I still experience varying emotions in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election in the United States. At times, I feel a calm confidence in God’s sovereignty. I know we live in the last hours of human history as we know it, and all the signs point to the nearness of the seven-year tribulation and hence our departure to the place Jesus is preparing for us (John 14:2-3).

On too many occasions, however, what I read about the widespread election fraud aimed against President Trump stirs up panic in my soul. It’s then that I find myself scurrying back to Scripture and prayer through which I bring my heart’s unrest before the Lord.

The outcome of the election in the United States impacts the entire world in the sense that if America falls under the leadership of those dedicated to the New World Order, this will remove the most powerful obstacle in the way of the globalists that seek to establish a Marxist one-world government.

Habakkuk lived in a day remarkably similar to ours, and he felt the same despondency we often feel as we witness the corruption, violence, and injustice of our day. His words below express his desire for the Lord to intervene in the wickedness he saw in ancient Judah.

“O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, / and you will not hear? / Or cry to you, “Violence!” / and you will not save? / Why do you make me see iniquity, / and why do you idly look at wrong? / Destruction and violence are before me; / strife and contention arise. / So the law is paralyzed, / and justice never goes forth. / For the wicked surround the righteous; / so justice goes forth perverted” (Habakkuk 1:2-4).

Not only does this prophet of old express many of our thoughts today, there’s also much we can learn from the ongoing dialog between Habakkuk and the Lord. The words teach us about a walk of faith during perilous times.

We Can Express Our Thoughts and Feelings to the Lord

Habakkuk knew that he was not conveying new information to the Lord in his initial complaint, but he felt the freedom to fully express his heart to Him. Putting his feelings in words helped him unburden his heart and clarified the answer he sought from God.

We have the freedom to follow the example of the prophet in sharing our deepest feelings with Him, knowing that He cares for us. There are a great number of Psalms where David and others do exactly that.

As I battled feelings of despondency last week, I made my distress known to the Lord. In response, He brought the words of Psalm 37:28 to my mind. “For the LORD loves justice; / he will never forsake his saints. / They are preserved forever, / but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.” Just as He did with the prophet, God responded to my complaint through His Word, though not quite as directly as He did with Habakkuk.

This verse assured me that the Lord sees all the great injustice taking place in America. As a result, I found I could rest in His sovereignty and righteousness while still praying for a favorable resolution to the election.

I very much want justice to prevail in the U.S., but I also agree with JD Farag in that if I had a choice between “four more years” and the rapture happening in the next few days or weeks, I would without hesitation pick Jesus’ appearing to take me home. He alone is my Savior and my ultimate hope.

We May Not Like God’s Answer

In His response to Habakkuk, the Lord told the prophet about His future judgment of Judah. In 1:5-11, He revealed that the Chaldeans, also known as the Babylonians, would come against Judah because of the violence and injustice the prophet had cited in the opening verses.

The Lord’s answer troubled the prophet (see Hab. 1:12-17). How could the Lord use such a fiercely violent and idolatrous people as his instrument of justice on his chosen people?

The Lord again assured the prophet that He knew all about the wickedness of the Babylonians and would judge them accordingly (2:6-20).

I cannot help but wonder if the great division in the United States stems from the great wickedness that is rampant here. I grieve over the widespread acceptance of the evil and the horrors of abortion and so many other matters such as sex trafficking that surely deserve God’s judgment.

I wonder if I would have been happy with God’s response to my complaints during the past week if He would have responded to me as specifically as He did with the prophet.

What would the Lord say about the fate of the United States? Would it be as dire as His message concerning the future of Judah in Habakkuk’s day?

We Wait, and Then We Keep on Waiting

If there’s anything I have learned from my walk with the Lord over the years, it is that He often makes me wait. He does not answer my pleas as soon as I would like, nor do I see Him respond as quickly to injustice as I expect. But I have also learned that His final answer is always worth waiting for.

