Christian Living

Understanding the Wrath of God

by Mike Dewey
08/12/21
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I have always been uneasy with the phrase "the wrath of God".  Although the use of this phrase is not often heard in the pulpits of our churches today, it still occurs occasionally in the voices of radio ministries and in the writings of many committed Christians in the past.  I don't think I am alone in my reaction to this phrase.  Webster's first definition of wrath is a "strong, vengeful anger".  When the average person today hears someone speak of "wrath", a picture of anger often accompanied by violence is exactly what comes to mind.

The reason for my uneasiness is two-fold.  I believe that Jesus Christ is the ultimate revelation of God Himself, and I cannot see anywhere in the gospels an incident where Jesus displays wrath that is vengeful in any way or is the result of an emotional outburst on His part.  No, through the character of Jesus I see that God in His very essence is love.  He created each of us out of His love, and has provided the means for our restoration to a life with Him through belief in His Son Jesus Christ.  The idea of "wrath" as an attribute of God seems to me to be irreconcilable with what I believe to be His essence of love.

The second difficulty I have with the "wrath of God" comes from the normal usage of the term wrath.  This idea of wrath has emotional origins.  It reflects a momentary display of anger, which certainly may be justified, in what may otherwise be a non-violent or even peaceful demeanor.  In other words, it reflects emotions that vary with time - the display of anger punctuating an otherwise placid behavior.  But God is outside of time.  God created time when He created the universe, and lives outside the sequential experience of moments in time in which we now live our lives.  God cannot be angry or wrathful at one moment and loving the next moment, because there are no "moments" in God's existence.  God is unchangeable, and cannot exhibit any variations in his character or behavior.  Theologians refer to this absence of emotional variation as His impassibility.  

To understand more fully, let's look more closely at the use of "wrath" in the Bible. 

Using the New American Standard translation, we find that there are 177 uses of the word "wrath" in the Bible.  Of these, 138 (78%) occur in the Old Testament.  Paul uses this term 21 times in his letters, and it is used 11 times in Revelation.  What may surprise you (it did me), the term "wrath" is used only 4 times in the four gospels, and 3 of these times are by John the Baptist.  Only once does Jesus use this term, that in Luke 21:23-24:

"Woe to those who are with child and to those who nurse babes in those days; for there will be great distress upon the land, and wrath to this people, and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled."

Here Jesus is referring to the difficult times that people will experience in the chaos and violence in the end times.

The use of the "wrath of God" by John the Baptist occurs in Matthew, Luke, and John in the same context.  In John 3:36, for example, he warns his listeners that

          He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not
          obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.

Webster's second definition for wrath is " retributory punishment for an offense or a crime".  This fits perfectly.  The wrath that awaits those who do not believe in Jesus Christ, as John the Baptist proclaims, is the natural consequence of this choice that they have made.  It is not a vengeful display of anger by God. It is the proper and fair result of what those individuals have chosen for themselves, against the warning that God has communicated to all who reject the saving grace offered by Jesus Christ.

Anger is an emotion in human beings that comes and goes.  It is understandable that writers of the Bible express ideas or acts in anthropomorphic terms; it is often the only way they can express certain things, and the only way many concepts important to our faith can be expressed and conveyed to us.

God is unchangeable.  God can never be other than Himself or act in a way that is outside his true character, and the essence of that character is love.  We may hear people speak of the "wrath of God", but let's remind ourselves, and others if we can, that God is love and that love is an unchanging love for us.  Those circumstances in which "wrath" or violent punishment is evidenced in Scripture are not the reaction of a loving God but the proper consequence of what men and women have chosen for themselves in their rejection of God's love in Jesus Christ.