17 ὅτι ἦλθεν ἡ ἡμέρα ἡ μεγάλη τῆς ὀργῆς αὐτῶν, καὶ τίς δύναται σταθῆναι;
Many folks like to paint an image of God as a cosmic Santa Claus. Or maybe he is like your grandfather who managed to overlook all your faults and love you anyway. He still gives you treats even when you're naughty, unlike your parents who try to keep rules in place. Death is a massive campfire with us all singing Kum-Ba-Ah in the sky.
Revelation paints a different picture and that is something we will get into as we go through this book. Here we get a glimpse of what God's final judgment on the world will look like. It won't be pretty. There is a rhetorical question at the end of this verse. τίς δύναται σταθῆναι; The answer is simple -- nobody.
Christ is going to come back as a righteous judge. Of course, we naturally think of ourselves as basically good people. We're certainly not as bad as that person over there. However, ultimately every sin is going to be judged. There are two possible outcomes for this. The first is that you will get what you deserve and you will be judged for your sins for eternity. God is perfectly holy and cannot abide sin.
The second is that we do not get what we deserve because Christ bore God's wrath for our sins. However, you need to repent and believe before that can be true for you. He will wipe your record clean if you acknowledge Him for who He is.
Salvation is much more than escaping judgment, but it is also that. When every knee bows at Christ's coming will yours bow to Him as your Lord or as your judge?
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