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00:00:01 A newspaper in Japan 00:00:03 once quoted a Catholic priest. 00:00:06 He said, ‘The God of the Old Testament, 00:00:08 ‘Yahweh, 00:00:09 ‘is a God of anger, 00:00:10 and I can’t feel close to him.’ 00:00:12 And then he added, 00:00:14 ‘But he developed and transformed 00:00:16 ‘into what is the God of the New Testament, 00:00:18 that is, the God of love whom Jesus taught.’ 00:00:21 Have you ever heard that? 00:00:23 A lot of people still think like this, 00:00:25 as if God has a split personality. 00:00:28 They are uncomfortable when they read in the Bible 00:00:30 that God gets angry sometimes. 00:00:33 Why is that? 00:00:35 Well, it may be for one of two reasons. 00:00:38 First, there are outspoken critics in this world 00:00:41 who constantly try to discredit Jehovah. 00:00:45 A prominent biologist, for example, made headlines a few years ago. 00:00:49 He said in his book: “The God of the Old Testament 00:00:52 is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction.” 00:00:56 I stopped the quote there because it gets much worse. 00:00:59 How blasphemous a viewpoint that is! 00:01:04 The more often people hear statements like this, 00:01:07 the more they tend to believe them. 00:01:10 There’s a second reason, though, why some struggle with God’s anger. 00:01:14 They have suffered in abusive relationships, 00:01:17 and now they’re sensitive to any perceived abuse. 00:01:22 Take Carolyn for example, she said: 00:01:24 “When my drunken father used to explode in anger, 00:01:28 “his appearance changed. 00:01:30 He became like a wolf baring its teeth before attacking.” 00:01:34 She said, “I lived this nightmare every day.” 00:01:38 Well, abuse like this can scar people for a long time. 00:01:42 So how can we help sincere persons 00:01:44 get past their fears about God’s anger 00:01:47 and draw closer to Jehovah? 00:01:50 Well, let’s address the critics first 00:01:52 and then see how we can reassure those who may be feeling insecure. 00:01:57 First, let’s make one thing clear: 00:02:00 Jehovah does not have multiple personalities. 00:02:03 When Jesus was on earth, he advocated 00:02:05 the powerful truth that Jehovah is one. 00:02:10 When a Jewish scribe asked him 00:02:12 what was the greatest of all commandments, what did he say? 00:02:16 Let’s read Mark 12:29, 30 00:02:19 and see what his reply was in his own words. 00:02:24 He answered by quoting today’s text 00:02:27 —Mark 12:29, 30. 00:02:31 “Jesus answered: ‘The first is, 00:02:34 “‘“Hear, O Israel, Jehovah our God is one Jehovah, 00:02:39 “‘“and you must love Jehovah your God 00:02:41 “‘“with your whole heart and with your whole soul 00:02:43 and with your whole mind and with your whole strength.”’” 00:02:47 So for Jesus, loving Jehovah for who he is 00:02:51 (not for who we want him to be), 00:02:54 is really the most important decision any of us could make. 00:02:59 Now, the pagan nations had all sorts of gods for different purposes. 00:03:04 And they would worship different aspects 00:03:07 of even the same God in different localities, 00:03:10 like the god Baal, for example. 00:03:14 And something similar happened in other religions. 00:03:16 Say, for example, the Catholic Church 00:03:18 with its different manifestations of the worship of Mary. 00:03:23 But things were very different in Israel. 00:03:26 They learned that there was only one God, Jehovah, 00:03:29 who was responsible for everything. 00:03:32 And each time they read Deuteronomy 6:4, 00:03:36 they were reminded that God had one personality. 00:03:41 So why does a God of love get angry sometimes? 00:03:46 Well, the answer is quite simple. 00:03:49 When rebels challenged Jehovah’s sovereignty, 00:03:52 he had to defend his name and standards. 00:03:55 Rebellion did make him angry and rightly so, 00:03:59 but Jehovah’s anger is always under control 00:04:03 and guided by right principles. 00:04:06 As a Father, he had to protect his household. 00:04:09 Respect for his own name and his love for his children 00:04:13 compelled him to act. 00:04:16 At the same time, 00:04:18 Jehovah is “slow to anger 00:04:20 and abundant in loving-kindness.” 00:04:23 His fundamental mood is not anger, but joy. 00:04:28 And Jesus said that “God loved the world so much 00:04:33 that he gave his only-begotten Son.” 00:04:35 Jehovah has been, is, and always will be 00:04:39 a God of unchangeable love. 00:04:43 First John 4:8 says: “God is love.” 00:04:46 It identifies who he is. 00:04:49 But Jesus also said that God gave his Son 00:04:54 in order that “everyone exercising faith in him 00:04:57 “might not be destroyed 00:05:00 but have everlasting life.” 00:05:02 Did you notice that Jesus said 00:05:04 those not exercising faith will be destroyed? 00:05:08 So Jehovah’s personality didn’t mellow over the years, 00:05:13 as if it needed mellowing. 