I Saw the Lord Standing upon the Altar (Amos 9:1)

2025-06-27

I saw the Lord standing upon the altar: and he said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered. (Amos 9:1)

This first half of this chapter shows the Lord on the altar pronouncing comprehensive judgment on His people. They shall find haven in neither heaven nor hell; He will find them, “as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth” (Amos 9:9).

However, there is a turn in the mood as the Lord proclaims to the prophet on the altar. “In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old: That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this” (Amos 9:11-12). James the brother of the Lord later quotes this at the Jerusalem council to show that saved Gentiles will be with the redeemed Jews (Acts 15:16-17).

While many will face judgment, at the same time many will be saved and live in the kingdom of God: all who “are called by my name.”