All around us and from every side, we watch as the nations rage against Almighty God. They mount their armies to battle against the only one who can save them from their bondage to sin. Yet, the battle rages on. He with great and mighty patience waits. His desire to await the appointed time when all who are His have been called safely into the fold. And as they rage war against Him, they rage war against all who are His. They rage against the King of Kings and Lord of Lords; but in doing so they rage against His bride, the church. We sometimes fall into despair as it seems all is lost. The battle is too hard, and we wish for a bigger army.
There are moments we want to rage war using their evil tools against them. But wait, God sees it all. God stands above it all and He laughs at their foolish plots against Him and His sheep. They appear like a rabid dog lurching forward only to find himself chained fast to an iron post. Each lunge casting them closer to their own death and destruction, while the cure is that thing they rage against. And so the nations rage on, demanding their way and their will.
He who sits in the heavens shall laugh;
The Lord shall hold them in derision.
5 Then He shall speak to them in His wrath,
And distress them in His deep displeasure:
6 “Yet I have set My King
On My holy hill of Zion.” Psalm 2 (NKJV)
Jesus is the King set upon the holy hill of Zion. His victory won through His death on the Cross. Now He stands. With one mighty breath He will disarm all the armies as the nations rage.
That Day, as The Nations Rage, Christ will Stand to Judge them All
“I will declare the decree:
The Lord has said to Me,
‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
8 Ask of Me, and I will give You
The nations for Your inheritance,
And the ends of the earth for Your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron;
You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ ”
Psalm 2 (NKJV)
19 After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying,“Hallelujah! Salvation, glory, and power belong to our God, 2 because His judgments are true and righteous; for He has judged the great prostitute who was corrupting the earth with her sexual immorality, and He has avenged the blood of His bond-servants on her.” 3 And a second time they said, “Hallelujah! Her smoke rises forever and ever.” 4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!”…. For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. Revelations 19 (NASB)
He comes to bring judgement on all those who rage on.
11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many crowns; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. 13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. 15 From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. 16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written: “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” Revelations 19 (NASB).
The Nations Rage Against the Truth, Playing the Harlot
Both Amos and Hosea presented the truth to the nation of Israel. They warned of the coming judgement. Amos was called a conspirator against he King. Hosea was asked to plead with the people and told them of God’s great love for them, though they were a harlot in their behavior toward Him. They raged against His love, seeking other lovers as I did.
There was a time I believed if God really loved me He would grant me my own desire, someone who would love me just as I am, fully and completely. Little did I realize in truth He did just that by not letting me find that person on earth, or when I had, they were gone. It was one day after I realized that Pete loved me that way that he took his life, and I was all alone. Finally, my heart’s desire became reality and then like a vapor it was gone. Sorrow followed me until one day, I read this in Hosea.
Hosea 2 (NASB)
Therefore, behold, I will obstruct her way with thorns,
And I will build a stone wall against her so that she cannot find her paths.
7 And she will pursue her lovers, but she will not reach them;
And she will seek them, but will not find them….
14 “Therefore, behold, I am going to persuade her,
Bring her into the wilderness,
And speak kindly to her.
15 Then I will give her her vineyards from there,
And the Valley of Achor as a door of hope.
And she will respond there as in the days of her youth,…
16 And it will come about on that day,” declares the Lord,
“That you will call Me my husband….
19 I will betroth you to Me forever;
Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice,
In favor and in compassion,
20 And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness.
Then you will know the Lord.
Only God knew what would draw me closest to Him. He knew my heart better than I ever could. Now I know He gave me both and He gave me His best.
The Nations Rage Against God Then and Now
Perhaps there really is nothing new under the sun as Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes. From the first day that Adam sinned until now, humanity tries to run from God or rage against Him. After all, when God walked int the garden that day, Adam tried to hide from God. As though he could. Did he not realize the God who created it all was the only one who could save him from his sin; yet, he ran to hide. Then he tried to accuse God for his own sin. Sounds like all of us. But what now? How do we fight against the evil as the nations rage against God all around us? Our only hope is to preach the word.
