The Great Day of His Wrath -20

Let me read Revelation chapter 6, beginning at verse 12.

We are in the middle of a consideration of the first vision. Well not the first vision, there's been several visions, but a vision that John has received beginning at chapter 4 verse 1 and has continued on and will continue on until the end of chapter 7. So we're in the middle of that vision and he is recording what he was privileged to see and this is part of that beginning at verse 12. I looked when he opened the sixth seal and behold there was a great earthquake and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind.

Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains and said to the mountains and rocks, fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the lamb. For the great day of his wrath has come and who is able to stand? The title of my message tonight is taken from verse 17, the great day of his wrath.

The great day of his wrath. And I have contemplated when would be a good time to spend a significant amount of time in giving you a couple of big perspectives that I think are absolutely critical to understanding the book of the Revelation. These are big picture perspectives and I think I want to take that time tonight and set those before you and it wasn't until I understood these two things that I began to get my mind around the book of the Revelation. We need to understand these things so that we can rightly divide the word, rightly understand what God has given to us here.

So two big perspectives. You remember when I pointed out to you back in chapter 4 of this vision that John was given and let me go back to chapter 4 and verse 1. After these things I looked and behold a door standing open in heaven and the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me saying come up here and I will show you things which must take place after this. John is given this vision of things that must, this is the divine must of the decrees of God. And they are confined in the scroll that's held in the right hand of God Almighty. And you remember there was a search that went out through heaven and earth and under the earth and there was no one found worthy to open the scrolls and then one of the elders said to John do not weep for the lamb. The root of David is worthy to open the scroll and Jesus himself went and took the scroll and began to unfold the seven seals. And one of these big time perspectives is to understand the relationship between the seven seals, the seven trumpets and the seven bowls or the seven vials of judgment. Seven seals of judgment, seven trumpet judgments and seven bowl judgments as we make our way through the book of the revelation. When we come to, and here we are tonight at the opening of the sixth seal, this is seven seals held in the hand of God Almighty taken by the Son and He is unfolding the contents of these seals. That is the decrees that must take place, the things that must transpire. And in my study I'm convinced that it is the things that must transpire between the two advents of Jesus Christ, between His first advent and His second advent.

These are the things that must transpire. And here we are in chapter six and it is the sixth seal. Now what I want you to see is when you read, when you listen and heard the language there of chapter six, twelve through seventeen, that's language, that's end of the age, end of the world kind of language. I won't read it right at the moment but you heard it, you've read it. And we wonder, okay, if that is a description of the end of the age, the end of time, the end of the old order, why isn't that chapter nineteen or chapter twenty?

Right? Preceding the revealing of the new heaven and the new earth. Why do we find that in chapter six?

We'll get to that answer in a moment. But what I want you to see, this is the first big picture perspective, the relationship between the seals, the trumpets, and the bowls of judgment. I'm going to come to the seventh seal here.

If you have your Bible you might be able to see that. Chapter eight, the seventh seal. The seventh seal moves into the seven trumpets. So the seventh seal isn't everything that has been decreed, it's only a part of it. What's contained in the seventh seal is the bringing to pass the seven trumpet judgments. And similarly, when we get to the end of the trumpet judgments, we get to the seventh trumpet judgment, it leads into the seven vial judgments or the seven bowl judgments. So there's a relationship between the seals, the trumpets, and the vials or the bowl judgments.

It's all part of the same. That's the first big picture because, as I said, if you don't understand that, you're wondering, well, this sounds like language here in chapter six, like we ought to be reading, and how is this, how is what we're reading here any different than what we're going to read about the great white throne judgment in chapters 19 and 20? And the answer to that is, they're talking about the same event, they're talking about the same cataclysmic final day judgment at the end of the age. And I say that because if you're reading the book of Revelation, chronologically, you're going to be very confused.

If you're reading it and you're wondering, okay, where are we in church history? Are we in chapter three? Are we in chapter eight?

