Revelation 19:15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.
15 καὶ ἐκ τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ ἐκπορεύεται ῥομφαία ὀξεῖα, ἵνα ἐν αὐτῇ πατάξῃ τὰ ἔθνη, καὶ αὐτὸς ποιμανεῖ αὐτοὺς ἐν ῥάβδῳ σιδηρᾷ, καὶ αὐτὸς πατεῖ τὴν ληνὸν τοῦ οἴνου τοῦ θυμοῦ τῆς ὀργῆς τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ παντοκράτορος,
Although I'm not sure that I subscribe to the futurist view of Revelation, there is still much to be gleaned from it. Folks of every millenial persuasion agree that Christ is going to return in glory. This passage in Revelation 19 is one of my favorites because it describes just that. Sadly, much of the church has the image of Jesus as a hippie in a pink dress. He is Jesus meek and mild who doesn't get mad about anything and just accepts everyone with open arms. Of course, He does accept repentant sinners with open arms. But He does not say that "it's all good."
Here we get a glimpse of how it will be when He returns. He will come back as a judge. It is not going to be pretty. Think Aragorn riding in to deal with orcs. Quite literally, He is going to kick ass and take names. There are no two ways about it.
I love this because as a man I like having a hero. Our culture has made many men into heroes. They could be suave and tough like James Bond. They could symbolize raw strength like a character in a modern action flick. They could be intellectuals like Thomas Jefferson. They could be complete goofballs like Tim Carrey. We all have our role models and our ideas of what a man should be.
Let's look to Jesus. He showed incredible grace and compassion while He walked on the earth. But He did not just sit quietly while detestable things happened. He cleansed the temple with whips (perhaps twice). He pronounced woes on the Pharisees. He did not back down from fights when it was time to fight. And He will ultimately come back in glory to judge the world. Are you ready for that? Are you going to be part of the nations that He strikes down with the sword or will you be on His side? You'd better decide now before it is too late because the mercy runs out at the day of judgment.
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5 comments:
Jesus does not wear a pink dress, and I don't know where people get the "mild" part of the expression "Jesus meek and mild" (is it from a Protestant hymn?), but as for the "meek", only they know the meekness of Jesus who have it themselves.
That meekness may seem to be as much an oxymoron as "the wrath of the lamb" as if lambs could bite your head off, but again, only they know what is meant who have it.
Rather than subscribing to any "view" of Revelation, let us not add to the book and thus come under the curse, but just hear the words of this prophecy and keep what it says.
I'm not sure where it comes from either. The more liberal strains of Protestantism like to focus on the social aspects of the gospel. These folks often have a bent toward universalism as well. They see Jesus as this mellow hippie who just loved everyone and never had a cross word to say to anyone; therefore, neither should we.
As far as subscribing to a "view" of the book of Revelation, it is naive to think that we can read it without one. We have to deal with all this symbolic language and decide what it all means. Are these things that are going to happen in our future or have they already happened? Or is it a both/and?
The circles I run in see Revelation as future. It's ironic that they champion their literal hermeneutic in other places, but since Revelation is apocalyptic literature they interpret the symbolism all kinds of crazy ways. I don't think that does justice to the text.
Sorry, brother, for not coming back and blasting you with all my might, but I have been busy with daily details, and not had time to come over and see what you might have commented after my last comment.
"As far as subscribing to a "view" of the book of Revelation, it is naive to think that we can read it without one."
Then call me naïve. I don't mind, as long as I am sure that I am not adding to the book and not coming under the curse, by disobeying what the Word of God explicitly commands. Of course, if you want to do that, be my guest.
"We have to deal with all this symbolic language and decide what it all means."
Sorry, brother, but that's not our job as followers of Jesus. On the other hand, if you seminarians feel that your sophisticated education and training gives you the responsibility to punk the Lord, "we have to," then again, be my guest. Nowhere in scripture are we commanded "to decide what it all means," but simply to hear the Word and do what it says.
"Are these things that are going to happen in our future or have they already happened?"
Forgive me, brother, for falling out of my chair and rolling on the floor in a fit of uncontrollable laughter. If the twenty-four elders had no problem just casting down their crowns before the Lamb, then why should we? Are you and I better than they are?
