Revelation 19:1-21 Part 10
REVELATION 19:1-21 Part 10
1) After these I heard as a great sound of a multitude in the heaven saying “halleluia the salvation and the glory and the power of our God,
2) for His judgments are true and just; for He judged the great harlot that corrupted the earth in her fornication and avenged His servants’ blood at her hand.”
3) Then again they declared “halleluia! Her smoke ascends into the ages of ages.”
4) Then the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped The God seated over the throne, saying “Amen! Halleluia!”
5) Then there came forth a sound from the throne saying, “all you His servants, the small and the great who are afeared, extol our God!”
6) Then I heard as sound of a multitude and as sound of many waters and as sound of mighty thunders saying “halleluia! Kurios the Almighty God reigns!
7) Rejoicing and celebrating we will give Him the glory, for the wedding feast of the Lamb did come! And His betrothed did ready herself!
8) And it was given to her that she be arrayed in pure, bright linen; for the fine linen is the righteousness of the holy ones.”
9) Then he says to me, “write: ‘blessed the ones called to the wedding feast of the Lamb’”; and says to me, “these true words are from God”.
10) And I fell before his feet to pay homage to him, and he says “see you not do that, for I am the fellow servant of you and your brothers who hold the testimony of Jesus; for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
11) Then I saw the heaven opened and, lo, a white horse; and seated upon it One called Faithful and True, and He judges and wages war in righteousness,
12) His eyes as flaming fire, many diadems on His head, having a written name that is known by no one but Him.
13) He was clothed about – the raiment blood-spattered, and His Name called The Word of God,
14) the armies in the heaven – clothed in pure white linen - following Him on white horses,
15) a sharp sword proceeding from His mouth, that with it He would smite the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron. And He treads the winepress of the wine of the wrath – the vengeance of Almighty God.
16) And He has a name written on His raiment and on His thigh: King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
17) Then I saw one messenger standing in the sun; and it cried out – a great sound – saying to all the birds flying in mid-heaven: “Come! Gather to the great feast of God
18) that you may eat the flesh of rulers, the flesh of commanders, the flesh of the strong, the flesh of horses and of those sitting upon them, the flesh of all – both free and slave, small and great.
19) Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered to wage war with the One sitting upon the horse and His army;
20) and the beast was seized (and with it the false prophet that did the signs before it by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and paid homage to its image); both were cast alive into the lake of fire, being burned in brimstone;
21) and the remaining ones were killed with the sword of the One sitting upon the horse – that which proceeded from His mouth; and all the birds were gorged from their flesh.
At His appearance He has a written Name. It is holy writ for all to see; a Name spoken previously by YAHVEH and written in His books of prophecy; a Name that the dragon, nor the beast, nor the false prophets of Israel, nor the ones remaining in the land know. They don’t know it, because it doesn’t belong to them; it only belongs to Him! That Name was written previously in the prophetic Word; and now it is written on His raiment and on His thigh in John’s sight of His imminent Parousia!
As John sees Him at His coming (as it was prophesied in Isaiah), His raiment is (present tense) blood spattered from treading the winepress of the vengeance of God. John is shown that Jesus Christ is the fullness of His Own Word… that He is the One Who executes the judgment that The Father pronounced on all those remaining in the land.
His red-stained raiment provides us the whole picture of Israel at the end of the age. She is, indeed, God’s vineyard that produced the “grapes of wrath”.
At His Parousia, the winepress is Israel – all remaining in the land. And He will “stomp” them in that winepress until all their blood is poured out on the land; for they are guilty of pouring out on the land the blood of all the righteous in history.
So, John sees Him with His raiment already blood-spattered. And He – alone – has red-stained raiment. All those following Him have pure, white linen for their raiment… no stains whatever!
Remember, the answer that came to Isaiah in the passage that we read, says “I will tread the winepress alone; of the people there was none with Me….”
Not only was He left completely alone at His trial and humiliation and suffering and death on the cross; but He is alone in the execution of The Father’s vengeance at His Parousia. None of the people helped Him in either case!