Are we in chapter eleven? You won't be able to make sense, chronologically, if you're looking at the book chronologically. Second, big picture perspective. I believe what we have set before us in the book of the Revelation are seven cycles of judgment, and they are concentric circles. So you have this first cycle of judgment given to you, and there are some details. There's description, and it's description of the end of the age, the judgment at the end of time. And then there'll be a second cycle of judgment.

It goes out a little further, a little more of a concentric circle, and there's more detail and further descriptions. And there's seven of those throughout the book of the Revelation, and that's why you see similar language at different places in the book. And it's not that it's repetitive, it's another cycle of judgment. And let me try and show that to you.

You see the language here. I've already pointed out to you there in verses twelve through seventeen. But seven cycles. The first cycle began in chapter four, verse one, and it will run to the end of chapter seven. There is the pouring out of God's wrath and God's judgment on an unbelieving world, a Christ rejecting world, a Christ opposing a world that's opposed to his gospel and his demands upon their lives. What we have there, right before we move from, again, the seals, the judgment, the seals, to the trumpet judgments, is a picture of worship.

Notice with me. He's going to give us this description of judgment in the seventh seal. And then it says, after these things, I looked and behold, this is chapter seven and verse nine, and behold, a great multitude, which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands.

And there's this picture of worship and praise to Almighty God and to the Lamb. And that picture and that pattern is repeated throughout the book of the Revelation with these seven cycles. So each cycle is a presentation with details and descriptions concerning the final judgment.

Each cycle concludes with the cataclysmic events that bring the world as we know it to an end. That is what we will look at tonight in, again, the opening of the sixth seal. Chapter eight in my Bible says the seventh seal or the prelude to the seven trumpets.

Remember what I told you? That the seals move to the trumpets, the trumpets then move to the vials or the bold judgments, whichever translation you're looking at. Chapter eight, the seventh seal leads into the seven trumpet judgments, which again gives us another cycle with more detailed description of the nature of God's wrath and judgment that is going to be poured out. How does that cycle, that would be the second cycle, how does that cycle conclude? Well, the same way the first cycle concluded in Revelation chapter seven, but this time it's at the end of chapter 11.

Notice with me the end of chapter 11. Again, there's this description of the final day and God's wrath and judgment. And then we read in verse 15, then the seventh angel sounded and there were loud voices in heaven saying, the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ and he shall reign forever and ever.

Words taken and sung in Handel's Messiah. And it goes on down through verse 19. Cycle number three, we have the angels who are dispatched and they come upon the earth to reap a harvest of judgment in chapter 14. Again, this is the third cycle that we're revisiting.

Keep that in mind. There's these concentric circles, cycle number one, cycle number two, cycle number three, but they're all touching on the same subject. It's the end of time. It is God's final judgment.

It's his wrath being poured out. And here we are, chapter 14. The angels come to reap a harvest of judgment. And there's another worship scene that is set before us again and this time it's in chapter 15.

John says in chapter 15, verse 1, then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues for in them the wrath of God is complete. And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name standing on the sea of glass having harps of gold. And they sang the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb saying, great and marvelous are your works, Lord God Almighty.

Just and true are your ways, O king of the saints. And it goes on. It's another scene of worship. I'm showing you this pattern, this way of perceiving and understanding the book of the Revelation. Chapter 16 is the fourth cycle. In this cycle is the pouring out of the bowls of God's wrath, the bowl judgments. Chapter 18 is the fifth cycle and it culminates in the fall of Babylon the Great. Chapter 19, what do we have there? Another worship scene. Notice chapter 6, and I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude is the sound of many waters and is the sound of mighty thundering saying, Alleluia, for the Lord God omnipotent reigns. So there's another worship scene.

Chapter 19 is the sixth cycle. Christ is depicted coming in judgment on a white horse treading the winepress of the fury of God's wrath. And then there is this final cycle, number 7, and it is the great white throne judgment of chapter 20. And what follows that? That ushers in the new heaven and the new earth which is described for us in chapters 21 and 22.

Now these are big perspective matters and I wanted to set those before you. And I think if you can get your mind around that, it will settle a lot of confusion. It will help you understand what is going on and how the book is constructed and how God has given us this portion of his revelation. Well, let's go back to our passage for tonight.

