I don’t understand why they do it. Two grown men peer at each other over raised fists adorned with plush red gloves. On cue they begin trading sharp jabs hoping to score points and, if possible, neutralize their opponent with a definitive knockout punch. Bruised and bloodied, the champion of the boxing ring raises a triumphant fist with assistance from the referee.
Something about that just has never appealed to me. I can think of many ways I’d rather spend an evening than getting pummeled by a sweaty jock clad only in shorts. Some, however, find it exhilarating. At least until they face an invincible adversary and the merciless thrashing continues until the bell echoes its welcome sound. Saved by the bell. It’s a ray of mercy in a desperate situation.
That’s exactly what we find in Revelation 7. Six seals have been removed from the scroll of judgment, unleashing God’s wrath on sin. He has rained judgment after judgment on the earth, bringing death to many and terror to the rest.
Suddenly, the bell rings and all is quiet. In the intermission between the acts of God’s judgment on a deserving mankind, God’s love and compassion come to the forefront once more.
First, an angel is dispatched to seal 144,000 young Jewish men, commissioning them to travel to the far recesses of the world with the message of salvation. Although God is unleashing His wrath on sin, He retains His unfathomable compassion and mercy.
Before the curtain rises on the next act of the dreadful Tribulation, John sees a second group of people—a great multitude representing the various peoples of the world. These have died in the atrocities of the Tribulation, but, presumably through the witness of the 144,000, have responded to God’s last-minute offer of mercy. They stand before the throne and praise God, but not with the half-hearted excuse for “worship” that God endures every Sunday morning by mediocre church members. These folks understand their precarious situation. They barely got in. If it were not for God’s eleventh-hour display of mercy, they would have faced eternal damnation.
Make no mistake about it. God hates sin. He despises it so much that His holy character drives Him to punish both evildoers and the creation in which they live. Yet He also extends mercy. Over and over, He calls on us to repent while there is time.
His wrath is unrelenting—He will not stop until sin is destroyed. Yet His mercy is also unrelenting—He will forgive again and again. One day, however, the curtain of His mercy will permanently drop. Then it will be too late.
