Unleashing The Wrath of God Revelation 6:1-8:5
 “A God without wrath brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross.” Richard Niebuhr “Clearly, the theme of God’s wrath is one about which the biblical writers feel no inhibitions whatever. Why, then, should we? Why, when the Bible is vocal about it, should we feel obliged to be silent?” J.I. Packer “When we come face to face with brutal evil—when we sit with a rape victim or walk the halls of Auschwitz—the idea of an angry God rarely strikes us as offensive…Anger is how goodness responds to evil.” Gavin Ortlund “The belief in a God of pure love—who accepts everyone and judges no one—is a powerful act of faith. Not only is there no evidence for it in the natural order, but there is almost no historical, religious textual support for it. . . . The more one looks at it, the less justified it appears.” Timothy Keller


“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth…For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools…Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie...” (excerpts from Romans 1:18-25).
 “In the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly” (2 Timothy 3:1-5, NLT). 

 “It is doubtful that we should read the four riders or other judgments as a chronological map of history before the end; rather, they are probably images of the kinds of judgments that characterized that time, arranged in the sequence in which John saw them. Some regard the seals as past, a prelude to present or future judgments elsewhere in the book. More likely, the seals cover the same span of time covered by the trumpets and bowls, because all three sets of judgments climax in the end of the age” (Craig Keener, Revelation, pp. 199-200). Today’s Gleanings: -While God is patient, he takes sin very seriously, as should we. -Sadly, God’s judgments often make hard people even harder. -Contrary to what many false teachers claim, God is not only a God of love, but he’s also a God of judgment. -Recognize God loves us so much that Jesus took our judgment on the cross so we wouldn’t have to.