Congregation Bible Study (30 min.): Rr ch. 18 paras. 1-8 and video.
"My great fury will be unleashed"
MAIN IDEA: Gog's attack provokes Jehovah's fury; Jehovah Defends His People in the War of Armageddon
ANALYSIS OF THE VIDEO AND ANSWERS TO THE PARAGRAPHS
In chapter 17, we talked about Gog's attack on Jehovah's people. We are grateful that Jehovah has warned us of what this coalition of nations will do. But it does not end there, there is more. Ezekiel's prophecy continues and tells us what will happen to this enemy of pure worship.
Chapter 18 of the book Pure Adoration is entitled "My great fury will be unleashed." Ezekiel 38:18 gives title to this chapter: "On that day, the day that Gog invades the land of Israel, says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, my great fury will be unleashed."
As you study this exciting chapter, note these important ideas: What provokes Jehovah's fury? When Jehovah unleashes his fury on his enemies, why will they not be able to say that he has taken them by surprise? When will Jehovah unleash his great fury, and how are you going to show it?
Imagine, during the great tribulation, which is at hand, God's servants will see something truly spectacular: Jehovah standing up to protect his people and defend his holy name. May this chapter give you the strength and motivation to promote pure worship to the fullest right now.
1-3. (a) What will Jehovah's great fury lead to?
When Jehovah begins the war of Armageddon, he will do so with "great fury." He will put all his anger against many, many people who will be all over the planet.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
This great fury will end the lives of many, many people who, as Jeremiah 25:33 says, will be scattered from end to end of the Earth. It will not be with a fixed objective such as an army, but against thousands of people and it will be with great fury and not with a cold mind.
We find the answer in Jeremiah 25: 29,33, it says that it will be an execution of thousands of people from all over the world. When Jehovah executes people in the war of Armageddon, he will not do so with a cold mind, but with "great fury." Instead of projecting all its anger against an army or a nation, it will do so against many, many people who will be all over the planet. "Those whom Jehovah kills that day will be scattered from one end of the earth to the other."
He will not focus on a single nation or an army, but his great fury will go against many, many people who will be scattered throughout the earth.
b) What will we see next?
We will see about the great fury of Jehovah, for this we will answer a question below, What leads him to feel that great fury and act like this?
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Throughout this chapter we will see how God who is loving, merciful, compassionate and patient can feel this great fury and act in this way.
We will now see what it is that leads Jehovah being such a compassionate and loving God to feel this great fury.
If the Bible says that Jehovah, the God of love, is merciful, compassionate, and patient, what leads you to feel such great fury and act like this? We will answer that question below.
What causes Jehovah's “great fury”?
4, 5. What is the difference between the wrath of God and the wrath of man?
When the man gets angry and explodes, he usually loses his mind and things end badly. But the difference is that Jehovah always controls his anger. And when he gets angry, it is always clear why, the reasons why Jehovah is angry are just.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
A fundamental difference is that the wrath of God is very different from that of man since it does not explode, nor does it lose its head or things end badly because of this anger. Rather, as James 1:20 says, God's wrath does result in justice.
Another difference is that when a human person gets angry and wants to vent his anger, he makes mistakes such as Cain killing his brother. Or the case of David who had the blessing of God and still almost killed innocent men. God's wrath is always justified and has a reason, a motive ... and righteous people will not be its target.
In that, for example, humans do not control anger and we end up exploding, which makes things end very badly and we have the case of Cain, who was so angry that he ended up murdering his brother, but Jehovah is different from this respect since he always controls his anger, and the reason for his anger will always be clear.
Unlike human beings, Jehovah always controls his anger. And when he gets angry, it is always clear why. Even when you are very angry, act fairly. In fighting his enemies, he never destroys "righteous people along with evil people." Furthermore, the reasons for which Jehovah is enraged are just.
6. How does Jehovah react when his name is desecrated?
For example, Israel stained Jehovah's name. And he was enraged. But he never lost his temper; He only punished his people "to the proper degree", there was only his fury until he fulfilled his purpose and even so he did not hold a grudge.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
As Jeremiah 30:11 says, Jehovah's fury turns toward these people who profane his name in just the right degree of discipline. So that the person after the punishment does not have any kind of resentment. Furthermore, no person will be able to get rid of this justice.
For we have seen that the Israelites on many occasions stained the reputation of God, and this rightly caused Jehovah to rage, but he never lost his temper, he only punished them to the proper degree, he never went too far.
Those who claim to represent Jehovah but act wickedly stain his reputation and provoke his just ire. As we saw in previous chapters, the nation of Israel badly stained Jehovah's name. No wonder the attitude and actions of the nation made Jehovah furious. But he never lost his temper; he punished his people only "to the degree it was due," never going overboard. And once Jehovah's fury served its purpose, he was not left with even a shred of resentment.
7, 8. What lessons can we learn from Jehovah's treatment of the Israelites?
Like the Israelites, we are honored to bear the name of Jehovah. Everything we do influences what they may think of Jehovah because of us. Our bad behavior would provoke the wrath of Jehovah. But he forgives us, we cultivate a deep respect for him, because we know that he will unleash his fury against those who insist on doing evil and that he will not allow them to continue being part of his people.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
We learn that Jehovah has clearly told us what things he does not like. And as faithful servants, we not only preach these things, but we act according to them in our lives, otherwise we would be hypocrites and we would be staining the name of God by provoking his wrath.
Not only in the ministry, but everywhere people see us and know that we are Jehovah's Witnesses, and they will be analyzing our actions, words and behavior. And what we do influences their way of seeing us and of seeing our God Jehovah. He sees us, also in our private lives, and if we do things that are wrong on purpose and go against divine laws, we will be provoking his anger and staining his name.
Also, after what we have seen, we must remember the text quoted here from Romans 2: 4. And be aware that we are imperfect humans and we make mistakes. Therefore, Romans tells us that God is patient and willing to forgive. And that's why the book talks about "doing something wrong on purpose." Since in this case it is not an unconscious error of our imperfection, but we are totally aware of what we are doing.
We learn, for example, that our conduct or way of life as his servants influences what other people think of him, to the extent that our actions could taint his name, which would lead Jehovah to feel great fury and love clear your name.
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