I'll try and revisit that from time to time moving forward. We'll need to try and maintain continuity and context, but for tonight, back to Revelation chapter 6. Because it's a short passage, let me read it again.

And again, listen to the language. This is end of time. This is the final judgment. This is language depicting final judgment. John says, I looked when he opened the sixth seal and behold there was a great earthquake and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair and the moon became like blood and the stars of heaven fell to the earth as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind.

Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains and said to the mountains and rocks, fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the lamb. For the great day of his wrath has come and who is able to stand? When Christ opens the sixth seal in verse 12, the wrath of God appears on the earth.

William Hendrickson in his commentary has this to say, quote, this describes what I just read verses 12 through 17. This describes the one great catastrophe at the end of this age, the dread and terror and awe and consternation of that day is pictured under the twofold symbolism of a crashing universe and a thoroughly frightened human race. What's set before us here is the disruption of creation and the dismay of wicked men and God's judgment. Let's consider number one, the disruption of creation that's depicted in verses 12, 13 and 14. And as you think through what is being described there, there are two important questions that come to mind that have to be answered. And here are those two questions, question number one. Are these to be understood symbolically or literally? Question number one. And question number two, what is the actual event that is being described? Are these to be understood symbolically or literally? And what is the actual event that is being described?

And there are two prominent answers to the question. The first is the position of the Preterist, the Preterist position. And the Preterist position looks at the book of the Revelation and sees it mainly describing events that have already happened. They take the language here of judgment, of earthquake and the sun becoming black and the moon becoming like blood and the stars of heaven falling and the sky rolling up like a scroll, all of that language. They look at that and they say that's language that is particular and it is descriptive of the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. And they don't look at that passage in isolation, they look at what Jesus had to say in the Olivet Discourse and Jesus pointed to the fig tree and cursed the fig tree and said that it was right for judgment and the fig tree being alluded to as the nation of Israel and of Jerusalem.

The fig tree is a symbol of God's judgment on Jerusalem. And although there is, I think, some merit in that position, I'm not constrained to hold to that position. And we could take some time. There's a lot of support for that position. They go back and look at Old Testament descriptions and draw from those and build their case.

But we don't have the time to look at that tonight. I have looked at it, but I'm not convinced that it is a plausible position to hold. The other dominant view is that there may be symbolic language here, but for the most part, this sixth seal is to be understood literally. That it is depicting the literal calamities that will come at the end of the age in the final judgment. Now when I say it's hard to categorically say that there's no symbolism here, how much of it is symbolism, how much of it is to be taken literal is, I think, left to the reader.

But in the main, I take a position, and I think I can show it to you, that we're to understand this as a literal description of what is going to transpire in the cosmos in this world at the end of the age. Now, for those of you that are wondering about the symbolism, you remember there's language here that talks about the stars. Verse 13, and the stars of heaven fell to the earth. You remember when Joseph was describing his dreams, and he told his brothers about the stars falling.

Well, that was symbolic language. What was he conveying with that? He was saying to his brothers that you will fall from a place of prominence.

I will be elevated, and you will be beneath me. It had something to do with God elevating Joseph to a place of prominence. That was symbolic language. So for those who say, well, there's no way this could be symbolic language, there's one example in the Old Testament in the book of Genesis where this language, the falling of stars, is clearly to be understood symbolically.

So be careful of just totally casting that aside. There's, I think, at times place to see symbolism. I want to read an Old Testament passage, a portion of it, and you will, I think, be arrested at how similar the language is here. This is Isaiah chapter 13. Read verse 1, verses 9 through 11, and then verse 13. And as I do, this is a description of the fall of the city of Babylon. Verse 1, the burden against Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amos saw.

So we're told right on the front end what this is about. This is about the city of Babylon in verse 1. I go down to verse 9. Behold, the day of the Lord comes, cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate, and He will destroy its sinners from it, for the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light.

The sun will be darkened in its going forth, and the moon will not cause its light to shine. I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity. Verse 13, therefore, I will shake the heavens, and the earth will move out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of His fierce anger. That's Isaiah chapter 13.

