The Glorious Return of Jesus Christ Part 3
The Book of Revelation • Sermon • Submitted
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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.
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 he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
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.
And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
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.
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.
And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them 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.
Introduction:
I. The Return of the Conqueror (vs. 11-13)
II. The Regiments of the Conqueror (vs. 14)
And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
Of course, the armies of heaven that John sees here are the made up of four different divisions.
The first group is the Church, the Bride of the Lamb, so was seen earlier in this chapter as wearing fine lien, clean and white.
The second group will be the tribulation saints; who, according to 7:9 are pictured as wearing white robes.
The third group is the Old Testament Saints who will be resurrected after the Tribulation, according to .
The final group that will make us the this holy army are the holy angels according to .
But, of course, the group of this holy army that I want to focus is the first group; the bride of the Lamb, the Church.
Because as we come back with Jesus and as Christ takes His place on the David’s Throne, the Scripture tell us that we will sit on the throne with Him.
To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
And we will rule the nations with Him.
Revelation
And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
What we need to understand is that faithful service in this age, affects a Christians position in the coming Kingdom of Jesus.
According to the words of Christ in , not all Christians will receive equal ruling authority in the coming Kingdom.
Some will be granted more ruling authority than others.
Let me break this down for you.
All Christians are headed for a day of judgment before the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Scriptures explicitly mention the judgment seat of Christ in two places; in each, he is addressing Christians.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
In both cases, the Greek word for “judgment” is “βῆμα”.
In ancient times, the βῆμα was a raised platform of step that was used in athletic or political arena.
Rulers or judges would ascend the βῆμα to makes decisions in legal cases.
According to , Pilate judged Jesus from his βῆμα seat.
In athletic competitions, a judge would ascend the βῆμα in order to judge the competition and to award the winner.
The Scriptures reveal several truths about the judgment seat of Christ.
First, Jesus is the judge who presides over the βῆμα.
says that it is the “judgment seat of Christ”.
Second, the subjects of the judgment seat are Christians.
In each of the passages that refer to the judgment seat of Christ, Paul is addressing the Christians in Rome and the Christians in Corinth.
The result of the judgment will be rewards for what a Christian has done with his or her life, for good deeds or bad.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
Now, I want to make something very clear to you from this passage.
When Paul tells the Christians at Corinth that they are going to be judged by the things that they have that are “bad” I want o give you some perspective on that.
I have heard, over the years, many Preachers preach that believers will be judged for the sins when they stand before the Lord and this is usually the passage that they try and teach that.
But that is not what this passages is teaching at all.
The word that is translated “bad” here, is the Greek word “φαῦλος” and certainly can and does means “bad, evil” in some contexts of Scripture.
The operative word there is context.
Because the word can also means, “low-grade” or “inferior in quality”.
How does the context help us determine what would be the proper meaning?
The context of who the Apostle is talking too; and that is Christians.
Therefore, this cannot mean that we are being judged for our sins, since our sins have already been judged by Christ and we are under no condemnation.
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
So what we are being judged for is the level of quality of our works done here on earth.
The good refers to those works that are done in the power of the Holy Spirit and bring God glory.
The “bad” refers to worthless deeds that do not bring honor to God.
Those deeds that are performed in the flesh.
The Apostle breaks it down this way.
Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
The “gold, silver, precious stones” are the “good” of .
Likewise, “wood, hay and straw” represent the bad.
The Lord Jesus with His testing of fire will judge what sort of work it is.
Good works will lead to a reward.
Bad works will be burned up, they cannot lead to reward.
In fact, bad or worthless deeds are linked with suffering loss, according to verse 15.
Now, what is that loss?
It cannot be a loss of salvation.
If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
Nor can it be a punitive loss for judgment over sin; since, we have already seen was judged on Christ and we are not under condemnation.
Biblical Doctrine: A Systematic Summary of Bible Truth The Judgment Seat of Christ
The “loss” could be the realization and awareness of lost opportunities for Christ and a deep remorse for wasting valuable opportunities to bring God glory and to gain greater eternal reward.
Even though, the Christians appearing before the Lord will be a joyous event, the believer should strive to avoid a sense of shame or loss.
And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
Keep this in mid that the judgment seat of Christ does not stop with the evaluation of deeds, but go deeper to motives.
1 Corinthians 4:5
Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.
Biblical Doctrine: A Systematic Summary of Bible Truth The Judgment Seat of Christ
Thus, the judgment before Jesus is so penetrating that motives behind deeds are evaluated as well. Not only does what we do matter, but so does why we do what we do.
III. The Rule of the Conqueror (vs. 15-16)
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.
And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
Keep this in mind that shortly before the return of Jesus Christ, Satan will be ruling the world through the AntiChrist who He will empower and the city of Babylon will function as his capital.
