Revelation Chapter 19:11-21/Commentary

Revelation Chapter 19:11-21 Revelation 19:11-21 “And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12And His eyes are a flame of fire, and upon His head are many diadems; and He has a name written upon Him that no one knows except Himself. 13And He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of God. 14And the armies that are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. 15And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may smite 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. 16And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." 17And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, "Come, assemble for the great supper of God; 18in order that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great. " 19And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, assembled to make war against Him who sat upon the horse, and against His army. 20And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. 21And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat upon the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh” 19:11 “And I saw heaven opened”: Previous to this John has been given various glimpses of heaven (4:1; 11:19; 15:5). “Now John beholds the entire heaven opened so that the warrior-king and His army might be seen as they emerge to do battle with Satan’s forces” (Hailey p. 381). “This begins the final section of seven visions, each one opening with the phrase ‘and I saw’ (19:17; 20:1,4,11; 21:1)” (Chilton p. 481).

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19:11 “And behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it”: Clearly this is Jesus. Compare with 6:1ff, and especially with the description of this rider in 19:16 “King of kings, and Lord of lords”. At this point Premillennial writers see this chapter as predicting the Second Coming of Christ when He arrives to establish His millennial kingdom. Yet the New Testament has already taught that Jesus established His kingdom at His first coming (Mark 9:1; Revelation 1:5-6; Colossians 1:12-14), and that when Jesus comes again, the heavens and earth will be destroyed (2 Peter 3:9-10). Remember, this chapter is dealing with a foe that these Christians were facing, and God’s victory over that foe (19:20).

People also need to remember that Jesus is pictured in the Bible as a warrior, as well as a deliverer. I saw a sign a while back that read, “Who would Jesus bomb?” The answer is that Jesus will do far more than merely bomb the wicked; He will consign the unrepentant to hell (19:20; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9).

19:11 “He who sat on it is called Faithful and True”: Compare with 1:5 and 3:14. “As God’s faithful and true witness, He has given to man a complete revelation of the Father” (Hailey p. 381). “There were those liars who bore false witness against the saints, but here was their leader. Reliable and true. True in the sense of genuine, substantial, and fully manifested” (McGuiggan p. 281).

The very fact that Christ is true, means that He cannot deny Himself. He is true to His own nature and sin must be dealt with (2 Timothy 2:11-13). He is also true to His people and will never forsake them; in the end He will always vindicate the cause of the godly. He is true to His word; He will execute and fulfill both the promises and the warnings in Scripture (Psalm 9:17).

19:11 “And in righteousness He judges and wages war”: “The warrior makes war, so did Rome. But this warrior makes war in righteousness” (McGuiggan p.

281). All of God’s decisions and actions are done in righteousness (Romans 2:5; Revelation 15:3; 16:7; 19:2). Hailey makes a good point that this is not the Second Coming, because at the Second Coming Jesus is not coming to wage war, rather He is coming to Judge the righteous and the wicked. “The judgment and battle in this vision are against the enemy forces in time, not at the end of time” (p. 382). Remember, these are the enemies that these Christians faced.

19:12 “His eyes are a flame of fire”: Compare with 1:14; 2:18. “Who looks with burning penetration into the hearts of His enemies. He judges not the outward appearance of men but has a clear insight into character” (Hailey p. 382). “His eyes miss nothing. They pierce into the very soul” (McGuiggan p. 281). Do we presently live as if we truly believe that God sees our every thought and action?

19:12 “On His head are many diadems”: Satan wore a crown of seven diadems and the sea-beast wore a crown of ten. In contrast, Jesus wears many.

This indicates the unlimited nature of His rule. He rules over every realm and every kingdom. He is the King of kings (19:16; Matthew 28:18; Ephesians 1:20-

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23). Jesus has already been victorious—many times over. Before He deals with this enemy He has already fought countless battles before.

19:12 “He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself”: We already know the various names and titles that the Scriptures use to designate Jesus, such as Son of Man, Son of God and so on. “One’s name stands for all that he is, and only He can know His true self” (Hailey p. 382).

Compare with 2:17. “Only the Son of God can understand the mystery of His own Being” (Swete p. 252). “His unknown name perhaps signifies He possesses heavenly characteristics that are beyond the grasp of finite minds” (Matthew 11:27) (Harkrider p. 219).

Point to Note If there are things that boggle our mind when we contemplate God’s nature, such as “How could a Being be self-existent and never have a beginning?”, that’s normal. There are things about God that are beyond the calculations of the human mind.

