The slaughter of innocent children in Israel by terrorists has become epidemic in the year 2002, while abortions continue unabated in the United States and throughout the world. The taking or defilement of children’s lives are unspeakable crimes which we are persuaded will bring God'’ severest punishment upon the guilty.

Jesus said in Luke 17:1-2, "It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come. It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones."

On any given day, children all over the world are being abducted, abused and murdered. The crimes are atrocities before heaven that should cause the vile hearts of the perpetrators to stop beating from stark terror. For the vengeance God Almighty will visit upon them is for all eternity.

We are not taking liberty when we speak of God as an avenger. Thus says the Lord, "For the day of vengeance is in My heart, And the year of My redeemed has come" (Isa. 63:4). And again we read in Nahum 1:2, "God is jealous, and the LORD avenges and is furious. The Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries, And He reserves wrath for His enemies."

Speaking of God’s watchfulness of what befalls every child, Jesus told us in Matt. 18:10, "Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in Heaven."

An angel is a witness that no lawyer can ever confuse. They have memories that do not fail and are ageless in their wait for the day of vengeance.

Why do angels rarely intervene at present? It is certainly not for lack of power. In II Kings 19:35 we are told that a single angel killed one hundred and eighty-five thousand Assyrians on the Lord’s command.

Nor is it a lack of caring that restrains an angel’s actions. The answer to this heart-vexing question can be found in Matt. 26:52-54 in the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. The place is in the Garden of Gethsemane. The multitude led by the priests and elders of Israel had come to take Jesus prisoner. Peter struck out with his sword in defense of the Lord when Jesus stayed his hand and said, "Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels. How then could the scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?"

Jesus had explained to Peter that this terribly evil thing which was about to take place was being permitted by God’s will and was not to be stopped by men nor angels. The devilish crime was not going to be overlooked, but would be dealt with in the most awesome manner possible in God'’ appointed time. For the moment it would appear to go unpunished. Scripture reveals that God waits with longsuffering for the days of vengeance and justice.

Jesus would arise victorious over His cruel and merciless death and would pave the way to remove suffering from all creation for eternity in God’s perfect time; and so it has been accomplished for all the little children.

We must be careful in our earnest demands for swift judgment lest we find ourselves bitter companions of those the Lord spoke of in Mal. 2:17 when He said, "You have wearied the Lord with your words; Yet you say, "In what way have we wearied Him?"…In that you say "everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and He delights in them: or, "Where is the God of justice?"

We need to meditate upon Jesus’ words when He said, "How then could the scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?" There is a driving self-righteousness that spurs evil hearts to put God on the side of evil or to portray Him as uncaring or unaware.

God is in truth entrenched with every affair of mankind. The birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ was thoroughly purposed by God for the redemption of mankind, and if not for redemption than for judgment.

The Scriptures are being fulfilled. I Tim. 5:24 tells us that, "Some men’s sins are clearly evident, preceding them to judgment, but those of some men follow later."

God also tells us in Ecc. 12:14, "For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether it is good or whether it is evil."

Nobody is getting away with anything. Judgment may appear to be slow in coming to finite beings who are acutely aware of the passage of time, but we must always remember that God has reserved eternal punishment for the wicked. Fleeting years of compounding retribution which will be established for everlasting eons should give the clarity of understanding to dismiss errant thoughts that any measure of God’s justice has been circumvented.

The wicked need to weigh carefully the Scriptures of Heb. 10:30-31 when we are told, "Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord" and "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." This is the day spoken of when every hiding place is uncovered and the time of God’s merciful forbearance has run out. The angels of God wait upon that day.

From the earth to the heavens beyond the stars, there is an innumerable host of angels (Heb. 12:22). They are messengers, ministers and warriors according to the Scriptures. They can appear as a mere person on the street or an awesome being standing in the sun (Heb. 13:2 & Rev. 19:17). Angels are inquisitive (I Pet. 1:12), angels experience freewill (II Pet. 2:4 & Jude 6), angels experience joy (Luke 15:10) and angels will be witnesses to the dispensing of God’s eternal punishment upon the wicked (Rev. 14:9-11).

The unsaved of this earth need to take a closer look at what the Word of God has to say abut angels, for it will be the angels which will come to gather them to be cast into the Lake of Fire where the fire is never quenched and their worms never die (see Matt. 13:41-42 & Mark 9:42-48).

It is of a personal opinion that those who have destroyed a child will be seized on the reaping day of judgment by the child’s guardian angel. The same angel that always beholds the face of the Father in Heaven.

The restraint upon the angel will be removed, in our opinion, and the seizure will be violent and horrifying beyond description. It will be the antithesis of the glorification and catching up of believers to heaven by the Lord Jesus Christ at the event commonly known as the Rapture (I Thess. 4:13-18).