In response to Habakkuk’s second complaint, the Lord told him to “wait” and that “the righteous shall live by faith” (Hab. 2:2-4). Notice the Lord’s answer to the prophet in these verses:

“Write the vision; / make it plain on tablets, / so he may run who reads it. / For still the vision awaits its appointed time; / it hastens to the end—it will not lie. / If it seems slow, wait for it; / it will surely come; it will not delay. / Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, / but the righteous shall live by his faith.”

In these verses and those that follow, the Lord tells the prophet that He will also judge the Chaldeans, but he would need to wait for it. I believe there was a near and far fulfillment to the vision that Habakkuk saw in the remainder of chapter 2 and most of chapter 3. Under Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and took many people captive. Habakkuk may have lived to witness this, as it happened a decade or two after he wrote.

He would not have lived long enough, however, to see God judge the great Chaldean Empire, which occurred almost a century later.

As for the future fulfillment of the vision, the Lord will destroy a future representation of Babylon as described in Revelation 18, which I believe is the kingdom of Satan during the tribulation. We see it coming to power now under labels such as the New World Order or The Great Reset.

I believe the globalists behind the movement for a one-world government lie behind the current coup to remove President Trump via election fraud. He stands in the way of their aspirations to control the world. Spurred on by the devil himself, what we see is evidence of their impatience as they seek to bring the world under their total control.

We live in a time of waiting. It may be several weeks or more before we learn the final outcome of the 2020 U.S. presidential election. At the same time, we also wait for Jesus’ imminent appearing to take us home.

We do not know the timing of what lies ahead for us, but we know that when the end comes, it will come suddenly (1 Thess. 5:3; 1 Cor. 15:52). These words from Habakkuk aptly apply to our current period in history as we wait for the Lord to intervene: “If it seems slow, wait for it; / it will surely come; it will not delay.”

While we wait, we walk by faith, knowing that the convergence of signs tells us we live in the season of Jesus’ return.

We Look to the Lord for Our Strength and Joy

The book of Habakkuk ends with one of the strongest proclamations of faith in Scripture. The prophet starts his book questioning God’s absence amid the violence and corruption of his day but ends with these amazing words recorded in 3:17-19:

“Though the fig tree should not blossom, / nor fruit be on the vines, / the produce of the olive fail / and the fields yield no food, / the flock be cut off from the fold / and there be no herd in the stalls, / yet I will rejoice in the Lord; / I will take joy in the God of my salvation. / God, the LORD, is my strength; / he makes my feet like the deer’s; / he makes me tread on my high places.”

After the prophet describes conditions that would be totally catastrophic to any agrarian nation such as Judah, he amazingly states his total faith in the Lord. Regardless of the future for his nation, he would “rejoice” and rely upon the Lord’s strength. He knew dark and traumatic days were coming to Judah, but that didn’t shake his absolute trust in the Lord.

We have a distinct advantage over the prophet Habakkuk. We live in New Testament days and have the entirety of Scripture at our fingertips. The Bible is essential to our faith in times like these. It pushes our hearts and souls ahead to the promises of Jesus’ appearing, our reign with Him in His millennial kingdom, and our eternal enjoyment of paradise on the new earth and in the New Jerusalem.

We do not know what tomorrow will bring, but we rest in what the Lord has promised in His Word. In times like these, we look to the Lord for both our strength and joy.

I love the United States and the freedoms I have enjoyed here all my life. I feel great sorrow at the prospect that corrupt people might erase many of our liberties through election fraud.

However, I also value my heavenly citizenship and know that someday, possibly quite soon, my hope will become a reality, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself” (Phil. 3:20-21).

I long for the day Jesus returns and transforms my “lowly body to be like his glorious body” and takes me home to be with Him forevermore.

Jesus’ appearing is the hope that keeps us going as we walk by faith in perilous times. We know that much better days lie ahead for us, days when we will experience the redemption of our bodies and live forever in paradise.

