But it’s real all right; it is very real and very frightening. It is the Lord Who sent His fury and unleashed just a small sampling of His power through His creation - in this case a tiny little volcano in Iceland. His judgments are true and right - all the time, every time, the present time and the quickly approaching time--the imminent Day of the Lord. He is zealous for His Glory and one day, one day soon, He will receive His full Glory and man will finally acknowledge his own puny glory. The Lord will be exalted in That Day and man will be abased.
Read how God describes Himself in Nahum 1:2-3. “A jealous and avenging God is the Lord; the Lord is avenging and wrathful. The Lord takes vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserves wrath for His enemies. The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and the Lord will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. In whirlwind and storm is His way, and clouds are the dust beneath His feet.”
Now read in Nahum 1:4-6 God’s description of what He will do to His adversaries! “He rebukes the sea and makes it dry; He dries up all the rivers. Bashan and Carmel wither; the blossoms of Lebanon wither. Mountains quake because of Him and the hills dissolve; indeed the earth is upheaved by His presence, the world and all the inhabitants in it. Who can stand before His indignation? Who can endure the burning of His anger? His wrath is poured out like fire and the rocks are broken up by Him.”
Finally read in Nahum 1:7 what is true for those who take refuge from Him by taking refuge in Him (in His Son). “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the Day of Trouble, and He knows those who take refuge in Him.”
Today people all over the world want to ‘worship’ a god of their own making - a god which does not even exist! The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob does exist; He is very real indeed! But God, the Lord, will be worshipped for Who He is, not worshipped through a twisted, distorted perception of Him. There is One God; He is the Lord and His will will be done whether you worship Him or not...
He has revealed Himself to mankind - each and every human who ever lived! Every single person! Romans 1:18-20 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” God, Himself, made the truth about Himself evident within each and every person! His invisible attributes, His eternal power, and His divine nature, have been clearly seen - clearly seen! His attributes, power and nature have been understood - understood! God made it evident within them and through creation itself. Therefore, no one has an excuse. Why would anyone need an excuse? When God is dispensing His judgment they will want an excuse to give Him in order to be spared wrath, but God says no one, no one, will have an excuse and that means He will dispense His wrath upon them!
He has spoken to those who were His people, the Israelites, through the prophets in many portions and in many ways revealing Himself and His ways. Hebrews 1:1 “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways,” In these last days, the days we are living in, God has spoken to us in His Son. Hebrews 1:2 “...in these last days (God) has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.” Once again God reveals Himself, in these days through His Son, Who is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature. His Son, Jesus, is the Word, the Logos, the expression of God for us to see and understand.
Those who suppressed the Truth that God gave them about Himself received the judgment of God (and will receive the judgment of God). Those who ignored the ways of the Lord received a just penalty for every transgression and disobedience of His Word, and most certainly those who ignore Jesus, the expression of God, will not escape. Hebrews 2:2-3a “For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?”
Look at the picture again. Would you be willing to stand anywhere close to that volcano? I wouldn’t. I would do everything needed to keep myself in safety; safety being out of the range of the volcano’s power. There will not be a place of safety from God’s power when His wrath is poured out on earth. The only place of safety is to run to God, to His Son, through His Son. There alone will a human find refuge. Why? Because God’s wrath has already been poured out on His sacrificial lamb, the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. If I am in Messiah, I am no longer under God’s wrath. Acts 4:12 “ And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” Whose name? The Name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the Son of God! (Acts 4:10)
The picture still looks unreal, doesn’t it? Why? Because we have never experienced anything quite like it. God guarantees that, although He has revealed Himself to us, our understanding is just a taste of Who He really is and what His wrath is really like. None of us can fathom just how fearful, terrible and awesome He really is, but we must believe what He has revealed to us, not suppress it, and respond rightly to Him with an awesome reverential respect. What did Moses do when God revealed Himself to Moses? Read for yourself. Exodus 34:8 “Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations. Moses made haste to bow low toward the earth and worship.”
What should you do? Study the Word of God - study hard and study long! Believe the Word of God - believe what He has revealed and said about Himself - and bow in complete submission to Him! Run to the Son for salvation! He is God! Psalm 2:12 “Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!”
