I recently had a vivid and, well, frightening dream that led to me looking up this specific Bible verse:

“For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”

James 2:13

Failing the Mercy Test

In the aforementioned dream, I watched a malicious serial killer enter some sort of supernatural building that had a bizarre elevator. The elevator could apparently teleport people to wherever they needed to go, whether that was their apartment or elsewhere.

This man was set on cruelly taking as many lives as possible, and he was consumed with murderous glee when he saw a terrified young man cowering at the edge of the main hall (which also functioned as the elevator). I watched, out of sight of the killer, as he took this young man’s life.

It turned out that the young man he thought he’d killed was nothing more than an illusion. What he’d seen had been put there to put his heart to the test. And, as he realized a few seconds later, he’d failed it horribly.

The massive elevator turned a horrid crimson red, and just as the serial killer understood what was happening, it plummeted downward. I heard him scream in terror as he and the elevator fell out of sight.

I either heard myself or somebody else mention that he would likely spend an eternity of suffering. Boy, that was pretty unambiguous.

Frollo’s Own Mercy Test

You know what’s especially disturbing to me? This dream was extremely similar to how Frollo dies in Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame:

Frollo had been given one last chance, thanks to Quasimodo’s immense mercy, to walk away. Instead, he saw one last opportunity to kill Esmeralda, and he arrogantly proclaimed himself as God as he prepared to strike her down.

Except he never got the chance. The gargoyle he’d been standing on cracked, seemingly came to life and terrified him with a roar as it splintered off the cathedral, causing him to plummet into the fire below.

What adds another layer of terrifying irony to this is that in the soundtrack (“And He Shall Smite the Wicked”), you can hear the choir wail “Kyrie Eleison!”, “Lord, have mercy!”

Well, Frollo spat on mercy, and for that, he received none. He showed Quasimodo’s mother no mercy when he chased her down and killed her at the start of the movie. He tried to commit murder again, despite all of his chances to do better, and for that, he was struck down.

More Verses on Mercy

I use OpenBible.info whenever I want to look up Bible verses involving a certain word. Their list of verses about mercy is excellent.

Here are a few that stood out to me:

“Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.”

Proverbs 28:13

“A man who is kind benefits himself, but a cruel man hurts himself.”

Proverbs 11:17

“Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.”

Luke 6:36

Proverbs 11:17 is one that really sticks out to me with the context of this dream in mind. Nothing good ever comes from showing malice instead of mercy. In the end, it’s we who suffer more than any possible victims.

This calls to mind Jesus’s lesson about “turning the other cheek” that He gave during His Sermon on the Mount. We’re supposed to leave vengeance in God’s hands (Romans 12:19), and for good reason. God’s justice is perfect, and by leaving it up to Him, we avoid damaging our souls in the process.

As a side note, I’ve read that Russell Moore, a brave ex-Southern Baptist who has repeatedly stood his ground against his colleagues, gave an eye-opening interview with NPR. In this interview, Moore shared an alarming and recurring trend of people telling pastors that “turning the other cheek” is “weak“.

As this opinion piece published by the Lexington Herald Reader says so perfectly, asserting that Jesus’s (God’s) commandment to show mercy is “weak” amounts to outright blasphemy. Just…why are we like this?

Choose Mercy, Choose Life

After I woke up from that disturbing dream, I remembered a similar dream I’d had back in 2022. In this dream, I stood by Jesus’s side and watched as he confronted a serial killer, warning the guy that if he refused to stop hurting people, he would be condemned.

The serial killer angrily stated that he wouldn’t stop, and Jesus had no choice but to banish this serial killer. He slid down a stone tablet out of sight, and without it being stated explicitly, it looked like he’d been condemned to Hell.

What still sticks out to me about this dream is how it ended. Jesus and I sat down together in silence. And He looked so exhausted, so emotionally weary.

The Book of Ezekiel contains important remarks from God Himself about how the death of the wicked never pleases Him. It’s reasonable to say that He sees spiritual death as the ultimate waste.

“For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live!”

Ezekiel 18:32

I’m sure that if both dream serial killers had sincerely come to grips with their transgressions, repented, and chose to act with mercy instead of malice towards others, things would’ve ended differently.

Justice is important to God, but mercy is, too. As difficult as it can feel at times to show mercy to others, especially when they’ve wronged us, He’s instructed us to choose mercy, always.

As Elune stated in this cinematic from World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, we have a choice to make: vengeance, or renewal.

Featured Image by Connor Brennan