Revelation 19:11-20:3 - The Avenger

The Avenger

Revelation 19:11-20:3

How many of you have ever watched a western movie? I have always been a fan of them especially the ones where the prospectors or the stagecoach occupants are pinned down by the Indians, or Native Americans or First Peoples, whichever is politically correct right now. But they are pinned down, out of ammunition and all is lost. But suddenly you hear over the din of war whoops a bugle sounding charge. To the delight of the oppressed over the hill rides the cavalry to save the day. They are coming to save the people from destruction and the leader, captain, lieutenant or general is always on a white horse. In today’s passage we are going to see a conquering Warrior ride on the scene to destroy the enemy. However He is not coming to save the people in distress. He has a different task at hand and for those who He defeats this is not going to be a “happily ever after” movie. This conquering rider on a white horse is coming not for deliverance but for judgment, for vengeance and nothing will be able to stand against Him. Let’s pray.

Revelation 19:11-20:3 11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. 17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, 18 that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.” 19 And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. 20 Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21 And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.

Revelation 20:1-3 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is theDevil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.[1]

In this first section of Scripture this morning, verses 11-16, instead of going verse by verse I want first to look at the names of the One on the white horse. Then I want us to look at the description of this Rider then a quick look at those who followed Him. There are four names given to this rider and one name that is not known. Let’s take a look at these names so we can know for certain Who this Rider is. In verse eleven He is called Faithful and True. Back in Revelation 3:14 in His letter to Laodicea Jesus identified Himself as the Faithful and True witness. Jesus indeed was faithful and true to God’s plan to redeem to Himself a people. To contrast Faithful and True with the Beast that has been leading the Harlot to kill the people of God we know that he was faithless and a false messiah. So in the very first name we can know for sure that it is Jesus that is riding in on the white horse. He is Faithful and True.

In verse 12 we see that He has a name written that no one knows except Himself. This one is a little more difficult but I think there are two possibilities and it could be some of both. First in the ancient near east it was believed that if you knew someone’s name then you could have power over them, especially spirits. That was the accepted method of exorcising demons. Since no one could know His name then this would indicate that there was no one that could command Him, He has dominion over all of His creation. That is one possibility. Another reason why no one knows the name could be because Christ is infinite, unknowable aspects of his attributes will always remain. Humans, even in their eternal glorified condition, may know only what he chooses to reveal, and his secret name reminds us of this. I think this is a better understanding of no one knowing His name. Just like God the Father we can never know all there is to know about the infinite Son of God.

In verse 13 we are told that His name is called The Word of God. In John 1:1and 14 we read this: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.[2]… 14 And the Word became 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.[3] And in 1 John 1:1 He is called the Word of Life. If you are wondering just how powerful the Word of God is you need look no further than Genesis 1. Eight different times in Genesis 1 we find the words “God said” and every single time it was so. God said let there be light and the darkness was gone. I’m not going to go through them but it was because of the Word of God that all things are created. To make this even more clear that it is Jesus that is the Word of God that created all things in John 1:3 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 And in Colossians 1:16 we see: 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.[4] From the beginning He is the Word of God and at the end of the age, the same “Word of God”—the Lord Jesus Christ—is the active agent accomplishing the will of God for the universe.[5] He is Faithful and True, incomprehensible and the Word of God.

The last name we see for this rider on the white horse who is coming for vengeance is found in verse 16: King of kings and Lord of lords. This name is in fact two titles—the only other place they appear together in Scripture, the order is reversed (17:14) He is the Lord of lords and King of kings. In other parts of Scripture the two titles are given separately to God; now together, they are written indelibly on the very person of Christ. The Beast demanded to be worshiped and he dominated all the other kings and lords of the earth - for a while. But in our passage this morning we see that Jesus is King over earth’s kings, Lord over all other lords, demonstrated beyond question in his ultimate victory over “the kings of the earth” as we will see in verse 19-21.

