SS - The KING Is Coming - The MAN on the White Horse (2)

Turn with me in your Bible to Rev. 19 and John 1.

We started looking, last Sunday morning, into the SECOND PHASE of the 2nd Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ!

The 1st phrase of His SECOND RETURN - can take place at any moment, therefore it is imminent!

He comes for His Bride, forcefully snatching them away -

Similiar to a nation recalling its citizens BACK HOME, before commencing war!

1 Thessalonians 5:9 - “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,”

From the moment of the Rapture -

We stand before the Judgement Seat of Christ -

In the meanwhile, those left upon this earth will be left under the auspices of THE UNHOLY TRINITY -

The Dragon

The Antichrist

The False Prophet

Once, we are finished up with the Judgement Seat of Christ - we are then taken to finish the Bethroathal of the Bridegroom (The Lord Jesus Christ - the Risen Lamb of God) unto His Bride (The Church Saints of God).

What a GRAND MOMENTOUS Celebration that Will Be!

Complete with ALL the invited Guests -

Comprised of the Old Testament Saints of God -

And those Tribulation Saints who have been Martyred!

ONCE - the Marriage Supper of the LAMB is complete

The SECOND PHASE of HIS LITERAL SECOND COMING Will Begin - Our Lord Jesus Christ THUS Returns Upon A White Stallion - with us right behind Him - BACK TO THE EARTH!

His feet WILL touch upon the Mount of Olives - Zechariah 14:1–4 - “Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, And thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; And the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; And half of the city shall go forth into captivity, And the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 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.”

From this, we began looking into -

His Description -

Noting His Eyes - Revelation 19:12 “His eyes were as a flame of fire”.

We Noted His Head Wearing MANY Crowns - Revelation 19:12 “His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns”.

Obviously, HE WILL be wearing the Crown of Diadem - as THE ONE & ONLY ROYALTY!

Quite possibly, He MIGHT even be wearing the Crown of Stephanos - as THE ONE Who is Victorious!

Then We Started Noting His FOUR Names -

FIRST - He is Called Faithful and True - Revelation 19:11 - “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.”

SECOND - He Has the NAME That NO MAN KNEW - Revelation 19:12 - “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.”

And we left off saying this as we closed - NOTHING MORE IS SAID, & THAT IS ALL WE NEED TO KNOW!

THIRD - He is Called the Word of God! - Notice Revelation 19:13 - “And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.”

John 1:1–2, should ring a familiar bell to Christ’s Name, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.” We need to further add to these verses, John 1:14, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

Hebrews 1:1–2 - “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;”

From the countless ages of eternity past, before the Creation of Everything - God has ALWAYS existed.

His beginnings can NEVER be traced back, nor His future counted, because He has no beginning or ending!

Revelation 1:8 - “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”

The terms Alpha and Omega, of course, are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, denoting that God IS the beginning and the ending!

Psalm 90:2 - “Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.”

Psalm 102:25–27 - “Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: And the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: Yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; As a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, And thy years shall have no end.”

We can go back to the beginning of the Word of God, and reference Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

From such a verse precludes the reader’s knowledge that God has ALWAYS existed!

He IS the FIRST Cause!

There was no one else besides God BEFORE the beginning!

To give further explanation to the Essence of the Trinity, the opening verses of John 1 that we just read, gives us thus - more illumination into that term that we use - TRINITY!

The word Elohim, in the Hebrew - although being in the plural, is stated as singular!

Therefore, we have the 3 Parts of the Godhead, fully separate and distinct; yet is ONE TRUE GOD!

That is simply amazing!

And it is mind-blowing, all at the same time!

That is MY GOD, the One Who will be riding back upon the white horse, not as a babe but Conquering King!

He came the first time as the Sinless Lamb of God -

And HE will Return to Earth as the MIGHTY LION of Judah!

Simply put, as Dr. Lee Roberson makes it -

“Christ was with the Father in the creation of the world. The Word was as yet, unspoken, but when Christ came into the world, God spoke in Him.

I like how my pastor-friend Dr. Bo Wagner states, “When God wanted to give us a Word, He gave us His Son.”

He is Called Faithful & True!

He Has A Name No Man Knows Save HIMSELF!

He is Called the Word of God!

FOURTH - He is Called the KING OF KINGS & LORD OF LORDS. - Revelation 19:16 - “And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

To give as accurate description as I can understand, MOST Bible commentators note His vesture can be visualized as His flowing robe, His garments!

And Revelation 19:13 denotes the appearance of His “vesture dipped in blood”.

When we think about Christianity, it is a BLOODY religion!

