To Christians: When is Christ Returning?

[74x12]

If His work in the flesh was finished, why would He need to return?

Yes He had finished His work as a mortal. But, the risen Savior has more work to do. When Jesus rose from the dead it was immortal. So He was changed (first to be changed see 1 Corinthians 15:52) and that's why it says He is the firstborn from the dead. (Colossians 1:18) It was a new birth.

He returns to judge the world. Raise the dead and to punish the wicked. He's the one who will tread the wine press of the wrath of God.

Please note that the question was not answered in the affirmative. Jesus did not say He would return. Jesus did not say He would restore the kingdom to Israel.

Nor does He deny it. If it was not Him; He would correct them.

Revelation is not Jesus speaking and saying He was coming quickly. Jesus did not write the Book of Revelation. So the question is who would come quickly? The man with the new name.

Jesus didn't write any of the gospels. We only have recording of what He said. The book of Revelation is no different in that regard. It's clearly Jesus speaking. The book of Revelation by the way is even called "the revelation of Jesus Christ" in Revelation 1:1.

The imprisonments, exiles and banishments of Baha’u’llah over a period of 40 years fulfill that prophecy exactly.

I'm sorry, I have no idea what prophecy you are referring to.

Besides, Jesus claims He will never die again. (Revelation 1:18)

Bahaullah died.

 

[cataway]

He returns to judge the world. Raise the dead and to punish the wicked. He's the one who will tread the wine press of the wrath of God.

.

''Raise the dead and to punish the wicked.?? ''

the penalty for sin is death and continues to be so . do you actually think he is going to raise the dead just to kill them one more time ?

 

[Trailblazer]

The 2nd Woe was the Bab and the 3rd to come quickly was Baha'u'llah.

Christians keep telling me that the Bab and Baha’u’llah were not predicted in the Bible, but that is not true at all. Rev. 11:14 says “the third woe cometh quickly” because there was only nine years between the Revelations of the Bab and Bab and Baha’u’llah.

“The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.” (Rev. 11:14) The first woe is the appearance of the Prophet, Muhammad, the son of ‘Abdu’lláh—peace be upon Him! The second woe is that of the Báb—to Him be glory and praise! The third woe is the great day of the manifestation of the Lord of Hosts and the radiance of the Beauty of the Promised One. The explanation of this subject, woe, is mentioned in the thirtieth chapter of Ezekiel, where it is said: “The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Howl ye, Woe worth the day! For the day is near, even the day of the Lord is near.” (Ez. 30:1-3)

Therefore, it is certain that the day of woe is the day of the Lord; for in that day woe is for the neglectful, woe is for the sinners, woe is for the ignorant. That is why it is said, “The second woe is past; behold the third woe cometh quickly!” This third woe is the day of the manifestation of Bahá’u’lláh, the day of God; and it is near to the day of the appearance of the Báb.

“And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.” (Rev. 11:15).”

“The seventh angel is a man qualified with heavenly attributes, who will arise with heavenly qualities and character. Voices will be raised, so that the appearance of the Divine Manifestation will be proclaimed and diffused. In the day of the manifestation of the Lord of Hosts, and at the epoch of the divine cycle of the Omnipotent which is promised and mentioned in all the books and writings of the Prophets.”

Some Answered Questions, pp. 56-57

 

[Trailblazer]

Yes He had finished His work as a mortal. But, the risen Savior has more work to do.

Jesus never said He had more work to do. I believe that Christians made up that false doctrine because they could not face the fact that Jesus was never coming back to earth. It is all psychological.

But if you believe you can support that with scripture please post the scripture.

When Jesus rose from the dead it was immortal. So He was changed (first to be changed see 1 Corinthians 15:52) and that's why it says He is the firstborn from the dead. (Colossians 1:18) It was a new birth.

I do not believe Jesus ever rose from the dead and there is no proof that ever happened. Stories men wrote about Jesus long after Jesus walked the earth are not proof that the stories are true. That would be circular reasoning.

He returns to judge the world. Raise the dead and to punish the wicked. He's the one who will tread the wine press of the wrath of God.

Jesus never said He was going to do any of that. I consider these to be false doctrines of the Church that came about from misinterpreting the Bible.

But if you believe you can support that with scripture please post the scripture.

