God Kills People

2 responses to “God Kills People”

1. 

   David W Poor

   March 28, 2026

   Good Sabbath, Brother. The answer to the seeming paradox of God killing is found in how the Bible is written and being able to distinquish statements in the Bible that are true because God is Sovereign, versus statements in the Bible that are true because the statements reflect Jesus’s Character.

   Luke 9:54-56 (KJV) “54 And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? 55 But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. 56 For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.”

   Jesus makes it clear in this Scripture that destruction is not of the spirit of God, i.e., not in His Character. To impute killing of another in the name of God is worthy of a rebuke.

   One of the essences of Christianity is that God is Sovereign, and as the one and only Sovereign. God has to take the blame for all sin and all consequences thereof, including death. To refuse to take the blame would be to surrender sovereignty. Only on the final, fulfilled Day of Atonement will God cease to take the blame for sins (death) that are not placed on the Lord’s goat (Jesus), but rather placed on the azazel goat. This singular time when God will cease to take the blame is God’s “… strange act…”.

   God is the Creator. The accuser is the destroyer. A Creator cannot be a destroyer and a destroyer cannot be a Creator. God is “responsible” for all things including death because He is Sovereign, but God is not the author of death and it is not in Jesus’s character to kill or destroy ever, at any time, for any reason, no exceptions.

   Genesis 6:17 (KJV) 17 “And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.”

   This example, and in all other similar examples in the Bible of God destroying are true because God is Sovereign. There are no exceptions. It is false to interpret that God’s character includes the perfect will to destroy or that the will or ability to destroy is in God’s nature. Jesus came in part to once and for all perfectly reveal God’s perfect character of love, mercy and redemption.

   Isn’t the cross the epitome of God taking the blame for all sin, suffering and death? He became sin for us, who knew no sin. Would we expect that God in the Old Testament would do less for His people?

   Doesn’t sin contain it’s own punishment?

   Doesn’t the destroyer stand ready to kill?

   Does Jesus really have to be the executioner, when the accuser of the brethren whose character it is, stands ready to execute?

   It is not difficult to see in rhe Bible and understand, if one keeps their eyes on Jesus, His life and ministry of healing, forgiveness, restoration, life-restoring love (true exhibitions of God’s power), His trial in the Garden of Gethsemane, His sinless death on the cross, His resurrection to life eternal and His ongoing ministry in Heaven to finish the work of eternal redemption of His sheep.

   All Peace, Love, Mercy, Light, Life, Righteousness in Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God and Creator of all things, to you, your family and your congregation.

   Revelation 14:7 calls us to recognize God’s character (give glory) as the Creator and worship only the Creator. Jesus is the only Creator. All other gods are destroyers. Preach this with a loud voice to all nations, kindred, tongues and people. This is the Everlasting Gospel.

   Reply
   1. 

      Joshua Tapp

      April 14, 2026

      The position you laid out is not just a different emphasis—it is a completely different doctrinal framework than what the Bible teaches.

      Let me be very clear about what you’re actually saying and why it doesn’t line up with Scripture.

      First, you are teaching that God does not actually destroy or kill, but only “takes the blame” because He is sovereign. You are saying that passages where God clearly states He destroys—like the Flood—are only true in the sense of His authority, not in the sense that He actually did it.

      That is not what the Bible says.

      The Bible does not present those events as God passively allowing things to happen. It presents God as actively judging. When God says, “I, even I, do bring a flood… to destroy all flesh,” that is not symbolic language about responsibility—it is a direct statement of action.

      This same pattern is everywhere in Scripture. God sends plagues. God destroys Sodom. God kills and makes alive. To reinterpret all of those as something God didn’t actually do is to override the plain meaning of the text.

      Second, you are creating a false division between God and Jesus. You are claiming that destruction is not in God’s character because Jesus came to save and not destroy.

      But the Bible teaches that Jesus and the Father are one. Jesus is not a softer version of God—He is the full revelation of God.

      And Jesus is not only Savior—He is Judge. He spoke about hell, warned of destruction, and will return in judgment. Saying that it is “never in His character to destroy at any time for any reason” directly contradicts what the New Testament teaches about Jesus Himself.

      Third, you are shifting the cause of death and destruction away from God and onto sin itself or Satan. You say sin contains its own punishment and that the destroyer is the one who kills.

      That is not how the Bible presents it.

      The Bible teaches that death is the result of God’s judgment on sin—not just a natural process that runs on its own. Yes, Satan is a destroyer, but he operates under God’s authority. He is not the ultimate cause of death—God is the one who gives life and takes it.

      Fourth, you claim that God “has to take the blame for all sin” in order to remain sovereign.

      That is false.

      The Bible clearly teaches that God is not the author of sin. God does not commit sin, cause sin, or take responsibility for sin in that way. When Christ bore our sins on the cross, He was paying the penalty for sin—not admitting that God was the one who caused it.

      There is a major difference between bearing judgment and being responsible for wrongdoing. Your statement collapses that distinction and ends up attributing something to God that Scripture explicitly denies.

      Fifth, your explanation of the Day of Atonement and the azazel goat reflects a system where sin is ultimately shifted away from God and placed elsewhere in a way that undermines the finished work of Christ.

      The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ fully paid for sin. Completely. Finally. There is no future moment where God stops “taking the blame” and transfers it. The work was finished at the cross.

      The core problem with your position is this: you are trying to preserve the idea that God is love by removing His role as judge.

      But the Bible does not separate those things.

      God is love, and God judges. God shows mercy, and God executes justice. Jesus saves, and Jesus will judge. These are not contradictions—they are the full picture of who God is.

      When Scripture says God kills and makes alive, it is not damaging His character—it is revealing His authority. When Jesus came to save, it does not mean He will never judge—it means He is offering salvation before judgment comes.

      Your view requires reinterpreting or dismissing clear statements of Scripture in order to maintain a philosophical idea about God’s character. That is not how doctrine is built.

      If we are going to be biblical, we have to take the whole counsel of God as it is written—not redefine it to fit a system.

      God does judge. God does destroy. God is still righteous, just, and good in doing so.

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