The Day of God’s Vengeance Is Coming. All The Nations and Peoples of This Earth Who Have Opposed God and Persecuted His People Will Face the Judgment of God’s Hand.

The Great Day of God’s Vengeance & Mercy: A Picture of Armageddon, 63:1–64:12 

The Great Day of God’s Vengeance, (See Is. 34:1–17; Re. 19:1–21)

¹ Who is this who comes from Edom, from the city of Bozrah, with his magnificent garments of crimson? Who is this in royal robes, marching in the greatness of his strength?

“It is I, the Lord, announcing your salvation; I, the Lord, the one who is mighty to save!”

² “Why are your clothes so red, as from treading out the grapes?”

³ “I have trodden the winepress alone. No one was there to help me. In my wrath, I have trodden my enemies like grapes. In my fury, I trampled my foes. It is their blood you see upon my clothes. ⁴ For the time has come for me to avenge my people, to redeem them from the hands of their oppressors. ⁵ I looked but no one came to help them; I was amazed and appalled. So, I executed vengeance alone; unaided, I meted out judgment. ⁶ I crushed the heathen nations in my anger and made them stagger and fall to the ground.” 

The Great Mercy of God:

Proves That He Will Execute Judgment & Redeem or Save His People

⁷ I will tell of the loving-kindnesses of God. I will praise him for all he has done; I will rejoice in his great goodness to Israel, which he has granted in accordance with his mercy and love. ⁸ He said, “They are my very own; surely they will not be false again.” And he became their Savior. ⁹ In all their affliction he was afflicted, and he personally saved them.^a In his love and pity he redeemed them and lifted them up and carried them through all the years.

¹⁰ But they rebelled against him and grieved his Holy Spirit. That is why he became their enemy and personally fought against them. ¹¹ Then they remembered those days of old when Moses, God’s servant, led his people out of Egypt, and they cried out, “Where is the One who brought Israel through the sea, with Moses as their shepherd? Where is the God who sent his Holy Spirit to be among his people? ¹² Where is he whose mighty power divided the sea before them when Moses lifted up his hand, and established his reputation forever? ¹³ Who led them through the bottom of the sea? Like fine stallions racing through the desert, they never stumbled. ¹⁴ Like cattle grazing in the valleys, so the Spirit of the Lord gave them rest. Thus, he gave himself a magnificent reputation.” 

The Great Cry for Deliverance

¹⁵ O Lord, look down from heaven and see us from your holy, glorious home; where is the love for us you used to show—your power, your mercy, and your compassion? Where are they now? ¹⁶ Surely you are still our Father! Even if Abraham and Jacob would disown us, still you would be our Father, our Redeemer from ages past. ¹⁷ O Lord, why have you hardened our hearts and made us sin and turn against you? Return and help us, for we who belong to you and need you so.^{b 18} How briefly we possessed Jerusalem! And now our enemies have destroyed her. ¹⁹ O God, why do you treat us as though we were not your people, as though we were a heathen nation that never called you “Lord”?

¹ Oh, that you would burst forth from the skies and come down! How the mountains would quake in your presence! ² The consuming fire of your glory would burn down the forests and boil the oceans dry. The nations would tremble before you; then your enemies would learn the reason for your fame! ³ So it was before when you came down, for you did awesome things beyond our highest expectations, and how the mountains quaked! ⁴ For since the world began no one has seen or heard of such a God as ours, who works for those who wait for him! ⁵ You welcome those who cheerfully do good, who follow godly ways.

But we are not godly; we are constant sinners and have been all our lives. Therefore, your wrath is heavy on us. How can such as we be saved? ⁶ We are all infected and impure with sin. When we put on our prized robes of righteousness, we find they are but filthy rags.^a Like autumn leaves we fade, wither, and fall. And our sins, like the wind, sweep us away. ⁷ Yet no one calls upon your name or pleads with you for mercy. Therefore, you have turned away from us and turned us over to our sins.

⁸ And yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the Potter. We are all formed by your hand. ⁹ Oh, be not so angry with us, Lord, nor forever remember our sins. Oh, look and see that we are all your people.

