What Does the Bible Say About God's Judgment? Such as Sodom and Gomorrah?

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about Sodom and Gomorrah. This follows this post about trade deficits. This follows this post about Turkey's leader, Erdogan. For a free magazine subscription or to get the books recommended for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886- 8632.

What Does the Bible Say About God's Judgment?

 by Bill Bradford 4 comments Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

God has always existed as judge over His creation. But we need to understand how He judges, when He judges and why He judges.

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What Does the Bible Say About God's Judgment?

God has always existed as judge over His creation. But we need to understand how He judges, when He judges and why He judges. Knowing how, when and why He judges helps us understand the kinds of judgment described in the Bible.
When God determined to punish Sodom and Gomorrah for their sins, Abraham recognized that God is the judge of men's actions (Genesis 18:20-25). In this case God passed judgment, issued a verdict and carried out the sentence.
Psalms 75:7 declares, “But God is the Judge; He puts down one, and exalts another.' Nebuchadnezzar came to understand this (Daniel 4:37), and Daniel passed on this truth to the blasphemous Belshazzar (Daniel 5:21-22).
In these cases God is not judging people to determine their suitability to receive salvation, nor is God making right every injustice. These instances show that God will intervene, however, to deal with injustices or sin for the benefit of mankind and to further His purposes. Judgment is not passed on the majority of people now in this age for the purpose of eternal salvation. This kind of judgment will occur later. Jude tells us that “the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints to execute judgment on all” (verses 14-15).
God's ultimate purpose for man is that he will enjoy eternal life in the family of God. Since God is not calling everyone now (John 6:65), He is not judging every person now to grant or deny him eternal life (John 12:47-48). God reserves this kind of judgment for humans until later, when they will fully grasp God's truth as it is presented to them. Only then can they be fairly judged on the basis of that truth. God will not hold people accountable for what they don't know.
Sin, however, is always judged to be worthy of death (Romans 6:23), and therefore the whole world is guilty before God (Romans 3:19), and death is upon all because of their sin (Romans 5:12). Hebrews 8:8-12 speaks of a time yet future during which people who are unaware of God's truth will be brought into a new covenant with God, and then they will all know God, and their sins will be forgiven.
The judgment of God is also described in the Bible as a process, not strictly the rendering of a verdict or passing of a sentence. For example, Peter tells us that “the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God” (1 Peter 4:17). From this we can see that judgment is an evaluation process that has already begun for those who are a part of God's Church-“the house of God.” This evaluation ultimately leads to a rendering of a decision or verdict.
Some of Jesus' parables illustrate that judgment is a process that eventually leads to a decision and a reward or lack thereof. The parables of the pounds (Luke 19:12-27), talents (Matthew 25:14-30), laborers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16) and 10 virgins (Matthew 25:1-13) all help to clarify that judgment is a process after which comes a reckoning.
During the Millennium, God will judge people on how they live during that time; the 1,000 years will be a period during which God holds all people accountable (Revelation 20:4).
After this evaluation process, we will be judged according to our works (Revelation 22:12). There will be a reckoning only after a fair and ample process is complete (Matthew 25:31-34, 46).
When you really turn to God, you can confidently ask Him to step into your life in a powerful way. How God deals with you to fulfill His purpose in you is described in the Bible as a form of His “judgments.” When God is intimately involved in your life, He makes decisions about you daily. His decisions about us have to do with answers to our prayers, bestowing His blessings on us, protecting us and even allowing us to endure trials. God is deeply interested in us and how we are progressing toward fulfilling His purpose.
David saw God's judgments in all His works and recognized that they were apparent throughout the creation (Psalms 105:5, 7). David knew all God's decisions regarding him were right and in his best interest. Therefore David praised God continually for His faithful judgments in his life (Psalms 119:20, 62, 75).
God, the Judge over all creation, makes decisions. It is in His power to decide-and carry out-righteous and merciful judgments. We can be confident that God is a righteous judge (Psalms 7:11; 2 Timothy 4:8).

