The point of no return

“The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent word to them through His messengers again and again, because He had pity on His people and on His dwelling place. But they mocked God’s messengers, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets until the wrath of the Lord was aroused against His people and there was no remedy.” 2 Chronicles 36:15-16
Here in the very last chapter of 2 Chronicles, the very last chapter of Israel’s history before they went into captivity in Babylon, we see the reason for the exile. Basically, God’s patience had reached the point of no return. For 400 years during the time of the monarchy, the Israelites had ignored God, failed to keep His Word, and persecuted those prophets and other people who sought to bring them back. There were some godly kings along the way, but the general moral trend was downwards.
Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “These things happened to them [Israel] as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfilment of the ages has come” (1 Cor. 10:11). Today’s society is showing an ever-increasing moral decline. More Christians are being persecuted and martyred all over the world than ever before.
It is important to remember that God does not delight in bringing wrath (Ezek. 33:11). The Bible calls it His “strange work” (Isa. 28:21). He is slow to anger and quick to forgive (Ps. 103:8, Mic. 7:18). His desire is not to judge people, but that they would repent (1 Tim. 2:3-4, 2 Pet. 3:9). But a day of judgement is coming, which has been prophesied about in the Bible – the Great Tribulation. One day, God’s patience with mankind as a whole is going to run out. There will be no option left but for Him to bring judgement upon them. The world will reach a point of no return.