God’s Righteous Judgment: A Reflection on Revelation 8-9 (Pt 2)
As we reflect on the devastating judgments described in Revelation 8-9, we may ask, “Why must these judgments take place? Isn’t it best to think of God as loving, forgiving, merciful, and nothing else?”
But what if these judgments are not just about punishment but goodness and hope? What if they remind us even today that our loving and righteous God will not tolerate evil forever?
In a world where injustices, abuses of power, attacks on women, sex trafficking, child pornography, and evil deeds dominate the headlines, it’s comforting to know that God gets angry too.
In a world where injustices, abuses of power, attacks on women, sex trafficking, child pornography, and evil deeds dominate the headlines, it’s comforting to know that God gets angry too. If God refused to call evil by its real name and didn’t have a final solution to evil, we wouldn’t have the hope we do.
God’s wrath is real. It is not a sign of cruelty but a powerful reminder that He will not allow evil to prevail forever. So, the coming judgment is not only a punishment for sin and wickedness but also a necessary step towards a perfect future, where God will set everything right and be with us fully.
The coming judgment is not only a punishment but a necessary step towards a perfect future, where God will set everything right and be with us fully.
We can look to Him to cast out evil, to give us a perfect future, and to give us perfect joy.
Doomsday and destruction make us uneasy, we feel for anyone who has to endure this. But since these judgments express God’s righteous fury and displeasure with sin, they make us uneasy because we know deep down inside that we sin too. It’s not just “them” who are guilty but “us.”
These judgment passages also make us uneasy because we know deep down inside that we sin too. It’s not just “them” who are guilty but “us.”
These chapters force us to ask, “Is this how God really feels toward sin?!”
And the answer is “Yes!” Just look at the cross. He did not spare His own Son when He bore our sins.
But here is God’s glorious grace: God sent His Son to spare us His judgment and endure His wrath. Jesus bore the seven seals, trumpets, and bowls of God’s wrath on the cross. Reading these chapters in Revelation reminds us why we cling to Christ.
Reading these chapters in Revelation reminds us why we cling to Christ.
While His chief purpose is to “punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity” (Isaiah 13:9-11), end Satan’s reign, and prepare the world for Jesus’ return, He also seeks to bring the lost to repentance and salvation (2 Peter 3:9).
Prophecying this still future day, the prophet Joel records God’s wrath and His grace,
Joel 2:11… The Day of the LORD is great and very awesome, and who can endure it? 12 “Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “Return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping and mourning; 13 … Return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness and relenting of evil.
Let these words from Joel serve as a reminder of God’s character and His desire to draw us closer to Him.