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  Bill Bradford

  United Church of God Pastor

  Bill Bradford is a contributor to United Church of God publications in addition to being the pastor for several United Church of God congregations in Queensland, Australia.
  

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A timely post from http://www.vdare.com  about NBA diversity. This follows this post about Canada, Marco Rubio, and bilingualism. This follows this post about rap songs referencing Donald Trump. This follows this post about Pope Francis's opinion of Mexicans.
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NBA Diversity: #AllStarsSoBlack

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Steve Sailer
February 14, 2016 

A+ | a-

The original rosters announced for both the East and West teams in today’s NBA All Star Game were all black: 24 out of 24. In fact, all were American-born blacks.
An injury last week to Jimmy Butler of the East led to Spaniard Pau Gasol being substituted in. (A subsequent injury to Chris Bosh led to Al Horford, a black born in the Dominican Republic, being added.)
No American-born whites are on either NBA All Star team.
Several All-Stars, however, are mulattos. In fact, it’s becoming pretty common for All-Stars, such as Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson of this year’s superlative Golden State Warriors (and Joakim Noah and Tony Parker in years past), to be sons of black professional athletes and hot white moms. Dads Dell Curry played 16 seasons in the NBA and Mychal Thompson played 12.
This year’s #AllStarsSoBlack game is a bit of a statistical fluke. Last year’s rosters included four whites (three Europeans — the Gasol Brothers and Dirk Nowitzki — and Kyle Korver, who grew up in Pella, Iowa). The 2014 game had two white players, Nowitzki and Oregon-raised Kevin Love. But the 2013 game had only one or two whites (David Lee and, perhaps, Brook Lopez).
Is this the result of systemic racism?
Probably a little bit. The fact that most good white basketball players these days either come from overseas or from extremely white parts of North America is curious. For example, here’s where two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash played high school ball:

You might think, a priori, that growing up competing against the best black talent would be good for tall white guys.
But instead it seems to drive them into tennis or water polo or whatever.
But, mostly, #AllStarsSoBlack just seems to be the usual combination of nature and nurture leading to racial imbalance among top performers.
[Comment at Unz.com]

The Racial Subtext of #DeflateGate

A timely post about from http://nicholasstixuncensored.blogspot.com about DeflateGate. This follows this post about the Youth Misery Index.
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The Racial Subtext of #DeflateGate

By Fisk Ellington Rutledge III

At first I wondered why the sportswriters were so insanely hostile and jumping to wild conclusions about DeflateGate. They were acting as if DeflateGate were the equivalent to mass murder.

Then it occurred to me that after an entire season of Blacks Behaving Very Badly in the NFL, that the writers were relieved to be able to dump on two high-achieving White men like Brady and Belichick.

I'm sure someone has noticed this too, but I have yet to read about it.

Have You Had the “The Conversation” Yet About the NFL?

By Stan D Mute

[In response to:

“Racist Seahawks Pre-Schooler Richard Sherman Goes Out of His Way to Insult White Reporter (Video)”]


The thing to keep in mind is that every white man who watches football or basketball is himself personally putting money into the pockets of negro criminals and their white apologists/cheerleaders.

The "but I like football" crap is bogus. I like cocaine, but I know how harmful the substance is not only to myself but to our society overall. Just quit it. Spend the time reading. Spend the time watching old westerns. Spend the time with your kids. Spend the time scratching yourself, if you prefer. Just STOP supporting negro thug millionaires and the media. Starve them out. If you don't, then stop the hypocrisy and become a full-fledged negro fanboy, cheering for illiterates who make more in a year than you'll make in a lifetime.

Trust me, quitting is easy. It's harder convincing friends and family to quit with you, but the conversation needs to occur. Turn off your TV next Sunday and discuss negro crime for four hours instead.


N.S.: I wish it were so easy. I grew up playing (badly) baseball, football, and basketball, and constantly watching them. It is simply not normal for a red-blooded American boy to grow up and swear off pro sports.