¹⁰ Your holy cities are destroyed; Jerusalem is a desolate wilderness. ¹¹ Our holy, beautiful Temple where our fathers praised you is burned down, and all the things of beauty are destroyed. ¹² After all of this, must you still refuse to help us, Lord? Will you stand silent and still punish us? (Isaiah63:1–64:12).^[1] 

The Great Day of God’s Vengeance and Mercy: A Picture of Armageddon, 63:1–64:12

(Isaiah 63:1–64:12) Introduction: Armageddon is the last, decisive battle or war among the nations of the earth. Because it is known to be the last battle, a discussion of Armageddon arouses keen interest among many, in particular true Christian believers. Armageddon is where human history, under the government of human leaders, will end. Why then and there? Because at Armageddon the Lord Jesus Christ will return to earth. He will intervene and stop the madness of the human race. On that climactic day, all the wicked of this earth will face the blazing fire of God’s holiness and be consumed, doomed to spend eternity in hell separated from Him. But the righteous of this earth will receive the mercy of God. They will be delivered and receive their eternal inheritance promised by God through the ages. 

This is, The Great Day of God’s Vengeance and Mercy: A Picture of Armageddon, 63:1–64:12.

1.      The Great Day of God’s Vengeance, (63:1–6).

2.      The Great Mercy of God: Proves That He Will Execute Judgment and Redeem or Save His People (63:7–14).

3.      The Great Cry for Deliverance (63:15–64:12).^[2] 

The Great Day of God’s Vengeance, The Day of Armageddon, Is Coming.

Furthermore, it cannot be stopped. In fact, this prophecy by Isaiah is a picture of Christ returning from the battle of Armageddon. The battle has already taken place, and the nations of the world who have sought to destroy God’s people have just been crushed by the Lord Himself. Isaiah’s prophecy answers the major questions about Armageddon: 

The Great Day of God’s Vengeance, (See Is. 34:1–17; Re. 19:1–21)

¹ Who is this who comes from Edom, from the city of Bozrah, with his magnificent garments of crimson? Who is this in royal robes, marching in the greatness of his strength?

“It is I, the Lord, announcing your salvation; I, the Lord, the one who is mighty to save!”

² “Why are your clothes so red, as from treading out the grapes?”

³ “I have trodden the winepress alone. No one was there to help me. In my wrath, I have trodden my enemies like grapes. In my fury, I trampled my foes. It is their blood you see upon my clothes. ⁴ For the time has come for me to avenge my people, to redeem them from the hands of their oppressors. ⁵ I looked but no one came to help them; I was amazed and appalled. So, I executed vengeance alone; unaided, I meted out judgment. ⁶ I crushed the heathen nations in my anger and made them stagger and fall to the ground.” (Isaiah63:1–6) ^[3] 

A.    Who Will Be Judged?

Edom and its capital Bozrah. These sites symbolize all the nations and strongholds in the world that reject God and persecute His people (Vv. 1, 3, 6). Edom was chosen as a representative of the wicked nations of the earth because its people had always been bitter enemies of the Lord and His people. An unyielding hostility and deep-seated animosity flowed through the veins of the Edomites. Thus, they became a symbol of the nations who defied the Lord and mistreated His people. All nations—governments, leaders, citizens—who take a stand against the Lord and His people will face the hand of God’s judgment. They will be destroyed in the future battle of Armageddon. 

B.     Who Will Execute Judgment?

The Lord Himself (Vv. 1–2). This is a clear reference to Jesus Christ. Christ is returning, coming back to earth a second time. When Christ came the first time, He came as a baby born in a manger. He came as the Savior to rescue people from their sins and from death, offering eternal life to all. But when Christ comes the second time, He will come as judge of the entire earth. He will come clothed in the majestic glory and awesome power of God Himself. Note that He identified Himself as the One who speaks “in righteousness, mighty to save” (v. 1). His purpose for coming will be to execute justice on earth. Executing justice includes rewarding those who truly believe and have been faithful to the Lord as well as punishing those who have lived wicked lives. In the great day of God’s vengeance, the Battle of Armageddon, He will demonstrate His mighty power to save His people from their oppressors. 

