And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city, and fire came down from God out of Heaven, and devoured them. Revelation 20:9
To date, only two atomic bombs have ever been detonated in anger. On August 6 of 1945, an American Silverplate Boeing B-29 Superfortress dropped a device nicknamed Little Boy on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later, another atomic bomb nicknamed Fat Man was dropped on the city of Nagasaki. Together, those bombs accounted for almost a quarter of a million deaths in the explosions and in the aftermath. Six days later, the Japanese announced their surrender, which was signed September 2 on the deck of the U.S battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay. All things considered, the time between the dropping of the first atomic bomb and the surrender of the Japanese was very short as Japanese officials rushed to prevent any further bombings. A lengthy, costly, dragged-out campaign thus drew to a close in rapid fashion. But not nearly as rapidly as the final wrapup of earth’s final rebellion against God.
Unlike the great Battle of Armageddon that will close out the reign of the beast at the conclusion of the great tribulation period, the rebellion at the conclusion of the Thousand Year’s Reign of Christ will not involve any fighting. As the devil gathers the many millions of the world’s military powers together to make a final stand against God, fire consumes them all. And that’s it! The rebellion ends without a shot being fired, unlike the various military skirmishes that occurred during the time between the dropping of the Hiroshima bomb and the final surrender. God’s great power totally and forever ends all rebellion. If God is so able to make a total and permanent end to all rebellion then, we might ask why He does not do it now. We find the answer in the mercy of God toward sinful creatures. After all, we were once rebellious against God, and He granted us time to come to repentance. He will also allow this world time to come to repentance, although He must judge those who refuse.
The final destruction of the forces of evil comes after a thousand years in which people will know prosperity and peace unlike anything ever known in the world. Yet even such a demonstration will not convince the vast majority. Today, God deals in kindness and generosity, and yet, most of those around us have no ear for the Gospel, no interest in learning about the God Who created them, and no time for considering their eternal welfare. We should not be surprised at this, when we consider our own rebellion, and considering the rebellion of the privileged multitudes of the Millenium. But if God is so willing to give people so many opportunities to repent, we should also be patient in our delivery of the Gospel.
God’s final act of destruction will come suddenly, but not without a lengthy period of mercy. May we show mercy to those around us as we consider their latter end. -Jim MacIntosh