True and just are your judgments!
Wed, 14 June, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.
1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”
2 So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.
3 The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing died that was in the sea.
4 The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. 5 And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say,
“Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was,
for you brought these judgments.
6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets,
and you have given them blood to drink.
It is what they deserve!”7 And I heard the altar saying,
“Yes, Lord God the Almighty,
true and just are your judgments!”
As Christians, we often are apologetic about passages of scripture that speak of God’s wrath. Some people will speak of the God of the Old Testament as being a God of wrath, but the God of the New Testament is a God of love. But here at the very end of the New Testament, we come face to face with the clear statement that God’s wrath is just and holy. When God brings people into judgment, He is just giving them what they deserve.
What do we learn from this?
We don’t have to apologize for God’s wrath. We don’t have to hide from it or be embarrassed about it. In fact, the whole message of the gospel makes no sense unless we understand the reality of God’s wrath.
God is holy. He is completely sinless. He hates sin, and those who commit sin are under His wrath. This wrath is a just wrath, for sin must be punished. So when God pours out His wrath upon sinners, He is only giving them what they deserve.
God’s wrath is real, and it is something that should frighten us greatly, since we have all sinned. All of us are naturally under God’s wrath because we are sinners. We have offended God, and He has promised to punish our sins. The guilt for the sins we have committed must be paid.
It is only in this context that the gospel makes any sense at all.
Where is Christ in this passage?
Jesus Christ came to earth to live the perfect life and to die on a cross for the express purpose of turning God’s wrath away from His chosen people. He takes the full fury against all the sins of all His people from all time, so that the guilt for all their sin is paid. Then He gives His righteousness that He earned, and He imputes it to His people. Therefore, God’s wrath has been turned aside. It is paid in full, and His people can now come into His presence and stand before Him justified. They are declared righteous in His sight.
