“Revelation 19:11-16”

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

“And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From 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. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, ‘KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.’”

---End of Scripture verses---

Now “heaven” is “opened” and One sitting on “a white horse” (verse 11) emerges, arrayed for “the war of the great day of God Almighty” (Revelation 16:14). The great beast, the false prophet and the great red dragon muster all their forces of evil against the saints of the Lord, including “the kings of the whole world” and their armies (Revelation 16:13-14) to do battle against them. If not for this mighty Warrior mounted on the hoary horse, they stand no chance of victory but face certain, swift and absolute annihilation. He wears the names “Faithful and True” (verse 11), “The Word of God” (verse 13), and “King of Kings, and Lord of Lords” (verse 16). The Lord Jesus alone is exponentially greater in power and strength than the sum total of Satan’s collection of wicked forces.

“His eyes are a flame of fire” (verse 12) that see directly into the hearts of men (1 Samuel 16:7), and nothing can be hidden from His all-seeing and omniscient sight (Revelation 1:14; 2:18; Genesis 16:13; Jeremiah 23:24). “On His” once-thorn-crowned “head are” the “many diadems” of comprehensive and definitive sovereignty that belongs exclusively to the “King of kings and Lord of Lords” (Ephesians 1:20-23; 1 Timothy 6:15: Revelation 11:15). Even though He has been ascribed three names of exaltation in these few, short verses and “the name which is above every name” (Philippians 2:9), He also “has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself.” “His unknown name perhaps signifies He possesses heavenly characteristics that are beyond the grasp of finite minds (Matt. 11:27).” (Harkrider)

As “The Word of God,” Jesus possesses all the attributes of deity, simultaneously existing “with God” and possessing the same eternal nature as Him (John 1:1-5). He also “declared” the Father to the world by the fullness of the “grace and truth” of His incarnate perfection (John 1:14, 18). The “robe dipped in blood” He wore upon His regal frame is either symbolic of the drenched blood of His enemies resulting from the treading out of “the wine press of the fierce wrath of God” (verse 15), or the crimson tide which flood freely from His veins on Calvary’s cross. “The armies which are in heaven” are “clothed in fine linen, white and clean” (verse 14) because of the cleansing power of that precious flow, and constitute the bride of Christ which is said to be clad in the exact same fashion (verse 8).

Their weapons of warfare are not the physical armaments of an earthly military because their “struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this wickedness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). The “sharp sword” (verse 15) that proceeds from the mouth of the King of kings serves as the single, invincible, offensive weapon in “the full armor of God” (Ephesians 6:14-17). It possesses the potent power to pierce good and honest hearts (Acts 2:37), and to judge the wicked and disobedient (John 12:48), condemning them to an eternity in “the lake of fire which burns with brimstone” (verse 20). As we will see in tomorrow’s verses, “Armageddon” is not much of a “battle” at all, but a thorough and total thumping of Satan/Rome/Paganism by the Almighty King and His bride/army!

Please read Revelation 19:17-21 for tomorrow.

Have a great day!

-Louie Taylor

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