Worthy is the Lamb: The Glorious Return of Jesus Christ

Text: Revelation 19:11-16

Theme: At our Lord’s first Advent he came as a child, but At our Lord’s second Advent he is coming as a conqueror – Jesus is the Warrior-Messiah

A century ago most people believed that history was progressing inexorably toward a man-made utopia. The Industrial Revolution, the march of scientific discovery, and the increasing pace of social reform seemed to promise nothing but brighter days ahead. Today, however, two world wars; innumerable regional, civil, and national wars; countless acts of terrorism and senseless violence; and the nearly complete collapse of moral values make such rosy optimism seem quaintly naive.

The Bible teaches that things will be wonderfully better, but only after they become unimaginably worse. There is only one solution for the world’s problems: the return of its true King, the Lord Jesus Christ, to establish absolute monarchy and unilateral authority in His earthly kingdom. Only under His rule will there be peace instead of war, justice instead of inequity, and righteousness instead of wickedness. But that glorious event will not occur without fierce opposition from Satan, his demon hordes, and the world of wicked sinners. The Tribulation, the seven-year period immediately before Christ’s return, will witness a world united under the leadership of an evil megalomaniac known as Antichrist — in Revelation, the Apostle John refers to him simply as the Beast.

The Tribulation will be a time of escalating human defiance toward God, despite the unprecedented outpouring of God’s wrath in an ever increasing series of judgments. Stubbornly hardening their hearts against the truth of the gospel, people will obstinately refuse to repent (9:20–21; 16:9, 11). Even the destruction of Antichrist’s magnificent capital city in the waning months of the great tribulation; a city which the apostle refers to as The Great Babylon (chaps. 17–18) will provoke loud laments, but no repentance.

Where is the church during this period? It is here, but I have no doubt it has gone underground. This has been true throughout the ages. Whether it’s the Christians at Rome meeting in the catacombs, or the Christians of North Korea secretly meeting in homes, God’s people have frequently been forced underground because of persecution.

The Book of Revelation makes it clear that many Christians will be martyred during this cataclysmic period of earth history. But throughout 2000 years of history the church has repeatedly survived the persecution of despots who have boldly claimed that they would rid the earth of a people called Christian. The prayer of God’s people during these times has always been the same; “Lord Jesus come quickly.” Revelation 19:11-21 is the answer to that prayer.

This passage tells us three things about the 2nd Advent of Christ.

Jesus is returning in glory and in power

Jesus is returning to judge all who reject him

Jesus is returning to defeat the enemy who oppose him

I. JESUS IS RETURNING IN GLORY AND IN POWER vs. 11-16

1. I have four things to tell you about Christ coming in glory and power

a. this will be the longest part of the message, with the last two points rather brief

2. the Apostle John gives us for glimpses of Jesus in these five verses

a. 1st, Jesus is the Warrior-Messiah

b. 2nd, Jesus is the Many-Crowned Conqueror

c. 3rd, Jesus is the Righteous Judge

d. 4th, Jesus is the Lord of lords and King of kings

A. JESUS IS THE WARRIOR-MESSIAH

“ Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.” (Revelation 19:11, ESV)

“From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.” (Revelation 19:15, ESV)

1. the apostle paints a vivid prophetic picture of an unnamed conqueror who strides forth in crimson-stained garments riding a great white war-horse

a. he comes avenging his people, and vindicating his Father’s will

b. he will strike down the nations with a sword that comes from his mouth

c. he will rule those nations with a rod of iron

d. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty

2. this is the Messiah we most often see in the writings of the Old Testament prophets

a. it’s the Messiah the Jews were hoping for and expecting, and is one of the reasons why the Jewish leaders rejected Jesus — he did not meet their messianic expectations

3. at his 1st Advent Jesus came in grace, but at his 2nd Advent Jesus comes in glory

a. when Jesus comes a second time he will destroy all hostile and opposing powers

b. in his cross and resurrection Christ won a great victory over the powers of evil and by his second coming he will execute that victory

4. the Christ who comes forth from heaven is the Warrior-Messiah foretold in the Old Testament

a. this was the Savior who slew Pharaoh’s army after parting the Red Sea for Israel to pass through