Nor does He deny it. If it was not Him; He would correct them.

If Jesus was planning to return, He would have said so. Nowhere in the NT did Jesus ever say He was going to return.

No, there is no reason to believe Jesus would correct them if they had been wrong. That is not how Jesus spoke, in case you have not noticed. He was very indirect and left it to people to figure out what He meant. On more than one occasion, Jesus does not answer in the affirmative and Christians take that as a yes, but it is an obvious denial.

For example, Jesus denied being a king in this verse, even though He did not come right out and say it. By explaining what He was born and why He came into the world, He was saying He was not a king.

John 18:37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.

Then of course we can put that verse together with this verse we know that Jesus is not going to build a Kingdom of God on earth.

John 18:36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.

Jesus didn't write any of the gospels. We only have recording of what He said. The book of Revelation is no different in that regard. It's clearly Jesus speaking. The book of Revelation by the way is even called "the revelation of Jesus Christ" in Revelation 1:1.

Jesus never referred to His resurrected physical body returning to earth. It was never the physical body of Jesus that was slated to return, it was His Spirit that would return in another man.

I'm sorry, I have no idea what prophecy you are referring to.

Besides, Jesus claims He will never die again. (Revelation 1:18)

Bahaullah died.

There are many prophecies given by the many prophets in the OT and they were all fulfilled by Baha’u’llah, as delineated in this book: William Sears, Thief in the Night

Jesus died the same way that Baha’u’llah died and both of them are alive in heaven at the Right Hand of God. They will never die again because their souls are immortal.

 

[Trailblazer]

''Raise the dead and to punish the wicked.?? ''

the penalty for sin is death and continues to be so . do you actually think he is going to raise the dead just to kill them one more time ?

If the scriptures are so clear and easy to understand, why is it that Christians do not agree on what they mean?

 

[MJFlores]

Yes but, Jesus said two weirdly contradictory things. First that he's coming soon and second that that will be many signs, but these do not necessarily mean the end is near.

Matthew 24

Sometimes they're signs of the "end of an era" as the Japanese are fond of saying.

That is right.

Matthew 24:1-8 New International Version (NIV)
Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.

So things are going to get ugly before the end comes.
It is like a woman suffering birth pains.
Hunker down, if you can.

 

[URAVIP2ME]

In the 19th century...............
It all ended in what many know as the Great Disappointment. Christ, they concluded had not returned.
Since then we’ve had the First World War Still He didn’t come in their eyes. The Second World War He's coming soon they say. The World trade centre and Tsunami and - yes He’s nearly here!.........................

First of all, wrong calculations or wrong guesses does Not make the Bible as wrong.
' He's nearly here! ' is accurate now because we can couple Luke 21:11 with Matthew 24:14; Acts 1:8.
Before the coming of Jesus' 1,000-year reign over Earth we would see the fulfillment of Luke 21:11.
This would co-inside with the global international declaring about God's kingdom of Daniel 2:44.
Never before in history have we seen this coupling.
The World Wars, etc. global troubles were just as written at Matthew 24:6 the end is Not yet.
Such things were just the beginning of the pangs of sorrow - Matthew 24:8.
Now modern technology has made possible rapid Bible translation, so Now people even living in remote areas can have Scripture in their own mother tongue or native languages.
Thus, we are at the ' final phase ' of Matthew 24:14 and that means we are nearing the ' final signal ', so to speak, of 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3.
When the powers that be will be saying, " Peace and Security..." that will prove to be the precursor to the coming great tribulation of Revelation 7:14,9 before Jesus, as Prince of Peace, will usher in global Peace on Earth among persons of goodwill.

 

[URAVIP2ME]

''Raise the dead and to punish the wicked.?? ''
the penalty for sin is death and continues to be so . do you actually think he is going to raise the dead just to kill them one more time ?

I find the wicked will be destroyed when 'time of separation on Earth' takes place as found at Matthew 25:31-33.
The executional words from Jesus' mouth will rid the Earth of the wicked - Isaiah 11:3-4; Revelation 19:14-16.

