March 23, 2006

Hope For the Weary

by Roger Best

I recently returned, along with twenty one other volunteers from our church, from a week of work and ministry in the New Orleans area. As we viewed the widespread destruction and the human suffering that has taken place we were all greatly moved and affected by the experience. I had the opportunity to travel with our project manager and meet with families to discuss what kind of immediate help they needed. It gave me the opportunity to share Christ with many and I don’t recall ever experiencing such openness to the gospel.

As I viewed the devastation both in New Orleans and Slidell Louisiana, my mind was taken to the eighth chapter of the book of Revelation which reveals the beginning of the wrath of God in final judgment on this earth. I am not suggesting, as some have, that this storm, Katrina, was the wrath of God on this gulf-shore area. We live in a fallen world and as a result experience these kind of things. I clearly understand that God is sovereign and yet for His purpose He allowed this disaster to take place. But I do believe that a comparison can be made to the devastation of Katrina and the coming judgment of God when He pours out His wrath on this old world. Scripture clearly teaches that there is a day approaching when God will rescue the righteous, that which we refer to as the rapture, and then He will destroy the wicked with the outpouring of His wrath.

Now in comparison to the world and even the United States the devastation in the gulf-shore area is relatively small. And yet as I stood in a residential neighborhood in New Orleans and looked up and down the streets and as far as I could see recognized that every home was destroyed, the destruction seemed beyond imagination. There was an eeriness about it as there were very few if any people around, many homes, almost six months after the storm, had not yet been touched as far as clean up is concerned. How can people cope with such destruction?

Revelation 8:1 indicates that the inhabitants of heaven will be so awestruck by the coming wrath that when it is about to begin there will be “silence in heaven for about a half hour.” In verse 5 an announcement to the earth is supernaturally given to warn of the impending wrath. Then unlike the 6 seals which detail ordinary things, such as wars and earthquakes, which will take place with a greater intensity, the 7 trumpets begin to deliver the wrath of God in supernatural destructive ways. It is interesting to note that in the trumpet judgments “a third of the earth” is effected (verses 7, 9, 10, 12, 15, 18). When we get to the bowl judgments in Revelation 16 the judgment now falls on everyone and all the earth and in the final bowl judgment literally everything is destroyed, so much so that a new heaven and a new earth are necessary.

In making the comparison between Katrina and the wrath of God there is one remarkable difference. When God begins to pour out His wrath we read in Revelation 9 and 16 the men did not repent and blasphemed God. The move is definitely against God, there are no signs of revival. Whereas in the aftermath of Katrina, there is hope and the hope is Jesus Christ. Praise God, He is still calling out a people for His name. The gift of salvation is available now. How do the people of Katrina cope? They have been let down by the government, by the insurance companies and in many cases by friends and relatives. As the psalmist of old said, “My help comes from above.” Yes dear friend in need, there is hope, Jesus Christ is calling to you, “Come unto me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My load is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).