“Get ready to face my judgment” (4:12)

Richard Bauckham, PhD Professor Emeritus University of

Andrews Senior scholar at Cambridge “Jesus and the Eyewitnesses” “The Theology of Revelation”

JudahJudah ProphetsProphets IsraelIsrael

931 BC931 BC RehoboamRehoboam JeroboamJeroboam

AbijahAbijah NadabNadab

900 BC900 BC Asa*Asa* BaashaBaasha

850 BC850 BC Jehoshaphat*Jehoshaphat* ElijahElijah Zimri, Omri, Zimri, Omri, Ahab, Ahaziah, Ahab, Ahaziah, JoramJoram

800 BC800 BC Jehoram*, Ahaziah, Jehoram*, Ahaziah, Queen Athaliah, Queen Athaliah, Joash*Joash*

ElishaElisha

JonahJonah

AmosAmos

Jehoahaz, Jehoahaz, Jehoash, Jehoash, Jeroboam IIJeroboam II

750 BC750 BC AmaziahAmaziah, , UzziahUzziah, , AhazAhaz

HoseaHosea

MicahMicah

IsaiahIsaiah

Zechariah, Zechariah, Shallum, Shallum, Menahem, Menahem, PekahiahPekahiah

722 BC722 BC Hezekiah*Hezekiah* IsaiahIsaiah Pekah, HosheaPekah, Hoshea

“These are the words of Amos, a shepherd from the town of Tekoa. Two years before the earthquake, when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam son of Jehoash was king of Israel, God revealed to Amos all these things about Israel.” (Amos 1:1)

750 BC

“You will flee as your ancestors did when the earthquake struck in the time of King Uzziah of Judah.” (Zechariah 14:5)

“Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, then sent a report to King Jeroboam of Israel: ‘Amos is plotting against you among the people. His speeches will destroy the country. This is what he says: ‘Jeroboam will die in battle, and the people of Israel will be taken away from their land into exile.’ Amaziah then said to Amos, ‘That’s enough, prophet! Go on back to Judah and do your preaching there. Let them pay you for it. Don’t prophesy here at Bethel any more. This is the king’s place of worship, the national temple.’

Amos answered, ‘I am not the kind of prophet who prophesies for pay. I am a herdsman, and I take care of fig trees. But the LORD took me from my work as a shepherd and ordered me to come and prophesy to his people Israel. So now listen to what the LORD says. You tell me to stop prophesying, to stop raving against the people of Israel. And so, Amaziah, the LORD says to you, ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your children will be killed in war. Your land will be divided up and given to others, and you yourself will die in a heathen country. And the people of Israel will certainly be taken away from their own land into exile.’” (Amos 7:10-17)

“…a series of judgment speeches…a long oracle of judgment” (The Hebrew Prophets, pg. 24)

“The LORD says, ‘The people of Damascus have sinned again and again, and for this I will certainly punish them. They treated the people of Gilead with savage cruelty. So I will send fire upon the palace built by King Hazael and I will burn down the fortresses of King Benhadad. I will smash the city gates of Damascus and remove the inhabitants of Aven Valley and the ruler of Betheden. The people of Syria will be taken away as prisoners to the land of Kir.” (Amos 1:3-5 GNB)

“King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah of Israel attacked Jerusalem and besieged it, but could not defeat Ahaz.” (2 Kings 16:5)

“Ahaz sent men to Tiglath Pileser, the emperor of Assyria, with this message: ‘I am your devoted servant. Come and rescue me from the kings of Syria and of Israel, who are attacking me…Tiglath Pileser, in answer to Ahaz' plea, marched out with his army against Damascus, captured it, killed King Rezin, and took the people to Kir as prisoners.” (2 Kings 16:9)

732 BC

“The LORD says, ‘The people of Damascus

have sinned again and again, and for this I will certainly punish them. They treated the

people of Gilead with savage cruelty. So I will send fire upon the palace built by King Hazael

and I will burn down the fortresses of King

Benhadad. I will smash the city gates of Damascus and remove the inhabitants of Aven Valley and the ruler of Betheden. The people of Syria will be taken away as prisoners to the land of Kir.” (Amos 1:3-5 GNB)