It's a picture of God judging the nation of Babylon. And their hatred of God and His rightful rule. And the Preterist position says, well, see, John is borrowing language from the Old Testament prophet, and he is applying it to Jerusalem.

Well, there's too many things you've got to build that argument on for me to be comfortable with it. But this is the point. Just as Babylon suffered God's judgment, Jerusalem will be judged, and they will suffer the wrath of Almighty God. That's, again, the position of the Preterist. Let me read another passage in Isaiah chapter 24. Isaiah chapter 24. Verse 21, Isaiah 24, 21. It shall come to pass in that day that the Lord will punish on high the host of exalted ones, and on the earth the kings of the earth. They will be gathered together as prisoners are gathered in the pit.

They will be shut up in the prison, and many days they will be punished. Then the moon will be disgraced and the sun ashamed, for the Lord of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem and before His elders gloriously. One more place, Isaiah chapter 34. Isaiah chapter 34, verses 1 to 4. Isaiah says, Come near, you nations, to hear and heed, you people.

Let the earth hear and all that is in it, the world and all things that come forth from it. For the indignation of the Lord is against all nations and His fury against all their armies. He has utterly destroyed them. He has given them over to the slaughter. Also their slain shall be thrown out, their stench shall rise from their corpses. Now get this, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood. All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll.

All their hosts shall fall down as the leaf falls from the vine and as fruit falling from a fig tree. Do you see the similar language that John is using there in chapter 6 in his language? A literal interpretation of a cataclysmic judgment of the entire earth at the end of the age is what I'm convinced is being described there by John in Revelation chapter 6. Not a local judgment, but a universal judgment. And a judgment that is characterized by the great day of his wrath in verse 17 of Revelation chapter 6. This is the great day of his wrath.

And again, not a local judgment on the Jewish nation, but a worldwide judgment. Do you remember the prayers of the saints who John saw under the altar there in the fifth seal that we looked at last Sunday night? Do you remember their prayer? How long, O Lord? How long, O Lord, holy and mighty, until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? Well, the opening of the sixth seal is the answer to the martyr's prayer.

How much time elapses between those two events? We do not know, but God is mindful of the prayers of his saints, and God answers the prayers of the martyrs with judgment. I think a literal reading of Revelation 6, 12 to 17 fits best the description that Jesus gives in his Olivet Discourse. John would have been there. John would have heard Jesus teaching the Olivet Discourse. Jesus spoke of the sun being darkened, of the moon not giving its light, of the stars falling. And what Jesus tied those words to was the sign of the coming of the Son of Man. Thus it will be when the Son of Man comes again. So Jesus is tying those two things together, the language of judgment and his second coming. And I think we must do the same.

We must hold those two things together. The final day of judgment will bring about the dissolving of the heavens and of the earth. There are some who hold a position, well this is just a preliminary judgment. This is not the big judgment. The big judgment is later on. I don't think you can hold to that position and be true to the text of Scripture.

As you read this language, this doesn't sound like a preliminary judgment. This sounds like the end of the age kind of final judgment. Peter reinforces this. Listen to what he says in 2 Peter chapter 3. He's describing what John is describing. 2 Peter chapter 3 and verse 10. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise and the elements will melt with fervent heat. Both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. I don't think John is describing literally a great earthquake of unprecedented violence.

It's not inconceivable for us to think that. We're told that when Mount St. Helens erupted on May the 18th of 1980 that it spewed volcanic ash five miles into the air. And everything within 150 miles of Mount St. Helens was gone, devastated. That is a local earthquake.

We're talking about a judgment that God brings upon the earth. And it is, he says, I looked when he opened the sixth seal and behold there was a great earthquake. A great earthquake. What would the great earthquake be like? I just described the earthquake, the volcanic eruption of Mount St. Helens.

What would the great earthquake be like? It wouldn't be inconceivable to think what it would be accompanied by the falling of stars. Some say, well, wait a minute, stars can't fall. Some stars are larger than the earth itself. Well, it could easily be asteroids being pictured here. One commentator said this, there is a cataclysmic event here that goes beyond description.

