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Calvary Community Church

Sermon

The Prelude to the Second Coming of Jesus the Messiah

Series
Revelation
Scripture
Revelation 19:11-21

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Note: This transcript and summary was autogenerated. It has not yet been proofread or edited by a human.

Summary

This passage in Revelation 19 reveals Jesus Christ not as the humble servant of the Gospels, but as the conquering warrior King returning on a white horse to defeat His enemies and establish His kingdom on earth. The Jewish wedding model illuminates the relationship between Christ and His church—the bride price has been paid through Christ’s blood, and the remaining stages (the fetching, the ceremony, and the feast) await future fulfillment.

Key Lessons:

  1. The final victory over evil will not come through human progress or religious effort, but through the sudden, glorious return of Jesus Christ as the conquering King.
  2. The Jewish wedding customs provide a beautiful framework for understanding Christ’s relationship with the church—from the bride price paid at Calvary to the coming marriage feast that inaugurates the millennium.
  3. Jesus returns with seven characteristics that reveal His unmatched authority: He is faithful and true, righteous in judgment, all-seeing, crowned with many diadems, bearing a hidden name, clothed in battle garments, and called the Word of God.
  4. Christ’s authority is absolute—depicted through the sword of His mouth, the rod of iron, and the winepress of God’s wrath—showing that no earthly power can rival Him.

Application: We are called to make ourselves ready to meet the Lord and to stay ready every day. This means rethinking our lives, confessing sin, reordering priorities, and living each day in light of Christ’s imminent return with hearts of genuine worship.

Discussion Questions:

  1. How does seeing Jesus as the conquering warrior King on a white horse change how you relate to Him compared to only seeing Him as the gentle Shepherd?
  2. The Jewish wedding model shows four stages in Christ’s relationship with the church. How does understanding the bride price already paid at Calvary affect your assurance and daily walk?
  3. What specific areas of your life need to be reordered so that you are not just ready but staying ready for the Lord’s return?

Scripture Focus: Revelation 19:7-16 reveals the marriage of the Lamb and Christ’s return as conquering King. Isaiah 63:1-3 provides the prophetic backdrop for His blood-dipped garments. Matthew 24-25, 1 Thessalonians, Jude 14-15, and Psalm 2 support the vision of Christ’s righteous judgment and universal authority.

Outline

Introduction

Amen.

Memorial Day Reflection

Let’s take our Bibles and turn to Revelation 19. While you’re turning there, I just want to remind you that today is Memorial Day, this weekend. You already know that, but they say that soldiers die twice.

Not only when they get killed in battle or some kind of training exercise, but they die when their name is last spoken at a funeral.

That’s why we have Memorial Day so we don’t forget those people. I think all of us know some soldier that has given their life for our country because remember, freedom is not free.

“Freedom is not free. It’s bought with the blood of our people.”

It’s bought with the blood of our people that went in and some of them went into battle. Some of them suffered after they came home from battle by all kinds of things that happened. Don’t forget that this is a great country and we want God to bless it.

Continue to pray for our country that it would be sustained in these days. Amen. When you travel around the world and you come back to the United States, this is an incredible place. We take it for granted sometimes.

Human Progress Cannot Bring Victory

All right. Saying that Revelation 19, some will tell you that triumph will come by the development of human beings, the gradual evolution of their potentialities. We should give them time. Wait, see everything will come up roses.

That’s what some people say. And then World War I came and dealt the theory a cutting blow. World War II broke the spirit of that mindset. Vietnam laid it in its grave.

The takeover of Afghanistan shoved the dirt of interment on it along with the Gulf War. Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran—Jesus says wars and rumors of wars.

Will human progress stop people and nations from sinning? Will human progress and achievement ever wipe away all the tears from our eyes and our broken hearts? To ask these questions is to actually answer them.

No, the final victory will not come through some natural process of human development, nor through the religious forces that operate in the world right now. The victory will come not by an improvement of the present order of things but by the complete overthrow of what’s taking place.

The high point of human history will be the sudden appearance on the field of battle of the captain of our salvation.

“The final victory will not come through some natural process of human development.”

And he will come in glory and it will be comparable to what John actually says in the book of Revelation 19.

