God is a Jealous God
Fearing God and Jesus’ Return Written: December 8, 2022
Man is made in God’s image, Genesis 1:27 states, “so God created man in his own image, and the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (The Holy Bible, 2001). Human beings are jealous, because God is jealous, and He gave us some of his attributes when he created us in his image. Imagine a time in the past, when you were raging with jealousy over your ex-partner’s new dating life after you broke up; this is how God feels towards us when we worship other gods besides Him. God commanded in Deuteronomy 5:7-10, “Thou shalt have none other gods before me. Thou shalt not make the any Graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth: thou shall not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, and shewing mercy on to thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments” (The Holy Bible, 2001).
Next, is a list of four verses describing God's jealousy: 1. Exodus 34:14, “For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is jealous, is a jealous God” (The Holy Bible, 2001). 2. Deuteronomy 4:24-25, “For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God. Doing evil in his sight of the Lord; provokes him to anger” (The Holy Bible, 2001). 3. Deuteronomy 6:15, “For the Lord thy God is a jealous God among you; lest the anger of the Lord thy God be kindled against me and destroy thee from off the face of the earth” (The Holy Bible, 2001). 4. Deuteronomy 32:16, “They provoked Him to jealously with strange gods, with abominations provoked him to anger” (The Holy Bible, 2001). The realization of God’s jealousy, in my experience, is the beginning of fearing God, his wrath, and the second death. Revelation 21:7-8 explains in detail, “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death” (The Holy Bible, 2001).
Reverend Charles Spurgeon’s sermon in 1863, A Jealous God, explains his view of God’s jealousy and breaks down the different ways we can provoke him, “God is jealous of our company, our trust, and our love…God becomes jealous, because we do not respect his Deity, honor, supremacy, His laws, His majesty, His character, His glory” (Spurgeon, 1863). Reverend Charles Spurgeon also explains some reasons why he is jealous, “because He shed His blood to save us from our sins; he loves his Church as a husband loves his wife” (Spurgeon, 1863). It’s only when we learn to fear God, ask Jesus for his salvation, and repent of our sins, that God starts giving us knowledge and understanding of the other gods we’ve been worshiping. Proverbs 1:7 and 9:10 explains my point further, “The fear of the lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction; The fear of the lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding” (The Holy Bible, 2001). Many Christians, including myself, believe the rapture will soon happen and the end of the Church Age is nearing, because Jesus said in Matthew 24:32-33 that Jerusalem will be restored and thriving when Jesus returns, which happened in 1948, with the reinstatement of Israel after 2000 years (The History Channel, 2022), “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and put it forth leaves, you know the summer is nigh: so likewise ye, when you shall see all these things, know that it is near even at the doors” (The Holy Bible, 2001). Jesus gave us many prophetic teachings about his return so we can prepare ourselves, but only God knows the exact hour of his return as Matthew 24:42 states, “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come” (The Holy Bible, 2001). Jesus explains further in Matthew 24:36-37, “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my father only. But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the son of man be” (The Holy Bible, 2001).
In conclusion and in Matthew 24:30, Jesus gave a detailed description of what will happen, and what we will see in the sky, when he returns to take his bride, “and then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (The Holy Bible, 2001). Revelation 1:7 also explains what we will see when Jesus returns, “Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen” (The Holy Bible, 2001). If the images described above about Jesus’ soon return, doesn't give you the fear of God to repent and ask Jesus for forgiveness and salvation, then as Dr. David Jeremiah said once, “Either you can kneel now or you will be forced to kneel later, and by then it will be too late” (Jeremiah, 2022). For as Romans 14:11 states, “It is written as I live saith the Lord every knee shall bow to me and every tongue shall confess to God” (The Holy Bible, 2001).
References
Jeremiah, D. (2022). The World in the End. Turning Point Ministries. San Diego, CA.
Spurgeon, C. H. (1863). A Jealous God: No. 502. Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington.
The History Channel. (2022). State of Israel Proclaimed. A&E Networks. Retrieved from: www.history.com
The Holy Bible. (2001) King James Version. Nashville, TN., Thomas Nelson.