However, I watch less and less, and race is part of the reason, the entire reason, where the NBA is concerned. I haven’t watched an NBA game in years, because of black supremacism. (On rare occasion, I’ll watch college or NBA highlights during TV news, but I rarely watch those broadcasts, either.)

During the mid-1980s, after being away for almost 10 years, I noticed that black NBA players were flagrantly violating basic rules, like traveling and palming. Then during the late 1990s, they began flagrantly assaulting and bettering white head coaches.

I still watch Jet losses, but at the rate at which pro football players are openly displaying their black supremacism, the NFL will be next.

With baseball, the problem is reconquista, which is another story for another time.


[See also:

“LeBron James is a Black Supremacist; Will Any White Basketball Fans Make Him Pay for It, or are They All Uncle Toms?”

“St. Louis Rams Players Do ‘Hands-Up, Don’t Shoot’ Dance Before Game Against Raiders: Racist Thugs Showing Their Support for a Failed, Racist, Black, Aspiring Cop-Killer”;

“Racist NBA Star LeBron James, Female Impersonator Serena Williams, and Other Famous Racists are Outraged that Ferguson Grand Jury Failed to Uphold Mike Brown’s License to Kill, and Officer Darren Wilson’s Duty to Die”; and

“NBA Racism: Player Nik Stauskas Says He Expects Opponents to Attack Him on the Court ‘Because I'm a Rookie and I'm White.’”]

The Blues and the Greens: A Historic Sports Rivalry!!!

A timely post about from  http://isteve.blogspot.com about Ukraine and the Olympics. This follows this post about the Senate race in Texas. In the meantime, you can get more involved if you like here and read an interesting book HERE.




The Blues and the Greens

The carnage in Kiev is vaguely reminiscent of the great riots of 532 AD in Constantinople that began at the chariot races when the rival fan clubs, the brawling followers of the Blue and Green racing teams, joined forces and turned on Emperor Justinian the Great. It is perhaps trivializing of the issues at stake in Kiev to point out this connection with Constantinople (which, by the way, converted the Kievan Rus to to Orthodoxy in 969), but this famous story is worth recalling in its own right.

For some reason, this tale is peculiarly appealing to science fiction authors. (The influence of Edward Gibbon's The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire on sci-fi writers would be an interesting topic: e.g., Isaac Asimov's Foundation series is obviously inspired by Gibbon.)

For most of the 20th Century, historians assumed that the Blues and the Greens of Byzantine Constantinople weren't really just sports fans, but represented the upper class versus the lower class or the religiously orthodox versus the heretical or some neighborhoods versus some other neighborhoods. After all, nobody would get that worked up over sports, would they?

But in the 1970s, historian Alan Cameron, referencing the soccer hooligans of his own day, argued that we shouldn't overlook how important sports were in the Byzantine Empire to young men: "The truth is (of course) that Blues hated the Greens, not because they were lower-class or heretics -- but simply because they were Greens."

But that raises the question of whether sports rivalries can be uncorrelated with other subdivisions of society. Generally, sports rivalries in the modern world correlate with all sorts of demographic traits because they are territorial: teams have their home fields, which tend to attract local fans.

However, the home turf of both the Greens and the Blues was the vast hippodrome in downtown Constantinople.

A vague modern analog might be the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers, who have both played in the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles for the last 15 years.

Traditionally, the Lakers are more successful and more popular, especially with movie stars, but it's not particularly clear that fans of the Lakers or Clippers represent different neighborhoods or classes or ethnicities. The Lakers tend to appeal to Angelenos who like winners and don't mind spending money to associate themselves with winners (i.e., most of them) , while I presume the Clippers appeal to the budget-conscious (the Clippers charge about half as much as the Lakers for the same seat) and those who like underdogs. A marketing plan for the Clips speculates:

The Clippers' current fan base is of a low income bracket, probably young and from out of town, doesn not want to be seen as a bandwagoner, prefers to avoid the mainstream teams and is hoping the Clippers will write a Cinderella story.