The LORD says, "The people of Tyre have

sinned again and again, and for this I will certainly punish them. They carried off a whole nation into exile in the land of Edom, and did not keep the treaty of

friendship they had made. So I will send fire upon the city walls of Tyre and burn down its fortresses." (Amos 1:9-10)

The LORD says, "The people of Edom have sinned again and again, and for this

I will certainly punish them. They hunted down their relatives, the Israelites, and showed them no mercy. Their anger had

no limits, and they never let it die. So I will send fire upon the city of Teman and burn down the fortresses of Bozrah." (Amos 1:11-12)

“…will themselves drink God's wine, the wine of his fury, which he has poured at full strength into the cup of his anger! All who do this will be tormented in fire and sulfur before the holy angels and the Lamb. The smoke of the fire that torments them goes up forever and ever. There is no relief day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, for anyone who has the mark of its name.” (Revelation 14:10-11)

“In Revelation, Jesus is a prize-fighter with a tattoo down His leg, a sword in His hand and the commitment to make someone bleed. That is the guy I can worship. I cannot worship the hippie, diaper, halo Christ because I cannot worship a guy that I can beat up.” Evangelist

“The rivers of Edom will turn into tar, and the soil will turn into sulfur. The whole country will burn like tar. It will burn day and night, and smoke will rise from it forever. The land will lie waste age after age, and no one will ever travel through it again.” (Isaiah 34:9-10)

The LORD says, "The people of Ammon

have sinned again and again, and for this I will certainly punish them. In their wars for more territory they even ripped open

pregnant women in Gilead. So I will send fire upon the city walls of Rabbah and burn down its fortresses. Then there will be shouts on the day of battle, and the fighting will rage like a storm. Their king and his officers will go into exile." (Amos 1:13-15)

The LORD says, "The people of Moab have sinned again and again, and for this I will certainly punish them. They dishonored the bones of the king of Edom by burning them to ashes. I will send fire upon the land of Moab and burn down the fortresses of Kerioth. The people of Moab will die in the noise of battle while soldiers are shouting and trumpets are sounding. I will kill the ruler of Moab and all the leaders of the land." (Amos 2:1-3)

The LORD says, "The people of Judah have sinned again and again, and for this

I will certainly punish them. They have despised my teachings and have not kept my commands. They have been led astray by the same false gods that their

ancestors served. So I will send fire upon Judah and burn down the fortresses of Jerusalem." (Amos 2:4-5)

JudahJudah ProphetsProphets IsraelIsrael

931 BC931 BC RehoboamRehoboam JeroboamJeroboam

AbijahAbijah NadabNadab

900 BC900 BC Asa*Asa* BaashaBaasha

850 BC850 BC Jehoshaphat*Jehoshaphat* ElijahElijah Zimri, Omri, Zimri, Omri, Ahab, Ahaziah, Ahab, Ahaziah, JoramJoram

800 BC800 BC Jehoram*, Ahaziah, Jehoram*, Ahaziah, Queen Athaliah, Queen Athaliah, Joash*Joash*

ElishaElisha

JonahJonah

AmosAmos

Jehoahaz, Jehoahaz, Jehoash, Jehoash, Jeroboam IIJeroboam II

750 BC750 BC AmaziahAmaziah, , UzziahUzziah, , AhazAhaz

HoseaHosea

MicahMicah

IsaiahIsaiah

Zechariah, Zechariah, Shallum, Shallum, Menahem, Menahem, PekahiahPekahiah

722 BC722 BC Hezekiah*Hezekiah* IsaiahIsaiah Pekah, HosheaPekah, Hoshea

KingKing ProphetProphet

650650 ManassehManasseh

AmonAmon NahumNahum

JosiahJosiah Jeremiah, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, Jeremiah, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, EzekielEzekiel

JoahazJoahaz

600600 JehoiakimJehoiakim 605 – 1605 – 1stst invasion (Daniel) invasion (Daniel)

JehoiachinJehoiachin 597 – 2597 – 2ndnd invasion (Ezekiel) invasion (Ezekiel)