From the very beginning, back in the Book of Genesis -

When Adam & Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, back in Genesis 3, the Bible says - “And the eyes of them were both opened and they knew that they were naked and sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons” (Genesis 3:7).

Therefore, when God came to commune with them in the cool of the day, they thought that they could hide themselves

God called them out, and confronted their sin, and passed judgement upon them both.

It is then that we can see for the first time, the Mercy of God on display!

Genesis 3:21 - “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.”

Here we see the first indication that an animal was killed, in order to harvest the skins -

And as a consequence, its precious blood was shed!

This starts, as Dr. W.A. Criswell wrote a book after, “The Scarlet Thread Through the Bible.”

Consequently, all throughout the Old Testament, and leading up into the Four Gospels, there is the presence of BLOOD!

And how precious is THAT BLOOD that was shed for the ransom of many!

Hebrews 9:22 - “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”

1 Peter 1:18–20 - “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,”

BUT THE NEXT TIME THAT HE COMES TO EARTH - THE BLOOD THAT IS UPON HIS VESTURE -

Will NOT Be His Blood having been shed at Calvary, the first time -

RATHER THE NEXT TIME, THE APPEARANCE OF BLOOD, WILL OF HIS FOES, WHOM HE SLAYS!

Most Bible Commentators believe that this is what the Prophet Isaiah wrote about -

In Isaiah 63:2–3 - “Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, And thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? I have trodden the winepress alone; And of the people there was none with me: For I will tread them in mine anger, And trample them in my fury; And their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, And I will stain all my raiment.”

This appearance of blood stained garments CLEARLY is an indication of JUDGEMENT!

WHAT A DESCRIPTION OF THE MAN COMING ON THE WHITE HORSE in REVELATION 19!

Notice His Armies. - Revelation 19:14 - “And the armies which were in heaven”.

Notice the SIZE of the Followers of Christ, Into Battle.

The Bible uses the word, “armies”.

That brings to mind a VAST multitude!

Let’s bring some real life numbers together -

In our United States Army, there are approximately 461,657 active duty personnel -

While the ENTIRE United States military, including all branches, consists of approximately 1.3 active duty service members!

That is an unfathomable number of soldiers!

That is the same amount of people that reside currently in New Hampshire - the 10th least populated state in the US!

WHO EXACTLY ARE THE FOLLOWERS, After the Lord Jesus Christ?

Of course, our first answer is - “CHRISTIANS”!

And that would be correct.

The Bible mentions “the armies which were in heaven”.

QUESTION TO PONDER - Since there is an innumerable amount of angels - both Seraphim and Cherubim - would they be included?

I do NOT believe they are included for this simple reason located at the end of the verse!

The saints, NOT ANGELS, are clothed in the fine linen, white and clean - previously spoken of!

We referenced these white linen garments last week, as “the righteousness of the saints” -

Revelation 19:8 - “And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.”

Which is her Justification, her Salvation, based upon the sole merits of the Lord Jesus!

The angels are amazed at the Salvation of mortal mankind, according to the Apostle Peter!

1 Peter 1:10–12 - “Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.”

Therefore, I believe these armies, are composed of believers only, and not angelic beings!

Try then, if you will, to fathom the amount of Christians - SINCE THE DAY OF PENTECOST TIL THE PRESENT - The Bride of Christ!

Then add to that number, those Old Testament Saints, coupled with the Tribulation Martyred Saints -

THAT WILL BE THE MASSIVE SIZE of Followers that will FOLLOW THE MAN ON THE WHITE HORSE in REV. 19!

Notice NEXT - The SPECTACLE of the Followers of Christ, Into Battle. - Revelation 19:14 - “And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses”.

When we think of horses today, we do not have the same mindset as in the Bible times -

Other than possibly plowing fields, they were primarily used in WARFARE!

Remember ONE SPECIAL TIME OF HORSES, IN THE OLD TESTAMENT?

The scene was the IMMEDIATE CHASING of the Israelites from Egyptian Captivity -

When Pharaoh came to his senses, he and his might army tried to intercept these former slaves!

Exodus 14:7–9 - “And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand. But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, before Baal-zephon.”

So, Does That Mean That We Will Fight ON THAT DAY, as the Followers of the MAN on the White Horse?

Most Christians, since the time of their salvation, have battled the forces of Satan!

Why do you think we have the warning, given by the Apostle Peter in 1 Peter 5:8 - “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”

Why do you think that the Apostle Paul was so urgent to warn about our enemy -

Ephesians 6:12 - “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

Then proceed to remind us of the PRECIOUS PROTECTIVE AND POWERFUL ARMOR, that is AVAILABLE TO ALL BELIEVERS -

The Girdle of Truth

The Breastplate of Righteousness

The Feet Shod With the Preparation of the Gospel of Peace

The Shield of Faith

The Helmet of Salvation

And the Sword of the Spirit

EACH PIECE PUT ON WITH PRAYER!

