Printer-friendly version

Job said, “Be ye afraid of the sword: for wrath bringeth the punishments of the sword, that ye may know there is a judgment.” (Job 19:29) It’s among the most simple truths of the Bible, yet it is probably ignored by more people than any other—there is a judgment. God will judge the earth!

At the end of the parable of the unjust judge, Christ said, “And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:7-8) Notice that this verse does not say that He will answer His elect; it says that He will avenge His elect.

While God is longsuffering, and doesn’t always immediately punish those who hurt His children, He is not ignorant of what is happening. In Revelation we receive another picture of the scene portrayed in Luke. “And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.” (Revelation 6:9-11) God had not forgotten the wrongs done to His people, but He was waiting for the death of the rest of these saints to do it.

Immediately after this, John tells about God’s judgment:

And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Proverbs 18:23 tells us, “The poor useth intreaties; but the rich answereth roughly.” When the great day of wrath comes, I don’t think anyone will be answering roughly, but there are going to be intreaties—people screaming to these trembling mountains to kill them. But it doesn’t help. When God stops holding back His wrath, no one is going to be able to escape from Him. There’s not going to be any place to hide.

There’s an interesting phrase found in this passage—“the wrath of the Lamb” (verse 16). We don’t generally connect a lamb with wrath. But this same type of thing is found in the previous chapter, where Christ is presented as the “Lion of the tribe of Juda,” (verse 5) but appears as a “Lamb as it had been slain” (verse 6). Certainly Christ appeared as a suffering Lamb, a substitutionary Lamb, an atoning Lamb, but this is not because He is weak. It happened because of His own choice. It’s evident in the gospels that Christ allowed the Crucifixion by His own will. The Pharisees couldn’t kill Him. Pilate couldn’t kill Him. Herod couldn’t kill Him. He allowed the Jews to crucify Him. In Revelation we find Him in His true power and glory, working judgment, and no one can resist Him.

Some people connect Revelation with Daniel because some of the imagery is similar. Actually, Revelation may be tied more closely to the gospels, since judgment is probably the main thrust of Revelation’s prophecy. Trying to interpret Revelation without considering judgment resembles trying to interpret Acts without considering Paul. You may learn something, but you’ll probably miss God’s main purpose for the book.

But judgment is not only for those who actively persecute Christians. The last verse of Ecclesiastes says, “For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” Think of it! Every work. Unlike earthly judges, God already knows everything that we have done, and He will bring all of our works into judgment. Judgment is a fearful thing!

God is longsuffering, loving, and merciful, but He is storing up His wrath to be poured out, as Romans 2:5 tells us: “But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God…” “And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.” (Revelation 16:19) God had not accidentally forgotten Babylon, but He had not been ready to pour out His judgment. When the time came, He completely destroyed Babylon (the destruction of Babylon is probably a future event; I doubt that anything that has happened between John’s time and ours has equaled the terror of that great event).

God will judge! Are we ready?