Strike! Rule! Trample!

July 3, 2020 (Friday)

 

    Yesterday we saw the return of Jesus to earth to claim what is rightfully His: the whole world. Today, lets look at the results of this final war.

    “From his mouth comes a sharp sword that he will use to strike down the nations. He is the one who will rule them with an iron rod. And he is the one who will trample the winepress of the Almighty God’s passionate anger.” [Revelation 19:15 CEB]

    Jesus will a.) Strike down the nations, b.) Rule with an iron rod, and c.) Trample the winepress of the Almighty God’s passionate anger. The image of striking down seems odd at this point. We are on the doorstep of the final judgement. While physical death is clearly pictured, we are at the point where it is moot. The Greek gives the idea this is a judicial condemnation. However physical death has always been an image of spiritual death.

    The word translated “rule” is also translated “shepherd.” The iron rod is more in line with the idea of ruling. Problem: We are so stuck on God being love we forget His passionate anger. Yet, the Bible describes God as a “consuming fire.”

 

Let’s look at some of the verses:

“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that can’t be shaken, let’s continue to express our gratitude. With this gratitude, let’s serve in a way that Is pleasing to God with respect and awe, because our God really is a consuming fire" [Hebrews 12:28-29 CEB].

“Because the Lord your God is an all-consuming fire, He is a passionate God” (Deuteronomy 4:24 CEB].

    The reaction to Jesus return is puzzling. “Then I saw that the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies had gathered to make war against the rider on the horse and his army” [Revelation 19:19 CEB]. When the final question is put to humanity the response is to fight. Then again, the leaders know they are condemned.

    The result of Jesus return: “But the beast was seized, along with the false prophet who had done signs in the beast’s presence. (He had used the signs to deceive people into receiving the beast’s mark and into worshipping the beast’s image). The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake the burns with sulfur.  The rest were killed by the sword that comes from the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds ate their fill of their flesh” [19:20-21 CEB].

    Notice Jesus deals only with the “the beast” and the false prophet.”  A plausible idea is because they are human. Why does Jesus not deal with Satan himself? Stay tuned. We will look at this tomorrow.