The Rider on the White Horse

Look, he said, I see a great white horse and there is a rider on that horse whose name is faithful and true and there are many crowns upon his head. See, it will come in the final victory and that victory will be completed and finished by Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Revelation 19:11: “I see a great white horse and there is a rider whose name is faithful and true.”

And we come to this portion of Revelation and what we find is not the humble Jesus in the New Testament. We find someone on a white horse ready for battle.

This is in some ways we don’t always look at the Lord, but I believe scripture wants to remind us this is who he is. And he has the victory in his hands.

Let me pray before I go on. Lord, this morning just take the word of God, Lord, and bring it to our minds. Holy Spirit, illuminate our minds and our hearts. Lord, it would move our will to be ready for whatever is coming because we know you’re coming.

I pray, Lord, every day we would live in light of your coming. And it would change the way we live. It would change the way we think. It would change who we hang out with, what we listen to, what we read, where we go. It would change everything and we would always have our mind on the thought you may come today to get us.

I pray we’d be ready and our life would be ready. That we would offer up to you a life that is pleasing to you. And so, Lord, I pray the word of God is designed in Revelation to bring us to that place so we’re aware every day of your presence and of what you require of us.

I pray we would be faithful like you’re faithful. In Christ’s name I pray. Amen.

The Invitation to the Marriage Feast

So, saying that, I want to go back to Revelation 19. I was looking at the first element of the prelude—the four-fold alleluia we find in verses 1-6. This today brings me to the second element of the prelude, which is the invitation to the marriage feast.

Here is another reason for God’s people to make verbal celebration before him.

Notice what it says in verse 7 of Revelation 19: “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to him for what reason? For the marriage of the Lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready.”

In verse 8, it says, “It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean. For the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.”

In verse 9, then he said to me, “Write, blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.”

Now, it brings to our attention that we will be married to the Lord Jesus Christ, right? This is a highlight in scripture of this event.

But sometimes we don’t necessarily understand what the Jewish mindset of a wedding is.

Revelation 19:7: “The marriage of the Lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready.”

Four Stages of a Jewish Wedding

There are actually four distinct stages of a Jewish wedding. The first stage is that the father of the groom made arrangements for the bride and paid the bride price. That’s the first stage.

“There are four distinct stages of a Jewish wedding.”

This stage usually takes place a year before the marriage ceremony, and sometimes it’s longer than that.

The second stage is the fetching of the bride. In other words, the groom would go to the home in order to fetch her and bring her to his home. Usually that was accompanied with a wedding procession, and the father would determine when the fetching would occur. The father would determine when the fetching would occur and then wait until the groom had prepared a place for her.

The third stage was the marriage ceremony, which was only occupied by a few people. They would be invited, and this would proceed with what they would call a marriage ritual immersion or a ritual cleansing. Then the fourth stage would be the marriage supper or the marriage feast, which would last about seven days. Many others not invited to the ceremony are now invited to the feast.

All four stages interestingly enough find their relationship between the church and the Messiah.

Stage One: The Bride Price

If I put that in just simple terms, the first stage would be that the father of the groom made the arrangement for the bride and paid the bride price. In this case, the bride price was the blood of Messiah, the blood of Jesus Christ as described in Ephesians 5:25-27.

“The bride price was the blood of Messiah, the blood of Jesus Christ.”

Stage Two: The Fetching of the Bride

The first stage has already been completed. The other three stages, as far as the church is concerned, are still future.

The second stage will take place when Jesus comes to fetch his bride home. The fetching of the bride is referred to as the rapture of the church.

Like it says in 1 Thessalonians, the rapture will occur sometime before the beginning of the seven-year tribulation period. The Father will determine the timing of the event.

“The fetching of the bride is referred to as the rapture of the church.”

Stage Three: The Marriage Ceremony

All right. That’s why it says in Matthew 24:36, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven nor the son, but the father alone knows it,” because the father sets the time. That’s why that passage is put there because it’s talking about the thinking of the marriage ceremony.

And so the third stage would lead to the marriage ceremony. It will take place in heaven just prior to the second coming of Christ at the end of the tribulation. The wedding announcement will be made in verse six of Revelation. We have the wedding announcement.

Then secondly, the bride will now be fully ready for the marriage ceremony because she will have the entire bridal gown on. And notice in Revelation 19:8, it says this: “It was given to her to be clothed in fine linen, bright and clean. For the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.”