1) at that victory Moses sang, “The LORD is a man of war; the LORD is his name” (Ex. 15:3)

b. this is the battle captain who appeared to Joshua “with his drawn sword in his hand” (Josh. 5:13)

1) Jesus tells Joshua, “I am the commander of the army of the LORD,” and Joshua worshiped him (5:14)

5. in his first coming, Jesus dealt with sin by offering his own blood in sacrifice, but now he returns in glory, “and in righteousness he judges and makes war” (Rev. 19:11).

a. we are told that this warrior-Messiah is called Faithful and True

1) he will be faithful and true to the mission of the Father — he will judge in righteousness

2) God perfectly knows the hearts of both his righteous followers, and his unrighteous enemies

3) when Christ makes war upon The Beast, and the Beast’s followers there will be no ‘collateral damage’— no saint of God will accidentally be caught up in Christ’s judgment

B. JESUS IS A MANY-CROWNED CONQUEROR

“His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself.” (Revelation 19:12, ESV)

1. in vs. 12 John continues to describe a Jesus who comes in power and glory

a. John describes him with ‘eyes like flames of fire,’ he wears ‘many crowns,’ and he ‘has a name known only to himself’

2. his ‘eyes like flames of fire’ depicts the penetrating sight of God that discovers all sin

“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:13, NIV84)

a. on the one hand, that ought to bless you

b. on the other hand, that ought to terrify you

c. Jesus sees every action, he knows every thought, he is aware of every emotion of your heat that you’ve ever had

1) there is nothing about you that escapes his knowledge

ILLUS. When the lost cry out for the mountains to fall on them to hide them from the wrath of the Lamb it will be to no avail. Christ knows and see all.

d. the only thing that will save a man in that day is if the penetrating sight of God sees the blood of Jesus covering your sin

3. he wears ‘many crowns’

ILLUS. In the book of Revelation there are two words translated as ‘crown’ — stephanos refers to the laurel crown of victory, (if your name is Stephen or Stephanie your name means ‘crown’). These were crowns of honor given to competitors who won an athletic competition. The other word translated ‘crown’ in Revelation is diadem and refers to crowns of ruling authority. This is the kind of crown a King would ware, and represents his sovereignty, and his authority.

a. Jesus is wearing many diadems — crowns of authority and sovereignty

1) how many? ... we’re not told, but my guess is 195 because that’s how many nations there are in the world! — he is sovereign over every single one of them

b. when Jesus came in his 1st Advent, he conquered by his cross, and through his faithful obedience to the Father

c. when Christ comes in his 2nd Advent, he comes with the glory, and the authority God promised him from before the foundation of the world

“And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:8–11, ESV)

4. he has a name ‘known only to himself’

ILLUS. I’ve actually had people ask me, “Pastor, what do you think that name is?” OK, some of you will get that in a minute.

a. there are depths to Christ’s deity that are beyond our understanding — while much is revealed about our Savior in the Scriptures not everything is revealed about our Savior in the Scriptures

1) only in heaven will we come to understand the true glory and majesty of the Savior

ILLUS. In the ancient world, to know someone’s full name was to, somehow, have power over them. John reminds us that Jesus remains beyond the grasp of his foes — they will never fully understand him, and therefore will always underestimate him.

C. JESUS COMES IN RIGHTEOUSNESS TO JUDGE

“He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.” (Revelation 19:13, ESV)

1. our Lord’s power and glory is revealed in his perfect judgment upon the Beast, and those who have rejected him

ILLUS. The Chinese military strategist Sun Tsu famously wrote that a wise general does not enter battle seeking victory, but only enters battle having already achieved it.

a. Jesus enters the last great battle on earth having already achieved victory!

