The Final End

​Nahum 3:18-19 ~ “Your shepherds are asleep, O king of Assyria; your nobles slumber. Your people are scattered on the mountains with none to gather them. There is no easing your hurt; your wound is grievous. All who hear the news about you clap their hands over you. For upon whom has not come your unceasing evil?”
 
The kingdom of Assyria was doomed, and the principal city of Nineveh was bound over for destruction. Roughly a hundred years after the great revival and repentance from the preaching of Jonah and they had turned away from the LORD and were more wicked than before. They became as Peter stated in 2 Peter 2:20, “For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.” We see in this catastrophe such an example of what will ultimately befall the entire world. God’s judgment will come, the final end will happen, and victory will be with all who belong to the LORD.
 
So, as we venture into the consideration of our text today, we are going to use it as an illuminating light to shine upon the time that will come for all mankind. 1 Corinthians 10:11 states, “Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.” Let us take warning from what has happened so that we can reach others before that final Day arrives.
 
The first encounter we have is with the shepherds of Assyria, the nobles who would guide the people in the way they should go. There’s a problem with the shepherds—they are sleeping. They keep no watch, have no guard against anything that would enter in, are of no use for they slumber upon their own ease. Perhaps they sleep in the repose of death. They have already been destroyed as they were unwary of any potential threat against them. But whether from death or from ignorance, the leaders of the nation of Assyria were of no use. And, dear Christian, when the time comes for the world to face the full fury of the judgment of God, the leaders of mankind will be of little use. Describing the kings of the earth, let us consider Revelation 17:13, “These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast.” It is so often the truth that when the judgment of God comes, those who are going to be under His wrath are led by rulers who are without sense. We find this happened with the son of Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, “And you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this” (Daniel 5:22).
 
The next thing we discover is a people scattered because of a lack of true leadership. There seems to be a state of chaos among the population when the days of God’s judgment are impending. For the nation of Assyria, as Babylon was being sent to invade and destroy them, the people were scattered amongst the mountains of the Assyrian empire. Zechariah 14:13 tells us how it will be at the end, “And on that day a great panic from the LORD shall fall on them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other.” The truth is, there is no place to hide from the ensuing wrath of God. He will find all upon this earth, and no place will be sufficient to obscure His view (see Revelation 6:15-17).
 
The last thought we will take from our text for today is a reminder that the righteous will rejoice. Those who are delivered from God’s judgment will see and know that the LORD is right in all He does. As our text declares, “All who hear the news about you clap their hands over you.” God will spare His people, and deliver them from the calamity that is coming upon the earth. We will clap our hands for the righteousness of the LORD being vindicated against the wicked. We hear from the psalmist, “A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked” (Psalm 91:7-8). Beloved, the final end of the wicked is not the final end for those who belong to Christ.
 
There are times when it seems that the wicked prevail on every front. Yet, as we look at those who are the “shepherds” of the nations around us, we see them sleeping—unaware of what God is doing. The inhabitants of the nations are scattering in all directions, blind to the truth of God’s impending judgment. But, dear ones, all who are in Christ are secure from God’s wrath, for the LORD Jesus has born it upon Himself on our behalf. Let us praise the LORD and give Him glory for the final day that is to come. And while we wait for that day, let us strive to bring others out of the chaos and into Christ.
 
In His Grace,
Pastor Michael

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