In other words, the bridal gown is said to be the righteous acts of the saints. That shows the process of sanctification is complete. All that will be showing at the ceremony would be her righteous acts, not the sin, but the righteous acts of God’s people.

So it shows that the marriage ceremony takes place after the judgment seat of the Messiah, when the wood, hay, and stubble has been burned away and all the gold and silver and precious stones have been purified.

“The bridal gown is the righteous acts of the saints—sanctification is complete.”

So this corresponds to the ritual cleansing of the Jewish wedding system.

The ones present at the marriage ceremony are few, and that’s only those who are in heaven at that time.

Stage Four: The Marriage Feast

And then we have the fourth stage, verse nine of chapter 19 of Revelation.

Then he said to me, “Write: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.” The marriage supper will be in a different place than the marriage ceremony.

The Old Testament saints will be resurrected not with the church before the tribulation, but after the tribulation. While the marriage ceremony will take place in heaven just before the second coming of Jesus, the marriage feast will take place on earth after the second coming of Jesus.

“The marriage ceremony takes place in heaven; the marriage feast takes place on earth.”

That is what begins the millennium.

The Spirit of Prophecy

The millennium, the millennial kingdom and the church’s co-reigning with the Messiah will start with the tremendous marriage feast. That is really the thing that ushers us in. We sing that we read that at the Lord’s table. We’ll do this in the Father’s kingdom when he comes, right?

And so that is that next element we find in verse 10 and that would be the third element of the prelude is the declaration of the spirit of prophecy.

Now John the apostle is so astonished by what has been happening before him. He is so inspired by what he has seen. What does he do? He falls down on his knees before the angel and begins to worship.

But notice in verse 10 what happens because the angel quickly responds to John’s falling on his face and he says, “Listen, don’t do that.” Notice in verse 10, it says this: “Then I fell at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus worship God.”

Just think for a moment. This heavenly angel who has been in heaven knows how it works. He knows who occupies heaven.

And he says to John, I stand beside you as a fellow servant who also holds to the testimony of Jesus. That means that created humans redeemed by the blood of Christ and elect angels will be standing side by side with one another, worshiping and serving God in eternity. That’s an incredible thought and that’s what it says here.

So John, he’s taken up by it, but quickly corrected by it. And then notice at the end of verse 10 what it says: For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

“Redeemed humans and elect angels will stand side by side, worshiping God in eternity.”

Prophecy Unfolds Christ’s Character and Program

Now there’s many interpretations of that, but I think the one that really qualifies what’s being said here is this: prophecy is designed to unfold something.

It’s designed to unfold Christ’s character, his glory, his purpose, and his program. That’s what it means. And that’s what we see unfolded not only in the whole New Testament and the word of God, but in the following passages in Revelation. We want to see Jesus like we never saw him before.

Jesus’s second coming is the crowning point of his program. That is the final victory. And it is not a matter of if Jesus is coming again.

“Prophecy unfolds Christ’s character, his glory, his purpose, and his program.”

The Lord Jesus is coming and he is coming a second time. But he is not coming in the air with his people to take his people home. He is coming to the earth with his people to conquer his enemies and establish his kingdom on earth.

Now, in Sunday school, we were looking at a passage of scripture that was dealing with how God is going to communicate, or is communicating, with the Jewish people at this generation that will be there at that time. It says in Matthew 24, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sign of the son of man will appear in the sky. Then the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see the son of man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.”

In these passages Jesus taught that after the great tribulation he will come as the son of man in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory with his angels. Jesus declared that at that time the son of man will, in Matthew 25, sit on his glorious throne. That will be on this earth where Jesus will reign as king and will send his righteous people into the theocratic kingdom.

Then it says in Matthew, “The king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’” Here in Revelation, we see the culmination of the triumph of Jesus Christ.

There’s a very important admonition that we get from these passages of scripture when we’re reading eschatology, end times stuff: be ready. I pray that with the teaching of the word of God in this church that you will make yourself ready to meet the Lord.

And then to stay ready—not just to say, “I’m going to be ready today,” but to stay ready—which brings me to a fourth element of the prelude which points to the fulfillment of prophecy.

Jesus Will Return to Conquer as King

The Messiah returns to the earth as a conquering king. I would like you this morning to consider three facts about Jesus in order to aid your endeavor to stay ready every day of your life. Probably won’t get to all of them today, but the first fact about Jesus is this: Jesus will return to conquer as king.

