Did you know God gives grace to the wicked, but that grace has an expiration date? In Daniel 4, King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon has a dream of a tree and he shares the dream with Daniel who interprets the dream for him Daniel ends his interpretation with these words, “Therefore, o king, may my advice be pleasing to you: break away now from your sins by doing righteousness and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor, in case there may be a prolonging of your prosperity” (Daniel 4:27). This statement began the grace period for king Nebuchadnezzar. He now had some time to repent, or the “tree” which was him would be cut down to a stump.
How do I know it was a timed grace period? Because Daniel 4:29 says, “Twelve months later…” God gave king Nebuchadnezzar one year to repent, but he didn’t so verse 31 says, “A voice came from heaven, saying, King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: soveriegnty has been removed from you.” God gave a wicked king time to repent, but he refused to do so. The same happened in Exodus 6-12 as God gave Pharaoh grace through 9 plagues to repent, but when he refused, the 10th plague was administered and then by Exodus 12:12 God was dealing with all the gods of Egypt saying, “I will go through the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments — I Am the Lord.” Grace expired on Pharaoh, just like it did on Nebuchadnezzar.
I believe we are living in a time where grace has expired on wicked rulers. We are going to see the judgment of God on wickedness and wicked leaders, but it is not because they were not given time to repent, it is because grace has expired for them. God is slow to anger and abounding in love, even when it comes to the wicked rulers, but when God says enough is enough, he executes judgment so His people can be set free from their tyrannical rule. I believe we are at this point, grace was given, repentance did not happen, so judgment is here for judgment eradicates wickedness and establishes righteousness. It is not a time to rejoice in their judgment, but we must be aware of what is happening. Eyes wide open. #watchapril
