Isaiah 66:14-15. "You shall see and your heart shall rejoice, your bones shall flourish like the grass; and it shall be known that the hand of the Lord is with his servants, and his indignation is against his enemies." The Lord will come in fire and render His anger in fury, His rebuke with flames of fire. He will execute His judgment by fire and with the sword upon all flesh. Those slain by the Lord will be many.

I always get somewhat squeamish when I read about the Lord coming with fire and the sword and slaying many, vindicating us against our enemies. It is so not like the God that I picture, especially the God that Jesus portrays. Jesus tells us to love and pray for our enemies, not to wish for their destruction. But then I think of who our real enemies are. Our real enemies are principalities and powers - the evil forces, the demons, who tempt, cajole, and trap us away from God's love. Them I do want "slain," and to the extent they are influencing my or anyone I love's "flesh" to sin, I want that part of us to be slain as well. It is cleansing, it is necessary.

So I think this is all of us - many will be slain by the Lord. I myself will be slain by Him to some extent - to the extent that I need to be in order to be with Him forever, and that is a very good thing!