Today, humanity has been living a blessed time, like never before. For most of the history of mankind, life was difficult at best, danger was everywhere, sickness was common, and life expectancy was short. An individual could expect to live an average of between 30 and 40 years, but in some places, life expectancy could go down to their twenties. Everything was a struggle, all tasks were usually done laboriously by hand, the most basic things were lacking, and the quality of life was very low; where not even kings had air conditioning. In contrast, even ordinary workers can now afford air conditioning in many places.

All this suffering runs in accordance with the Christian explanation for why life can be unbearable. In addition to death as punishment for disobeying, in Genesis 3 God cursed the ground because of Adam’s sin and declared that from then on life would be a painful toil and a difficult struggle as punishment. That curse is quite in tune with what people have experienced for most of human history. God also punished Eve with severe labor pains during childbirth.

Move forward to today and life expectancy is up to 80 years in some places. Mass production and technology have allowed us access to tools and cheap products that make our lives much easier than ever. Everything is in abundance. Weekends off and 40-hour workweek for all workers are common in many places and there is plenty of time to enjoy the abundance and richness of our lives. Epidural anesthetic injections are routinely administered to women for labor pain during child delivery. Therefore, the concept of an angry god can be alien to us and
difficult to believe and relate to.

In contrast, the idea of an angry god was easily understood by everyone who lived before this technological revolution. When in July 1741 in Enfield, Connecticut, the theologian Jonathan Edwards preached a sermon titled “Sinners In The Hand Of An Angry God”, he had no problem reaching the audience with his message. Edwards was interrupted many times before finishing the sermon by people moaning and crying out, “What shall I do to be saved? This sermon helped to spark the Great Awakening (a Christian religious revival in the United States).

So the question begs, has God finally lifted his curse upon mankind? In reality, that should not be the important question, the real question is: Is God still angry at us? And the answer is yes! He is still angry. However, he has always offered us a path to redemption and improvement and to live the better life we have today. The punishment for Adam’s disobedience was eventual death, not a difficult life. We all still die sooner or later. According to Genesis 3, God banished Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, where the Tree of Life was, so they could not eat from this tree and live forever. People can now live to be in their nineties, but they still die nonetheless. Death is punishment. The one time, I see people acknowledging this reality is on their deathbeds. That is when many finally realize that they are in big trouble with their maker. But it often is a little too late.

Since life is nicer than it has ever been before, it is not surprising that we want to live. But even when life was not so nice, most people still wanted to live. I was wondering the reason for this strong desire to live we all have. For instance, life expectancy in the Nazi concentration camps was less than 3 months. There was no future in those camps and the present was dreadful. Prisoners were worked to death, with unproductive workers being shot immediately, while they were being starved and constantly brutalized, but surprisingly many persistently tried to hold on to life for just another day. I never understood this strong desire to survive at all costs, until I realized that in addition to a desire for people to live, they are afraid to die; which is different. Why is it that we fear death itself? My conclusion is that we unconsciously, instinctively feel guilty and expect to find an angry god after we die, or we could describe it as afterlife Judgment Day for all.

How a person dies can determine his/her expectations after death. Joseph Stalin was a murderer of the highest order. But he died comfortably in his own bed. Many good and courageous people have died violently and unjustly, like Christian martyrs in the Roman Colosseum or like Sophie Scholl, a Lutheran Christian in Nazi Germany accused of high treason. Tertullian famously said, “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church”, implying that the best recruiting tool for the Christian Church was for all to see the courageous way the martyrs died. No fear of death. All a Christian had to do at that time to avoid martyrdom was to deny being a Christian and then make an offer to the pagan gods. But some chose death before denial. It would help to hear the witnesses’ accounts of all these deaths.

In the case of Sophie Scholl, she was caught distributing leaflets denouncing the killing of Jews, Soviet prisoners, and others. She was taken to a people’s court before the infamous Judge Roland Freisler and sentenced to death by beheading. Her courageous behavior was noticed by all who witnessed her death. On the other hand, Stalin’s death is described by her daughter Svetlana in this manner: “He suddenly opened his eyes and looked at everyone in the room. It was a terrible gaze, mad or maybe furious and full of fear of death… Then something incomprehensible and frightening happened. … He suddenly lifted his left hand as though he was pointing to something above and bringing down a curse on us all. … The next moment, after a final effort, the spirit wrenched itself free of the flesh.” Stalin died in his bed, but not peacefully nor without fear.

However, the Christian church does not emphasize God’s judgment anymore. Although the Bible frequently talks about the wrath of God. Today, the belief that accepting Jesus is enough to obtain salvation is common but very wrong. It is not that easy. We must become new creatures. We need to repent and change our mentalities and ways. Our actions and behavior proclaim who we really are.

I mentioned earlier the concept of Judgment Day after death with God as the judge. But not all will be judged at that time. I think God believes in the procedure that prohibits the courts from charging a person twice for the same crime (Double jeopardy). Both the martyrs and Sophie Scholl have already been in front of a judge and were declared guilty of being Christians and in the case of Sophie of denouncing injustice by a criminal government. We are all going to be judged for our sins, but those who were already judged by a devil’s court in this life have nothing to fear in the next one. They will not stand trial again on Judgment Day. That is why they did not fear death when confronted with it.

But unless the reader is planning to become a martyr of some sort, he/she needs to determine why God is angry with us, why there is a problem between God and man, and finally, we need to try to resolve it. Just like God has allowed us to defeat that curse of suffering and difficult living, God has devised a way for everyone to reconcile with him and obtain redemption. Take advantage of that opportunity before it is too late. You do not want to see the judge when he is angry at you!

“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it.”

…………………………………………………………………………………Steve Jobs