Reading
Revelation 10:1-11:19
Drawing Near
1. A friend asks you, "If God is so good, why is there so much evil in the world?" How do you respond?
2. These chapters remind us that God is sovereign and that all events (past, present, and future) are under His control. How does this truth encourage you?
The Context
Throughout history, God's people have wondered why God has allowed evil in the world. The wicked often appear to prosper. Sin seemingly runs wild and unchecked. Why, people ask, does God not stop all the carnage, corruption, and chaos in the world? Why does He allow His children to suffer? When will divine justice prevail and the righteous be delivered and the wicked punished?
All the pain, sorrow, suffering, and evil in the world cause the godly to long for God to intervene. A day is coming when He will break His silence, a day when all the purposes of God concerning men and the world will be consummated. At this time, the Lord Jesus Christ will return and establish His earthly kingdom. The sounding of the seventh trumpet, which heralds the imminent return and reign of Christ, will usher in that long-anticipated day.
But before that seventh trumpet sounds there will be an interlude, described in 10:1-11:14. This pause gives John and his readers the occasion to assimilate the startling truths that have just been revealed. It also serves to encourage God's people in the midst of the fury and horror of divine judgment, reminding them that God is still sovereign. During the interlude, God comforts His people with the assurance that He has not forgotten them and that they will ultimately be victorious. The sounding of the seventh trumpet marks the end of this interlude and results in the seven rapid-fire catastrophic bowl judgments described later in chapters 15 and 16.
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2 comments:
1. All the evil and suffering are a consequence of our sin. God created a perfect world, but through our sin we turned it into an evil and terrible world.
2. It helps me trust him and know that if I live for Him he has got everything under control and will always do things to help me. It gives me great comfort knowing that he is under control.
1. I would tell them it's not God's fault there is so much evil, it is our own faults. Because we sin, there is devastation. Because we sin there is death. We bring it upon ourselves every time we sin. But one day he will come back and take all this corruption away.
2. It shows me that God knows everything, and that He will never guide me to do something if it is not right for me.
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