When Jesus Christ returns He will “strike down the nations and He will rule them with a rod of iron”.
Understand that the fact that the text tell us that Jesus will “strike down the nations” means that governments and nations will exist during the time of the Millennial Kingdom.
And according to , Jesus will make executive decisions on behave of the nations and will establish international harmony.
Just to give you a little foretaste of what he will see in later chapters on this subject; nations will also exist in the New Kingdom as well as Kings of the earth.
And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
Revelation 21:
And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.
You see, God was the creator of the government and He will keep nations and Kings in the New Jerusalem.
But these Kings and nations will serve and honor the King of Kings.
And I believe that this kingship is what the Apostle had in mind when we talked early about us ruling with Him according to our deeds; I believe that this is the rulership that He had in mind.
But when He comes back, how will He take down the nations.
Our text tells us that out of His mouth goes a sharp sword.
Now, there are two Greek words in the NT that are translated sword, and they are both used in Revelation as well as other places in the NT.
The first one is “μάχαιρα” and it speaks about a small dagger.
It is a short sword just like the one that Peter pulled to try and kill the Roman soldier when they came to arrest Christ.
The other word is the word “ῥομφαία” and this speaks about a large and broad sword.
The word that used in our text that will come out of the mouth of Christ is the “ῥομφαία”, the large and broad sword.
The small dagger sword would be the sword that is used for precision cutting.
Then ῥομφαία sword is one that used to just weld around that will do the most damage.
Make no doubt about it but this is the wrath of the Holy One.
Let me just remind you of something that you probably do not need to be reminded, for those of you that have been with is as we have looked at the details of the Tribulation period; God is a God of wrath!
The doctrine of the wrath of God is not just something that is taught in the OT.
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)
As with the other attributes of God, this is an attribute for which we should thank and praise God. It may not immediately appear to us how this can be done, since wrath seems to be such a negative concept. Viewed alone, it would arouse only fear and dread. Yet it is helpful for us to ask what God would be like if he were a God that did not hate sin. He would then be a God who either delighted in sin or at least was not troubled by it. Such a God would not be worthy of our worship, for sin is hateful and it is worthy of being hated. Sin ought not to be. It is in fact a virtue to hate evil and sin (cf. Heb. 1:9; Zech. 8:17; et al.), and we rightly imitate this attribute of God when we feel hatred against great evil, injustice, and sin.
If you remember that none of the believers that follow Christ will be carrying a weapon; only Christ.
And He will weld this sword and will do massive damage.
But I want you to keep this in mind as well; I do not believe that this is a literal sword.
Why? Because the text tells that this sword comes out of His mouth.
I do not believe that Christ is coming as one of those carnival acts and pulls a literal sword out of His mouth and chops down His enemies.
What I believe happens is as Christ speaks, He opens His mouth, that His words will be so powerful that it will be as if the people will cut down like they had been attacked by a sword.
And everyone of John’s readers would have understood that imagery.
And with the word of His mouth He will strike down the nations.
All the elect Gentiles and Israel will be spared, but the rest of the wicked will be cut down.
The dead will include all of those that have been gathered for the Battle of Armageddon, none will escape.
The rest of the world’s unredeemed will be judged and executed at the sheep and goat judgment in .
The stern, swift judgment that marks the onset of the Christ’s Kingdom, will be the pattern for the entire Kingdom.
The text tells us that He will rule with a “rod of Iron”.
Remember we saw this before.
And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.
Revelation 12–22: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary The Rule of the Conqueror
He will swiftly judge all sin and instantly put down any rebellion. All people will be required to conform to His law or face immediate judgment.
Remember that we have seen a couple of times tonight that Jesus promised believers that we would rule in the Kingdom with Him; with a rod of iron.
And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
And then the text tells us:
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.
Revelation 12–22: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary The Rule of the Conqueror
That vivid symbol of God’s wrath comes from the ancient practice of stomping on grapes as part of the wine-making process. The splattering of the grape juice pictures the pouring out of the blood of Christ’s enemies
Revelation 14:
Then another angel, the one who has power over fire, came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe.”
So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God.
And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, for a distance of two hundred miles.
Then our text reads:
And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
Revelation 12–22: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary The Rule of the Conqueror
In a final look at the returning King, John saw in his vision that Christ wore a banner around His robe and on His thigh (across His chest and hanging down on His upper leg as He rides), on which He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” (cf. 17:14; Deut. 10:17; 1 Tim. 6:15). This is the third name given to the Lord Jesus Christ in this passage. The incomprehensible name of verse 12 may express the mystery of His essential deity. Verse 13 calls Him the Word of God, expressing His incarnation as the Son of God. The name “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” expresses His sovereign triumph over all foes and His absolute rule in His soon to be established kingdom.