Almost an entire “doctrine of Christ” can be developed from these four revealed titles and the one hidden name: •Faithful and True—He successfully completed His “first mission” at His first coming by redeeming for Himself the people that His Father had given Him. •The Word of God—He personifies awesome power as God’s agent both in creating and judging. •King of kings—He is superior to all other rulers. •Lord of lords—He is sovereign over the whole universe, natural and supernatural. •The Name no one knows but Himself—Demonstrating the inability of humans ever to exhaust understanding of him.[6] He is the Faithful and True, incomprehensible, Word of God, the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Even though we cannot know all there is to know about the King of kings and Lord of lords John does give us a pretty good description of Him. With a name like Faithful and True we can expect that He will as John says in verse 11 judge and make war in righteousness. In John 8:15-16 Jesus admitted that at His first coming He did not come to judge but if He did (or when He did) His judgment would be true. The people He will judge and make war against are those who have seen God’s grace and mercy and they have also seen His judgments, they are without excuse as Paul says in Romans 1:18-23.

In verse 12 He has eyes like flames of fire which is the same thing John saw in chapter 1:14 in His first vision of the One Who walked among the golden lampstands (the church). Simply stated Jesus sees everything. Jesus is omniscient and therefore has all the information necessary to judge and make war properly. Not only is He omniscient but He is the sovereign over the universe as we see in verse 12 where John says that on His head are many crowns. When we have seen Him before with a crown on His head it was a crown of victory; a stephanos. But now He is wearing not just a royal crown but many royal crowns indicating that not only does He conquer but He rules and reigns over His conquest. The dragon had worn 10 crowns on his head and the Antichrist had worn 10 but our King that is riding in on the white horse to avenge His people is wearing many crowns; John could not even count them. This symbolizes His supreme sovereignty over His creation.

In verse 13 John sees Him as wearing a robe dipped in blood. The question that comes to mind is: Whose blood is this that Faithful and True Word of God is wearing. There are three possibilities. Some believe that it is the blood of the martyrs that He is coming to avenge. Others believe this is in reference to Isaiah 63:24 where it states that God will tread the wine vats destroying His enemies. Chapter 14:18-20 speaks of Him treading the wine vats outside the city demonstrating His destruction of God’s enemies. However this would have required Him to have already tread the wine press before He left heaven. We do need to remember that this is all symbolic so either one of these could be the case but I think there is a better understanding of the symbolism of the blood soaked robe. What is the means by which the redeemed of God were bought? It was the shed blood of Jesus Christ. I believe that the blood soaked robe signifies the victory purchased for us on the cross of Calvary; it is His blood that His robe is soaked with showing the price He paid for those He came to avenge.

In verse 15 we see that He has two weapons. Out of His mouth goes a sharp sword with which He strikes the nations (all who not the redeemed of God). Just like the fiery eyes in Revelation 1 this symbol of the sword proceeding from the mouth of Jesus is a part of John’s first vision. That sword was symbolic of His coming to judge and make war, conquering His enemy at some future time, well now the time has come. Hebrews 4:12-13 12For the word of God isliving and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things arenaked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. This is literally the Word of God using the word of God to destroy the enemy of God. But it does not end with conquest He will also rule them with a rod of iron or a scepter of iron. When He rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday on a donkey He came to change mankind, to rule and reign in the heart. This time He is riding in on a white horse to conquer with a sword and rule with a rod of iron. He will Himself do what is described in Revelation 14:18-20, He will tread the winepress of the wrath of God. He will avenge His people.

Following Faithful and True, the transcendent, Word of God with fiery eyes wearing many crowns, who is wearing His robe soaked in His own blood, with the sharp sword and iron rod is the armies of heaven. There is some controversy as to who this army is but I think it can be solved by the fact that it is armies not army. I believe that along with the commanding King of kings and Lord of lords are the angelic hosts of heaven but I also believe we see the redeemed of God. Back in chapter 17 there were 10 kings under the leadership of the Beast that will make war with the Lamb. Let’s read Revelation 17:14 14These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him arecalled, chosen, and faithful.” Who are the called, chosen and faithful other than the redeemed of God? And in chapter 19:8 we read this about the church, the redeemed of God: 8And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. So the armies of heaven – the angelic host and the redeemed of God – will follow the King of kings and the Lord of lords into battle. But we will see that He doesn’t need them.

