As you peruse God's role in end-of-the-world events, you should allow your study to be guided by these different situations. In light of this observation, the positive demand is, what will then happen at the Second Coming?
In my contemplation of God's role in the prophetic countdown of events relating to the end of the world, I find the story of Gideon in the book of Judges very instructive. It was about how God uses three hundred men to defeat thousands of warriors of Midian. In this so-called war all that Gideon army did was to blow a trumpet, break a pitcher, and shout, "the sword of the Lord, and of Gideon" and cause the vast army of Midian to kill one another. You can read this story in Judges 7.
Interestingly, that seem to be a similar scenario to what is chronicled in the book of Zechariah. In his countdown of end-of-the-world events, the prophet Zechariah declares:
"And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the Lord shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour." Zech. 14:13
With the present amassing of nuclear weaponry as a major part of making ready for war, it is not difficult to believe that man will one day destroy themselves. Considering the fact that nuclear energy, in the quantity in which it is now available, is capable of destroying this world 30 times over, could it be that the world will end in a conflagration on inventory of the wicked turning against each other?
As we effect the countdown of end of the world events, and the many warnings about how the Lord will destroy the wicked, you need to consider the curses that sin has brought upon the world. The entrance of sin is weighed with eternal consequences which our merciful God has been restraining for thousands of years in general because His dear Son, from the beginning, has pledged to take our place (Rev. 13:8; St. Jn 1:29). Those who refuse this provision will finally suffer the natural consequences and perish, while those who accept the Lamb of God as their Substitute will have everlasting life (St. Jn 3:16).
God does not warn us about a judgment because He is planning to kill all those who are not with Him. Every word of exhortation to turn from our sins is an attempt to shield us from the natural results of pursuing a life of transgression. The final consequences of sin will be seen in the ultimate wickedness of men towards his fellowmen at Christ's return.
End of the World Countdown: Why Would a Merciful God Use His Power to Send Fire Upon the Earth?
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