Day 363, or December the 29th. Forgiveness is
bigger than judgment. Our thoughts today come
from Revelation chapter 16, verse 1. Then I heard
a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven
angels, Go and pour out the seven bowls of God's
wrath on the earth. First, the big picture surrounding
this verse. John makes another mention of 144
,000 before explaining the seven bowls of judgment.
A further use of such a big number, the twelve
tribes of Israel multiplied by another twelve.
This confirms the enormous number who will ultimately
get to heaven. I find it really encouraging,
don't you? Also, whenever the Bible uses the
number seven, it implies total and complete.
like the number of days in the week, and the
water pots used in the miracle of water being
changed into wine by Jesus at the wedding in
Cana of Galilee. Remember, there were six pots
of water, but when Jesus is added to them, it
increases the number to seven, and it is symbolically
completed and produces wine. Interestingly, when
a Jew is converted to Christ, they are often
referred to as a completed Jew, rather than a
Christian. And now today's action step. Our verse
today sounds a real hellfire and damnation text,
doesn't it? Whenever the wrath of God is mentioned,
we rightly think of God's total enmity and rejection
of sin, but not the sinner. Even though there
are seven judgment bowls to remind us that judgment
will be complete, remember we can escape the
punishment simply by repenting and accepting
God's pardon. On the cross, Jesus cried, My God,
why have you forsaken me? When God turned his
face away, he was not rejecting Jesus, but the
sin he was bearing for you and me. The world
often misunderstands when a believer shows love
and compassion to someone who has done something
really wicked and hurtful. They are not condoning
the sin, but giving reassurance that God still
loves the sinner. The Lord's Prayer tells us,
Forgive us as we forgive others. So forgive others
for your own good.