THE LAST GENERATION – AN APPOINTED END
A. The generation in which the Lord returns will witness the full opposition of God against the world, the flesh, and
the devil. It will also witness Satan’s full rage against the saints and the plans of God, along with the fullness of man’s
sin. This generation will also see the Lord in the fullness of His compassion and love as He vindicates the saints with
the resurrection from the dead and saves Israel in their darkest hour. The Saints will meet the Bridegroom King in all
of His passion and the rebellious will meet the Bridegroom King in all of His fury. The Bible reveals the face of Jesus
on that day as one of a lion devouring His prey and crushing His enemies. He will be seen as a great King and all the
nations shall worship Him.
"Therefore prophesy against them all these words, and say to them: 'The LORD will roar from on high, And utter His
voice from His holy habitation; He will roar mightily against His fold. He will give a shout, as those who tread the grapes,
Against all the inhabitants of the earth. 31 A noise will come to the ends of the earth -- For the LORD has a controversy
with the nations; He will plead His case with all flesh. He will give those who are wicked to the sword,' says the LORD."
. . . . 38 He has left His lair like the lion; For their land is desolate Because of the fierceness of the Oppressor, And
because of His fierce anger." (Jeremiah 25:30-31, 38)
B. This Day is described by the New Testament as the Day of Christ and was looked forward to by all the saints
as the day when love finally triumphs over sin and light vanquishes darkness. Yet, the Church has remained largely
silent in regard to discussing the face of Christ that will be shown on that day. The Apostles embraced the stigma
associated with proclaiming the Day of the Lord (Acts 10:36-43, 17:26-31; Book of Revelation). We cannot shrink back
from proclaiming this truth.
II. ISAIAH 63:1 - THE CONQUERING KING COMING FROM EDOM
Isaiah 63:1-6 Who is this who comes from Edom, With dyed garments from Bozrah, This One who is glorious in His
apparel, Traveling in the greatness of His strength? --
A. Isaiah 63:1-6 is going to introduce us to a face of Jesus that many have not contemplated or even considered.
Isaiah gives us a glimpse concerning what the Bible refers to as the Day of the Lord and portrays the last scenes of
the Armageddon Campaign. As we peer into Is. 63 one will find themselves asking with the prophet, “Is this face of
Jesus consistent with the suffering Servant revealed in Isaiah 53?”
B. Isaiah witnesses a majestic and terrifying vision of the Second Coming of Christ. He is coming from Edom with
dyed garments and is glorious in His apparel. This time He is not coming as a Lamb to be slain, but as the King dressed
in beautiful robes of royalty. This is the picture of a conquering king who is leaning forward, striding, picking up speed
as a lion who pursues and overcomes his prey. The suffering servant of Is. 53 is now depicted as the majestic King
striding in the greatness of his strength. Isaiah asks, “Who is this?”
III. JESUS: RIGHTEOUS SAVIOR AND WARRING KING—ISAIAH 63:2
“I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.” (Isaiah 63:1–2, emphasis added)
A. Jesus answers that is Him who speaks in righteousness, the One mighty to save. Jesus confirms that this
portrait of Him is consistent with nature of righteousness and of redemption. It is the last act of redemption in this age.
Jesus the Lamb is consistent with Jesus the Lion. Jesus comes as the Judge of all the nations to trample all resistance
to love. He will not contend with the flesh of humanity forever. There is an appointed day when love will triumph over evil.
B. The mighty Savior, Jesus, is bringing the centerpiece of God’s plan into fruition – the bringing of heaven and
earth together. What was lost in the Garden of Eden shall be restored. His actions are the consummation of Calvary,
not contradictory to Calvary. What He began on Calvary, He will finish.
having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that
in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in
heaven and which are on earth -- in Him. (Ephesians 1:9-10)
IV. JESUS’ RED GARMENTS
Why is Your apparel red, And Your garments like one who treads in the winepress? 3 "I have trodden the winepress
alone, And from the peoples no one was with Me. For I have trodden them in My anger, And trampled them in My fury;
Their blood is sprinkled upon My garments, And I have stained all My robes. (Isaiah 63:3-6)
A. Isaiah, not used to seeing Jesus like this, asks Him why His garments are stained red, like one who treads the
winepress. If this is the righteous one who saves then why all the blood on His garments.
B. Jesus answers that it is blood that stains His garments. The question becomes, “Whose blood is it?” He goes
on to clarify that it is the blood of the rebellious nations who gathered against the Lord and against His anointed One.
Many persons mistakenly interpret this passage as another description of Jesus on the Cross bearing God’s wrath
against sin. However, the text is explicitly clear.
