Revelations 6: It Is Well

The sky receded like a scroll, rolling 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 every slave and every free man 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 stand?” - Rev.6:14-17 NIV

Revelations 6:14 brings to mind the last verse of the old hymn, It is Well.

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul. - Horatio G. Spafford, 1873

Without reading the verses that follow in Revelations, the last phrase doesn't have much meaning.  Hearing the trump sound and seeing the Lord descending from the clouds should be a glorious day, not one where we have to proclaim 'even so, it is well with my soul'.  The verses that follow, however, paint a story of destruction, the enormity of which has yet to be seen.  Everyone, the rich, the mighty, the kings and generals, the poor, the slaves, none will be immune from the destructions that will accompany that great day of wrath.  The day when everyone cries out for the rocks and mountains to fall on them to hide them from God's judgment.  This must be the scene that Horatio Spafford imagined when he penned the words, 'even so'. 

It's a horrible thing to contemplate the enormity of God's wrath which will be poured out on the unbelievers.  It's even more difficult to contemplate if some of those unbelievers are our own friends, family, and acquaintances.  For believers, the carnage of God's wrath will be overshadowed by being in the presence of the one we love.  We will truly be able to say it is well with our soul.  That thought should not lessen our efforts now to bring all those we love into the light that will save and protect them from the events to unfold. 

We live in a world where many are hoping for Christ's soon return.  I share that hope, but I pray that it is not before all of my loved ones accept the salvation accorded by Christ and his sacrifice on the cross.  In a lot of cases, that is not going to happen without some miraculous intervention on God's part, so I pray daily for God's mercy.  Then when the clouds roll back with the Lord's appearing, I can truly say, 'It is well!'