2 And I saw … those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name….

3 and they sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb: “Great and wonderful are Your works, O Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the nations!

4 Who will not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed.”

— Revelation 15:2-4

1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go, pour out on the earth the seven bowls of God’s wrath.”

7 And I heard the altar reply: “Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are Your judgments.”

9 And the people were scorched by intense heat, and they cursed the name of God, who had authority over these plagues. Yet they did not repent and give Him glory.

17 Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came from the throne in the temple, saying, “It is done!”

18 And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake the likes of which had not occurred since men were upon the earth—so mighty was the great quake.

— Revelation 16:1, 7, 9, 17-18

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

Grace and mercy of Christ be with you!

We see a world increasingly hostile to God and His truth—progressing toward His punishment. Our hearts ache to see people turn so completely against God. Prophets and Jesus Himself warned that God judges those who persistently reject Him with a terrible hardening against the truth. Unchecked sin begets more sin. People who scoff at the idea of final judgment make a dreadful mistake. God, who rightly knows every heart and weighs every deed, holds sinful people accountable. Dismissing God’s righteous and eventual judgment makes it no less certain. Without receiving God’s forgiving grace and undeserved salvation through Christ, people get what they ask for—separation from God forever. They also face what they deny will happen or fail to understand—certain judgment.

God has made a way for sinners to avoid the judgment they deserve. We cannot fully fathom the wonder that Christ took our sin to give us righteous standing with God we could not earn. When Holy God reveals His righteous acts and judges the world’s sin, believers will resound with praise for their deliverance and God’s prevailing justice. God’s people will forever praise the name of Jesus, who bore sin’s judgment on their behalf.