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 Victory of the Rider on the White Horse, Rev 19:11-21
11. heaven opened ] Eze 1:1; St Mat 3:16, and parallels, St Joh 1:51; Act 7:56; Act 10:11. Something more seems to be implied than in Rev 4:1; the “door” through which the seer was called up is not sufficient to let out this mounted army, or “the chariot of paternal Deity” which appeared to Ezekiel.
a white horse ] Rev 6:2, where see notes. Here, at least, there is no doubt about the interpretation.
and he that sat upon him ] Had better not be separated in punctuation from the previous clause: “behold a white horse, and he that sat upon him, [who was] called,” &c.
called ] There is some, but not sufficient, authority for omitting this word.
Faithful and True ] Rev 3:14; also Rev 1:5, Rev 3:7.
in righteousness ] Isa 11:4.
make war ] In Psa 45:3-5 (4 6) we have the same mixture as here of the Bridegroom with the triumphant Warrior. Compare St Chrysostom on Rom. xiii. 12, “Fear not at hearing of array and arms for it is of light that the arms are. As the bridegroom goes forth with joyous looks from His chamber, so doth he too who is defended with these arms; for he is at once soldier and bridegroom.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And I saw heaven opened – He saw a new vision, as if an opening were made through the sky, and he was permitted to look into heaven. See the notes on Rev 4:1.
And behold, a white horse – On the white horse as a symbol, see the notes on Rev 6:2. He is here the symbol of the final victory that is to be obtained over the beast and the false prophet Rev 19:20, and of the final triumph of the church.
And he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True – He is not designated here by his usual and real name, but by his attributes. There can be no doubt that the Messiah is intended, as he goes forth to the subjugation of the world to himself. The attributes here referred to – faithful and true – are especially appropriate, for they are not only strongly marked attributes of his character, but they would be particularly manifested in the events that are described. He would thus show that he was faithful – or worthy of the confidence of his church in delivering it from all its enemies; and true to all the promises that he has made to it.
And in righteousness he doth judge – All his acts of judgment in determining the destiny of people are righteous. See the notes on Isa 11:3-5.
And make war – That is, the war which he wages is not a war of ambition; it is not for the mere purpose of conquest; it is to save the righteous, and to punish the wicked.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Rev 19:11-16
A white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True.
The rider on the white horse and the armies with Him
I. John saw our Captain, the King of kings.
1. Let us notice His glorious state. Our Lord is here described as sitting upon a gallant steed, charging His foes upon a snow-white horse.
(1) This means that Christ is honoured now. In royal state our Jesus goeth forth to war, not as a common soldier, but as a glorious prince, royally mounted.
(2) By a horse is denoted not only honour, but power. To the Jews the employment of the horse in warfare was unusual, so that when it was used by their adversaries they imputed to it great force. Jesus Christ has a mighty power to-day, a power which none can measure.
(3) Here is symbolised swiftness, too. His word runneth very swiftly. The colour of the horse is also meant to denote victory. He comes to fight, but the fight is for peace; He comes as a conqueror, but it is as a delivering conqueror who scattereth flowers and roses where he rides, breaking only the oppressor, but blessing the citizens whom he emancipates.
2. John looked into the open vault of heaven, and he had time not only to see the horse, but to mark the character of Him that sat upon it. He says that He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True. By this you may know your Lord.
3. John still looked, and as he gazed with open eye he marked the mode of action and of warfare which the champion employed, for he says, In righteousness He doth judge and make war. Jesus is the only king who always wars in this fashion.
4. One other thing John saw, and that was His name. But here he seems to contradict himself. He says that He had a name which no man knoweth, yet he says that His name war the Word of God. Oh, but it is all true, for in such a one as our Master there must be paradoxes. No man knoweth His name. None of you know all His nature. His love passes your knowledge; His goodness, His majesty, His humiliation, His glory, all these transcend your ken. You cannot know Him. Oh, the depths!
II. His followers.
1. Christ has a great following–not one army, but armies, whole hosts of them, numbers that cannot be counted.
2. These that follow Him, you notice, are all mounted. They followed Him on white horses. They are mounted on the same sort of horses as Himself, for they fare as He fares: when He walks, they must walk; when He bears a cross, they must carry crosses too; but if ever He gets a crown, He cries, They shall be crowned too.
3. The armies of Christ followed Him on white horses. Look steadily at these white horses, and observe the armour of their riders. Cromwells men wore at their side long iron scabbards in which they carried swords, which oftentimes they wiped across the manes of their horses when they were red with blood. But if you look at these troops there is not a sword amongst them. They are not armed with lance or pike, and yet they are riding forth to war. Do you want to know the armour of that war? I will tell you. They are clothed in white linen, white and clean. Strange battle array this! And yet this is how they conquer, and how you must conquer too. This is both armour and weapon. Holiness is our sword and our shield.
4. Yet I have said they were all on horses, which shows you that the saints of God have a strength that they sometimes forget. You know not that you ride on a horse, O child of God; but there is a supreme invisible power which helps you in contending for Christ and for His truth. You are mightier than you know of, and you are riding more swiftly to the battle and more rapidly over the heads of your foes than ever you dream.
III. The warfare. What is this warfare? There cannot be war without a sword, yet if you look all along the ranks o the white-robed armies there is not a sword amongst them all. Who carries the sword? There is one who bears it for them all. It is He, the King, who comes to marshal us. He bears a sword. But where? It is in His mouth! Yet this is the only sword my Lord and Muster wields. Mahomet subdued men with the scimitar, but Christ subdues men with the gospel. We have but to tell out the glad tidings of the love of God, for this is the sword of Christ with which He smites the nations. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
On His head were many crowns.
The Saviours many crowns
I. First, let every believing heart rejoice while it sees the many crowns of dominion upon His head. First and foremost there sparkles about His brow the everlasting diadem of the King of Heaven. His empire is higher than the highest heaven, and deeper than the lowest hell. This earth also is a province of His wide domains. Though small the empire compared with others, yet from this world hath He perhaps derived more glory than from any other part of His dominions. He reigns on earth. On His head is the crown of creation. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made. His voice said, Let there be light, and there was light. It was His strength that piled the mountains, and His wisdom balances the clouds. Together with this crown of creation there is yet another, the crown of providence, for He sustaineth all things by the word of His power. Let Him once withdraw His hands, and the pillars of earth must tremble; the stars must fall like fig leaves from the tree, and all things must be quenched in the blackness of annihilation. On His head is the crown of providence. And next to this there glitters also the thrice-glorious crown of grace. He is the King of grace; He gives, or He withholds. The river of Gods mercy flows from underneath His throne; He sits as Sovereign in the dispensation of mercy. He reigneth in His Church amidst willing spirits; and He reigns for His Church over all the nations of the world, that he may gather unto Himself a people that no man can number who shall bow before the sceptre of His love. Methinks I hear one say, If this be so, if Christ hath these many crowns of dominion, how vain it is for me to rebel against Him. Believer, look to Christs thrice-crowned head and be comforted. Is providence against thee? Correct thy speech; thou hast erred; God hath not become thine enemy. Providence is not against thee, for Jesus is its King; He weighs its trials and counts its storms. Thy enemies may strive, but they shall not prevail against thee; He shall smite them upon the cheek-bone. Art thou passing through the fire? The fire is Christs dominion. Art thou going through the floods? They shall not drown thee, for even the floods obey the voice of the Omnipotent Messiah. Wherever thou art called thou canst not go where Jesus love reigns not. Commit thyself into His hands.
