Armageddon

Well, we were studying the character qualities of God and one week I hadn't done any research on a new quality so I decided we would randomly pick some Psalms to read.  This was for our breakfast reading with my kids.  (I do reading at breakfast with my kids and my husband does reading at dinner for our whole family.)

I picked Psalm 2 to read, which appears to be a dialog between three voices.  This Psalm opens with a question, "Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a worthless thing?  The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His Annointed, saying, 'Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.' "

I asked my son if it seemed at all weird that kings of the earth would want to fight against God.  He thought that sounded ludicrous, as did I.  

So after reading Psalm 2 we turned to Isaiah 63 and read the first 6 verses.  This passage describes Jesus trampling His enemies in fury, having his garments stained with their blood (symbol is of stomping grapes in a winepress).  

I asked my son if it seemed weird that Jesus was angry and had enemies?  He answered and said it must be the kings from Psalm 2.  I said, "You're right!"  (It's thrilling to see their minds understanding and processing God's Word!)

I told him about a battle that will take place called the battle of Armageddon.  Mention the word battle to a boy and you've got his undivided attention.  :)

So then we turned to Revelation to get the full picture.  Starting in chapter 19, verse 11 and reading through to the end of the chapter we see the image of Jesus riding on a white horse to make war.  This is an image not many of us think about when we think of Jesus, that's why I wanted to introduce it to my son.  It's very important to me that my children get the big picture of the Bible.

Jesus is clothed with a robe dipped in blood and again we see the symbolism (idiom) of a winepress.  I wanted to point that out to my son also, since idioms in the Bible are consistent.  Verse 19 tells us again of those kings that want to make war against Almighty God.  

But we already know the end--Jesus will defeat them with the sword that proceeds from His mouth!  This, of course, was exciting to my son--the good guys win!!!  And I ask my son, "what is the sword?"  God's Word, he tells me.  Right again!!

For you adults, this may be some new information.  You think of Jesus as gentle, kind, compassionate, and He is all those things.  He is our Redeemer, but He is also the Avenger of Blood.  He will come to judge those that rebel against Him.  

Read the Book of Ruth for a great picture of the Kinsman Redeemer (Christ is our Kinsman Redeemer, He became human to redeem humans), but read Numbers 35:9-34 to learn about the City of Refuge and the Avenger of Blood.  This is part of the Mosaic law, but it is a type and shadow of Christ.  He is our City of Refuge, the High Priest that died, AND the Avenger of Blood.  

I'm so glad He's my Redeemer and in the Battle of Armageddon I will be on the winning side!  This gives us not only a healthy fear of the Lord, but also hope that the evil in the world will one day be eradicated!  I don't know about you, but that is exciting to me!

I would love to hear from you if you have questions.  There is more detail I could go into, but didn't have time.