I totally missed this picture which is why the whole knocking conversation didn't make sense. I don't think the Lord just arbitrarily destroys people because they aren't listening to him. I think if you want to "eat, drink, and be merry" you are welcome to do so, with a few restrictions. If you say you believe in him and use his name to justify hurting others, you are going to to be toast.Joel wrote:Reminds me of this pic:BrianM wrote:Right, he doesn't use force to get you to obey, but he will use force to apply a punishment for disobedience. (He won't force you into heaven but He might force you out)Tony wrote:God actually does not use force in getting His children to obey. Casting Lucifer and his followers out did not force them to obey.
It's like the situation King Hezekiah was in. The king of Assyria threatened him and told him, don't expect your god to save you because no one else's did. Isaiah was sent to tell Hezekiah that he would be protected because they weren't talking about the idol gods of the other nations, they were talking about the true and living God of Israel. As promised, the king of Assyria was allowed to get close to Jerusalem but then had his army nearly wiped out.
For everyone else, it was live and let live. But when the true and living God was challenged, he let them know who had power and who didn't.