Which other Bible verses discuss God's judgment using the metaphor of a cup? Psalm 75:8—The Starting Point “For a cup is in the hand of the LORD, full of foaming wine mixed with spices; He pours from it, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to the dregs.” Old-Testament Passages That Echo the Cup of Judgment • Isaiah 51:17 – “Awake, awake! Rise up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of His wrath; you who have drained to the dregs the goblet that makes men stagger.” • Isaiah 51:22 – “See, I have taken the cup of staggering, the goblet of My wrath, out of your hand; you will never drink it again.” • Jeremiah 25:15-17 – “Take from My hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it… So I took the cup from the LORD’s hand and made all the nations drink.” • Jeremiah 49:12 – “If those not sentenced to drink the cup must drink it, can you go unpunished? You must surely drink.” • Lamentations 4:21 – “Rejoice and be glad, O Daughter Edom… Yet the cup will pass to you as well; you will become drunk and stripped naked.” • Ezekiel 23:31-34 – “You will drink your sister’s cup, deep and wide… a cup of horror and desolation… you will drink it and drain it.” • Habakkuk 2:16 – “The cup in the LORD’s right hand will come around to you, and utter disgrace will cover your glory.” • Obadiah 16 – “Just as you drank on My holy mountain, so all the nations will drink continually; they will drink and gulp down and be as though they had never been.” • Zechariah 12:2 – “I will make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples.” How the Prophets Use the Image • The cup is in God’s hand—He controls when and to whom it is served. • Its contents are always the “wine of wrath,” causing staggering, desolation, and shame. • Nations and individuals alike must drink; no one sidesteps divine justice. • For God’s people, the cup can be removed (Isaiah 51:22), foreshadowing redemption. The Cup in the Life of Christ • Matthew 26:39 – “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” • Mark 14:36 – “Abba, Father… take this cup from Me.” • Luke 22:42 – “Father, if You are willing, take this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” • John 18:11 – “Put the sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given Me?” Jesus voluntarily drinks the very cup of wrath described in the prophets, satisfying God’s justice on behalf of believers. The Final Outpouring in Revelation • Revelation 14:10 – “He will also drink the wine of God’s anger, poured full strength into the cup of His wrath.” • Revelation 16:19 – “God remembered Babylon the great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of His wrath.” • Revelation 18:6 – “Pay her back double… mix her a double portion in her own cup.” Putting the Thread Together • From Psalm 75:8 forward, Scripture pictures judgment as a cup—measured, personal, inescapable. • Prophets warn, Christ absorbs the cup for all who trust Him, and Revelation shows the final, unmitigated outpouring on those who refuse His salvation. • The consistency of this metaphor across centuries underscores both the certainty of judgment and the depth of mercy offered in the gospel. |
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