19:13 “He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood”: The question here has been, is the blood His own or the blood of His enemies, or both? There could be a number of ideas here: 1. Jesus is experienced in battle, for this is not the first battle that heaven has fought against an ungodly world empire. 2. If the idea is His own blood, then this reminds God’s people that the One coming to the rescue has already given His all for His followers and will not be persuaded to let them go now. 3. In the Old Testament, God is pictured as treading the winepress and being sprinkled with the blood of His enemies (Isaiah 63:1-6; Joel 3:9-13) 19:13 “His name is called the Word of God”: This is more than just a title, for Jesus actually is the revelation of the Father (John 1:18; 14:9). He declared God to the world. “He perfectly fulfills God’s revelation and purpose and never fails to perform what God decrees (Hebrews 1:1-3; Isaiah 55:11)” (Harkrider p. 219).

Jesus is also the guarantee that God’s purpose will be achieved. In John 1:1 and 1:14 Jesus is addressed as “the Word”.

19:14 “And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses” Many feel that these armies are the angelic hosts (Matthew 27:53), another view is that these are the victorious saints whom the Lord leads in the defeat and overthrow of His enemies. This does not mean that evil has actually advanced into heaven, but that this battle is fought on a spiritual plane. Christ fights this spiritual conflict, but all who follow Him will share in this victory. Compare with Revelation 16:14-16 and 17:14. “The picture symbolizes a divine judgment and a spiritual war directed from heaven, led by a heavenly warrior-king. It is fought by a host of pure and faithful warriors” (Hailey pp. 384-385). “Makes you feel proud to be a part of that family as they follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth”

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(McGuiggan p. 281). The previous mentioned writer believes that there are a couple of definite parallels between what is being described here and what is mentioned in Psalm 110:1-7. In both chapters Jesus is ruling or exercising His rule in spite of enemies. In the Psalm we hear about people willingly offering themselves in the day of His power. Once again, obviously this is figurative language and not a literal earthly battle, because there are not literal horses in heaven.

19:15 “From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations” This imagery has been used before (1:16; 2:16). Hailey believes that this is not the word of the gospel by which men are converted, but the sword or word of judgment. With such a sword He also wages war with unfaithful Christians (2:16). “While His word provides salvation by grace through faith, it also announces warning to the wicked. Those who reject His word shall be smitten by the promised condemnation contained in its warnings (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9)” (Harkrider p. 220). Compare with Isaiah 11:4. This is the Word of God in its judging and avenging power.

19:15 “Smite the nations”: Clearly this is far more than merely a judgment upon the city of Jerusalem. In the Old Testament, God often brought down world empires. Nations that violated His will and ignored His expectations were removed (Jeremiah 18; Jonah). Read the prophets and you will find many prophecies against various nations, i.e. judgments pronounced against Assyria, Babylon, Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and so on. Thus what has been revealed through the prophetic word eventually does slam into the nations who turn their backs on God. 19:15 “He will rule them with a rod of iron”: This is the fulfillment of Psalm 2:9.

Note, this is not talking about the end of time, but rather the rule of the Messiah that commenced with His resurrection (Psalm 2:7-9). This means that nations that depart from Him will be crushed. He reigns over the nations with strength.

“He has absolute authority and cannot be resisted. Opposition to the Messiah brings retribution whereas obedience brings strong protection and vindication” (Harkrider p. 220). Everything belongs to Christ, and from time to time, such as in this chapter, Christ will reassert His heavenly authority (Ephesians 1:21).

19:15 “He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty”: Having all authority and being placed over all things, Jesus executes the Father’s will in regard to divine justice and retribution. Treading the winepress may either indicate the actual judgment of God’s enemies or the preparation of the wine of His wrath that the rebellious nations must drink. “It is the warrior-king who judges, makes war, and treads the winepress of the wrath of God the Almighty, indicating His complete sovereignty in all realms” (Hailey p. 385). For the figure of the winepress see Revelation 14:19-20 and Isaiah 63:1-7. “To His people He

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is the gentle, loving savior, but to the wicked He is a strong avenger of evil (Romans 11:22). Any view of God that eliminates His hatred of sin or emasculates His divine vengeance is a perverted view that contradicts the message of Revelation” (Harkrider pp. 220-221).

19:16 “And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written”: The idea might be that His name is written on a place easily seen and recognized by all.

Although He has a name that no man knows, the writing on His robe and thigh removes all doubt concerning who this rider is and who is leading the charge against the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet.

19:16 “King of Kings, and Lord of Lords”: Compare with Revelation 1:5 and 17:14. Please note that Jesus is presently King of Kings. He is ruling and reigning now (Acts 2:29-36; Ephesians 1:20-23; Matthew 28:18; 1 Corinthians 15:24-26). Thus this section reveals that nations are not merely punished by time and chance, but the judgment against evil nations can be ordered and directed by Christ. There is none greater, higher, or mightier. This is the ruler of all the kings of the earth.