C. The nations that resisted the rule of God have become the focus of the most terrifying force in heaven and earth –
the fury and vengeance of the Son of God against the opponents of love. We must wrestle with the terrifying language
of the Day of the Lord just as Isaiah did (Psalm 2:4-9, 68:17-23, 110:2-6; Is. 2:19, 13:4-13, 26:20-21, 33:17-18, 34:1-9,
63:3-6, 66:14-16; Jeremiah 25:31-38; 30:23-24; Amos 9:8; Zephaniah 3:8; Zechariah 14:12; Malachi 4:1-3)
Come near, you nations, to hear; And heed, you people! Let the earth hear, and all that is in it, The world and all things
that come forth from it. 2 For the indignation of the LORD is against all nations, And His fury against all their armies; He
has utterly destroyed them, He has given them over to the slaughter. 3 Also their slain shall be thrown out; Their stench
shall rise from their corpses, And the mountains shall be melted with their blood. (Isaiah 34:1-3)
The sword of the LORD is filled with blood . . . For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah, And a great slaughter in the
land of Edom. . . Their land shall be soaked with blood, And their dust saturated with fatness." 8 For it is the day of the
LORD's vengeance, The year of recompense for the cause of Zion. 9 Its streams shall be turned into pitch, And its dust
into brimstone; Its land shall become burning pitch. (Isaiah 34:6-9)
A noise will come to the ends of the earth -- For the LORD has a controversy with the nations; He will plead His case
with all flesh. He will give those who are wicked to the sword,' says the LORD." 32 Thus says the LORD of hosts:
"Behold, disaster shall go forth From nation to nation, And a great whirlwind shall be raised up From the farthest parts
of the earth. 33 "And at that day the slain of the LORD shall be from one end of the earth even to the other end of the
earth. They shall not be lamented, or gathered, or buried; they shall become refuse on the ground. 38 He has left His
lair like the lion; For their land is desolate Because of the fierceness of the Oppressor, And because of His fierce
anger." (Jeremiah 25:31-38)
V. THE FURY OF THE BRIDEGROOM – THE DAY OF VENGEANCE
For the day of vengeance is in My heart, And the year of My redeemed has come. (Isaiah 63:4)
A. The Day of the Lord displays the various tensions of God’s love in a single event that will forever change the
course of human history and ushers us into the next age. A day of vengeance is in the heart of the Son of God. This
short display (a day) of vengeance will usher the earth into a long season (a year) of world-wide redemption.
B. In His second coming, Jesus will deliver His people from the nations who have oppressed and killed them. Joel
described His coming as the “great and terrible day of the Lord.” Isaiah calls it the day of vengeance and the year
of the redeemed. His resolve to execute this terrible day will bring about a long-lasting season of favor and blessing
on the earth.
C. This day is in His heart. This hour is in Jesus’ heart precisely because God’s nature of love will be fully
manifest and clarified before the whole world. In the person of Christ the world will watch God declare His name in terms
of mercy, compassion, deliverance, protection, righteousness, and justice. Jesus will declare His Father’s name again
as he delivers the saints, protects and saves Israel, destroys the wicked, and binds Satan in the bottomless pit. All His
manifold glory will be displayed as he vindicates His loving nature to save and to remove wickedness from the earth.
D. Just as he jealously desired in John 17 to go to the Cross to bear the wrath of God on behalf of those who would
receive Him, so now He jealously yearns to dispense the wrath of God on those who stubbornly resisted God’s kindness
and God’s ways. If Jesus does not bear the wrath of God for you, then He will dispense the wrath of God upon you.
Jesus is not coming to discipline the nations. He is coming to punish them. This is the day of His wrath. Jesus is
coming to liberate the Jews and bring retribution upon the nations that have oppressed them.
E. Jesus the Warrior King is the Tender Lamb of Calvary. As we look at the severity of Jesus’ leadership in
destroying the rebellious nations, we must understand that He will use the least severe means to remove iniquity
while bringing the greatest number of people to Him at the deepest level of love. These nations will be utterly hardened
and completely unresponsive to the grace of God. Jesus will use the rod of His might for the purpose of removing
everything that hinders love. The book of Revelation is clear that the prevailing Lion of the tribe of Judah is the
same Lamb who was slain.
1. Jesus, the Warrior King, is the meek Lamb. In fact, Revelation 5 tells us very clearly that it is precisely Jesus’
meekness in submitting to His Father’s will and bearing God’s wrath on Calvary that makes Him the only One qualified
to execute the Father’s end-time plan and to tread the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. Because
Jesus gave up all of His power for love, He will now be trusted to use power for the establishment of love. Only the Lamb
can be trusted with the full use of God Almighty’s power and resource.
2. Jesus is utterly committed to establishing love and justice on Earth for the glory of His Father. His slaying of the
wicked is perfectly consistent with His personality of tenderness and love. It is tenderness which locks the rapist behind
bars and executes the unrepentant serial killer. The Nuremberg trials are to be considered loving, just acts by the Allied
powers—they prosecuted and executed Nazi soldiers and officers who had committed heinous war crimes against
humanity. Jesus will use the rod of iron to establish justice on the earth. He will create an environment on the earth
where love will flourish and righteousness will spring forth.
