View an in-depth discussion of The Wrath of Divine Love in the Hope Sabbath School class led by Pastor Derek Morris.
Click on the image below to view the video:

With thanks to Hope Channel – Television that will change your life.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/5-the-wrath-of-divine-love-hope-sabbath-school-video-discussion/

Daily Lesson for Wednesday 29th of January 2025

Throughout the Bible, God repeatedly displays His passion in favor of the downtrodden and the oppressed and His corresponding righteous indignation against the victimizers and oppressors. If there were no evil, God would not be angry. His anger is only and always against that which harms His creation.

According to Lamentations 3:32-33, God does not afflict willingly (literally, God does not afflict “from His heart”). He does not want to bring judgment against evildoers, but love finally requires justice.

This truth is exemplified in how long God continued to forgive His people and repeatedly grant them opportunities to repent and be reconciled to Him. Again and again, through the prophets, God called out to His people, but they refused to listen (see Jeremiah 35:14-17, Psalms 81:11-14).

Image © Review & Herald Publishing at Goodsalt.com

According to Ezra 5:1-17, after the people persistently and unrepentantly provoked God to anger, He eventually withdrew and “gave” the people “ ‘into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon’ ” (Ezra 5:12, NKJV). But God did so only after there was “no remedy” (2 Chronicles 36:16), and God later judged Babylon for the excessive devastation it inflicted upon Judah (Jeremiah 51:24-25,44; compare with Zechariah 1:15).

Many other judgments that Scripture describes as brought about by God are explained as instances in which God “gives” the people over to their enemies (Judges 2:13-14; Psalms 106:41-42), in accordance with the people’s decisions to forsake the Lord and serve the “gods” of the nations (Judges 10:6-16, Deuteronomy 29:24-26). God’s anger against evil, which will finally culminate in the eradication of all evil once and for all, stems from His love for all and from His desire for the final good of the universe, which itself has a stake in the whole question of sin and rebellion and evil.

<–Tuesday Thursday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25a-05-god-does-not-afflict-willingly/

Key Thought: God’s anger is always His righteous and loving response against evil and injustice. Divine wrath is righteous indignation motivated by perfect goodness and love.
February 1, 2025

1. Have a volunteer read Jonah 4:1-4.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
2. What does this tell us about Jonah and about God?
3. Personal Application: How does your anger over the evil done by others help you better understand God’s wrath toward evil? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states, “How do we show grace and mercy to someone without appearing to accept sin or enabling abuse or oppression?” How would you respond to your relative?

2. Have a volunteer read Matthew 2:12,13; John 2:14,15.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What does Jesus’ reaction to the way the temple was being used tell us about God getting angry about evil
3. Personal Application: How can we determine what is selfish anger and righteous indignation? How should each affect our response and actions toward others? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your friends states, “If someone ever did anything to abuse or hurt my sister, I would have a righteous reason to hurt them very badly. I wouldn’t have to wait for the courts or klegal system to mess it up. I would make sure they got justice.” How would you respond to your friend?

3. Have a volunteer read Ezra 5:12, Jeremiah 51:24,25,44.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What does this explain about the judgment that came upon Jerusalem through the Babalonians?
3. Personal Application: How does God not wanting to bring justice against anyone help you understand Divine anger and wrath? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your neighbors states: “How can we be more patient and long-suffering with those around us, while still protecting and caring for the victims of wrongdoing?.” How would you respond to your neighbor?

4. Have a volunteer read Deuteronomy 32:35; Proverbs 20:22, 24:29; Romans 12:17-20.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. How do these texts guard against human vengeance?
3. Personal Application: What problems arise when people seek vengeance that never arise when God seeks it? Are personal motives involved in vengeance? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: Think of one person who needs to hear a message from this week’s lesson. Tell the class what you plan to do this week to share with them.

(Truth that is not lived, that is not imparted, loses its life-giving power, its healing virtue. Its blessings can be retained only as it is shared. ”Ministry of Healing, p. 148).

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/5-the-wrath-of-divine-love-teaching-plan/

Daily Lesson for Tuesday 28th of January 2025

While there are many inappropriate forms of anger, the Bible also teaches that there is “righteous indignation.”

Imagine a mother watching her three-year-old daughter playing at the playground and then, suddenly, a man attacks her daughter. Should she not be angry? Of course, she should. Anger is the proper response of love in such a circumstance. This example helps us understand God’s “righteous indignation.”

Image © Lifeway Collection at Goodsalt.com

In these instances, Jesus displays the “godly zeal” of righteous indignation against those who were treating God’s temple as common and who had turned it into a “den of robbers” in order to take advantage of widows, orphans, and the poor (Matthew 21:13; compare with John 2:16). The temple and services, which were supposed to typify God’s gracious forgiveness and His cleansing of sinners, were instead being used to cheat and oppress some of the most vulnerable. Should Jesus not have been angry at this abomination?

Mark 10:13-14 and Mark 3:4-5 offer more examples of His righteous indignation. When people brought little children to Jesus and “the disciples rebuked those who brought them,” Jesus “was greatly displeased”—literally “indignant.” He said to them, “ ‘Let the little children come to Me’ ” (Mark 10:13-14, NKJV).