II. Christ hath many crowns of victory. The first diadems which I have mentioned are His by right. He is Gods only begotten and well-beloved Son, and hence He inherits unlimited dominions. But viewed as the Son of Man, conquest has made Him great, and His own right hand and His holy arm have won for Him the triumph. In the first place, Christ has a crown which I pray that every one of you may wear. He has a crown of victory over the world. For thus saith He Himself, Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. I would that we could imitate Christ in our battle with the world. But alas, the world oftentimes gets the upper hand of us. Sometimes we yield to its smiles, and often do we tremble before its frowns. Have hope and courage, believer; be like your Master, be the worlds foe and overcome it, yield not, suffer it never to entrap your watchful feet. Stand upright amid all its pressure, and be not moved by all its enchantments. Christ did this, and therefore around His head is that right royal crown of victory, trophy of triumph over the entire forces of the world. Furthermore, the next crown He wears is the crown by which He has overcome sin. He has cast down every shape and form of evil, and now for ever stands He more than a conqueror through His glorious sufferings. Oh, how bright that crown which He deserves who hath for ever put away our sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And then again, Christ wears about His head the crown of death. He died, and in that dreadful hour He overcame death, rifled the sepulchre, hewed death in pieces, and destroyed the arch-destroyer. Glorious is that victory! Angels repeat the triumphant strain, His redeemed take up the song; and you, ye blood-bought sons of Adam, praise Him too, for He hath overcome all the evil of hell itself. And yet, once again, another crown hath Christ, and that is the crown of victory over man. Would to God that He wore a crown for each of you. Say, has His love been too much for you? Have you been compelled to give up your sins, wooed by His love Divine? Have your eyes been made to run with tears at the thought of His affection for you and of your own ingratitude? If this be the case with you, then you may yourself recognise one of the many crowns that are on His head.
III. The crowns of thanksgiving. Surely concerning these we may well say, On His head are many crowns. In the first place, all the mighty doers in Christs Church ascribe their crown to Him. Not a martyr wears his crown; they all take their blood-red crowns, and then they place them on His brow–the fire crown, the rack crown, there I see them all glitter. For it was His love that helped them to endure; it was by His blood that they overcame. And then think of another list of crowns. They who turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars for ever and ever. What crowns shall theirs be when they come before God, when the souls they have saved shall enter paradise with them. What shouts of acclamation, what honours, what rewards shall then be given to the winners of souls! What will they do with their crowns? Why, they will take them from their heads and lay them there where sits the Lamb in the midst of the throne. But see, another host approaches. I see a company of cherubic spirits flying upwards to Christ, and who are these? The reply is, We lived on earth for sixty, or seventy, or eighty years, until we tottered into our graves from very weakness; when we died there was no marrow in our bones, our hair had grown grey, and we were crisp and dry with age. How came ye here? They reply, After many years of strife with the world, of trials and of troubles, we entered heaven at last. And ye have crowns, I see. Yes, they say, but we intend not to wear them. Whither are ye going, then? We are going to yonder throne, for our crowns have been surely given us by grace, for nothing but grace could have helped us to weather the storm so many, many years. I see the grave and reverend sires pass one by one before the throne, and there they lay their crowns at His blessed feet, and then, shouting with the infant throng, they cry, Salvation unto Him, etc. And then I see following behind them another class. And who are ye? Their answer is, We are the chief of sinners saved by grace. And here they come–Saul of Tarsus, and Manasseh, and Rahab, and many of the same class. And how came ye here? They reply, We have had much forgiven, we were grievous sinners, but the love of Christ reclaimed us, the blood of Christ washed us; and whiter than snow are we, though once we were black as hell. And whither are ye going? They reply, We are going to cast our crowns at His feet, and Crown Him Lord of all. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Many crowns
I. On His head is the crown of conquest of sin. This is the victory.
II. On His head is the crown of the conquest of sorrow. That reigned supreme.
III. On His head is the crown of the conquest of suffering.
IV. On His head is the crown of the conquest of Satan. No light conquest!
V. On His head is the crown of the conquest of death. (W. M. Statham, M. A.)
The royalty of the glorified Redeemer
I. The glory of the great Redeemer.
1. His essential majesty.
2. The grandeur and the equal diversity of His peculiar functions. There is no work so glorious, no prerogative so high, that it is not specifically ascribed to Him in the pages of inspiration.
3. The greatness of those obstacles He is represented to have overcome in the fulfilment of His exalted undertakings.
4. The completeness of His victories in themselves.
5. His resulting satisfaction and the fulness of His joy.
6. The same almighty power which displayed itself so illustriously in His personal conquests was, even in the earliest age, exhibited in the progress of His cause, and the preservation of His followers, in spite of the most aggravated injuries and most threatening dangers.
7. We must now turn, somewhat mere directly, to the spiritual consequences of redemption, whence the real value of that recompense the Saviour has attained for all His privations, humiliation, and sorrow. They are of every kind. His victories are those of pity and of wrath, of indignation and of tenderness, of insulted majesty avenging its own wrongs, and of mercy rejoicing against justice. They spread over every department of the Divine administration, extend to every diversity of power which menaces, or of impurity which would pollute, or of sorrow which would darken and afflict, diffusing their happy consequences through an unlimited territory and a never-ending duration.
II. Those obvious practical reflections the subject so forcibly suggests.
1. Let its contemplation teach us the sentiments we should habitually cherish respecting the power and glory of the Saviour.
2. Let us cultivate those associations which belong to His supremacy, for we cannot too highly exalt Him. Let us see, in all that is fair and good amidst the scenes that encompass us, the skill of His workmanship–the beauty of His image. Let the convulsions of empire and the vicissitudes of time instruct us to confide in that eternal presidency over the affairs of men, by which the ends of His redemption shall be finally secured. (R. S. McAll, LL. D.)
The supreme kingship of Christ
The supreme kingship of Jesus Christ as Mediator is manifestly the theme of our text. The ruling principle in the mediatorial empire is benevolence. The final purpose o! the mediatorial empire is the highest possible good of man. This Jesus is able to accomplish by reason of His infinite attributes of wisdom and of power.
I. Let us look, then, at the material universe. There are many kings in matter. The sun is the king of day; the moon is the queen of night. The planet, with its attendant satellites, exercises a kingly rule over them. Gravitation, subtle and invisible, yet permeating all things, and influencing all things in sea, air, and land, exercises a kind of kingly rule over everything within the range of its influence. Just as the British Empire has its colonies and dependencies in Africa, Australia, and America; each possessing its own governor and its own mode of government; each independent in its place, yet dependent upon the parent power; each supreme in its own locality, subject nevertheless to the higher supremacy of the Queen: so is it in this material creation. It is divided into miniature kingdoms, petty empires, and in each kingdom there is a king. Look at the bee-hive. There is congregated under that straw cone an empire. All the elements of a kingdom are found there. A queen rules within. Authority and subjection, rule and submission may be found under that covering. The same thing is true of the ant-hill. The naturalist assures us that order and harmony prevail in what appears to us confused chaos. There a kingly rule is recognised, submission to supreme authority is observed, and in these you have the elements of an empire. Lifting your eyes from the earth around you to the heaven above you, we are told that those heavens are divided into districts and groups of worlds, that in each group there is one system exercising a kingly rule over the rest. Far above all these petty kingdoms and minute empires is the King of kings and Lord of lords. He moulded every atom. He brightened every star. He fashioned every system. He appointed to each its boundary. He created all forces and originated all laws. From Him all things proceed. To Him all things tend. For Him all things exist. And around Him all things revolve. He is King of kings and Lord of lords in the material world. The disciples of a sceptical science have endeavoured to extort from nature evidence against her King. The geologist has dived into the depths of the earth, hoping to discover some strange hieroglyphics on the rocks of nature which would bear testimony against the King of nature. The astronomer has soared into heaven, and tried to get the very stars in their courses to fight against Him who made them. In fact, nature has been twisted and torn and disembowelled in order to obtain evidence against her Lord. Faithful to her mission, she moves on for the accomplishment of the great purposes for which her King has made her; so that, whether by her regular movement, or the occasional suspension of her laws, as in the case of miracles, she asserts the kingship of her Lord, and proves her obedience to her Master. This world materially considered is eminently fitted for Christ as Mediator. We can only conceive of three kinds of worlds. One in which there shall be nothing but purity, and consequently nothing but happiness; such is heaven. The second, a world in which there shall be nothing but sin, and consequently nothing but misery; such is hell. The third, a world in which there shall be an admixture of the two, good and evil, right and wrong; such is the world we occupy. This world, take it geologically, is not fitted for anything else than a mediatorial world. It is not fitted, as to its material construction, to be a heaven, a world of unsullied purity, and, consequently, a world of unmixed happiness. Lightnings and storms ruthlessly pursue their destructive and desolating course; the volcano belches forth its destructive lava, which carries desolation to cities and villages and fruitful plains. These things could not exist in a world of unsullied happiness and purity. We find the elements of ruin and destruction in the very material of which the world is constructed, and it is not fitted on that account to be a heaven. It is not fitted, on the other hand, to be a world of retribution and of unmixed evil. The sun shines here. The valleys smile with luxuriance here. Thrilling sensations of pleasure are experienced here. Scenes of loveliness spread themselves before the vision here. There is no sunshine in hell; no beauteous scenes are there; no sweet harmony there: but they do exist here. Why have we this admixture of destructive and benevolent forces stored up in the secret places of nature? These elements are necessary in order that the earth may be a fitting theatre for Jesus Christ to carry out His mediatorial purposes. He must have elements to appeal to mans fears, and He finds them in the destructive forces of nature. He must have elements to appeal to mans hopes, and He finds them in the benevolent forces of nature. The component parts of earth were adjusted, put together, with a view to redeeming purposes. All the elements of nature, all its laws, and all its forces have been made for Christ as Mediator, and are placed under His immediate control. He is King of kings and Lord of lords in the material world.
