Studies in the Book of Revelation

The Glorious Return of Jesus Christ

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In Revelation 19, John is given an awesome and terrifying vision of the majesty of Christ in His second coming to destroy His enemies.

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The Glorious Return of Jesus Christ

Revelation 19:11-21

What is the message of the book of Revelation?  Let’s recap and take a quick look at the entire book.

Chapter 1:  a vision of the resurrected Christ in His glory

Chapters 2 & 3:  7 letters to 7 existing churches in the first century, commending them for their faithfulness and exhorting them to endure to the end.

Chapters 4-5:  a vision of the exalted Jesus slitting the seals of God’s book containing His sovereign purpose and plan

Chapters 6-9 and 14-18:  visions that describe God’s judgment upon Jerusalem and the transition from the Old Covenant people of God to the New Covenant people of God

Chapters 10-13:  this is the “little book” right in the middle of the entire book describing events which will take place throughout church history. They include Satan using government persecution and religious deception to attack the church. It also includes the witness of the church empowered by the Holy Spirit to all the nations.

Chapter 19:7-10: this describes the marriage supper of the Lamb. This marriage supper began at the death and resurrection of Christ and it has been going on ever since. All people who are converted have accepted the invitation to come into the Kingdom of God and the wedding feast. The church is called to go everywhere and invite people to come to the feast.

That brings us to 19:11-21.  What happens at the end of the wedding feast?  What happens when the wedding feast is finally over?  The Bride and the Groom consummate their marriage in physical intimacy. What happens at the end of the marriage supper of the Lamb?  Jesus Christ returns to consummate His marriage to the Bride with a physical union. We shall see Him face to face, and shall always be wit the Lord.

That is what we see in this final passage.  At the heart of this vision, we find a glorious majestic person – the King of kings and Lord of lords returning to judge His enemies. Of course, it is a vision of the return of Jesus Christ.

Revelation 19:10 contains a rebuke and a command. The angel told John, “Don’t worship me, worship God.” Direct your adoration to the proper object of worship. It is no coincidence that we are immediately and abruptly directed to this One who is the proper object of our worship – the returning King.

As we work our way through this passage, I want you to see 5 things about Jesus Christ:

1. His Emblems: (white horse, eyes flame of fire, many diadems on head, robe dipped in blood, two-edged sword)
2. His Names: Faithful and True, Word of God, King of kings…, Unknown Name
3. His Works: judges and wages war, strike down nations, rule with rod of iron, treads wine press of fierce wrath of God the Almighty
4. His Armies: (in heaven, fine linen white and clean)
5. His Outcomes: Beast and False Prophet thrown into lake of fire; rest killed

1. His Emblems

“And I saw heaven opened…”  In chapter 4 John saw a door standing open in heaven that he might be admitted into God’s secret counsels.  Now, it’s not just a door, but all of heaven is opened, that John might see this majestic Lord descending with His armies to conquer His enemies. Heaven holds no more secrets, so it is busted wide open so that John might see the ultimate and final expressions of God’s purposes.

What follows are 4 emblems that help us to see His glory. These emblems are symbols that point to His majesty.

1. He is Sitting on a White Horse (11). When Julius Caesar won a military campaign he would return and enter Rome riding on a chariot drawn by four white horses. Those white horses became symbols for military power, glory, and victory.  He is not riding a donkey, as Christ did when he entered Jerusalem. Why? Because Christ did not enter Jerusalem as a military conqueror. He entered as a suffering Savior. However, when He returns, it will be as a mighty victory over all His enemies.  John sees Christ riding on a great white steed, and so even before John sees the one on the horse, he already knows that He is the champion and the victory is certain.
2. His Eyes Are a Flame of Fire (12). We have already seen this as a description of the risen Christ in chapter 1, verse 14. This points to Christ’s omniscience. He can see much more than anyone else can. His discerning scrutiny is laser like. He is able to bore through all outward appearance and perfectly discern the thoughts and intentions of the deepest recesses of the heart. He cannot be deceived because He knows all and sees all.
3. On His Head are many Diadems (12). A diadem is a crown. Of course, John is not trying to get us to believe that Jesus is going to literally come back riding on a white horse, balancing many different crowns on his head. These are symbols. But they have a profound meaning. A crown is a symbol for royalty, sovereignty. The fact that Jesus is seen here wearing many crowns points to the fact that He rules and reigns over all the kingdoms of this world. In fact, back in Revelation 11:15 we heard loud voices in heaven crying out, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.” Christ reigns over the U.S. and Canada and Mexico and Argentina, and China, and Israel and Russia and the African nations, and every other people group of the world.
4. He is Clothed with a Robe Dipped in Blood (13). This is probably intended to portray Christ as the One triumphs over His enemies. The blood is theirs, not His own. In verse 15 it says “He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.”  This picture of treading a wine press is borrowed from Isaiah 63:1-6,

“Who is this who comes from Edom,
With garments of ^[a]glowing colors from Bozrah,
This One who is majestic in His apparel,
^[b]Marching in the greatness of His strength?
“It is I, the One who speaks in righteousness, mighty to save.”
² Why is Your apparel red,
And Your garments like one who treads in the wine press?
³ “I have trodden the wine trough alone,
And from the peoples there was no one with Me.
I also trod them in My anger
And trampled them in My wrath;
And their ^[c]lifeblood is sprinkled on My garments,
And I ^[d]stained all My clothes.
⁴ For the day of vengeance was in My heart,
And My year of redemption has come.
⁵ I looked, but there was no one to help,
And I was astonished and there was no one to uphold;
So My own arm brought salvation to Me,
And My wrath upheld Me.
⁶ I trampled down the peoples in My anger
And made them drunk with My wrath,
And I ^[e]poured out their lifeblood on the earth.”

