Texts in Conversation
Revelation echoes the Wisdom of Solomon, where God’s word or Torah descends from heaven like a warrior with a sharp sword to bring judgment. Revelation echoes this image, placing it in continuity with this Jewish wisdom tradition.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Wisdom of Solomon 18:15
Deuterocanon
14 While all things were in quiet silence, and night was in the middle of its swift course, 15 your almighty word leaped down from heaven, from your royal throne, like a fierce warrior into the middle of the doomed land. 16 It carried your true command like a sharp sword, and standing it filled everything with death. It touched heaven while it stood on the earth.
Revelation 19:15
New Testament
14 The armies that are in heaven, dressed in white, clean, fine linen, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth extends a sharp sword so that with it he can strike the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod, and he stomps the winepress of the furious wrath of God, the All-Powerful. 16 He has a name written on his clothing and on his thigh: “King of kings and Lord of lords.”
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Notes and References
"... The garments of God were stained with the blood of the winepress in Isaiah 63:2-3, when God was avenging his servants by judgment (compare Revelation 14:17-20); a later Jewish tradition naturally connects this text with the idea of Genesis 49:10-11, reading the latter as proclaiming that the warrior Messiah will be stained with blood. Compare Wisdom of Solomon 18:15-16, where God’s slaying the firstborn of Egypt is figuratively described as his Word leaping out of heaven like a mighty warrior; his commandment goes forth as a sharp sword (compare Revelation 19:15) ..."
Keener, Craig S.
The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament
(p. 769) InterVarsity Press, 2014
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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