Elsewhere, when the Pharisees waited to accuse Jesus of breaking the Sabbath by healing on it, Jesus asked them, “ ‘Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?’ ” (Mark 3:4, NKJV). He “looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts” and then proceeded to heal the man (Mark 3:5, NKJV). Christ’s anger is associated here with grief at their hardness; it is the righteous anger of love, just as the anger attributed to God in the Old Testament is the righteous anger of love. How could love not be upset by evil, especially when evil hurts the objects of that love?

<–Monday Wednesday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25a-05-righteous-indignation/

A time to kill, And a time to heal; Ecclesiastes 3:3 NKJV

I was having dinner with a friend from church, at the Olive Garden restaurant not far from the church. She was explaining some new and “wonderful” things she was learning about hell from a Christian website. She explained how God does not destroy people in hell. They actually destroy themselves. To an extent I believed much of what she said, but not everything.

She said it was very important for me to agree totally with her because if God is love, He cannot kill. After all, that would be breaking one of the commandments based on love. Here is where she and I disagreed. I believe a God of love does kill. Let me share one reason why I believe this. 

Image © Consuelo Udave from GoodSalt.com

Many years ago my late mother had a friend ,who I will call Jane, who had a very abusive husband. After years of abuse and threats on her life and even the lives of their children, Jane finally left her abusive husband. She then met a very mild-mannered, quiet, easy-going man we will call Joe. Joe was a Christian, and though he was not an Adventist like Jane, they fell in love and married. Joe moved in with Jane and her children.

Jane’s abusive ex-husband still continued his harassment. Joe, being a very meek and mild Christian took it all patiently until one night when, as a loving husband, he had no choice but to act. Jane’s abusive ex-husband drove by the house and fired gunshots into the home, including his own kids’ bedrooms! The police were called, of course, but that night something happened, and we all saw another side of meek and mild-mannered Joe.

When the  ex-husband called the house after his rampage, Jane answered the phone. But when Joe realized who  was calling, Joe took the phone, and calmly, yet clearly and boldly, said what no one dreamed such a quiet, easy-going man would ever say. He told the abusive ex-husband, “If you ever come near my family again, I. WILL. KILL YOU.”

The abusive ex knew Joe was a hunter and as meek, mild, quiet and easy-going as he was, the ex knew Joe was not making empty threats. Jane says that was the last time anything like that ever happened. The children felt secure with their new daddy in the home because they knew he loved them enough to kill to protect them. 

Many years later, when the abusive ex-husband died, the doctor told his now grown daughter he was dead. The daughter broke into tears. When the doctor tried to console her, the mother explained to the doctor that those were not tears of grief. They were tears of joy! For the first time in her life the daughter no longer had to worry about threats being made on her life. Just a few years ago, Joe finally died at a ripe old age. This time the children cried tears of actual grief. Their “daddy,” their “protector” was now gone. It was a playful, mild-mannered loving daddy who proved his love when he discovered that  someone was threatening their lives, who said,  “I. WILL. KILL. YOU.” 

While the Adventist church supports those in the military who refuse to bear arms, like Desmond Doss, some Adventists are surprised to learn that the church does not condemn those who choose to bear arms. Exact policies may vary from country to country, but. while the Adventist church encourages members not to bear arms, the church does not condemn Adventists who choose to bear arms. After all, it would be illogical for Adventists in free countries to celebrate their freedom and then condemn those who have killed to protect it. 

Some say that if God kills, then He would be breaking the commandment “Thou shalt not kill.” But that demonstrates a misunderstanding of the   sixth commandment. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus clarifies the spirit of the law. Concerning the sixth commandment  Jesus says,

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.” Matthew 5:21-22 NKJV

While Jesus condemns murder, which is an act of hate, Jesus is not condemning killing in self-defense or in defense of others. After all, the Jews in the book of Esther were allowed to defend themselves. See Esther 8:13. In Nehemiah they worked next to their weapons. See Nehemiah 4:16. And while Jesus chastised Peter for defending Him with the sword, that was because Jesus was already on the path to sacrifice Himself in behalf of humanity, as foretold by Scripture. Jesus still encouraged the disciples to have swords for their own sake. See Luke 22:36-38.

I agreed with much of what my friend said at Olive Garden. The wicked pretty much hang themselves, and self-destruct. Yet, making the point that a God of love would never kill, appears to me to be both inaccurate and an unnecessary point to try to make. My friend’s premise was based on the “fact” that a God of love can’t kill. To me, that is a faulty premise not found anywhere in Scripture. I believe a God of love can kill, and furthermore I believe there are times God shows His love by killing.  Just like a quiet, meek, easy-going, mild-mannered daddy proved his love by being willing to kill so his family would feel loved and secure. If my friend’s daddy had not been willing to kill to protect his family he would not have really loved them.

The Bible does not say there is a time to let the wicked self-destruct. The Bible says there is a time to kill. See Ecclesiastes 3:3. I see absolutely no contradiction between God being a God of love and God killing those who threaten the peace and harmony of the universe. 

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/why-i-believe-a-god-of-love-kills/