January 21: SURGICAL PERFECTION
Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. Revelation 19:15
The Savior has been portrayed as leaving heaven, accompanied by armies of angels. The mission at hand: to rescue His bride. Now we look more closely at the determination displayed in His countenance (see also 1:16), His eyes being like a flame of fire (19:12) that searches and sees our every need, burning away the chaff and refining what is left. All who have been saved and sanctified through His word will surely appreciate the symbolism of the sharp sword coming out of His mouth. For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). A very skilled surgeon can cut into an ill patient, removing diseased tissue and saving the patient’s life. The Great Physician, with tenderness and great care, can—by His word—cut into a person’s soul and remove the deadly spirit of covetousness, and every other spirit that has no place in the soul of a citizen of heaven. His word prepares the patient by bringing conviction, performs the surgical removal of diseased thinking, and follows up with the patient daily to continually refine. Most of us require multiple surgeries for the various diseases of the soul that we have acquired. In every case, the patient’s cooperation is both required and essential.
The masses who have rejected any part of the message of salvation will find His return unbearable. By the time of His return, their unity under the beast’s mark will have already fractured (16:19; 17:17). Before He even speaks, the brightness of His coming will smite (2 Thessalonians 2:8). It is ironic that the seat of Babylon’s operations is the capital city of the empire that was called by the world the Iron Monarchy of Rome. The rule of the Lamb of God is the genuine, authoritative, and rightful rule, as a rod of iron (see also Revelation 2:27 & 12:5). The significance of this metaphor is that it doesn’t bend or change, representing the unchanging nature of the Lord (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8).
Today’s verse shines a bright light upon Revelation 19:13 which states: He was clothed in a robe dipped in blood. For He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. Isaiah was shown that this is a job that Jesus alone carries out (Isaiah 63:3). John the Revelator is also a witness to this in vision. Both prophetic visions are soon to be fulfilled at the same time. We must remember that it was alone that the Lord went to the cross (His disciples forsook Him and scattered). Today’s verse is also a direct reference to Revelation 14:17-20. Jesus will exercise His full authority in bringing an end to Babylon and her deadly influence. “I, the LORD, have spoken it; It shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not hold back, Nor will I spare, Nor will I relent; According to your ways and according to your deeds They [your deeds] will judge you,” says the LORD God. (Ezekiel 24:14)
“He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.” John 12:48