II Kings 9
1-3
And Elisha the prophet called one
of the children of the prophets, and said unto him, Gird up thy loins, and take
this box of oil in thine hand, and go to Ramothgilead:
And when thou
comest thither, look out there Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi,
and go in, and make him arise up from among his brethren, and carry him to an
inner chamber;
Then take the
box of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, Thus saith the LORD, I have
anointed thee king over Israel.
Then open the
door, and flee, and tarry not.***
After anointing Jehu, the young man said:
7-10 And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the LORD, at the hand of Jezebel.
For the whole
house of Ahab shall perish: and I will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth
against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel:
And I will
make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like
the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah:
And the dogs
shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury
her.
And he opened
the door, and fled.
*****
I
find it so comforting to read the fulfillment of various judgments of God
against those who have done evil and have shed the blood of a prophet.
*****
Hebrews 11:32-38 And what shall I more say? for the time
would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae;
of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:
Who through
faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the
mouths of lions,
Quenched the
violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made
strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
Women received
their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting
deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:
And others had
trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
They
were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword:
they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted,
tormented;
(Of whom the
world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens
and caves of the earth.
*****
In the day of
the Wrath of God, vengeance is taken by God against those who kill the
prophets.
God is
faithful to those prophets.
*****
Revelation
6:9-11
And when HE had opened the fifth
seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that
were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
And they cried
with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and
true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
And white
robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they
should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their
brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
*****
Revelation 6:12-17 And I beheld when HE had opened the sixth
seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as
sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
And the stars
of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs,
when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
And the heaven
departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were
moved out of their places.
And
the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains,
and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in
the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on
us, and hide us from the face of HIM that sitteth on the throne, and from the
wrath of the Lamb:
For the great
day of HIS wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
*****
Revelation 9:6 And in those days shall men seek death, and
shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
21 Neither
repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication,
nor of their thefts.
*****
Revelation 11:18
And the nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the time of the
dead, that they should be judged, and that thou
shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints,
and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which
destroy the earth.
*****
Revelation 14:15-20 And another angel came out of the temple,
crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust
in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest
of the earth is ripe.
And he that
sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.
And another
angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
And another
angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud
cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in
thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her
grapes are fully ripe.
And the angel
thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and
cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
And the
winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came
out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a
thousand and six hundred furlongs.
*****
Revelation 16:4-7 And the third angel poured out his vial upon
the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became
blood.
And I heard
the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O
Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
For
they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood
to drink; for they are worthy.
And I heard
another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God
Almighty, true and righteous are THY judgments.
*****
Revelation 18:1-20 And after these things I saw another angel
come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his
glory.
And he cried
mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great
is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the
hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
For all
nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings
of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the
earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
And I heard
another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my
people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her
plagues.
For her sins have reached
unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
Reward her
even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in
the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.
How
much she hath glorified herself, and lived
deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I
sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.
Therefore shall her plagues come in
one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with
fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
And the kings
of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her,
shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her
burning,
Standing afar off for the fear of her
torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for
in one hour is thy judgment come.
And the
merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their
merchandise any more:
The
merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine
linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner
vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass,
and iron, and marble,
And cinnamon,
and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour,
and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and
souls of men.
And the fruits
that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were
dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at
all.
The merchants
of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear
of her torment, weeping and wailing,
And saying,
Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and
scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!
For
in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every
shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by
sea, stood afar off,
And cried when
they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great
city!
And they cast
dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that
great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by
reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.
Rejoice
over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged
you on her.
*****