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>God was happy to be more flexible with regard to Ninevah and was stern with Jonah because he wanted the destruction to follow through as originally slated. I think we must be cautious and averse to taking on Jonah's attitude toward Ninevah regardless of how much the U.S. may DESERVE such an attitude.

No one on this thread has taken an attitude of wanting to see the destruction of America, so I'm not sure who you are including in your "we." If you think I have, then you should rebuke the spirit that told you that, because that is not true.

Just before the Towers fell, people were exiting the doors and were met with security guards who told them, "No, don't get out. Go back in. You are safe and everything is just fine." Some went back in the building to their deaths minutes later.

The apostate Church has many false teachers and false prophets that for generations have tried to take the edge off of G~d's word and make it palatable for the masses on the broad way to destruction. Beware that you do not err and join them. Instead of "Repent" they get people to "Repeat" a Sinner's Prayer and instead of teaching of the "goodness AND severity" of G~d, they have taught the lie, "G~d loves you too much to let you suffer," and preach a G~d is all goodness and NO severity. In fact, they have presented a whole set of lies and twists of scripture as they have suffered Jezebel to teach and seduce the L~rd's people. See, What Jezebel says to the Church

Re 2:18 And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;
19 I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.
20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
21 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.
22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.
23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.

>We can be thankful that ultimately and overall--our Loving Father has decreed that mercy triumphs over judgement.

You left out the first half of the verse: N.B. Jas 2:13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment. Here is a measure of no mercy:

Every week in the U.S. abortionists kill 4 times as many people who died in the WTC tragedy.
Every major city in America has an abortion clinic that kills at least 5,000 babies every year.
Some sources indicate 100 million children have been killed by surgical abortion in the U.S. since 1973.

>I don't know that mere mortals can articulate or define too precisely God's negotiating the tension between judgement and mercy. He often seems to keep His own counsel on such matters. We see the results.

One can read the Word and see what G~d loves and what He hates and conform accordingly. If one refuses to do so, then he is deaf and will not know the mind of the Lord and is not a sheep. Jn 10:26-27.

>I'm usually less and less comfortable with stands by prophetic or even very truly spiritual folk wherein they seem eager to assist God in slinging the lightening bolts. I've been in that stance overmuch in decades past and God has disciplined me sternly because of it.

Ezek 3:18-20; 18; and 33 all command to warn of coming judgment. If you want to error on the side of "not warning," fine. I would rather give people all the information and tell them to seek G~d individually for what they should do. To fail to warn people or blunt the message is to not have a sufficient fear of the L~rd which is the beginning of understanding:

Eze 33:1 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman:
3 If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;
4 Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.
5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul.
6 But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.
7 So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.
8 When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
9 Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.

>In terms of "changing God's mind"--I think it's also hazardous to take stern stances on that curious phenomenon. Moses seems to have changed God's mind...

Moses was righteous. Most now are not. Even Moses didn't get his own way many times and he didn't enter the promised land.

Nu 14:18 The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.

DEAR PRECIOUS BRO AND SIS,

NO, I wasn't meaning per se, you necessarily. I *DID* feel in some of your phrasing, sentences that what I'm talking about was lurking uncomfortably close. I suppose if Holy Spirit affirms to you what I was saying as applying to you in any degree, then you'd probably do well to take it to heart. But I was mostly raising a warning in general as triggered by what I felt as I read some of your phrases.

Am NOT trying to take the edge off God's Word for the masses or anyone else. I have been learning the hard way in my life and walk with God that He tends to be lightening-bolty with fewer people than my humanness would tend to be that way with. . . and that at some point He has been very stern with me about taking too much of such a stance too often and too strongly. He has emphasized that HE ALONE HAS THE PERSPECTIVE AND WISDOM AND LOVE TO DIRECT AND ADMINISTER SUCH RIGHTEOUS ANGER.

Of ALL people I know, I have more experience with God's Goodness and severity/suffering. I would not want to dare give the impression that God is never severe etc.

You are quite right about the merciless abortions and about the first part of that Scripture. IN FACT, THAT FIRST PART IS ONE REASON I PREFER TO ERR ON THE SIDE OF MERCY.

YES!!! I BELIEVE IT'S CRUCIAL TO: read the Word and see what G~d loves and what He hates and conform accordingly. . . . and that most do far too little of such in daily practice.

I did NOT say anything about NOT warning. I think if you review my life on FR you will find that I have stuck my neck and about everything else out to be chopped off quite above average for beleivers hereon--WARNING, WARNING, WARNING. I think you may misconstrue my erring on the side of mercy as erring on the side of failing to warn. They are TWO very DIFFERENT THINGS. I'm surprised you would accuse me of failing to warn hereon!!! I'm just as "in-your-face" with rampant warnings in other spheres of my life. I take Scriptures about warning very, very seriously.

Yes, Moses didn't get his way all the time by any means.

I do believe not "clearing the guilty" speaks of an attitude of the heart as well as behaviors. Growing up in the A of G church, I often felt like I had to repent and be rebaptized every time I frowned else I'd miss Heaven. God's Grace and Salvation are more robust than that. He is very keenly intent about the attitudes of our hearts in terms of punishment earning guilt.

Thank you for the thoughtfulness and caring of your post. I appreciate your "iron-sharpening-iron" relationship.

God's rich blessing to you both.

LUB,