2. Jesus wields God’s sword of justice in perfect righteousness

a. no innocent righteous ones will accidentally be cut down, and no unrighteous person will secretly slip away

3. God’s judgment, and wrath will be based upon the Word of God

a. but it is not the written word of God that the Father will measure us by, but the living word of God — Jesus

1) this is why so many people will be surprised at the end of history as God separates the sheep from the goats, the lost from the saved, the righteous from the unrighteous

2) there will be those who stand before God and say, “But I did everything your BIBLE told me to do. I loved my wife. I raised my children with religion. I was kind to my neighbor. I didn’t steal from my boss. I voted in every election, and prayed for those in authority over me, even when I didn’t like them.”

a) this is the gospel of moralism, and it will not save any more than the gospel of legalism, or the gospel of spiritualism, or the gospel of socialism

b. Jesus, the living Word of God, is the measure by which our lives shall be judged,

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. ... 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” (John 1:1-2; 4, ESV)

1) as a believers our life is in the Christ — who is the Living Word of God — he is our light

2) men will be judged by whether or not they were conformed to the image of Christ rather than the image of the Scriptures

3) it’s the Scriptures that tell us about the Christ, about his redemptive work, about how to receive him as Lord and Savior — but always remember it’s the person of Christ by whom we shall be judged, and not whether or not we could tick off a list of rituals or moralistic behavior that we measured up to

4. the robe of Christ dipped in blood is a reminder that the redemption of the Lamb will be remembered for all of eternity

a. for all of eternity we will be reminded that without the shedding of his blood there is no forgiveness of sin

D. JESUS COMES AS LORD OF LORDS AND KING OF KINGS

“On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.” (Revelation 19:16, ESV)

ILLUS. At the height of Great Britain’s world dominance, at the end of the 19th century, England’s Queen Victoria had an extensive list of titles indicating the vastness of the Empire she ruled over. She was known as “her Imperial Majesty Queen Victoria by the grace of God, sovereign of the United Kingdom, of Great Britain, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Empress of India, and the colonies. Added to that she was also known as the Princess of Hanover, Saxe Coburg, and Gotha, the Duchess of Saxony, Brunswick, and Lunenburg.

1. from a human perspective, that's a pretty impressive set of titles, but they do not come near the title that Jesus bears — King of kings, and Lord of lords

2. when Jesus ascended into heaven after his resurrection, the Father “seated him … far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church” (Eph. 1:20–22)

a. Jesus thus appears in judgment not to become Ruler over all, but already possessing ultimate lordship, wearing many diadems of rule and dominion on his sovereign head

b. what he is by right he now enforces by actual rule, taking the ends of the earth as his possession

3. Jesus Is Returning in Glory and Power

II. JESUS IS RETURNING TO JUDGE ALL WHO REJECT HIM vs. 17-18

“Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, 18 to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.”” (Revelation 19:17–18, ESV)

1. Jesus is coming to judge the world in vivid wrath

2. these verses tell us how complete will be our Lord’s victory over the Antichrist and his followers

a. when he returns Jesus is interrupting an impending battle that is about to take place on earth

b. this is the Battle of Armageddon

3. back in Revelation 16 we were given a glimpse of the Battle of Armageddon

a. it is the Sixth Bowl Judgment

“The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east. 13 And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. 14 For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty. 15 (“Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”) 16 And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.” (Revelation 16:12–16, ESV).

1) Armageddon literally means the Valley of Megiddo

ILLUS. For most of his life Jesus would have enjoyed one of the most spectacular views in Israel — a view of the Valley of Jezreel. The village of Nazareth sits on an escarpment on the south east side of the valley, and every day Jesus would’ve looked out over the Valley of Jezreel where so much of Israel’s history took place. Megiddo has fertile soils and is one of Israel’s most productive agricultural regions. We know the Valley of Jezreel better by its name in the Book of Revelation — Armageddon. It is a 375 square-mile Valley in northern Israel. Napoleon Bonaparte said that the Valley of Megiddo is the most natural battlefield on earth.

2) when Jesus returns he will be coming back to a very familiar place

a) in his day is was a place of verdant tranquility, but when he comes again, it will become a place of unbelievable slaughter

4. in the closing days of the Great Tribulation a hostility against Israel will reach fever pitch

ILLUS. I believe that just as Adolph Hitler, in the 1930s, convinced the German people that the Jews were the reasons for all of Germany’s problems, that similarly the antichrist will convince world leaders that Israel is the reason for the world’s woes.

a. the antichrist will encourage the nations of the world to go to war against Israel, and this passage finds the armies of the world bivouacked in the Valley of Megiddo as they prepare to march against Jerusalem, but the Lord shall come and smite them

b. Revelation 19:17 refers to this battle as “the great supper of God”

1) it’s a “supper” for the birds who gorge themselves on the remains of this army that has fallen before Christ

