1. PURPOSE FOR THE JUDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION

We cannot be certain about interpretation of many of the things presented in Revelation. What seems most likely to me may not satisfy someone else who studies the same symbology filled passages, although both of us may have extensive background and knowledge in Bible prophecy and history. However, after my study there are many things that I am certain about in Revelation including the following:

♦ Jesus loves the church, his future bride, and gave her a report card and an exhortation.
♦ Jesus gave a revelation to John about man’s final few years on earth before his 2nd Coming and his setting up of his kingdom on earth.
♦ Some of those in the church will not go through the period of great wrath in the final years before his 2nd Coming.
♦ The final years will be a time of great wrath on earth, greater than at any other time in history.
♦ Israel will be the focus of the final years.
♦ One purpose for the wrath is to bring about fulfillment of God’s promises to Israel to give them a land, great blessings, etc; Israel must acknowledge and accept Jesus as their Messiah before this can take place. The great wrath is the medium for bringing this about. The bottom-line purpose for the wrath exhibited in the Tribulation period is to prepare the world and it's people for the return of Jesus at his Second Coming. The purposes for the tribulation and judgments are discussed much more completely below.

THE PURPOSES FOR THE TRIBULATION AND JUDGMENTS

ULTIMATE PURPOSE
♦ To execute the final stages of God’s original plan and bring to fruition his ultimate purpose and for his people and his creation.
♦ To complete a key phase in the process of providing the ultimate final home for Jesus and his bride, a home without sin and without those who promote sin.

HAVING TO DO WITH ESTABLISHING THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN ON EARTH
♦ To usher in the kingdom of heaven; the kingdom of the world will become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever, (Rev 11:15).

HAVING TO DO WITH ISRAEL
♦ To force Israel turn away from other gods, to return to God and accept Jesus as their God and Messiah, Hosea 5:15, “I will go and return to my place until they acknowledge their offense and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me earnestly.”
♦ To restore the fortunes of Israel and Jerusalem, (Joel 2:23-32, 3:1).
♦ To purify and refine his chosen people, Israel, (Mal 3:2-4, Zech 8:1-8, 13:1, 8-9).
♦ To provide a refuge and stronghold for Israel, (Joel 3:16-17).
♦ To show that God is in Israel, that he is their God and that there is no other God, (Joel 2:27, 3:17).

HAVING TO DO WITH COMFORTING AND REWARDING GOD’S PEOPLE
♦ So that the meek might inherit the earth and enjoy great peace, and so that those who hope in the Lord can inherit the land, (Ps 37:9-11).
♦ To usher in the new heaven and the new earth, (Rev 21:1).
♦ To comfort all who mourn, to provide for those who grieve in Zion, and bestow on them a crown of beauty and a garment of praise, (Isa 61:2-3). Notice that at Jesus’ Second Coming, as he himself implied in Luke 4:15-16, his target is Israel. To give his people comfort and joy instead of sorrow, (Jer 31:13-14). It should be noted again that Jesus himself quoted the reason for his return and the tribulation which preceded it in Isa 61:2-3. Isa 61:1-3 gives the reasons for both of Jesus comings and he quoted the reason for the first coming from Isa 61:1-2 in Luke 4:15-16.
♦ To pay back and punish those who trouble God’s people as presented in 2 Thess 1:5-10 below.

2 Thess 1:5-10 5 All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. 6 God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. 8 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power 10 on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.

HAVING TO DO WITH JUDGMENT
♦ To obtain vengeance for “Vengeance is mine, I will repay says the Lord,” (Rom 12:19, also Heb 10:30, Deut 32:41, Ps 58:9-11, 94:1, Isa 34:8, 61:2, Ezek 25:14-17, Micah 5:15, Nahum 1:2-3, Heb 10:26-31, Ezek 14:21-23).
♦ To bring praise to God, “Surely your wrath among men brings you praise,” (Ps 76:10).
♦ To allow God to vent his great anger, (Isa 63:3-6, 9-10). “The fierce anger of the Lord will not turn back until he fully accomplishes the purposes of his heart,” (Jer 30:24).
♦ To allow God to vent his jealousy because of the sins of the people, (Zeph 1:18, 3:8).
♦ To punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins, put an end to arrogance and pride, (Isa 13:9-13, Mal 3:6).
♦ To judge and punish those who steal, lie and deceive, and those who swear falsely by the name of God (Zech 5:1-4). Those who swear falsely regarding God are those who claim that Jesus is not God. This includes Jews, Islamics, Christian cults and unbelievers.
♦ To pour God’s wrath upon the unbelieving nations and destroy them, to judge the dead, to reward God’s servants, those who follow him, (Rev 11:18).
♦ To judge and destroy those nations that mistreated Israel, (Rev 18:20-24, 19:1-3, Joel 3:2, 12, 19-20).
♦ To rid the earth and the universe of Satan, the antichrist, false prophet and all of their followers, (Rev 19:20-20:15).

WHO IS BEHIND THE WRATH AND TERRIBLE JUDGMENTS OF THE TRIBULATION
♦ In Ezek 6:10-12 and again in Ezek 14:21-23 God says, “I send against Jerusalem my four dreadful judgments – sword and famine and wild beasts and plague – to kill men and their animals.” We see that it is God’s judgment and not anyone else’s. God uses angels to administer the judgments and these angels use everything at their disposal including supernatural disasters, the forces of nature, pandemics, mean spirited men and the antichrist, evil angels and possibly even Nephilim.
♦ The Lord Almighty will carry out the destruction decreed upon the whole land, Isa 10:23.
♦ The Lord is commanding his holy ones, he is summoning his warriors to carry out his wrath, he is mustering an army for war, (Isa 13:3-4).
♦ The Lord and his weapons carry out the wrath, (Isa 13:5).
♦ The head of the army of the Lord is the Lord, and the army is beyond number, (Joel 2:11).
♦ All the nations will see the punishment I will inflict and the hand I lay on them, (Ezek 39:21-24).
♦ God’s wrath expressed in Revelation: Rev 6:16-17, 11:18, 14:10, 19, 15:1, 7, 16:1, 19, 19:15.♦ It is God who punishes the world and unleashes the great wrath, (Isa 13:11-13). We see in the purposes for the tribulation given above that they are God’s purposes and he accomplishes what he wants to accomplish.