Then at the east side of the garden he put living creatures and a flaming sword which turned in all directions. This was to keep anyone from coming near the tree that gives life.

"Tell your children how you went and stood at the foot of the mountain which was covered with thick clouds of dark smoke and fire blazing up to the sky.

I stood between you and the LORD at that time to tell you what he said, because you were afraid of the fire and would not go up the mountain. "The LORD said,

The king will capture all his enemies; he will capture everyone who hates him.

He will destroy them like a blazing fire when he appears. The LORD will devour them in his anger, and fire will consume them.

God shines from Zion, the city perfect in its beauty.

He calls heaven and earth as witnesses to see him judge his people.

The heavens proclaim that God is righteous, that he himself is judge.

and a stream of fire was pouring out from it. There were many thousands of people there to serve him, and millions of people stood before him. The court began its session, and the books were opened.

"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Away from me, you that are under God's curse! Away to the eternal fire which has been prepared for the Devil and his angels!

These, then, will be sent off to eternal punishment, but the righteous will go to eternal life."

Instead, all that is left is to wait in fear for the coming Judgment and the fierce fire which will destroy those who oppose God!

because our God is indeed a destroying fire.

But the heavens and the earth that now exist are being preserved by the same command of God, in order to be destroyed by fire. They are being kept for the day when godless people will be judged and destroyed.

But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. On that Day the heavens will disappear with a shrill noise, the heavenly bodies will burn up and be destroyed, and the earth with everything in it will vanish.

as you wait for the Day of God and do your best to make it come soon---the Day when the heavens will burn up and be destroyed, and the heavenly bodies will be melted by the heat.

Then the Devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had already been thrown; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Then death and the world of the dead were thrown into the lake of fire. (This lake of fire is the second death.)

Those who did not have their name written in the book of the living were thrown into the lake of fire.

But cowards, traitors, perverts, murderers, the immoral, those who practice magic, those who worship idols, and all liars---the place for them is the lake burning with fire and sulfur, which is the second death."

The LORD will take revenge and punish them; the time will come when they will fall; the day of their doom is near.

that I will sharpen my flashing sword and see that justice is done. I will take revenge on my enemies and punish those who hate me.

My arrows will drip with their blood, and my sword will kill all who oppose me. I will spare no one who fights against me; even the wounded and prisoners will die.'

You will break them with an iron rod; you will shatter them in pieces like a clay pot.' "

Serve the LORD with fear; tremble

LORD, you are a God who punishes; reveal your anger!

He has sent me to proclaim That the time has come When the LORD will save his people And defeat their enemies. He has sent me to comfort all who mourn,

I decided that the time to save my people had come; it was time to punish their enemies.

In my anger I trampled whole nations and shattered them. I poured out their lifeblood on the ground."

For we know who said, "I will take revenge, I will repay"; and who also said, "The Lord will judge his people."

They shouted in a loud voice, "Almighty Lord, holy and true! How long will it be until you judge the people on earth and punish them for killing us?"

They called out to the mountains and to the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the eyes of the one who sits on the throne and from the anger of the Lamb!

The terrible day of their anger is here, and who can stand up against it?"

"Who is the LORD?" the king demanded. "Why should I listen to him and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD; and I will not let Israel go."

The sons of Eli were scoundrels. They paid no attention to the LORD

Those who know you, LORD, will trust you; you do not abandon anyone who comes to you.

Turn your anger on the nations that do not worship you, on the people who do not pray to you.

The branches of the trees are withered and broken, and women gather them for firewood. Because the people have understood nothing, God their Creator will not pity them or show them any mercy.

(SEE 9:5)

I will destroy those who have turned back and no longer follow me, those who do not come to me or ask me to guide them."

This is how the judgment works: the light has come into the world, but people love the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds are evil.

"Where is your father?" they asked him. "You know neither me nor my Father," Jesus answered. "If you knew me, you would know my Father also."

Because those people refuse to keep in mind the true knowledge about God, he has given them over to corrupted minds, so that they do the things that they should not do.

Come back to your right senses and stop your sinful ways. I declare to your shame that some of you do not know God.

not with a lustful desire, like the heathen who do not know God.

When you are in trouble and all those things happen to you, then you will finally turn to the LORD and obey him.

Foreigners bow before me; when they hear me, they obey.

If you will only obey me, you will eat the good things the land produces.

And so the word of God continued to spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem grew larger and larger, and a great number of priests accepted the faith.

Through him God gave me the privilege of being an apostle for the sake of Christ, in order to lead people of all nations to believe and obey.

Some people keep on doing good, and seek glory, honor, and immortal life; to them God will give eternal life.

Other people are selfish and reject what is right, in order to follow what is wrong; on them God will pour out his anger and fury.

Surely you know that when you surrender yourselves as slaves to obey someone, you are in fact the slaves of the master you obey---either of sin, which results in death, or of obedience, which results in being put right with God.

But not all have accepted the Good News. Isaiah himself said, "Lord, who believed our message?"

I will be bold and speak only about what Christ has done through me to lead the Gentiles to obey God. He has done this by means of words and deeds,

Now, however, that truth has been brought out into the open through the writings of the prophets; and by the command of the eternal God it is made known to all nations, so that all may believe and obey.

we pull down every proud obstacle that is raised against the knowledge of God; we take every thought captive and make it obey Christ.

You foolish Galatians! Who put a spell on you? Before your very eyes you had a clear description of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross!

How, then, shall we escape if we pay no attention to such a great salvation? The Lord himself first announced this salvation, and those who heard him proved to us that it is true.

When he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him,

It was faith that made Abraham obey when God called him to go out to a country which God had promised to give him. He left his own country without knowing where he was going.

You were chosen according to the purpose of God the Father and were made a holy people by his Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be purified by his blood. May grace and peace be yours in full measure.

Sarah was like that; she obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are now her daughters if you do good and are not afraid of anything.

The time has come for judgment to begin, and God's own people are the first to be judged. If it starts with us, how will it end with those who do not believe the Good News from God?