They did not repent

October 18, 2007

By George P. Wood

We need to face an uncomfortable fact about Revelation. It is, in many ways, a gruesome book. Of course, it is not gratuitously gruesome, like some Hollywood slasher flick with scene after scene of pointless violence and gore. In Revelation the violence serves a point — several points, really.

The first point is that God is just and those who disobey Him get what they deserve. The second point is that God is merciful, offering people over and over a chance to repent, even on their very deathbeds. We see both points — paradoxically related, I admit — at work in Revelation 9:13-21.

A 200-million-man cavalry emerges from around the area of “the great river Euphrates” (v. 14, NIV). The number represents an incomprehensibly vast, seemingly invincible horde. Interestingly, it is not these millions of mounted troops who inflict carnage but their mounts: “The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur. A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths” (vv. 17,18).

The mention of fire, smoke, and sulfur helps us interpret the passage correctly, for these are the very elements of hell. Robert H. Mounce astutely comments: “The plague anticipates the eternal torment that awaits the devil (20:10), his demonic cohorts (19:20), and all who bear the mark of the beast (14:10).” God’s judgments in the course of history, in other words, are foretastes of His eternal judgment of sin.

And yet, despite experiencing these hellish conditions, “The rest of mankind that 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. Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts” (vv. 20,21).

By adding these words at the end of the sixth trumpet, John lets us know that mercy — the offer of yet another chance for repentance — has been God’s purpose all along.

Some people learn best by positive reinforcement. They are induced to change behavior because they see the benefits of change. Others, however, change only through negative reinforcement, that is to say, by experiencing the costs of a failure to change. So, depending on their learning style, God uses either the carrot or the stick.

Unfortunately, it seems, some people simply never learn. Nothing — either positive or negative — can induce them to change. Those are the people we read about in this passage.

I admit I would be far more comfortable without all the Bible’s talk about sin, death, judgment and hell. You probably would be too. But our comfortable feelings are not the issue; reality is. And reality is not all goodness and light.

There is a heaven, of course — which is all goodness and light. But there is also a hell, which is neither. Where you go depends on how you respond to God’s offer of a second chance — whether positively or negatively reinforced.

Will we take it, or will we pass it by?

George P. Wood is senior pastor of Living Faith Center (AG) in Santa Barbara, Calif., and author of The Daily Word online devotionals.