GOAT & It’s Left-Handed Corollaries

 Our criticism of the Governmental Atonement Theory (hereafter GOAT) focuses primarily on the conclusion that God can deny himself in that view. Specifically, he could abstain from justice, which is an inherent part of his nature and person. (Presupposing Divine Command Theory, & it's voluntaristic errors.) This would be equally erroneous to conclude that he could cease to be everlasting from time to time. It is a contradiction to himself. (God is Just and cannot deny himself Job 8:3, 34:17, 40:8, Dt.32:4, Dan.9:14, Isa.45:19,21, 26:7, Jn.17:25, Psa.145:17, 11:7, 103:6, 33:4-5, 97:2, 48:10, 116:5, 119:137-8, 142, 172, Zep.3:5, Zec.8:8, 1 Jn.1:5, 2:29, Psa.5:5, Heb.1:9, 6:10, 2 Tim.4:8, Ezr.9:15) (Prior work on GOAT here & here.) 

GOAT is the idea that God can choose to pardon sinners without regard to inherent obligations to justice. However, pardons too frequently doled out would give the impression to those under his government (men & angels etc.) that either his law is too harsh, or that he doesn’t respect it, or that he is ‘soft on crime’. This would have an unravelling mutinous effect of sentient beings rebelling in anticipation of their inevitable future pardon. But if he rarely or never pardons then he looks mean and severe and this also will affect his creatures' view of him, also setting his government on the precipice of some disastrous rebellion. Either God appears cruel if he doesn’t freely pardon without punishment. Or he appears lax if he does freely pardon without punishment. To fix this perception and dispel the idea that he might not be Just or Righteous enough and to permit better governance he sends Christ to be killed by ungodly men as a token or symbolic gesture that he so loves the law that he would permit his only begotten Son to suffer physical death by. God is beholden to the perception of creatures rather than his own immutability. The cross then becomes a declaration that God so loves the law that he gave his only begotten Son over to death to prove that point to the universe. To men & angels this indicates that they should not take advantage of his gratuitous use of the pardon. And to sinners, if they accept this reality demonstrated in Jesus’ death (i.e. believe), they can be pardoned themselves. Jesus’ death is not a punishment for sin but a substitute for a real punishment. It is not justice it is a substitute instead of actual justice. It does not propitiate any past sins through God’s forbearance, but it is intended only to deter future disobedience.  

You could illustrate this idea of a ‘substitute for justice’ this way. ‘My argument for GOAT is not a logical argument; it is a substitute for a logical one. It serves to illustrate my high view of logic while not requiring the rigid meticulousness of an actual logical argument.’ In GOAT the cross is not itself a just act it is instead of or in place of justice. Obviously absurd, but let’s continue. (Rom.3:25-6, 1 Jn.1:9) 

Maybe you think it sounds cartoonish, or pretend theology but GOAT is usually presented in contrast to Calvinism & Universalism (given penal substitutionary atonement theory -PSA) as the more reasonable alternative. GOATs argue that if PSA is true then the problem of double jeopardy enters mandating that either Christ only died for the elect (the L in Calvinist TULIP) or everyone will ultimately be saved. Both of which are demonstrably false, ‘therefore... GOAT’. We’ve addressed the double jeopardy challenge (bottom here). That when situated within a Trinitarian framework the analogy falls short (as all analogies do, e.g. water & electricity). The legal obligation transfer now is involving the man Christ Jesus. (1 Tim.2:5, Rom.5:15, Ac.2:22) The infinite person of the Son in the days of his flesh in the economic Trinity must be factored in. The nature of the atonement is related to the persons of God not God and the sinner directly, thus will not map human legal categories precisely onto the divine. Regarding universalism, it would deny hell and eternal judgment, so it’s clearly wrong but outside our scope for now. 

Another supporting argument for GOAT is that Christ could not and did not suffer an eternal hell, which is the true penalty or full measure of justice for our sins. Therefore, he suffered far far less than justice requires (i.e. not PSA) but the cross is intended to function as the same governmental deterrent as the sinner going into hellfire itself. This is fallacious and assumes Christ was not fully God manifest in the flesh, which is antichrist (and we address here). Finite men take an infinity to experience the infinite justice of God. Christ the infinite person could experience it in a moment on the cross.  