II. In the mental world Jesus Christ is King of kings. Earth has her crowned kings, monarchs surrounded with symbols of royalty; the crown, the sceptre, and the throne. The extent of their dominions varies, as does also the amount of power they wield. Some are despotic, arbitrary, and absolute; others are mild and paternal in their rule. Some are the mere tools of parties, and retain nothing akin to kingship but the symbol. While some of them happily and trustfully acknowledge the supremacy of Christ, there are others who recognise no authority higher than their own, and no power superior to their own. Nations are organised and held together, scattered or established on the one principle of subserviency to the empire of Christ. The ruling powers of earth exist for Him. Willingly or unwillingly they are His servants. Consciously or unconsciously they are carrying out His purposes. When they cease to be His instruments He often removes them, and brings others in their place. By Me princes rule, By Me kings reign and princes decree justice. Sceptics sneeringly say, Your Christianity has been in the world for eighteen hundred years, and this surely is time enough for it to subdue the world. The fact that it has failed to meet with universal acceptance throughout all the ages is proof enough that it is not the Divine religion you profess it to be. Our reply is, God feels no hurry. When man strongly desires to accomplish an object he often exercises haste. He is liable to so many contingencies. Unforeseen circumstances may arise to check his progress and to defeat his purpose. But God exercises no haste, nor doubts the issue. Eternity is before Him; endless ages are waiting for Him. But there are also uncrowned kings–men who never wore a crown, perhaps never saw one; but who, nevertheless, are the true kings of society, who possess minds of kingly proportions and imperial mould, who influence and move and control minds inferior to their own. There have been the founders of false religions, the originators of errors, like Buddha, Mahomet, Sabellius, Arius; and nearer our own times men like Tom Paine, Voltaire, Gibbon, Hume; and men of our own day like Strauss and Renan. These men possess kingly intellects, and wield a kingly power over many other intellects. They have set themselves up against the kingly rule of Christ. They have inspired millions with their errors. The battle they have waged with the King of Truth is fierce and desperate. It has been going on for ages. But this we know, Jesus is unchanging and immortal. His enemies in succession die and pass away, but He never dies. Let the kings of the earth, crowned and uncrowned, social rulers and mental rulers, set themselves against Gods anointed; let them join in an unhallowed conspiracy, and associate with them the whole mass of infernal powers, and rise up in rebellion against the kingly rule of Christ, all that they can do is but the menace of a puny worm against One whose frown is perdition. The Lamb shall overcome them. A reverent universe will then bow at the feet of His victorious Majesty, and creation shall become vocal with the song, The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever.
III. Jesus Christ is supreme in the moral world. Men are everywhere actuated by principles, passions, purposes, motives existing within them. These inward forces are in possession of the mastery; they exercise kingship. In the language of the Scriptures, they reign, they have dominion. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness. The lust of power, the lust of money, the lust of pleasure, the lust of pride, the lust of envy, are the imperial powers which control men, bringing them into vile and degrading bondage, and hurrying them into wrong doing. Evil, when thus dominant, exercises a crushing sway over its victim. Some of you have been conscious of this. Some base passion has mastered you. And after a short conflict you had to beat a retreat and own yourself again mastered. But why? Because you faced the foe in your strength. Sin has but one master, one king, the Lord Jesus Christ. He destroys the works of the devil, and it is through Him strengthening you that you can be made victorious. However mighty evil may be when enthroned in the human heart, Jesus is mightier far. He is stronger than the strong man armed. Christ while yet on earth confronted and mastered moral evil under a variety of forms and circumstances. Look at Him against the grave of Lazarus. He saw in that grave evidence of the triumph of moral evil–a proof that sin had obtained kingship over human life, and reversed the destiny of man from life to death. His tears were shed over sin and its sad results as witnessed in that sepulchre. His contest was not with death but with moral evil. But there are moral laws as well as moral forces in the world. We will just mention one or two as an illustration. One law is this: that hardness is the inevitable result of resistance. Just as the anvil becomes hardened by every stroke of the hammer, the heart of man is hardened by every resistance it offers to the Divine Word and Divine Spirit. This is not an arrangement. It is a law in Gods moral empire, and this law explains to me what otherwise seems to be paradoxical in the history of Pharaoh. The penalty of hardness was inflicted by God, that is, by an inevitable law which He appointed; and in this sense it may be said that God hardened Pharaohs heart. But, on the other hand, Pharaoh did the wrong, the penalty of which is hardness. God neither compelled nor disposed him to resist. God is responsible for the law which inflicts hardness as the penalty of resistance; but Pharaoh alone is responsible for setting that law at defiance, and thereby incurring the penalty of hardness. Another great law in the mediatorial government of Jesus is that sin is its own punishment. Where there is wrong-doing there must be suffering. That is Gods law. And so we understand the declaration, Tophet is ordained of old; the breath of the Lord doth kindle it. God affixed suffering as the penalty of wrong-doing. But the wrong-doer alone is responsible for bringing himself under the dominion of that law. God has made it a law that fire should burn. If I foolishly thrust my hand into the flame I become a sufferer under the dominion of that law. God is responsible for the law: but who is responsible for my suffering? Certainly not God, but myself alone. Why does not retribution fall at once on transgressors? It is because the Mediator reigns. He is above law, superior to law. He restrains the action of the law of retribution. He holds back the penalty. But what right has Jesus Christ to interfere with the law and to delay retribution? This right is not based on His absolute sovereignty, but on His atonement. The kingly title of the Lord Jesus is written on His vesture. What kind of a vesture is it? It is not a kingly robe, but a priestly one. He is clothed with a vesture dipped in blood. His kingship is based on sacrifice. But this restraint will only be exercised for a time. Probation being over, the impenitent will be given up to the law of retribution.
IV. In the spiritual universe Jesus Christ is supreme. There is not a portion of the universe where His sway is not felt and confessed. There is not a locality abandoned. That dominion extends to the place of banishment, the abode of the lost. Kings many dwell in hell. Princely titles are given to them. They are designated principalities and powers, spiritual wickedness. They are masters in evil, but they are in chains. Jesus, while yet on earth, confronted some of these spiritual rulers, and proved His kingship over them by mastering them. His dominion extends also to heaven, the abode of the holy. Good spirits are subject to His kingship. The armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean (verse 14). These constitute His retinue, accompanying Him in His march of conquest, sharing His toils, sympathising with His purposes, and aiding His triumphs. With outspread wings they are ever waiting His behests; ever ready to execute His purpose, whether of judgment or of mercy. His will is their rule, His word their law. What a pledge have we of the final triumph of truth! If Jesus is the King of all beings, all forces, all laws; if all power is given Him in heaven, earth, and hell; if He regulates and overrules all events, we need have no doubt of the issue. From the beginning He keeps one end steadily in view, the subjugation of moral evil, the destruction of the works of the devil. We have spoken to you of the kingship based on atonement, but we would remind you of the kingship based on power. The title is written not only on the priestly vesture, but also on His thigh. But why upon the thigh? The thigh is a symbol of power. It is the strongest place in a man. It is the place where the muscles congregate. The angel of the covenant touched Jacob on the thigh, and sent him limping all the way through life, to humble him, and to remind him how weak he was even in his strongest place when God touched him. Hence the kingship of Jesus is written on His thigh. Men who will not yield willing submission to His authority and the claims of His love shall be made to yield unwilling submission to His retributive justice. If the milder aspects of His kingly character fail to subdue them, He must turn upon them the sterner aspects of that character. If the kingship of the vesture fail to subdue you He must turn upon you the kingship of the thigh. If the revelation of His mercy and love fail to allure you, He must by a revelation of power break what refused to bend. We all must be the subjects of either the kingship of the vesture or the kingship of the thigh. (Richard Roberts.)
