Yes, Psalm 90:11 literally asks the Lord … “Who knoweth the power of Thine Anger?”

That’s a very interesting approach to any form of anger. To talk about its power.

I’ve heard of the intensity of anger. Or the depth of anger. Even the heat of anger. Or the duration of it. But the stark “power” of anger!

Maybe to get a better grip on this unusual Bible Question, we might should study the word “anger” for a bit. It is simply spelled “aph” in Hebrew. It is consistently translated “anger” of “wrath” (synonyms) over 200 times in the King James Version of Scripture. But, surprisingly, it is also translated “nostrils” or “nose” over two dozen times! It is furthermore rendered as “face” 22 times!

How can a word mean BOTH “anger” and “nostril?” Etymologically it depicts a kind of anger that is so patent, so demonstrable that one’s face gets red, one’s nostrils enlarge as he or she breathes heavily. He even changes colors in the face! That enraged!

Now, using these definitions to anthropomorphically describe our great God, He is so upset, bent on judgment, that His Face is affected. Look at Him (so to speak) and you will immediately notice He is incensed! (Not over anything trivial, but over blatant sin in the lives of His creation.)

Now let’s go back to the noun “POWER” in reference to God’s Anger. Spelled “oz” (pronounced “oze”), it means “strength, might, boldness” and even “loudness” 1 time.

Here’s the POWER of God’s Word … “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” Genesis 1:3

Here’s the POWER of God’s Love … “Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love.” Jeremiah 31:3 (And consider Paul’s Statement that nothing can separate us from the Love of God! It is that loyal, committed to its subject!)

Now finally, the POWER of God’s Anger … “And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their FLESH shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their EYES shall consume away in their holes, and their TONGUE shall consume away in their mouth.” Zechariah 14:12, just one of many Bible examples.

Wow!

Or Revelation 20:10 … “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the LAKE of FIRE and BRIMSTONE (molten sulphur), where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be TORMENTED DAY AND NIGHT FOR EVER AND EVER.” The Lake of Fire!

Wow again!

What’s the “point” of this Lesson, you may be asking by now?

I am concerned that America (the Country of my birth) might some day (sooner rather than later) see, experience this ineffable POWER of God’s ANGER!

Something I personally have never seen up close. I have never known. Nor has my generation.

This I do know … “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” Psalm 9:17, and that alone is a powerful Statement regarding the sheer Power of God’s Wrath!

Anybody listening?

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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