Then I heard a loud voice from the temple, saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.” Revelation 16:1 In this chapter of the Revelation, the seven angels pour out their bowls in quick succession. It is a terrible time of judgment, the most intense period of tribulation the world has and will ever see. It is what several of the Old Testament prophets call “The Great and Terrible day of the Lord.” It is what Jesus referred to when He said, “Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved;” (Mt. 24:22). No one! All the population of the world would have been destroyed. It is a brief period that comes at the close of the last 3-1/2 years of the Great Tribulation. What is God saying to us by all this?
Remember, this book of Revelation was written to the seven churches, which stand for the whole church on earth today. What is this intended to say to us? It is a repeated theme in this chapter: Judgment does not produce repentance. The Apostle Paul says in Romans 2:4, “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?” It is not judgment that will change our minds. People often get more stubborn, more set upon evil, by judgment. But it is grace that changes the heart. Judgment removes and ends evil. Judgment cleanses society. Judgment enables a new beginning to come. But it does not change people’s minds. No, for that, you have to look to the grace of God, the mercy of God, the blessings of God.
The Apostle Paul in speaking of the antichrist, writes in 2 Thessalonians 2:7 – For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. What does Paul mean? For now something is restraining evil from being turned loose. Something is holding it back. But there will come a day in time when that something will be removed. Many believe that something is the Holy Spirit, some say it is the church. Whatever it is, God will remove it, allowing evil to run rampant. This is the great and terrible day of God’s judgment of sin upon the earth. All beginning with the removal of God’s grace and the pouring out of the bowls of God’s wrath upon mankind. Those who remain on the earth at that time.
Today God is restraining evil. Today God is extending grace and repentance to all. Remember, it is God’s grace that invites us to receive the Lord Jesus, to come to the One who took our place, Who gave Himself for us, not only to change us and make us new, but to teach us how to live in the midst of a world gone mad! That is what God’s grace does. How grateful we ought to be for the present restraining of evil that God has put into place in our day! Because one day that restraint will be removed.
Why don’t you come to Christ today and be saved.
…and keep looking up! Bro. Clay