It may seem like we live in the midst of a long delay, but keep watching; Jesus will surely come for us! We live on the very edge of eternity.

Maranatha!

Jonathan Brentner

Website: Our Journey Home

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E-mail: Jonathanbrentner@yahoo.com

“Vengeance is mine,” says the Lord. “I shall repay.” It is beyond human capability to understand the mind of God and the immense power and ability of God. It is vain to delve into our tiny brains to fathom the immensity of God who could speak the universe into existence. At the great white throne, we are told that the books will be opened and the dead judged from those things written in the books. Earth’s computers and their storage and retrieval capabilities could not hold a candle to the accounting of God.

God will avenge. Such a long list could be drawn up of the matters that would come under the vengeance of God, but I will limit it to three matters.

1. God will avenge all the evil done to His earthly people, the Jews. In part, we have seen that happen in biblical times. I am reminded of Babylon where God used His servant Nebuchadnezzar to punish His people, but Babylon was excessive and ruthless in what it did to the Jews, and then the hand of God fell on Babylon itself for what it had done. It was held to account even though it was God’s rod of punishment.

Woe betide anyone who lifts up his hand against a Jew or the Jewish nation. The ancient promise given through Isaac will never be rescinded. Genesis 27:29, “May peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be master of your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be those who curse you, and blessed be those who bless you.” What we don’t see always is the cursing that will come to those because of the evil they did to God’s people. We need not worry about that, for it is in God’s hand. Germany sits at the top of the list for atrocities to the Jews, and yet Germany continues prosperous today, BUT the day of reckoning will come.

What we can see is the blessing that comes to those who favor and bless the Jews. In World War 1, an event happened that the world does not know much about anymore. Beersheba was held by the cruel, wicked Ottoman Turks who ruled Palestine for more than 600 years. The charge and liberation of Beersheba by the Australian 4th Light Horse Brigade took place on 31 October 1917, during the third Battle of Gaza in Palestine, where the brilliant Australian horsemen, hugely outnumbered, in one of the greatest cavalry charges of all time, overran the Turkish defenses. That helped defeat the Turks, and it liberated Palestine. For those interested, you can read about this great victory here:

https://anzac100.initiatives.qld.gov.au/remember/battle-of-beersheba/index.aspx AND HERE: https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/blog/the-charge-of-the-4th-light-horse-brigade-at-beersheba

I don’t think it was coincidence that after WW1 Australia prospered, as it opened the way for the soon return of the Jews to their ancient land.

The USA has been an ally of Israel for a lot of its history, BUT things have changed. The USA grew in prosperity because it supported Israel, but the Obama administration seemed to have hated Israel, and is it no wonder that the US has fallen on hard times? Under Trump, this favor to Israel returned probably better than any president in memory.

However, it is short-lived because the Biden policymakers, about one week after the election, said that under Biden the US was not going to be as friendly to Israel. Do not be surprised if you see the full acceptance of the PLO and the removal of the embassy from Jerusalem.

2. God will avenge all the evil done to His redeemed children. All through history, Christians have been persecuted by wicked governments (such as China and ancient Rome); by religious institutions (especially the Roman Catholic church for more than 1,000 years); and by demonic “faiths (Islam, etc.). God’s own were told very specifically to pray for their persecutors and to pay good for evil. They were not to avenge themselves but to leave all vengeance to the Lord.

There is an interesting passage in Revelation 6:10-11 – “and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?’ There was given to each of them a white robe, and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, should be completed also.”

This is not a Christian prayer, for the setting is in the day of God’s wrath, and these praying there are martyrs in the Tribulation. It is a correct prayer for their time, for the Tribulation is the day of God’s vengeance.

3. The third matter of God’s vengeance will fall on those who blaspheme His Name.

All those who take God’s name in vain will suffer under this. How do you take God’s name in vain? Firstly, there is no other Name under heaven whereby men must be saved.” When religions substitute any means of salvation other than the gospel of Christ, they blaspheme the Name of God. Beware Islam, Hinduism, and the false cults.

