Divine retribution
Encyclopedia
Divine retribution is supernatural
punishment
of a person, a group of people, or all humanity by a deity
in response to some human action.
Many culture
s have a story about how a deity exacted punishment on previous inhabitants of their land, causing their doom.
An example of divine retribution is the story found in many cultures about a great flood destroying part or nearly all of mankind, as described in the Epic of Gilgamesh
or Book of Genesis (6:9-8:22), leaving one principal 'chosen' survivor. In the former example it is Utnapishtim, and in the latter example Noah
. References in the Qur'an
to a man named Nuh who was commanded by God
to build an ark
also suggest that one man and his followers were saved in a great flood.
Other examples in Hebrew
religious literature include the dispersion of the builders of the Tower of Babel
(Genesis 11:1-9), the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
(Genesis 18:20-21, 19:23-28), and the Ten Plagues visited upon the ancient Egypt
ians for persecuting the children of Israel (Exodus, Chapters 7-12).
Christian beliefs have the "final wrath" just subsequent to the Great Tribulation (persecution from Satan
and the Beast/Antichrist
). Revelation
hold God to sound trumpets and pour from vials/bowls to afflict the remaining disobedient population of the planet.
In most cases, the Bible refers to be divine retribution as being delayed or "treasured up" to a future time. Sight of God's supernatural works and retribution would mitigate against faith in God's Word.
Divine retribution in aligned with divine vengeance
. Almighty God alone is a just judge. Delayed judgment will eventually become eternally displayed.
The wrath of God is aligned with God's nature where He loves righteousness
and hates wickedness
. The wrath of God is closely associated with Divine administration of justice
. The wrath of God is commonly contrasted with the love of God
.
Bible
. Leaving aside the references to it in the Old Testament
, where it is used of God not only when punishing the wicked but also when sending trials to the just, as in , it is mentioned in at least twenty verses of the New Testament
. Examples are: - Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. - For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. - Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. - Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." - Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. - For the great day of his wrath has come, and who is able to withstand? - So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. - Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God was finished. - From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.
The New Testament associates the wrath of God particularly with imagery of the Last Day, described allegorically in as the "day of wrath", and the Book of Revelation
.
Major examples of divine retribution in the Pentateuch include:
, comprising the plays 1 Henry VI, 2 Henry VI, 3 Henry VI and Richard III
, in which the House of York
and Lancaster
are made to atone for the sin of deposing Richard II.
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
punishment
Punishment
Punishment is the authoritative imposition of something negative or unpleasant on a person or animal in response to behavior deemed wrong by an individual or group....
of a person, a group of people, or all humanity by a deity
Deity
A deity is a recognized preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....
in response to some human action.
Many culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
s have a story about how a deity exacted punishment on previous inhabitants of their land, causing their doom.
An example of divine retribution is the story found in many cultures about a great flood destroying part or nearly all of mankind, as described in the Epic of Gilgamesh
Epic of Gilgamesh
Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from Mesopotamia and is among the earliest known works of literature. Scholars believe that it originated as a series of Sumerian legends and poems about the protagonist of the story, Gilgamesh king of Uruk, which were fashioned into a longer Akkadian epic much...
or Book of Genesis (6:9-8:22), leaving one principal 'chosen' survivor. In the former example it is Utnapishtim, and in the latter example Noah
Noah
Noah was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the tenth and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs. The biblical story of Noah is contained in chapters 6–9 of the book of Genesis, where he saves his family and representatives of all animals from the flood by constructing an ark...
. References in the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
to a man named Nuh who was commanded by God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
to build an ark
Noah's Ark
Noah's Ark is a vessel appearing in the Book of Genesis and the Quran . These narratives describe the construction of the ark by Noah at God's command to save himself, his family, and the world's animals from the worldwide deluge of the Great Flood.In the narrative of the ark, God sees the...
also suggest that one man and his followers were saved in a great flood.
