The Day of Vengeance Is. 63:1-6 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

The day is coming when the Lord will no longer withhold his vengeance from his adversaries.  Right now, they are taking advantage of the fact that the Lord is slow to anger [Nah 1:2-3] and that he uses them to accomplish his will against Israel [Lk 21:20-24; Is 10:12].  This lesson deals with some important aspects of this future date on God’s calendar.

The timing of the day of vengeance – while the exact day is known only to the Lord [Matt 24:36], we know when this day will occur relative to other events in prophecy.  In order of occurrence there will first be the Rapture of the Church [1 Thes 4:16-17; Rev 5:8-10], then the Tribulation [Matt 24:15-22], then the Rapture of the Tribulation saints [Rev 11:12, 7:9-14], then the Second Coming of Jesus and the day of vengeance [Is 63].  Following the day of vengeance, the Lord will begin his millennial reign as he rules on the throne of David in Jerusalem [Is 9:6-7] and Israel will be saved [Rom 11:25-27].

The events of the day of vengeance – the Lord will evidently execute his vengeance in a number of battles and on a number of different battlefields – he will destroy his adversaries in Edom [Is 63:1; 34:6-8] – he will destroy his adversaries at Armageddon in the valley of Megiddo [Rev 16:12-16; 6:15-17] – he will destroy his adversaries outside of Jerusalem in the valley of Jehoshaphat [Is 63:2-4; Joel 3:11-16; Zeph 3:8; Zech 14:1-3; Rev 14:18-20].

The Lord’s armies on the day of vengeance – when the Lord destroys the nations in the valley of Jehoshaphat, he will tread the winepress alone [Is 63:3] – yet in the other battles, it is evident that he is fighting with his armies from heaven [Rev 19:13-15; Ps 149:6-9; Ps 58:10] which will include the church age saints.

The Lord’s garments in the day of vengeance – the Lord’s apparel will be glorious when he returns [Is 63:1; Matt 17:2] – yet when he treads down his enemies, his garments will be red from the blood stains [Is 63:2-3; Rev 19:13].

The Lord’s attitude in the day of vengeance – when the Lord comes to destroy his adversaries, he will come in anger and in fury [Is 63:3, 6] – he will come in flaming fire [2 Thes 1:7-9] – the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah are examples of suffering the vengeance of fire [Jude 7].

The Lord’s salvation in the day of vengeance – when the Lord destroys his adversaries, he will also save his people Israel [Is 63:4-5] – the day of the Lord’s vengeance is also the “year of my redeemed” [Is 59:16-20].

Interesting notes on the day of vengeance – at his first coming, the Lord died on Calvary alone [Jn 16:32] and when he returns he treads the winepress alone – at his first coming, Jesus was wounded [Is 53:5] yet when he returns his enemies will be wounded [Ps 68:21] – at Jesus’ first coming his blood was shed [Jn 19:34] but when he returns his enemies’ blood will be shed [Is 63:3] – as at his first coming he brought salvation so at his second coming he will bring salvation [Is 63:1, 5].

Conclusion: People often say they like the God of the New Testament better than they like the God of the Old Testament – people are mistaken – he is the same God in either Testament – they’d better trust Jesus and receive his mercy before he comes against them in his vengeance.