welcoming the world, part 2

Good morning friends,

Today's reading continues the thought from yesterday about the nations coming to worship in Jerusalem. 

God bless,

Sam

Isaiah 60:9-14

⁹For the coastlands shall wait for me, the ships of Tarshish first, to bring your children from far away, their silver and gold with them, for the name of the Lord your God, and for the Holy One of Israel, because he has glorified you. ¹⁰Foreigners shall build up your walls, and their kings shall minister to you; for in my wrath I struck you down, but in my favor I have had mercy on you. ¹¹Your gates shall always be open; day and night they shall not be shut, so that nations shall bring you their wealth, with their kings led in procession.

¹²For the nation and kingdom that will not serve you shall perish; those nations shall be utterly laid waste. ¹³The glory of Lebanon shall come to you, the cypress, the plane, and the pine, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will glorify where my feet rest. ¹⁴The descendants of those who oppressed you shall come bending low to you, and all who despised you shall bow down at your feet; they shall call you the City of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

judgment and war

Good afternoon friends,
We know Jesus as the baby in a manger, as teacher, friend and even as sacrifice. In this passage we also see Jesus as he will be at the end: King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He will be the righteous judge of all of us. We also see that he is God's word (like in the beginning of John's Gospel). THe image of Jesus on a horse with a sword coming from his mouth is certainly strange, but God's word is often described as a sword because it judges and slices through all the lies we tell ourselves.

As we saw before, Jesus is stronger than all the powers of the earth. The kings and other powerful people might try to fight against Jesus, but they will never win. The good news is that even though Jesus judges, he judges like he lived: with righteousness and love.

God bless,
Sam

Revelation 19:11-21

¹¹Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse! Its rider is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. ¹²His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems; and he has a name inscribed that no one knows but himself. ¹³He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called The Word of God. ¹⁴And the armies of heaven, wearing fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses.

¹⁵From 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 wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. ¹⁶On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, “King of kings and Lord of lords.” ¹⁷Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly in midheaven, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, ¹⁸to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of the mighty, the flesh of horses and their riders—flesh of all, both free and slave, both small and great.” 

¹⁹Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against the rider on the horse and against his army. ²⁰And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed in its presence the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. ²¹And the rest were killed by the sword of the rider on the horse, the sword that came from his mouth; and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.