Hello Kiiame.
You have asked a very good question that is not so easy to answer. You are right, all of us are sinners in God's eyes. What makes it particularly serious is when those who bear the name of Jehovah fall short and bring reproach on God's name. Remember that Jehovah told Moses that God was merciful and gracious and that Jehovah would pardon error, "but that by no means would Jehovah give exemption from punishment." Jehovah God is a loving and responsible Father. And like any parent he is concerned about his children. God knows that sin is a terrible thing and he sometimes has to take very strong measures to dicipline those whom he loves in order to bring them back to himself so as to save us from destruction.
Read the book of Judges sometime. It gives us a very good idea how Jehovah deals with his children. Time and time again the Hebrews would fall into idolatry and God would allow their enemies to dominate them, then, when they came to their senses jehovah would raise up a savior for them. Samson, Barak, Gideon, Deborah, and Samuel were a few of the ones that God used to bring his people back.
Then read the history of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. All the prophets like Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Habakkuk foretold that God was going to severely punish the Jews by allowing the Chaldeans to destroy Jerusalem. And, of course, history verifies that that is exactly what happened. But, did God totally destroy the Jewish religion? No. He later restored the Jews to their homeland and they rebuilt the temple and apparently they learned their lesson in that they never again resorted to worshipping false gods. But, when Christ came to the nation they were in need of correction because the religion had become corrputed by the Pharisees. This time God completely changed direction by establishing Christ as the head of a new organization and God allowed the Romans to trash the city of Jeruslaem and its temple.
Now at the end of the Christian era we are in a situation similar to the Jews. Jehovah has those whom he has anointed and brought into a New Covenant with him through Christ and has organized us to preach about his kingdom. But, just like the Jews we tend to rely upon the visible organization rather than the invisible One who exists outside and above all institutuions. The human tendency is to trust men, not God. And whether you set a little idol statue in front of yourself or exalt a magazine publishing company above the dictates and principles of God, from God's standpoint it is idolatry. So, Jehovah God must remain true to himself. He must purge us once and for all time of our folly. That's what the coming tribulation will accomplish. But God is not going to destroy the true religion though, just as he didn't destroy the Jewish faith when the Babylonians destroyed their holy city. Jehovah is merely going to put us through an excruciating experience in order to purge the faithless from our midst and refine those who remain into the sort of persons whom God will be pleased to give his kingdom to.
Hope that helps. Please feel free to ask me whatever is on your mind. That's why I am here.
/ You Know
Edited by - You Know on 18 July 2002 8:22:48
