The Lord is coming in a storm of blazing fire. His chariots, His army of angels, will accompany Him with the destructive force of a violent tornado. The Lord is coming to punish the wicked with the full force of His anger and the flaming fire of His rebuke (v. 15). When He comes, it will be to execute judgment upon all the wicked of the earth. They will all suffer punishment with fire and the sword of His mouth (Vv. 16–18). Only the righteous will enter the Messiah’s kingdom.
The Day of The Lord,
His Terrifying Judgment
15 “For
see, the Lord will come with fire and with swift chariots of doom to pour out
the fury of his anger and his hot rebuke with flames of fire. 16 For
the Lord will punish the world by fire and by his sword, and the slain of the
Lord shall be many!
17 Those who worship idols that are hidden behind a tree in the garden, feasting there on pork and mouse and all forbidden meat—they will come to an evil end, says Jehovah. 18 I see full well what they are doing; I know what they are thinking, so I will gather together all nations and people against Jerusalem, where they shall see my glory” (Isaiah 66:15–18).[1]
When Jesus Christ returns to earth, two classes of people will face His wrath and His judgment:
1)
All who have followed the abominable
practices of idolatry and false worship will suffer the terrifying judgment of
God (v.
17). These will meet a terrible end because they engaged in the detestable
practices of sorcery and the occult world.
2) All who are guilty of evil works and thoughts will also suffer the terrifying judgment of God (v. 18). These allowed their thoughts and imaginations to dwell on the immoral, the lawless, and the violent instead of focusing their minds on things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, good, virtuous, and praiseworthy (Ph. 4:8). By allowing their thoughts to linger on the forbidden, they eventually began participating in immoral and wicked deeds.
When Christ returns to earth, the sinners of this world will appear before the Lord to give an account of their behavior. Then, they will see His glory and suffer the hand of His judgment.
V “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of
his Father with his angels, and then he shall reward every man according to his
works” (Mt. 16:27).
V “When the Son of man shall come in his glory,
and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his
glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them
one from another, as a shepherd divideth his
sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the
goats on the left.… Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart
from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his
angels” (Mt. 25:31–33, 41).
V “Because he hath appointed a day, in the
which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof
he hath given assurance unto all men,
in that he hath raised him from the dead” (Ac. 17:31).
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” (2
Th. 1:7–8).
V “I charge thee
therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and
the dead at his appearing and his kingdom” (2 Ti. 4:1).
V “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam,
prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his
saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly
among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of
all their hard speeches which ungodly
sinners have spoken against him” (Jude
14–15).
V “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye
shall see him, and they also which
pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so,
Amen” (Re. 1:7).
V “And behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according
as his work shall be” (Re. 22:12).
V “Before the Lord: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth” (Ps. 96:13).[2]
THE PURGING OF THE EARTH BY THE DESTRUCTION OF THE WICKED.
The kingdom of Christ cannot be fully set up in all its blessedness until the earth is prepared for its reception; and the main preparation required is the elimination from it of those wicked persons who, while they remain, must always constitute a disturbing element, inimical to the earth’s peace and a hindrance to the Church’s happiness. The teaching of Scripture is that, before the Church is finally established in the blissful position which it is intended to occupy, the removal of this element will have taken place. Partly by wars and tumults, by their swords being turned against each other, but still more completely by some miraculous outpouring of God’s wrath, typified under the figure of fire, the wicked will be cleared out from all parts of the earth’s surface, and only the godly will remain. St. John describes the day of vengeance with the greatest fulness in Revelation 19:11–21.”[3]
11 “Then I saw heaven opened and a white horse
standing there, and the one sitting on the horse was named Faithful and
True—the One who justly punishes and makes war. 12 His eyes were
like flames, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on his
forehead, and only he knew its meaning. 13 He was clothed with
garments dipped in blood, and his title was “The Word of God.” 14 The
armies of heaven, dressed in the finest linen, white and clean, followed him on
white horses.
15 In his mouth he held a sharp sword to strike
down the nations; he ruled them with an iron grip; and he trod the winepress of
the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God. 16 On his robe and
thigh was written this title: “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.”
17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sunshine,
shouting loudly to the birds, “Come! Gather together for the supper of the
Great God! 18 Come and eat the flesh of kings, captains, and great
generals; of horses and riders; and of all humanity, both great and small,
slave and free.”
19 Then, I saw the Evil Creature gathering the governments of the earth and their armies to fight against the one sitting on the horse and his army. 20 And the Evil Creature was captured and with him the False Prophet, who could do mighty miracles when the Evil Creature was present, miracles that deceived all who had accepted the Evil Creature’s mark, and who worshiped his statue. Both of them—the Evil Creature and his False Prophet—were thrown alive into the Lake of Fire that burns with sulfur. 21 And their entire army was killed with the sharp sword in the mouth of the One riding the white horse, and all the birds of heaven were gorged with their flesh.”[4]
THE PURGING AND DESTRUCTION OF THE WICKED
I.
THE VICTIMS OF SIN ARE THE SLAIN OF THE
LORD.
The laws which work
the penalty they suffer are God’s laws. It is under his administration that
pain, weakness, impotence, trouble, sorrow, and death slay guilty souls. These
are his sword, and they do his work, his “strange
work,” but yet his. But are we to glory in the death of the wicked, of which we
once were?
II.
THEIR NUMBER IS TERRIBLY LARGE.
Who shall count the
number of those that have fallen or of those that are falling now? In every
city, town, village, and hamlet, men are to be found who, through their folly,
or their vice, or their crime, or their ungodliness, are suffering pitifully
from the sword of Divine retribution. But are we not to have compassion for
them while they still can be drawn from the flames of hell?
III.
WE MAY BRING THEM INTO THE PRESENCE OF
THE DIVINE HEALER.
Many of the slain survive. Our mission is to bring these to that merciful and mighty One who can and will “make them whole.”—C.[5]
Prayer: Father God, we too were once walking with
the wicked of this world and were one with them as they were, married to the
lust of the flesh. But, because of your love, grace, and mercy, you called us
out of darkness into your glorious light. We no longer walk in the darkness
doing the deeds of darkness, hiding our sinful behaviors. We now walk in the
light allowing our behaviors to be exposed by your light. In truth, Father, our
past deeds done in the dark as if we were hiding them were done before. For you,
Father God, see that which is done in the dark as if it were done in the light,
for the night is as day to you. We cannot hide from you, Lord, and in truth, we
praise you for that. For we do not want to hide from you, Father, we want to
run to you and receive your compassion and mercy, for you are our merciful Father
God.
Father God, we recognize that our sin separates us from you
and that broken fellowship hurts us more than we could ever imagine. Therefore,
Lord, we ask you to help us be the light and example of your love to this lost
and dying world. This world is growing darker by the minute. We need your
strength Lord to witness your love for those headed to hell and eternal
damnation. We need your help to care for them and pull them from the flames of
hell, from where we once were headed. Father, help us have a heart of
compassion while sharing your love with others. Help us to love them as you
have loved us. We thank you, Father God, for the salvation you have made
possible for us through the death of your Son, our Lord, and Savior. Help us share
our Lord with anyone with an ear to hear.
We praise you, Lord. In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen.
The Last Days of Human History Will Bring Forth the Day of The Lord, The Hour of His Terrifying Judgment.
[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] Spence-Jones, H. D. M., ed. 1910. Isaiah.
Vol. 2. The Pulpit Commentary. London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company.
[4] Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The Living Bible,
Paraphrased. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.
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