So, at His Parousia (as John writes), it was Him, alone, Who tread the winepress of the wine of the wrath of Almighty God. His people did not participate (their garments were not stained). It was His work, and His alone. “Vengeance is Mine”, said YAHVEH.
It was not for those redeemed by the blood of the Lamb to execute God’s vengeance upon the harlot that was betrothed to Him – only Kurios Almighty God the Son could do that. No one helped Him. He is “YESHUA”, the greater Joshua, Who did complete The Father’s will with regard to the land. He completely cleansed the land of all idolatry… destroying all, leaving nothing.
Later in the text we’ll see the vultures called in to clean up the mess; for there were none left to bury the dead. We’ll hear about that second feast next Lord’s Day.
But, first… the Sword; and the warriors! John is shown “many” following – also seated on white horses!
In the prophetic Word, the prophet Zechariah was shown horses and their riders waiting under a myrtle tree. There were colored horses; and there was a white horse. They were waiting there for the command from God. There was relative peace on earth at the time, but with dire warnings to Israel from YAHVEH regarding the end of the age to come. So the horses and their riders were waiting there for that day.
In chapter six of John’s Revelation, the Lamb of God opens the second, third and fourth seals of the scroll, and the horses (with their riders) receive their commands: “Come”! Their “wait” was over, for the time was near.
The rider of the white horse had the crown of the King of Kings and the covenantal bow over His head; and He came forth “overcoming and to overcome”. The colored horses, at the command from the throne of God, came forth; and their riders brought forth plagues and famine and death – as was promised by YAHVEH to come in the last days.
Here in our text (verses eleven through sixteen) John is shown the rider on the white horse once again… this time at His Parousia/appearance at the end of the age.
The One sitting on the white horse is the “Overcomer”, you remember, that John saw and recorded in chapter six. The colored horses that were shown to Zechariah (and then to John in chapter six) were led by the One on the white horse. Their riders were those of plagues and famine and death.
But the white horse is the sign of authority and righteousness and victory and dominion. And its Rider “led” the colored horses and their riders to do what they were to do. They were under His authority!
And now the One sitting on that white horse (John says here in chapter nineteen) is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His raiment being blood-spattered refers directly to His authority over the plagues and famine and death – the riders of the colored horses which He led out back in chapter six!
So, it was by His authority that Israel had suffered such vengeance in the horrific plagues and famines during the forty year interim between His crucifixion and His Parousia! And His raiment is stained red from treading the winepress.
John also says (here in our text) that He has many diadems on His head; He is called The Word of God; and He has a written Name: King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And He is followed by many (clothed-upon with pure, white linen) who are also seated on white horses. Their raiment isn’t stained red because they didn’t participate in the vengeance!
And now at verse fifteen John sees what he saw once before (as recorded in chapter one). From the mouth of the incarnate Word of God proceeds a sharp sword.
Heretofore (as our Lord prophesied to His disciples), during the forty years subsequent to His crucifixion and resurrection, there had been a great and terrible shaking of the heaven-and-earth paradise of God in which the mountains are removed, and the sun and moon and stars fall, and the waters turn to blood, and the animals and the fish and the crops are destroyed, and the people suffer hunger and thirst and awful plagues on their bodies, and family relationships turn to hatred and murder and cannibalism, and the false prophets arise, and they proclaim the beast as the false christ; and all those remaining in the land are further hardened to worship the beast… for it is the very image of the dragon that calls itself the ruler of the world.
Truly our Lord had been stomping the wine vat.
And now John sees Him as Daniel first saw Him, and as He appeared to John (as written in chapter one)… a sharp sword coming forth from His mouth at His Parousia.
The final judgment of the land is at hand.
As prophesied throughout the older Scripture, there would be a final falling away into idolatry; for all the land would adore the beast, which was the image of the dragon of old. Also prophesied through the Scripture comes “the sword” of vengeance.
After the plagues; after the famines, after all the persecution of those who our Lord came to seek and to save, after the false prophet and the falling away – when Israel’s sin had been filled up… comes the sword.
