Jesus died to atone for the sins of all those whom the Father gave to him (John 17:2). These persons come from any tribe or race or language over all the earth, spread over the generations of earth’s existence. In step with this work of his, our Lord has commanded the church to go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). So we may certainly expect conversions among those who hear the gospel in any given generation, including our own. The present passage, however, discourages us from presuming that God will work mass conversions in his world among those who once heard the gospel and rejected it (Revelation 14:6–11). On the contrary, this passage teaches us to take seriously Jesus’ word in Matthew 12:31–32. As Jesus said elsewhere, many are called but few are chosen (Matthew 22:14).
9 They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory.