“It is mine to avenge; I will repay in due time their foot will slip;
their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them.”
Deuteronomy 32:35 NIV
This future time we are studying in Revelation 17 & 18 is not like the sci-fi movie series, the Avengers. It will be very real and far beyond anything a writer of fantasy could imagine. Our God is love and has done everything possible to draw mankind to His forever family. He sacrificed Himself, He offers mercy and grace, He calls for repentance, offers full forgiveness, and He offers a way out until the very last moment. Then God answered this cry from the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne:
“…O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Revelation 6:10
The answer comes in chapter 18:20 and notice who the judgment is for:
“…for God has given judgment for you against her.”
The judgment is vengeance for the blood of His servants, for those who were followers of Jesus. He takes vengeance on those who were drunk with the blood of the saints, the martyrs of Jesus. (17:6)
In 18:21, John describes an angel throwing a boulder like a great millstone into the sea. (A millstone is a huge round stone, often weighing a ton, used to crush grain into flour.) This evil will be violently thrown down and be no more. When teaching about God’s love for children to workers, I always accompanied it with a warning. “But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea,” Matthew 18:6.
Do something to children, your judgment is coming and beyond imagining.
God’s wrath is not only about the rejection of His holiness but also because of what has been done to His dear servants. He loves His sons and daughters and will surely avenge what was done to them. There will be no more second chances for the perpetrators. They will not escape this judgment.
The persecution of believers is growing in our world. It is mild here but in several other countries Christ followers are murdered, imprisoned, tortured, and more. It has been going on since the resurrection. Please consider reading Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, which is John Foxe’s account of the martyrdom of Christians from the first century to the 16th century. The list is growing but it will come to an end and God will avenge.
“After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, ‘Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”
Revelation 19:1-2
Francie Overstreet
EFCC Member