• God plans to free his people and not allow them to be victimized anymore.
• Why God will take revenge on behalf of His people
1. Introduction 2. The World Is A Battlefield 3. The Church: A Feast for Oppressors? 4. How Did We Become Victims? 5. How do victims communicate? 6. Being a victim of an offense and victimhood 7. Learned Helplessness 8. Victim-blaming 9. God’s solution to sin 10. How Satan uses the Bible to force us to submit to him 11. The Good Shepherd 12. Victimhood as a weapon 13. The Victorious Christian 14. Practical exercise towards freedom. 15. Restore your trust in God. 16. Why God allows difficulties. 17. Church Tribulations 18. Final Victory 19. Afterword
In the end times, God will turn the tables. Victimhood will benefit no one, impress no one, and purify no one. Even bad people claim victimhood and use it for their advancement. Some of these bad people have been real victims, but they are still bad. It is a known fact that people with narcissistic tendencies will claim victimhood and make it appear that their victim is the bad guy. Only time can expose the truth, but what happens when mankind runs out of time? Allowing persecution will have no purpose in the end.
The only way God can protect His people is if they let God cleanse them of their sins and they agree to stop rebelling against His law. If they don’t, He will have no argument to favor them over others. For those who follow His laws, He has promised to enclose them like a wall, protect them, and give them refuge from their enemies (Isa.49:16; Zec.2:5; Ps.41:1-2; Deut.7:15; Psalm 61:3).
There comes a time when nothing positive will come out of God’s people being victimized. Because of the many tribulations and uprisings all over the world and the many claiming victimhood as a people, Christians being victimized would impress no one to become a Christian. Muslims are targeted for hate, Indigenous people are discriminated against, prideful sinners are claiming victimhood for being called out, and the list goes on. There are many religious and non-religious groups claiming victimhood today. Even Christians hate other Christian groups.
Persecution would not reveal Christianity as good, rather its values would drown along with the values of everyone else claiming victimhood.
Does the fact that Muslims are persecuted in some places prove Muslims are telling the truth and are good? No, because we know you have good and bad Muslims. We have Muslims who are persecuted and Muslims who are being persecuted. The truth is not revealed in their persecution.
The same is true for other cultural minorities and majorities. The same is true for Christians. People claiming the name of Christ have, in their time, persecuted almost all religions. Christians have also been persecuted by all religions.
Sometimes they have been in the right, sometimes they have been in the wrong.
The truth is no longer revealed by someone being targeted. Many religions and anti-religions have many martyrs, but the truth is not revealed.
When Christ’s true followers are persecuted in the end time, it will just draw in the world’s noise and help no one. So in the end, the greater testimony that God wants to give through His people is His ability to provide for and protect those who choose to be citizens of the kingdom of heaven. That is why we see Christ turning the tables in the end times, stopping the persecutors, and punishing them. Truth and God’s people are uplifted when He is saving and protecting them. This will serve as an example.
In the heavenly books, every wrongful act and every persecution are written down and will be punished. Because harming God’s people, His true believers, is not of God and is a crime. For those who have been martyred in the past, God reassures them and says judgment will come to those who did it:
“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 fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled” (Rev 6:9-11).
In the end times, God will punish the world for its suppression and persecution of His people. God’s people are mocked and not headed. As Gabriel told Daniel: “When he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished” (Dan.12:7)
When no one cares about God’s people’s rights, no one cares about their tears or their warnings, there is nothing more they can do; God will not permit them to suffer needlessly, even if it has been done willingly for the salvation of others. Further suffering would break them and save no one.
So, God turns the tables and punishes the world himself: “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” (Rev 18:4-6)
Here God makes it clear again that if you do what they do and live as they do, if you partake in their sins, God cannot protect you. But if you do not, God will avenge you. He says He will overthrow the whole infrastructure and trade. He will cause the deceivers and their allied leadership to fall.
For God never condoned the mistreatment of His people. He just waited in mercy in the hope people would understand their wrong and turn. When they do not, justice comes. “Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her” (Rev.10:20)
Here comes another important principle. Keeping God’s laws and being faithful to heaven requires us to leave the judgment for the heavenly court and for them to execute its judgment. It says, “God hath avenged you on her”. It is not for the Christians to take out their swords but to make their plea to the heavenly courts and to let them handle the situation. This requires faith and trust in God’s willingness to not just seek mercy for the sinner, but also justice for those harmed by those who do not repent.
True Christians will be victorious. They will judge the world. (Rev.20:4). Just like Christ was harmed and killed when He came to earth the first time, He will come as a conquering king the second time. With a crown and a scepter, and those who harmed Him and did not repent shall rise and see Him and weep. Justice will come. Death will not prevent justice. There will be a time when those who have harmed others will be held accountable. And here is our patience and trust in God: No unmerciful man or woman who unapologetic finds strength in harming others will go unpunished.
We should be sad for them, for the loss they will suffer, for their stupidity in clinging to wrongs. And those victimized will go free, and God promises: “They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.
For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes” (Rev.7:16-17)
God does not side with cruelty, He has allowed it to exist for a brief moment in the history of the universe to try to help mankind be saved and to have witnesses against ever allowing such a society to arise again.
For those who think God asks of us patience and long-suffering He Himself does not have to carry, they should know God asks of us what He Himself has gone through.
