The
everlasting destruction of those who persevere in their wickedness against God
is an act of justice. The Word of God presents this topic over and again, as a
standing warning to all, and no man will be able to claim ignorance of the love
and just severity of God, at the judgment bar. The devastation mentioned in
these verses is interesting, in that it is an explanation of at least one
aspect of what it means for the wicked to be everlastingly ‘destroyed’. The
context presents this punishment as a permanent separation from the presence of
the Holy God and all He provides, a continual banishment from the benefits and
faithfulness of His endowing power. In a very small measure it would be something
like the doom of those poor wretches who, for the term of their lives, were imprisoned
in dark, damp cells, deep in the bowels of the earth, away from the warmth,
light and beneficial effects of the sun. Sin against the Everlasting and
Infinite God, unless repented of, will reap the wages of everlasting and
infinite punishment. This is the awful consequence of sin. Yet in spite of the mess
and chaos we bring into our lives through sin, so many still largely choose to
ignore, mock and decry God’s warnings as mere fables, and religious make-believe.
By the time these same people face their eternal destiny, it will be too late
to re-frame their belief system. Their minds will be changed in spite of
themselves, as they stare at the reality of God face to face. Their knees will
bow in acceptance and confession that Christ is indeed Lord, but it will be too
late to benefit from this submission. The time of salvation will be past. They
will be expelled from the presence of God, to spend a dark eternity in the dreadful
torment and realisation, that all they had ever wanted in life was in fact just
that – the wonder, beauty and blessing of the presence of the Lord!
http://www.pentecostalfamilychurch.com.au/devotion
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