Note that the Lord’s clothes will be stained red with blood, looking like the clothing of a person who has been trampling the grapes of a wine press. The ancient winepress was usually a shallow pit with a hole at one end through which the juice flowed out into containers. As people trampled the grapes, juice would naturally splatter their clothing. The picture being clearly painted is that of the Lord’s robe being completely covered with the blood of the wicked. Note that Christ Himself is speaking, declaring that He has trampled the nations under His foot. He makes two declarations:

Ø  In executing judgment, God acted alone (v. 3). Unlike His practice in the past, He did not use nations or people to accomplish the punishment of the wicked. In the great day of vengeance, God will execute His wrath against all the wicked nations and peoples of this earth.

Ø  God will personally destroy the evil and oppressive people of the earth. He will crush them as grapes are crushed in a winepress. 

C.    Why Will the Lord Execute Judgment (Vv. 4–6)?

First, because two things are in His heart: vengeance against evil and redemption for His people (v. 4). His very nature is that of holiness and love. His holiness demands the execution of righteousness or judgment, and His love demands that He redeem and save His people. The immoral, lawless, and violent of this earth must bear the consequences of their wicked behavior. They must pay the penalty for having broken God’s law. Thus, true justice must be executed against them. But redemption is also in the heart of God. Because of His perfect love, He will return to earth to save His people from the oppression of their enemies and from sin and death.

Second, in the last days of human history, God will find no one who can step forth to help His people (v. 5). The day is coming when the vast majority of the world’s population will oppress and seek to stamp out God’s people. On that day, the Lord’s arm of power and His wrath will save His people. Raising His arm in might and fury, the Lord will crush the nations. Every evil nation of this earth will be made drunk with the wine of God’s wrath, and their blood will be poured out on the ground (v. 6; 9:5–8; & Re. 14:14–20; 16:12–16; 19:11–21.) 

The Day of God’s Vengeance Is Coming. All The Nations and Peoples of This Earth Who Have Opposed God and Persecuted His People Will Face the Judgment of God’s Hand.

V  “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him” (Jn. 3:36).

V  “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness” (Ro. 1:18).

V  “But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation, and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile” (Ro. 2:8–9).

V  “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord” (Ro. 12:19).

V  “But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience” (Ep. 5:3–6).

V  “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape” (1 Th. 5:1–3).

V  “And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power” (2 Th. 1:7–9).

V  “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him” (Ps. 2:12).

V  “O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, show thyself” (Ps. 94:1).

V  “And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard” (Mi. 5:15).

V  “God is jealous, and the Lord revengeth; the Lord revengeth, and is furious; the Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies” (Na. 1:2).^[4] 

THE IDUMÆNS ARE A TYPE OF GOD’S ENEMIES

There was a time when Esau sought to slay his brother Jacob (Gen. 27:41), and the same spirit of violence and hatred possessed the Edomite nation during its entire career. Edom strove to exclude Israel from entrance into the Holy Land by refusing to give them a passage through her borders (Numb. 20:14–21). She was always ready to join Israel’s enemies and sought perpetually to take Israel at a disadvantage (2 Kings 16:6; 2 Chron. 20:10, 22; 28:17; Ezek. 25:12; 35:5; Amos 1:11; Obad. 10, etc.). When the Babylonian conquest came, she rejoiced, and made a mockery of Israel’s distress (Ps. 137:7). She was still hostile in the time of the Maccabees and supported the Syrian monarchs in their endeavors to crush Jewish independence (1 Macc. 5:3; 6:31; 2 Macc. 5:15). Herod the Great, who sought to put our Lord to death in his infancy, was an Idumæan; and so, on the father’s side, was Herod Antipas, who mocked him and set him at naught.

