Revelation 16.10,11 10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its
kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in agony 11 and
cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they
refused to repent of what they had done. – St. John
We don’t know a tiny fraction of what is coming, but one
thing is for sure, it is going to be cataclysmic on all accounts. In the seven
plagues described in Revelation 16 we see physical
disaster – people suffer a global plague of bodily sores. We see ecological disaster; the oceans turn to bloody
putrescence. We see economic
disaster; the rivers and streams become undrinkable blood. We see astronomic disaster: the sun becomes
unbearably hot. We see intellectual
disaster: all mankind collapses into confusion. We see political disaster: the nations gather to make war against Christ
and all who follow Him. And lastly, there is geologic disaster: a global earthquake so severe that the mountains
fall flat, and the islands sink into the sea.
And the outcome of all this: “… and [they] cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their
sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done.” Wow. Such is the
power and tenacity of man’s pride; when tough times come, blame God…
A lesson in all of this may be: God may give us what we want. God may not give us what we want. God may make
us wait for what we want; or God may ultimately
say: have it your way. It appears the
fourth option is the case here in Revelation 16, God gives a demonstration of
His wrath so severe that people ought to repent, but they don’t; they won’t.
In our lives God will attempt over and over to bring us
to that place of friendship. Sometimes that means not responding to our
stupidity except to allow us to feel the pain and humiliation of our stupidity.
It’s not that God uses pain to get us to do His bidding; but He allows us pain
in hope that we see our responsibility for our actions and change. The human
condition is way worse than we imagine.
But God is faithful to teach us to live differently if we
will let Him. Mostly, we won’t allow Him to teach us until things become severe
enough to get our attention. But even then, some refuse God’s aid in the
transformative process. One of the saddest verses in all of Scripture is above:
People gnawed their tongues in agony 11
and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they
refused to repent of what they had done.
Do we ever question the things in life that plague us? Do we consider that though
God is a merciful God of love, He won’t spare any expense in attempting to save
all of His creation? Or does mankind devolve into this place where even the
worst of circumstances will only bring about more enmity toward Him? Is God
merciful and just in giving us what we want?
Father, I am
grateful that Your justice lasts but a moment, but Your love lasts forever. I
hate the thought of the consequences of Revelation 16, but I love the thought
that You are merciful and kind, and You desire everyone to come to the saving
knowledge of Who You are and what You’ve done for us in Christ. Thank You for
the truth. Amen.
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