Christ wearing a robe dipped in blood points to the reality that when He comes the door of mercy has been shut forever. Now, it is time for justice and wrath. Those that have opposed Him and rebelled against Him will be judged.

From all of these emblems of Christ, we discover that His victory is assured beyond all doubt.

2. His Names

2. Faithful and True (11). In Revelation 3:14 Jesus is given this title, “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this…”  Now, however, the “witness” part is left off, and He is simply called “Faithful and True.”  He will be faithful to be God’s Judge and Executioner. To what is He faithful and true?  To His Word.  God’s Word contains promises and threats. Jesus Christ will be faithful and true to fulfill both. He is fulfilling His promises right now during the church age. When He returns, He will be faithful and true to fulfill His threats of judgment on His enemies.  In 2 Timothy 2:12-13 we read, “If we deny Him, He also will deny us; if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.”  He can’t go back on His Word of judgment, because He would have to deny Himself. His nature is that of faithfulness to His Word.
3. The Word of God (13). Where else in the Bible is Jesus referred to as The Word? It is in the opening of the gospel by the same author (John 1:1,14,18).  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us… No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.”  The title, “Word of God” points to Christ’s absolute Deity. He is the revelation of the Father. And in this second coming, Jesus will make God known in His fulness, including His judgment and wrath to His enemies.
4. King of kings and Lord of lords (16). The word “and” here probably has the meaning of “even.”  And on His robe, even on His thigh He has a name written…”  In other words, on His robe, the part that covers His thigh, there is something written for all to see.  He is the supreme ruler over all other earthly rulers.  Whether it is the Pharoah, the Caesars, the kings of Babylon and Greece, England, and Europe, George Washington, Marx, Lenin, Mao Tse Tung, Sadam Houssein, Hitler, Stalin, etc. Every earthly ruler is ruled by this heavenly Ruler!
5. A Name Written on Him that no one Knows except Himself (12). Of course it is foolish to try to speculate about what that name is, because we are told no one knows except Him! However, it may be possible that this name may not be hidden forever. Perhaps it will be revealed after His work is finished at His second coming. Revelation 22:4 says, “they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.”  Perhaps this name written on our foreheads will be this Name that we can’t even understand or imagine until His work is concluded.

3. His Works  – 4 Striking Statements

1. He Judges and Wages War (11). He is not coming to suffer, to make peace, to offer Himself as a propitiatory sacrifice. He is coming as Judge and Warrior!
2. He Strikes Down the Nations (15). This is taken from Isaiah 11:4, “And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.” How does He strike down the nations?  Isaiah says it will be with the “rod of His mouth.”  John says it will be with a “sharp sword that comes from His mouth” (15). What is this sharp sword from His mouth? Of course it is His Word. Heb. 4:12 “For the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword.”  How will Jesus use His word to smite the nations?  John 12:48 “He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has One who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.”  The Word of Christ will be brought out as the instrument of judgment on that day!
3. He Rules them with a Rod of Iron (15). This is taken from Psalm 2:8-9, “Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.”  This is not talking about Jesus forcing the wicked to submit to Him. It is talking about Jesus destroying them.
4. He Will Tread the Wine Press of the Fierce Wrath of God the Almighty (15). This image is borrowed from Is. 63 which we have already referred to. The reason His robe is dipped in blood is because the blood of His enemies has been splattered on His robes. It is a picture of fierce judgment.

4. His Armies

1. In Heaven (14). Since these armies are in heaven, they must be either angels or redeemed souls.
2. Clothed in Fine Linen, White and Clean (14). Who have we already seen in heaven clothed in fine linen, white and clean?  Look back at 19:8 “It was given to her (the Bride) to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean.”  These armies are sinners redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, who now constitute His soldiers.
3. Following Him on White Horses. Back in 14:4, the Church is described as “These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes.”  The Church is a lot like my dog Banjo. If I am at home, you almost bet that you will find him wherever you find me. He’s my little shadow. The church is like that with Christ. We follow Him on that great and final day. We follow Him into the New Heaven and New Earth. Revelation 17:14 says, “those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.”

Why are we there?  He is the One who judges, makes war, strikes the nations, treads the wine press.  We wear no armor and possess no weapons. We do nothing – except watch and worship. Christ, our Representative, does everything.

