The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, “It is done!” (Revelation 16:16).
Several times in the book of Revelation, John describes what seems to be the final end of this world. This passage is one of them (some other examples include Revelation 6:12-17, 11:15-19 and 14:14-20). These multiple apparent endings have led many New Testament scholars to conclude that the visions in Revelation do not make a single linear sequence, but rather show the same events from different points of view. Other scholars disagree with this, and I’m not remotely qualified to offer an informed opinion on that issue. What I do understand, however, is that these apparent multiple ends reinforce, through repetition, a powerful truth: just as God’s patience is not infinite, neither is his anger. The statement from the throne, “It is done!” is just as meaningful as Jesus’s cry “It is finished” (John 19:30). As we read in Isaiah:
I will not accuse them forever, nor will I always be angry, for then they would faint away because of me – the very people I have created (Isaiah 57:15).
Similarly, David wrote:
He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities (Psalm 103:9).
and a few verses later he adds this explanation:
As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust (Psalm 103:13-14).
If God’s anger were as unlimited as his power, nothing would survive.
In the Old Testament, this truth was a message of hope for the Israelites taken to Babylon. God was punishing them for their many sins, but he would not do so forever; despite how things appeared, they still had a future. Taken together with God’s finite patience, which I wrote about last week, there’s a message of great hope for us as well. The evil that we see in the world all around us will not continue forever; it will end, and God will avenge all the wrongs that have been done to his people. But God’s vengeance will not continue forever either.
How is it that an infinite God is not infinitely angry? I think it has to be because God’s anger, like his patience, serves a purpose. Neither patience nor anger is an end in itself, but both are part of God’s plan:
“to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment – to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ” (Ephesians 1:10).
Some philosophers claim that a perfectly loving God can not get angry. But Scripture shows us a God who gets angry at sin, not despite his love for us, but rather because of it. He is not willing to let evil win. A God who also finishes what he starts. God’s anger does not end because he is limited, but because the problem that his anger serves to address is limited. It’s finite because sin is finite. That’s a truth we need to hold on to when life seems overwhelming, and we appear to be losing every fight. The things that separate us from God’s holiness in Christ are finite, but he is not. Knowing that, I can welcome even God’s wrath, because I know that it will accomplish his purpose, both for the world and for me.
In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:4-6).