The Comfort of God’s Justice and Judgment
Vengeance Is His
Maybe one reason people avoid Revelation is because there is so much about judgment in the book. And let's be honest, that just makes us kind of uncomfortable. Maybe we think about people we know who haven't embraced Christ, and yet the idea that they would face judgment is painful to us. It's disconcerting to us.
Revelation's message about judgment should also be comforting to us, believe it or not. For one thing, judgment is presented in the book of Revelation as God rightly dealing with the evil in this world. For anyone who has been on the receiving end of injustice—of abuse or violence—this should make you long for what's presented in the book of Revelation in terms of God's justice coming on this earth.
For anyone who ever says, Why doesn't God do something about the evil and suffering in the world?, Revelation is the answer. It tells us right now, he is at work—even now in partial ways—doing a work of judgment. But you can be sure that wrongs in this world will not go unpunished. You can release vengeance to God because you know a day of vengeance is coming.
Blessed
Nancy Guthrie
Blessed, by bestselling author and speaker Nancy Guthrie, gives individuals and small groups a friendly, theologically reliable, and robust guide to understanding the book of Revelation.
Beautiful Justice
And the beautiful thing about justice in Revelation is that we're told over and over again. We get to actually hear believers in heaven. They're not embarrassed by God's judgment; instead, they're celebrating it. And they celebrate specifically.
Justice is going to be done by one who is perfectly just and perfectly righteous.
They say his judgment is just and it's altogether righteous. You and I experience a lot of perversions of justice in this world. And the good news of Revelation is that justice is going to be done by one who is perfectly just and perfectly righteous.
The best reason that we want to look at judgment in the book of Revelation is for the hope and promise that is held out to all of those who have taken hold of Christ by faith. The message of Revelation—over and over again—is not that judgment is going to fall, but instead, that you will be protected in the judgment.
In Revelation, we see that the people of God are sealed and marked. What are they sealed or marked for? They're marked for protection. Revelation presents to us a picture of being protected forever by our shepherd, who is also a lamb.
Nancy Guthrie is the author of Blessed: Experiencing the Promise of the Book of Revelation.
Related Articles
10 Key Bible Verses on Judgment
There is “no condemnation” for the Christian because God has condemned sin in the flesh by sending his own Son.
What Does It Mean to Be Judged according to Your Works? (Revelation 20 and 21)
All the dead, whether powerful or poor, stand before God’s throne to be assessed by him.
Blessed: Why Study the Book of Revelation? (Episode 1)
Nancy Guthrie discusses the book of Revelation and how we actually can understand its central message, encouraging us to accept the blessing promised to those who “hear and keep” this book.
What Does It Look Like to Be Blessed?
What is the proof that God is for us? Where else do we need to look other than God giving the most valuable thing in the universe, offering up his one and only Son for his people?