The crowned Christ
1. Christs perfect physical health and bodily beauty is a crown that attracts us. We read of His fatigue, hunger, and lack of sleep; but nowhere of inability to sleep, or of disgust of food, or of any physical infirmities.
2. There is the crown of intellectual wisdom. Not that, indeed, of scholastic and rabbinic lore; but there was marvellous maturity of mind, a balance of faculties, a felicity, aptness, and proportion about His mental development.
3. The crown of moral perfection rests on the head of Christ.
4. Divine love. When on earth there was in Christ this element which drew men to Him.
5. The crown of suffering.
6. Power to save. This is operative here and now as well as in the future life. (A. J. Lyman, D. D.)
Many crowns–Christ as King
I. To understand this passage we must compare it with a very similar passage in chap. 6., where is described the beginning of a conflict which is here drawing to a victorious end. There the Rider on the white horse, going forth conquering and to conquer, is followed by riders on red and black and pale horses–powers which were to destroy, hunt, kill. Here these riders have vanished. Now, the armies that were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. There a crown was given to Him. Here He has many crowns, or rather diadems, upon His head. The same crown is still worn, but now it is glorified by many circlets, which have been added to it one by one. Each has been a diadem or crown of victory; each represents a new conquest over the powers of evil
III. Notice that the crown itself is the Kings by gift (chap. 6:2). This crown was given to Jesus at His Incarnation, when He came forth out of the heavenly places, conquering and to conquer. He had, indeed, before that day a crown which was His own by right and by inheritance. But that crown He laid aside. With infinite condescension He emptied Himself of all that glory (Php 2:6-8). Then He accepted this crown as a gift. Being already King of the angels, King of the universe, He now stooped to become King of humanity. But this world, to which He thus came to be its King, was a scene of rebellion. He had to win His sovereignty, to vindicate and prove His title. Opposition had to be crushed, mighty foes to be vanquished. Each of His achievements wins for Him another circlet in that golden crown. The glory at the end will be infinite, even as His humiliation was infinite.
III. There is an old reading which makes the text run thus: On His head were many crowns having names written, as though each circlet contained its own description. Well do we know the single words which would glitter on some of the brightest of the diadems–Suffered; crucified; dead; buried; descended into hell! Each of them sounds indeed, like a defeat, and yet each is, we know, a stupendous victory. Then will follow those two in which His triumph is openly displayed–He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, etc.
IV. The tale is not yet completed. More circlets have yet to be added. The things which Jesus began to do and to teach up to the day when He was taken up, He left His Church to go on doing and teaching till the end of time. Not until all the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ will the crown of Jesus be complete, and the many diadems have reached their full number. Lessons:
1. The duty of loyalty to our King.
2. Personal devotion to our King.
3. Each should do something for the spread of His kingdom.
(1) We ought to do it, because He is our King and the nations belong to Him of right.
(2) We shall be anxious to do it, in proportion as we realise the beauty of His character. (R. H. Parr, M. A.)
Christs kingly authority
I. Christ, in His mediatorial character, has a crown of supreme dignity.
II. Christ, as Mediator, has a crown of victory.
III. Jesus, as Mediator, has a crown of sovereign power. Unto Him is given all power in heaven and upon earth: as far as the bounds of creation reach, so far does His dominion reach.
IV. Christ, as Mediator, has a crown of sovereign right. He has not only the power to compel, but the right to demand the obedience of every creature; and it is the great distinction between those who are and those who are not His people, that while all the creatures of God, whether willingly or unwillingly, must execute Christs pleasure, those who are indeed His submit joyfully and heartily to His rule, and keep themselves ready to do or suffer whatever He requires of them, simply because He requires it.
V. Jesus, as Mediator, has a crown of judicial authority: The Father Himself judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment to the Son, etc. (Wm. Ramsay.)
The many crowns
I. It is most probable that special attention is hereby meant to be drawn: first, to that multiplicity of characters in which our Lord is set forth. Those words which we so glibly utter–Mediator, Advocate, Saviour, Redeemer, Intercessor–are not different words to represent the same thing. Every one has its own true and proper signification; every one gathers up into itself, and expresses a distinct and independent part of tits work for man. But, further than this, the Lord Jesus Christ is the only Being who possesses more than one Nature. These varied offices spring out of this further truth. They are the branches which grow out of the doctrine that He is at once the Root and Offspring of David, being both God and Man.
II. But there is a further interpretation to be given of the mystic crowns. It is a remarkable prophecy of Isaiah when addressing the spiritual Zion, that is, the Christian Church, Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, making the diadem of Christ to be the company of His elect. So also St. Paul writes (Php 4:1; 1Th 2:19). The idea in all these passages is the same, that the disciples are the crown of the teacher. And, transferring this to our Blessed Lord, we get another, and perhaps the most blessed signification of the text, even this–that the crowning of the Redeemer, and His highest glory within the Heaven of Heavens, are the Churches which have been gathered unto Him, and the souls which have been saved through Him. Let us pause upon this thought in connection with the Mission work of the Church. Why should we take an interest in it? Why, with confessedly great calls upon us at home, must we contribute money and send men to labour beyond the sea? Now observe, first, that if there were no visible results to encourage us, we should still be bound to preach the gospel to every creature. The Church forgets one main purpose of its existence if it forgets this. But observe, secondly, that God does seem to have vouchsafed us a measure of success, at least, in proportion to our exertions and the short time during which the work has been carried on. And whilst there is a great dearth of men abroad, is there not also a great dearth of prayer at home? (Bp. Woodford.)
The crowns of Christ
[See Mat 27:29.] Contrasts often powerfully reveal truth. But never did the universe present a contrast so striking as that suggested by our texts. Yonder in Jerusalem is a despised Nazarene, forsaken by His friends, hated, mocked, scourged, crowned with thorns! Yonder in heaven is the same Being, gloriously apparelled, crowns of victory on His head, worshipped by myriads of radiant spirits as King of kings, etc.
I. The crown of thorns symbolised Christs submission to sin; the crowns of glory His triumph over sin. The world has often looked upon this most unnatural sight, this reversal of the true, Divinely-appointed order of things–the evil triumphing over the good. The Son of Heavens King is crowned with thorns and crucified; who will keep His laws or care for His sceptre now? The sharp thorns which pierced Him have healed many a wounded heart. His death has been a spring of life to the world. His shame has won immortal glory for countless redeemed souls.
II. The crown of thorns shadowed forth Christs love to men; the crowns of glory mens love to Him.
III. The crown of thorns showed that Christs kingdom is limited in its instruments; the crowns of glory that it is universal in its extent. The excited multitude would have made Jesus a King, and placed earthly weapons, soldiers, etc., at His disposal; but He thrust all these aside. He wore a crown of thorns to show that He was a King ruling not by force, but by influence, not by material instruments, civil power, etc., but by spiritual weapons, love, truth, etc. Universal dominion has been the dream of proud conquerors, Alexander, Napoleon; but they have traced their empires on shifting sands, to be obliterated by the next storm blast. But mans dream is Gods sober truth.
IV. The crown of thorns unfolded the transitoriness of Christs sufferings–the crowns of glory the eternity of His joy. Thorns! Perishable in their very nature. The many crowns point to the everlasting joys which thrill the Redeemers heart. His happiness is as permanent as His sovereignty. (T. W. Mays, M. A.)
The Redeemers crowns
To our Lord Jesus Christ belongs the crown of–
1. Royal descent.
2. Victory.
3. Empire.
4. Priesthood.
5. Every excellence.
6. Eternal glory. (Preachers Portfolio.)
Christ and His crowns
I. The regal crown.
1. The crown of universal proprietorship belongs to Christ.
2. The crown of universal dominion belongs to Christ.
II. The victors crown. The Redeemer proved Himself a conqueror in three respects: by His life, by His death, and by His resurrection.
1. He won the crown of unspotted obedience.
2. He won the crown of immortality.
3. He won the crown of championship over the grave.
III. The bridegrooms crown. The Church is to be presented as a chaste virgin to Christ. Then He shall see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied. Then shall another crown be added–the crown of universal adoration and gratitude. (The Study.)
