Introducing the Lord Jesus Part 2

REVELATION Number 34
Introducing the Lord Jesus
Part 2

To those in Pergamum, the Lord introduced Himself as The One who has the sharp two-edged sword.

Later in this letter He says, “Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will wage war against them with the sword of My mouth.” Revelation 2:16 (NASB 2020)

The Lord is depicted in The Revelation as having a sword coming from His mouth. We are not to look for “the Lord with a sword.” Rather we are to look for what this imagery represents.

When God speaks, things happen. Light was created by His Word. All we see around us was created in the same way. When He walked the earth, He healed with a word. His word can also divide and bring judgment.

We will see this again in Revelation 19:15. There, we read, “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.” (NASB 2020)

We might be reminded of Isaiah 11:4 “But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the humble of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.” (NASB 2020)

Likewise we can take great comfort in the insight gained from 2 Thessalonians 2:8 which reads, “Then that lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will eliminate with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming” (NASB 2020).

The power of His Word is unlimited and as such it should bring fear to His enemies. For us it should instill reverent respectful awe-inspired fear as it did with many of the prophets. With a word from Him, all that is can be erased. At a word from Him, all creation exists. “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” Colossians 1:17 (NASB 2020)

Hebrews 4:12 tells us that, “the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, even penetrating as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (NASB 2020)

As it was when Jesus walked on earth upsetting the religionists while lifting up those who were needy and lost in sin, so it is in His letters to His Church. As we will see, He provides comfort and encouragement, exhortation and admonishment. He gives both warning and promise.

I love this picture of our glorious servant-savior. Isaiah 49:1–2 says, “The LORD called Me from the womb; From the body of My mother He named Me. He has made My mouth like a sharp sword, In the shadow of His hand He has concealed Me; And He has also made Me a sharpened arrow, He has hidden Me in His quiver.” Then in verses 5-6 we read, “And now says the LORD, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, so that Israel might be gathered to Him (For I am honored in the sight of the LORD, And My God is My strength), He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the protected ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” (NASB 2020)

Whether you are a Hebrew or a Gentile, these letters from our lovely Lord Jesus have much to say to you.

God’s words and promises are all fulfilled in the Lamb, our glorious Lord with the sharp two-edged sword who has and is the very Word of God.