 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Manner of the Second Coming
of the LORD Jesus Christ
Excerpted from our "Commentary
on the Book of Revelation" ---New Window,
commenting on Chapter
14 ---New Window, verse 20.
by Tom Stewart
June 5, 2001
"And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress,
even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs"
(Revelation 14:20).
The "city" (14:20) undoubtedly refers to Jerusalem, for it and
its Godly inhabitants will again make it the "apple
of [Jehovah's] eye" (Lamentations 2:18). "And
give Him no rest, till He establish, and till He make Jerusalem a praise in the Earth" (Isaiah 62:7). The "blood
of the grapes" (Genesis 49:11) has
figuratively described the pressed juice of the grapes, but here it actually describes
the blood of formerly living human beings, who have been slain in the judgments surrounding
the Second Coming of the LORD Jesus Christ. "I
have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with Me: for I
will tread them in Mine anger, and trample them in My fury; and their blood shall
be sprinkled upon My garments, and I will stain all My raiment" (Isaiah 63:3). The LORD God has never taken pleasure
in the death of the wicked. "Say unto
them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked;
but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways;
for why will ye die, O house of Israel?" (Ezekiel
33:11).
However, at this time (14:20), the death of the wicked will
purge humanity of sin; and, the Almighty will defend the purity and integrity of
the City or the Great House that He has invited all men to dwell in-- which invitation,
only His children have accepted. "24 Therefore whosoever heareth these
Sayings of Mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his
house upon a rock: 25 and
the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house;
and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26 And every one that heareth these
sayings of Mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built
his house upon the sand: 27 And
the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house;
and it fell: and great was the fall of it" (Matthew
7:24-27). Blood will come out of the winepress "even unto the horse bridles" (14:20).
Some speculate that the blood of slain men at Armageddon will yield a flow of blood
deep enough to come up to the bridle of a horse, while others conjecture that it
represents only a liberal splattering of blood. However the LORD brings His Word
to pass, we are assured that the life of humanity will be liberally dissipated in
this Judgment, for the "life of the flesh
is in the blood" (Leviticus 17:11).
A "thousand and six hundred furlongs" (14:20) is the distance in which the blood will flow
"unto the horse bridles" (14:20). A furlong, according to "Easton's Bible
Dictionary" (1897), is "a stadium,
a Greek measure of distance equal to 606 feet and 9 inches
[or, 606.75 feet]". 1,600 furlongs would then be the equivalent
of 183.86 miles. What do we believe to be the manner of the LORD Jesus Christ's Second
Coming?
(1) Christ will descend to the Mount of Olives, just as He previously ascended from it. "11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into Heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into Heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into Heaven. 12 Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a Sabbath day's journey [i.e., approximately 2,250 feet, or less than half a mile]" (Acts 1:11-12). "3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle. 4 And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south" (Zechariah 14:3-4).
(2) Christ will then pursue His enemies, slaying them, down to Bozrah. Bozrah lies approximately 18 miles southeast of the Dead Sea in the mountain district of Petra, according to the "Davis Dictionary of the Bible", and it is approximately 58 miles southeast of the Mount of Olives. "6 The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea. 7 And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness" (Isaiah 34:6-7). And,
(3) Christ will then continue His pursuit and slaying of His enemies from Bozrah to Megiddo-- Megiddo being the ancient city close by the final conflict at Armageddon-- traveling approximately another 128 miles. "1 Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in His apparel, travelling in the greatness of His strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. 2 Wherefore art Thou red in Thine apparel, and Thy garments like Him that treadeth in the winefat? 3 I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with Me: for I will tread them in Mine anger, and trample them in My fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon My garments, and I will stain all My raiment. 4 For the day of vengeance is in Mine heart, and the year of My redeemed is come. 5 And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore Mine own arm brought Salvation unto Me; and My fury, it upheld Me. 6 And I will tread down the people in Mine anger, and make them drunk in My fury, and I will bring down their strength to the Earth" (Isaiah 63:1-6). Combining the distances from the Mount of Olives to Bozrah of 58 miles with the distance from Bozrah to Megiddo of 128 miles, is a distance of 186 miles, which is approximately the same as 1,600 furlongs (14:20).
Maranatha!
.
Next article "From
the Editor's Desktop"
Section Index for Fellowship
Readers are permitted and encouraged to copy
and freely share this article with others.
.
Homepage 
Holy Bible
.Jehovah Jesus
Timeline .Prophecy Philadelphia Fellowship Promises Stories Poetry Links
Purpose ||.What's New
|| Tribulation Topics || Download Page || Today's Entry
Topical Links:
Salvation || Catholicism || Sound Doctrine || Prayer
Privacy Policy
.
