Revelation 16:1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go, pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth.”
One of the struggles that some people have in believing in Jesus are the passages that speak about God’s wrath. “How can a loving God do such things?” They read about the bloody battles in the Hebrew Bible, and they contrast that with what Jesus taught (at least a superficial reading) and they come to the conclusion they want nothing to do with this kind of god.
Unfortunately, their conclusion has more to do with their starting point than with what the Bible actually teaches. They want a god made in their image, rather than accepting God and becoming His image. They want to be in charge.
The fundamental reality that God is holding back the natural consequences of trying to live life on our terms. He is preventing many of the natural train wrecks that rebellious behavior should be bringing. He is extending grace in hopes that people will turn to Him and be reconciled.
But there is coming a day when the LORD is going to remove His hand of protection and allow the full consequences to be poured out on humanity. The results of sin will finally be revealed in all their ugly complexities. Nothing will stand in the way of someone “getting what they deserve.”
Those who complain about the Bible’s supposed injustice when reading about the killing, are not so fast to claim justice for themselves and their behavior. When it is personal, they are all about grace and mercy. When it involves them, they want to choose when and if justice is to be served.
But the LORD’s mercy is all over this world. Right now the LORD is withholding judgment in hopes that people will turn from sin to righteousness. Those same people don’t want the LORD to act justly.
Our text is beginning of the final set of judgments that will be poured out on sin. There are definite parallels to the judgment of the LORD on the gods of Egypt when Moses led the Israelites out and into the Promised Land. Even the frogs get a dishonorable mention. Water turned to blood. Boils on the skin.
This is the picture. The LORD has withheld wrath, stored it up, and not it is getting poured out.
But remember, there is part of the picture that must be kept in mind. There are those who are protected from this wrath. They have been marked and preserved by the LORD. None of these consequences will fall on them. And anyone can become part of that protected group.
That is good news. It is not as though the LORD declares that judgment is coming and then doesn’t give us a way to escape. On the contrary, He tells us the way to escape and pays the full price in advance. It is all paid, even for those who don’t accept His payment.
But it is up to us to choose to accept His payment on our behalf. Some are too stubborn to accept it, like Pharaoh, who became so hard that he lost his oldest son as a result of his stubbornness. Now that is stubborn! To choose the death of your son over the humiliation of changing his mind is unconscionable. And yet that is exactly what he did.
Are we ever that stubborn? Do we stick to our belief even in the face of contrary evidence?
The Arnold Journey 