“The coming of the lawless one [Antichrist] is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10.
“O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongs – O God, to whom vengeance belongs, shine forth!” Psalm 94:1.
Psalm 94 is actually the first of a series of seven psalms, six of which have already been examined beginning with Psalm 95 posted on January 3rd and 7th, 2023, followed by Psalms 96, 97, 98, 99, and 100. These six psalms dealt with the return of Christ at the end of the tribulation and the reign of Christ during the millennium.
Psalm 94 is different, and while it should have been studied first it seems appropriate, considering the times we live in, to take it last of all. Psalm 94 deals with the tribulation period itself.
Again, this psalm and all the psalms have something for everyone, whether in Old Testament times, this present church age, or during the tribulation period which will last only seven years, but it will seem like an eternity to those living through it. Try to maintain this mindset as we examine this psalm.
“O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongs…” though the cry of the psalmist is bitter he still defers to the Lord God.
“Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.” Romans 12:19.
“For the day of vengeance is in My [Christ’s] heart, and the year [end of the tribulation] of My redeemed has come.” Isaiah 63:4.
“O God, to whom vengeance belongs, shine forth!” again he calls out to God to repay the evil ones for the horrors they perpetrate on the innocent.
The Assyrians of Nineveh were some of the cruelest of all people who finally carried away the northern Kingdom of Israel in 722 B.C. The Assyrians were finally defeated by King Nebuchadnezzar in 605 B.C at the battle of Carchemish which fulfilled the following words.
“The burden against Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite. God is jealous, and the Lord avenges; the Lord avenges and is furious. The Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserves wrath for His enemies; the Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked.” Nahum 1:1-3a.
The vengeance of the Lord was 117 years in coming, but it came, and it will come again as surely as the sun will rise tomorrow.
This is the vengeance that Christians cry out for today as they read of the horrors perpetrated by demonically driven men in the Middle East and within our own government.
God in His grace is giving us a preview of the tribulation period as we view the complete breakdown of governments and the cowardice of the various nations as they ignore the holocaust in the Middle East and take in the very terrorists who have sworn to destroy them.
A holocaust caused not just by ISIS, but all of the different jihadist factions of Islam, whether the Muslim Brotherhood, Al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, or some of the lesser known groups.
When I say, God in His grace is giving us a preview of the tribulation period, I mean just that.
Folks need to understand that after the removal of all Christians on earth at the rapture everyone left behind will be doomed to endure living through this period of death, disease, and famine which will be worldwide.
Not one person during this time period will be safe as so many of us are today.
Every man and woman on earth will be in danger of being raped, tortured, enslaved, put into cruel brothels, mutilated, beheaded, or burned to death; the very things we see ISIS doing today.
This is not only a preview for us, but many Muslims are turning to Christ as they endure hardships and horrific cruelties inflicted on themselves and others by their own brothers.
Christians must pray fervently not only for an awakening in our country, but also that the Holy Spirit would enter the brothels and various places where these victims are being held and turn them to Christ.
“Then He [Jesus] said to them, ‘The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.’” Luke 10:2.
Granted, the Christians in Muslim countries are almost completely wiped out, but many of the ones left in prison are speaking to Muslim prisoners and showing the love of Christ to them.
The Holy Spirit can reach anyone anywhere no matter how deep the hole they are in.
“Rise up, O Judge of the earth; render punishment to the proud.” Psalm 94:2.
“O Judge of the earth…” Jesus is the Judge of the earth here and is the same person that Abraham was speaking to when He appeared in a theophany to the patriarch while on His way to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah.
Abraham pleaded with the Lord to spare the cities if there were 50 righteous persons in them, finally bargaining down to 10 righteous, of which evidently there were not since the cities were destroyed.
As Abraham was interceding for the cities he made the following statement.
“Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” Genesis 18:25.
Read all of Genesis chapter 18 when you get an opportunity, it is endearing to see how this gentle man intercedes for these people who are completely given over to wickedness.
It is important that no matter what our circumstances we are to remember that the Judge of the whole earth will do right by us and to all.