The Idumæans Are Well Selected to Represent God’s Enemies Generally— 

I.                    ON ACCOUNT OF THEIR PRIDE. Pride was the sin by which Satan and his evil angels lost heaven, and no sin is more hateful to God or more characteristic of his enemies. Of the Idumæans it is said, “The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rocks … that saith in his heart, who shall bring me down to the ground?” (Obad. 3); and again, “Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thy heart” (Jer. 49:16). “Pride was the root of Edom’s sin,” says a recent commentator on Obadiah—pride of an unnatural kind, since God had assigned to Edom a low estate. Now “a low estate, acquiesced in by the grace of God, is the parent of lowliness; when rebelled against, it generates a greater intensity of pride than greatness, because that pride is against nature itself and God’s appointment. The pride of human greatness, sinful as it is, is allied to a natural nobility of character.… The conceit of littleness has the hideousness of those monstrous combinations, the more hideous because unnatural, not a corruption only, but a distortion of nature” (Pusey, ‘Minor Prophets,’ pp. 234, 235).

II.                ON ACCOUNT OF THEIR UNNATURAL HATRED. All hatred of one race towards another is hated by God, but the hatred of a kindred race is especially displeasing to him. It was one of the special reproaches against Ephraim that he vexed a brother, Judah. Now, Esau and Israel were not only brothers but twin brothers. They ought to have been drawn closer together by this relationship and to have supported each other against the alien races of the neighborhood. But the tie of blood was not felt. Edom had “a perpetual hatred of Israel” (Ezek. 35:5). They would gladly have conquered their brethren and held them in subjection (Ezek. 35:10); but as this could not be, they rejoiced in their brethren’s destruction (Obad. 12) and gazed delightedly on their sufferings (Obad. 13). “Unrelenting, deadly hatred against the whole people of Israel, and a longing for their extermination, were inveterate characteristics of Esau.” (Pusey, ‘Minor Prophets,’ p. 241).

III.             ON ACCOUNT OF THE ENVY IN WHICH THEIR HATE WAS ROOTED. Ezekiel, declaring God’s intention to punish Edom, says, “As I live, saith the Lord God, I will even do according to thine anger, and according to thy envy which thou hast used out of thy hatred against them” (35:11). The ground of all Edom’s hatred of Israel was that jealousy and envy roused by the Divine preference which put the younger before the elder, and gave to Israel superior, to Esau inferior, blessings. Edom had much for which to be thankful—a good pasture country, a secure capital, commercial advantages, the wisdom of a certain kind (Jer. 49:7); but these things did not satisfy her. They were all rendered vain, and of no account, by the fact that Israel enjoyed more numerous and greater blessings. She could not forgive this superiority, and hence her hatred and rancor. Hence the joy with which she witnessed the walls breached, and Jerusalem was taken by the Babylonians; hence the loud cries to which she gave utterance, of “Down with it, down with it [or, ‘raze it, raze it’], even to the ground” (Ps. 137:7).

IV.             ON ACCOUNT OF THE VIOLENCE AND CRUEL OUTRAGES TO WHICH THE HATRED LED. Edom “shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity” (Ezek. 35:5). When the Babylonians were besieging Jerusalem, they “stood in the crossway, to cut off those that did escape” (Obad. 14), shutting them up with the enemy, driving them back on their pursuers. Not only did they rejoice in Judah’s destruction and speak proudly on the day of her distress (Obad. 12), but they flew upon the spoil, entering into the gates with the conquerors and laying hands upon the substance of the conquered (Obad. 13). Such fugitives as escaped and settled among them they slew (Joel 3:19). Such captives as they could induce the Philistines or the Phœnicians to sell to them they also put to death (Amos 1:6, 9, 11). It was their earnest desire that Israel should be no more a nation, and they, therefore, made every effort to exterminate it. Next to extermination, they desired complete subjugation. Hence the support which they lent to the Syrians against the heroic Maccabee princes. 

