God's Vengeance?

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.

Isaiah 61:1-3

   Growing up I was terrified of this mythical "day of vengeance" that so many people, preachers, and evangelists kept telling us was just around the corner. I used to have nightmares about being left behind. Eventually I became calloused to it, I figured if God was coming down in vengeance against us then a.) I probably couldn't stop Him and b.) why would I want to serve such a mean God anyways? Clearly I was misinformed about the goodness of God. But it's easy to be confused when so many people, Christian and others, assume that one day God is just going to show up and start banishing people to hell with glee. Think about it, when is the last time you heard a non-Christian person joke about going to, reserving a spot, or having a suite in hell? Where did they get this idea that they were too far gone or that it was already a foregone conclusion?

   As Christians, we do know that the day of vengeance of our God will come. At some point God will say, "Enough! My Glory will fill the Earth entirely. The time has come!" Look at Isaiah 61:1-3, see the things that will fill the Earth, comfort to those who mourn, oil of joy instead of mourning, freedom to the captives, release from darkness for prisoners, and proclaiming the year of the Lord's favor! These are incredible things, filled with hope not fear! Who then is God taking His vengeance out on? His creation, whom He lovingly created in His image? No, He will finally be sending satan and his demonic minions to hell, He will have His vengeance against them for their pride and destruction. Will people still end up going to hell because of their failure to believe? Sadly, yes, but I can't believe that this will cause God any joy. They are His creation just as much as we are.

   Which brings me perfectly to my next point, part of what we as Christians should be doing as we prepare for the day God arrives in His fullness on Earth, is be in the gap for our unsaved family, friends, neighbors, etc. In Genesis 18:20-32, God tells Abraham that the sin in Sodom and Gomorrah is too great and He is about to destroy everything and everyone in it. Abraham doesn't say "Well I told them to clean up their act, guess they're gonna burn now!" No, he begins asking God to spare them and finally gets God to agree that if only 10 good men could be found then God would not do it. In Exodus 31:2, God tells Moses that He is going to destroy the Israelites for their unfaithfulness, in fact God tells Moses this multiple times throughout the Israelites wilderness wandering. Numbers 16:20-22 and 16:45 are other instances where God tells Moses, "Move away, I'm going to destroy everyone." Every single time, Moses falls down in prayer to plead for the people. He continues until he succeeds in turning God's wrath away. 

   The day God arrives in all His Glory will be an amazing one! He will have His rightful vengeance on satan, banishing him to hell. The way earth was always supposed to operate will finally occur. It's a day that we Christians pray and prepare for but part of our preparation includes interceding on behalf of the unsaved. I think Numbers 16:48 sums up our mission best, He (Aaron) stood between the living (unsaved) and the dead (satan), and the plague (death without salvation) stopped. Let us anticipate the day of the Lord while standing against and fighting back the plague of spiritual death!