He will not fail nor be discouraged, till He has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands shall wait for His law …
The LORD shall go forth like a mighty man; He shall stir up His zeal like a man of war. He shall cry out, yes, shout aloud;
He shall prevail against His enemies. (Isaiah 42:4,13, emphasis added)
3. Just as He was crucified for the joy of setting individuals free, likewise He will embrace the Father’s plan to punish
the nations for the joy of setting the world free from tyranny, once and for all. We must look again at Christ and fall in
love with His burning heart of passion. We must see the great depths to which He goes to bring forth eternal, voluntary
lovers in an environment of righteousness, peace and joy.
“So severe is His zeal for love that He became human and was crushed by the wrath of God. What He will do in terms
of zeal in the Battle of Armageddon, killing millions by His own sword, pales in severity compared to what happened
at the Cross. What He did in becoming human and being crushed by the wrath of God is His ultimate statement of
zealous love, the eternal testimony of unsurpassed severity and passion that will treasured for all the ages (Ephesians 2:7).”
F. The memory of this event will impact the social, emotional, legal, and economic decisions in the earth the next
one thousand years (Revelation 20). The story of how triumphant King from David’s lineage destroyed all the enemies
of love will be told from generation to generation in the Millennial Reign. The Lord’s zeal and unending power in this
one event will cause the nations of the earth to tremble at the glory of the Lord and will cause the emotional DNA of the
peoples to be realigned in voluntary love.
VI. TREADING THE WINE PRESS ALONE
I looked, but there was no one to help, And I wondered That there was no one to uphold; Therefore My own arm
brought salvation for Me; And My own fury, it sustained Me. 6 I have trodden down the peoples in My anger, Made
them drunk in My fury, And brought down their strength to the earth." (Isaiah 63:5-6)
A. One cannot understand the terrifying language of the Day of the Lord without first staring at the mystery of
iniquity – the stubborn refusal of humanity to submit to God’s laws and leadership and the active aggression to cast
off all of God’s restraints. No kings or nations stand with Jesus. Psalm 2 has come true. All the nations raged against
His rulership under the auspices of a demonized king called the son of perdition, the Antichrist.
B. Even as Jesus returns in the sky, marches on land, and releases the last of the bowl judgments, men are still
blaspheming God and gathering together to fight against Him. This is unthinkable to us, but it is true nonetheless.
When all is visible, all is manifest, humanity will still resist. Not only will they resist, they will violently oppose Jesus’ rule.
C. For three and a half years the earth witnesses the disastrous rule of the Antichrist, the epitome of human
strength and ingenuity. The earth also witnesses the hand of God opposing and preserving humanity through His
manifest judgments. Even as the earth is in full fledged rebellion God is working to dismantle darkness, break the
delusion, and bring as many people possible to the saving knowledge of Jesus with the least severe means possible.
Yet, at the end of the trumpet judgments and throughout the bowl judgments the people refuse to repent, blaspheming
God.
But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they
should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk.
21 And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts. (Revelation 9:20-21)
And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues;
and they did not repent and give Him glory. 10 Fifth Bowl: Darkness and Pain Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl
on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the
pain. 11 They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.
(Revelation 16:9-11)
These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and
those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful." (Revelation 17:14)
D. Isaiah picked back up on the theme of Jesus’ aloneness in this act of salvation. Jesus bears the burden for Earth’s
redemption alone. He alone was willing to bear the wrath of God to redeem fallen humanity from sin and death; He alone
will be willing to bear the burden of dispensing the wrath of God to remove sin and death from the world. As the only
begotten Son of the Father, He uniquely fulfills the will of His Father. He alone knows the depths and tensions of the
Father’s heart in both redemption and condemnation. Jesus will declare His Father’s name again before all the nations:
God is holy, holy, holy.
E. The nations receive the cup of drunkenness and fury from the Lord. Earlier in Isaiah 51:17 Israel drinks the cup
of wrath from the hand of the Lord. In this passage it is Israel who is saved and the nations drink the cup of fury and
wrath. “And brought down their strength to the earth” is translated literally by Edward Young as “I bring down their
juice to the earth” and means to slay them and cause their blood to flow upon the ground. This vision is terrifying to
Isaiah. Imagine how it leaves the prophet feeling.
VII. REASONS TO STUDY THE FURY OF THE BRIDEGROOM AT THE END OF THE AGE
A. This revelation releases the fear of the Lord and purifies the Church (1 Peter 4:7-19; 2 Peter 3:14;
2 Corinthians 6:11-7:1; 2 Corinthians 11:2).
B. It empowers our proclamation (Acts 10:42; 2 Corinthians 5:9-11; 2 Timothy 4:1-2; 1 Peter 4:5).
C. It gives us strength to endure persecution (Romans 12:19; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-8; Revelation 6:10, 14:12, 19:2).
D. It gives us more than faith to endure; it gives us apostolic courage to face evil (Matthew 10:28).
E. It releases in the Church a deep prayer of repentance and for revival (Isaiah 63:7-64:12).