The God of the Old Testament is Different From the God of the New Testament

"[Richard] Dawkins refers to, very specifically, 'The God of the Old Testament' and not the general concept of God with [the] phrase, 'Megalo-maniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.'"

The God of the New Testament is just as offensive to the ungodly as the God of the Old Testament, because they are One in the same. He never changes. Jesus warned to fear Him because He had the power "to cast body and soul into Hell" (see Matthew 10:28).

Look at His terrible New Testament judgments: He killed a husband and wife, simply because they told one lie (see Acts 5:1-11). His "wrath" abides on every unbeliever for their sins (see John 3:36, Ephesians 5:6). He will punish the unsaved with a fearful "indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish" (Romans 2:8-9), and warns that He is going to be "revealed from Heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ" (see 2 Thessalonians 1:8).

He is so angry at this world He calls us His enemy (see James 4:4) and promises to "shake not only the earth, but also Heaven" in His wrath (Hebrews 12:26). Our God is "a consuming fire" (see Hebrews 12:29) and His justice will cause some to gnaw their tongues in pain (see Revelation 16:10). He is so serious about sin He will cast all liars into the lake of fire (see Revelation 21:8).

If you still want to paint the Old Testament God as been mean and the New Testament God as being nice, please realize that the God of the New Testament proclaimed the death sentence on every man, on every woman and on every child of the human race. Every single human being will die because they have violated God's Law (see Romans 5:12, 6:23).

So the two Gods scenario is imaginary, and He isn’t a Megalo-maniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully, but an utterly perfect, holy and righteous Creator. He will see that absolute justice is done on what the Bible calls "the Day of Wrath." That is what is offensive to guilty sinners. They are at enmity with God’s Law (see Romans 8:7). They hate His moral government.

However, the same God of the Bible (who in the Old Testament said to love your neighbor as much as you love yourself--see Leviticus 19:18), is rich in mercy. He provided a way for us (in the New Testament) to be saved from His just wrath. This was through the blood of the cross. If we refuse His offer of mercy, we will have to stand before His fearful justice. The New Testament warns "It is a fearful thing to fall into the Hands of the Living God" (see Hebrews 10:31) and further adds "How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?"