It would have been easy for God to eliminate his enemy, Satan, in the beginning. But he could not because no one would understand why, as he just seemed like a concerned, loving creature speaking on everyone’s behalf. Satan appeared to be working for the good of everyone. God knew that a quick solution would not end the problem. It would just add more problems. God had to be patient and suffer the lies and attacks Satan did. It took long before heaven realized who Satan really was before they understood they had been lied to and manipulated and that he was doing it for himself and not them (Rev.12.9&12)
Likewise, Christ came to earth to tell everyone the truth, but Satan took advantage of his power and caused him to be constantly persecuted throughout his life. He was attempted killed from he was born and several times as an adult. In the end, he was tortured and killed.
Christ endured it to expose everyone who Satan was and what his agenda was. He had to allow him to play out his evil upon someone who had done him no wrong, upon the one who had given him life. Satan, who claimed to be a defender of freedom, would not allow Christ free speech. He would not allow Christ’s followers to practice their belief in freedom. Satan proved by all his actions that all his good words were just for show; he himself was a cruel dictator with all the characteristics he had claimed God had. God had not killed him when he first rebelled and even went to war in heaven, but Satan was quick to eliminate Christ, who only spoke the truth and did good.
Christ was what Satan would like to claim to be, but isn’t. Because God endured all this, He could, with the universe’s blessing, judge the guilty. Satan exposed himself and his true ideology slowly over time, but even more during his attack on Christ. Satan could not win over Christ in heaven; He was too powerful, but when Christ came as a man to save mankind, Satan used his power to try to destroy him here.
In heaven, Satan could claim to be suppressed, as he was outnumbered and weaker. He could claim victimhood and gain sympathy that way. But when Christ cleverly came as a human, in human flesh, here on earth, Satan was stronger physically; he controlled the kingdoms of the world according to himself (Matt.4:8-9). Yet now that the tables had seemingly been turned, Satan turned out to be no victim. He took advantage straight away and went to destroy, even Christ as a baby. Before Christ had grown to speak His first words and do His first deeds, Satan wanted him dead. Satan became a contrast to what God had done for him. Evil men and angels can say all the right words and claim to be what they desire to be viewed as, but their actions will expose them every time. “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matt.7:20)
God allows it not out of weakness, but because it is the only way to expose the truth and people’s character so that they can be judged or receive mercy accordingly. If one man has one victim, it might be questioned if the victim caused it in some way. If someone has a repeated pattern and continues to harm others in the same way, it is evident who is at fault and why. The first victim is no longer doubted. Time is a great tool for exposing lies.
God asks His people to endure difficulties and even persecution and bad treatment, but not to accept it or bring it upon themselves. He said clearly, “If you are persecuted in one city, go to the next”. Do not stay suppressed if you can obtain freedom elsewhere.
And Christians must not claim victimhood. We can suffer oppression if we are strong enough to tolerate it by choice, as an attempt to save others, even our transgressors. If it is not appreciated, we need to move on, or their evil will also destroy us. The Bible is clear that some are spiritually, mentally, and physically weaker than others and that it is the stronger Christians’ responsibility to care for the weaker and to take on the brave tasks (Romans 15:1-2; 1 Thessalonians 5:14; Isaiah 35:3; Psalm 41:1)
God does not call for everyone to stand in front of the spiritual war. He is not unreasonable, and it is a choice. However, regardless of what task we have, whether small or big, we are to be spiritual warriors, not victims.
We know the stakes; we make decisions based on them. Christianity is not victimhood; it is freedom. Freedom in God’s image. When God looks for His image in us, He wants to see that determination to bring justice, which He has. To help those who are helpless, care for the sick, release those who are suppressed, and show mercy and tolerance if there is hope of regret and conversion. We are to handle evil without becoming a reflection of it. We are not to take revenge on them nor let them subdue us; rather, the third option is to show goodness and strength. To inspire people to break the chain, to not pay sins forward, and to not let others’ bad behavior, although it harms us, change us. Rather, keep an eye on Christ.
If we do this, we are free. “For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed” (Jas.1:6)
We will be triggered and tempted. But we give Christ our revenge. We cannot do this while claiming victimhood for then we spend our lives holding every person we meet accountable for a sin they did not commit. Someone who is victimized is under the control of another. If we are down for a moment, we must rise again. If we don’t, we cannot give the world an alternative to paying sin forward. We can’t be the solution if we are part of the problem.
If you have scars, consider them evidence against sin. If you have mental scars, again, they are evidence against sin. The pain you feel in your heart when you have been wronged or targeted is God’s evidence against sin. God will do you right in His own time.
So, Paul advises us to think of ourselves as warriors in a war and not as victims. He wrote these words while in prison for preaching the gospel and being hindered from speaking openly:
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Eph 6:10-17)
Paul further said: “And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly,to make known the mystery of the gospel,For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak” (Eph 6:19-20).
An ambassador in bonds! Paul was a free man even in prison, for his heart and mind were free. He had inner peace. He still loved.
No matter what has happened in the past or is happening right now, letting it control us and who we are and what kind of Christian we are is only giving our freedom to our transgressors. We will harm ourselves and others and never be free.
God knows what you have been through. He has seen it and has recorded it. Every scar, every word, is noted. He says, “Revenge is mine” ( Romans 12:19-21)He tells us to be bold and strong in Him. He tells us to be free in Him.