On the other hand, the Lakers v. Clippers rivalry is low intensity by the standards of Chicago Cubs v. Chicago White Sox, much less Rangers v. Celtic in Glasgow. One reason for this is the lack of success of the Clippers hasn't generated much loyalty toward them.

Another is that Southern California hasn't been conducive to local sports animosities -- only USC v. UCLA in football generates much heat. Los Angeles Dodger baseball fans, for instance, often root for the Anaheim Angels if they are winning and vaguely wish them well when they aren't. In general, as James Q. Wilson noted after moving from L.A. to Boston in the 1940s to attend Harvard, Angelenos don't have turf, they have cars.

Finally, since enthusiasm (such as it is) for the Clippers has been distributed less regionally or ethnically than psychologically, with the Clippers appealing to random frugal eccentrics, there's not much this rivalry does to tap into human territoriality.

On the other hand, it's hard for me to fathom how the Blues and Greens couldn't come to be correlated with other factors such as class or neighborhood.

Gibbon wrote:

Constantinople adopted the follies, though not the virtues, of ancient Rome; and the same factions which had agitated the circus, raged with redoubled fury in the hippodrome. ...

Insolent with royal favor, the blues affected to strike terror by a peculiar and Barbaric dress, the long hair of the Huns, their close sleeves and ample garments, a lofty step, and a sonorous voice. In the day they concealed their two-edged poniards, but in the night they boldly assembled in arms, and in numerous bands, prepared for every act of violence and rapine. Their adversaries of the green faction, or even inoffensive citizens, were stripped and often murdered by these nocturnal robbers ... 

The first edict of Justinian, which was often repeated, and sometimes executed, announced his firm resolution to support the innocent, and to chastise the guilty, of every denomination and colour. Yet the balance of justice was still inclined in favour of the blue faction, by the secret affection, the habits, and the fears of the emperor; his equity, after an apparent struggle, submitted, without reluctance, to the implacable passions of Theodora, and the empress never forgot, or forgave, the injuries of the comedian. ...

As a poor child, the family of the future Empress Theodora was scorned by the Greens but treated well by the Blues.

Sedition of Constantinople, surnamed Nika, A.D. 532, January.  

A sedition, which almost laid Constantinople in ashes, was excited by the mutual hatred and momentary reconciliation of the two factions. In the fifth year of his reign, Justinian celebrated the festival of the ides of January; the games were incessantly disturbed by the clamorous discontent of the greens:... 

At this dangerous moment, seven notorious assassins of both factions, who had been condemned by the praefect, were carried round the city, and afterwards transported to the place of execution in the suburb of Pera. Four were immediately beheaded; a fifth was hanged: but when the same punishment was inflicted on the remaining two, the rope broke, they fell alive to the ground, the populace applauded their escape... (51) 

As one of these criminals was of the blue, and the other of the green livery, the two factions were equally provoked by the cruelty of their oppressor, or the ingratitude of their patron; and a short truce was concluded till they had delivered their prisoners and satisfied their revenge. The palace of the praefect, who withstood the seditious torrent, was instantly burnt, his officers and guards were massacred, the prisons were forced open, and freedom was restored to those who could only use it for the public destruction. A military force, which had been despatched to the aid of the civil magistrate, was fiercely encountered by an armed multitude, whose numbers and boldness continually increased ... The conflagration involved the cathedral of St. Sophia ...

Thus was destroyed the predecessor of the great St. Sophia cathedral that was built five years later in 537 AD.