Other examples in Hebrew
Hebrews
Hebrews is an ethnonym used in the Hebrew Bible...
religious literature include the dispersion of the builders of the Tower of Babel
Tower of Babel
The Tower of Babel , according to the Book of Genesis, was an enormous tower built in the plain of Shinar .According to the biblical account, a united humanity of the generations following the Great Flood, speaking a single language and migrating from the east, came to the land of Shinar, where...
(Genesis 11:1-9), the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
Sodom and Gomorrah
Sodom and Gomorrah were cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis and later expounded upon throughout the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and Deuterocanonical sources....
(Genesis 18:20-21, 19:23-28), and the Ten Plagues visited upon the ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
ians for persecuting the children of Israel (Exodus, Chapters 7-12).
Christian beliefs have the "final wrath" just subsequent to the Great Tribulation (persecution from Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
and the Beast/Antichrist
Antichrist
The term or title antichrist, in Christian theology, refers to a leader who fulfills Biblical prophecies concerning an adversary of Christ, while resembling him in a deceptive manner...
). Revelation
Revelation
In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing, through active or passive communication with a supernatural or a divine entity...
hold God to sound trumpets and pour from vials/bowls to afflict the remaining disobedient population of the planet.
In most cases, the Bible refers to be divine retribution as being delayed or "treasured up" to a future time. Sight of God's supernatural works and retribution would mitigate against faith in God's Word.
Divine retribution in aligned with divine vengeance
Revenge
Revenge is a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. It is also called payback, retribution, retaliation or vengeance; it may be characterized, justly or unjustly, as a form of justice.-Function in society:Some societies believe that the...
. Almighty God alone is a just judge. Delayed judgment will eventually become eternally displayed.
The wrath of God is aligned with God's nature where He loves righteousness
Righteousness
Righteousness is an important theological concept in Zoroastrianism, Hinduism , Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
and hates wickedness
Wickedness
Wickedness, is generally considered a synonym for evil or sinfulness. Among philosophers, it has the more specific meaning of evil committed consciously and of free will....
. The wrath of God is closely associated with Divine administration of justice
Justice
Justice is a concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, or equity, along with the punishment of the breach of said ethics; justice is the act of being just and/or fair.-Concept of justice:...
. The wrath of God is commonly contrasted with the love of God
Love of God
Love of God are central notions in monotheistic and polytheistic religions, and are important in one's personal relationship with God and one's conception of God ....
.
"Wrath of God"
"The wrath of God", an anthropomorphic expression for the attitude of God towards sin, is mentioned many times in the ChristianChristianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
. Leaving aside the references to it in the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
, where it is used of God not only when punishing the wicked but also when sending trials to the just, as in , it is mentioned in at least twenty verses of the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
. Examples are: - Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. - For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. - Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. - Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." - Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. - For the great day of his wrath has come, and who is able to withstand? - So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. - Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God was finished. - From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.
The New Testament associates the wrath of God particularly with imagery of the Last Day, described allegorically in as the "day of wrath", and the Book of Revelation
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...
.
Divine Retribution in the Pentateuch
Divine retribution is easily seen in the Pentateuch or first five books of the Bible which set a hermeneutical foundation of the other Bible books.Major examples of divine retribution in the Pentateuch include:
- Curse upon Adam and Eve and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:14-24)
- Curse upon Cain after his slaying of his brother, Abel (Genesis 4:9-15)
- The destruction of the Great Flood (Genesis 6-7)
- The confusion of languages at the Tower of BabelTower of BabelThe Tower of Babel , according to the Book of Genesis, was an enormous tower built in the plain of Shinar .According to the biblical account, a united humanity of the generations following the Great Flood, speaking a single language and migrating from the east, came to the land of Shinar, where...
(Genesis 11:1-9) - Destruction of Sodom and GomorrahSodom and GomorrahSodom and Gomorrah were cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis and later expounded upon throughout the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and Deuterocanonical sources....
