Today man has attempted to strip God of every attribute except love. By this, humanity assumes God will provide universal salvation on the last day, and until then will give freedom to allow the human race do as they choose. Abort your baby or euthanize your mother; nothing is said. Anything goes. God, they hope, could not care less.
We believers know better than that, but we can still be swayed by the all-embracing world. Some Christians would shy away from the Old Testament prophets, even from the Revelation, because of their messages of divine judgment. But God is our Father, and we should understand His motives and design. We should rejoice that His will is invariably acceptable and perfect (Rom. 12:2; see Ps. 135:5-6). He is on the throne. He has explained His thoughts to us monumentally in the Bible. Our prayer in response should be, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
The Judge of all the earth will do right. God’s righteousness is just as intrinsic to His nature as His love or grace. Not once does Scripture hint that God might ignore or annul His righteousness or holiness to save a man. This was the reason for Calvary, where “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other” (Ps. 85:10). Every educator, supervisor, and parent knows the danger of partiality. See the record of Isaac/Ishmael and Rachel/Jacob to view the tragic results. God in His righteousness threw Lucifer out of heaven, and one-third of the angelic beings (Rev. 12:3-4).
How they would relish pointing the finger at the Lord if He went back on His own word and overlooked the blatant sins of mankind! Holy angels expect God to be righteous. Seraphim above the throne of Adonai continually praise His holiness.
Blessed Israel, delivered from Egypt by the power of Jehovah, soon turned back to idolatry. God warned them and, when they would not repent, sent them into captivity. On their return, they did not relapse into outward idolatry, but Rabbinism grew, until the time of Christ. The greatest sin in history was the national rejection and crucifixion of the Lord. Still He prayed for their forgiveness, and offered salvation on the day of Pentecost. Thank God for many exceptions, but the Jews still intensely reject their Messiah. Meanwhile the gospel has spread around the world; millions now belong to Christ. Yet world religions have risen as the great substitutes, and one fears that the mass of nominal Christians are trusting in their own good works.
We can rightly look at the Great Tribulation as punitive, but it will also be instructive and evangelical. Millions will be saved during the Great Tribulation (Rev. 7:9, 14). These are martyrs, but in Matthew 25 many living will emerge as sheep, having manifested their faith by kindness to the King’s brothers before He comes to reign. There may be millions of these as well. So even in His anger, our God displays manifold grace and mercy. The call will go out to every nation (Rev. 7:9; 14:6). We will be with Christ as His Bride, sharing His joys and sorrows, arm in arm. Then we shall be with Him and like Him for ever and ever!