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Eschatology The Study of Last Things by WordExplain |
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2 Why is Your apparel red, And Your garments like the one who treads in the wine press? 3 "I
have trodden the wine trough alone, And from the peoples there was no
man with Me. I also trod them in My anger And trampled them in My
wrath; And their lifeblood is sprinkled on My garments, And I stained
all My raiment." Isaiah 63:2-3
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Isaiah 63:1-6
This is an OT passage, written in Hebrew. As such, it does not, of course, employ the Greek word for "coming" (parousia, 3952).
Nevertheless, it does describe Christ's
Second Coming, I believe. Furthermore, it undoubtedly describes the retributive aspect of Christ's Second Coming. What is the context of this violent
paragraph? The immediately preceding chapter (Isa. 62) describes the inevitability of Israel's Millennial glory. The question might well be asked, "How can the triumph of Israel come about when it is beset by surrounding enemies?" (so Thomas Constable.) The Biblical answer is that Yahweh Himself will defeat Israel's enemies! That is the theme of Isa. 63:1-6.
(1) The prophet (Isaiah) sees a majestic warrior marching from Edom
(modern day Jordan) and from Bozrah (Edom's capital city, possibly Buceirah or Buseirah,
south of the Dead Sea and half way between the Dead Sea and Petra). The
Warrior is marching in great strength (Isa. 63:1). He is apparently
marching toward Israel, the vantage point of the prophet. The prophet
asks who this one is who comes marching from Edom and from Bozrah.
(2) The warrior himself replies. He identifies Himself as one who
speaks "in righteousness" and one who is "mighty to save" (Isa. 63:1).
The traits of ethical speech and powerful deliverance (save = yasha, 3467)
are a rare combination in the history of warfare. This is an
exceptional warrior. Presumably, the nation of Israel is the object of
his salvation. (3) The prophet asks a second
question. He addresses the warrior. "Why is Your apparel red, and Your
garments like one who treads in the wine press?" (Isa. 63:2).
(4) The warrior gives a devastating explanation. He said, "I have
trodden the wine trough alone." It turns out He was using a figure of
speech. He went on to explain, literally, what he meant. He had tromped
on people in his anger, and trampled on them in his wrath. Their life
blood (literally "juice") was sprinkled on his clothes, and this was
how his garment had become stained (Isa. 63:3).
(5) The warrior went on to explain further, that a day of vengeance was
on his heart, and, conversely, his year of redemption had come (Isa.
63:4). It is not difficult to perceive that this warrior had trampled
down, can I say, "killed" the enemies of Israel. This was what was
necessary to redeem the nation of Israel. It would seem that the
warrior's extermination of the Edomite (Jordanian) enemies of Israel
was necessary to save the physical and spiritual lives of the people of
Israel. And, it seems, the Edomite enemies of Israel were simply a
representative sample of all of Israel's enemies throughout the globe.
Let us see if the remainder of this paragraph will reinforce that
interpretation. (6) The warrior rehearses and
amplifies what he has already said. His task of avenging Israel's
enemies and redeeming her found no help whatever among the race of
humans. "I looked, and there was no one to help, and I was astonished
and there was no one to uphold" (Isa. 63:5). Nevertheless he remained
undisuaded from his objective. "So my own arm brought salvation to me,
and my wrath upheld me" (Isa. 63:5). And now, it appears, the warrior
expands his account from merely vanquishing the Jordanians, to
conquering all Israel's enemies across the globe with lethal force: "I
trod down the peoples in my anger and made them drunk in my wrath, and
I poured out their lifeblood on the earth" (Isa. 63:6).
What does this breath-takingly vengeful, yet redemptive paragraph mean?
Who is the warrior? Keil and Delitzsch surmise that Judas Maccabeus was the initial fulfillment, followed by his nephew John Hyrcanus and, finally, John's son, Alexander Jannaeus.
But the fact that K&D cite three individuals bears its own
refutation. The warrior explicitly stated that he and he alone achieved
vengeance and provided redemption. Furthermore, whatever vengeance and
redemption the three aforementioned Jewish liberators brought was
short-lived. The language used in Isaiah 63:1-6 is much more global and
final. This Warrior must be identified with Jesus of Nazareth at His Second Coming in Power and Retribution. For too long, God's people, and in particular, God's chosen nation, the Nation of Israel, will have suffered the brunt of the world's discrimination and wrath. For too long the international community will have vented their ire on Israel and killed Israeli citizens. But when the Warrior King returns, the shoe will be on the other foot. Jordan, symbolic of the nations as a whole, will suffer devastating defeat and loss of property and life at the speech of Jesus, the Warrior with the Blood-Stained Robe. This passage is to be compared with the description of Jesus as The Rider on the White Horse (Rev. 19:11-21). |
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