The dignities of Christ
I. These dignities are of priceless value. What on earth does man regard as more valuable than a crown? But what are all the crowns of the world to the diadems that encircle the being of Christ?
II. These dignities are manifold. There is the dignity of an all-knowing intellect; of an immaculate conscience; of an absolutely unselfish love; of a will free from all the warping influences of sin, error, and prejudice.
III. These dignities are self-produced. All His dignities are but the brilliant evolutions of His own great soul.
IV. These dignities are imperishable. How soon the crowns worn by men grow dim and rot into dust! But Christs diadems are incorruptible; they will sparkle on for ever, and fill all the heavens of immensity with their brilliant lustre. (Homilist.)
The Saviour crowned
I. Whence it is that these honours accumulate upon Him.
1. From the essential dignity of His nature.
2. From the offices He sustains in the economy of salvation.
3. From the exploits He has won and the conquests He has achieved.
II. By what means we may contribute to multiply the honours of the Saviours name.
1. By our personal submission to His spiritual empire. We must all take side.
2. By consecrating an individual interest to His cause.
3. By taking part in the great institutions of the times in which we live. (M. Braithwaite.)
He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood.—
The war in heaven
Who, then, is the being whom St. John sees in the spiritual world appearing eternally as a warrior, with his garments stained with blood, the leader of armies smiting the nations, ruling them with a rod of iron? St. John tells us that He has one name which none knew save Himself. But He tells us that He has another name which St. John did know; and that it is the Word of God; and He tells us, moreover, that He is called Faithful and True. And who He is all Christian men are bound to know. He it is who makes perpetual war, as King of kings and Lord of lords. He Himself is full of chivalry, full of fidelity; and, therefore, all which is base and treacherous is hateful in His eyes, and that which He hates He is both able and willing to destroy. He it is who makes perpetual war. He makes war in righteousness. Therefore, all men and things which are unrighteous and unjust are on the opposite side to Him, His enemies, and He will trample them under His feet. But the meek and gentle Jesus? That the Lord was meek and gentle when on earth, and is, therefore, meek and gentle in heaven, from all eternities to all eternities, there can be no doubt. But with that meekness and lowliness there was in Him on earth, and, therefore, there is in Him in heaven, a capacity of burning indignation against all wrong and falsehood, especially against that worst form of falsehood, hypocrisy; and that worst form of hypocrisy, covetousness, cloaking itself under the name of religion. For that He had no meek and gentle words; but, Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers I How shall ye escape the damnation of Gehenna? And because His character is perfect and eternal–because He is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever–therefore we are bound to believe that He has now, and will have as long as evil exists, the same Divine indignation, the same Divine determination to cast out of His kingdom–which is simply the whole universe–all that offends, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. The wisest of living Britons has said: Infinite pity, yet infinite rigour of law. It is so that the universe is made. I should add: It is so that the universe must needs be made, because it is made by Christ, and its laws are the reflection of His character–pitiful because Christ is pitiful; rigorous because Christ is rigorous. So pitiful is Christ that He did not hesitate to be slain for men, that mankind through Him might be saved. So rigorous is Christ that He does not hesitate to slay men, if needful, that mankind by them may be saved. I know but too well that most people find it very difficult, always have in every age and country found it most difficult to believe in such a God as Scripture sets forth–a God of boundless tenderness, and yet a God of boundless indignation. Mens notion of tenderness is too often a selfish dislike of seeing other people uncomfortable, because it makes them uncomfortable themselves. They hate and dread honest severity and stern exercise of lawful power; till it has been bitterly but truly said that public opinion will allow a man to do anything except his duty. Now this is a humour which cannot last. It breeds weakness, anarchy, and, at last, ruin to society. And then the effeminate and luxurious, terrified for their money and their comfort, fly from an unwholesome tenderness to an unwholesome indignation; and, in a panic of selfish fury, become–as cowards are too apt to do–blindly and wantonly cruel, and those who fancied God too indulgent to punish His enemies are the first and the fiercest to punish their own. Christian, says a great genius and a great divine–
If thou wouldst learn to love,
Thou first must learn to hate.
And, if any answer: Hate? even God hateth nothing that He hath made; then the rejoinder is: And for that very reason He hates evil, because He has not made it, and it is ruinous to all that He has made. Let every man go and do likewise. Let him hate what is wrong with all his heart, and mind, and soul, and strength, for so only will he love God with all his heart, and mind, and soul, and strength. Let him say, day by day–aye, almost hour by hour–Strengthen me, O Lord, to hate what Thou hatest and to love what Thou lovest; that so when that dread day shall come, when every man shall receive the reward of the deeds done in the body, whether they be good or whether they be evil, he may have some decent answer to give to the awful question: On whose side hast thou been in the battle of life? On the side of God and all good beings, or on the side of all bad spirits and bad men? (C. Kingsley, M. A.)
The grand review
When my text, in figure, represents the armies of the glorified as riding upon white horses, it sets forth the strength, the fleetness, the victory, and the innocence of the redeemed. The horse has always been an emblem of strength. When startled by sudden sight or sound, how he plunges along the highway! The hand of the strong driver on the reins is like the grasp of a child.
1. Therefore, when the redeemed are represented as riding on white horses, their strength is set forth. The days of their invalidism and decrepitude are past. O the day when, having put off the last physical impediment, you shall come to the mightiness of heavenly vigour! There will be hardly anything you cannot lift, or crush, or conquer.
2. The horse used in the text is also the emblem of fleetness. The wild horses on the plain, at the appearance of the hunter, make the miles slip under them, as with a snort they bound away, and the dust rises in whirlwinds from their flying feet, until, far away, they halt with their faces to their pursuer, and neigh in gladness at their escape. More swift than they shall be the redeemed in heaven. O the exhilaration of feeling that you can take worlds at a bound, vast distances instantly overcome–no difference between here and there!
3. The horse in the text is also a symbol of victory. He was not used on ordinary occasions; but the conqueror mounted him, and rode on among the acclamations of the rejoicing multitude. So all the redeemed of heaven are victors. Yea, they are more than conquerors through Him that hath loved them. My text places us on one of the many avenues of the Celestial City. The soldiers of God have come up from earthly battle, and are on the parade. We shall not have time to see all the great hosts of the redeemed; but John, in my text, points out a few of the battalions: And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses. Now, come on the battalions of the saved. Here passes the regiment of Christian martyrs. They endured all things for Christ. They were hounded; they were sawn asunder; they were hurled out of life. Here comes up another host of the redeemed: the regiment of Christian philanthropists. They went down into the battle-fields to take care of the wounded; they plunged into the damp and moulded prisons, and pleaded before God and human governors in behalf of the incarcerated; they preached Christ among the besotten populations of the city; they carried Bibles and bread into the garrets of pain: but in the sweet river of death they washed off the filth and the loathsomeness of those to whom they had administered. There is John Howard, who circumnavigated the globe in the name of Him who said: I was sick, and ye visited Me. Here goes Elliott, who once toiled for Christ among savages, saying to them: I am about the work of the great God. Touch me if you dare! Here comes a great column of the Christian poor. They always walked on earth. The only ride they ever had was in the hearse that took them to the Potters Field. They went day by day poorly clad, and meanly fed, and insufficiently sheltered. But a shining retinue was waiting beyond the river for their departing spirits, and as they passed a celestial escort confronted them, and snow-white chargers of heaven are brought in, and the conquerors mounted; and here they pass in the throng of the victors–poor-house exchanged for palace, rags for imperial attire, weary walking for seats on the white horses from the Kings stable. Ride on, ye victors! Another retinue: that of the Christian invalids. These who pass now languished for many a year on their couches. But I cannot count the interminable troops of God as they pass, the redeemed of all ages, and lands, and conditions. (T. De Witt Talmage.)
His name is called the Word of God.—
The victory of the Word of God
The Word of God. What is it? where is it? is it at all? Has God spoken? If so, how has He spoken, and what is the word He has spoken?
