Rejoice over God's Righteous Judgment (Rev. 18:20-21)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/24/2005

 

My Worship Time                              Focus:  Rejoice over God’s Righteous Judgment

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  Revelation 18:20-21

 

            Message of the verse:  “20  But you, O heaven, rejoice over her fate. And you also rejoice, O holy people of God and apostles and prophets! For at last God has judged her on your behalf.  21  Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder as large as a great millstone. He threw it into the ocean and shouted, "Babylon, the great city, will be thrown down as violently as I have thrown away this stone, and she will disappear forever.”

            The last few verses of this chapter are different than the rest of it because in the first part people were lamenting because of the fall of Babylon and now in these last verses heaven is rejoicing over the fact that Babylon is destroyed.  Dr. Wiersbe points out that believers are to rejoice over the things that God rejoices over and in this case God rejoices over His Righteous Judgments and not those who are being judged.  “We are never to cultivate personal revenge (Rom. 12:17-21), but we must rejoice at the righteous judgments of God.”  (Be Victorious)  “17  Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.  18  If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.  19  Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.  20  On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’  21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”  (Rom 12:17-21)

            These two verses describe this rejoicing that is going to go on in heaven when Babylon will be destroyed, both the “religious” and the “economical”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Sometimes it is hard for me to not be happy when an evil person is judged by God, where God’s word says that we are to rejoice over God’s righteous judgments and it seems to say that we are not to rejoice over the person being judged.  One of the things that confuses me on this issue is some of the Psalms that David wrote where he seemed to by rejoicing over the destruction of his enemies, in fact he even pleads with God to judge his enemies.  There is a person alive today that I would probably feel very comfortable praying for his destruction because of all of the harm that he is doing for the cause of Christ, and yet there are also times when I would pray that God would save him in a similar way that He saved the Apostle Paul, who at the time when God saved him he was doing much harm to the Church.

 

The Word of God has brought some confusing thoughts to my heart today that I will have to ask God for wisdom to answer this confusion.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  Continue to trust the Lord to give me “honey out of the rock” as I go through the trials that He has seen fit to send me through.