IDUMÆA’S FATE SHOULD BE A WARNING TO THE ENEMIES OF GOD. Her reward returned upon her own head. As she had done, so was it done to her (Obad. 15). By the time of Malachi, Edom’s mountains and heritage had been “laid waste for the jackals of the wilderness” (Mal. 1:3). She was “impoverished;” her cities were thrown down; she strove to rebuild them but was unable (Mal. 1:4). A century later her territory, or a great part of it, was occupied by the Nabathæans, who made Petra their capital (Diod. Sic., xix. 94–98). After suffering various defeats at the hands of the earlier Maccabee princes, the Edomites were finally conquered and incorporated into the Jewish nation by John Hyrcanus. The last that we hear of them is in the Roman war, when a body of twenty thousand, admitted into Jerusalem by John of Giscala, filled the city with bloodshed and ended by pillaging it. Thenceforth they disappear from history. The greater part perished in the terrible siege conducted by Titus. The remainder, confounded with the Jews, were sold into slavery. Idumæa became “a geographical expression.”^[5] 

³“I have trodden the winepress alone. No one was there to help me. In my wrath, I have trodden my enemies like grapes. In my fury, I trampled my foes. It is their blood you see upon my clothes. ⁴ For the time has come for me to avenge my people, to redeem them from the hands of their oppressors. ⁵ I looked but no one came to help them; I was amazed and appalled. So, I executed vengeance alone; unaided, I meted out judgment. ⁶ I crushed the heathen nations in my anger and made them stagger and fall to the ground.”^[6]
 

Prayer: Father God, we thank you for making us your friends, not your enemies. We do not know what we would do if we were to be your enemies. We know that you could destroy us by eternally damming us to the flames of hell and outer darkness. Sometimes, Father God, our own frustrations of our selfish plans are heartache enough. To imagine being eternally separated from you is more than we can bear. We recognize that our sin of pride is not any worse or more significant than any other sin. You see all sin as missing the mark of your perfect will. Anything less than perfection is missing the mark. Father God, we also recognize our selfishness of pride, preferring our way to that of a loved one is as if we were to murder another human. Father God, we need you so that we would walk by faith, trusting you to love others and think that others are better than ourselves.

Father God, you speak of an unnatural hatred displayed toward your chosen people. We see this in this world, and it grieves us because we recognize the root of this evil inspiration is from the devil. We see the violence and cruel behaviors displayed toward your chosen people as a manifestation of the devil looking to hurt you because of your love for us. We also recognize that we Christians are believers in you and what you have done for us by sending your Son to die on the cross, making the way possible for us to receive salvation; make us enemies of the devil equally. We see the hatred for us in how others treat us throughout the world. We see the death of your chosen people from Cain and Abel to the Exodus, to the Holocaust, to today’s examples of beheadings, beatings, firings in the marketplace, and even our own family that disagrees with our beliefs often disowns us as family.

But we know you are returning to save us from this dark, lost, wicked, dying world. We look forward to that Day, Lord, and see in the current times we live that it will be sooner than we think. Even if we do not see your return in the next one hundred years, we know that we will not be here for another one hundred years, which means we will die naturally and be with you soon enough. Thank you, Father God, for your promise of our salvation as made possible by the death of your Son. Also, we praise you because of the power of your Holy Spirit living in each of us, which is evidence of the promise of your salvation.

But, Father God, we are also grieved by the fact that many millions of people will reject your love, grace, and mercy and suffer the penalty of judgment against them for precisely that rejection of you. Help us, Lord, to witness your love to them so they too can receive you and escape your coming judgment. Help us to serve you faithfully, Father God, as we serve them faithfully.

In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen. 

 

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The Day of God’s Vengeance Is Coming. All The Nations and Peoples of This Earth Who Have Opposed God and Persecuted His People Will Face the Judgment of God’s Hand.

All Pics by Ansel Adams https://www.anseladams.com/

^a 63:9 In all their affliction he personally saved them, or “The Angel of his Presence saved them out of their affliction.”

^b 63:17 for we who belong to you need you so, literally, “for your servants’ sake.”

^a 64:6 filthy rags, literally, “filthy as a menstruating woman’s rags.”

^[1] Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The Living Bible, Paraphrased. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.

^[2] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 2005. Isaiah: Chapters 36–66. Vol. II. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.

^[3] Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The Living Bible, Paraphrased. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.

^[4] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 2005. Isaiah: Chapters 36–66. Vol. II. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.

^[5] Spence-Jones, H. D. M., ed. 1910. Isaiah. Vol. 2. The Pulpit Commentary. London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company.

^[6] Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The Living Bible, Paraphrased. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.