Revelation 16:7
7 And [kai] I heard [akouo] another [allos] out of [ek] the altar [thusiasterion] say, [lego] Even so, [nai] Lord [kurios] God [theos] Almighty, [pantokrator] true [alethinos] and [kai] righteous [dikaios] are thy [sou] judgments. [krisis] KJV-Interlinear
7 And I heard the altar saying, "Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are Thy judgments." NASB
One quick follow up from yesterday’s study. The last phrase in the verse says, ‘they are worthy.’
This is a phrase referring to the unrighteous, meaning that they ‘deserve’ the punishment they receive. There is nothing unfair about their punishment. They fully qualify and deserve to be punished because of their violations against truth, against God, against doctrine, and certainly against people and animals and life, etc.
And in response to the angels which recited the words of the previous verse, a voice comes out of the alter. This is the alter of sacrifice, referring to the work of Christ on the Cross.
Every sin committed by humanity, was set upon Christ and He received the punishment for all sins of every human being in all of history. All sin, whether it be one or many, is sufficient of total destruction and permanent separation from God.
No person can take that punishment and survive. Therefore, if any of us were to have any chance at life, then someone else must take it, someone who is capable of taking that punishment, and surviving, and more than that, defeating death permanently. And that someone else has to be someone who is equal with God, namely Jesus Christ, who is God.
Because he took the sins of man, and paid for them in full, then anyone who rejects His work, in effect rejects His gift of salvation. They reject His work of justice. And anyone who rejects Christ and pursues sin anyway, deserves punishment in a similar fashion.
Sin is deserving of punishment. All sin is something that is against life, truth, and the rights that everyone shares. All sin seeks to take, or remove that which belongs to someone else, whether property or reputation, privacy or opportunity. And anyone seeking to take something that does not belong to them, or seeks to prevent someone else from having that which belongs to them, deserves to be punished for their infraction.
In many cases the punishment meets the crime and generally is small in nature, but all sin leads to worse sin. And sin compounded upon sin, means that a greater punishment is required in order to meet the demands of justice.
Throughout history, God has given man, truth, time and opportunity to have a full and complete and worthy life. All through history most have rejected these things.
With each succeeding generation, humanity has rejected truth. And when history reaches its final generation, God closes the door of opportunity and lets the hammer of justice fall.
The angel testifies as to the crimes of evil and their deserving punishment. The voice from the alter referring to the work of Christ on the Cross, reinforces the fairness of justice in this matter.
No one can claim unfair. No one can claim they did not know. No one has any excuse.
With their eyes wide open, evil has rejected truth and pursued wickedness, and therefore the consequences of that evil means punishment sufficient to bring it to an end.
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