I just read Revelation 1-8 in one sitting, desperately
trying not to get caught up in the amazing metaphors and imagery. A major thread in the apocalypse is
undeniably the subject of judgment. Questions emerge is
to why it was difficult to find someone worthy to open the scrolls (a euphemism
for the right to initiate end times events) in Revelation 5? Much of the
narrative has to do with bowls, trumpets and angels and all of these events, in a general way, are about bringing judgment on the earth. Then in Revelation 6:16 (ESV) we
read, “16 calling
to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is
seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.” Did you notice the flagrant oxymoron? The
wrath of the Lamb! Gentle Jesus meek and mild is not the Person
represented in this amazing account. Nor
is the Church characterized as apathetic, in this Book. Much of the judgment seems to be the result
of the prayers of the saints (“And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the
twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden
bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.” (Revelation 5:8, ESV);
confirm: Revelation 8:3).
Perhaps it is summarily true to suggest that we have
watered-down our understanding of the Savior and that His coming is one of righteous re-assertion
over a world that has rebelled against Him.
Secondly, perhaps it is not so callous as some think for His saints to
seek for just and cry day and night, “How long O Lord, how long?”