The beast that all the land worships as an image of the dragon, now turns on Israel (all by design) in an attempt to cut off the seed. The beast with all its armies, and with the conscripted armies of ten surrounding nations, made a wilderness of the entire land, laying siege to Jerusalem and pouring out the blood of every living being; and the judgment was worse than Sodom and Gomorrah; and the burning of the city sent its smoke all the way into the heaven where it satisfies the vengeance of Almighty God into eternity.
All of this is by the authority of the Word of God – the Sword proceeding from the mouth of Kurios Almighty God the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ at His Parousia. It is what John is shown to be near at hand!
And let no one deny that He is One and the same… the One Who spoke at the beginning: “let US make man in OUR Own image; the One Who (at the beginning of his Gospel) John proclaimed: “without Whom nothing was made that was made”; the One about Whom the Father warned: “kiss the Son (My King) lest you perish in the way”; the One Who, by God the Spirit, took the form of man and was born of a virgin; the One Who gave His body and poured out His blood for His people; the very One Who said: “should you deny Me, I will deny you before My Father in the heaven”.
It is the risen and ascended Jesus Christ Who has tread the winepress (as His blood-spattered raiment so testifies); and by the authority of His Sword, the vengeance of God is satiated and Israel ceases to exist. It is all His purpose; and it is all by His authority (as you can see). And the Churches would be comforted and assured when they read these words. And should you deny Him, you will perish in the way.
But there is more, you see… much more having to do with His Sword as we will hear. All else to come is in accordance with, and subsequent to, the judgment upon the land.
Before we immerse ourselves in our Lord’s further work, let’s make sure we see the contrast, one more time, between what John previously saw (as recorded in chapter six), and what He is shown here in Chapter nineteen.
In chapter six, at the Lamb’s opening of the seals, the Rider on the white horse is clearly the King of Kings and Keeper of the covenant. He has the crown; and the covenantal bow is over His Head.
As He leads the riders on the colored horses, it is with complete authority and purpose that He brings forth plagues and famine and death upon the land (as our Lord said would come to be when He spoke these things to His disciples).
But please note that John did not say that He saw the Sword proceeding from His mouth. At that time, John was not yet shown the day of YAHVEH’s vengeance… only those things (that He told His disciples) that would occur before His Parousia!
But here in chapter nineteen, the One seated on the white horse is that same Person, but He now has the sharp sword proceeding from His mouth. And those following Him are all on white horses - their garments of pure white linen. And there are no longer any riders of colored horses!
The plagues, you see, have already come (as John sees Him here); the famines and plagues have already come; the false prophet has already come; the false christ has already come…. And now, as John looks on, what is about to come is the sword of vengeance.
This IS His Parousia that John is shown (in advance of His appearing). It is the Sword of vengeance that is about to be wielded in the last day. And all the land will suffer the blood of all the righteous in history. And the false prophet and the imitation christ will be immersed in the lake of fire (immersion, all through Scripture, being God’s sign of the flood of judgment).
Now. For the remainder of our time this morning, let’s just concentrate on the Sword proceeding from the mouth of God the Son - the Savior of the world.
We’ve already heard that the Sword of the Christ is the instrument of God’s day of vengeance. Judgment of Israel was pronounced by God in chapter eighteen, and that judgment is implemented by The Christ at His Parousia; and the Sword (as prophesied all through Scripture) is the means by which that final judgment is carried out.
And as we pursue the Scriptures with regard to the Sword, let’s not forget that our Lord’s nature includes jealousy for the Father’s glory! And that the Sword proceeding from His mouth never loses its judgmental character – even though the work of judgment upon the land would be complete. He – God the Son – is “zealous” to glorify the Father!