I. What is a word? A word may be broadly defined as that which expresses thought. Now, thought is expressed to some extent by language, but only to some extent. It is also expressed by action. Action, therefore, is a word. Conduct is a word. Everything that man has made or done is a word, because it expresses thought, and expresses it sometimes much more effectively than any spoken or written language can. The artist can best express his thought by a picture; the sculptor, by a statue; the musician, by his music. Action is a word. Everything that man has done or made is a word, because it expresses thought. The houses we build, the factories, the ships, the churches, the clothes we wear, the movements we make, everything that man has made or done, from the easiest and simplest and most trifling thing up to the hardest and most complex–it all stands for thought, is the expression of thought, is resolvable back into thought–the word, the embodiment, the manifestation of thought. In the Book of Genesis it is said that God speaks it into existence. God said, Let there be light. Light is His word, the expression of His thought, and He speaks it. And God said, Let the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and the dry land, and living creatures appear; the sun, the stars, the living creatures–these are His words, the expression of His thought, and therefore it is said, Ha speaks them into existence. Is there any other word that God has spoken? Is there any other expression of His thought? In making up the inventory of the contents of the universe, we must not leave humanity out of the reckoning; and if the sun, the stars, the great globe itself, be the expression of thought, and constitute the word of the infinite God, must not human nature also be regarded as the word of the infinite God? Yes, man is Gods word as well as physical nature, expressing the thought of God. But that statement must be guarded, must be qualified. For nowhere in our ordinary life do we see what man is, and therefore cannot know from the study of the ordinary man what God is. We see much that is good and noble in the history of man, and we also see many things that are base and ignoble, and which our moral sense will not permit us in any wise to attribute to God; and looking upon these evil things in human history, we are forced to say, Some enemy hath done this, and the tares have sprung up with the wheat. But let our eyes somewhere see the perfect man, in whose humanity there is no flaw or blemish; then and there we shall see the perfect word of God, the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person.
II. And now, having found what in the broadest sense is meant by the Word of God, let us consider the victory of that word; and, first, as we see it in the forms and forces of the physical creation about us. Physical science, as we call it, is the dominant study to-day, and marvellous are the results which have been accomplished by it. Not only have we explored the earth and gathered its hidden treasures, but the heavens, and the waters under the earth, and all the forces of nature, we have gathered in golden chains around the feet of man. And yet if, as the result of all this, man is only becoming greater and richer in material products; if all the forces of nature which he has discovered and utilised are only giving him greater material growth and expansion, then, although to-day he can send his messages under the waters and across the seas, and the earth has been made to give its coal and iron and oil and mineral treasures to him, and the stars in their courses fight for him instead of against him, then I say that in spite of all these things he is just as much a prisoner–although, indeed, he is bound with golden chains–as in the days of Sisera and of Job; and, with the materialistic philosophy coming in to tell him that there is nothing but matter and force about him–no thought, no spirit, no heaven, no God–not even a prisoner of hope. Let us eat and drink and be merry, for to-morrow we die. But no! The physical universe about us is not merely matter and force; it is the word of mind. There is thought in it, through it, pervading it. It is the embodiment of the thought of God. And, looking at it in this way, then does human life become truly rich, and is crowned with many crowns. We are standing, not on the floor of a prison, with the walls of a prison around us, and the great sealed roof of a prison over our heads: we are living in the open of God, and There is not a bird that sings, There is not a flower that stars the elastic sod, There is not a breath the radiant summer brings, But is a word of God. But human nature as well as physical nature–the world of man as well as the world of nature–is the word of God. And in the perfect man Christ Jesus, as I have tried to show, we have His perfect word; and, oh, what victories that Word of God has wrought! The story of civilisation is the story of its triumph. All the best things in the world to-day, all the best and purest feelings that touch and sway, if they do not completely control, the heart of man–his highest conduct, his bravest deeds, his noblest sacrifices, his brightest hopes for the future, without which the future is cold and dreary and impenetrable darkness to him–that Word of God has inspired. By that Word of God we have been taught that we are sons of God; and, looking out upon the vast physical creation about us, or looking up through the moral and spiritual clouds above us, we have been able to say, Our Father, who art in heaven, Thine is the kingdom of the physical creation about us; Thine is the power that is working mysteriously in our human life for our good; Thine is the glory for ever! And, finding our fatherhood in God, we have found our brotherhood in one another; with the consciousness of that brotherhood we have been trying to live and perform our duties, and are trying, with many infirmities, to perform our duties to-day. Far as we yet come short of that ideal form of life, we are moving toward it, and will continue to move until at last, here or somewhere–it matters not, for everywhere we are in the open of God–here or somewhere we shall all come, in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto the perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Jesus Christ. (D. K. Greer, D. D.)
The Word of God
The Infinite Father has spoken two great words to His intelligent family. One word is Nature. The heavens declare His glory, etc. The other word is Christ. He is The Loges.
I. The word of absolute infallibility.
II. The word of exhaustless significance.
III. The word of almighty power.
IV. The word of universal interpretability.
Even the written words that make up what we call the Bible are frequently uninterpretable. Hence their renderings and meanings are constantly fluctuating, and often contradictive. But here is a word that stands for ever–the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. This word is a Life. A Life a child can interpret, and the greater the life of a man, the more generous, truthful, loving he is, the more readily a child can read and understand him. Hence no life is so interpretable as Christs life. (Homilist.)
The four names of Christ
I. The faithful and true (verse 11). So was He:
1. In avenging His people.
2. In carrying out His purposes. It mattered not who or what withstood.
3. The past proves the righteousness of this name. His prophecies have been fulfilled. His promises made good. His precepts owned as just.
II. The unknown name. (Verse 12, And lie had a name written, that no man knew, but He Himself.) It was a written name, but illegible, incomprehensible, to all but Himself. The names advance in majesty. Faithful and True–that is an august name, but it cannot be said to be incomprehensible, and known to none but Himself. Glory be to Him that we do know Him by that name, and that the name is rightly His. But now the ineffable nature of the Son of God seems to be suggested. Who by searching can find out God? Christ is more than all our thought, than all we have understood or have imagined. Who knows what is the relation between Him and the Father, and what the nature of the union in Him of humanity and God? Who can understand the profound philosophy of the Atonement, the Incarnation, the Resurrection? No man knoweth the Son but the Father–so said our Lord; and this unknown name, written, though not read, endorses that sublime saying. And do we wonder that we cannot understand? Why, this we fail to do even with our fellow-men if they be of higher nature than our own. Let us be glad and grateful that, whatever riches of grace and glory we have already known, there is an inexhaustible fountain and an unsearchable store yet remaining. And now a name more majestic still is given.
III. The word of God (verse 13).
IV. King of kings, and Lord of lords (verse 16). (S. Conway, B. A.)
The armies which were in heaven followed Him.—
Armies invisible and distant on the side of the good
I. The hosts of heaven are interested in the moral campaign which Christ is preaching on this earth. They not only know what is going on on this little planet, but throb with earnest interest in its history. They desire to look into its great moral concerns. No wonder some in heaven are related to some on earth; they participate in the same nature, sustain the same relation, and are subject to the same laws. Here, too, stupendous events have occurred in connection with Him who is the Head of all Principalities, Powers, and that must ever thrall the universe.
II. The hosts of heaven lend their aid to Christ in his tremendous battles. If you ask me in what way they can render Him aid, I can suggest many probable methods. We know that one great thought struck into the soul of an exhausted and despairing man, can repeat and reinvigorate him. May it not be possible for departed souls and unfallen spirits to breathe such thoughts into the breasts of feeble men on earth?
II. you ask me why Christ should accept such aid as theirs, or the aid of any creature in His mighty struggles, I answer, not because He requires their services, for He could do His work alone, but for their own good. By it He gratifies their noblest instincts, engages their highest faculties, and gains for them their highest honours and sublimest joys.
III. The hosts of heaven are fully equipped for service in this martial undertaking on earth. It was customary in Oriental lands for soldiers of the highest rank to go forth to battle on steeds. It is a law of Christs kingdom that those only who are holy and pure can enter therein: hence these heavenly soldiers are furnished with white horses, the emblem of purity, and white linen also. No one in heaven or on earth will Christ allow to fight under His banner who are not qualified, both in capacity and character, for the work they undertake. (Homilist.)
He hath on His venture and on His thigh a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords.–
The kingdom of Christ
I. The title here given to Christ.
1. Christs Godhead.
2. His dominion. The kings and lords of the earth exercise but a contracted authority. Not so Christ. His dominion is so great, that it comprehends all principalities and powers in heaven, as well as all thrones and dominions upon earth. Yea, even the devils in hell are subject to His sceptre, and are compelled to obey His commands.