 From such scenes of horror and distress, the wise and wealthy citizens escaped over the Bosphorus to the Asiatic side; and during five days Constantinople was abandoned to the factions, whose watchword, NIKA, vanquish! has given a name to this memorable sedition. (52) 

... They agreed to censure the corrupt management of justice and the finance; and the two responsible ministers, the artful Tribonian, and the rapacious John of Cappadocia, were loudly arraigned as the authors of the public misery. The peaceful murmurs of the people would have been disregarded: they were heard with respect when the city was in flames; the quaestor, and the praefect, were instantly removed, and their offices were filled by two senators of blameless integrity. After this popular concession, Justinian proceeded to the hippodrome to confess his own errors, and to accept the repentance of his grateful subjects; but they distrusted his assurances, though solemnly pronounced in the presence of the holy Gospels; and the emperor, alarmed by their distrust, retreated with precipitation to the strong fortress of the palace. The obstinacy of the tumult was now imputed to a secret and ambitious conspiracy, and a suspicion was entertained, that the insurgents, more especially the green faction, had been supplied with arms and money by Hypatius and Pompey, two patricians, who could neither forget with honor, nor remember with safety, that they were the nephews of the emperor Anastasius. 

... If the usurper [Hypatius], who afterwards pleaded the merit of his delay, had complied with the advice of his senate, and urged the fury of the multitude, their first irresistible effort might have oppressed or expelled his trembling competitor [Justinian]. The Byzantine palace enjoyed a free communication with the sea; vessels lay ready at the garden stairs; and a secret resolution was already formed, to convey the emperor with his family and treasures to a safe retreat, at some distance from the capital. 

Firmness of Theodora.  

Justinian was lost, if the prostitute whom he raised from the theatre had not renounced the timidity, as well as the virtues, of her sex. In the midst of a council, where [General] Belisarius was present, Theodora alone displayed the spirit of a hero; and she alone, without apprehending his future hatred, could save the emperor from the imminent danger, and his unworthy fears. 

"If flight," said the consort of Justinian, "were the only means of safety, yet I should disdain to fly. Death is the condition of our birth; but they who have reigned should never survive the loss of dignity and dominion. I implore Heaven, that I may never be seen, not a day, without my diadem and purple; that I may no longer behold the light, when I cease to be saluted with the name of queen. If you resolve, O Caesar! to fly, you have treasures; behold the sea, you have ships; but tremble lest the desire of life should expose you to wretched exile and ignominious death. For my own part, I adhere to the maxim of antiquity, that the throne is a glorious sepulchre." 

The firmness of a woman restored the courage to deliberate and act, and courage soon discovers the resources of the most desperate situation. It was an easy and a decisive measure to revive the animosity of the factions; the blues were astonished at their own guilt and folly, that a trifling injury should provoke them to conspire with their implacable enemies against a gracious and liberal benefactor; they again proclaimed the majesty of Justinian; and the greens, with their upstart emperor, were left alone in the hippodrome. 

The fidelity of the guards was doubtful; but the military force of Justinian consisted in three thousand veterans, who had been trained to valour and discipline in the Persian and Illyrian wars. Under the command of Belisarius and Mundus, they silently marched in two divisions from the palace, forced their obscure way through narrow passages, expiring flames, and falling edifices, and burst open at the same moment the two opposite gates of the hippodrome. In this narrow space, the disorderly and affrighted crowd was incapable of resisting on either side a firm and regular attack; the blues signalized the fury of their repentance; and it is computed, that above thirty thousand persons were slain in the merciless and promiscuous carnage of the day. 

   

“Los Suns” for Los Morons: NBA Team Protests Arizona Law, Honors NBA’s . . . “Hispanic Heritage”?!

An interesting post from www.debbieshlussel.com about the Phoenix Suns and the NBA. This follows this post about American workers displaced by illegal immigrants, especially BLACK workers!! and this post which shows that there are 30,000 openly illegal immigrants in the border town of El Paso across from the recent Juarez shooting. For more interesting stories like this click here to follow this blog.


