There is something profoundly wrong and unchristian about readings of Revelation that take delight in the so-called great tribulation’s severities and judgments. John’s narrative is not intended to titillate moderns into the joy of knowing they will escape these scenes, nor are they shaped to lead us into vindication or revenge as we see our nation’s enemies crushed. These scenes are not the stuff of world wars or nuclear holocausts. They are images of God’s justice being established by erasing the evils of injustice.