We’re going to hear the Scripture concerning our Lord’s further work with regard to the Sword of His mouth; but just because the final judgment of Israel was by the Sword doesn’t, in any way, mean that The Lord’s essential nature is thereafter changed. The vengeance of Almighty God poured out upon the land at Jesus’ Parousia doesn’t mean that somehow the judgmental character of His Sword has been spent! It doesn’t mean that He’s been “emptied” of judgment; and it doesn’t mean that the Sword of His mouth now takes on an all new work that’s exclusive of judgment!
Surely there is the further work of the Christ, since He has been given the nations as His inheritance. It is the further work of the Christ that those nations and tribes and tongues (even to the farthest and most obscure islands) will acknowledge Him – to the glory of the Father. And surely it is by the Sword of His mouth that all of this will be accomplished.
However (as I said, and as we’ll hear in the Scripture) it must not be assumed that judgment has now been consumed and is no longer employed as the Word of God proceeds to accomplish all of His further work!
And we mustn’t forget that our Lord has been given complete authority over the heaven and all its creatures, and the earth and all its creatures (on it and under it), or that there is this “dragon” that still calls itself the earth’s ruler!
And even though the false prophet of Israel, and the image of itself that it raised up for them to worship, have been “immersed” in the judgment of God at Jesus’ Parousia, the dragon of old – even though severely restricted in its own “domain”, still thrashes about in vengeance – seeking to limit the full manifestation of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ!
Even though it has been suckered and fooled and misled and defrauded at every turn, it continues to “cast about” for some advantage… always trying to raise up new “beasts” and new “false prophets” to compete for (what it considers) its domain.
Until our Lord’s Parousia, you see, the dragon was given free reign among the Gentile nations! And I say “given”; but, even then, it was scammed into doing exactly what YAHVEH purposed!
But at our Lord’s appearance at the end of the age, it all changed! He is God The Word and the prophesied Savior of the world. And by the Sword of His mouth His Kingdom will reflect His glory… and all to the glory of the Father.
The Sword of His mouth….
The Sword is the prophetic Word of God; and it comes forth from the mouth of the One Who IS that Word. It is both creative and dynamic; and It brings to pass all that has been spoken!
A few minutes ago we were considering that which occurred at the beginning. And the great theologian that he was, John is clear in his Gospel that Jesus Christ is The Word. He is the One Who, in the beginning “spoke”, and was “spoken”; and all that “is” came “to be”.
And God the Word “was made flesh and dwelt among us”.
And all through the Scripture we’re made aware of the prophetic “Word of God”. Creative and dynamic as It is, It brings to pass that which has been spoken! That’s why we can be so confident that what we read is Faithful and True and perfectly consistent. All that has been spoken will be brought to be… because it has been spoken! And that which comes to be is described (as in John’s Revelation) in the same language in which it was spoken!
John was told that he was to “prophesy” once last time. And we know that his prophecy is the written Word of God which he received; and it is, in every way, consistent with all other prophecy; and it is concerning the things which are shortly to come to pass – all of which had been spoken previously. And it all will come to pass because it has been spoken! The prophetic Word of God is “creative”; and it brings to pass all that it pronounces!
Once again, that Word of God was made flesh; and HE dwelt among us: and He was called “Jesus”.
Here John sees Him in all His ascended glory; and the Sword from His mouth is His creative and dynamic spoken Word that will accomplish all that has been spoken. And that Sword confirms that Jesus Christ is the One Who is spoken from the beginning. God the Word was made flesh; He bodily arose out of death and the grave; He ascended bodily through the tabernacle in the heaven – into the Presence of Almighty God the Father; and John sees Him with the Word coming forth from His mouth.
He IS the prophecy. The words of the false prophet are those of a “beast”; they are completely ineffectual. But the Word of God performs – accomplishes - all that it was spoken to do.
The Sword of His mouth not only enforces and achieves the judgment pronounced upon the harlot Israel; but that same Word also pursues and actualizes that which has been previously spoken with regard to the nations and peoples and tribes and tongues of the earth.
That Sword relentlessly pursues every enemy of God and denier of the Christ of God.
Listen to Isaiah at chapter forty-nine:
1) Listen to me, O you islands, and give attention, you peoples far away. YAHVEH called Me from the womb, from the body of my mother He named My name.