(Genesis 19:23-29) - Destruction of Er and OnanOnanOnan is a minor biblical person in the Book of Genesis , who was the second son of Judah. Just like his older brother, Er, Onan died prematurely by YHWH's will for being wicked....
(Genesis 38:6-10) - Plagues of EgyptPlagues of EgyptThe Plagues of Egypt , also called the Ten Plagues or the Biblical Plagues, were ten calamities that, according to the biblical Book of Exodus, Israel's God, Yahweh, inflicted upon Egypt to persuade Pharaoh to release the ill-treated Israelites from slavery. Pharaoh capitulated after the tenth...
(Exodus 7-14) - Divine threatenings at Mount SinaiMount SinaiMount Sinai , also known as Mount Horeb, Mount Musa, Gabal Musa , Jabal Musa meaning "Moses' Mountain", is a mountain near Saint Catherine in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. A mountain called Mount Sinai is mentioned many times in the Book of Exodus in the Torah and the Bible as well as the Quran...
(Exodus 19:10-25) - Plagues at the incident of the golden calfGolden calfAccording to the Hebrew Bible, the golden calf was an idol made by Aaron to satisfy the Israelites during Moses' absence, when he went up to Mount Sinai...
(Exodus 32) - Nadab and Abihu are burned (Leviticus 10:1-2)
- Curses upon the disobedient (Leviticus 26:14-39)
- A plague accompanies the giving of quail meat in the wilderness (Numbers 11)
- The rebellion of KorahKorahKorah or Kórach Some older English translations, as well as the Douay Bible), spell the name Core, and many Eastern European translations have Korak...
, DathanDathanDathan was an Israelite mentioned in the Old Testament as a participant of the Exodus.He was a son of Eliab, the son of Pallu, the son of Reuben. Together with his brother Abiram, the Levite Korah and others, he rebelled against Moses and Aaron...
and AbiramAbiramAbiram, also spelled Abiron, |father]] is exalted") is the name of two people in the Old Testament. One was the son of Eliab, who, along with his brother Dathan, joined Korah in the conspiracy against Moses and Aaron. He and all the conspirators, with their families and possessions, were swallowed...
- Their supernatural deaths and the plague that followed (Numbers 16) - Reprimand of MosesMosesMoses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
at the water of MeribahMeribahMeribah is one of the locations which the Torah identifies as having been travelled through by the Israelites, during the Exodus, although the continuous list of visited stations in the Book of Numbers doesn't mention it...
(Numbers 20:9-13) - Murmuring of the people and the plague of fiery serpents (Numbers 21)
- Whoredom with the Moabites and resulting plague (Numbers 25)
- Curses pronounced upon the disobedient (Deuteronomy 28)
Culture
Divine retribution is the driving force of Shakespeare's War of the Roses tetralogyTetralogy
A tetralogy is a compound work that is made up of four distinct works, just as a trilogy is made up of three works....
, comprising the plays 1 Henry VI, 2 Henry VI, 3 Henry VI and Richard III
Richard III (play)
Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. It depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified...
, in which the House of York
House of York
The House of York was a branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet, three members of which became English kings in the late 15th century. The House of York was descended in the paternal line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, the fourth surviving son of Edward III, but also represented...
and Lancaster
House of Lancaster
The House of Lancaster was a branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. It was one of the opposing factions involved in the Wars of the Roses, an intermittent civil war which affected England and Wales during the 15th century...
are made to atone for the sin of deposing Richard II.
See also
- Divine Intervention (disambiguation)
- ReligionReligionReligion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
- Divine ProvidenceDivine ProvidenceIn Christian theology, divine providence, or simply providence, is God's activity in the world. " Providence" is also used as a title of God exercising His providence, and then the word are usually capitalized...
- Christian eschatologyChristian eschatologyChristian eschatology is a major branch of study within Christian theology. Eschatology, from two Greek words meaning last and study , is the study of the end of things, whether the end of an individual life, the end of the age, or the end of the world...