In the Cause of Righteousness

“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?” (Rev. 6:10).

We recently had a small Bible study in the office and were discussing how bad things are today and of God’s protection during these difficult times. The verses we were discussing are Isaiah 26: 20-21 “Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For behold, the lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.” Of course we were discussing God’s protection by going into our chambers for awhile and what that might mean, but then we discussed the end of verse 21 “the earth also shall disclose her blood”. We turned to Gen. 4:10 “And he said, What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground”.

I could not stop thinking about these verses and could almost hear those voices crying from the grave for justice. I thought of all those lives that have been sacrificed. There were the prophets, all those from the Reformation through the World Wars, and all those up until now. I thought of all the aborted babies and victims of horrible crimes who have never had justice. In his poem “In Flanders Fields,” Lt. Colonel John McCrae says: “If ye break faith with us who die, We shall not sleep though poppies grow, In Flanders fields.

Have we not broken faith with all those who have died for the sake of righteousness and who have not had justice? The earth is covering our guilt and shame of the past. The blood is crying out for justice. “None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.” (Isaiah 59:4). God will not let their cries go unanswered forever. “Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth…” (Matt. 23: 34-35) Jesus said “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt. 5:10).

We need righteousness in our lands. Howard Rand, in his book “Digest of the Divine Law,” says, “Many long for the day when evil, and evil aggression shall be destroyed and righteousness will be established upon the earth. It is of such the King spoke when He said, ‘Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.’ That is, they shall see the complete establishment of justice and equity under His administration in the Kingdom, for evil men will have no part or place there.” Jesus is returning soon. He will put to right all the wrongs that the righteous have endured. He will bring justice to all those who are crying from the grave, as well as to those who are persecuted today. His justice will prevail. There will be restoration of righteousness in our lands. “And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all…And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.” (Rev. 18: 21 & 24). “Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness.” (2 Peter 3: 13)