It's quite challenging isn't it, quite challenging. This is what is justice and judgement, so when we're looking about judgement, don't just think about punishing. Think about this whole area of putting right what is wrong, and because God is a passionate lover and has the power, He has the ability to put right what is wrong. He can fix this stuff up. Now that's a great revelation to have, because it frees you from having to fix it all up. You can just now respond. You don't have to get angry, don't have to pay back, don't have to get vengeful on anyone. You can put it in God's hands, and let Him sort it out. You can just get on with your life, and enjoy doing what He wants you to do, instead of being screwed up with some injustice that you've had. Most people come into the church messed up with some injustice. Come to the cross, the greatest injustice of all, where the innocent, the creator, was hung on a cross!
So the Bible is very clear, that God is concerned about injustice and oppression and poverty and these kinds of things. At Jesus' first coming, Jesus came - everyone thought He come as a king to put it all right. He came to deal with the root issue, so when He came the first time, He came to deal with the root of sin, to pay the penalty, lay His life down, demonstrate the aspect of loving kindness of God, and the mercy of God over judgement, and so He died, Jesus died on the cross for our sin, so we can be free of the power of sin, live like God intended us to live. But when He comes the second time, I'm sorry, it's not going to be so nice. He will come the second time to put things right. He'll come the second time because He's concerned about His people, and how they've been treated over centuries. Don't mistake God's patience for His tolerance of things. The Lord is long suffering, not willing any perish, but all come to repentance. So we think because judgement is not executed against evil work, that God doesn't seem to care and it's alright, but it isn't alright, as we'll see in just a moment.
Okay then, so the Bible says in Genesis, it says: shall not the judge of all the earth do right? So we see that God has committed judgement into the hands of Jesus Christ. We see that judgement and justice go together, they're about doing right, and dealing with injustice in the earth, and putting it right. So we see that God will do it, He'll put it all right. Now that's a fantastic, hopeful thing isn't it aye? God will put it right. God will put it right, it's the putting right that counts isn't it? Okay then, so I want you to look with me in Revelations, Chapter 8, then we'll just apply this into our life, what can we do. Revelations, Chapter 8. We need to go to Revelations, where we can see Jesus again, as He's revealed in the Book of Revelation. It's interesting in Isaiah 26 and Verse 9; it says: when your righteous judgements are in the earth, all the inhabitants will learn righteousness. So if 2000 years of kindness didn't solve the world's problems, a little bit of stick might make a difference? [Laughter]
So we have 2000 years, two millennia of the kindness of God being shown, and God will continue to show kindness, because that's His nature; mercy is always greater than judgement. God's always looking for a way to get us right, right before Him, and right living. Now when we look in the Book of Revelation, we find - we'll just look firstly in Revelation 19, just at the verse we were looking at last week, Verse 11: I saw heaven opened and a white horse, and He that sat on him was called Faithful and True, in righteousness He judges and makes war. Verse 2; For true and righteous are His judgements, because he has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her sexual sin; and He has avenged on her the blood of all the servants shed by her. Without going into all the details of it, when Jesus comes, He will judge all systems in the earth, governmental or religious, that have persecuted and martyred His people. There are more martyrs in this Century, than in all the history of the earth, more martyrs!