Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Revelation 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

Revelation 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Saturday, June 03, 2006

The Sword of the angel of Lord

I Chronicles 21 describes an incident where the prophet Gad appears to David and offers him the option to choose one of three punishments.

3 years - fall in the hands of famine
3 months - fall in the hands of man
3 days - fall in the hands of God

I have often wondered about those values. 3 days in the hands of God must be more powerful than 3 months of man or 3 years of nature. And yet David thought it was more merciful to fall in the hands of God.

My point today however focuses on the reference to othe sword in verses 16 and 27 of the chapter: "And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the Lord stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem".

Here we read of the sword of the Lord stretched out, and David sees the sword streched out over Jerusalem. However in effect, when we read the passage we find pestilence striking men. v.14 So the Lord sent pestilence upon Israel: and there fell .. 70 000 men".

David petitions the Lord about "these sheep" v.17 and asks "that the plague may be stayed from the people" v.22

So we read in v. 27 "And the Lord commanded the angel; and he put up his sword again into the sheath thereof".

Do you see the parallel that I see.

My daughter asked me a couple of days of ago about the sword that we see in Revelation. She said "Do you think it is going to be a real sword". I answered her by referring to the above passage.

Scripture interprets itself. I leave it to my readers to find similar passages in the Bible.

Posted by Consecrated at 7:42 PM |  

5 Comments:

  1. Redeemed said...
    8:22 PM  
    Thanks for posting this.

    As per my question, I was wondering whether the sword that proceedes out of the mouth of Jesus Christ is a physical one. When we study a "twoedged sword" in the Bible, it's the Word of God (Heb. 4:12).

    But I also tend to think that this sword in Revelation is a physical one, not just the Word of God.

    The parallel that Consecrated describes with 1 Chronicles 21 is interesting, and would make a lot of sense.

    Rev 19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations.

    Maybe He will smite the nations with pestilence, some sort of a plague!
    Consecrated said...
    9:29 PM  
    You know. Jesus once told his disciples if I speak to you of earthly things and you don't understand, how will you understand if I tell you of the heavenly.

    I have often wondered at those words. The Bible intrigues me. In some instances you read of things which in the heavenlies they look like something and to us they translate into another.

    The passage in I Chronicles is a case in point.
    Matthew Celestine said...
    2:22 PM  
    It is great that you pay attention to the details of Scripture. Not a lot f Christians do that.

    God Bless

    Matthew
    Anonymous said...
    7:39 PM  
    I do not think that it is a real sword. I think that the usage of sword in Revelation is similar to the ones in the gospels..."Armor of Christ" symbolism that reflects the power of the Word to destroy and bring to life. (To some it is a stumbling block and to others it is a Word of Life_ (I don't remember the exact words). Anyways, I don't even think that the sword in Chronicles is a real one either in the sense that humans think of it. I mean, people's head did not just fly off from an invisible sword...The sword probably speaks of a disease that was sent throughout the people.
    On the other hand, it might not be good to pick and choose what we think is symbolic from the Bible. Where do you set the line then? You can go one to say that Creation is symbolic, as well as the death and resurrection of Christ.

    -joe
    Consecrated said...
    10:13 PM  
    Thanks Matthew,
    I always say that if the author of the Bible is God himself then surely there is a lot more than meets the eye, that is why I like to read my Book with a fine-tooth comb.

    Joe,
    That's what I tried to point out. That whereas David saw a sword in effect, there was pestilence on earth.

    I do take the Genesis account literally and I am not saying that we should pick and choose.

    I said that the Bible interprets itself. Dig deep and you'll find the explanation to things.

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