When they utterly reject that Name, they blaspheme against it.

Secondly, when people and governments substitute the devil’s “beliefs” in place of God, they blaspheme His Name. I AM who I AM. God said to be fruitful and multiply. The devil says to abort the unborn up to the 8th month in some places. God ordained for man and woman to marry. The devil says to marry two men. God said to train up a child in righteousness. The devil says to destroy the gender and sexuality of children in school with sexism and gender fluidity. What God had ordained in His mighty Name, the devil has counteracted, and nations follow the devil. God will avenge His Name.

While on the subject of blasphemy, it is a very sad thing that of all nations on earth, I think Americans take the Name of the Lord in vain more than any others. It is grating to hear this all the time (usually in American productions/ movies and the rest). Of course, I don’t include the Christians here, and you must find it terrible to hear that yourselves unless you are used to it.

WHY THIS ARTICLE?

Now, you might wonder what sparked this article. The reason is that there has been a steady call since the presidential election for action to be taken against those who are listed as Trump supporters; the vengeance road, you might say. Some of this stuff is what we expect from China in the great purges, not from what are considered civilized countries. There is such a hatred for anything not of the far left these days, and it is getting worse. I am sick of seeing it popping up in Australia as well. Here in my country, there are those of the very left like the Greens (neo-communists) who are calling for action against Trump supporters in Australia. Their bile has no limits.

In the US, those there know better than I do, but here are a few things to share. The following has come from NEWS.COM.AU and from a review on that by Frank Chung:

Evan McMullin – “We should keep and publish a list of everyone who assists Trump’s frivolous and dangerous attacks on the election,” tweeted failed presidential candidate. “Name and shame forever.”

Washington Post blogger Jennifer Rubin commented, “Any Republican now promoting rejection of an election or calling to not follow the will of voters or making baseless allegations of fraud should never serve in office, join a corporate board, find a faculty position, or be accepted into ‘polite’ society. We have a list.”

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted, “Is anyone archiving these Trump sycophants for when they try to downplay or deny their complicity in the future? I foresee decent probability of many deleted tweets, writings, photos in the future.”

In response, several Democrats chimed in to promote their “Trump Accountability Project,” which seeks to create a “permanent record” of everyone “who furthered the Trump agenda.”

“Yes, we are,” former Obama administration staffer Michael Simon replied. “The Trump Accountability Project. Every administration staffer, campaign staffer, bundler, lawyer who represented them – everyone.”

Former Obama spokesman Hari Sevugan (Issued 6 November) also responded to Ms Ocasio-Cortez. “You better believe it,” he wrote. “We just launched the Trump Accountability Project to make sure anyone who took a paycheck to help Trump undermine America is held responsible for what they did.”

In a follow-up tweet, Mr Sevugan threatened that any company that employed someone on his list would also face “consequences.”

New York Times columnist Wajahat Ali said, “You can’t heal or reform the GOP who are now an extremist party. They have to be broken, burned down and rebuilt. When Biden is in power, treat them like the active threat to democracy they are. If those who committed crimes aren’t punished, then they will be more emboldened.”

Many, including former Clinton secretary of Labor Robert Reich, have called for a “commission” to prosecute former Trump administration officials. “When this nightmare is over, we need a Truth and Reconciliation Commission,” he tweeted. “It would erase Trump’s lies, comfort those who have been harmed by his hatefulness, and name every politician, executive and media mogul whose greed and cowardice enabled this catastrophe.”

Prominent MSNBC anchor Chris Hayes had the same idea. “The most human and reasonable way to deal with all these people, if we survive this, is some kind of truth and reconciliation commission,” he said.

Many more media personalities and columnists agreed. “Truth and Reconciliation proceedings,” wrote former NPR editor Trey Graham. “And tribunals for Trump admin officials who won’t participate/are found to have lied.”

