We know God provides the breath of life. We must also recognize that He controls every aspect of creation.
The way God sustains creation through His love, is the same way He restricts through His love. Meaning, the way He lovingly provides breath, He also lovingly restricts death. Why? Because He created man with free will, and He wants the unbelieving to use that will to choose His amazing gift of everlasting life. HE WANTS UNBELIEVERS WITH HIM FOR ETERNITY! So right now He restricts death, and in doing so keeps the unbeliever from going to hell. It is by His control, His grace and mercy, that unbelievers live.
But the Bible also tells about those times when God brought His wrath upon unbelievers. He warned them repeatedly, but they refused Him. He provided miracles. He sent judges, prophets, warriors, and Kings, telling them what to say to the unbelievers, and still, they refused Him. God has waited for centuries; the refusals continue.
And yet, even when His wrath boils, He remains patient—lovingly providing the unbeliever more time to choose Him. All the while the unbeliever has wickedness, evil, and darkness in their hearts. But God restricts this with His mighty power.
Which begs the question: has the world become drastically more evil in the past three years? Has God begun His process to give people over to the evil in their hearts?
What happens when God chooses to relinquish His loving control over the unbeliever? When He stops protecting them from themselves? When time runs out and He turns them over to their sin?
Satan stands ready to devour them. (1 Peter 5:8)
Devour them how?
Satan has only one means to guarantee the unbeliever remains under his ownership, and that is death. Because as long as the unbeliever is alive they could change and choose Christ as their Savior, in which case Satan looses that person to God forever.
GOD IS THE ONLY ONE KEEPING THE UNBELIEVER SAFE!
Pick up a copy of Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, by Jonathan Edwards. It is a quick read. An eye-opener. Truthful and tragic. Edwards holds nothing back; telling it like it is.
“There is nothing that keeps wicked men (at any given moment) out of hell, except the mere pleasure of God.” John 3:18-21 explains this.
In speaking of unbelievers, Edwards says “Wickedness makes you heavy as lead, and to tend downwards with great weight and pressure towards hell: and if God should let you go, you would immediately sink and swiftly descend, to plunge into the bottomless gulf, and your health, or best contrivance, all of your self-assured righteousness, would have no more influence to uphold you and keep you out of hell, than a spider’s web would have to stop a falling rock. Were it not for the sovereign pleasure of God, the earth would not bear you for one moment; for you are a burden to it; creation groans with you; its creatures are made subject to the bondage of your corruption, the sun does not willingly shine upon you to give you light to serve sin and Satan…”
Edwards goes on and on demonstrating how God’s creation does not willingly support unbelievers. The Bible too, goes on and on demonstrating Whom we should fear:
Luke 12:4-5: “I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. But I will warn you Whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!”
Isaiah 59:18: “According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay fury to His adversaries.”
Isaiah 66:15: “For behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with His chariots like a whirlwind to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire.”
Revelation 19:15: …He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.
Isaiah 63:3: “I will tread them in My anger, and will trample them in My fury, and their blood shall be sprinkled upon My garments, and I will stain all My raiment.”
👆🏼Edwards states: “this implies God will inflict His wrath without any pity.” When the Almighty, powerful, and loving God turns away, not one unbeliever will be able to stop Him from doing what He will.
Ezekiel 8:18: “Therefore will I also deal in fury: Mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity; and although they cry in Mine ears with a loud voice, yet I will not hear them.”
Right now God stands ready to pity the unbeliever because of His great love. He continues to be patient as the world turns to evil, lest not one be left behind. God has it on His heart to show angels and men how excellent His love is (read the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego), and also how terrible His wrath is. So when the moment of His mercy is past, He will not hear one lament, cry, or shriek.
And understand that His wrath, once unleashed upon the unbelieving, is forever. They will be tormented in the presence of the angels, in the presence of the Lamb, and before the saints in heaven. Isaiah 66:23-24: “And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me”, saith the Lord. And they shall go forth and look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against Me…”
The other side of the coin is heavy stuff…