Reading God’s word, for me, is frequently a delight. Frequently, but not always. Occasionally I find something in Scripture that’s more than a little disturbing. God does not always fit my preconceptions about who he should be or what he should do. This passage, for example:
When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.” (Revelation 6:9-11).
In the previous chapter John, the author of Revelation, had described the throne room of God. However, this passage is the first time he mentions the altar; the first time we understand that the throne room in heaven is also a temple. That may not have been a surprise for the original readers of Revelation, though. First century believers, most of whom had not been born in Christian homes, but rather raised as either Pagans or Jews, would probably have already assumed that God’s throne room had to be a temple.
It’s not the temple that I find disturbing, however, it’s the fact that the martyred souls are calling out for God to avenge their murders. These redeemed souls in heaven do not appear to have forgiven their enemies. What’s worse, they are not rebuked for this cry for vengeance, but simply told they must wait a little longer, “until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.” Is the Prince of Peace also a God of Vengeance?
Looking more closely, the Greek word translated “avenge” in this passage is ekdikeō which, can mean “to punish a person for a thing,” but it can also mean “to vindicate one’s right, do one justice.” This is the word Paul used when he wrote:
Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord (Romans 12:19).
Notice that Paul doesn’t say taking revenge is wrong; he says it’s God’s responsibility, not mine. I have to admit that makes me a little uncomfortable. And the passage in the Old Testament that Paul quotes is another uncomfortable one:
It is mine to avenge; I will repay.
In due time their foot will slip;
their day of disaster is near
and their doom rushes upon them
(Deuteronomy 32:35).
It’s not my job, as a human, to avenge either myself or others who have been harmed by evil. But that does not mean vengeance is not coming, or that I should not pray for it, as those souls under the altar did. God’s patience ends. And when it does, he takes his revenge. God avenges wrongs. In the more than forty years I’ve been a believer, that’s not something I’ve heard talked about very much. But maybe it should be.
God abounds in grace, but he is also righteous and just. To genuinely pray for God’s vengeance – his, not mine – is to pray for justice to be done. I’ll admit that it’s hard for me to wrap my mind around forgiving my enemies and also, at the same time, praying for justice. And I have a sneaking suspicion that the reason I have trouble is that I don’t view sin the way God does. That, at least, is something I can pray for God to change.