Playlist:

playlist Go to the God's Punishment (topic) playlist

The Goodness and Severity of God (Part Two)

'Prophecy Watch' by Charles Whitaker

God seems to display irreconcilable contradictions, such as great wrath and deep compassion. Yet these are not contradictory traits but rigorous responses.


The Goodness and Severity of God

Sermon by Charles Whitaker (1944-2021)

On the heels of destruction will come the forces of reconciliation. The forces of destruction and construction will appear to be virtually simultaneous.


Is God to Blame?

'Personal' from John W. Ritenbaugh

The 9/11 bombings were tragic and terrible. Some have since asked, 'Was God involved? Is He to blame?' These tough questions have challenging answers.


The Wrath of God

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Love motivates the two intrinsic parts of God's holy character—goodness and severity, as He seeks to rescue humanity from the consequences of sin.


Will God Shorten the Day of the Tribulation?

Sermonette by Clyde Finklea

Zephaniah suggests that 'elect' may refer to a remnant called around the time of Christ's return, which God will give His Spirit and hide from the holocaust.


The Patterns of God

Sermon by John O. Reid

The final conflict at Armageddon will cause mankind to remember what their desire to disobey God, and what their obsession go to war, has cost them.


Fully Accepting God's Sovereignty (Part One)

'Personal' from John W. Ritenbaugh

Most converted Christians realize that God is sovereign. But sometimes the Bible reveals something about God that makes us uncomfortable. Can we accept it?


God's Will in the End Time

Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

God does not like to inflict punishment on people, but because of sin, He is obligated to correct. But as quickly as God punishes, God restores and heals.


God's Wrath and Hell

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Oblivion, not eternal torment in hell fire, is the merciful end for the wicked. God is both good and severe, but His mercy endures forever.


Prepare to Meet Your God! (The Book of Amos) (Part One)

Booklet by John W. Ritenbaugh

The book of Amos is an astounding prophecy, closely paralleling the conditions in the Western world today. Amos reveals how unrighteousness undermines society.


What Is the Work of God Now? (Part Two)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

The largest portion of the great commission demands that the lion's share of time, money, or energy ought to be invested in feeding the flock.


The Fear of God

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Many have inadvertently adopted a soft concept of God, disrespecting and showing contempt for God's authority and power. Godly fear is a gift of wisdom.


Prepare to Meet Your God! (The Book of Amos) (Part Two)

Booklet by John W. Ritenbaugh

Israel had every opportunity that the Gentiles did not have. God gave the Israelites gifts to live a better way, but they completely failed to reflect Him.


Where God Places His Name (Part Two)

Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Because we would die from exposure to God's glory, the name of God, reflecting His characteristics, is the only way we can approach God.


Do You See God in Deuteronomy?

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)

God displaced the Amorites because they had defiled the land; not one righteous person existed. Israel was warned not to defile themselves with demonism.


The Sovereignty of God and Human Responsibility: Part Eleven

'Personal' from John W. Ritenbaugh

God's sovereignty and free moral agency set up a seeming paradox. Just how much choice and freedom do we have under God's sovereign rule?


The Sixth Seal

'Prophecy Watch' by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

The Sixth Seal of Revelation foretells of the sun turning black and the moon turning red, stars falling, and a terrible earthquake that moves mountains.


The Doctrine of Israel (Part Thirteen): Jacob's Trouble

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

During Jacob's Trouble, a confederacy of gentile peoples (particularly the offspring of Ishmael and Esau) will destroy the nations of modern-day Israel.


Does the Bible Endorse Spanking?

CGG Weekly by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Why Christians support spanking is not that difficult to figure out: The Bible endorses it as a valid method of child discipline, yet without suggesting abuse.


Lamentations (Part Three)

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Personified Jerusalem, whom God depicts as a grieving widow, blames others for her troubles while overlooking her own sins as the real cause of her sorrow.


The Book of Joel (Part Three)

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

In the fullness of time, God will pour His spirit on all peoples, including those who had formerly directed their hostility on God and His chosen people.


