December 30. Revelation 12 – 18.

 

^15:1 And I saw in heaven another mighty pageant showing things to come: Seven angels were assigned to carry down to earth the seven last plagues—and then at last God’s anger will be finished.

 

 

^16:1 And I heard a mighty voice shouting from the temple to the seven angels, “Now go your ways and empty out the seven flasks of the wrath of God upon the earth.”

 

 

^16:7 And I heard the angel of the altar say, “Yes, Lord God Almighty, your punishments are just and true.”

 

But God is love (1 John 4:8) … and these verses and chapters show an angry God, who is unleashing His wrath upon the earth and its residents. Words like wrath, anger, blood, and punishment – how can those words be associated with God then expect you to want to love Him and share Him with your friends, family and the stranger across the sea? Sorry, not interested in that kind of god.

 

Could it be that God has a blemish on His character? It is so much nicer to read a devotional thought or verse about love, forgiveness, peace, and hope, not wrath and punishment. Next chapter, please. 

 

God’s anger and wrath are real and not to be messed with, but they are not flaws in His character. They prove His power and authority, and that you can trust His words and His promises. Think of it this way - when you try to violate the laws of physics, (i.e. two objects cannot occupy the same space at that same time), what happens? You get hurt. Your finger or face gets smashed, and depending upon the force applied to try to violate that law, the more grave the results.

 

God’s love, power, and character are absolute, they cannot be changed. His wrath, punishment, and anger are the result of going against these absolutes. If there were no absolutes you could not function. If there were no laws by which this universe exists there could only be chaos at best, but more likely complete extinction.

 

God’s wrath in the book of Revelation is further proof to His plan for His creation since the beginning, and the fact that He will finish what He started – a paradise for eternity for His creation.

 

Maybe calling something sin or immoral is not popular, but not wanting to acknowledge something will not make it go away or change its being. It is ridiculous to think that if you quit talking about gravity and how heavy it makes you feel that it will just go away.

 

Because sin is real, and because God is pure and holy, His love is proven by His wrath. It is the perfect moral reaction to moral and spiritual evil. Paul writes in Romans 2:5 that God’s wrath comes in proportion to human sinfulness.

 

^{Romans 2:5} But no, you won’t listen; and so you are saving up terrible punishment for yourselves because of your stubbornness in refusing to turn from your sin; for there is going to come a day of wrath when God will be the just Judge of all the world. (TLB)

 

Do not meet God as your judge. Meet Him as your Heavenly Father. Accept His forgiveness of sins and His free gift of a new life in and through His Son, Jesus Christ, who died, was buried and rose again for you. God loves you that much. (John 3:16).