Peace And Judgement Arrive

Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God; because His judgments are true and righteous; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and He has avenged the blood of His bond-servants on her.” And a second time they said, “Hallelujah! Her smoke rises up forever and ever.” And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” And a voice came from the throne, saying, “Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great.” Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he *said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’ ” And he *said to me, “These are true words of God.” Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he *said to me, “Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND Lord OF LORDS.” Revelation 19:1-16 NASB

Much of what has been written and preached about Jesus Christ over the past decades has often amounted to nothing more than a watered-down milquetoast version of the true Jesus.

We can suppose This has been largely done to appease contemporary society’s culture, to appear inclusive and take no risk of offending someone, to fill up more church buildings on Sundays, or sadly to keep the peace among friends and family. However, as we read through the pages of the New Testament we are taught that Jesus Christ, yes born in a manger, came to reign on the earth and in the heavens as the warrior King.

JESUS CHRIST - king - strong and valiant - merciful - the Holy commander of the angel armies! The holy holy holy God, Lord of all.

Christmas is a time to reflect on the promise of God. It comes by one man, Jesus Christ, and comes to those who are found in Him. Yet even this peace is internal and not always external. This peace is anticipatory and not always a present reality. This peace comes too with a combination of the world’s version of real. 

Christmas by a commercialized example is nostalgic movies, moments filled with parties, gifts, and decorations - I confess the Christmas season means many of those points to me but we have created an ideal of Jesus Christ that pits God of the Old Testament against Jesus of the New Testament as if the Old Testament version of God is mean and the New Testament version of God (Jesus) is good and by His goodness would never enact judgment on the earth. That my friends is not the truth. Reading the entire Bible prayerfully from the book of Genesis through the book of Revelation will forever eradicate the unbiblical depiction of Jesus as some flower child Who’s coming was only to bring peace (by accommodation) to the earth without exerting His sovereign, kingly rule, without expressing His divine wrath against disobedient sinners and nations.  He is God Jesus Christ Holy Spirit and He will not be silenced, thwarted, ignored or erased. 

While we make much of Christmas peace as a sentimental feeling of good cheer, traditionally Advent has been much more apocalyptic in nature. By the Middle Ages an emphasis on the return of Christ had been established as an important aspect of Advent, It’s been largely lost today, but the return of Jesus to judge mankind  is a part of what Advent is about, and that means that peace does not come without judgment. We see this in the message of the prophets who anticipate the coming of the Messiah but often in the context of judgment. It is worth meditating on how the peace of Christ comes to us in this season, and all that it costs. Peace comes at the price of Christ’s wrath-absorbing sacrifice. Peace and judgment come together.