586586 ZedekiahZedekiah 586 – 3586 – 3rdrd invasion (Jeremiah) invasion (Jeremiah)

“I will fight against you with all my might, my anger, my wrath, and my fury. I will kill everyone living in this city; people and animals alike will die of a terrible disease…. Anyone who stays in the city will be killed in war or by starvation or disease. But those who go out and surrender to the Babylonians, who are now attacking the city, will not be killed; they will at least escape with their life. I have made up my mind not to spare this city, but to destroy it. It will be given over to the king of Babylonia, and he will burn it to the ground. I, the LORD, have spoken.” (Jeremiah 21:5,6,9-10)

“Listen to what I, the LORD, am saying. See that justice is done every day. Protect the person who is being cheated from the one who is cheating him. If you don’t, the evil you are doing will make my anger burn like a fire that cannot be put out. You, Jerusalem, are sitting high above the valleys, like a rock rising above the plain. But I will fight against you. You say that no one can attack you or break through your defenses. But I will punish you for what you have done. I will set your palace on fire, and the fire will burn down everything around it. I, the LORD, have spoken.” (Jeremiah 21:11-14 – GN)

“The LORD, the God of Israel, told me to go and say to King Zedekiah of Judah, ‘I, the LORD, will hand this city over to the king of Babylonia, and he will burn it down. (Jeremiah 34:2)

“The king of Babylonia looted the Temple, the Temple treasury, and the wealth of the king and his officials, and took everything back to Babylon. He burned down the Temple and the city, with all its palaces and its wealth, and broke down the city wall.” (2 Chronicles 36:18-19)

People of Israel, listen to this message which the LORD has spoken about you, the entire nation that he brought out of Egypt: "Of all the nations on earth, you are the only one I have known and cared for. That is what makes your sins so terrible, and that is why I must punish you for them." (Amos 3:1-2)

"So then, people of Israel, I am going to punish you. And because I am going to do this, get ready to face my judgment!" God is the one who made the mountains and created the winds. He makes his thoughts known to people; he changes day into night. He walks on the heights of the earth. This is his name: the LORD God Almighty! (Amos 4:12-13)

Go to the LORD, and you will live. If you do not go, he will sweep down like fire on the people of Israel. The fire will burn up the people of Bethel, and no one will be able to put it out. You are doomed, you that twist justice and cheat people out of their rights! The LORD made the stars, the Pleiades and Orion. He turns darkness into daylight and day into night. He calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the earth. His name is the LORD. He brings destruction on the mighty and their strongholds. (Amos 5:6-9)

I had another vision from the LORD. In it I saw him standing beside a wall that had been built with the use of a plumb line, and there was a plumb line in his hand. He asked me, "Amos, what do you see?" "A plumb line," I answered. Then he said, "I am using it to show that my people are like a wall that is out of line. I will not change my mind again about punishing them. The places where Isaac's descendants worship will be destroyed. The holy places of Israel will be left in ruins. I will bring the dynasty of King Jeroboam to an end." (Amos 7:7-9)

I saw the Lord standing by the altar. He gave the command: "Strike the tops of the Temple columns so hard that the foundation will shake. Break them off and let them fall on the heads of the people. I will kill the rest of the people in war. No one will get away; not one will escape. Even if they dig their way down to the world of the dead, I will catch them. Even if they climb up to heaven, I will bring them down. If they hide on the top of Mount Carmel, I will search for them and catch them. If they hide from me at the bottom of the sea, I will command the sea monster to bite them.

If they are taken away into captivity by their enemies, I will order them to be put to death. I am determined to destroy them, not to help them." The Sovereign LORD Almighty touches the earth, and it quakes; all who live there mourn. The whole world rises and falls like the Nile River. The LORD builds his home in the heavens, and over the earth he puts the dome of the sky. He calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the earth. His name is the LORD! (Amos 9:1-6)

In the Bible, God is frequently described as “doing” what he instead “allows” to happen

God will speak a language that we can understand

“The LORD's spirit left Saul, and an evil spirit sent by the LORD tormented him.” (1 Samuel 16:14 GNB)

“The next day an evil spirit from God suddenly took control of Saul, and he raved in his house like a madman.” (1 Samuel 18:10-12 GNB)

