Tuesday, February 21, 2012

JUDGMENT

      As we work through the book of Revelation on Sunday mornings we now encounter a major recurring theme in the book: judgment. The judgment of God is taught in vivid and varied ways in the book of Revelation. As we launch into chapter 6 the tone moves from worship and praise of God to scenes of judgment. Persecuted saints cry out “How long before you will judge and avenge our blood?” (Revelation 6:10). In John’s vision, the Lord responds to their pleas by opening the sixth seal thus bringing calamity on the earth. The text vividly pictures arrogant people experiencing dread as they realize they are doomed; “hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb” (Revelation 6:16).

      No one can escape judgment.

     The second coming of Jesus Christ is vividly described throughout Scripture. Paul writes, “When the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel…when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10).

     Jesus’ Second Coming will be a time when believers celebrate the inauguration of the celestial abode. This world will end and new life in Heaven begins. When the Son of God came the first time, he came as our Redeeming Savior. When he comes again, it will be as our Judging Lord. Revelation pictures the Second Coming as a cataclysmic in-breaking ushering in a dramatic end. The Lord will come again “like a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:2), meaning we don’t know when it will occur. Thus, we need to always be prepared for the unexpected imminent return of Jesus. We must use the time we’ve been allotted to live out our faith and to look with readied gaze toward the inevitable return of Jesus Christ.

-Paul N. Merideth