Some years back a blasphemous movie called "Michael" was released. John Travolta portrayed a mocking role of a licentious angel named Michael. It is highly unlikely that the following scriptural revelations about the real Angel Michael will impress the makers of this movie.

In Jude verses 8 & 9 we are told that this exalted archangel of God that Hollywood found so entertaining to ridicule, once faced off against the devil himself, and according to Rev. 12:7-9 will do so again at the close of this age. It is this same Michael who will stand up to fight for Israel during the Tribulation Period (se Dan. 12:1).

According to the "Scripture of Truth" Michael is an appointed defender of Israel and bears the title of one of the "chief princes" (Dan. 10:13 & 21). It is this great Angel Michael that is designated as guardian over Israel and it is this same Michael that enables Israel to survive through the Great Tribulation until the coming of Jesus Christ. How foolish are those who mock God’s angels.

Reading Rev. 14:17-20 in conjunction with Rev. 19:15-18, we are shown the incredible authority given to angels to initiate the supernatural gathering of the enemies of God and all the birds of the heavens to the battlefield of the global war known as Armageddon.

There, once living human beings, will become the carcasses (Grk.ptoma, that is carrion or corpses) spoken of in Matt. 24:28 to become food for the eagles (Grk.aetos, birds of prey).

Quoting portions of Rev. 14:17-20 & Rev. 19:15-18 we read, "So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress, was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs (a furlong was about an eighth of a mile)…He Himself (that is Jesus Christ) treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God…then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in heaven, "Come and gather together for the supper of the great God."

We must keep in mind that these scriptural passages speak of pure judgment. There is not a hint of mercy evident for the unrepentant who refused to seek God’s forgiveness before finding themselves facing the vengeance of God’s heart.

If perhaps someone feels we are misrepresenting the character of God, we suggest that they read Isa. 63:2-4 & Rev. 19:13 along with those verses we quoted. This should remove any doubt as to the Lord’s final intentions towards those who rejected His Son’s sacrifice upon the cross.

On the day Jesus returns He will come with "all" His saints and with "all" His angels according to Zech. 14:5 & Matt. 25:31. This awesome exodus from Heaven makes it more than evident the magnitude of importance the Lord puts upon His day of vengeance.

Matt. 25:32 & 13:49-50 reveals that it will be the angels who will round up the wicked for their final fate. We believe that angels will not only be used to cast the unforgiven into the Lake of Fire, but may also be the means by which God will supernaturally transport to the Battle of Armageddon the enemies of God who confidently waged war against Israel from what they mistakenly thought was a safe distance.

But what of the little children who have had their innocent lives destroyed by the heartless creatures the Scriptures call "brute beasts" in II Pet. 2:12-14?

The Bible reveals to us in Luke 20:35-36 that those who have died in God’s favor have overcome death like the Old Testament saints and await the millennial resurrection. Some little ones had the opportunity to already make their decision for Christ, while others await their day of opportunity.

Jude verses 14-15 reveals that when the glorified children of the Lord return they will be coming with Christ "to execute judgment on all…who are ungodly."

Rev. 5:10 & 19:14 makes it abundantly clear that these once fragile victims who were abused by the devil’s offspring will never again be helpless prey, but will return as royal priests among the armies of God. Likewise the children to be resurrected during Christ’s earthly reign are beyond suffering. Not life, death, angels, things present or things to come can separate the love of God in Jesus Christ for these lambs (Rom. 8:35-39).

God is perfect in all His ways. No wrong will be left standing after the winds of God’s holiness blows upon the earth. Every murdered or lost child that God created for life will be restored to have their day in His light. Grieving parents will share tears of unspeakable joy in the day the Lord fills His gardens and meadows with the laughter and singing of children forever returned.

Jesus said in Matt. 19:17, "…Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven." But first Jesus has said, "it is impossible that no offenses should come" and "it must happen thus."

It would be prudent for those who take part in harming children to realize that according to I Cor. 6:3, these delicate souls who died by their hands; and may very well have chosen now or will do so during the kingdom age to be followers of Jesus Christ, are to sit in God’s court of judgment. At the judgment their authority is so great we are told they will judge angels.

The eyes of the Lord anguish at the torment of children and the day of His vengeance waits in His heart while angels of fire await His call to battle. Today is the day to come to God by having faith in the atoning blood sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ. Every sin will be forgiven. Don’t be among the unrepentant who will try to find a way out after the fire has blocked the exit.

As for the children, the grieving parents, and all who suffer at evil’s hands, "it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from Heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed" (II Thess. 1:6-10).