They will also assert that guilt is a necessary component of penalty, and that since Jesus never felt guilt for sins (as he was sinless) he could not have met the legal requirements for a penal substitution. I see no reason to force this into the divine atonement economy. Using limited human analogies to the infinite work of God needs more humility. (Psa.131) Jesus took responsibility for our sin, and they were imputed to him (Isa.53:5-6,8,10-12, 2 Cor.5:19,21,1Pt.2:24, 3:18, Heb.9:28,1 Jn.3:5, Col.1:19-22). This is illustrated in the laying on of hands and discussed extensively here. 

 Additionally, they will charge that in PSA there is no forgiveness because the penalty is paid. Assuming that forgiveness with God requires that he disannul his own Just nature, begging the question and assuming God can deny Himself. GOAT demands justice and mercy to be seamlessly blended giving equal status to both resulting in a diminishing of their absoluteness. Instead of a subordinate role of mercy to justice, (as PSA) whereby justice cannot be diminished or disregarded. The picture of GOAT is a hermaphrodite. The picture of PSA is a marriage. 

 

Here we focus on the corollaries of GOAT proceeding that if its corollaries are false and they correctly follow from it, then GOAT is itself false. 

1. If Christ’s death is not an act of justice propitiating God’s retributive just wrath, but only a ‘symbol of justice’ then it was no more necessary for forgiveness than the blood of bulls and of goats. 

2. If God can pardon men without satisfying his just or righteous nature, then has no obligations to himself and can thus deny himself. Thus, he need not punish eternally in hell. Or he could accept 3^rd party substitutes for justice. Mercy could only be administered at the expense of justice. 

3. If GOAT is true, it follows that the unjust judge in Luke 18 (also Rev.6:10) could very well have said in response to her plea for justice, ‘I have chosen pardon for your offender, so there will be no justice here’. In fact, all pleas for vengeance themselves would be subject to rebuke. 

4. If Jesus only suffered a physical death, then he was afraid of men killing his body (Heb.5:7, Mt.26:38-9, Lk.22:42-4) in contrast to his own instruction. (Mt.10:28, Lk.12:4-5) 

5. If GOAT is true, then Jesus' death has no judicial application to past, present or future sins. It is only a deterrent for future sins. 

6. In GOAT view, God should appear cruel and harsh to the angels, for unto which of the angels said he at any time ‘You are pardoned for your rebellion’? 

7. GOAT speaks of God’s law as something independent of Himself. It depersonalizes the law almost as a created order and not the reflection of his immutable divine nature. (Jn.4:24, Rom.7:14, 8:4, 13:8,10, Gal.5:14, 1 Jn.4:7-5:3) 

8. But for the optics God could forgive all sins of men and angels and not enforce retribution or vengeance.  

I cannot see why this repugnant theology would not be a slander against God.

               God is the Just Judge 

God is Judge Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? Gen.18:25The day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds Rom.2:5-6

Also related- What is righteousness?

 

Job 21:22 Shall any teach God knowledge? seeing he judgeth those that are high. 

Psalm 7:8 The Lord shall judge the people: judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me.  11 God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day. 

Psalm 50:6 And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself. Selah. 

Psalm 54:1 Save me, O God, by thy name, and judge me by thy strength. 

Psalm 58:11 So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth. 

Psalm 75:7 But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another. 

Ecclesiastes 3:17 I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work. 

Ezekiel 18:30 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin. 

Ezekiel 24:14 I the Lord have spoken it: it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord God. 

Romans 2:3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? 

Romans 2:16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. 

Rom.3: 5 ... Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man) 6 God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world? 

2 Timothy 4:1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. 

Hebrews 12:23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, 

Revelation 16:5 And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. 

Revelation 18:8 Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. 

Revelation 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 

Psalm 96:10 Say among the heathen that the Lord reigneth: the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved: he shall judge the people righteously. 

Psalm 96:13 Before the Lord: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth. 

Psalm 98:9 Before the Lord; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity. 

Psalm 135:14 For the Lord will judge his people, and he will repent himself concerning his servants. 

Isaiah 3:13 The Lord standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people. 

Isaiah 33:22 For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us. 

 

Just Vengeance is God’s as Judge  

Deuteronomy 32:35 To me belongeth vengeance and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste. 36 For the LORD shall judge his people... 41 If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me. 42 I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh; and that with the blood of the slain and of the captives, from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy. 43 Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, and to his people. 