II. The way in which that title is displayed.
1. Christs past victories. The Lord Jesus has already displayed His sovereignty over the whole earth, executing vengeance, whenever it was necessary, upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people, binding their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron. How often, when the iniquity of a land has become full, has He sent one of His four sore judgments upon that land, the sword, or the famine, or the noisome beast, or the pestilence, to cut off man and beast! And then as to individual transgressors–Adonibezek and Goliath, Haman, Judas, and Ananias–all serve as so many beacons of His righteous indignation, and show that, notwithstanding all the opposition of pretended friends and avowed enemies, His cause has prospered and triumphed; so that in every generation the Lord Jesus has been known for the judgments He has executed, snaring the wicked in the works of their hands.
2. His future triumphs. Blessed be God, the prosperity of the ungodly, and the low estate of evangelical truth, shall not always continue as we now see them.
We may infer hence–
1. The happiness of Christs subjects.
2. The importance of knowing whether Christ is our King. (C. Clayton, M. A.)
King of kings, and Lord of lords
Let us consider over what the Christ is king–how many kings He holds in submission to Himself. This earth has been tyrannised over by usurping kings, under whose grievous yoke humanity has had to groan. It is a sad history, that of these kings of the earth. The ancient Romans had one dark page in their history–it was the annals of the kings. The story began very well, but it ended very terribly; and so deep and indelible was the impression left on the national feelings by the record of the history of the kings, that even when in later years the Commonwealth and Republic gradually developed into an Autocracy, not even Julius Caesar, not even Augustus, dared to assume the title of king. Caesar became an emperor–a king he dared not become. But there is a still darker page in the history of the world, the annals of its sins. Where is the man whose breast sin has not entered? And what a tyrant power sin is I not an abstract idea, not a mere name given to a phase of experience, but aa actual power exciting within us base desires, stimulating our neutral desires till they become base, perverting our reason, silencing our conscience, degrading our whole manhood, destroying our souls. We have indeed suffered many things from this kings tyranny; but to-night, as I survey the wondrous work of the Conqueror who has risen from His tomb, I rejoice to recognise Him as King of kings and Lord of lords, and first and foremost as King over this fearful tyrant. The rod of the oppressor is broken, and the staff of the shoulder the Lord Himself has undertaken for the human family. Sin shall not have dominion over you; for ye are not under the law, but under grace. O glorious message for those of us who have found all our strugglings and toilings and efforts futile! Now, when a king has asserted his supremacy over any conquered power, it is to the credit of that king that he should maintain that supremacy; and the practical thought I want to press home on your minds is this: If the Lord Jesus Christ has gained the right to be supreme over the powers of evil, within and without; if this is one of the royal crowns placed upon His brow; let us glorify Him by believing in His power, and let us with unwavering faith call upon Him to exercise His sovereign prerogative on our behalf. Dont you see what honour you put on Jesus when you claim that in virtue of His resurrection power you shall be enabled to do as He has done–put your foot on the neck of that which has previously tyrannised over you? When you approach sin, let there be no wavering, no holding back. Let us not approach the powers of darkness as uncertain of the issue of the conflict. Oh, children of God, when you are called to go into the midst of temptation, do you advance with palpitating heart, with inward misgiving? Very well; then thanks to yourself if you do fall, and fall again and again before the foe, if disaster follows disaster, and defeat, defeat. What! shall we rob Jesus of His rights by conquest? Is it a fact that He wears the royal crown upon His brow, which He has snatched from the head of the fallen dragon? Is it true that as sin reigned unto death, even so grace reigns by righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord? (Rom 5:21). Is it a fact that He holds this royal crown upon His brow? is He King of kings and Lord of lords? Is it true that He has trampled down transgression, and made an end of sin? Has this been the glorious result of His passion? Then you are not merely privileged to ask Him to help you, but to claim that sin shall not have dominion over you, and to look the enemy in the face with holy calm. Our blessed Lord before His passion makes this statement: Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. Here is another dethroned monarch–and a very powerful one. Very few of us have not felt something of his sway. Very few of us have not bowed down before his throne, and yet, thank God, he too is conquered! A monarch, but a dethroned monarch. He has no longer the right to lord it over those whom Christ has made free. The man who is living in fellowship with Christ will survey the power of this world with the eye of holy jealousy, just as a loyal subject of Great Britain would be jealous of any person setting up his throne in any part of the dominions of Queen Victoria. But how much stronger would be such feelings in the heart of the Queens own son, partaker as he himself is of her rank and greatness! How his jealousy would burn against any pretender or usurper who should set himself up as a rival of the royal authority! Nor would he rest without doing all in his power to overthrow the obnoxious sway. Are we not sons of God, and heirs with Christ Himself of the glory of God the Father? Once again. He is supreme over that regal force within our nature which we call self. Yes, He has rightful supremacy over every one of us. He conquered Himself as the Son of man, that He might teach us how to conquer ourselves; but, further, our wilful self has been crucified in Him, that we might be in a position to learn the lesson of self-mastery. He conquered for us, that He may conquer in us; He died for all, that they who live should not henceforth live to themselves, but to Him who died for them, and rose again. Do you want to lead a happy, do you want to lead a powerful, a successful, a God-like life? The greatest of all obstacles to this you find to be the power of self. How are you to resist that power? Fix your eyes or, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, as St. John did (Joh 1:13-18). It is as we gaze at Him, and behold His glory, as one after another His perfections shine out on us, that we begin to abhor ourselves, to hate our selfishness, to find out that His will is better than self-will, His character is nobler than ours, and that to yield ourselves up to His control is better than to fight our own way, and thus He who once triumphed over Himself will triumph over us, King of kings, and Lord of lords! Then when He has asserted His royal rights as King over sin, King over the world, and King over Self, there is another force that now we may trust Him to do battle with–nay, He has done battle with already; and because of His victory, blessed be God, we need not fear to face the foe. Death is conquered! he is only now a tributary of Jesus, only the door-keeper who stands at the palace gate; and it is his duty to open the door whenever the Master sends the summons. There is a kindly look on his face now, and it is a friendly hand that he stretches out. If we have proved the power of Jesus Christ to raise us above sin, death has lost all its terror: the dying saint may stretch out his hand to welcome that dread janitor, who once seemed so stern, but is now become so kind; who smiles as one after another he gathers the children of God into the heavenly houses. (W. H. M. H. Aitken, M. A.)
Supremacy
What would intimidate any loyal Englishman, if he were quite satisfied and sure, and that too from personal interview, that the monarch of the realm was decidedly and unalterably his friend? Would he fear poverty? Would he fear enemies? Would he fear dangers? Would he fear reverses of fortune? Oh! no, he would say, The monarch is my friend, and he has all power to accomplish all I wish, and he is quite as willing as he is able. Now, I think this ought to rebuke our slavish fears–just to bear in mind, that our warmest friend is no less a being than the King of kings and Lord of lords.
I. It is the supreme Sovereign of the universe, the King of kings and Lord of lords, of whom it is expressly written, He doeth as seemeth Him good in the armies of heaven, existing in His own eternal self-existence, dependent upon no being, but making all dependent upon Himself, He holds all worlds at His command. He is the Maker of all worlds, and the Maker of all kings and lords too; therefore, He surely has a right to be King and Lord over them. Moreover, He is the moral Governor of the universe, and, consequently, all things in it are under His control; He even giveth power to get wealth, and, if He withholds that power, and lets us sink into poverty, He still acts as King of kings and Lord of lords; and it is your business and mine to say, Do as thou wilt with mine and me too.
