Isaiah 63:3
I have trodden the winepress alone;
from the nations no one was with me.
I trampled them in my anger
and trod them down in my wrath;
their blood spattered my garments,
and I stained all my clothing. (NIV)
Today’s Reading: Isaiah 63:1-6
Isaiah 63 begins by painting the picture of a man coming from the land of Edom with garments stained crimson red. He is robed in splendor and he is mighty to save. This describes Jesus in that he is the King of kings robed in splendor and he has come from Edom which was historically an enemy of Israel. So he has come from the land of his enemies where he has executed his judgment on them.
So this isn’t a prophecy of Jesus first coming but of his second coming. When Jesus comes a second time, it will be in power to put an end to sin and death altogether. Isaiah 63 speaks of Jesus going into Edom alone and trampling his enemies in his wrath. Their blood has stained his clothes red. Jesus has come to judge the nations who have stood against him and execute God’s justice.
There are a couple of places in Revelation that sound very similar to Isaiah 63:1-6:
“Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?’” (Rev 6:15-17).
“I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” (Rev 19:11-16).
I think two phrases in these passages of Revelation are interesting. In Revelation 19, Jesus is called by name two times. Once he is called “Faithful and True” and another time he is called the “Word of God.” These names help us identify that this in fact is Jesus who is riding on the white horse, wearing a robe dipped in blood and coming to strike down his enemies. It’s interesting to me that John is the writer of Revelation who also opened his gospel with the same description of Jesus:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning” (John 1:1).
The other phrase I find interesting is in Revelation 6 where it describes this event as “the wrath of the Lamb.” I’m not sure anyone ever has been scared of a lamb. A mean and angry lamb is not intimidating to anyone. So the paradox of the wrath of the Lamb is interesting to me.
It seems to me that Jesus is still the Lamb when he comes in judgment. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords who will come to trample the nations and pour their blood on the ground. For his enemies, he is not a Lamb. He is the most powerful warrior the world has ever known.
But for his followers, he is still the Lamb. He is the one who takes away the sin of the world by sacrificing himself on the cross. He is the embodiment of love for those who call him Lord and Savior. So it depends on whose side you are on whether you see as the wrath of God or as the Lamb. For those of us who see him as the Lamb, Paul says this to us:
“With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thes 1:11-12).
Christ in the Old Testament 
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