Q: Many times in the Old Testament GOD stayed His hand from righteous punishment to peoples that broke His commandments. Yet, the end days wrath seems to be written in stone. Does not GOD have the right to change the outcome of history any way He sees fit? The second coming of Christ is a glorious, wonderful event that all of mankind waits for. BUT GOD IS GOD.
A: Absolutely, God does reserve the right to change the outcome of history. After all, He is the Creator of all things. If He were to decide to change the outcome of future events then we would have no choice, but to accept His decision. However, the Old Testament events you speak of where He withheld punishment or changed His mind are just a foreshadow of the overall End Time events you mention and a sign of His love and patience. In 1 Peter 3:20, the Bible says, "God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built." This is a sign of God's love for the inhabitants of the world during the time in which Noah was building the Ark. God said, "My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years (Genesis 6:3)."God, despite the wickedness and evil mankind was displaying, gave the inhabitants of the earth 120 years to change their ways while Noah built the Ark. The average lifespan of a person in the United States is about 78 years old depending on the source. That is still over 40 years short of the time God allowed for mankind to repent before He flooded the earth. That is an example of patience that no human is capable of showing.
Later on in the book of Genesis, chapter 18, we have the story of the Lord, on His way to judge the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, meeting with Abraham. When Abraham was made aware of the Lord's plan to destroy the cities because of their wickedness, he pleaded with the Lord to spare them. Abraham asks the Lord not to destroy the cities if there are fifty righteous people, then forty-five, forty people, all the way down to ten righteous people. The Lord patiently indulges Abraham as he keeps pleading for God not to destroy the cities. Each time Abraham asked a question God responded with, "For the sake of [number of people] I will not destroy it." First we have mankind given 120 years to repent and turn to God. Now, we have Abraham begging the Lord to spare Sodom and Gomorrah if there at least ten righteous people living there. It is examples like these, on a grand scale and at personal levels, that lead to statements like Paul makes in Romans. "But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed (Romans 2:5)." One must ask "How patient must God be for someone to turn to Him for salvation?"
After God destroyed the earth He made a covenant with all mankind saying, "Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life (Genesis 9:15)." It has been literally thousands of years since the Flood. If anything can be taken from all this it is that God's patience has increased as time has gone on. Unfortunately, the wickedness of mankind seems to have no end. However, rather than breaking His covenant with mankind and destroying life on earth again, God came down to us and took our wrath for us. In a prophesy about the coming of Jesus Christ, the prophet Isaiah wrote, "Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed (Isaiah 53:4-5)."Instead of sending flood waters or burning sulfur from the sky to destroy us for our sins, Jesus Christ took the full brunt of God's wrath upon Himself! This is the ultimate act of love shown by God towards all mankind. "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God (1 Peter 3:18)."
The global Flood, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and, ultimately, the death of Jesus Christ were all punishment for sin. Thankfully, Christ's death means that God is no longer judging mankind for our sins. As I write this, an 8.8 magnitude earthquake has rocked the country of Chile. Some may see this as a judgment of God. However, I see it as yet one more wake up call for mankind to realize that God's patience will again run out some day soon. He will never again flood the earth, but He does promise that "the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare (2 Peter 3:10)." God could change future events, but will extending His patience have any more effect on the hearts and minds of wicked men who have little to no interest in His offer of salvation? The Bible says that men "deliberately forget (2 Peter 3:5)" and that "men are without excuse (Romans 1:20)." There will no doubt be those who don't accept Jesus Christ as their savior and wish they had more time in which to do so. To them it would be easy for God to say, "I built an Ark, but you did not listen. I looked for ten righteous people, but you did not listen. I even sent sent my Son, but you did not listen. What else did I have to do?" The Second Coming of Christ is a glorious Day for the Body of Christ, but a Day of dread for unbelievers. Keep preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ so that some might be saved before Day of the Lord arrives.
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