19:17 “Then I saw an angel standing in the sun”: So certain is the victory over the beast and false prophet, that an angel summons all the birds of prey to gather. “In ancient thought, the worst possible thing that could happen to the dead was to lie unburied and be left as prey for wild birds (Jeremiah 7:33; 16:39)” Harkrider p. 221). “Here he is (at noon) standing right in the center of the sky where all can see him. He gets the attention of all the predators and urges them to join at the table prepared by the Lord” (McGuiggan p. 282). Compare with Ezekiel 39:17-20.

19:17 “He cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, ‘Come, assemble for the great supper of God’” 19:18 “So that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great” This picture indicates a complete destruction of the enemy at hand. Once again, this is not a battle when Christ comes, for there will be no time for the birds to literally feast (2 Peter 3:9-10). Rather, the overthrow of this persecuting power will be total and complete. “The contrasting suppers depicted in this chapter are worthy of note. The marriage supper of the Lamb is for the victorious righteous saints. The supper of the great God prepared for vultures is composed of all the ungodly who conspired to harm the Lord’s cause” (Harkrider p. 222).

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19:19 “And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army” This is the alliance that we read about in chapter 16, “when the three frogs went on their round up” (McGuiggan p. 282). Again, we see more than just merely one city opposing God’s people. Rome and all her subject kingdoms rose up with the paganism and false religion to crush the early church. This is the battle that is mentioned in Revelation 16:13-16. Note, no actual battle is described, for this battle is fought in the spiritual realm, with the Almighty setting up kingdoms and removing them (Jeremiah 18). Please note in persecuting God’s people, the nations of this area are actually seeking to make a direct attack on Christ and the heavenly host.

19:20 “And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshipped his image” Notice that the stage has been set, the conflicting armies are arrayed. At this point the reader might be expecting to read about a long drawn out battle or series of battles. But the battle occurs in one simple statement, “the beast was seized”. As soon as Jesus enters the fight, the battle is over! For previous information on the beast and the false prophet see Revelation 13. In addition, note that both leaders and followers are punished! Even those deceived by evil are punished, ignorance and deception are no excuse! Those who side with whatever power happens to be arraying itself against Christianity will end up being deceived and will end up in the lake of fire. Carefully look at what groups, mindsets, and worldviews are attacking Christ and His word and make sure and you are not among them! The beast that appeared to be invincible is easily seized by Christ and judged. It is amazing how foolishly people will align themselves with philosophies and groups that are against Christ. What do they expect that God will surrender?

19:20 “These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone” That is, pagan Rome and the emperor worship connected with her was completely destroyed. Yet, everyone who supported this system did up end at death in eternal torment (Hebrews 9:27). They are actually not cast into until the final judgment (20:15), although we know that at death one’s fate is sealed (Luke 16:19ff). While the beast and the false prophet are not literally two individuals, many individuals did support, endorse, and perpetuated these ungodly systems.

Without faithless men and women, these systems would have never originated.

Christians who might have looked foolish in the eyes of the world for not worshipping the beast now look very wise. The consequence for not worshipping

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the beast was at times physical death (6:9), but the consequence for worshipping and serving him was eternal death.

19:20 “Thrown alive”: Its not that the beast was merely destroyed or annihilated, but the idea of the term “alive” speaks of conscious punishment. It speaks of a greater terror than simply being wiped out, but rather like Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, who were swallowed up by the earth and went down into Sheol alive (Numbers 16). Thus, the difference between being buried verses buried alive.

19:21 “And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh” The judgments in His word finally caught up the those who oppose Christ and His church. From chapter 20:15 we will learn that all of the allies of the beast are also thrown into the lake of fire. “The Roman power and the paganism which it supported are now destroyed forever. The vision of Daniel is fulfilled (Daniel 7:11), and in this defeat and destruction is revealed the destiny of such powers and that should ever arise to fight against God and His kingdom. This is God’s guarantee of victory to the saints who lived then and to all who would come after them, even until the end of time” (Hailey p. 388).

“In principle, other ‘Armageddons’ have taken place and perhaps shall yet be in the future because Satan continues to wage battle against the purpose of God. Satan did not cease to exist, and he has employed other methods to fight against the kingdom of God on earth” (Harkrider p. 223).

“Let the church remember that this rider on the white horse is the living Jesus, that He is in the forefront of every battle, and just as he conquered the beast and the false prophet, so he will conquer every enemy…The rider on the white horse is still riding on” (Gregg p. 454).

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