READ: Revelations 15-16
Verses
chosen for meditation: Revelations 15:1
15 Then I saw another
sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which
are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished.
REFLECT
This
chapter marks the beginning of the “bowl” plagues, and though it is the “last” of
the sequence of visions given to John (after seals and trumpets), it does not
mean it would happen chronologically that way. In what order it happens, we are
not sure, but all three fulfil the wrath of God. After the three terrible signs
happen, “the wrath of God is finished” (v1).
When
Jesus died on the cross, he fulfilled the wrath of God to bring salvation to
the world. After a time of grace since Jesus’ death, the seals, trumpets and
bowls must happen to fulfil the wrath of God on those continuing their evil, unrepentant
ways despite the Gospel. These three signs are judgement of human sin after
Jesus’ death.
As
the visions continue, the horrors intensify. The extent of destruction will be
unprecedented, because there is no more partial judgement like in the past, but
total judgement to wipe out all evil in the world. Seeing how gory the
judgements are, would one ask: Is this the God we know? The same loving Father,
gracious and merciful? One may find it hard to reconcile both mercy and wrath. We
know our God to be both. When God is wrathful, does it mean he tones down his
mercy and vice versa?
RELATE
A group of young believers had this discussion with
me before, trying to make sense of the nature of our God. They learnt that He
is loving and merciful, a God of many chances, who saves when people do not
deserve saving. They learnt that He is also wrathful towards sin and exercises
righteous judgement. However, there was an impression that God must dial down
one aspect of His being to fulfil another aspect. The truth is our God’s mercy
does not contradict His wrath. Both go hand in hand.
First, it is good to note that God’s wrath is
different from ours. His wrath proves that He is a holy God. Ask any of us
whether we would want evil eradicated from our world. The reply would be a
resounding “Yes!”. So here it is. The seals, trumpets and bowls are to do that.
It’s not a pretty sight, but if we truly want evil to be eradicated once and
for all, God’s unsightly judgements are necessary. He did it because He is
holy, so all the wrongs in the world can’t simply be ignored and written off. Our
God would not ignore the cries of the oppressed, letting evil continue unhindered.
Contrast that with our anger and we find that often
it leads back to our self-centredness. When we suffer losses, inconveniences,
embarrassments, loss of potential pleasure, our anger rear its head, being directed
at those who caused us less pleasure. How much of our anger is righteous, for
the sake of another, viewing sin as the enemy and not the person? God’s wrath
is towards sin, and for His people, unlike our imperfect wrath. His wrath is
holy, perfect and necessary for evil to be eradicated.
In these judgements, God is fully merciful as well.
Grace and mercy are in His being. It can’t be toned down. Will God be angrier on
judgement day than He is now? Based on the horrific signs, one might say yes.
But God is as angry now. His righteous anger burns intensely for all His
sufferers and the prevalent sin today. Why we are not seeing His wrath in full
scale is because of His mercy and grace. It doesn’t mean his anger increases,
and mercy decreases towards end days.
We’ll realise how amazing our God is, when we see
how difficult it is to do just that – dispensing grace and mercy when you’re
intensely angry. Imagine being at the height of your anger and that anger is
being maintained for a long time. How much grace will we able to give? But our
God can. His righteous anger is burning now, yet we enjoy a time of peace and
grace. Why this is so because he is still waiting for more to be saved. He is
pursuing the lost (yet to know Him) and crucially for the evil ones, He is
still giving them chance after chance to repent. That’s how unimaginably vast
God’s grace, mercy and patience is, to fulfil His desire to save as many as
possible, including those who are doing evil today.
There comes a point though, where no matter how many
chances are given, some would not repent. Their hardened hearts have gone to a
point they knowingly reject God. These people, even in the face of judgement,
continue cursing God (Revelations 16:10-11). I wonder whether that’s the time
God brings his complete judgement, because no amount of waiting will change the
truly rebellious ones.
Reflecting on all these helps me know that not all
anger is bad, and it will do us well to discern what righteous anger looks like.
It is also possible to have holy wrath and be merciful at the same time and
there are many applications in life for that. When we understand better God’s
nature, that will give us assurance of His goodness when we face judgement,
instead of crippling fear. He has found a way to save us, through His grace and
wrath. Choose the correct side by receiving His gift of grace and having a
repentant attitude towards our sins.
REST
God. You are holy. You are gracious. You are
justice. You are love. Thank you for redeeming me. I have no words. I’m just so
blessed and happy that I have a God like you. Amen.
Chris
Chong
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