Psalm 94:1 O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself. 

Isaiah 34:8 For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion. 

Isaiah 35:4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you. 

Isaiah 47:3 Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man. 

Isaiah 59:17 For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak. 

Isaiah 61:2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; 

Isaiah 63:4 For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. 

Jeremiah 46:10 For this is the day of the Lord God of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood: 

Jeremiah 50:15 Shout against her round about: she hath given her hand: her foundations are fallen, her walls are thrown down: for it is the vengeance of the Lord: take vengeance upon her; as she hath done, do unto her. 28 The voice of them that flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, the vengeance of his temple. 

Jeremiah 51:6...for this is the time of the Lord's vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence. 

Ezekiel 25:14 And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel: and they shall do in Edom according to mine anger and according to my fury; and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord God. 

Ezekiel 25:17 And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them. 

Micah 5:15 And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard. 

Nahum 1:2 God is jealous, and the Lord revengeth; the Lord revengeth, and is furious; the Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies. 

Rom.3: 5 ... Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man)6 God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world? 

2 Thessalonians 1:8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: 

Hebrews 10:30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. 

Jude 1:7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. 

Lev.26:24 Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins. 25 And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. 

Isaiah 1:24 Therefore saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies: 

Jeremiah 5:9 Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? (& v29, 9:9) 

Jeremiah 46:10 For this is the day of the Lord God of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood: for the Lord God of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates. 

Luke 18: 7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? 8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily... 

Revelation 6:10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? 

Revelation 18:20 Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her. 

Revelation 19:2 For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. 

 

In Justice God Requires Recompense & Restitution 

Numbers 5:7 Then they shall confess their sin which they have done: and he shall recompense his trespass with the principal thereof, and add unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him against whom he hath trespassed. 

Ruth 2:12 The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust. 

2 Samuel 22:21 The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness: according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me. V25 Therefore the Lord hath recompensed me according to my righteousness; according to my cleanness in his eye sight. (Also Psa.18:20,24) 

2 Chronicles 6:23 Then hear thou from heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, by requiting the wicked, by recompensing his way upon his own head; and by justifying the righteous, by giving him according to his righteousness. 30 Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and render unto every man according unto all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men:) 

Proverbs 11:31 Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner. 

Proverbs 12:14 A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth: and the recompence of a man's hands shall be rendered unto him. 

Isaiah 34:8 For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion. 

Isaiah 35:4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you. 

Isaiah 59:18 According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompence. 

Isaiah 65:6 Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense, even recompense into their bosom, 

Isaiah 66:6 A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the Lord that rendereth recompence to his enemies. 

Jeremiah 16:18 And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled mine inheritance with the carcases of their detestable and abominable things. 

Jeremiah 25:14 For many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of them also: and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands. 

Jeremiah 32:18 Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the Lord of hosts, is his name, 

Jeremiah 51:6 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the Lord's vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence. v24 And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith the Lord. v56 Because the spoiler is come upon her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, every one of their bows is broken: for the Lord God of recompences shall surely requite. 

Lamentations 3:64 Render unto them a recompence, O Lord, according to the work of their hands. 

Ezekiel 7:3 Now is the end come upon thee, and I will send mine anger upon thee, and will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense upon thee all thine abominations. 4 And mine eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have pity: but I will recompense thy ways upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee: and ye shall know that I am the Lord. 8 Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee, and accomplish mine anger upon thee: and I will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense thee for all thine abominations. 9 And mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: I will recompense thee according to thy ways and thine abominations that are in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I am the LORD that smiteth. 10 And as for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their way upon their head. (see also 11:21, 16:43, 17:19, 22:31) 

Hosea 9:7 The days of visitation are come, the days of recompence are come; Israel shall know it: the prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad, for the multitude of thine iniquity, and the great hatred. 

Hosea 12:2 The Lord hath also a controversy with Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his doings will he recompense him. 

Romans 1:27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. 

Romans 12:17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. 

2 Thessalonians 1:6 Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; 

Hebrews 2:2 For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; 

1 Sam.25:21 ...and he hath requited me evil for good.  

2 Samuel 2:6 And now the Lord shew kindness and truth unto you: and I also will requite you this kindness, because ye have done this thing. 

Psalm 10:14 Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless. 

Psalm 41:10 But thou, O Lord, be merciful unto me, and raise me up, that I may requite them. 

