15 Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the commanders, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and free man hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains.

16 And they said to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.

17 because the great day of Their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

— Revelation 6:15-17

Each of us has become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.

— Isaiah 64:6

It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.

— 1 Corinthians 1:30

and to await His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead—Jesus our deliverer from the coming wrath.

— 1 Thessalonians 1:10

For God has not appointed us to suffer wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

— 1 Thessalonians 5:9

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

Grace, peace, and joy from the Lord Jesus to you.

We might feel the concept of justice challenges us. On the one hand, we long for justice. We look to governments to uphold what is right and stop what is wrong. Yet our God-given yearning for right to prevail clashes with the dark reality of our fallen world, where evil appears to flourish. At its best, human justice is flawed. On the other hand, we can shrink back when we consider God’s flawless justice. As the book of Revelation describes the disturbing realities of approaching judgment, we find comfort in trusting God’s sovereignly executed plan through reading God’s words.

The Bible repeatedly affirms that God rules human lives and history. Do we think of Him as loving and merciful as He does so? While He is infinitely compassionate, He also warns that judgment will come on those who defy Him and reject the redemption He provides through His Son Jesus Christ. The truth of God’s judgment may be hard to accept, but it reassures us that our lives have significance in God’s eyes and for His purposes. How we act matters. God has provided a way for us to escape the judgment we deserve by providing salvation through His Son. Only Jesus provides people refuge from God’s coming wrath.