As for the resurrected dead, the resurrection is for the righteous and unrighteous -> Acts of the Apostles 24:15.
What a person does ' after ' they are resurrected will determine whether they gain everlasting life on Earth or not.
In other words, if a resurrected person chooses to rebel they could forfeit eternal life on Earth.
They could become wicked and be destroyed forever - Psalms 92:7
- www.jw.org

 

[MJFlores]

Jesus never said He was going to return to earth, not once in the New Testament

Matthew 13:36-43 New International Version (NIV)

Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

“As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

That is ONE and Jesus said it. The apostles like Peter also confirmed on Christ's return:

2 Peter 3:4-7 Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

They will say, “Jesus promised to come again. Where is he? Our fathers have died, but the world continues the way it has been since it was made.”

But these people don’t want to remember what happened long ago. The skies were there, and God made the earth from water and with water. All this happened by God’s word. Then the world was flooded and destroyed with water. And that same word of God is keeping the skies and the earth that we have now. They are being kept to be destroyed by fire. They are kept for the day of judgment and the destruction of all people who are against God.

There is no doubt that Jesus will return in the near future. It could be in our lifetime, it could be on your children's lifetime but the finality is he will return and everyone [literally] will see him. He will come bearing gifts to those who truly believe him - that is eternal life. He will also come with the judgement of the Father against the world as the Bible puts it -

"They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. "

 

[74x12]

''Raise the dead and to punish the wicked.?? ''

the penalty for sin is death and continues to be so . do you actually think he is going to raise the dead just to kill them one more time ?

Technically, I meant the resurrection of the just and that He will punish the wicked by fire on earth. (Isaiah 66:16, Jude 14-15, 2 Thessalonians 2:8)

But ... there will be a second resurrection for judgment but that seems to come after another 1000 years. Then He'll judge (fairly, mercifully) and divide the nations; sheep from goats. So it's not a pointless resurrection just to kill everyone again. He'll have mercy on many people. That's how I read it.

The real death to fear is not the physical one; but the spiritual death which is in the lake of fire/gehenna. (Matthew 10:28, Revelation 20:14)

 

[Trailblazer]

Matthew 13:36-43 New International Version (NIV)

Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

“As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

That is ONE and Jesus said it. The apostles like Peter also confirmed on Christ's return:

2 Peter 3:4-7 Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

They will say, “Jesus promised to come again. Where is he? Our fathers have died, but the world continues the way it has been since it was made.”

But these people don’t want to remember what happened long ago. The skies were there, and God made the earth from water and with water. All this happened by God’s word. Then the world was flooded and destroyed with water. And that same word of God is keeping the skies and the earth that we have now. They are being kept to be destroyed by fire. They are kept for the day of judgment and the destruction of all people who are against God.

There is no doubt that Jesus will return in the near future. It could be in our lifetime, it could be on your children's lifetime but the finality is he will return and everyone [literally] will see him. He will come bearing gifts to those who truly believe him - that is eternal life. He will also come with the judgement of the Father against the world as the Bible puts it -

"They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. "

Sorry, I still do not see any verses where Jesus promised to return to earth.

 

[JesusKnowsYou]

In the 19th century the Adventists watched for His coming and even sold their possessions and waited on Mount Carmel in Ascension robes.

It all ended in what many know as the Great Disappointment. Christ, they concluded had not returned.

Christians often quote the Bible referring to rumours of wars and such calamities as heralding the Second Coming yet whenever these things have occurred like the Great Lisbon earthquake, the dark day and shooting stars 1833 and even Halleys Comet they still insisted He hadn’t returned.
.

Since then we’ve had the First World War Still He didn’t come in their eyes. The Second World War Hes coming soon they say. The World trade centre and Tsunami and - yes He’s nearly here!

So it’s going on and on these delaying tactics and I believe it’s going to be the same with this virus. Christians are telling me now He’s almost here and when the virus has ended and Christ hasn’t floated down on a cloud in a magnificent light show then again we will be told He’s coming soon. This has become a regular denial no matter what sign occurs.

So why do Christian leaders keep delaying the coming of Christ? What are they so afraid of? Yes no one knows the day or the hour until He has come. Then it will be a known fact.

Could it have anything to do with the fact that He might bring a new Kingdom but appoint different leaders? The Jews were afraid of the Messiah as He was called King of the Jews so they feared for their temporal power. Is it also possible that priests and popes have feared for their temporal power even to the extent to be willing to deny Christ’s Return?

I really think that it’s become so ridiculous that many no longer take the second coming seriously anymore because it keeps being predicted then put off and delayed. A picture of complete confusion.

