Time's Up!

"But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the Earth and its works will be burned up." 2 Peter 3:8-10

A question a lot of skeptics of the Bible like to ask is, "If God is loving, then why did He kill so many people in the Old Testament?" It is an understandable question since many people equate a loving God with allowing people to live in His world, forever, regardless of whether they acknowledge Him as God. Many people, unable to reconcile a God of love with a God of wrath, walk away from the faith or become atheists. The Christian Post has an article titled, "Faith Crashers: Why Does God Kill People in the Old Testament?" It says, "Contemporary Christians have had a difficult time trying to come to grips with what they find in the Old Testament, especially those narratives that recount the destruction of whole groups of people by the acts of God," said Thomas Howe, a professor of Bible and Biblical Languages at Southern Evangelical Seminary in Matthews, North Carolina. "Non-Christians capitalize on this and attempt to undermine our faith by calling into question either the goodness of God or even His existence." An area that is missed in this judgment of God is His patience. One of the fruits of the Spirit is patience. It is a byproduct of God's love. Those who judge God often begin and end their criticism of Him at the judgment He administers. Is that a fair assessment of God's actions? Let's look at some examples.

The Flood

Genesis 7:23 says, "Every living thing on the face of the Earth was wiped out; people and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds were wiped from the Earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the Ark." It is easy to look at the results of the Flood, every living thing on the face of the Earth being wiped out, and conclude that God is not worthy of our faith since He killed an entire planet of living beings except for eight people. But, let's back up. Before the Flood, what do we read about God? In Genesis 6:3, God said, "My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years." God did not snap and flood the Earth like a short-tempered and abusive father. No, He allowed humanity 120 years to repent of their ways and change their mind. During this time, Noah built the Ark, and there is no record of anybody changing their mind. Just before the time ran out, God sent the animals He was saving to the Ark. What kind of spectacle was that to see? Yet, not one person repented of their evil ways. 120 years is a lot longer than the average person lives today. Therefore, God gave the people of the world more time than our current lifespan to turn to Him, but they chose to perish instead. How patient was He supposed to be? 

Pharoah's Army

Exodus 14:27-28 reads, "Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak, the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived." Through Moses, God destroyed Pharoah's entire army that chased the Jews after their release from slavery. Here again, people may wonder how God could destroy an entire army, which was just following the orders of their king. However, before this climactic ending to the Jewish Exodus from slavery, God tried multiple times to convince Pharoah to free the Jewish slaves. Exodus 7:3-4 says, "But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in Egypt, he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt, and with mighty acts of judgment, I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites." God would end up sending ten plagues on the people of Egypt to get Pharoah to release the Jews. Why did God do that? He did it because Pharoah's was stubborn and would not listen to the plea of Moses. God sent Moses to speak to Pharaoh on multiple occasions before and during the plagues. Pharaoh did not listen. After releasing the Jews, Pharoah's heart hardened again, and it cost him his army. Patience without a limit becomes enabling. God decided it was time to stop "enabling" Pharoah's stubbornness. 

The Lost World

Paul writes, in Galatians 5:22, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness ..." One of the fruits of the Spirit is patience. Nearly two thousand years ago, the wrath of God we see displayed during the Flood, the Exodus, and other places in the Old Testament was poured out on Jesus Christ on the cross. Instead of destroying humanity or an army, God destroyed Himself, in Christ Jesus, to take away the sins of the world. This act of love bought the world time for each individual to turn to Jesus Christ by faith and accept Him as their Savior. However, as it was during the days of Noah and during the Exodus, time will eventually run out. God gave the world 120 years to turn to Him before He sent the floodwaters. Pharaoh did not have as much time, but he had more signs and wonders given to him from God before the waters of the Red Sea ended his rebellion. Today, we are fast approaching the two millennia milestone since the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. How much time does the lost world have left before God says, "Time's up?" Only this time it won't be water that signifies the end, it will be fire. The love of God is displayed in His patience. Regardless of how you feel about God's destruction of the world or Pharoah's army, you will have to make a decision about Jesus Christ. As long as you have breath, God is patiently waiting for you to turn to Him. He does not want you to perish. However, the longer you delay, the closer you are to the end of God's patience. You may not like how He has treated others in the past, but you will not like how you will be treated in the future when your life ends or God's patience runs out, and you are found to be without the saving life of Jesus Christ indwelling you. Do not wait like the people in Noah's day. Do not be stubborn like Pharoah. Take advantage of God's patience and accept His offer of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.