In the biblical narrative, the concept of agency in executing judgments is a recurring theme, reflecting the divine order and justice that God administers through chosen individuals or entities. This agency is often seen as an extension of God's sovereign will, where human or angelic agents carry out His decrees and judgments upon nations, individuals, or even the spiritual realm.

Divine Appointment of Agents

Throughout Scripture, God appoints specific individuals or groups to execute His judgments. These agents are often prophets, kings, or leaders who are divinely chosen to carry out God's will. For instance, Moses is appointed to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and execute God's judgments upon Pharaoh and the Egyptian gods (Exodus 7-12). Similarly, Joshua is tasked with leading the Israelites into the Promised Land, executing judgment upon the Canaanite nations as an act of divine justice (Joshua 6-12).

Angelic Agents

Angels also serve as agents of God's judgment. In the Old Testament, the angel of the Lord is depicted as executing judgment on behalf of God. For example, in 2 Samuel 24:15-17, an angel is sent to bring a plague upon Israel as a judgment for David's census. In the New Testament, angels are seen as agents of judgment in the eschatological visions of Revelation, where they pour out God's wrath upon the earth (Revelation 8-16).

Human Agents and Authority

God often uses human authorities as instruments of His judgment. Romans 13:1-4 (BSB) emphasizes that governing authorities are established by God and serve as His servants to execute wrath on wrongdoers: "For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Do what is right, and you will have his approval. For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not carry the sword in vain. He is God’s servant, an agent of retribution to bring punishment on the wrongdoer."

Prophetic Pronouncements

Prophets in the Bible often serve as agents of judgment through their pronouncements. They deliver God's messages of impending judgment and call for repentance. The prophet Jonah, for example, is sent to Nineveh to proclaim God's judgment, which leads to the city's repentance and God's relenting of the disaster (Jonah 3). Similarly, the prophet Jeremiah is tasked with declaring God's judgment upon Judah and the surrounding nations (Jeremiah 1:10).

Judgment through Christ

In the New Testament, Jesus Christ is the ultimate agent of God's judgment. He is appointed by God to judge the living and the dead (Acts 10:42, BSB). Jesus Himself speaks of His role in judgment, stating in John 5:22 (BSB), "Furthermore, the Father judges no one, but has assigned all judgment to the Son." This divine appointment underscores the authority and sovereignty of Christ in executing God's final judgment.

Eschatological Judgment

The Bible also speaks of a future, eschatological judgment where God will execute His final justice through appointed agents. Revelation describes a series of judgments executed by angels and ultimately by Christ Himself, culminating in the final judgment before the great white throne (Revelation 20:11-15). This future judgment is portrayed as a time when God's righteousness will be fully revealed and justice will be perfectly administered.

In summary, the agency in executing judgments in the Bible is a multifaceted concept involving divine, angelic, and human agents. These agents act under God's authority to administer His justice, reflecting His holiness and righteousness throughout history and into the eschatological future.Genesis 3:15
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; it shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.
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1 Samuel 15:1-19
Samuel also said to Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint you to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore listen you to the voice of the words of the LORD.
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2 Samuel 7:14
I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:
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2 Kings 9:6,7
And he arose, and went into the house; and he poured the oil on his head, and said to him, Thus said the LORD God of Israel, I have anointed you king over the people of the LORD, even over Israel.
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2 Kings 19:25,26
Have you not heard long ago how I have done it, and of ancient times that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that you should be to lay waste fenced cities into ruinous heaps.
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2 Chronicles 22:7
And the destruction of Ahaziah was of God by coming to Joram: for when he was come, he went out with Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom the LORD had anointed to cut off the house of Ahab.
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Psalm 17:13,14
Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is your sword:
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Isaiah 10:5,6
O Assyrian, the rod of my anger, and the staff in their hand is my indignation.
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Isaiah 13:5
They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the LORD, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.
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Isaiah 41:15
Behold, I will make you a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: you shall thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shall make the hills as chaff.
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Jeremiah 27:8
And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, said the LORD, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.
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Jeremiah 51:20-23
You are my battle ax and weapons of war: for with you will I break in pieces the nations, and with you will I destroy kingdoms;
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How God Works in the Hearts of Men.
... The extent of this agency can never be explained by having recourse to ... nearer to
the exact meaning of the words, is when executing his judgments by Satan ...
/.../calvin/the institutes of the christian religion/chapter 4 how god works.htm

The Winepress and Its Treader
... and His treading of it is His executing of God's ... sickle because the harvest is done.'
The judgments tarry long ... is 'in His hand,' or through His agency, that all ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture h/the winepress and its treader.htm

Confession of the Free-Will Baptists. AD 1834, 1868.
... ministering blessings to the heirs of salvation, and in executing his judgments
upon the ... fountain from which he proceeded, and was the only agency by which ...
/.../confession of the free-will baptists.htm

The Instrumentality of the Wicked Employed by God, While He ...
... them tell me whether God exercises his Judgments willingly or ... If God not only uses
the agency of the ... all their sins; and, therefore, men, in executing what God ...
/.../the institutes of the christian religion/chapter 18 the instrumentality of.htm

Theological Systems Devised to Harmonize the Dogmas of Grace and ...
... of God becomes an infallible means of executing His decrees ... salutary acts performed
through its agency, in other ... How incomprehensible are His judgments, and how ...
/.../pohle/grace actual and habitual/section 2 theological systems devised.htm

From the Close of the General Conference of 1812 to the Death of ...
... into the Church, chiefly through the agency of camp ... war among the sorest of God's
judgments, and whose ... he suffered and did in maturing and executing the plan ...
/.../chapter 2 from the close.htm

From 1787 to 1791 Inclusive
... But this method of procuring supplies became troublesome and expensive, which led
to the establishment of a similar agency here, for the supply of the people ...
/.../a history of the methodist episcopal church volume i/chapter 2 from 1787 to.htm

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