The Last Laugh
“He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the LORD shall have them in derision. Then shall He speak unto them in His wrath, and vex them in His sore displeasure.” Psalm 2:4-5
The caption at the beginning of Psalm 2 in my Bible states the theme of this Psalm as: “The impotence of the heathen against the LORD and His anointed.” We understand that a “heathen” is anyone who does not worship the LORD God of heaven and earth, thus by all counts, that is an awful lot of folks from the ultra-rich and powerful to the poorest of the poor. Impotence is the lack of strength or effectiveness. The author of Psalm 2 is unknown, but he was apparently a man who was well acquainted with the LORD and His sovereign power.
The writer of this Psalm asks why people are so against God, His word, and His Son. To quote him, “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?” In other words, why are folks so angry and why do they make useless plots against each other and against the LORD? He goes on to say that the rulers of the earth set themselves up against the LORD and against Christ (talk about a losing battle!) Throughout the ages, kings and rulers, presidents and heads of state, under the influence of Satan, have tried to thwart God’s redemptive plan for mankind, with no success, thank God. They desire to break the chains which they consider are enslaving them to God, all the while not realizing who is actually keeping them in bondage. Their attempts began in the garden of Eden by Satan and continued by evil kings over Israel and Judah. Herod the Great tried to destroy the young child Jesus, and men and women continue to this day in attempts to wipe out every vestige of Christianity from the world, a definite exercise in futility of which they are not yet aware.
All of this turmoil that the world is facing now is nothing new. Tyrants have been around since the dawn of time. Many are named in scripture, such as Ahab, Manasseh, and that mean, razor-toting woman, Jezebel. There was also Antiochus IV Epiphanes, regarded as the antichrist of the Old Testament, who sought world domination. We’ve all heard of Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler, both responsible for the deaths of millions. More recently, we know of Sadam Husein and Osama Bin Ladin. All of these despots are deceased and will face God in the final judgment, but neither the prospects of death, judgment, or hell did not stop them from doing unspeakable horrors to those whom they wished to dominate. One of my former pastors, speaking of those who do not seem to fear hell because they boast that all their friends will be there, said that would be no comfort whatsoever to them.
The current bully who is now dominating all the news cycles is exhibiting the desires of an incredibly evil mind and claims to be a Christian! The scriptures tell us that God hates all sin, and the shedding of innocent blood is one of the sins that is an abomination to God (Proverbs 6:17). I suppose the best way to describe an abomination is something that goes beyond hatred by God and by the rational thinking person. Since abortion is the shedding of innocent blood, it would be classified as an abomination to God, but not necessarily to some human beings. How can someone claim to be a follower of Jesus Christ and support what God considers an abomination?
No one ever gets away with sin. No one, not the tyrants of the world nor any of us who claim to be the “good” guys. Either our sin has been forgiven by Christ through repentance and faith in Him, or we stand to pay the penalty for our own sins. Those who think they are getting away with their horrible acts of murder will face a holy and righteous Judge. The writer of Psalm 2 wrote that the LORD will have tyrants in “derision”, that is, will hold them in contempt and ridicule. Those who think that they have been so clever, powerful, and who laugh at the death of the innocents, will find they are the real losers in this game of life. There is a saying, “He who laughs last, laughs best”. God will have the last laugh, but His laugh will be one of sorrow and pity for those who allowed Satan to rule and ruin their lives for all eternity. “As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live” (Ezekiel 33:11a).