The Wrath of God


    1. No study of God would be complete without this subject -

    2. This is part of both the OLD and the NEW testament teaching concerning God.

    3. Mentioned over 580 times in the Old Testament

    4. orge

      3709 orge or-gay'(from 3713; TDNT - 5:382,716; n f)

      AV - wrath (31), - anger (3) - vengeance (1) - indignation (1) [36]

        1) anger, the natural disposition, temper, character; movement or agitation of the soul, impulse, desire, any violent emotion, but esp. anger; anger, wrath, indignation; anger exhibited in punishment, hence used for punishment itself: of punishments inflicted by magistrates

    5. thumos

      2372 thumos thoo-mos'(from 2380; TDNT - 3:167,339; n m) AV - wrath (15) - fierceness (2) - indignation (1) [18]

        1) passion, angry, heat, anger forthwith boiling up and soon subsiding again

        2) glow, ardour, the wine of passion, inflaming wine (which either drives the drinker mad or kills him with its deadly heat) (Rev. 14:10, 19; 15:1, 7; 16:1, 19; 19:15, and Romans 2:8)


      1. chemah, 'Hot displeasure, indignation, wrath, rage, fury." = 90 some times,

        Deuteronomy 9:19

      2. Charon = "heat, inward burning of anger.

        Numbers 11:1
        These two words refer to the inward fire of the emotion of anger in God (Eichrodt, Theology of the Old Testament)

      3. 'ap,

        which basically refers to the nostrils (of divine wrath 170 times). It comes from the verb 'anap, which means "to snort, to be angry."

        Psalm 18:8

        Psalm 2:5

      4. ka'as - used around 50 times for divine wrath -

        Judges 2:12

      5. 'ebrah,
        from a verb meaning to 'be full, to overflow", thus means "to be angry, to be full of wrath, to be overflowing with fury."

        Psalm 78:49


      6. za'ap and za'am.

        za'ap in Micah 7:9
        za'am in Nahum 1:6
        These carry the connotation of intense anger, ...being related to words tha mean "to storm, to rage'.

      7. qetsep,

        "the breaking forth of something under pressure" - used some 50 times for God's anger, Jeremiah 10:10 10 But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation. (KJV)

        A. Hence, The wrath of God is NOT an uncontrolled fit of temper.

        B. God's wrath is NOT a sudden flaring up of passion which is soon over.

        C. It is a strong and settled opposition to all that is evil - arising out of God's very nature.

        D. It is the "absolute implacalbe hostility of the Divine Holiness to every form of moral evil"

        E. It is the natural and ineveitable and eternal recoil of the all-holy God against ALL that is unholy.

        F. It is the implacable antagonism of holiness for evil, and antagonism that burns eternally.

The Wrath of God is AGAINST ALL UNGODLINESS (SIN) - ROM. 1:18
    Because God is a 'Moral being', His anger is directed towards wrongdoing in any shape or form.

    It is the stern reaction of the divine nature to evil in man. It is aroused only and inevitably by sin.

    It is totally consistent, being directed only against and ALWAYS against sin.

      1. Romans 1:18-32, towards the 'pagen' world for all forms of evil.

      2. Isa. 5:24-25 - God's anger against Israel for sin.

      3. Deut. 29:24-28, God's anger is against Israel for breaking the covenant (transgression of law = sin)

      4. 2 Kings 17:13f

        vs. 13 = God says 'keep my commandments'....

        vs. 15 = they rejected such

        vs. 18 = so the Lord was very angry with Israel...

      5. Isa. 42:24-25 - God's anger poured out against Israel for sinning..

    Such anger / wrath of God is described in 'BRUTAL' and awful terms:
      Hebrews 10:31
        31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (KJV)

    Such 'sinners' are ENEMIES of God - Rom. 5:10; Col. 1:21; James 4:4
    God is AGAINST all such sinners - Jer. 50:31, Ezek. 21:3;
    The face of God is against those who do evil - 1 Pet. 3:12

    Psalm 5:5-6
      5 The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity. 6 Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man. (KJV)
    Deuteronomy 25:16
      16 For all that do such things, and all that do unrighteously, are an abomination unto the LORD thy God. (KJV)
    Psalm 11:5
      5 The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth. (KJV)
    Proverbs 11:20
    Proverbs 16:5
    Proverbs 17:15
    Leviticus 20:23
    Psalm 78:59
      59 When God heard this, he was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel: (KJV)
    Proverbs 6:16-19
    Jeremiah 12:8
God's wrath is ALWAYS judicial -, it is the wrath of a judge ministering justice -- the wrath He bestows is the wrath he owes -- we get only what we deserve.

God's wrath is something we CHOOSE for ourselves in the sense that we know sinners will be cursed but we shoose to sin anyway - cp. Rom. 1:32

It is the RIGHTEOUS judgment of God that brings such wrath -

    Romans 2:5
Hence there will be a 'day of judgment' -
    2 Peter 3:7
    Hebrews 10:27
      27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. (KJV)
    2 Timothy 4:8
    Isaiah 5:16
      16 But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness. (KJV)
    Acts 17:31
    2 Corinthians 5:10-11
This gives meaning to our SALVATION. Saved from WHAT - the coming wrath of God against SINNERS (which we were!) -
    Romans 5:9
    1 Thessalonians 1:10

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