“Los Suns” for Los Morons: NBA Team Protests Arizona Law, Honors NBA’s . . . “Hispanic Heritage”?!
By Debbie Schlussel
I’m not surprised that the NBA’s Phoenix Suns team is attacking the Arizona immigration law with “Los Suns” jerseys in protest, today. Frankly, I think the team is bigoted, because they’ve abandoned the chance to honor a whole category of illegal aliens who go as “Al-Suns.” (The same goes for the San Antonio Spurs, who are playing as Los Spurs.) I think Arizona CAIR should file a discrimination suit.
Sports teams are generally politically correct panderers. They can afford to be. Sports team execs know they can get away with it because sports fans are generally unprincipled morons who won’t give up watching their favorite teams play or wearing their favorite licensed NBA gear, to take a stand in favor of enforcing our borders. So what if an Islamic terrorist or murdering alien thug is now living in Arizona because they snuck in? They need their pro hoops fix. And nothing will stop them. Not even the internal destruction of this country by the invasion of lawbreakers.
The people who care about our borders are generally not NBA fans. They don’t walk around in stupid NBA jerseys and gullibly buy every new uniform change and Air Moron sneaker to make people like Suns owner Robert Sarver–who blasted the new immigration law–and Kobe Bryant even richer. They have principles and care about this country and its national security more than a score or a dunk by some abnormally tall freak of nature who will be filing for bankruptcy six years from now.
NBA fans are largely stupid, and that’s why the NBA is lying to them. As part of its protest of the Arizona immigration law, the Suns are involved in the NBA’s “Noche Latina,” honoring the NBA’s “Hispanic heritage.” Hilarious. The NBA has a “Hispanic heritage”?
Not unless that guy named Karim Abdul-Jabbar’s real name was Ferdinand Julio Alcindorez and he didn’t tell anyone. And was it Juan Chamberlain, who later bragged about bedding 20,000 groupies? Diablo Rodman in his Latina wedding dress as an NBA rebound champ? I thought the dude’s name was Dennis, but what do I know?
Sorry, but while this propaganda may be a nice marketing point to those who mindlessly support illegal aliens, here’s a little factual history of the NBA. The league’s heritage was first average White guys and a lotta Jews (none of ‘em Hispano-Jews), then Black people, with a few Asian and European benchwarming White dudes.
Heck, when Charlie Ward made anti-Semitic remarks while playing for the New York Knicks in 2001, even the many Jewish Knicks fans had no self-respect and went to the games anyway. Yes, Ward got a loud boo from the crowd when his name was announced. But then it was all over and these gluttons for anti-Semitism went on to watch the game and buy refreshments and more licensed gear.
More:
The battle over Arizona’s controversial new immigration policy continues. . . .
Tonight, it is the NBA Phoenix Suns, leading their series 1-0 against the San Antonio Spurs, who will express a collective disapproval by wearing jerseys that read “Los Suns.”
Here’s the statement in full from Suns Managing Partner Robert Sarver:
“Our players and organization felt that wearing our ‘Los Suns’ jerseys on Cinco de Mayo was a way for our team and organization to honor our Latino community and the diversity of our league, the State of Arizona, and our nation. We are proud that 400 players from 36 countries compete in the NBA, and the league and the Suns have always considered that to be a great strength of the NBA.
Um, how many of them came here illegally? Let’s deport them now.
The frustration with the federal government’s failure to deal with the issue of illegal immigration resulted in passage of a flawed state law. However intended, the result of passing this law is that our basic principles of equal rights and protection under the law are being called into questions, and Arizona’s already struggling economy will suffer even further setbacks at a time when the state can ill-afford them.”
The NBA Players Association is onboard, as is San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who said they would play as “Los Spurs” but couldn’t get custom road jerseys made by tonight’s Cinco de Mayo tip.
Steve Nash, the Suns’ South African born, Canadian-raised MVP point guard pictured
, called the law “very misguided” and the team’s jersey decision “fantastic.”
“[The league has] players from all over the world, and our Latino community here is very strong and important to us,” Nash said.
Whatta gigolo. Steve Nash, you are now at the top of my most hated athlete list. I don’t tell you what laws to make in your country. Shut the heck up on mine.