00:05:15 It didn’t transform from one personality to another. 00:05:19 His severity today against the wicked is no less 00:05:24 nor his love any greater than it was in the past. 00:05:28 Jehovah does not change. 00:05:32 We can illustrate it like this, perhaps: 00:05:36 Criminals may know that a police officer 00:05:39 is an arm of the law. 00:05:42 His children may see him 00:05:44 as a loving father that he is. 00:05:47 And his close friends may value him 00:05:49 for his good sense of humor. 00:05:51 Now, the police officer, the father, and the friend 00:05:54 are all the same person. 00:05:56 In each situation, a different aspect of his personality stands out. 00:06:01 And it’s the same with Jehovah. 00:06:05 In harmony with his name, 00:06:07 “He Causes to Become” 00:06:10 or becomes whatever he needs to in every situation 00:06:14 in order to fulfill his purpose, 00:06:16 especially his purpose toward those who love him. 00:06:21 So if we want to get closer to Jehovah, 00:06:25 we have to accept the full range 00:06:28 of his beautiful, multifaceted, 00:06:30 and unchanging personality. 00:06:34 For those who love God, we don’t fear his anger. 00:06:39 We learn to trust him because he’s always kind 00:06:43 and tender toward us. 00:06:45 Why can we say that? 00:06:47 Well, open your Bibles with me 00:06:49 to Jeremiah 29:11, 00:06:54 and notice why we can be sure 00:06:57 that Jehovah always wants the best for us 00:07:00 as he did for his servants in the past. 00:07:06 In his own words: 00:07:08 “‘For I well know the thoughts that I am thinking toward you,’ 00:07:12 “declares Jehovah, 00:07:14 “‘thoughts of peace, and not of calamity, 00:07:18 to give you a future and a hope.’” 00:07:22 Because Jehovah loves us, 00:07:25 because he is always in full control of himself 00:07:28 and circumstances around him, 00:07:31 and because Jesus has already died for our sins, 00:07:35 we can always feel safe with Jehovah. 00:07:39 We do not ever need to fear approaching him. 00:07:43 Very soon now, as Zechariah 14:9 predicts, 00:07:48 Jehovah must become “King over all the earth. 00:07:51 “In that day [the prophet said] 00:07:54 “Jehovah will [prove to] be one, 00:07:57 and his name one.” 00:08:00 Everyone in heaven and on earth will agree at that time 00:08:03 that Jehovah our God is the Universal Sovereign, 00:08:07 and you and I will gladly join our voices 00:08:11 with that happy chorus. 00:08:13 What a beautiful prospect that is!
00:00:01 A newspaper in Japan 00:00:03 once quoted a Catholic priest. 00:00:06 He said, ‘The God of the Old Testament, 00:00:08 ‘Yahweh, 00:00:09 ‘is a God of anger, 00:00:10 and I can’t feel close to him.’ 00:00:12 And then he added, 00:00:14 ‘But he developed and transformed 00:00:16 ‘into what is the God of the New Testament, 00:00:18 that is, the God of love whom Jesus taught.’ 00:00:21 Have you ever heard that? 00:00:23 A lot of people still think like this, 00:00:25 as if God has a split personality. 00:00:28 They are uncomfortable when they read in the Bible 00:00:30 that God gets angry sometimes. 00:00:33 Why is that? 00:00:35 Well, it may be for one of two reasons. 00:00:38 First, there are outspoken critics in this world 00:00:41 who constantly try to discredit Jehovah. 00:00:45 A prominent biologist, for example, made headlines a few years ago. 00:00:49 He said in his book: “The God of the Old Testament 00:00:52 is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction.” 00:00:56 I stopped the quote there because it gets much worse. 00:00:59 How blasphemous a viewpoint that is! 00:01:04 The more often people hear statements like this, 00:01:07 the more they tend to believe them. 00:01:10 There’s a second reason, though, why some struggle with God’s anger. 00:01:14 They have suffered in abusive relationships, 00:01:17 and now they’re sensitive to any perceived abuse. 00:01:22 Take Carolyn for example, she said: 00:01:24 “When my drunken father used to explode in anger, 00:01:28 “his appearance changed. 00:01:30 He became like a wolf baring its teeth before attacking.” 00:01:34 She said, “I lived this nightmare every day.” 00:01:38 Well, abuse like this can scar people for a long time. 00:01:42 So how can we help sincere persons 00:01:44 get past their fears about God’s anger 00:01:47 and draw closer to Jehovah? 00:01:50 Well, let’s address the critics first 00:01:52 and then see how we can reassure those who may be feeling insecure. 00:01:57 First, let’s make one thing clear: 00:02:00 Jehovah does not have multiple personalities. 00:02:03 When Jesus was on earth, he advocated 00:02:05 the powerful truth that Jehovah is one. 00:02:10 When a Jewish scribe asked him 00:02:12 what was the greatest of all commandments, what did he say? 00:02:16 Let’s read Mark 12:29, 30 00:02:19 and see what his reply was in his own words. 00:02:24 He answered by quoting today’s text 00:02:27 —Mark 12:29, 30. 