5. what we find in verses 17-18 is not so much a great battle, as a great falling or even more specifically a great slaughter

a. Christ will merely speak, and by his Word — represented by the sharp sword that comes out of his mouth — the nations shall be struck down

“And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.” (Revelation 19:21, ESV)

6. this will be that last great world event before out Christ establishes his Millennial Kingdom when he shall rule for 1,000 years

A. THERE WILL NO ESCAPE FOR THOSE WHO REJECT HIM

1. as roadkill is ready for the vultures to swoop in and devour it, so the world is ready for Christ’s judgment and God’s wrath

B. THERE WILL BE NO DISCRIMINATION FOR THOSE WHO REJECT HIM

1. when Jesus comes again to judge this world social rank or status will not exempt you from the judgment

2. Jesus Is Returning to Judge All Who Reject Him

III. JESUS IS RETURNING TO DEFEAT THE ENEMY WHO OPPOSE HIM vs. 19-21

“And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. 20 And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.” (Revelation 19:19–20, ESV)

1. contrary to Hollywood’s apocalyptic interpretation of the battle of Armageddon it will be something of a disappointment — because it will be over in a flash

ILLUS. Chuck Swindoll writes of this passage, “Before anybody on earth can utter the word “Armageddon,” the battle of Armageddon will be over.” Martin Luther refers to this truth when he writes in his hymn A Mighty Fortress is our God that “ ... one little word will fell him.”

2. it is the same old story ... the nations in their folly were united against Christ at his 1st Advent

“And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, 25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “ ‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? 26 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’— 27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. 29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness,” (Acts 4:24–29, ESV)

a. at his 1st Advent the world did its worst to Jesus — they crucified him — but in doing so only accomplished God’s redemptive plan

b. the world will once again unite against our Christ at the end of history, but they are simply marching in step to God’s will and their ultimate judgment

A. GOD’S ENEMIES ARE JUDGED AND ETERNALLY CONDEMNED

1. the Beast and the False Prophet are the first two inhabitants of the eternal Lake of Fire

2. the Bible tells us that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ is the culmination of all of God’s redemptive history

a. God’s redemptive work is “wrapped up” so to speak in the 2nd Advent of the Son

1) it is at this time that the serpent’s head will be finally and fully crushed

2) it is at this time that the fulfillment of God’s promise to King David will be fulfilled — that one of his descendants shall forever set on his throne

3) it is this event that fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah, “For unto us a son is given… And the government shall be upon his shoulders, and of the increase of his government, and peace there shall be no end.”

4) it is this event that Jesus taught us to pray for — thy kingdom come thy will be done

5) it is this event that fulfills the angles prophetic announcement to the disciples, “ ... This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”” (Acts 1:11, ESV)

6) it is this event that answers the pleading of the saints under the altar, asking “how long, sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” (Revelation 6:9)

3. in the twinkling of an eye God’s enemies are dispatched

ILLUS. John Phillips in his commentary on the book of Revelation writes “He speaks a word, and the war is over. The blasphemous, loudmouth beast is stricken where he stands. The false prophet, the miracle working windbag from the pit is punctured and still. The pair of them are bundled up and hurled headlong into the everlasting flames. Another word, and the panic stricken armies real and stagger and fall down dead. Field marshals and generals, admirals and air commanders, soldiers and sailors, rank-and-file, one and all – they fall. And the vultures will descend, and cover the scene thus ends the battle of Armageddon.”

4. Jesus Is Returning to Defeat the Enemy Who Oppose Him

IV. APPLICATION

1. Revelation 19 refers to two ‘suppers’

a. in vs. 7 there is The Marriage Supper of the Lamb

1) this is the ultimate, and final, and complete redemption of God’s Elect

2) it includes the resurrection of the saints, our glorification with Christ, and the reception of our eternal reward

3) both Old and New Testaments picture this event is a great banquet

b. in vs. 17 there is The Great Supper of God

2. there is a telling difference between these two suppers, and you all have a choice: You can enjoy the wedding supper with Jesus or You can be the supper of vultures and crows

Con. You can either accept God’s invitation, through Christ, to be a part of the marriage supper of the Lamb, or reject God’s invitation or become the main course in the supper of our great God.