Hollywood celebrities also weighed in. “Again, a Truth and Reconciliation Commission would be highly useful,” wrote actress Quinn Cummings. “Russia is at war with us, and (a) cohort of Americans think that isn’t true because their skin is white.” Jamie Lee Curtis wrote, “Now the HARD work of TRUTH and RECONCILIATION!”

“Truth and reconciliation” was a term bandied around in Australia from the 1960s, and it was a communist front under the guise of making a better society. These people of the hard left use justice and reconciliation, but what they mean by justice is having a system of “justice” that is built around Marxism, and by “reconciliation,” they mean to make everyone “reconciled” to their belief system.

Those quotes are enough. Society is sick to the core. I have never seen anything like it. This is like the great purges the Communist Parties made in Russia and China when they gained power. What does this suggest for the future of the USA? This revenge and hatred could not just have happened. It must have been fermenting over quite some time. It is not for me, an outsider, to examine that.

Some very able articles have gone onto Rapture Ready from Americans, and they look at the deeper issues, posts such as one by Rob Pue.

To be fair here, I must report what Biden said after the election (from news.com.au) – [Joe Biden called for unity in his victory speech on Saturday night, urging Americans to reach across the aisle and stop seeing each other as “enemies.” “I understand the disappointment tonight,” Mr Biden said. “But now let’s give each other a chance. It’s time to put away the harsh rhetoric, lower the temperature. And to make progress, we have to stop treating our opponents as our enemies. They are not our enemies. They’re Americans.”]

Man’s justice is corrupted. Man’s fairness is distorted. Justice can only be enacted according to the principles of the Bible.

Here are a few thoughts on Malachi:

“Where is the God of justice?” (2 v 17)

The world is a very unjust place, and the weak get little justice, and in an increasing number of places, Christians are getting little or no justice. People do not understand true justice because justice is linked with truth, and Jesus is THE TRUTH, so real truth cannot be found outside the Lord.

We hear expressions like, “The world is a very unfair place,” or “You won’t get much justice from politicians.”

It must be disconcerting to live and not understand what is happening all around us. The unsaved person who has some remnants of fairness left in him and her must feel discouraged. The Christians (well, some of them) know the world is getting worse because the prophecies of the last days tell us so, but our hope looks up to the Lord who will deliver us from this present evil age. Look at these 4 verses and try to find any justice in them. It is the last days – 2Tim 3:1-4, “Realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come, for men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.”

We normally expect Christians to pursue justice and to support just aims. Imagine how surprised I was to read the results of a big PEW survey before the US election among “religious groups and otherwise” on support for Trump or Biden.

Here is the result of that survey, and what really astounded me is the 90% support for Biden from black Protestants.

How can these churchgoers (I assume they are) support abortion and homosexuality? I must be missing something. I hope people would support justice.

Justice belongs to the Lord. There are a lot of verses in the Old Testament pointing to the justice that will accompany the Lord and His reign on earth in a coming day. Here is a New Testament quote from the Old:

Matt 12:18-21 “Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well-pleased! I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel, nor cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. A battered reed He will not break off, and a smouldering wick He will not put out until He leads justice to victory; and in His name the Gentiles will hope.”

When we enter Chapter 3 of Malachi, it is a giant leap into the future, one of those abrupt changes prophets make to their text. It may seem that it is a completely new thought or concept, but in fact, it is related to the last question in verse 17 – “Where is the God of justice?” Malachi now leads us to the God of justice who is coming. The opening few verses of Malachi 3 explain the Lord’s coming, and this does cover the First Coming (Advent) and Second Coming. In verse 5, the Lord will deal with injustice.

The Lord will deal with injustice! That is where our faith and actions lie. Vengeance is not ours, and any thought of revenge or “getting even” is not in the requirements for Christians. May the Lord grant to us patience and forgiveness and understanding and grace to deal with matters when injustice may strike us. Wise as serpents but as harmless as doves.

ronaldf@aapt.net.au