Are God's judgments meant as punishment as has been taught? Or are His judgments unto Victory? Should we be rejoicing to see His judgments in the earth?
Please read the following excellent article by Bro. J. Preston Eby on this subject:
http://sigler.org/files/REV-166.pdf
an excerpt:
"Some years ago when hurricane Katrina brought terrible pain, suffering, devastation, and loss to thousands of people in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, destroying their homes and businesses, killing hundreds, and scattering the people all across the land, many Christians were quick to view the disaster as some kind of deserved “judgment” upon the people for their many sins — drunkenness, gambling, prostitution, corruption, immorality, and above all the practice and promotion of satanic Voodoo. But that is not the heart of the Father we know! When the firstborn Son of God was told of cruel atrocities committed against the Galileans, He asked the penetrating question, “Suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans because they suffered such things? Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower of Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?” The answer, obviously, was No! And when He was asked why the blind man was born blind — “Who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents, but that the works of God might be made manifest in him!” Oh, how we want to make men’s sins to be responsible for the tragedies that befall them!
“Hurricane judgment.” “Tsunami judgment.” “Earthquake judgment.” If you believe in such things, do you know what that tells me? You know a lot about God, but you surely don’t know God! If that was God’s judgment on New Orleans, who was it that really got the judgment? It was the poor people. It was the people who couldn’t afford to get out of the city! Yet the people who were really responsible for the corruption, sin, and degradation in New Orleans were able to get out! The crooked politicians, the crooked lawyers, the crooked policemen, the drug lords, the voodoo practitioners, the pimps, etc. were able to escape the “judgment” in cars, buses, and airplanes! So God decides to judge New Orleans, but all the people who most deserve the judgment are able to flee from His wrath while the poor, struggling, helpless people were left behind to become the recipients of God’s vengeance. Furthermore, the most sinful and vile part of the city, the old French Quarter, was also spared! Is there not something wrong with this picture? I tell you today, the God who came and revealed Himself in Jesus, who came not to destroy men’s lives but to save them, is not in the business of massacring people! That is an Old Testament mentality. The only killing business God is in today is the slaying of the old Adamic life within you — the man of sin sitting in the temple of God. And He does that by the power and dominion of His Spirit and the authority of His Word — not by hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, pestilence, or earthquakes! Let’s get spiritually real, beloved!"
Please read the following excellent article by Bro. J. Preston Eby on this subject:
http://sigler.org/files/REV-166.pdf
an excerpt:
"Some years ago when hurricane Katrina brought terrible pain, suffering, devastation, and loss to thousands of people in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, destroying their homes and businesses, killing hundreds, and scattering the people all across the land, many Christians were quick to view the disaster as some kind of deserved “judgment” upon the people for their many sins — drunkenness, gambling, prostitution, corruption, immorality, and above all the practice and promotion of satanic Voodoo. But that is not the heart of the Father we know! When the firstborn Son of God was told of cruel atrocities committed against the Galileans, He asked the penetrating question, “Suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans because they suffered such things? Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower of Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?” The answer, obviously, was No! And when He was asked why the blind man was born blind — “Who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents, but that the works of God might be made manifest in him!” Oh, how we want to make men’s sins to be responsible for the tragedies that befall them!
“Hurricane judgment.” “Tsunami judgment.” “Earthquake judgment.” If you believe in such things, do you know what that tells me? You know a lot about God, but you surely don’t know God! If that was God’s judgment on New Orleans, who was it that really got the judgment? It was the poor people. It was the people who couldn’t afford to get out of the city! Yet the people who were really responsible for the corruption, sin, and degradation in New Orleans were able to get out! The crooked politicians, the crooked lawyers, the crooked policemen, the drug lords, the voodoo practitioners, the pimps, etc. were able to escape the “judgment” in cars, buses, and airplanes! So God decides to judge New Orleans, but all the people who most deserve the judgment are able to flee from His wrath while the poor, struggling, helpless people were left behind to become the recipients of God’s vengeance. Furthermore, the most sinful and vile part of the city, the old French Quarter, was also spared! Is there not something wrong with this picture? I tell you today, the God who came and revealed Himself in Jesus, who came not to destroy men’s lives but to save them, is not in the business of massacring people! That is an Old Testament mentality. The only killing business God is in today is the slaying of the old Adamic life within you — the man of sin sitting in the temple of God. And He does that by the power and dominion of His Spirit and the authority of His Word — not by hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, pestilence, or earthquakes! Let’s get spiritually real, beloved!"
