God’s Wrath: What Should Be Our Response? Revelation 5-11

Revelation 11:16-18 (ESV Strong's)
And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying,
“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
who is and who was,
for you have taken your great power
and begun to reign.
The nations raged,
but your wrath came,
and the time for the dead to be judged,
and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints,
and those who fear your name,
both small and great,
and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”

God’s Wrath: How Do WE Respond?

In chapters 5-11 of this book John is writing about the wrath of God being poured out on mankind for their sin and constant rejection of His love, grace and mercy.   Instead of praising God for His love, they reject Him.   Therefore, God pours out His wrath on man.  To read these chapters is to quake in our souls of what God is about to do to mankind ... to our unsaved family, friends and foes.   God is going to destroy them.   What should our response to these revelations be.  John mentions the response of the unrepentant world:

Revelation 9:20-21 (ESV Strong's)
The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.

Mankind, despite the horrific pain that will be inflicted upon the earth and man, is said to still reject God.   When God’s messages during this time are killed in the streets (to shut them up), here is mankind’s response:

Revelation 11:10 (ESV Strong's)
and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth.

These are the responses of the soul that rejects God’s love.  However, those who trust God and follow them in faith have a different response.  It is stated at the top of this post.   Those who “fear” God’s name rejoice in the sovereign rule of God, His grace, power, love and mercy on them.  But, they also rejoice in the final destruction of sin and those that reject God.    There comes a point that they simply rejoice in God establishing His righteous rule on the earth.  Yes, this will “destroyer the destroyers” of the earth.   But, it will establish the permanent righteous rule of God.   To have a revolution you have to have destruction.  The above “praise of worship” is the response of the Saints to God’s outpouring wrath on mankind.  This is the appropriate response.   We may grieve at the destruction of family, friend and foe, but we must not shrink from worshiping God for the establishment of His righteous rule!!