Revelation 19:11-21
What if the heavens were opened today? What would you see?[i] Revelation 19:11 gives us yet another indication of why this book is referred to as “The Revelation of Jesus Christ.” Across the ages, psalmists, saints and angels have prayed, “How long, O Lord, how long?” The dramatic passage before us today describes THE answer to so many of the prayers of God’s people.
In Isaiah 64:1, the prophet cried out to the Lord, “Oh that You would rend the heavens and come down!”
In Revelation 6:10, the martyrs cried out, “How long, O Lord, Holy and True, do You not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?”
THE CONQUEROR REVEALED
Let us carefully consider the names of the Mighty Conqueror in this passage:
In Revelation 19:11 we read John’s description: “And I saw heaven opened and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war.” The Conqueror is the Faithful and True Judge who will righteously make war; He is the Word of God, the King of kings and Lord of lords. Come, let us adore Him!
Faithful and True
To the congregation at Laodicea, Christ Jesus had introduced Himself as “the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness” (Revelation 3:14).
Revelation 19:12 describes Him this way: “His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a name written, that no man knew, but He Himself.”
The eyes of the exalted Christ are like flaming fire. This image conveys His fury and His absolute purity. The righteous indignation of Jesus, combined with His holiness, will strike fear in the heart of His enemies. Be warned: He is coming again to judge the world by making war. The many crowns upon His head portray His regal authority over all the realms. The fact that no man knows His name speaks of His transcendent character. Even though this book reveals Jesus Christ, it cannot reveal all about Him. There are things that we do not know and may never know about our Lord Jesus. One commentator wrote, “Whatever is known of him even by revelation does not exhaust his essence. Though he may be known, he remains the unknowable One.”[ii] The Conqueror is the Faithful and True Judge who will righteously make war; He is the Word of God, the King of kings and Lord of lords. Come, let us adore Him!
The Word of God
“And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and His name is called The Word of God” (v.13). As the Judge who makes war, His clothing will be bloodied. Near the end of His earthly ministry, He gave His own blood for the sins of His people. But at His Second Coming, Christ will shed the blood of His enemies. “The Word of God” is one of the names of Christ, according to John 1:1-3. This Conqueror, who will overcome the world, is God’s clearest communication, the very “Word of God.” “All things were made by Him…” as the Creator, but at His Second Coming, many will be destroyed by Him as the Conqueror.
Can you not see why it is so important to repent of your sinful rebellion and trust Him now as your Redeemer? He gave His blood to cleanse you. He rose from the dead to demonstrate His righteous work for you. Will you not trust Him as your Lord and Savior before you must face Him as your Conqueror and Sovereign Judge?
The Conqueror is the Faithful and True Judge who will righteously make war; He is the Word of God, the King of kings and Lord of lords. Come, let us adore Him!
King of kings and Lord of lords
“And the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. (Revelation 19:14-16)
Jesus Christ, the Conqueror, is the King of kings and Lord of lords. At His Second Coming, we who are His children will follow behind Him. According to John’s vision, the followers of Christ will ride upon white horses; they will be clothed in clean, white linen. Out of His mouth will go the sharp sword: the Word of God. The One who created all things by His Word will conquer His enemies by His Word; He will rule them with a rod of iron. In the righteous wrath of the Almighty God, Christ will tread down His enemies as one would tread upon grapes in a barrel. So that there is no mistake, He wears the name of “King of kings and Lord of lords.”
THE BATTLE WITH THE BEAST
“And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.” (Revelation 19:17-18)
According to verses 17-18, an angel standing in the brightness of the Sun will issue an invitation. To whom or to what shall this invitation be issued? The angel will issue this call to the raptors – the birds of prey – throughout the world; hawks, eagles, buzzards, owls and other flesh-eating birds will answer the call to “The supper of the great God.” And the result is inevitable. These birds of prey will feast upon the flesh of the defeated kings, captains, soldiers and horses; in fact, they will devour the flesh of slaves and citizens of all ages as well. What could lead to such carnage?
The Final Rebellion of Mankind
“And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him that sat on the horse, and against His army” (v. 19). This then is the ultimate manifestation of the long war against God. The second Psalm spoke of this rebellion: “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against His Anointed…” (Psalm 2:2).
Zechariah 14:2-4 speaks of this time when all the nations will be gathered to fight against the Lord. The prophet wrote, “Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle. And His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south” (Zechariah 14:3-4)
In the midst of all this, it’s important to remember the word “gathered” in Revelation 19:19. The word “gathered” (in the passive) shows that the mighty armies of the world will be “gathered.” By whom? This is the work of God.
A young lady named Annie Ellsworth loved to study her Bible carefully as she watched events unfolding around her. Her father was a friend of a Mr. Morse, whom you know about. As Annie studied her Bible, she was particularly taken with the words of Balaam. That devious prophet had been hired by King Balak to curse Israel. But God’s blessing upon Israel was so strong that Balaam could only bless Israel and not curse. While speaking God’s prophecy, Balaam asked this question: “What hath God wrought?” (Numbers 23:23). To her father’s friend, Samuel F.B. Morse, Annie Ellsworth recommended that first phrase to be sent through Morse’s new invention: the telegraph. And so, on May 24, 1844, Morse sent the first message from the Supreme Court chambers in the U.S. Capitol. To his assistant, Alfred Vail, in nearby Baltimore, Morse sent the words, “What hath God wrought?” Seven days later, Morse wrote a letter to his brother in which he humbly exalted the Lord twice more with those same words: “What hath God wrought?”
Pause for a moment to consider what the telecommunications industry has become since those first dots and dashes. The telephone and the Internet are the descendants of the humble telegraph. But, by and large, what has the world done with what God has wrought? Many of you are reading these words on a webpage or social media. Some of you are listening to these words spoken over live streams. But how far we have come since those first few taps from Samuel F. B. Morse? We would have to admit that the world, the flesh and the devil have coopted so much of the telecommunications industry. Following Balaam’s advice (Numbers 31:16) Midian seduced Israel. And so this corrupt world system has seduced mankind to rebel against the King of kings and Lord of lords. But remember that word “gathered” in verse 19. That word demonstrates the absolute control of the Almighty God. And He will reign forever and ever.
What will happen next?
Victory over the Beast
“And the beast was taken, and with Him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived those that had received the mark of the beast, and those that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of Him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of His mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.” (Revelation 19:20-21)
The two most prominent rebels on earth, the Antichrist and his False Prophet, will be taken by the Conqueror. Through the deception of the False Prophet, many people will be receive the mark of the beast and worship the image of the Antichrist. But those two rebels, foremost among all the world’s leaders, will be cast into the Lake of Fire which burns with brimstone. The rest of their forces will be slain by the words of the King of kings and Lord of lords.
The Conqueror is the Faithful and True Judge who will righteously make war; He is the Word of God, the King of kings and Lord of lords. Come, let us adore Him!
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Pastor Gordon Dickson, Calvary Baptist Church, Findlay, Ohio https://www.cbcfindlay.org/king-of-kings-lord-of-lords/
[i] We have a few passages in the Scriptures that give us a hint. For instance, Isaiah 6:1-4, Hebrews 12:22-24, John 17:24, 2 Corinthians 12:3-4. Revelation 4-5
[ii] Paige Patterson, Revelation, ed. E. Ray Clendenen, vol. 39, The New American Commentary (Nashville, TN: B&H, 2012), 347.
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