The Wrath of God: What is it?

I’m no theologian. But I love Jesus, and I love the Bible. So what do I do with God’s wrath in the Old Testament… the drowning of children, the stabbing of little babies in the stomach, and all the other atrocities I read?

First, I adopt what the early church seemed to adopt… a “Jesus Hermeneutic.”

Jesus is the fullness of the godhead bodily. When we see Him, we are seeing God. And when we see Him on the cross, hanging there, we see God. Yes. The Old Testament Yahweh. God in action, dealing with sin the only way God deals with sin, by radical love. Sacrificial love.

So the Cross became the FULL revelation of God. Jesus became the clear lens through which we read the dark glass of the Old Testament. The early writers of the New Testament saw this. Just like Jesus did on the Emmaus Road, showing his two disciples how *all* the Old Testament pointed to Him, so the NT writers and early church did the same. No more sacrifices. No more Mosaic Law. No more circumcision. Eat pork!

The Apostle Paul allegorized the Old Testament. So too did the early church Fathers. As Origen said, if you see something in the scriptures (the OT) that is “unworthy” of God, read deeper.

So, dear brethren, here’s where you need to start getting an education that will thrill your soul. The answer is in the link below. It’s written by my friend, and theologian, Richard Murray. It will take an hour if you read it slowly, which you ought to do. It’ll be the best hour you’ve ever spent:

https://atrestinhim.com/2013/12/08/the-jesus-hermeneutic-the-glory-of-allegory/

Read that first. Then read this by theologian Bradley Jersak. Different path, same destination, and shorter lol:

https://www.ptm.org/punisher-or-pushover-how-is-wrath-gods

Finally, if your brain needs good books by smart theologians, read these two in this order:

A More Christlike God, by Bradley Jersak:

https://www.amazon.com/More-Christlike-God-Beautiful-Gospel-ebook/dp/B00WJG0NGE

Cross Vision, by Greg Boyd:

https://www.amazon.com/Cross-Vision-Crucifixion-Testament-Violence-ebook/dp/B074GJSPNZ/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1540690238&sr=8-1&linkCode=sl1&tag=rek0d-20&linkId=328421a42eed45a0ab7b4d363c2ea10e&language=en_US

Blessings to you. Know this, for it is what the writers of Scripture said: Christ came to reveal the Father. They are One God. Start with that, and you’ll end up ok.