Jeremiah 51:56 Because the spoiler is come upon her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, every one of their bows is broken: for the Lord God of recompences shall surely requite. 

Gen.44:4 ...Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good? 

1 Samuel 24:17 And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil. 

Psalm 7:4 If I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me; (yea, I have delivered him that without cause is mine enemy:) 

Psalm 58:11 So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth. 

Psalm 94:2 Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud. 

Psalm 103:10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. 

Psalm 109:5 And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love. 

Psalm 109:20 Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the Lord, and of them that speak evil against my soul. 

Proverbs 17:13 Whoso rewardeth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house. 

Proverbs 25:22 For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the Lord shall reward thee. 

Hosea 4:9 And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings. 

Obadiah 1:15 For the day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head. 

Matthew 16:27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. 

Luke 23:41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. 

2 Timothy 4:14 Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works: 

Exodus 22:12 And if it be stolen from him, he shall make restitution unto the owner thereof. (& 22:3-6) 

Revelation 18:6 Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double. 

Revelation 22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. 

1 Samuel 26:23 The Lord render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness; 

Psalm 28:4 Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavours: give them after the work of their hands; render to them their desert. 

Psalm 62:12 Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy: for thou renderest to every man according to his work. 

Psalm 94:2 Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud. 

Proverbs 24:12 If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works? 

Isaiah 66:6 A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the Lord that rendereth recompence to his enemies. 15 For, behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. 

Romans 2:6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds: 

1 Peter 3:9 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. 

 

 

• Government is designed by God to administer wrath upon evil doers. 

Romans 13:4 For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. 

Jeremiah 15:15 O Lord, thou knowest: remember me, and visit me, and revenge me of my persecutors; take me not away in thy longsuffering: know that for thy sake I have suffered rebuke. 

Luke 18: 2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: 3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. 

Romans 12:19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. 

Numbers 31:3 And Moses spake unto the people, saying, Arm some of yourselves unto the war, and let them go against the Midianites, and avenge the Lord of Midian. 

Numbers 35:12 And they shall be unto you cities for refuge from the avenger; that the manslayer die not, until he stand before the congregation in judgment. 

Joshua 10:13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. 

2 Sam.22: 48 It is God that avengeth me, and that bringeth down the people under me. 49 And that bringeth me forth from mine enemies: thou also hast lifted me up on high above them that rose up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man. 

Psalm 18:47 It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me. 

1 Thessalonians 4:6 That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. 

Proverbs 20:22 t thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the Lord, and he shall save thee. 

God's Just Wrath is from His Jealousy

Exodus 34:14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God: 

Exodus 20:4-6 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. (Dt.5:9) 

Numbers 25:11 Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy. 

Deuteronomy 4:24 For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God. 

Deuteronomy 6:15 (For the Lord thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth. 

Deuteronomy 29:20 The Lord will not spare him, but then the anger of the Lord and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven. 

Deuteronomy 32:16 They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger. 

Deuteronomy 32:21 They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation. 

Joshua 24:19 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the Lord: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. 

1 Kings 14:22 And Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had done. 

Psalm 78:58 For they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images. 

Psalm 79:5 How long, Lord? wilt thou be angry for ever? shall thy jealousy burn like fire? 

Ezekiel 8:3 ...where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy. V5 Then said he unto me, Son of man, lift up thine eyes now the way toward the north. So I lifted up mine eyes the way toward the north, and behold northward at the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry. 

Ezekiel 23:25 And I will set my jealousy against thee, and they shall deal furiously with thee... 

Ezekiel 36:5 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken... v6 Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have borne the shame of the heathen: 

Ezekiel 38:19 For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; 

Ezekiel 39:25 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name; 

Joel 2:18 Then will the Lord be jealous for his land, and pity his people. 

Nahum 1:2 God is jealous, and the Lord revengeth; the Lord revengeth, and is furious; the Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies. 

Zephaniah 1:18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land. 

Zephaniah 3:8 Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy. 

Zechariah 8:2 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury. 

1 Corinthians 10:22 Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he? 

Song of Solomon 8:6 Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. 

Jealousy vengeance in man 

Ezekiel 16:38 And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will give thee blood in fury and jealousy. 

Prov.6:32 But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul... 34 For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. 35 He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts. (See Num.5:14-5,18, 25, 29-30)