The Conquering King Returns

Revelation 19:11-20:3

The Conquering King

Intro: Before the Normandy Invasion General Eisenhower wrote a letter to be dispersed or read to the troops waiting to go in to hostile territory.

The opening paragraph says this “You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months, The eyes of the world are upon you. The hope and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

“Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is will trained, well equipped and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely.”

Read Versus:

Main Idea: Jesus fights the Battles for us

I. Entering the Battlefield (11-14)

John’s view turns from the wedding feast to Heaven Opening seeing a white horse. But more importantly than the horse, there is a rider.The one sitting on it is called faithful and true.

This phrase calls us back to Revelation 3:14 when Jesus uses the same description of himself when he speaks to the Church at Laodicea. The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness. But instead of witnessing, Jesus Comes as the faithful and true judge.

One commentator says John observes that his eyes are like the blazing of a fire, and he has on his head many diadems or crowns. Both descriptions are designed to heighten the sense of awesomeness, justice, and irresistible power and authority. The eyes like blazing fire suggest not only judgment put penetrating knowledge. Whereas many of the dragon’s minions have appeared with crowns; and even though the Lamb has usually been pictured with a victor’s wreath, he now appears as the warrior-judge, and all authority is his. Accordingly, he is crowned with multiple diadems.

Jesus’ crowns are permanent and carry real weight. The dragons crowns are temporary, because his rule is temporary.

Staying in verse 12 we have a curious phrase that says he has a name that no one knows. This sees dad, but its the reason we call God God. In Exodus 3 when Moses ask God’s name he says tell them I AM sent you. But that isn’t really a name as we know it. And Yahweh is the closest thing we have to His name, but it’s really not.

Why, because in the ancient world and I think to some extent today, knowing your name goes me power. When My mom said Darin Scott Wilt, I knew that I was in trouble and I better obey her. A relationship is different if you know someone’s name versus just calling them sir or ma’am or hey you.

But Goes knows our names, but We do not know God’s real name. We have no authority over God, but he has full authority over His world.

No matter How much we learn about God, there is still this huge unknowable quality to Him.

And though he is the unknowable One, he makes himself known as both Judge and Savior. Martin Luther, as well as Aquinas, called attention to the hiddenness or unknowabilty of God, even though he has full knowledge of you and me and everyone else. He and he alone is able to judge

Application:

Even though God is unknowable, we know the important aspects of God.

God is not the wizard of OZ, behind the walls of Emerald City or the curtain.

God came to heaven from his throne room to live as a man. He walked, he ate, he got tired, he loved, he wept, He bled, he died. So how does his sacrifice actually work? Why did God create the platypus, or how do butterflies respond to the magnetism of the earth? Or How does one person fix the sin caused by another person? We may not know that, but what we do know is that It works.

What do we know? Butterflies fly back and forth every year, the platypus is alive and well.

God is the same yesterday today and tomorrow.

He sits on the Throne now.

This Ascension week. Jesus left earth and went back t0 Heaven.

Jesus is at His right hand and if you gave your life to Christ and professed that he is Lord over your life, then you are saved. And you will be one of the people seated at the wedding feast in the beginning of chapter 19.

II. Preparing His Weapons (15-18)

As Jesus sits on the Horse in front of his Army, he draws His sword. But it does not come from a scabbard on his waist or on his back like William Wallace style.It comes from his mouth.

However, there is actually no need for this entourage in terms of assurance of the victory because, as the Word of God, his word proves all that is necessary. Out of his mouth comes a sharp, two-edged sword, with which to strike the nations. If this two-edged sword is imagined to be an actual Roman blade (rhomphaia), it is a grotesque image. But while the imagery is strange to Western culture, it points to something that is literally the case, namely, that just as God’s word was powerful enough to create the cosmos initially, so it is all that is needed to strike down the nations who rise against him. Additionally, he will rule the nations with an iron scepter.

Beale says The sharp sword in the rider’s mouth comes from Isa. 49:2, where Isaiah says of God’s servant, “He has made my mouth like a sharp sword.” Here Isaiah’s prophecy is reaffirmed and Jesus is identified implicitly as the servant Israel (as in Luke 2:32; Acts 26:23, both allusions to Isa. 49:6).

