His anger Revelation 19v15.
"And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations; and He shall rule them with a rod of iron; and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of almighty God."
The language could not be more explicit; He has a sword, He will use it, He will rule the nations, He will destroy all opposition! The anger of God against sin is clearly stated in scripture. Psalm 7v11-12 make it clear "God judgeth the righteous and God is angry with the wicked every day. If he turn not He will whet His sword." There are two words for God's anger in scripture and they both occur in verse 15 in the statement "the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God."
- Fierceness is "thumos" and refers to an overflowing burst of anger; the root of the word is actually "heavy breathing."
- Wrath is the word "orge" and refers to a more settled but inflexible antagonism.
The same two words are used in Romans 2v8 where they are translated "indignation and wrath." Both aspects are in operation here. The religious writer C.S. Lewis said "God is the only comfort, He is also the supreme terror. He is that which we most need, and that which we must fear the most. He is our only possible ally, yet we have made Him our enemy." The reality of Divine anger that will be displayed against sin is cited in the following scriptures; Zephaniah 1v15-16; Isaiah 66v15-16; Hebrews 12v29 "our God is a consuming fire."
When Christ returns as the executor of divine justice, both the abiding. eternal opposition of God to sin, and the overwhelming, overflowing display of anger, will be in evidence.
- The instrument of His wrath. "Out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword." There will be no weapons on display. There will be no assembling of instruments of war; He will simply speak and it will be done. It is the sword of the spoken word of the Lord. In Ephesians 6v17 it is written that the "sword of the Spirit is the spoken word of God." That same word that spoke the universe into being (Hebrews 11v3, 2nd Peter 3v5 & 7); that same word which every day of our existence sustains the entire universe (Hebrews 1v3) "upholding all things by the spoken word of His power"). This same word, by this same Almighty being, will display the wrath of God to a rebel world. In 2nd Thessalonians 2v8 it is written "and then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth........"; just by His word He will overcome the enemies of God.
- The extent of His wrath. "That with it He should smite the nations." With one blast of His breath He shall destroy every world army gathered against Him. There are currently 232 nations in the world today, and we can only assume that each one of them will have contributed to this human army in rebellion against the living God (the details are found in Psalm 2).
- The correction of His wrath. "He shall rule the nations with a rod of iron." The word "rule" is interesting, it means to "rule as a shepherd". In other words those who do His bidding shall find Him to be a comfort and a supplier of all their needs; but those who oppose Him of earth's inhabitants, that were not part of the rebel armies, will find Him to be a bitter enemy. His rule will be inflexible and will reflect the righteous standard of God on the earth. Those who are of the contrary spirit, to use the language of Revelation 2v27 "as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers."
- The crucible of His wrath. "He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God." This imagery is used in Isaiah 63v2&3 and again in Revelation 14 v7-9 and again in Revelation 14v19-20. In Isaiah 63 He treads the winepress alone. In Revelation 14v20 He treads the winepress outside the city and in Revelation 19v15 the treading of the winepress is defined as the expression of the wrath of God. This executive act, by the returning Christ, will be specifically against the armies who are confederate with the beast. The extent of his operations will be 200 miles from south to north of the land of Israel. There will be no one in His pathway left alive. Some details are given in Zechariah 14v12-15. The contents of these verses will reveal something of what will happen at this time. There will be nothing left of man or beast. This is Armageddon, so- called "the battle to end all battles", but there will be no battle. The imagery of treading the winepress is very graphic and reflects the ancient method of extracting wine from grapes.
Amazon bookshelf George Neilly
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