If the first five chapters of Revelation bring us confusion about symbolic numbers and visions of heaven which are not easily understood (but at least make it clear that worship is central in heaven and God is still sovereign, ruling over all), chapter 6 opens the door to much more frightening topics about the judgment of God. The timing of these events (often relating to Daniel’s vision of ‘seventy weeks’ and Jesus’s discourse about the end times in Matthew 24, notoriously difficult chapters to interpret) is open to debate; the whole notion of the Tribulation and what this really means (and whether the church is still present on earth during this period or has already been raptured by Jesus) are topics which have been debated through the ages without anyone being able to definitively prove their point of view. It can be hard to determine what is exactly meant by the seals being opened, and this is not helped by modern opinions which refuse to believe the fully rounded revelation of God we find in the Bible.

We like the idea that God is love; we are relieved to be able to talk of His mercy, grace, goodness and kindness. Forgiveness and restoration are popular topics. But if we read the Bible fully, we find also that God is a God of judgment, wrath and justice. For us, these things are mutually exclusive and so we prefer to ignore His calls to repentance, His ruthless attitude towards sin and His uncompromising quest to perfect holiness in us. It’s far easier to believe that all roads will eventually lead to God and that all people will eventually be saved. Ease has never been a criterion for right living, however.

The Bible is clear that Jesus is the only way to God (John 14:6) and that the way to relationship with Him comes through His sacrifice on the cross. Revelation 5 has painted a picture of a Lamb on the throne, the lamb being the animal sacrificed for sin in the Old Testament. We have been told of Jesus, ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.’ (Rev 5:9) It should therefore come as no surprise that when the seals are opened, they speak of judgment and terrible times: times of false peace, war, death, famine and scarcity, martyrdom and judgment, because God cannot ignore sin forever. To do so would be a travesty of His character, leaving evil unpunished.

We flinch at the severity of the judgments we see; we wonder how God can still love humanity if He is prepared to allow such suffering; we do not enjoy these visions at all. Ultimately, there are no easy answers to the thorny question of the judgment of God, but the martyrs seen in this chapter asking the perennial human question, ‘How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?’ (Rev 6:10) remind us that there must come a day of reckoning if God is just and true. The ‘great day of wrath’ (Rev 6:17) is not a pleasant topic, but it is found here in the Bible, and if we wish to withstand it and have confidence on the day of judgment, then we must trust in the perfect sacrifice of the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world (Rev 13:8) and accept the limitations of our human knowledge and understanding.

Tonight we looked at what may well seem an unwanted miracle initially to us: God’s discipline and judgment. Often, we associate miracles with the spectacular and dramatic, but sometimes the way God works is painful and difficult to understand. Prov 3:11-12 reminds us, however, that God’s discipline comes from love and Hebrews 12:7-11 expands this, reminding us that parental discipline is necessary and that this training from God actually helps us to share in His holiness, ultimately producing ‘a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.’ (Heb 12:11)

The book of Habbakuk shows us how the prophet comes to God in confusion and frustration as he sees violence succeeding and injustice flourishing. He demonstrates the reality of a relationship with God: we can come even with our complaints! But God’s answer stuns him even more than His silence, for God chose to use the godless Babylonians to discipline His chosen people. Habakkuk had to learn that whilst he knew much of God’s nature, he still could not wholly fathom God or control Him in any way. There is always mystery and transcendence in God; Habakkuk cannot understand why God will allow judgment and punishment to come upon His people through the Babylonians who are without mercy. This miracle of discipline is not something he wants to even contemplate. Yet he is wise enough to remain in God’s presence and to wait for His answer. (Hab 2:1)

God’s answer to this second complaint or lament is that the answer may be delayed, but ultimately, His discipline and judgment exist to teach us to live by faith (Hab 2:4). Habakkuk has to learn to wait: ‘the Lord is in His holy temple, let all the earth be silent before Him.’ (Hab 2:20) Habakkuk’s prayer in chapter 3 demonstrates that he has moved from frustration, anguish and lament to praise and strength, hope and confidence running through his words, even though the actual fulfilment of God’s words still lie in the future. The book ends with words of confident praise:

Habakkuk teaches us much about God’s miraculous intervention in our world, but also about how living by faith will always involve trust and praise, even when we do not necessarily see the answers we want. God often disciplines and trains us, stripping us of our comforts and security so that we learn to rely on Him alone (2 Cor 1:8-9). He teaches us to ejoice in the Lord and be joyful in our God and Saviour, no matter what is happening around us, whether we see the miracles now – or whether, like Habakkuk, we are still waiting.

This morning we looked at the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace (Daniel 3), one of the most memorable miracles in the Old Testament. We saw, however, that it was the ‘even if…’ faith of these men which opened the door to the miraculous. Their ordinary stand for God, refusing to bow down to Nebuchadnezzar’s golden statue, took courage and faith. They were secure in their knowledge of who God was and believed that He was not only able to deliver them but that He would do so, yet they also faced the consequences of what would happen if He did not do so and still refused to compromise.

Civil disobedience is sometimes necessary (Acts 5:29), and these three men were unwavering in their commitment to God. They had counted the cost (see Luke 14:28033, Mark 8:34-38) and rightly feared God more than Nebuchadnezzar (see Luke 12:4-5). They had set their minds and affection upon the one true God, and no matter what their natural eyes might tell them or what others said or if the worst thing actually happened, they were prepared to die for their principles rather than compromise their beliefs.

Miracles come when people declare this kind of faith in God. Miracles come when our own wellbeing no longer has priority in our thinking, when we long to honour God in everything we do and say. Miracles come when we are prepared to lay down our lives for a higher cause, when God is so important to us that even if what we long for does not happen, we will still choose to trust Him and believe in His goodness. God literally stepped into the furnace with them and protected them so that their clothes were not scorched and they did not even smell of fire. (Daniel 3:27) We can be confident in the God we serve and can, like these men, honour God by our ‘even if…’ faith and our determination to praise Him, no matter what.