As to current circumstances Let’s reflect a bit. Did the flood come before or after Noah’s call to turn to God was ignored by the masses?

To me personally, every indication is there is a type of ‘flood’ happening now which to me suggests that another Noah has already appeared and as usual has been laughed at, mocked and scorned.

So it’s impossible another Noah or the Second Coming has already taken place? And the flood - is it once again upon us?

No - The Lord Jesus Christ has not come yet.

All those who have claimed that they could predict His coming were all fringe believers who were either ignorant of the scriptures or refused to believe them.

It's nothing to get bent out of shape about.

He will get here when He gets here and everyone will know it when He does.

 

[Trailblazer]

He will get here when He gets here and everyone will know it when He does.

How will everyone know?
If He comes down from heaven in the clouds and lands on earth, how will EVERYONE see Him?
So you think all of the 7.8 billion people on earth are going to recognize Jesus and become Christians?
Exactly how do you think that will happen, why would all the other religious people give up their religion for Jesus?

 

[MJFlores]

Sorry, I still do not see any verses where Jesus promised to return to earth.

Matthew 24:42-44 New International Version (NIV)
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

Who would come? The Lord Jesus will come.
Who is the Son of Man? The Lord Jesus is the Son of Man
But of course you do not expect him only Christians expect him to come back.

John 14:1-3 New International Version (NIV)
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

Who said these? The Lord Jesus did.
Do you believe in God? Well you gotta believe also in Jesus.
But people do not believe in Jesus so he is out of their expectations and unmindful of what he said.
Things like - I will come back. They rather believe Arny when he says:

But they do not believe the Lord Jesus Christ when he said in John 14:3 "...I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." That is the reason that come that day, they will be left behind and will not see heaven but that is the way they choose and that is what the Bible expects most people would do.

Revelation 22:10-12 New International Version (NIV)
Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near. Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.”

“Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done.

I would continue to do right because I know the Lord Jesus will be back.
Even when the rest of the world continues to do wrong and the evil person stays perverted.
The Lord Jesus said I AM COMING SOON! and there is no doubt that these words were written.
We sometimes would not like to face the truth because the truth hurts
but sooner or later we have to face the Man himself and that is the definite truth.

 

[cataway]

Technically, I meant the resurrection of the just and that He will punish the wicked by fire on earth. (Isaiah 66:16, Jude 14-15, 2 Thessalonians 2:8)

But ... there will be a second resurrection for judgment but that seems to come after another 1000 years. Then He'll judge (fairly, mercifully) and divide the nations; sheep from goats. So it's not a pointless resurrection just to kill everyone again. He'll have mercy on many people. That's how I read it.

The real death to fear is not the physical one; but the spiritual death which is in the lake of fire/gehenna. (Matthew 10:28, Revelation 20:14)

my but you do make him out to be cruel and vindictive .
there is going to be a resurrection of the righteous and un-righteous . when that happens it can be guaranteed there is going to be confusion among those that find them selves suddenly living and perhaps naked.(bet you did not see that coming)
there is going to be a need to tell them what has happen .
then comes the need of education .they will have to be told what the new rules are so that they can go on living. Sooooo do not sin a sin deserving death or they will die again . if they die, they are not getting another chance.
those that were dead are refereed to as the dead because they ''were'' dead . i say that because different people get confused by the term ''the dead'' obviously they are then alive, its just away of referring to them and where they came from. in reality we all are in a condition which brings death . that will not be removed from us until the end of the millennial year rule of the kingdom.

 

[Trailblazer]

John 17:4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.

John 17:11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

John 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

John 19:28-30 After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

John 18:36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.

 

[Trailblazer]

Who would come? The Lord Jesus will come.
Who is the Son of Man? The Lord Jesus is the Son of Man
But of course you do not expect him only Christians expect him to come back.

Who would come?

The return of the Son of man would come.
​

Who is the Son of Man?

Jesus was the Son of man. Baha'u'llah was the return of the Son of man.​

But of course you do not expect him, only Christians expect him to come back.

