Jehu and Armageddon

Well, having mentioned Left Behind in my first sermon, and had interesting responses, I figured, "Why not more?"

2 Kings 9 unfolds Jehu's ascension to the throne by killing the kings of Israel and Judah, who were allied together in wickedness. I was startled to find several allusions to the book of Revelation here. (More accurately, it is the other way around: Revelation refers to this chapter.)

Elisha's servant anoints Jehu king, proclaiming that he "may avenge the blood of My servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of Yahweh, at the hand of Jezebel" (vs7). Rev 6:10; 18:20,24; 19:2 for similar lingo. We find the sorceries of Jezebel in 2 Kings 9:22 and in Rev 2:20; 9:21.

But perhaps most intersting the Left Behind fans would be the Armageddon connection in 2 Kings 9:27. The king of Judah is wounded by Jehu and flees to Megiddo and dies there. Revelation 16:16 says this is where the kings of the earth will gather together to fight against the Lamb at the end (Armageddon is Hebrew for Megiddo Mountain). And sure enough - here are two kings allied together, and Jehu comes charging in destroying them to avenge the blood of the prophets killed under their reign.

The point? The history of God's people as found in the Bible helps us know how God acts today and will act in the future as well. Because God acts consistently with His world. Know the family history of God's people, so you will know who God is and how He deals with His world. Those who harm His people will be punished; those who claim allegiance to Him may suffer now, but will be vindicated.