“One day an evil spirit from the LORD took control of Saul. He was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, and David was there, playing his harp.” (1 Samuel 19:9 GNB)

“Abigail went back to Nabal, who was at home having a feast fit for a king. He was drunk and in a good mood, so she did not tell him anything until the next morning. Then, after he had sobered up, she told him everything. He suffered a stroke and was completely paralyzed. Some ten days later the LORD struck Nabal and he died.” (1 Samuel 25:36-38 GNB)

“By the living LORD,’ David continued, ‘I know that the LORD himself will kill Saul, either when his time comes to die a natural death or when he dies in battle.’” (1 Samuel 26:10 GNB)

“So the LORD killed him…” (1 Chronicles 10:14)

“The LORD was angry at Israel again, and he made David think it would be a good idea to count the people in Israel and Judah.” (2 Samuel 24:1)

“Satan wanted to bring trouble on the people of Israel, so he made David decide to take a census.” (1 Chronicles 21:1)

“I create both light and darkness; I bring both blessing and disaster. I, the LORD, do all these things.” (Isaiah 45:7 GNB)

“You have heard it said….but now I tell you…”

“I do not call you servants any longer, because servants do not know what their master is doing. Instead, I call you friends.” (John 15:15)

“I have much more to tell you, but now it would be too much for you to bear.” (John 16:12)

“I have used figures of speech to tell you these things. But the time will come when I will not use figures of speech, but will speak to you plainly about the Father.” (John 16:25)

NRS John 3:17 "Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. 20 For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. 21 But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God."1

“Unbelief, by shutting the door on God’s love, turns his love into judgment. For this is the meaning of judgment, that man shuts himself off from God’s love. There would be no judgment at all were it not for the event of God’s love. And with the mission of the Son this judgment has become a present reality.” (The Gospel of John, Bultmann, pg 154)

NRS John 5:22 The Father judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son, 23 so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. 24 Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgment, but has passed from death to life.

NRS John 9:39 Jesus said, "I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind." 40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, "Surely we are not blind, are we?" 41 Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, 'We see,' your sin remains.

“Once again the coming of the Revealer into this world is described as judgment. And according to this saying the judgment consists in a radical reversal of the human condition: the blind will receive sight and the seeing will become blind.” (Bultmann, 340)

NRS John 12:44 Then Jesus cried aloud: "Whoever believes in me believes not in me but in him who sent me. 45 And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. 46 I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness. 47 I do not judge anyone who hears my words and does not keep them, for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 The one who rejects me and does not receive my word has a judge; on the last day the word that I have spoken will serve as judge, 49 for I have not spoken on my own, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment about what to say and what to speak.

What is the “word” that will be the judge on “the last day”?

In context:Believing Jesus’ revelation of the

Father

“In the beginning the Word already existed; the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)

“So the Word became human and made His home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen His glory, the glory of the Father's one and only Son.” (John 1:14)

“No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is Himself God, is near to the Father's heart. He has revealed God to us.” (John 1:18)

“This is eternal life: to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent. On earth I have given you glory by finishing the work you gave me to do…I made your name known to the people you gave me.” (John 17:3-6)

The LORD says, "When Israel was a child, I loved him and called him out of Egypt as my son. But the more I called to him, the more he turned away from me. My people sacrificed to Baal; they burned incense to idols. Yet I was the one who taught Israel to walk. I took my people up in my arms, but they did not acknowledge that I took care of them. I drew them to me with affection and love. I picked them up and held them to my cheek; I bent down to them and fed them.

"They refuse to return to me, and so they must return to Egypt, and Assyria will rule them. War will sweep through their cities and break down the city gates. It will destroy my people because they do what they themselves think best. They insist on turning away from me. They will cry out because of the yoke that is on them, but no one will lift it from them. "How can I give you up, Israel? How can I abandon you? Could I ever destroy (give you up) you as I did Admah, or treat you as I did Zeboiim? My heart will not let me do it! My love for you is too strong. I will not punish you in my anger; I will not destroy Israel again. For I am God and not a mere human being. I, the Holy One, am with you. I will not come to you in anger. (Hosea 11:1-9)