Divine Judgment
We know that at the end of the age, God will judge the living and the dead. But does God bring acts of judgment now? And furthermore, does He use His people to pronounce or render judgment here on the earth?
The Writing’s on the Wall
This well-known saying; ‘The Writings on the Wall‘ comes straight from the Bible, and specifically one of the stories involving the prophet Daniel.
During a feast in which King Belshazzar and his officials drank from gold cups taken from the Temple in Jerusalem, a disembodied hand wrote three words on the wall of the palace; “Mene”, ‘Tekel”, “Uparsin”. The words mean that the king’s kingdom will end, he has been found wanting, and his kingdom will be taken from him.
This prophecy came to fulfillment that very night as the Medo-Persians invaded and the Babylonian Empire came to an end.
This was none other than the hand of God. Sometimes His judgment is rendered in the immediate.
The Writing’s on the Wall is now an idiom meaning there are clear signs that a situation is going to become very difficult or unpleasant
God Hardened Pharaohs’ Heart
We have to be careful not to harden our heart – going explicitly against the commands of God, particularly when He is sending others to warn us. God sent Moses to warn Pharaoh of the consequences of what would happen if he didn’t ‘Let My People Go’
However, on a number of occasions Pharaoh hardened his heart (Exodus 8:15, Exodus 8:32).
As a result of Pharaoh’s hard-heartedness, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart even further (Exodus 9:12; 10:20, 27). Pharaoh and Egypt had brought these judgments on themselves with 400 years of slavery and mass murder. (See Exodus 7-12 for judgments rendered against Egypt)
Don’t let your heart get to that state of hardness!
The purpose of such judgment in this life is to cause us to repent. If we are still alive we have the time to choose to turn from sin and wickedness and obey the commands of God!
My Own Experience of Divine Judgment
After a number of years of being in ministry, the Lord was trying to get my attention. There were things not right in my life and fruit that He wanted to develop, particularly in the way I related to others.
God sent warnings through prophets and my wife had also said some things about my character, but I remained obstinate and arrogant – I couldn’t hear or see what these people were saying to me.
As a result, all ministry ground to a halt and my marriage hung in the balance. I had a mental breakdown and it was during that time that God taught me about the ‘Five Smooth Stones’.
After a long period of restoration (a process that is taking 7 years) my mental health has been restored, my marriage is stronger than before and my interaction with others in ministry has drastically improved.
‘The Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son’ – Hebrews 12:6
Thank-you Jesus!
Ananias & Sapphira
But surely, immediate judgment is an Old Testament thing? It doesn’t occur in the New Testament does it?
Well, there’s the unfortunate story of Ananias and Sapphira;
‘But there was a certain man named Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property. He brought part of the money to the apostles, claiming it was the full amount. With his wife’s consent, he kept the rest.
Then Peter said, “Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself. The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God!”
As soon as Ananias heard these words, he fell to the floor and died. Everyone who heard about it was terrified. Then some young men got up, wrapped him in a sheet, and took him out and buried him.
About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter asked her, “Was this the price you and your husband received for your land?”
“Yes,” she replied, “that was the price.”
And Peter said, “How could the two of you even think of conspiring to test the Spirit of the Lord like this? The young men who buried your husband are just outside the door, and they will carry you out, too.”
Instantly, she fell to the floor and died. When the young men came in and saw that she was dead, they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. Great fear gripped the entire church and everyone else who heard what had happened.’
Acts 5:1-11
Notice that the apostle Peter was operating in the spiritual gift of ‘word of knowledge‘ as the Spirit told him what had happened behind the scenes concerning the lack of integrity around money.
At Peter’s words, the situation became transparent and Ananias dropped dead. But it’s curious how Sapphira died – she fell to the floor and died as a result of Peter pronouncing judgment.
But can we really be used by God to execute divine judgment on the earth?
Perhaps this is just a one-off incident?