He will return to conquer as king. Now let’s take a look at this Jesus who comes to conquer and notice in verse 11 because his appearance is imposing.

He has an imposing appearance. Before I read the passage, Jesus comes in an imposing manner with his imposing character and with his imposing purpose. Jesus came the first time in the appearance of humility and grace. The second time he will come in the appearance of power and glory.

He is coming with great brilliance and the whole heaven opens like a curtain to a stage performance. Only this is the real thing. This is the real thing. Look at verse 11. It says, “And I saw heaven open, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it is called faithful and true, and in righteousness he judges and wages war.”

Now there is a progression taking place here. The heavens are open and someone seated on a white horse appears, and that is the warrior Messiah.

“The whole heaven opens like a curtain to a stage performance. Only this is the real thing.”

Conquerors come riding on a white horse as a sign of victory and as a sign of power. He is coming against the false Christ and his host that assault the Messiah and his people.

In fact, the Old Testament prophets foresaw the Lord coming in the last days as a man of war, dashing his enemies in pieces and establishing his kingdom over the nations.

Isaiah the prophet tells us in Isaiah 13, the Lord of hosts is mustering his army for battle.

Characteristic 1: Faithful and True

And then again in Isaiah 31, the Lord of hosts will come down to wage war on Mount Zion and on his hill. The character of the one coming is vital because he is none other than Jesus Christ seen in a way that we have not seen him in the New Testament up until this point.

John gives seven characteristics of this person, Jesus Christ. Notice the first one in verse 11: he who has sat on the white horse. His first characteristic is that he is faithful and true. He is not like the unfaithful persons of the antichrist, the false prophet, Satan, or so many who have gone before in any kind of kingly leadership.

Jesus is the truth and he leads us to God. Remember, a practical purpose for the book of Revelation is that it is given to us to bolster faltering faith, to strengthen weak courage, and to stir up the fires of loyalty to Christ. It is enough for us to even overcome torture or even death without denying the faith.

That’s what it will do for us. Suffering saints must be reminded that God is forever faithful and true. Accordingly, he will never deceive you and he will never desert you.

“Suffering saints must be reminded that God is forever faithful and true. He will never desert you.”

Never will he do that. Any time you’re tempted to think that’s not true or God’s not with you, it is a lie of the enemy. You don’t have to feel God’s with you. God is with you without your feelings.

Characteristic 2: Righteous Judge

If you are a believer, you’re one of his children. Sometimes we don’t feel it, but he’s there. You have to be reminded of that. That’s who Jesus is.

A second thing in verse 11, it says there in righteousness he judges and wages war. That means this: his judgment is righteous.

It is the frequent theme of the Old Testament that God judges righteously. Psalms tells us he will judge the world in righteousness.

And then a familiar passage of scripture in Acts 17:34. Remember when it said there, because he has fixed the day in which he will judge the world in righteousness through a man whom he has appointed, having furnished proof of that man by raising him from the dead. That’s Jesus Christ.

You cannot get away with knowing that’s who he’s talking about, even though Jesus’ name is not mentioned there. So what this means is that God dispenses justice on the basis of his own righteous standards and he always does what is right and will execute his penalty correctly and fairly.

The righteous judge sees all. He knows all and he judges all. That’s who Jesus Christ is.

“God dispenses justice on his own righteous standards and always does what is right.”

Further, this includes war. In righteousness, he judges and wages war. See, the world has known nothing but war after war after war. Yet, because of our Lord Jesus Christ, because he is the mighty warrior, he wages war in righteousness.

He’ll only need to fight one time this war. In fact, a better way to translate it may be he comes to do battle. There’s no real war. He does the battle.

He’s got the last word. He’s got the final say. And he does it righteously.

And remember, the Lord has been patient for thousands of years for this time to come. Remember, sin has reached heaven.

Characteristic 3: Eyes Like a Flame of Fire

It’s time for judgment. And that time will come. But some people just didn’t believe it would ever come. But it will come. It will come.

There’s a third thing that’s mentioned about his character in verse 12. Notice it says, “His eyes are like a flame of fire.” This is not the first time that we saw this designation of Jesus.

