Thomas

God has not changed His nature. He destroyed His enemies in the Old Testament and He is coming again soon to destroy His enemies in our age (The Second Coming). He will come riding a white horse leading a host of angels. He will bind Satan and cast him into the pit.

We, at this moment of history, have a chance to befriend Him. That is not new, people in the Old Testament had the same chance. Those who chose to abandon evil ways could find life in God. "I desire not the death of a sinner," He says, "but rather that they turn from their wickedness and live."

You have to understand what God is up against: rebellion. He gave us life but we choose death. He offers us love, but we choose our own lust. We can be healed and born again--saved from ourselves. When we do we will not see Him as a God of war, but we will call him "Abba"--father.

You, Thomas, have the same opportunity I had, and that all men have. We can continue to fight against Him ("Kick against the pricks"--Acts 9:5); we can continue to struggle "like senseless horse or mule"--(Ps 32:9 ) or we can:

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke [is] easy, and my burden is light. (Matt 11:29-30)

God stands ready to welcome you into His family. Don't be like the devil, as described by John Milton.

John Milton opened his classic epic poem Paradise Lost with an imagined account of Lucifer's fall from heaven. In Milton's story the great archangel is hurled from heaven and lies, with his diabolical cronies, in the lake of fire in hell. After nine days and nights Lucifer begins to speak to his demon friend Beelzebub. Lucifer makes it clear that though he is kicked out of heaven, he is undefeated in spirit. He coldly describes his unrepentant mindset: He will study revenge and hate; he is determined never to yield his "invincible spirit":

Farewell, happy fields,
Where joy forever dwells! Hail, horrors! hail,
Infernal world! and thou, profoundest Hell,
Receive thy new possessor, one who brings
A mind not to be changed by place or time.
The mind is its own place, and in itself
Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven.
Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.

Jim Spencer
Through the Maze Ministry >