Judgment Against Sorcerers
In Acts 8, we find Peter at it again! This time he’s locking horns with a sorcerer in Samaria. Simon the Sorcerer was known in the region as “The Great One – The Power of God” and the people listened closely to him because for a long time he had astounded them with his magic.
But when Simon saw the miracles Philip the evangelist performed, he believed and was baptized. However, when the apostles Peter and John arrived from Jerusalem to lay hands on the new believers to receive the Holy Spirit, Simon offered them money to buy this power!
Peter replied, “May your money be destroyed with you for thinking God’s gift can be bought! You can have no part in this, for your heart is not right with God. Repent of your wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive your evil thoughts, for I can see that you are full of bitter jealousy and are held captive by sin.”
“Pray to the Lord for me,” Simon exclaimed, “That these terrible things you’ve said won’t happen to me!” (see full story in Acts 8:4-25)
In tthis instance, Simon the Sorcerer had the good sense to pray that the ‘terrible things’ Peter had said wouldn’t happen to him.
Elymas the Sorcerer
Peter is not the only one who God used to render divine judgment. The apostle Paul also got in on the action.
Paul had personally been on the receiving end of divine justice, where, on encountering the risen Jesus he went blind for three days.
At the end of those three days he received his sight back through the laying on of hands and was told prophetically that he would be a chosen instrument to take Jesus’ message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel and that he would suffer for the name of Jesus. (Acts 9:8-19)
True to prophecy, Paul was brought before important rulers. One of the early instances of this was meeting the governor, Sergius Paulus, on the island of Cyprus.
The Jewish Sorcerer, a false prophet named Bar-Jesus had attached himself to the governor and tried to interfere and urge the governor to pay no attention to what Paul and Barnabas said. He was trying to keep the governor from believing.
‘Saul, also known as Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he looked the sorcerer in the eye. Then he said, “You son of the devil, full of every sort of deceit and fraud, and enemy of all that is good! Will you never stop pervertinf the true ways of the Lord? Watch now, for the Lord has laid his hand of punishment upon you, and you will be struck blind. You will not see the sunlight for some time.”
Instantly mist and darkness came over the man’s eyes and he began groping around begging for someone to take his hand and lead him.
When the governor saw what had happened, he became a believer, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord’ (See Acts 13:6-12)
Sometimes, a miracle of divine judgment is carried out like this when someone purposely tries to thwart the purposes of God and keep others from believing.
It seemed to happen particularly in the New Testament associated to the preaching of the gospel leading to the planting of new churches in a region.
The Witnesses Yet To Come
But surely, the meting out this kind of judgment is a thing of the past, consigned to biblical times?
For those who may think that way, consider this passage of scripture;
‘And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophecy for 1,260 Days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. These men have power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want. Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. For three and a half days men from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse burial. The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on earth. But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on. At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe has passed; the third woe is coming soon.’ -Revelation 11:3-14
This seems to be referring to a future time when the Two Witnesses are on the earth. They are given power to execute judgment on the earth, just like Moses and Elijah before them in the Old Testament, and Peter and Paul in the New Testament
Executing Judgment
But those figures are Biblical heroes – God would use those to execute judgment – but does he use others now?
‘Let the praises of God be in their mouths, and a sharp sword in their hands —To execute vengeance on the nations and punishment on the people’s. To bind their kings with shackles and their leaders with iron chains, to execute the judgment written against them. This is the glorious privilege of his faithful ones. Praise the LORD!’ – Psalm 149:6-9
The glorious privilege of the Lords faithful ones is to execute judgment!
Don’t you know that we believers will even judge angels (1 Corinthians 6:3)
St. Patrick, known as the apostle of Ireland, not disimilar to the story of Elijah and the Prophets of Baal, defeated a druid sorcerer in a contest of spiritual power
There is coming a time, particularly here in Britain where miracles that incur divine judgment will once again be seen in the land as opposition to the gospel and darkness increases…
Are you ready for such a time?