The first time it appears in Revelation 1:14, his eyes were like a flame of fire. Back there it was referring to Christ’s absolute omniscience, that he is using his eye as a symbol to show that he knows you. He knows his church and he knows what’s going on in the middle of his church. That’s what was happening back then.

But here in Revelation 19, it refers to at least two things. First, his penetrating vision by which God discerns all things. And secondly, his fiery judgment that will result in his all-seeing discernment.

In other words, I can say it like this: He sees all and will repay all.

“His penetrating vision discerns all things. He sees all and will repay all.”

And there is nothing that will slip by him. Nothing will slip by him.

His penetrating eyes. Can you imagine Jesus just looking right through you and knowing every single thing about you, every event in your life from the day you were born to the day you die? There’s no getting away from it.

Those who know Christ—he doesn’t see those things. He sees the righteousness of Christ on your account.

That’s why it’s so dangerous not to be a Christian because this penetrating eye of judgment comes upon you. The question in Sunday school and today is: Are you ready to meet such a person as the Lord Jesus Christ? Are you ready?

There’s no wiggle room there.

Characteristic 4: Many Diadems

Here’s the next thing in verse 12. His head covering is very unique.

Notice what it says in verse 12. And on his head are many diadems.

Now the Greek word used here for diadem really means crown, but the word means ruler—a crown for a ruler or a royal crown. It’s not the other Greek word used for crown, and that’s the stephanos crown of victory.

We’re beyond that. This is a crown of royalty and ruling authority, and the only one who has the right to be wearing this kind of crown is Jesus Christ.

Satan and Antichrist are again guilty of imitation, for they have been pretenders trying to claim a crown that was never theirs.

And the Lord Jesus Christ comes on the scene. Another interesting thing in verse 12 is that he has many crowns. It was not unusual in Bible times for a king to come on the scene with many crowns on his head. What that meant is that he could be a king of more than one kind of country or territory.

See, the many crowns on his head is appropriate because he is the king of kings. He is not just the ruler of one or two countries.

He has the right to rule the world. And that is what he’ll do. He will rule the world in the millennial reign with righteousness. That’s what Jesus is going to do. He will bring in the theocratic kingdom that will be established at his second coming.

And during that time, Jesus Christ will be the best lawgiver, the best judge, the best regent, the best world ruler that history has ever experienced. He will be the one who understands how to direct world affairs better than all the great and mighty ones who have come before him on this old earth.

He will reign with glory. He will reign with power. He will reign with righteousness.

“He will be the best lawgiver, the best judge, the best world ruler that history has ever experienced.”

So many crowns are the symbols of his ultimate dominion on this earth because Jesus is the ultimate king of all the kingdoms of the earth at that time.

So he’s coming and then I want you to notice another thing in verse 12.

Characteristic 5: The Unknown Name

A fifth thing of his character: he has a name written on him which no one knows except himself.

Now, it’s no use to guess what this name will be. It looks like it’s a title reserved for eternity.

Maybe because it is a name that will be revealed, it will reveal the true nature of the Godhead in a way that is far beyond what anyone can grasp. We’ll never be able to grasp it. It’s like when you’re reading some things in scripture—it’s very hard to grasp certain things.

One thing is sure though: no one knows it nor can know it except him.

It has been said, and I believe this is true. There is always a sense in the person of Christ and the Godhead that seems to be always beyond man’s understanding in some way. We’re not going to figure out God. We’re not going to nail down our understanding. Our understanding is not going to grasp fully who Jesus is. We’re just not going to do that because we’re finite. We’re human. We can’t go that far. He’s God.

“There is always something in the person of Christ that remains beyond man’s understanding.”

Characteristic 6: The Blood-Dipped Robe

So the rider on the white horse is further described in two more designations. Look at verse 13.

His clothing is expressive. It says he is clothed with a robe dipped in blood. But be careful here. Do not jump to any conclusions regarding the blood-dipped robe.

In fact, there have been three suggestions as to what the blood-dipped garment actually is. The first one is that this garment dipped in blood is his own blood shed at Calvary. A second suggestion is that this is the blood of the saints who died as martyrs.

A third suggestion is probably the most compelling and satisfies the demands of the context of scripture. The position is that the blood is that of Christ’s enemies.

The theme of the context is that Christ is a righteous judge. He is a warrior. The context is also void of Christ’s redemptive work. So that means the blood-dipped garment is not Christ’s own blood. It is not the blood of the saints, but it is the blood of his enemies.