Don't try to be better than John the Revelator either. Just cry like he did, when he thought that there was no one worthy to break the seals on the scroll, until the elder told him to stop crying because there was One worthy to break the seals, and that was the Lion of the tribe of Judah, who is also the Lamb whose wrath the wicked have good reason to fear. Then stop crying and just keep your eyes peeled and your ears perked up.
I saw what you wrote in your post on the last verse of Revelation, saying that soon can't possibly mean 2000 years. Brother! Don't be an ignorant blasphemer! If this is what your studies at seminary have done to your heart, then it were better for you to leave such a school at once, consider all your attainments and accomplishments as dung, and forsaking the vain opinions of men, even your own, go, and just follow Jesus.
He has left us a very clear road, narrow and long and full of hardship and toil, but still very clear, and nothing, but nothing, is worth trading it for, not even a seminary education.
I wish I was there so I could sock you in person, beloved brother, beloved because I know you want the Lord and you want to serve Him, but your disrespect and lack of awe before the Word of God, and your questionings, are worse than the legion that Christ commanded to enter the herd of swine.
Hopefully you will not retreat into self-righteous indignation, and consider what I've written here mindless and mad hate speech. As regards the world, yes, it is mindless and mad, but it is not hate speech any more than what the Lord Himself spoke when reaming the scribes and pharisees for their stupid wisdom.
I sincerely apologise if I've hurt your feelings, but I can't repent enough for not being able to put the attitude you display towards the Word of God to even greater abuse.
It is exactly this attitude of superiority over the Holy Scriptures that is what's wrong with the modern church today. Don't be one of those who choose blindness, now that the Day is so near, for yes, the time is close.
Ο γαρ καιρος εγγυς...
I'm not offended in the slightest, but I am confused. I'm not sure how I'm guilty of what you're claiming. I maintain that you will be hard-pressed to find someone who takes the inspiration, inerrancy, and sufficiency of Scripture more seriously than I do.
Obviously the theme of Revelation is that Jesus wins in the end. Is that all we can get out of it? If so, then I'm fine with that too.
It is clear that you are not familiar with Dispensationalism (which is probably good for you). I suggest you look it up. This is the world I live in where folks are trying to line all the prophecies up to figure it all out. Personally, I don't buy into it, but I get such a steady stream of it at seminary that I have to decide whether or not these folks are right. If they are then that greatly affects how I read the Bible. As for me, I am comfortable with not knowing, but does that mean we should not ask questions of the text?
We all practice hermeneutics whether we realize it or not, and that's what I mean with respect to being naive. We don't read Genesis, Psalms, Daniel, John, and Revelation in the same way just like you don't read Pride and Prejudice the same way you read a Chilton's manual for your car. The text has meaning and as followers of Christ who want to know the Godhead better I believe it is our job to do our best to understand the text as well as possible. Knowing Greek and Hebrew helps with our exegesis, but we all still need to interpret the meaning after we have done the exegesis.
For example, what is the place of Israel in the New Covenant? Is it a physical nation like in the OT, or has it joined with the Church? In other words, what is the megatheme of Scripture? Is it about Israel or is it about God creating a people for Himself? I believe the latter. Is the Bible about Israel or is it about Jesus? I believe the latter. My point is that how we answer these questions affects how we read the text. Our hermeneutic drives everything. This is especially true if you go outside the conservative world. There are folks who read all of Scripture through a lens of feminism, for example. I think that is ridiculous, but it's what they do. Their hermeneutic affects the meaning they see in the text.
Please help me understand where I have gone so far astray. What is wrong with asking questions of the text? This blog is meant to be my thinking out loud and that's what I've done. I appreciate the interaction.
Thanks for being so cool. Your response was clear. I can't help you understand "where you have gone so far astray" because it isn't about going astray, it's about living in the Word, and up till now I have not been able to communicate to you what that means.
I am familiar with Dispensationalism, but I do not let it enter into the house I am living in. Like shoes I wear in the world, I take them off and leave them outside when I enter the house.
Don't let your words lead you. Let the Word lead you.
Thanks for your respondse, brother.
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