I think we have all wondered, “why is He delaying His return?”. I for one am thankful that He did! If he would have come before June of 1971, I would never have seen the light! Why does He delay in bringing judgment to evil leaders? These two questions are closely related. We are told in Romans 9:22-24, “What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?”.
Longsuffering is a word we don’t use much in our current culture, but longsuffering means “patiently bearing continual wrongs or trouble”. Very early in the Bible and in Jewish history we are told that “God is compassionate and gracious, longsuffering and slow to anger, abounding in love” Exodus 34:6. So the nature of God has not changed, he revealed Himself as being patient and longsuffering from the beginning, towards both sinners and saints.
It is the very fact of this nature that we are all saved. If He wanted to show His wrath and power, he could do so. But He is longsuffering with the vessels of wrath that are doomed for destruction. He endures it all, so that He might make known to us “the riches of His Glory”, we are the “vessels of mercy”. Even Peter refers to Paul’s message saying “Consider also that our Lord’s patience brings salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom God gave him. He writes this way in all his letters, speaking in them about such matters” 2 Peter 3:15. As God delays, more and more people are being saved. And the riches of His glory continue shining forth.
So, God is longsuffering with the wicked and the evil in our world, allowing “the riches of His Gory” to be shown forth in those who continue to seek Jesus, the “vessels of mercy”. And for the wicked and the evil of the world, He delays full judgment. There is a judgment though! All one must do is read Romans 1, the wrath of God is being revealed in that He is giving them over to depraved minds and dishonorable passions. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful. They invent new forms of evil; they disobey their parents. They are senseless, faithless, heartless, merciless. This is a judgment; God’s restraining hand is being removed from our land. People are given over to their lusts and passions, for money and power. Yet in all of it, He continues to show forth the riches of His Glory to those who love him and seek Him. And that is a great encouragement in dark days.
Where there is no vision [no revelation of God and His word], the people are unrestrained; But happy and blessed is he who keeps the law [of God]. Proverbs 29:18 Amplified Bible
Selah
(see article below on The restrainer)
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