November 08, 2022 – Tuesday
Now onto Repentance
Revelation 16:8-9 NIV
8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was allowed to scorch people with fire.
9 They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him.
Comment
The above verses are the next to last time we will read of people who refused to repent and glorify God. The last time is found in the following two verses which read, 10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in agony 11 and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done.
What is amazing about both sets of verses is how God uses His angels to cause pain in people to lead them to repent if they would only do so. But as we have read, in both cases they refused, they would not turn to God and repent. Walvoord writes of the first instance, The wishful thinking of some that men would repent if they only knew the power and righteous judgment of God is shattered by frequent mention in this chapter of the hardness of the human heart in the face of the most stringent and evident divine discipline. There is no hardening of hearts here, their hearts were so hard they cannot or would not even consider their need to repent. Of the second instance, Guzik wrote, In man’s sinful condition, he increases his sin when under God’s judgment, the very time he should forsake his sin.
Why would God do this? To bring those who were willing to repentance is the likely answer. After all, in Revelation 3:19 we read, Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. But no matter what happened there were those who would not repent. In chapter nine we read of three plagues that killed one third of mankind. Then in verses 20-21 we read, 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. They would not give up their idols, most likely their money, their power, their belief that God was not real. Anything was preferable to giving up a life of sin in God’s eyes.
However, there were those who refused the sign of the beast and instead worshipped God. There was no tolerance for them and they were beheaded. In 20:4 John writes, I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. What a different result for them than those who refused to repent.
Bottom Line: We all have need to repent of our sins against God, let us ensure that we do so.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, Make clear to each of us what we need to repent of and rid us of any arrogance that might prevent us from repenting. – In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
RileyD, nwJ
Riley D. Driver – Pastor
Calvary Chapel of Dayton
in Beavercreek