Destruction is the end God names for what will not stand in His presence.
Enter by the narrow gate.
For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction,
and those who enter by it are many.
The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise.
He is patient,
not wishing that any should perish,
but that all should reach repentance.
The day of the Lord will come like a thief,
and the heavens will pass away,
and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
Destruction is not a mood.
It is a verdict.
Scripture uses destruction of cities, of armies, of pride, and of persons who persist in refusing the Lord.
- The flood took a world.
- Fire took Sodom.
- Babylon took Jerusalem, and later Babylon itself fell.
Jesus spoke of a broad road that leads to destruction, of body and soul destroyed in hell, of a house that fell, and great was the fall of it.
Paul wrote of vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and of those who do not obey the gospel facing the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord.
Peter said that the present heavens and earth are stored up for fire, and that scoffers ignore a world that perished by water.
The word is severe because the holiness of God is real and because sin is not a toy. It is also bounded by patience. He destroyed the first world and then hung a bow in the cloud. He sent prophets before the sword. He sent the Son. Whoever believes is not condemned.
Destruction is what remains when the refuge is refused. It is never a license for cruelty in His name. Vengeance belongs to Him. The church warns, pleads, and builds on the rock.
- Destruction is God’s act and God’s right, not a human sport.
- Many walk the wide gate. Popular is not safe.
- Patience delays the day so that repentance can come.
- Cities and worlds have already fallen. The pattern is not theory.
- Eternal destruction is away from His presence—not a small loss.
- The same Lord who destroys the proud saves the remnant who hide in Him.
- The house on sand falls. The works done on the earth will be exposed.
- Wide Gate – Easy way; many travelers; an end that does not look like an end at first.
- Cities and Kingdoms – Sodom, Jerusalem, Babylon; pride pulled down.
- Flood and Fire – Past judgment as warning of what is stored up.
- Body and Soul – Fear Him who can destroy both in hell.
- Vessels of Wrath – Prepared for destruction; mercy still preached to all.
- Away from His Presence – The core of the loss.
- Patience First – Not wishing that any should perish.
- Matthew 7:13-14 – “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
- Matthew 7:26-27 – The house on the sand fell, and great was the fall of it.
- Matthew 10:28 – “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
- 2 Peter 3:7-10 – The heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly… The Lord is not slow… but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 – The Lord Jesus revealed from heaven in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel… They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.
- Romans 9:22-23 – What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy?
- Philippians 3:18-19 – Many walk as enemies of the cross… Their end is destruction, their god is their belly.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:3 – While people are saying, There is peace and security, then sudden destruction will come upon them.
- 2 Peter 2:1, 3, 6 – False teachers bring upon themselves swift destruction… Their condemnation from long ago is not idle. He turned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes and condemned them to extinction, making them an example.
- Genesis 6:13, 17 – I have determined to make an end of all flesh… I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh.
- Genesis 19:24-25 – The Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire… He overthrew those cities.
- Isaiah 13:19 – Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them.
- Jeremiah 7:14 – I will do to the house that is called by My name as I did to Shiloh.
- Psalm 1:6 – The Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
- Psalm 145:20 – The Lord preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.
- Proverbs 16:18 – Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
- 1 Corinthians 3:17 – If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him.
- Revelation 11:18 – The time for the dead to be judged… and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.
- John 3:16-18 – Whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. Whoever does not believe is condemned already.
The gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.
Fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord.
He is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
Pride goes before destruction. Sudden destruction comes while they say peace and security.
Whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
Do not walk the wide road because it is crowded. Do not call patience absence. Enter the narrow gate. Hide in the Son. Build on the rock. The works of the earth will be exposed. The destroyers of the earth will not keep the last word.
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