The Two-Edged Sword

 Even when people believe, God means different things to different people. I know one Christian lady that refused to go to church any longer because the preacher said that we should love and fear the Lord:

Deut 10:12 And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul...

She didn't like what God said. The preacher was just preaching. Why love and fear the Lord?  Because God is not only merciful but he is "just" as well. Of course, we are to love God because of His grace for us, and to fear Him because he will someday judge us. Actually, it is the fear of receiving just punishment which calls us to repentance, and to receive God's mercy. Upon receiving mercy, God, since he loved us, demands that we love Him back. Since God is a jealous God (Exod 20:5), He demands fidelity. Therefore, you see, God is loving and fearsome. Of course, the righteous have no reason to fear! And to wrap up Deut 10:12, our duty is serve the Lord with "all thy heart and with all thy soul". And then he added, "To keep the commandments of the Lord, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good? (Deut 10:13). 

The astute student of scripture will recognize these words are in the New Testament as well (Mark 12:37; Mat 19:37), the latter which says that keeping God's Commandments are a necessity for entering into eternal life. Thus, love and obedience is the Way to eternal life for with obedience only, there is no salvation, and without love there is no obedience! Thus, the route to Heaven is by one Road with two lanes: love and justice.

That brings me to today's passages:

 Rev 1:16 And he (Jesus) had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. 17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: 18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

Sword of the Spirit (Tamer ElShar)

In John's vision, Jesus had in his mouth a two-edge sword. Why is that? Because he both loves and judges. Let's look at other occurrences of this instrument of war:

Psalm 149:5  Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds. 6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand; 7  To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people...

Herein, praise is in the mouths of the saints, and the sword is in their hand. As they praise God, they are ready to do justice with the people. With praise in their mouths, the Word is in their hand. It is "for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16). Each of the purposes of the Sword of the Spirit - the Word are twofold: (1) love - doctrine and instruction, and (2) reproof and correction. All these things are "saving" but also are how we are judged! We can see from the scripture below that the "sword" is the Word of God, and that it discerns the intentions of the heart. Scripture calls that "dividing asunder the soul and the spirit".

 Ephes 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God... Heb 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Within our hearts is "fornication" - intercourse with one to whom we are not married. That includes adultery by the way! When God said, "Thou shalt not commit adultery" (Exod 20:14) it had a two-fold meaning as well! It meant with another person, or with God!

Fornication is not only intercourse with another person but with other gods (Exod 20:3). That is validated by "we be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God (John 8:41 ). Since Jesus is the groom and the Church his bride, it is adulterous to fornicate with other gods. (This is called syncretism and will be discussed tomorrow). Purity in sexuality and fidelity in a marriage are symbolic of faithfulness and fidelity to God. The following, thus has, a two-fold meaning:

Prov 5:3 For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: 4 But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. 5 Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.

Therein, Solomon knew the power of women. They were his "thorn in the side", so to speak. His infidelity with women led him for awhile to fornicate against God. God's desire is that we have him. not only as our first love, but only godly love. We are not to even love others more than God:

Rev 2:4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

That two-edge sword will have a use. It's the Word which separates those who were faithful to God from those who were unfaithful! When Jesus serves divine justice, those with his Spirit shall be saved, and those with empty souls will suffer eternal death. We can leave our first love. That is apostasy! This was said to the church at Ephesus but applied to all generations and all peoples. (More on that later.)

Jesus will mete out justice. Indeed, he is to be loved and feared. The end of days has two outcomes. Love and justice provides two very different rewards. What is coming is a great day for some and a terrible one for others. The two-edged sword decides the outcome:

Joel 2:31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come.