But of course you did not expect Baha'u'llah, you expected Jesus to come barreling down from the clouds.​

 

[74x12]

my but you do make him out to be cruel and vindictive .
there is going to be a resurrection of the righteous and un-righteous . when that happens it can be guaranteed there is going to be confusion among those that find them selves suddenly living and perhaps naked.(bet you did not see that coming)
there is going to be a need to tell them what has happen .
then comes the need of education .they will have to be told what the new rules are so that they can go on living. Sooooo do not sin a sin deserving death or they will die again . if they die, they are not getting another chance.
those that were dead are refereed to as the dead because they ''were'' dead . i say that because different people get confused by the term ''the dead'' obviously they are then alive, its just away of referring to them and where they came from. in reality we all are in a condition which brings death . that will not be removed from us until the end of the millennial year rule of the kingdom.

What I said is from reading the Bible and putting two and two together. What you're saying is ... ? It seems like a different book than the Bible.

As for God. He's fair, merciful Judge; not cruel. But ... it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. As the book of Hebrews says.

 

[Samantha Rinne]

I don't really know what Bahaivision is like. I just know that they keep talking about big government.
And the one big government that I see (the UN) is corrupt as hell. Rape, child abuse, collusion in the ivory trade (they have this nice ivory sculpture that they never got rid of), a real fiasco in Rwanda, buying up land for mysterious purposes, having people on the human rights council that shouldn't be there and are just using it as a shield. Oh yeah, and their climate change proposal would basically send most countries back to the stone age, while India and China don't adjust anything, and it would maybe adjust the temperature a hundredth of a degree if they bankrupted themselves for years. This is the UN plan, not the Bahai plan (I'm creeped out by Bahai too, but the UN has a literal map of the world in ten regions):

If anyone has read Revelation, and a mention about a beast with 10 horns, this ought to creep you out immediately.

Why do you think a world government would divide the world into "regions" rather than "nations?" That is certainly not the Baha’i vision. Baha’is believe that Muhammad was the nation builder and that was an important part of the evolution of mankind’s history.

“The Faith of Islám, the succeeding link in the chain of Divine Revelation, introduced, as Bahá’u’lláh Himself testifies, the conception of the nation as a unit and a vital stage in the organization of human society, and embodied it in its teaching. This indeed is what is meant by this brief yet highly significant and illuminating pronouncement of Bahá’u’lláh: “Of old [Islamic Dispensation] it hath been revealed: ‘Love of one’s country is an element of the Faith of God.’” This principle was established and stressed by the Apostle of God, inasmuch as the evolution of human society required it at that time. Nor could any stage above and beyond it have been envisaged, as world conditions preliminary to the establishment of a superior form of organization were as yet unobtainable. The conception of nationality, the attainment to the state of nationhood, may, therefore, be said to be the distinguishing characteristics of the MuHammadan Dispensation, in the course of which the nations and races of the world, and particularly in Europe and America, were unified and achieved political independence.....”
The Promised Day Is Come, p. 120

I believe that Jesus was Savior because that is a Baha’i belief. I also believe that Jesus was a Messiah but not the Messiah of the latter days. This chapter explains what I believe.

26: THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST AND THE DAY OF JUDGMENT

Do you believe the same Jesus in His resurrected body is going to return to earth?

I am sorry to hear that but things are really disrupted right now, and that is an understatement.

Basically, this is why whether belief in world government is deceit or idealism, from what we have already seen of such government in unofficial world governments, I am not hopeful. I don't believe that even the most well-intentioned people can make an ideal, and deluded or outright evil people are more likely to take that position. Sorta a mix of power corrupts (absolutely) and what they taught me in Habitat for humanity. To paraphrase, unless God builds it, it's not gonna work.

My vision would be a loose set of nations in trade alliance with no larger delusions of state rule. In fact, I wrote a book (in the Literature section) where there was a Council, and the first thing this (slightly hypocritical) organization did was preventing big centalized organizations such empires or world leadership groups (even though they WERE a world leadership group ^_^ ). We don't need one group or one person to bring us peace, we need a sword to create national boundaries and keep them from being empires.

 

[cataway]

What I said is from reading the Bible and putting two and two together. What you're saying is ... ? It seems like a different book than the Bible.

As for God. He's fair, merciful Judge; not cruel. But ... it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. As the book of Hebrews says.

neither does he use fire to kill or punish . fire is symbolic in scripture .
real fire destroys things, when fire burns things the things are gone. the use of symbolic fire means the same thing .