Comments on 'One More Thought. . .'

Timotheos,

You have nailed precisely my understanding of how God's wrath is presently being revealed from heaven. His "giving them over" is the revelation of God's wrath, his curse.

But I should also include one more thought. Notice that the text in 1:18 says that "God's wrath is being revealed from heaven." This phrase, from heaven, is not a throw away phrase. The phrase, of course, stands in contrast to two things, one of which is stated in the text. Textually, it stands in contrast to "the revelation of God's righteousness in the gospel. Conceptually, it stands in contrast to "the revelation of God's wrath in the Day of Wrath, which Paul will speak of plainly in 2:5--"you are storing up wrath for yourself for the day of wrath and revelation of the just judgment of God."

So, to state the matter with clarity, the phrase from heaven is one that hints at the present mitigation of God's wrath. The fact that the gospel reveals God's righteousness to us also moderates the force and intensity of God's wrath by holding it at bay until the Last Day. God's wrath is not yet final. God's wrath is being revealed from heaven. But notice also that Romans 2:5 is a rather useful commentary upon Romans 1:18-32 in that while God reveals his wrath from a distance, namely from heaven, the increasing obduracy of those who receive God's acts of kindess, which should lead to repentance (2:4), will intensify his wrath when it comes in full force on the Day of Wrath.

Paulos