I am of the opinion that most of Isaiah was written for us and he uses motifs that with which he is familiar to show what will happen to us.

Isaiah 10
5 ¶ O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation.
6 I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
7 Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few.
8 For he saith, Are not my princes altogether kings?
9 Is not Calno as Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus?
10 As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria;
11 Shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols?
12 Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks.
13 For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man:
14 And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped.
15 Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood.

Steve

It’s not name-calling, it’s just the name of my alarm bells.

Do you think He will not be using the anti-Christ in a similar fashion?

Correct. I think he will *not* be using “the anti-Christ” in such a fashion. I suspect you and I have very different ways of reading the book of Revelation.

Don’t call names. Just state what you find objectionable. We’re adults here, right?

Has God used kings before to execute their will, when they simply thought they were adding to their domains? Do you think He will not be using the anti-Christ in a similar fashion?

Do we really have anything to fight about in this topic?

Steve

Kook alarm bells ringing wildly. Just so you know.

I admit that this idea is not a “natural” one and we typically rebel at it. Evil exists and it is important that we experience it so that we may treasure the good over the evil. Perhaps this is why the above scripture is clear that we offend God when we don’t acknowledge His hand in all things and obey His commandments.

In the last days the anti-Christ (like the Assyrians before him) will wreak much havoc. And he will not realize that he is merely executing the will of the Most High.

As I see it.

I am on board with the idea that we should try to make the most out of anything that happens, but I can’t accept the idea that everything is a blessing whether we realize it or not. To do so, in my opinion, amounts to a rejection of the idea that real evil exists in the world. If I am maimed by a bigot for having the wrong color skin, should I really conclude that God’s hand was in this and I should be grateful, or should I conclude that people do evil things which cause us (and God) great sorrow? I choose to believe the later, which means there are plenty of things in the world that I don’t think I should be grateful for.