“The blood-dipped garment is not Christ’s own blood but the blood of his enemies.”

Now this is not a foreign understanding when you come to the prophets because the prophets actually mention this. If you take your Bible quickly, look at Isaiah 63 because I want the imagery to come from that passage. Isaiah 63:1-3. Just get a look at your Bibles and get a glance at this passage.

And it says this in verse 1, Isaiah 63:1.

Who is this who comes from Edom with garments of glowing colors from Bozra? This one who is majestic in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength. Is it I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save?

Verse 2: Why is your apparel red and your garments like the one who treads the wine press?

Verse 3: I have trodden the wine trough alone, and from the peoples there was no man with me. I also trod them in my anger and trampled them in my wrath and their lifeblood is sprinkled on my garments and I stained all my raiment.

Isaiah 63:3: “Their lifeblood is sprinkled on my garments and I stained all my raiment.”

See, the imagery here is the prophecy of how Messiah will slaughter his enemies with their blood spattering on his clothing, just like the wine treader is treading down the grapes in the wine press and the grape juice splashes on the wine treader’s clothing. So Christ’s blood-dipped garments are the bloody battle garments of the almighty warrior conqueror fighting on behalf of his people and wreaking vengeance on the rebellious people of the earth. That’s what he does. That’s who he is.

See, his clothing is very expressive. And then I want you to notice in verse 13 back in Revelation 19.

Characteristic 7: The Word of God

Here’s a name we do know.

Verse 13, the middle of the passage says his name is called the word of God.

Do we know that phrase? But did you know this is the only place in the New Testament where Christ is actually called the word of God?

Oh yes, we know that John says that he is the word, but it doesn’t say it in this way.

Yes, Christ is called the word of God.

And it means that Jesus Christ speaks for God. He is the messenger from God.

Here Jesus proclaims the message of the judgment of God and commands his judgment to be carried out. The instrument of the sharp sword of his mouth becomes the very thing that carries it out. It will be the death blow upon God’s enemies. All God has to do is speak a word.

“Jesus speaks for God. All God has to do is speak a word.”

The word of God is the agent of creation.

The word of God is the agent of salvation.

Faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God. Right? You can’t get saved without the word of God.

God spoke the world into existence by a word.

That’s power.

We can’t understand that or wrap our mind around it, but that’s what happened. And that’s what will happen here. Because the word of God is the agent of judgment by the word of God.

The enemies of God will be righteously judged and destroyed.

His Identity Is Unmistakable

His character, his clothing, his name designation makes his identity unmistakable.

The character and mission of this victorious warrior is clear. It is none other than Jesus Christ. The lowly Messiah rode into Jerusalem upon a lowly donkey. He will return as a mighty deliverer on a white horse.

“The lowly Messiah rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. He will return as a mighty deliverer on a white horse.”

That’s who Jesus Christ is. His appearance is imposing, and it should be. That’s the way Scripture is written. It should be impressed upon us that this is an incredible person.

If he’s your Lord and Savior, it should be even more incredible. What should it cause you to do? It should cause you to worship.

His Army Is Holy

His appearance is imposing. But what about his army?

Look at verse 14. His army is holy. Verse 14 says, “And brethren, really, he’s not coming alone. The armies of heaven will follow the leader.” It says in verse 14, “And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following him also on white horses.”

So who will be with him in this passage of scripture? The heavenly army will consist of angels and saints.

“The heavenly army will consist of angels and saints.”

Zechariah tells us, “Then the Lord my God will come and all his holy ones with him.” And a familiar passage.

You probably should turn there in Jude if you just flip ahead, you’ll find that Jude is right in front of Revelation, not too far. In Jude 14-15, it says this incredible passage of scripture.

It says, “I was also verse 14 of Jude.” It’s only got one chapter.

I was also about these men from Enoch in the seventh generation from Adam prophesied saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of his holy ones. For what reason?” In verse 15, to execute judgment upon all, to convict all the ungodly of their ungodly deeds, which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.

That’s what the Lord’s going to do. And that’s who are with them. And then the angels are with them. Matthew tells us that when the son of man comes in his glory, all his angels will be with him.

And then Thessalonians says the same thing when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire.