After using his words to destroy, he calls in the birds to come and have their own feast. In the opening lines of Greek poem the Illiad, Homer says “Sing, O goddess, the anger of Achilles son of Peleus, that brought countless ills upon the Achaeans. Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to Hades, and many a hero did it yield a prey to dogs and vultures, for so were the counsels of Jove fulfilled from the day on which the son of Atreus, king of men, and great Achilles, first fell out with one another.”

Birds of prey, whether they were vultures or ravens or some other carrion bird were around. Cultures like the Norse and the Celts thought ravens and carrion crows were harbingers of warfare and death.

We don’t have A lot of details about the aftermath of battlefields in the Bible, but they do appear. Ravens Brought Elijah food when he was in the wilderness. Noah sent out a raven before he sent out a dove to find land. The Raven did not return as quickly as the dove.

In Luke 12:24 Jesus calls his audience to look at the raven and how God provides For them. How much more will God provide for his children?

Here in Revelation, Jesus is now providing the birds an endless supply of food. And in turn they clean up the mess. Because that is how the ecosystem works.

In verse 17 and 18 The angel announces the coming defeat of the beast and his allies with the same language used by Ezekiel to refer to the end-time destruction of God and Magog, “Speak to every kind of bird.… Assemble and come … to my sacrifice … that you may eat flesh and drink blood. You shall eat the flesh of mighty men, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth … and you will be glutted at My table with horses and charioteers, with mighty men and all the men of war” (Ezek. 39:17–20).

We have here another fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy in very striking detail.

Going back to the knowability and unknowability of God, we see the words written on his robe and his thigh that we can read. King of kings and Lord of lords.

Application: Jesus the King is the returning to reclaim what is rightfully his

This describes Exactly what we need to know who Jesus is and he returns as the kings of kings. And not only is he the king of kings, this phrase identifies him as God to everyone else.

Revelation 19:16 (R:SC): The title is taken from Dan. 4:37, where it is a title for God. It was applied to Christ earlier in 17:14. Just as the Babylonian king wrongly took this title to himself (as reflected in his thinking that he himself was responsible for the glory of all that lay around him, Dan. 4:30), so the king of latter-day Babylon was similarly addressed. Even as God demonstrated His sovereignty to Nebuchadnezzar, so will Jesus deal with latter-day Babylon. The application of this title to Jesus underscores His deity, since it was used of God in Daniel 4.

III. The Enemies Vanquished (19-20:3)

And if you are following along, John sets the stage and you can picture this huge field or open space where the two armies are arrayed, waiting to charge at each other. John says he saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gather to make war against the Armies of Jesus.

Instead of giving us a play by play or maybe Jesus just skips right to the head of the snake, but we learn that the beast and the false prophet are captured and thrown not the lake of fire.

The rest of the world is judged by God’s word’s, his sword. And then God’s army goes after the main culprit Satan and we see the Angel, presumably Michael throws Satan into the abyss and seals it so Satan cannot escape for 1000 years.

When Jesus was placed in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, the tomb was sealed with a Roman seal. The seal was not so much an impediment to entry as it was a warning based on established authority. Whoever broke the seal would be guilty of rebellion against Rome, so now the seal of God is on the Abyss. Since there is no higher authority than God, none is able to loose Satan from that abyss.

Application: Until this day comes, we must be aware of the Spiritual warfare that exists in the world.

Satan and his minions are still tormenting or attempting to attack us.The Antichrist and the false prophet have not arrived yet, but there are plenty of false prophets trying to confuse people who the true Christ is.

Paul says this world is ruled by unseen powers and principalities. And we have to be alert for these enemy agents. The spies if you will. Their job is to make Christian look as bad as possible to the rest of the world.

So your actions, your thoughts and your words, need to mirror Christ. How you love God, how you love your neighbor,how you love your spouse, your parents and your kids. If someone is watching a scene between you and your spouse would they say, I think I just say Jesus or would they say, Jesus is nowhere to be seen in this marriage?

1 John 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.

1 John 2:6 the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked

2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ

For all the other times when we fail to be like Christ or when we come. To this final battle, we know that Christ, the conqueror, with his death and resurrection, has already destroyed our sins and he has rendered Satan useless.

Conclusion

Eisenhower closed his encouragement with “The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to Victory!

“I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory!”

Jesus is coming back and he will fight this battle against the ancient foes.

He has the authority and power to destroy or build up with his word. He is the rightful judge.

But he is also a savior and a hero. A warrior king coming to save his people and establish his kingdom. This is good news for us.