“And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.”
—Revelation 16:9
INCONCEIVABLE!
Before becoming a believer, this writer was interested in the Biblical Book of Revelation. Not only was the Book an exciting read, but in spite of what others said, it seemed both logical and likely to happen.
However, to a young unbeliever, one particular part DID seem difficult to believe. (This was when this writer was deceived and treated the Bible, not as the inerrant Word of God, but as an ethical guidebook.)
The one part of Revelation which was hard to believe was NOT the coming of the man of sin.
It was NOT the nearly complete triumph of evil before Jesus returns.
It was NOT the many hard and incredible judgments which God will use to smite the wicked.
No, the hardest part to believe was: even though God will hammer the earth (and wicked men) with judgment after judgment, men STILL stubbornly refuse to repent.
“For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.”
–1 Samuel 15:23
Little wonder idolatry is a prevalent sin of the end times.
“And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:”
–Revelation 9:20
Instead of repenting, men choose to blaspheme God.
“And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.”
–Revelation 16:10-11
“And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.”
–Revelation 16:21
“And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.”
–Revelation 16:9
THAT seemed not only incredible: it was shaking-the-head-vigorously-with-amazement unbelievable.
But today, there’s evidence everywhere that wicked, arrogant men, so used to routinely exalting man over God, will indeed blaspheme the Creator instead of changing their direction and coming to God.
Every day brings news that men believe themselves to be more than creatures formed from the dust of the earth. Every day brings new lies, new transgressions and more stories of the outrageous sins of men.
Many are deceived by the dragon and wicked men.
“And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world:”
–Revelation 12:9
Others will be completely surprised by the suddenness of a judgment about which they were long warned.
“Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.”
–Isaiah 13:6
“And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.”
–Luke 17:26-27
“Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.”
–Revelation 3:3
Lastly, some have labored long to deceive others, but they themselves are deceived by the dragon and the siren song of illegitimate supernatural power.
“But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.”
–2 Timothy 3:13
Like a moth to a flame, such deceived men are irresistibly drawn by the trinkets and parlor tricks of familiar spirits, devils, demons and/or Satan.
Though the wicked suppose themselves masters of the entire earth, God’s Word declares them to be nothing more than enslaved puppets of their evil spirits.
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
–Ephesians 6:12
What is the end times believer to do against such single-minded evil?
God’s Word repeatedly commands Christians to pray for those who hate us.
“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;”
–Matthew 5:44
“Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.”
–1 Peter 3:9
“Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.”
–Romans 12:14
While this may seem a hard thing to do, it is a command from God.
“For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord.”
–Hebrews 10:30
“To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.”
–Deuteronomy 32:35
“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”
–Romans 12:19
To the unbeliever, praying for those “who despitefully use you” and blessing those who curse you may seem unbelievable.
But it is still not as unbelievable as wicked men in the end times blaspheming God (instead of repenting) in the midst of His judgment.
Will the reader be one who escapes judgment?
Time is Running Out: Today is the Day of Salvation
Tender Mercies of the Lord: Will Not Always Be Available
“But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”
—John 20:31
THE GOSPEL
“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. ”
–1 Corinthians 15:1-8
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
-–Romans 1:16
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by Jeremiah Jameson
–with Mondo Frazier
image: ETPR/Stuart Miles, FreeDigitalPhotos.net/ETPR
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