Israel: Future

'Prophecy Watch' by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

What is in store for the nations of Israel? Is their future promising or bleak—or both? This article concludes a three-part series on the people of Israel.


The Book of Joel (Part One)

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

When Joel describes the devastating locust plagues, instead of promising a silver lining on a very black cloud, he says things are going to get intensely worse.


Psalms: Book Three (Part Two)

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Book Three of the Psalms addresses the compulsion to fast and to mourn. Judah's faithlessness brought about the horrific destruction of Jerusalem on Av 9.


The Seventh Trumpet

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

The Feast of Trumpets is a memorial of blowing of trumpets, symbolizing the Day of the Lord, the real war to end all wars, when Christ will subdue the earth.


Psalms: Book Three (Part One)

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Book Three of the Psalms deals with the somber theme of judgment on a people who have rejected their God and have produced much rotten spiritual fruit.


What Is Joel 2 Really About?

'Prophecy Watch' by Mike Fuhrer

It is easy to misunderstand the literal meaning of the prophecy of Joel 2, in which God's army sweeps across the countryside and into the city.


All About Edom (Part Three): Obadiah

'Prophecy Watch' by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

The Bible's most comprehensive prophecy about Edom appears in Obadiah. This "minor" prophet foretells the future for the descendants of Esau.


Psalms: Book Three (Part Five)

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

If we would keep God's Feasts properly, we would be in sync with God's noble purpose for us, defending us from falling into apostasy and idolatry.


A House Left Desolate

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

God is a God of mercy, but He has a stiff core of justice which will not be placated unless we repent. To whom much has been given, much will be required.


Love Thy Neighbor

Sermon by John O. Reid

As the Good Samaritan took pity on what normally would be his adversary, we are obligated to be sensitive to the needs of those around us, enemy and friend.


Prophecy and the Sixth-Century Axial Period

'Personal' from John W. Ritenbaugh

Prophecy has many purposes, but it is never intended to open the future to mere curiosity. Its higher purpose is to give guidance to the heirs of salvation.


How Long, O Lord? (1994)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

The references to trumpets suggest an announcement of a specific event or an alarm of what is to follow. Typically, the events themselves are figurative trumpet blasts.


Lamentations (Part Seven)

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

The people suffering under the Babylonians had basked in the privilege of being God's chosen people while also trashing the terms of the Covenant.


Lamentations (Part Five)

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

The expressions of sorrow in the Psalms far outnumber expressions of praise, indicating that the Hebrew culture has almost made the lamentation an art form.


How to Survive Exile

Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

God exiles to punish for sin, separating individuals and groups from Him in order to spur repentance. There is something to exile that God finds very good.


Habakkuk

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Habakkuk learns to look, watch, wait, then respond, realizing that God is sovereign and will rectify all the injustices in His own time.


Shrugging Off Scoffers (Part One)

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

Peter warns of scoffers in the church, apostate tares, devoid of God's spirit, ridiculing the doctrine that Christ would return or doctrines of judgment.


Are We Already In Captivity?

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)

Major curses, including economic oppression, famine, pestilence, mental illness, alien invasion, the scattering of modern Israel are yet to occur.


Amos (Part Seven)

Sermon/Bible Study by John W. Ritenbaugh

God, through His prophets, warns that He will chasten His people with increasing severity until they repent and begin to reflect His characteristics.


Lamentations (Part Six)

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

In Lamentations 3, the narrator finally convinces Lady Jerusalem that her own sins have caused her necessary punishment and affliction by God.


Lamentations (Part Two)

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

The Lamentations show poignant before-and-after vignettes of formerly happy times contrasted with the horror of the present as God punishes Judah.


A Cause of Terrorism

Commentary by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

God is allowing these increasing acts of terrorism as punishment for our peoples' forsaking the Covenant with Him and despising His holy law.


Ecclesiastes and Christian Living (Part Eleven): Paradox, Continued

'Personal' from John W. Ritenbaugh

Hard trials are not punishments from God for unrighteousness but tests of faith in which He is intimately involved to prepare us for the world to come.