2) He made my mouth as a sharp sword….
And from the prophecy of Hosea at chapter six:
4) What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes away early.
5) Therefore I will hew them down by the prophets; I will slay them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment will go forth as the light.
The mouths of the prophets are as sharp swords, because they’ve been given to speak the Word of God; and their words are two-edged swords that “slay” (on the one hand) and bring “light” (on the other)!
And we see here in our text that it is by the Sword of His mouth that He executes the pronounced judgment upon the land. It has been spoken previously, you see.
And it is by the Sword of His mouth that He will bring light to the nations!
He is “God The Son” – “The Word Of God”. That which proceeds from His mouth slays the wicked; and, (just as the dawn breaks forth in the East), that which proceeds from His mouth brings “light” to the nations.
The terms that are used by John here in verse fifteen are: to “smite”, and to “rule”. His Word is a Sword and a Rod in His mouth.
The peoples and tribes and tongues of all the islands and coastlands and faraway places on the earth must be “smitten” by the Word of God; and they will be ruled by His Law-word. It’s the same as we’ve heard previously when the Churches are told that they are to “hold the testimony of Jesus”, and they must “keep His Commandments”!
Note that all of those that are shown with Jesus are not only clothed with the white linen of His righteousness; but they, too, are seated on white horses. They are warriors in His Name. However, they do not have swords coming from their mouths! The Sword is HIS! What the warriors are to speak is HIS Word; for only the Word of God is sharper than any actual two-edged sword.
The only weapon that’s needed is the one weapon that “smites’ the nations… the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
It’s those who think that the sword comes from their mouths that expose themselves as false prophets. You see, the work of saving the world is His. His Word goes forth accomplishing all His purpose; and it won’t return unto Him void.
And that Word was especially applicable in His original Churches as well. The writer to the Jewish Christians in the Churches said this (Hebrews chapter four):
9) So there remains a Sabbath for the people of God,
10) for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from His.
11) Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.
12) For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul - of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
13) And no creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to Whom we must give account.
As warriors of His – covered in His righteousness, and riding white horses of His dominion – His people are the “messengers” from His mouth!
Just as it is all through the Scripture, the Word of God was sent by messengers flashing forth from the glory cloud – directly from God’s mouth – to bring the Word to men…. so His people are messengers to the nations… from His mouth. (Some don’t like the messages; some kill the messengers. But the purpose of the messages belongs to Him.) The “armies” of warriors following Jesus on white horses (here in our text) are “messengers”! They’re not shown as having swords. They speak all that proceeds from HIS mouth! That’s their task in the overcoming of the world!
Our Lord “overcomes” the nations by His mouth; He defeats the nations by His bare Word. And according to His Words to His disciples in Matthew twenty-four, it is immediately after the judgment of Jerusalem that His work in the nations begins.
And all nations are required to be Christian. Any nation that doesn’t submit to the rule of God the Son will perish. One day all the nations will submit and acknowledge Him as King of Kings. He is sovereign over all that has been given to Him; and He will be recognized and acknowledged as such!
The promise is right there in Psalm forty-six at verse ten:
“I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth.”
But, you see, the warriors with Him – following Him – are messengers. All the work is done by Him; for the Sword is His. It proceeds from His mouth and His alone.
And as He takes dominion over the tribes and tongues of the earth, His people share in that dominion. That dominion is by the rod of His mouth, for it is His holy Law-word. God’s Law IS the spoken Word, you see.
But for those who deny His Law-word, or seek to speak another law-word, or to speak their own law-word, there only comes dissipation and chaos… and judgment by the Sword of His mouth; for He IS the spoken Law-word of God!
Isaiah writes at chapter sixty and verse twelve: “the nation and kingdom that will not serve You shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted”.
His purpose will be done. His Kingdom will come here… as it is in the heaven. And it is not by your work; it isn’t by my work. So enter into His rest! It will be done by the Sword of His mouth; for He is eternally-begotten God the Son – The Word of God.