So the word when that you see in all these eschatological passages indicates more than a time of judgment but also the instrument of judgment that Christ in his coming will uncover what is hidden.

That day will be revealed in all his glory and it will be an open and unmistakable manifestation of the true glory of Jesus Christ in contrast to his present humility and the hiddenness of his greatness while he was on earth.

So his righteous judgment is final. His righteous judgment is final.

And there are really two aspects of the Lord’s coming. He is coming to gather his people. And secondly, he is coming for judgment. The supernatural invasion from outer space by the righteous judge.

The Saints Return with Christ

The saints will be with them. In verse 14 of our passage, it says, “And the armies which are in heaven clothed in fine linen, so these armies in heaven will come with Jesus.” Thessalonians again says, “When he comes to be glorified in his saints,” that’s a different way of saying it. He’s going to be glorified in his saints on that day. And the objects of the purpose and result of his coming are his saints.

The sphere in which Christ will find his glory and revelation is in his saints that we become the bright and shining testimony of who he is and what his grace has accomplished in our life.

“We become the bright and shining testimony of who he is and what his grace has accomplished.”

That’s going to be part of it. Complete glorification, instantaneous Christlikeness for all his saints.

And then the church will be there coming with Christ. The same who went up in the rapture comes back with him.

This host that has been removed in the rapture which is called the church will come back with him. The armies which are in heaven were in heaven with the Lord clothed in fine linen will come back with him and we’ll be riding on white horses.

Those coming with Jesus are dressed in fine white linen.

It’s highly unusual to be going into battle dressed in white, but that’s what it says. And probably it says that for this reason because scripture leaves us with the sense that there’s no actual fighting.

Either the white signifies triumph and glorification or it identifies them with the lamb’s bride. And I think that’s the sense here that the marriage ceremony is taking place in heaven.

But secondly, then comes the marriage feast that the Lord is going to have here on earth that the church is co-reigning with the Messiah and it will start there in the millennium. That’s going to be a grand time also.

So his army is with him. His angels, his saints, his church will be with him.

His Authority Is Unmatched

But there is another thing I want to mention, and that’s this: his authority is unmatched.

In Revelation 19:15, there are three images given that highlight or emphasize the authority that the Lord has. In verse 15, we get the first image. It says, “From his mouth comes a sharp sword.”

So that he might strike down the nations. The image of a sword comes out of Christ’s mouth, and the battle is over in an instant.

Even in verse 21, it says, “And the rest were killed with the sword which came out of his mouth, the one who sat on the horse.” So Christ speaks as one who has authority.

When he speaks, his word has force. It has finality. It has command about it. You just can’t get away from it.

“When he speaks, his word has force. It has finality. It has command about it.”

When the Lord speaks, people listen. Or you better listen.

When he speaks, that’s why every time the word of God is being preached, we’re preaching God’s word. We’re not preaching our own stuff. You should be ready to listen because it’s the command of the King of Kings having authority over our lives and teaching us who he is and what will be. We are ready for his coming.

The sword comes out of the mouth of the Lord, and it shows his absolute authority.

Earlier in the book of Revelation, it identified him in chapter one as the voice. His voice was like the sound of many waters, and then out of his mouth comes a two-edged sword. It cuts both ways on the top and the bottom.

The power that proceeds from the Lord is no match for the great nations gathered against him and their kings when it comes to the battle that we’ll see later on.

It says there that with it he may strike down the nations. All the nations who come against him in the battle have no chance. All that Jesus does is speak a word. Boom. And it’s done.

The Rod of Iron and the Winepress

And then there’s a second image in our passage and it’s this.

He will rule them with a rod of iron. It says that’s a shepherd’s club.

Actually from the Old Testament it could be a rod, a staff, a club, but it was used often for smiting, for beating.

The shepherd’s implement was that for mustering the sheep, tapping them to get them in place, for counting the sheep, but also for striking them, getting them in line.

It says in Psalm 2, he shall strike them with a rod of iron, you who shatter them like earthenware. The image here is that Christ shepherding these nations will be with an iron scepter. Remember, these nations aren’t going to be saved in the millennial kingdom.

So he has to rule them with a shepherd’s club. And if you’re out of line, we know that it will kill the enemy of the sheep. The shepherding is not the care of the sheep, but here the destruction of the predatory foes that come against God’s people.

“The shepherding here is not the care of the sheep but the destruction of the predatory foes.”

