Like we talked about last week, the “plagues”
from Revelation chapters 6-9 are warning signs to the inhabitants of the earth.
God is getting everyone’s attention. He is offering multiple additional
opportunities for people to repent, turn to Him, and worship Him for who He
truly is before He completely destroys this earth. How do you think people will
respond?
Revelation 9:20-21 20 The rest
of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the
work of their hands; they did
not stop worshiping demons, and
idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or
walk.21 Nor did
they repent of their
murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their
thefts.
We can’t make people repent and believe, but we can be
prepared ourselves.
II Peter 3:10-15 10 But the day of the Lord
will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be
destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it
will be laid bare.
11 Since everything will be
destroyed in this way, what kind of
people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and
speed its coming. That day will bring about the
destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.13 But in keeping with his
promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness
dwells.
14 So then, dear friends,
since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless,
blameless and at peace with him. 15 Bear in mind that our
Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother
Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.
It can
be frustrating to live in a world where evil continues to grow and increase.
The delay in God’s final judgment and destruction of this world, though, means
He’s giving additional opportunities for others to accept His way of salvation.
He displays His grace, mercy and patience as we wait for evil to be avenged.
Will
you and I remember that when evil seems to prevail, God is patiently granting
more time for others to repent and turn to Him?
Alice
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