And that commentator is George Elden Ladd. He says the language is not merely poetic or symbolic of spiritual realities. This describes a real cosmic catastrophe whose actuality could not be conceived. We don't have words to describe it. And the word that's described here is a great earthquake. Now there are six items in this description of this cosmic disturbance, this cosmic dissolving of the cosmos as we know it to be. There is the collapse of the universe that takes place in tandem with God's judgment.

Notice what he says. There will be a great earthquake. The sun will become black as sackcloth of hair. We're told that when the volcanic ash came in that particular area that it affected the sun.

The sun was as dark in the midday at noon. It had that effect. That could be what's being described here. He says the moon became like blood. He's describing the calamity that the entire earth is coming under judgment. The order that this universe is known because the God who created it has held it together by the power of His word. God is no longer holding it together by the power of His word. He's tearing it apart. He's judging it.

And it has to be so. The old order has to give way to make room for the new. There is the removal of the old creation in order to make room for the new that's described for us in Revelation chapter 21.

The fig tree. It's a visual image of the shaking of earth's foundation. Listen to what Jesus said in Luke chapter 21. Luke 21 verse 11. And there will be great earthquakes in various places and famines and pestilences and there will be fearful sites and great signs from heaven. So said Jesus. One commentator said the falling of the stars can mean only one thing to ancient readers.

What is that? The end has come. The end has come. So the picture here is the dissolving of the cosmos. The sky is broken and rolled up.

It's something that is unprecedented. Notice the objects that are symbols of permanence and how they are affected. He says, verse 14, then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. What do we associate with mountains?

We associate permanence. Mountains don't move. But in that day, every mountain and island will be moved out of its place. Everything that is known in our world as permanent is disrupted. The old order is being dissolved. But not only does the sixth seal here show the destruction of the cosmos in verses 12 through 14, but in verses 15 to 17, this is added. We see the terror and the dread of the condemned human race.

The terror and dread of the condemned human race. John sees six categories of condemned mankind in verses 15 through 17. And in general we can say what John, the list, includes all classes of society. Notice kings of the earth, great men, rich men, commanders, mighty men, every slave, every free man. He's touching on all classes of society.

That God is no respecter of persons. That He judges all on an even basis regardless of social, political, or economic standing. And notice what it starts with. It starts with those who are the most esteemed, those who are the most influential, those who are the most powerful. The kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men. That is the influential, the powerful, the mighty. But it's not just the powerful and the influential, but it's all men, free men, slaves.

All must face the dreadful wrath of God because of their rebellion against Him. And notice with me that there are two things that these groups of people who are of the condemned human race, two things that they do. The first thing they do is in vain they attempt to flee. Notice it says they hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains. Hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains. Well, is that a safe place when the mountains are being moved?

No. The point is that there is no avoiding the wrath and the judgment of Almighty God. Two things that they do. They vainly attempt to flee. And number two, notice the terror that is recorded, that they experience. And they say to the mountains and the rocks, fall on us and hide us from the face of Him. Hide us from the face of Him.

Who what? Who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. There is terror, real terror in the face of God's judgment. And I want you to see that God is shown as the sovereign who sits on His throne and the Lamb is a reference to His compassion as a redeemer.

And their judgment is accentuated because they rejected God's rightful rule and they refused the salvation that is offered in Christ Jesus. And this sixth seal closes with the question, well the statement, for the great day of His wrath has come. And my understanding here of the book of the Revelation is that day is yet future. The great day of His wrath is yet future on God's redemptive calendar, but it is a certainty. There is a day coming. The great day of His wrath is coming.

And here it is being described for us. And on that day, the question is, who is able to stand? That is a very good question. And the answer is given in chapter 7. Who is able to stand? Notice with me, chapter 7 and verse 9, again the question, who is able to stand? Chapter 7 and verse 9, after these things I looked and behold a great multitude which no one could number of all nations, tribes, peoples and tongues standing. Standing where? Standing before the throne and before the Lamb.