“Rise up…” one commentator likened these words “rise up”, to people calling out to the Lord to awaken, to rise up and rescue those who have been assured of God’s unending care.
Jesus warned us that those perilous times would frustrate and grieve believers.
“And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” Matthew 24:12.
Jesus also said the following about the surviving believers when He returns to end the tribulation. Please read all of Luke 18:1-8, the parable of the unjust judge for context and a better understanding of prayer.
“Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart…” Luke 18:1.
“Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:8b.
I believe that the above statement not only applies to the Christian survivors of the tribulation, but also to us today because times are bad and God seems to be allowing horrible things to happen in this country.
We must not lose faith!
Pray for the children held in captivity and used as sex slaves, pray for the children being taught filth in school instead of the truth, pray for the children being herded like cattle to be mutilated by reprobate perverts.
Pray for those suffering from hunger, cold, neglect, and drugs. Pray for an awakening in this nation and the world that God might bring in a harvest of souls before the rapture.
Pray for confusion to come upon the reprobates in our government on both federal and state level, pray that the evil that they plan will fall upon their own heads and not harm the innocent.
Pray for your nation and do not cease praying, it is not for you to bring the answer to prayer, it is for you to cry out day and night.
If you are an official in government with the power to change an evil thing, then do it. Now is not the time for cowardice.
“For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews [or Christians] from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14.
There is more than enough for righteous men and women in power to do and there is more than enough for the Christian to pray for. As long as we draw breath it is not time to lose our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ!
“…render punishment to the proud.” Psalm 94:2b. The meaning of proud here has the idea of arrogance, pride, with a lack of reverence for God, impiety. This is a quality which will be very evident in the Antichrist when he takes control of the world.
“After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast [the revived Roman Empire], dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. I was considering the horns, and there was another horn [Antichrist], a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.” Daniel 7:7-8.
“Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin [Antichrist] is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4.
The Antichrist will have absolute power which will bring out this kind of pride that the tribulation saints will be crying out against. This is also the kind of pride we see in ISIS when they threaten to invade Italy because they have the impression that Rome represents all of Christianity. Their boast and intent is to do away with Christianity and Jesus Christ.
For those who have always been confused by 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, you may find the study beginning on 2-10-21 entitled “The Falling Away” of interest. There are 8 entries from 2-10-21 to 3-10-21. These cover the entire chapter and can be found in the archives located in the left column of this site.
“Lord, how long will the wicked, how long will the wicked triumph?” Psalm 94:3.
Because many Christians will know that Jesus Christ will rid the earth of all the wicked at the end of the tribulation period of seven years this almost seems like a rhetorical question. Yet the persecutions and killings of the righteous beg the question.
As for confirmation of the length of time evil will reign (tribulation period) we have to return to the book of Daniel which has been called the Revelation of the Old Testament.
“Then he [Antichrist] shall confirm a covenant with many [unbelieving Jews] for one week [seven years]; but in the middle of the week [3 ½ years] he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate.” Daniel 9:27.
Unlike some in the tribulation who will be able to calculate when it will be over, Christians of today have no idea when the power of the wicked, reprobate politicians, big pharma and big business will cease.
But while we may be disheartened, we are not helpless we can still pray and support righteous men.
We can also know that Adolph Hitler is dead, as is Josef Stalin, Mao Tse-tung, Idi Amin, Pol Pot, Kim II Sung, and Osama bin Laden are all in hell.
They cannot return and they can do no more harm even though they were dreaded in life. God may not have our timing, but He is thorough, He does not forget, and He will not fail us.
“Do you not know this of old, since man was placed on earth, that the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment? Though his haughtiness mounts up to the heavens, and his head reaches to the clouds, yet he will perish forever like his own refuse; those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’ He will fly away like a dream, and not be found; yes, he will be chased away like a vision of the night. The eye that saw him will see him no more, nor will his place behold him anymore.” Job 20:4-9.
Psalm 94:1-3 taken from godisrevealed.com posted on 3-11-15, updated on 2-20-23.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.