The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Revelation 14:19-20,
"The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath. They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses' bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia."
That 1,600 stadia is just about 180 miles! Another way of saying the blood is really going to flow at God's hand. God's judgment is horrific!
We read in Scripture of a wonderful aspect of God, "And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them." This is true and we, of course, like that.
However, that is not all there is to God. God is both a God of justice, as well as a God of love, as the psalmist observes, "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you." Psalm 89:14. God expresses himself this way through the prophet Jeremiah, "let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight", Jeremiah 9:24. When Moses asked God to reveal himself to him on Mt. Sinai, God said, "The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation." Exodus 34:6-7.
Some seem to limit their understanding of God and view him as a lovey-dovey teddy bear. And, yes, he has shown us a love that simply transcends my understanding. However, that is not all that God wants us to know of him as he is also a God of justice - and his judgments are horrific.
Those "grapes" that get thrown into the great winepress of God's wrath are the people who have rejected him. It would behoove us all to be aware that we can respond to his love, as expressed through Jesus Christ, or else we will be subject to God's horrific judgment.
A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
"The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath. They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses' bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia."
That 1,600 stadia is just about 180 miles! Another way of saying the blood is really going to flow at God's hand. God's judgment is horrific!
We read in Scripture of a wonderful aspect of God, "And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them." This is true and we, of course, like that.
However, that is not all there is to God. God is both a God of justice, as well as a God of love, as the psalmist observes, "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you." Psalm 89:14. God expresses himself this way through the prophet Jeremiah, "let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight", Jeremiah 9:24. When Moses asked God to reveal himself to him on Mt. Sinai, God said, "The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation." Exodus 34:6-7.
Some seem to limit their understanding of God and view him as a lovey-dovey teddy bear. And, yes, he has shown us a love that simply transcends my understanding. However, that is not all that God wants us to know of him as he is also a God of justice - and his judgments are horrific.
Those "grapes" that get thrown into the great winepress of God's wrath are the people who have rejected him. It would behoove us all to be aware that we can respond to his love, as expressed through Jesus Christ, or else we will be subject to God's horrific judgment.
A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
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