00:02:31 “Jesus answered: ‘The first is, 00:02:34 “‘“Hear, O Israel, Jehovah our God is one Jehovah, 00:02:39 “‘“and you must love Jehovah your God 00:02:41 “‘“with your whole heart and with your whole soul 00:02:43 and with your whole mind and with your whole strength.”’” 00:02:47 So for Jesus, loving Jehovah for who he is 00:02:51 (not for who we want him to be), 00:02:54 is really the most important decision any of us could make. 00:02:59 Now, the pagan nations had all sorts of gods for different purposes. 00:03:04 And they would worship different aspects 00:03:07 of even the same God in different localities, 00:03:10 like the god Baal, for example. 00:03:14 And something similar happened in other religions. 00:03:16 Say, for example, the Catholic Church 00:03:18 with its different manifestations of the worship of Mary. 00:03:23 But things were very different in Israel. 00:03:26 They learned that there was only one God, Jehovah, 00:03:29 who was responsible for everything. 00:03:32 And each time they read Deuteronomy 6:4, 00:03:36 they were reminded that God had one personality. 00:03:41 So why does a God of love get angry sometimes? 00:03:46 Well, the answer is quite simple. 00:03:49 When rebels challenged Jehovah’s sovereignty, 00:03:52 he had to defend his name and standards. 00:03:55 Rebellion did make him angry and rightly so, 00:03:59 but Jehovah’s anger is always under control 00:04:03 and guided by right principles. 00:04:06 As a Father, he had to protect his household. 00:04:09 Respect for his own name and his love for his children 00:04:13 compelled him to act. 00:04:16 At the same time, 00:04:18 Jehovah is “slow to anger 00:04:20 and abundant in loving-kindness.” 00:04:23 His fundamental mood is not anger, but joy. 00:04:28 And Jesus said that “God loved the world so much 00:04:33 that he gave his only-begotten Son.” 00:04:35 Jehovah has been, is, and always will be 00:04:39 a God of unchangeable love. 00:04:43 First John 4:8 says: “God is love.” 00:04:46 It identifies who he is. 00:04:49 But Jesus also said that God gave his Son 00:04:54 in order that “everyone exercising faith in him 00:04:57 “might not be destroyed 00:05:00 but have everlasting life.” 00:05:02 Did you notice that Jesus said 00:05:04 those not exercising faith will be destroyed? 00:05:08 So Jehovah’s personality didn’t mellow over the years, 00:05:13 as if it needed mellowing. 00:05:15 It didn’t transform from one personality to another. 00:05:19 His severity today against the wicked is no less 00:05:24 nor his love any greater than it was in the past. 00:05:28 Jehovah does not change. 00:05:32 We can illustrate it like this, perhaps: 00:05:36 Criminals may know that a police officer 00:05:39 is an arm of the law. 00:05:42 His children may see him 00:05:44 as a loving father that he is. 00:05:47 And his close friends may value him 00:05:49 for his good sense of humor. 00:05:51 Now, the police officer, the father, and the friend 00:05:54 are all the same person. 00:05:56 In each situation, a different aspect of his personality stands out. 00:06:01 And it’s the same with Jehovah. 00:06:05 In harmony with his name, 00:06:07 “He Causes to Become” 00:06:10 or becomes whatever he needs to in every situation 00:06:14 in order to fulfill his purpose, 00:06:16 especially his purpose toward those who love him. 00:06:21 So if we want to get closer to Jehovah, 00:06:25 we have to accept the full range 00:06:28 of his beautiful, multifaceted, 00:06:30 and unchanging personality. 00:06:34 For those who love God, we don’t fear his anger. 00:06:39 We learn to trust him because he’s always kind 00:06:43 and tender toward us. 00:06:45 Why can we say that? 00:06:47 Well, open your Bibles with me 00:06:49 to Jeremiah 29:11, 00:06:54 and notice why we can be sure 00:06:57 that Jehovah always wants the best for us 00:07:00 as he did for his servants in the past. 00:07:06 In his own words: 00:07:08 “‘For I well know the thoughts that I am thinking toward you,’ 00:07:12 “declares Jehovah, 00:07:14 “‘thoughts of peace, and not of calamity, 00:07:18 to give you a future and a hope.’” 00:07:22 Because Jehovah loves us, 00:07:25 because he is always in full control of himself 00:07:28 and circumstances around him, 00:07:31 and because Jesus has already died for our sins, 00:07:35 we can always feel safe with Jehovah. 00:07:39 We do not ever need to fear approaching him. 00:07:43 Very soon now, as Zechariah 14:9 predicts, 00:07:48 Jehovah must become “King over all the earth. 00:07:51 “In that day [the prophet said] 00:07:54 “Jehovah will [prove to] be one, 00:07:57 and his name one.” 00:08:00 Everyone in heaven and on earth will agree at that time 00:08:03 that Jehovah our God is the Universal Sovereign, 00:08:07 and you and I will gladly join our voices 00:08:11 with that happy chorus. 00:08:13 What a beautiful prospect that is!
