what goes around comes around

Yesterday in Revelation 6, the world was reeling.

Deception.

War.

Famine.

Death.

Earthquakes.

Cosmic disturbances.

And finally, people recognizing that the terrifying events around them were connected to the wrath of the Lamb.

Then something unexpected happens.

The winds are restrained.

Judgment pauses.

And after all that chaos, the world is left wondering:

What happens next?

But while Revelation raises that frightening question about God’s judgment, today’s Old Testament reading raises another question much closer to home.

What happens in our hearts when trouble comes to someone who has hurt us?

Have you ever felt just a little satisfaction when someone who criticized you, mistreated you, or made life difficult finally suffered a setback?

Maybe you didn’t say anything.

Maybe you even tried to look sympathetic.

But somewhere inside you thought:

“Well … what goes around comes around.”

Is that harmless?

Or does Obadiah reveal something about our hearts that God takes far more seriously than we might think?

Today we’ll look at a dramatic pause in Revelation, God’s protection of the 144,000, the multitude who will come to Christ during the Tribulation—and a warning about rejoicing when someone else falls.