When God Judges a Nation
God can carry out His judgment on a nation in a variety of ways, depending on the severity of its rebellion. He may choose to affect its livelihood by bringing down its economy; He may allow it to be attacked and overtaken by its adversaries; or, He may choose to completely destroy a nation so it will never rise again (read Isaiah 45:6b-7). Destruction can occur through natural disasters, seemingly random accidents, or through acts of war and terror. Depending on the pervasiveness of the rebellion, and whether it is centered in or limited to a particular location within a nation, God may choose to destroy just one of its cities or perhaps a region or a group of cities. Regardless of how a nation is judged by the Lord, all of its inhabitants are impacted to some degree – this includes Christians.

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NOTE: We must not make the mistake of thinking that Christians living in areas currently facing disasters deserve what they are getting or are more deserving of calamity than those of us who have not yet experienced a major crisis. We have more than a few Christian friends living in the areas affected. Our hearts go out to them and we have been praying that the Lord would help them recover quickly and draw them close to His side. As we are witnessing what I believe is the beginning of “national” judgment intended to get our attention, our turn could come next. Any part of the country could be hit at any time. God usually reserves His greatest judgment for last.

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When God could tolerate no more of Nazi Germany’s crimes, His judgment fell. It was carried out through the United States and its allies. The destruction was extensive. In some cities the devastation was so complete that hardly a building was left standing. Dresden was particularly hard hit; many Christians living in that city perished. There had been warnings to get out. Some left while they could, but most stayed, not wanting to leave their homes and friends behind.

Judgment against a nation should not be confused with God’s eternal judgment of individuals. One day each of us will stand before the living God to give an account of our lives. Thankfully, those of us who have accepted Jesus as Savior are under the covering of His blood which paid the penalty for our sins. We will receive glorified bodies and spend eternity with Him as our reward; while those who rejected the Son of God will be subjected to everlasting punishment in hell.

When God’s judgment falls on a nation, believers in Christ who die as a result will still spend eternity with the Lord. Their death occurs because they happened to be living in the judged nation – not because they were enemies of God. This is an important point to understand. Here’s why.

Some American Christians mistakenly assume that because they are under the protective covering of the Lamb (in an eternal sense) they are somehow invincible in the physical realm as well. But this is not the case. For example, if New York City were to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon, there is a very high probability that you would not survive physically if you are within close proximity of the detonation. Unless God supernaturally protects you, you would die like everyone else, regardless of whether you are a Christian. Perhaps God is communicating this point in Revelation 18:4-5 when speaking of a wicked city He says, “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes.”