So much has been spoken about our warfare, because the Christian Life is ALL about STANDING & FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT!

And, it IS possible to stand, BECAUSE of the Grace of God that enables us to be “MORE THAN CONQUERORS.”

Romans 8:35–37 - “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.”

BUT ON THAT RETURNING DAY, FOLLOWING BEHIND OUR LORD & SAVIOUR -

We will be riding on white horses for sure, as they symbolize VICTORY!

BUT WE WILL NOT BE FIGHTING, on that day!

We are simply to attend Him, NOT to assist Him, in the fighting!

There is NO mentioning of ANY weaponry that will be present for us - JUST HIM!

We WILL be able to celebrate in the Glorious and Triumphant Victory of Our Commander!

That OUGHT to put a little bit of PEP in your Spiritual Step!

Life for the Child of God CAN BE pretty daunting at times!

Satan seems to have the edge in the battle!

BUT ALL IS NOT LOST YET, LADIES & GENTLEMEN - IF YOU KNOW JESUS CHRIST!

HEY! YOU ARE ON THE WINNING SIDE!

VICTORY HAS ALREADY BEEN DECIDED IN THE WAR - & THE LORD JESUS CHRIST WILL INDEED WIN!

And, ALL God’s People Can Say - AMEN!!!

HIS DESCRIPTION

HIS ARMIES

HIS PURPOSE. - Revelation 19:11 “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.” Revelation 19:15 - “And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.”

His SECOND Coming Will NOT Mirror His FIRST Coming!

Everyone LOVES the season that rolls around EVERY late December -

There are the festivities, families together, and fun times around the Christmas tree -

And EVERYONE is just enthralled that there was a baby born in a manger in yonder stall!

They SEEM to forget just WHY He Came - & that was to die!

But NOT to die just ANY death - His Physical Death meant that the Price for Man’s sin was paid

While His Resurrection Meant that God was SATIFIED with THAT PAYMENT for Sin!

Yet - we often overlook what TRULY went on for the Lord Jesus Christ at the Easter Holidays!

YES - many can replay what transpired on THAT DAY which will live in infamy!

But FEW are able to grasp the harsh realities that plagued THAT MAN, who had been born in a manger!

John 1:11 - “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.”

Those who within a week’s time, who cried “Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord”

Would angrily chant, “CRUCIFY HIM”!

And He would go on to be spit upon, smote, and scourged!

They would jeer and mock at the Son of God as He hung suspended between Heaven and Earth -

Matthew 27:40 - “And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.”

To only reply, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).

The HARSH REALITY is that His FIRST COMING was marked by the Shedding of His Blood for ALL mankind, only to be rejected!

The Second Part of His SECOND COMING will be marked by the HIS SHEDDING of His ENEMIES’ BLOOD in Judgement!

Revelation 19:11 - 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 FIRST TIME, He was Judged by Man; and the SECOND TIME, He WILL Judge ALL His Enemies!

The FIRST TIME, He Came as a Lamb; and the SECOND TIME, He WILL Come As A LION!

The FIRST TIME, He Came as the victim; and the SECOND TIME, He WILL Come As the VICTOR!

Bible Commentator John Phillips adds, “The Lord is a man of war! In righteousness He judges and makes war. The judging has been going on throughout the breaking of the seals, the blowing of the trumpets, and the pouring out of the bowls. Now He makes war!”

And BEFORE it is ALL said and done - IT IS OVER, just THAT quick!

As we recalled His Name being, “THE WORD OF GOD,” -

THE WORD of GOD will speak, and the fighting will be all over at Armegeddon!

Isn’t THE WORD of GOD ALWAYS been there to defeat whatever ploy that Satan has attempted?

IT SURE IS - and this time will be NO DIFFERENT!

Notice - Revelation 19:15 - “And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.”

In order for the VICTORIOUS LORD JESUS CHRIST to rule with a rod of iron, He must FIRST tread the winepress of the fierceness and wrath!

The blood will be run so high, that it will rise up to the horse’s bridle!

And as we finish the passage, NOT the 19th chapter of Revelation -

We are left with a sobering insignia that is emblazoned for ALL to witness - “KING OF KINGS & LORD OF LORDS.”

In the words of my dear friend, I LOVE THIS, in his Southern educated ettiquette -

The Lord Jesus Christ is simply stating - “I AM the Boss, I AM in Charge, I AM here to take over.”

THAT is the MAN that Will Be Riding the White Horse in Revelation 19