VENGEANCE

Vengeance Belongs to the Lord No one knows the details of how the Lord will transition the world from the ravages of the great tribulation and His confrontation with antichrist's forces at Armageddon to the beauty of the millennium. We don't know how this earth will go from a diseased, war-torn, bloody, rotting planet to the pristine earth of Isaiah 11. We are only given the general scenario of Jesus returning to the earth at the Mt. of Olives followed by the seizure of antichrist and the false prophet, their being thrown alive into hell, the binding of Satan, etc. But, it is interesting to think about, for this is the point where the vengeance of God will be demonstrated like never before. In Daniel 12:11,12 we are given two numbers having to do with days. We know what verse 11 means; that is the time between when antichrist stops the Jewish sacrifices and sets himself up in the Temple as God and the 2nd Coming of Jesus. It will be 1290 days, or 3½ years which is the last half of the great tribulation. But it is verse 12 that we can't really figure out; that is, the 1335 days. Contrary to what some students say, it is impossible to know precisely what the extra 45 days is all about. One student of prophecy said that the extra 45 days is this transition period from the defeat of antichrist to the reign of Christ. Maybe so, maybe not. We simply do not know how Jesus is going to do what He will do, but however He does it will be the beginning of consummate justice on a personal level. As Christians we have to guard against becoming bitter in spirit because of the lies, corruption and deception of the God-haters with whom we have to contend in these last days. But we can take courage, for he or she who thought they were so unquestionably untouchable will be dealt with by the Lord in total disregard to their "credentials". It is then that we will rejoice in their humiliation as in Revelation 16:4-7. From a human perspective I think of how General Eisenhower dealt with the Nazi elite at the end of WWII, especially Hermann Goering. Indeed, "Vengeance is mine, says the Lord. I will repay!" DLM