Paul so beautifully outlined this sermon in the Book of Acts that tells the story of the nation of Israel.
“Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen: 17 The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He led them out from it. 18 For a period of about forty years He put up with them in the wilderness. 19 When He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land as an inheritance—all of which took about 450 years. 20 After these things He gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. 21 Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. 22 After He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will.’ 23 From the descendants of this man, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, 24 after John had proclaimed, before His coming, a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. 25 And while John was completing his course, he kept saying, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not He. But behold, one is coming after me, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’
26 “Brothers, sons of Abraham’s family, and those among you who fear God, to us the message of this salvation has been sent. 27 For those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, recognizing neither Him nor the declarations of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning Him. 28 And though they found no grounds for putting Him to death, they asked Pilate that He be executed. 29 When they had carried out everything that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb. 30 But God raised Him from the dead; 31 and for many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now His witnesses to the people. 32 And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers, 33 that God has fulfilled this promise to those of us who are the descendants by raising Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm: ‘You are My Son; today I have fathered You.’ 34 As for the fact that He raised Him from the dead, never again to return to decay, He has spoken in this way: ‘I will give you the holy and faithful mercies of David.’ 35 Therefore, He also says in another Psalm: ‘You will not allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.’ 36 For David, after he had served God’s purpose in his own generation, fell asleep, and was buried among his fathers and underwent decay; 37 but He whom God raised did not undergo decay. 38 Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39 and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.
Acts 13 (NASB)
So, when nations rage against God, where is our refuge?
There remained always God’s hope for the remnant even when the nations rage against God. That was true to Israel, Judah, Babylon, Ninevah, the Persians, and all nations on earth. If only mankind would lay down its sword and bow before the King upon the Hill. Let us do just that.
Now then, you kings, use insight;
Let yourselves be instructed, you judges of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with reverence
And rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son, that He not be angry and you perish on the way,
For His wrath may be kindled quickly.
How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!
Psalm 2
So how do we wage this battle?
We tell people about the King. Much like when C.S.Lewis described Aslan in the Chronicles of Narnia.
“Aslan is a lion- the Lion, the great Lion.” “Ooh” said Susan. “I’d thought he was a man. Is he quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion”…”Safe?” said Mr Beaver …”Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
“But God’s ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8). He can’t be tamed or kept in a pocket. What we must trust in is His goodness. Elsewhere in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, when the children finally meet Aslan in person, Lewis says this: “People who have not been in Narnia sometimes think that a thing cannot be good and terrible at the same time.” But we know that God is both terrifying and good. He’s not a tame Lion. But He is good. The difficult thing about faith is having to trust that even though we can’t predict what He will do, and even though we may not understand or agree with it, He will always make the right choice—“The Lord is just! He is my rock! There is no evil in him!” (Psalm 92:15).”[1]
We find our refuge in Him. He is all we need and our hope in this battle is to point others to Him. If even one person lays down their sword and bows before His throne, we can rejoice that He has shared one tiny piece of Glory with us. He does not need me to save a soul, oh but what a privilege if He chooses to use me or my story to bring someone to Him.
DO YOU KNOW CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR AND LORD? He is our only Hope in Life and Death! Our Joy is found in Him.
Therefore if you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord: I urge you today. Go to my page titled How to Be Saved by clicking on this link. There is nothing more important than this; because He is the way, the truth and the life. Therefore, I urge you to seek Him today.
For Prayer or Comments
If you have a prayer request feel free to email me by clicking here
Furthermore, if you would like to share your story or thoughts, you can comment here
Previously
DISCLOSURES
©Effie Darlene Barba, 2023Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. Furthermore, I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned except for my own books. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
Credits
New King James Version (NKJV)Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New Living Translation (NLT)Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
English Standard Version (ESV)The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Photo licensed from AdobeStock
[1] Rau, Hannah https://christianlife-waunakee.org/not-a-tame-lion/ accessed 7/1/2023