Let me go ahead and read the next section of Scripture again; Revelation 19:17-20:3but before I do I’ll just go ahead and tell you that I’m not going to spend too much time on it. I wanted us to dwell more on the person of Jesus Christ than on the destruction of the wicked because we will see it again in the coming weeks. So let’s read: 17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, 18 that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.” 19 And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. 20 Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21 And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.

Revelation 20:1-3 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is theDevil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.[7]

When you read this passage and contrast it to the passage we looked at last week; the wedding supper of the Lamb you see a stark difference between those who are called to the wedding feast and those who are at the supper of the Great God. One is there by being called to the feast the other is there as the feast. The ones at the wedding supper are getting what they do not deserve while those at the supper of the great God are getting what they deserve. The interesting thing is that there is no battle. The people who follow the Beast after being deceived by the False Prophet gather for battle but it just doesn’t seem to materialize. The King of kings and Lord of lords just grasps the Beast and the False Prophet and throw them alive into hell, that is what that lake of fire that is burning with brimstone or sulfur is; hell. Then all those who followed them are killed by the Word of God with the word of God. There is a little difficulty here because it says that the rest were killed but back in verse 15 it says that He will rule them with a rod of iron. There are obviously some things here that we are not privy to. But that is ok because if there are things about our Lord Jesus that we cannot know about then there can easily be things that He does that we do not yet know about. Either way they become bird food at the command of our Lord. In righteousness He judges and makes war.

I included the first three verses of chapter 20 mostly to prepare us to see the totality of Christ Jesus’ vengeance on the enemy of His people. Here Satan is locked away, restricted from deceiving the nations for a time. Later we will see Him cast into the same lake of fire that the Beast and the False Prophet were cast into along with all those whose names are not written in the Book of life of the Lamb. To the redeemed of God Faithful and True is our salvation but to the enemy of God, the Word of God is the righteous judge.

I read a quote this week from a man named John Duncan. He was a preacher, professor, theologian in the 1800’s. He said: “Every sin will be adequately punished; blessed be God, not every sinner.” Of course for the redeemed of God Jesus took the punishment for our sin but for those who are not redeemed their sin will be paid for, and it will be their payment to make for all eternity. The reason I wanted to drive that point home today by looking at Jesus as the eternal Judge, the Commander of the armies of heaven who comes to avenge His people is because of another quote I came across this week by William G. T. Shedd another theologian from the 1800’s who said: “Many literalize and emphasize [God's] love, but convert [His] wrath into metaphor and hyperbole.” Folks I can quote quite a few verses about God’s love and His salvation; John 3:16 God so love the world that He gave His only begotten Son that those who believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Romans 5:8 God commended His own love towards us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. 1 John 4:8 and 1 John 4:16 we read that God is love. Even in the Old Testament we find Jeremiah 31:3 The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.[8] Yes I can quote quite a few more about His love and salvation but I cannot quote from memory any about His vengeance and wrath. Why is that? It is because I don’t like to think about His vengeance and wrath. Jesus has come and shown His love but He will come and avenge His people. That is just as much a part of the gospel message as the love and salvation. This brings me to my last quote for the day. I have used it before but not in its entirety. This is from Charles Spurgeon who said: “If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our dead bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped around their knees. If hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let no one go UNWARNED or unsprayed for.” Every sin will be paid for, either by Christ for the redeemed or by the sinner for eternity. God’s wrath and vengeance is real and the lost must be warned. Let’s pray.

[1] The New King James Version. (1982). (Re 19:11–20:3). Nashville: Thomas Nelson. [2] The New King James Version. (1982). (Jn 1:1). Nashville: Thomas Nelson. [3] The New King James Version. (1982). (Jn 1:14). Nashville: Thomas Nelson. [4] The New King James Version. (1982). (Col 1:16). Nashville: Thomas Nelson. [5]Easley, K. H. (1998). Revelation(Vol. 12, p. 354). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers. [6]Easley, K. H. (1998). Revelation(Vol. 12, p. 358). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers. [7] The New King James Version. (1982). (Re 19:11–20:3). Nashville: Thomas Nelson. [8] The New King James Version. (1982). (Je 31:3). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.