5. His Outcomes

1. The Great Supper of God (17-18). There are 2 suppers in this chapter.  The Marriage Supper of the Lamb, for the saints.  Then there is the Great Supper of God for the wicked. The saints partake of a supper. The wicked become the supper. They are fed on by the birds of prey, scavenger birds, like vultures and eagles. Who will be there? Kings, commanders, mighty men, horses, all men both free and slaves, small and great. In other words, everyone will be there. That is everyone who has not washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb.  This is a graphic vision meant to depict God’s awful judgment upon the wicked at Christ’s second coming.

Why all of these corpses littered all over the battlefield? All are exposed and unburied. All are destroyed, so there are none left to do the work of burial. Also, for a body to be left out in the open for the wild animals and birds to consume was considered the greatest dishonor in the ancient world. It was also seen as the curse of God Himself. Finally, it would seem to be God’s just retribution. You will recall that the Beast makes war on the 2 witnesses and kills them and allows their dead bodies to lie in the streets. Now, God decides to allow these dead bodies to be picked apart by the birds in the open fields.

Not only that, but the word “flesh” occurs 5 times in verse 18! And the Greek is in the plural. Literally it is “fleshes”. This gives us the gruesome picture of ripped flesh, torn flesh.

Of course, this is not to be taken literally. It is a vision to give us a graphic picture of the awful judgment of God to come upon the ungodly.

Is God unjust?  No! These are not innocent people who have done nothing wrong. They are sinners who will not repent and put their faith in Jesus. These are not sinners that want to repent and get right with God. Throughout the book of Revelation we are told that the sinners on earth would not repent, even in the midst of judgments.

1. The Final Battle (19-21). 2 Armies Collide!  The Beast, and kings of earth, and their armies make war with Jesus and His army.  What is the outcome? Was there any doubt? All His enemies are banished!  Beast, False Prophet, those who worshiped image of the Beast.

Notice there is no protracted struggle.  There is no progress and regress, day after day, month after month, until one side finally emerges victorious, as we see in our modern warfare. The brevity of this struggle is astounding. In the blink of an eye, the Beast and False Prophet are thrown into the lake of fire. Then the “rest” (unbelievers) were killed.

Is this how it ends for unbelievers?  A tragic physical death, but then no more?  No, not at all. They have an appointment at the Great White Throne and will be judged, and if their name is not found in the book of life, they too will be cast into the lake of fire.

Conclusion

1. You do not want to be an enemy of Jesus Christ! This is what happens to His enemies. If you refuse to wave the white flag of unconditional surrender, you will be destroyed by Christ. You will be judged and cast into the lake of fire.

All of us at one time were the enemies of God! Rom. 5:10 “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more we shall be saved by His life.”  We were enemies, but we were reconciled to God through the death of Christ. You may be His enemy this morning, but you too can be reconciled to God through the death of His Son.

You say, “Brian I’m not an enemy of God! I’m on friendly terms with God. I believe He exists, and I try to be a nice person and do good to others. Surely, I’m not His enemy.”  My friend, listen to Paul’s words in Romans 5:1, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  Unless you have been justified by faith, you do NOT have peace with God. You are at war with Him You are His enemy.  What does it mean to be justified by faith?  It means that you trust in Him alone for your eternal salvation. You don’t trust in yourself, or your good works to be saved. You don’t trust in the fact that you are a nice person, or do good to others. You know that your righteous standing before God comes only because of the righteousness of Christ put to your account through faith. You dare not trust in anything of yourself, because you know that your good deeds will never be good enough to save you.

Imagine you are on a plane, and an engine goes out, and you are going down.  The staff quickly give out parachutes to everyone. Now, if I say, “I am sure that this parachute works. It will open, and will save the person that uses it”, but never put the parachute on, it doesn’t matter if you believe in it or not. You are going to die! In order to be saved you have to put it on, jump and trust it to open and save you. So it is with Jesus. You have to personally put Him on, and trust Him to save you. Have you done that? You can do that right now. Will you?

2. God Will Restore Earth to Paradise. He is going to restore the earth to what it was like in the Garden of Eden before the fall. In order to do that, He must remove all who are opposed to him. So, in the book of Revelation, we see the villains begin to leave the stage.  The Great Harlot leaves in Revelation 18. The Beast from the sea and the Beast from the earth leave at the end of chapter 19.  The Devil leaves at 20:10.  Then all who are not saved finally leave at 20:15.  So, what’s left?  Only those who love God!  They are the ones who go into chapters 21 and 22 which describe the new heaven and the new earth. This is the eternal dwelling place of God with His people.

My friend, this evil and perverse world we live in is only temporary. Compared to eternity, it is the blink of an eye. It will be forever before we know it, and will only be a distant memory. What will be left?  God and His glory. The sweet will of God. The perfect attributes of God. Fellowship with God. The service of God. The worship of God. The fellowship of the saints. Only perfect will be left.  Long for that day!  Allow yourself to long for it! Groan for it! Paul says in Romans 8:23, “we, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.”

Long for His appearing!  Wait eagerly for it!  Amen.

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