And then there’s a third image in verse 15 of chapter 19, and that’s of the wine press.

And he treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God the Almighty.

So the picture is clear that the Messiah will slaughter his enemies with their blood spattering on his clothing just like the wine treader is trotting down the grapes in the wine press with the grape juice coming on the wine treader’s clothing and staining it. So Christ’s blood is that dipped garment, his battle garments, the battle garments of the Almighty.

And so what do we have in verse 15? Notice for his mouth comes a sharp sword so that with it he may strike down the nations and he will rule them with a rod of iron and he treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God the Almighty.

Here it describes the furious wrath of God Almighty who overcomes his enemies and he does it with ease and then he will establish his government on earth and Messiah will destroy all the unlawful nations with the sword of his mouth. He will rule with absolute authority. No one can rival him. No one can rival him.

So the power that proceeds from the Lord Jesus is no match for the Antichrist and the false prophet and Satan himself.

I like what it says in Thessalonians.

Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of his mouth and bring to an end by the appearing of his coming.

So that passage really shows that the career of the lawless one will be overthrown.

The agent of the destruction is the Lord himself, the true God man which brings Satan to a swift end.

King of Kings and Lord of Lords

His authority is unequaled and visible through the representation of his name for all to see.

His name expresses that Jesus not only has unrivaled authority but he has unrivaled authority in judgment and in government.

Notice what it says in verse 16. It says, “And on his robe and on his thigh he has a name written.” And what is his name?

His name is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. That’s who he is. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. This name singles him out as the greatest of all rulers and the only true divine one and universal king.

His name was written on the part of the robe that covers his thigh—a conspicuous place for a mounted warrior.

“His name is King of Kings and Lord of Lords—the greatest of all rulers and the only true universal king.”

The point is it’s a name written in that place for all to see. No one will make a mistake of who he is. So he will overcome the powerful kingdoms of the world.

Jesus is Lord and King like no other has ever been and will be. He will rule the world at this time because now it’s his turn.

Are You Ready?

It’s his turn to be King Jesus that will reign with glory and power on this very earth. Are you ready? Are you ready to meet this stunning person?

Are you ready to bow down in true worship from your heart? Are you ready to move things around in your life so they are pleasing to the Lord? Can you sing alleluia from your heart because of these passages of scripture?

That should be our response. Our response should be outright worship or our response should be run to Jesus.

“Our response should be outright worship or to run to Jesus and find mercy and grace.”

Run to him right now and find mercy there and find grace there and he will save you and he will forgive you and he will make you right with God.

And then you’ll be one of the saints that comes with them. Don’t you want to come with them?

You don’t want to find yourself in the tribulation, do you? And you don’t want to find yourself in the end of what’s happening to be cast into the lake of fire forever. You don’t want that. And the only one who could rescue you is Jesus Christ.

If you have not come to Christ today, today’s the day to come. Don’t put it off one second. And if you are a Christian and the Lord Jesus Christ and somehow you have fallen in a bad place, today’s the day to change where you’re at and come and confess your sin to the Lord Jesus Christ and let him make you new.

Let him forgive you because if you confess your sin, what is he? Faithful and just to forgive you of your sin and all your unrighteousness.

I think that passage of scripture says that even the stuff you forgot, he’ll forgive that, too.

God doesn’t forget. Today is a good day to do that. But it should enhance our worship. Let’s pray this morning and I’ll pick it up next time.

Lord, thank you today again for this incredible passage of scripture that describes you in a way that really no other place describes you in scripture. You are going to be the world ruler on earth and we will be co-reigning with you on this earth for those who are your children. And we thank you for that promise.

It’s almost hard to wrap our mind around what will take place, but Lord, these are your promises and your word is true because you always tell us the truth. I pray Lord that today would be a day that we really would rethink our life and what we’re doing and where we’re going and what we’re planning and what our purpose and goal is for our life.

I pray it would always be that you would bring us to the place where we humbly come before you, wanting you, Lord, to by your spirit and your word to transform us so we would know the good and the acceptable and the perfect will of God.

We would desire not to be conformed to the world or the things that it wants to press us into. We would be far from those things. And Lord, we would just want to serve you with the time you’ve given us with simplicity and with humility and with consistency. I pray this in Christ’s name. Amen.

Let’s stand together.

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