God's Justice is Capable of Being Satisfied

Revelation 15:1 “Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels who had seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.”

To say that the wrath of God is “finished,” would be to say that God’s wrath does not go on forever and ever. There is an end to it. There is a completion to it—a satisfaction of His justice. How can God’s justice ever be satisfied or ever be finished if we believe that people will suffer torment in hell forever and ever?

So when will God’s wrath be finished? Verse 8 tells us, “no one was able to enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.” The clue we’re given is that God’s wrath will be finished right before people will be able to enter into His temple. Let’s walk through this progression.

In the next chapter, we are given an outline of the seven bowls of wrath, which are the seven plagues. In those events, we have the final battle of Armageddon as the sixth plague, and the great earthquake which destroys Babylon the great and shakes the whole world as the seventh plague. The following chapters then give a more detailed view of these plagues. Then we get to Revelation 19:1-2 “After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, ‘Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God; because His judgments are true and righteous; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and He has avenged the blood of His bond-servants on her.’” From the view of the multitude in heaven, they were satisfied with God’s vengeance on their behalf in destroying Babylon the great who was previously a great cause of death and suffering for them (Rev. 6:10). Then in Revelation 19:7-21 it describes the marriage of the Lamb and the battle of Armageddon.

Revelation 19:20-21

And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.

Many interpret the beast and false prophet here to be not individual persons but rather the evil system of government and religion that will be destroyed. Notice though what the end result is for the kings of the earth and all the armies. It says that they were killed and that the birds filled their stomachs with their flesh. There is no mention of eternal conscious torment. Even in Revelation 20 it says that Satan is bound for a thousand years into the “abyss.” Now why wouldn’t he be bound in the lake of fire for a thousand years to be tormented and then released afterward? It might be because if he were to go to hell, he would perish. Hell isn’t survivable to then come back later to deceive the whole world. That’s why he’s confined to the abyss during this time. Once Satan is released from his prison, he then deceives all the nations to gather them together to make war against the Lamb and their end is described as this, “fire came down from heaven and devoured them.” Whereas for the devil, it says, “And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Rev. 20:10). It doesn’t say that the armies of the nations will be tormented forever but only the devil, the beast, and the false prophet.

There are some Conditionalists who see these three as individuals and they might say that only these three will have a long or unending time in hell to be tormented. Or, that only the devil and his angels will be tormented forever as hell wasn’t originally created for man but for the devil and his angels (Mt. 25:41). And the “eternal fire” may refer to being eternal in time to only the devil and his angels or, “eternal fire” might refer more to the permanence of the punishment rather than the length of time regarding the punishment. That is, once they die in hell, there is no coming back. It’s total annihilation.

The phrase “forever and ever” could also mean an unforeseen length of time, not necessarily an eternal length of time as we might perceive from our western philosophical or scientific perspective. We must keep in mind the kind of literature that we’re reading. It’s not meant to be scientific in its descriptions. Apocalyptic literature is very symbolic and could be hyperbolic as well. It is therefore not the best idea to take this literally. Regardless, there are some Conditionalists who say that only the devil and his angels will be tormented for eternity but other Conditionalists say that there will be an end to their suffering. I myself take this latter position.

Continuing with the progression of the story, Satan is cast into Hell, and the Great White Throne Judgement commences where all the people who have died throughout human history will have their bodies connected back to their souls. Everyone now stands trial before God and is given the opportunity to defend themselves and give an account of everything they have done or haven’t done while they were on earth. If their names weren’t written in the book of life, they were thrown into the lake of fire. It’s called “the book of life” because those whose names weren’t written in there would receive death as their sentence of punishment. The lake of fire is even clarified for us as being called “the second death” (20:14).

At this point we finally get to the end of God’s judgements. All of God’s wrath is complete now as we reach Revelation 21. The new heaven and new earth arrive and the new Jerusalem comes down from heaven to meet earth. The seven plagues are finished at this point because death and hades were thrown into the lake of fire (20:14) and the last enemy to be defeated is death (1 Cor. 15:26). So “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away” (Rev. 21:4).

Jesus says “It is done” (21:6), which is also reminiscent of when He said on that cross, “it is finished” (Jn. 19:30). The work is complete and God’s satisfaction for justice has been fulfilled. The seven plagues are finished and people can now enter into God’s temple, His tabernacle, which is the presence of Jesus. The devil, death, and hell have been defeated. The “wrath of God is finished” (Rev. 15:1). All things are now subjected to Jesus under His feet. There is now no more suffering.

If God says that after the seven plagues, the wrath of God is “finished,” and when He finishes the plagues and the Great White Throne Judgement He says, “It is done,” how could He or why would He continue displaying His wrath in Hell to cause the suffering of people forever? It would seem then that it isn’t finished, it will never be finished—God’s wrath will never stop, for He will never cease to be unsatisfied and angry.

Isaiah 57:16 shows us God’s compassion and restraint, “For I will not contend forever, nor will I always be angry; for the spirit would grow faint before Me, and the breath of those whom I have made.” “For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust” (Ps. 103:14). I believe that God deals with humanity with compassion and understanding, knowing our limits and human frailty. His anger is tempered with His lovingkindness so that “He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever” (v. 9). If then God is temperate and understanding, would He cause endless suffering? And to all my Calvinist friends out there, would God cause endless suffering to those who never had an actual choice to choose God because they simply weren’t chosen by God and thus were destined to reprobation? Would God punish a blind man for not seeing? A deaf man for not hearing? Would they be guilty before God? (Jn. 9:41)

God’s wrath is capable of being satisfied. Read the book of Leviticus and then compare that to all the judgements you see in the book of revelation. When God pours out His judgements, He is making atonement for sin. But in this case, it’s not atonement through the blood of Jesus, it’s atonement with their own blood. It’s an atonement that doesn’t lead to life but to death—and that death satisfies God’s justice (Isa. 34:5-6). After God says He will execute His judgements on Israel for their rebellion, He says: “So I will calm My fury against you and My jealousy will depart from you, and I will be pacified and angry no more” (Ezek. 16:42).

In Daniel 7:9-14, Daniel sees a vision of God as the Ancient of Days sitting on His throne. This throne appeared to be on fire along with the wheels. Ezekiel also makes mention of this. In Daniel’s vision, there is a river of fire flowing from the throne of God. So, what is the lake of fire spoken of in Revelation? It obviously comes from the river of fire because lakes receive their substance from rivers. So, here we have the lake of fire which is God’s judgement and it comes flowing as a river of fire from His throne. We even see that in verse eleven, the beast is killed and its body was destroyed and given over to the burning fire. This further solidifies the fact that the fire coming from God’s throne is His judgement. This judgement culminates in Revelation to a lake of fire. The reason it is a lake and not a river is because the lake is symbolic of God’s final act of judgement since lakes are at the end of all rivers. However, what do we see at the very end of the book of Revelation when God has accomplished all His judgements? This river flowing from His throne is no longer a river of fire but a river as clear as crystal that brings healing to the nations (Rev. 22:1). This is to signify that God’s judgements are complete and there is no longer any wrath that God is pouring out. Therefore, hell is not a place of eternal punishing and torment.