The wrath of the Lamb

What is the wrath of the Lamb? Does it support acts of war in the name of faith?

I’ll answer the second question first: Certainly not. The New Testament makes it very clear that our warfare is spiritual.

The text is “I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig-tree when shaken by a strong wind. The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?’”

The Wrath of the Lamb

The wrath of the Lamb sounds like a theme that is all over the Bible, but this term actually only appears ONCE in the context of the sixth seal. It is not a description of the Lamb but mainly the perception that the people have of him. After all the devastation of the four horsemen masquerading as Jesus, the people are certainly afraid that Jesus will act the same way, but he will not. His judgment will be severe (permanent separation from God), but it will not take the form of devastating warfare.

The scene reminds us of Hosea, where Israel is disgraced and ashamed of their idolatry and tries to hide from God - this goes back to the fall of man, when Adam and Eve tried to hide from God after they sinned.

The emphasis here is on people hiding because they know what they have done wrong and they expect harsh judgment, rather than on the portrayal of an angry God who wants to harm the people.

Note that only the fear of the people is described, and not the reaction of Jesus or God.

The meaning of wrath

The word used in this passage is “orge”, which comes from “swelling up”, and describes a resistance that has been building up for a long time. It is not a spontaneous outburst.

On the one hand, the people are realizing what they have built up against God, but on the other hand, God has been trying to get through to the people but there comes a point where it stops.

This should not give us the impression that God is like a social worker who tries to see if he can do something and then gives up because people are unwilling to cooperate. there will come a time when he will confront people with the consequences of their actions.

The importance of wrath

You may find the wrath of God to be an ethically and theologically difficult topic, but this is likely be because you (and even your parents) live in a historically unique situation:

• You are not subject to despotism, economic and political abuse.
• You have no experience of human trafficking.
• You have not been persecuted because of your ethnic background or your religious or political beliefs.
• You have not seen your friends and family die of hunger around you because some rich people want to be richer.
• You have never lived through a war or an epidemic that killed everyone because no one cared.
• You may even have perspective and options in your life.

Let me tell you this: throughout history most people have been familiar with at least one of these things. For example, slavery is not a phenomenon of the past but is on the rise, and behind this evil practice are people (and not abstract powers) who cause it directly or indirectly.

So, God acting on behalf of the suffering gives justificatio to his actions.

We are responsible for the suffering we cause others. The consequences of our wickedness is not just wiped away by a single prayer. God wants our hearts of stone to change.

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