Same language as chapter 6 and verse 9. They were in terror. Hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. Well here are people who are standing in the presence of that throne and in the presence and before that Lamb. And who are they? Well they are the redeemed, the redeemed host in Jesus Christ. They are those who have believed the gospel of Jesus Christ. They have confessed their sins. They have received cleansing and forgiveness. They have run to Jesus, embracing Him as Savior and Lord. And in that way, they are delivered from the wrath to come.

What a contrast. Could I ask you tonight, in all sincerity, are you among the scoffers? Are you among those who say, ah, the day of His wrath? There is no wrath with God.

God is the God of love. He won't be wrathful. That's not what my Bible says. The day of His wrath has come, John said, in his vision.

And again, John was seeing into the future. And for those who say, well, I'm not a scoffer. I believe there's a day of judgment. But I have not yet yielded.

I have not bowed my knee. I am living my own life. I am living a life of my own choosing.

There is a way that seemeth right unto a man. But the end thereof is death. You will not escape the day of judgment. You will be before God. You will be before His throne. You will be before the Lamb. But the question is, will you be before Him in terror and in fear of His judgment? Or will you be in the company of those who are described in chapter 7, worshipping around that throne, exalting Him, rejoicing in the forgiveness that you have found in this God?

Two applications tonight as we come to a conclusion. Since the world is destined to be destroyed, we who are believers should not be living for this world but for the world that is to come. It's foolishness to be living for this world that is going to be destroyed. It's foolish to give our energy and our time and to set our ambitions and to have all of our priorities set on this temporal world that is going to be destroyed. God is giving us the opportunity to exercise stewardship of our life and of our resources. Let's do that in reference to the world that is to come, not this world that is going to be destroyed. And if we do, we'll have no regrets in that day. So let's set our ambitions, our aims.

Let's have our devotion set on that. And before I leave that point, how would we know? How would we know whether we're living for this world or whether we're living for the world to come? Well, our checkbook would be a good place to look. A timer, how we have spent our time, how we are scheduling our time. And in our day, in our contemporary day, perhaps your Facebook posts might reveal something about which world you're living for, this world or the world to come.

Application number two. When this world comes to an end, not if the world comes to an end, but when this world comes to an end as we know it, it will not be because of evil and wickedness have overrun God's kingdom. That won't be the reason.

Why do I say that? Because in that very picture of final judgment, where do we see God Almighty? We see Him on His throne. These are the things that must take place. These are the divine decrees of God. So as dark as things might be, as difficult as things might be, do not lose sight of the fact that God is on His throne and He's ordering all things after the counsel of His own will and things are unfolding exactly as He has decreed and has determined. Our God is on the throne and He is accomplishing His will and these are the divine musts that will take place prior to His coming. Let me conclude with the words of this hymn, one of the hymns I love our church to sing corporately. I love the refrain.

I love to hear the trombone on the refrain. Great God of wonders, great God of wonders, all Thy ways are matchless, God-like and divine, but the bright glories of Thy grace above thine other wonders shine, above thine other wonders shine. Who is a pardoning God like thee? Or who has grace so rich and free?

Or who has grace so rich and free? Such deep transgressions to forgive, such guilty sinners thus to spare. This is Thy great prerogative and in this honor none shall share.

And in this honor none shall share. In wonder lost with trembling joy, we take the pardon of our God. Pardon for crimes of deepest die, a pardon bought with Jesus' blood. A pardon bought with Jesus' blood. O may this glorious matchless love, this God-like miracle of grace, teach mortal tongues like those above to raise this song of lofty praise.

To raise this song of lofty praise. Who is a pardoning God like thee? And who has grace so rich and free?

Or who has grace so rich and free? Shall we pray? Father, we thank you tonight that there is pardoning grace in Thee. And we thank You for this sobering passage that we've considered tonight of Your judgment that will come upon the unbelieving world at the end of the age. And, Lord, we want to be in the company of those who are around the throne on that day worshiping You. We do not want to be the objects of Your wrath and fury. So help us, Father, to be dismissed tonight with this blessing where we say, Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen. Amen.