II. Now a word or two, in the second place, relative to the exhibition of His name. It is said to he written upon His vesture and upon His thigh. You will read, by looking a little higher up in the chapter, that His vesture was peculiarly marked, yea, and stained–the name was perfectly legible. It is said that He was clothed in a vesture dipped in blood. Does not this exactly agree with Isaiahs predictive inquiry, when he says, Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozra? and gives as the answer, I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save; and when the question is resumed, Why is Thine apparel red, and Thy garments like one that has trod the winepress? the answer is, I have trod the winepress alone, and of the people there was none with Me. Here then, I discover His official character. His vesture is dipped in blood, and He is clothed with this vesture down to His foot–the priestly robe, for He only is priest of our profession as Christians. Moreover, the name is written not only upon His vesture, but upon His thigh. Why was this? Was not one writing enough? Just for this express purpose, that His power might be held forth at every step. Wherever He steps, whether in providence or grace, absolute power goes forth with Him. Now what can a man do, as regards walking, running, or working, if the strength has gone out of his thighs? It is not so with our King. His strength is in His thigh–His name is written on His thigh–so that wherever He advances He is sure to be known as the King of kings, and Lord of lords. The power of Christ, as the eternal God, is conspicuous in all His movements, both in providence and in grace; by Him the worlds were made, and by Him they are sustained; yea, we are expressly told by the Holy Ghost (Joh 1:8). And this power is constantly put forth on behalf of His elect, blood-bought Church, inasmuch as He counts her interests His own. Cheer up, then, ye timid saints, your cause is not more yours than it is Christs; nay, nor so much, for if He could allow the injury or the ruin of His Church, the name which is written upon His vesture and upon His thigh would be tarnished, nay, forfeited, and He would no longer be owned King of kings and Lord of lords. But, it shall endure for ever, etc., (Psa 72:17). Yea, more, His name, emblazoned in glory, shall be the chorus of all the redeemed throng as long, as eternity shall roll on. Mark, I pray you, how, in the exercise of His prerogative, He subjects all beings to His will. He brings every thought into subjection to the obedience of Christ. Now, I ask, where is the king to be found that can do that? There are two ways in which He brings all beings into subjection, whether friends or foes. The first is by the omnipotence of His grace He brings every elect vessel of mercy to the knowledge of His will, to bow to His sceptre and live for ever; and of those rebels that would not that He should reign over them, He says, Bring them hither and slay them before Mine eyes.
III. Go on to mark that the highest expectations of the Lords family are encouraged. His name written on His vesture and on His thigh is legible to all His saints. They see Him the King and the Priest upon His throne. They witness the victories He has already realised–they mark the sacred and cheering fact, that He has spoiled principalities and powers, and has fulfilled what is said, O death, I will be thy plague; O grave, I will be thy destruction. The ancient promise has been accomplished by Him, and the serpents head is bruised. The grand victory was won upon Mount Calvary, by the glorious Captain of salvation, whom my text calls King of kings, and Lord of lords. And now what remains but that He shall still go on on His white horse of pure gospel truth, from conquering to conquer. Here take, for a moment, a twofold view of His overcomings. He is going forth from conquering that sinners heart to conquer another sinners heart–from conquering that corruption of the old Adam nature of the child of God, to conquer the next that rises and struggles within him. He will go on conquering and to conquer, until He has conquered every elect vessel of mercy, and transformed them to His own image. Nor is this all, His conquests and His peoples are one; for it is written concerning those that surround His throne, and walk with Him in white, that they overcame by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of His testimony. Well now, will you not buckle on your armour? Will you not furbish your sword? Will you not cry out for more help from on high to wield it? Will you not look in a menacing form at all your enemies? (J. Irons.)
Christs kingly office
The office of king belongs to Him by eternal right, inasmuch as He is the Son of God. The Father constituted Him heir of all things. Being the express image of His person, and the visible shining forth of His glory, it is He who is to all created being its Lord and Ruler and manifested King. We are the work of His hands: we, and all our world. We owe Him allegiance by the very fact of our birth and our being. And we are the kings of earth; in our hand hath He put all the tribes of His creation: in our hands all the wonders of capacity latent in His inanimate works. We, and all this oar dominion over which we reign, are His. And not we and our world only. There are hosts of happy spirits, rising through all the gradations of created glory, even to the very presence of God, and the skirts of the brightness which flows round and veils the eternal throne. These too, however lofty and holy, are His: Him they acknowledge as their King and Lord, by the very condition of their angelic being. Behold Him then, the Head over all things: the rightful and everlasting Sovereign of the universe of God. Such spectacle we might contemplate with adoration; with wonder, the more we thought, at His unapproachable majesty and power: but it has pleased Him to reveal to us greater things than these. The throne of majesty was not enough for Him: He must win a higher throne of love. To stand by the throne of God and rule, satisfied not the yearnings of His heart: He must come down among His own creatures, and endure the contradiction of sinners against Himself, and resist, striving unto blood: and fight and fall, but conquer while He fell, with the weapons of redeeming love. It was not enough for Him, to have created man in Gods image, after His likeness; to be the rightful Head by creative lordship over their nature, the wonder of His universe: but when that image was marred, He must Himself descend into the tabernacle of the flesh, and gain for Himself another and a closer headship and kingship–so that He is now not only the Son of God, but the Son of Man: has not only His supreme and undoubted rights over our nature ab extra, as its God and Creator, but also rights far more wonderful ab intra, inasmuch as He is its second head and righteous root, and blessed renewer in righteousness. Let us pursue a few of the grounds and details of this His sovereignty. He is King of man, inasmuch as He is the only man who has ever fulfilled manhood. He is our King also, because He is the Head of our common nature. He has taken unto His personal Godhead our whole and entire nature, as complete as it was in Adam, and as free from taint as it was when Adam was created in it; and on account of this His being the second root or head of our common nature, and on no other account, it is, that every man has a part in Christ, that we preach Christ the Saviour of the world, and call on all to look unto Him and be saved. He thus is rightful and undoubted King of that nature of ours, and of all that it has and rules, by virtue of His including it all in Himself, and standing before God as man; all we and our world being contemplated by the Father as existent solely in and because of, and as summed up in, Him. Advancing onward again with those new titles to kingship which He who by His own right was king, has been in the process of redemption pleased to make for Himself, we come to this one; that He has, besides His perfection in our nature, besides His headship over it, purchased it to Himself by the price of His own precious blood. Not only is He the light of the world, not only is He the second Adam, but He is the Redeemer. He became our representative, not in perfection only, not in entireness of bearing our nature only, but inasmuch as He bore our griefs and carried our sorrows, and bowed under the burden of the worlds guilt in His own body on the Cross, and came up out of death triumphant, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He might have the pre-eminence. God and evil, God and impurity, cannot exist face to face: nor can He permit an unconquered antagonist in that universe which He hath created. But because, in the eternal verities of God, who counts not time, but sees as present all that happens in all time, Jesus had suffered, had died, had risen again, man was spared, nature was spared: the sun was commanded to shine on the evil and on the good, and the rain to rain on the just and on the unjust. So that as we are told, in Christ all things consist, have their being: and to Him alone this existence of ours, and of things around us, this life and motion, and joy, and increase, is owing from moment to moment. Then, has He not a right to it all, as His? to us, and to all that is ours? to all that would have perished with us had He not died, but which is now preserved to us and to Him? And if He is a King, He has a kingdom. And what is His kingdom? In that wider sense in which we have treated of His sovereignty, it is the universe of God: all that ever was and is and shall be: but of that His kingdom we will not now speak. Let us rather tell of the issues of that lower and more limited kingdom, which He hath won here below among us, and see whether that have not for us a voice within our hearts, and a claim which grasps at the threads of our common motives and affections. Christ is the King of man. Who remembers this, who acts upon this, as he ought? Every man on earth is Christs subject: He is your King and my King, and the King even of the poor heathen who know Him not: for He hath bought us all for Himself: He is thus our rightful King: and it is a claim which He will not forego. All kings shall bow down before Him: all nations shall do Him service. But O, it was not for this that He won for Himself a kingdom; not for this, that the wheels of His chariot might crush down all that opposeth, that He might hear His enemies calling on the rocks to fall on them, and the hills to cover them; no, for He is, as we have seen, not only a King of right, but a King of righteousness to the sons of men. When Pilate asked Him in the hour of His deepest humiliation, Art thou a King then? in asserting His Kingship, He added, For this cause was I born and for this cause came I into the world, that I might bear witness unto the truth. There is no truth, but in Him: and whatsoever is true is His, part of His kingdom, and woven into His design, and blessed by His sanction, and matured by His fostering Spirit. Here is the Redeemers more glorious, more heavenly kingdom; the kingdom of truth, and purity, and holiness, and love. But the question arises, What is this truth of which He is speaking? Is it truth in science merely–is it truth in art–those subtle powers of harmonising with Gods creative laws, which seem as if they might and do exist where there is no deeper truth of heart and life? Is it, in a word, any of those outlying branches of truth, which seem as if they were rooted in earth for themselves, and got no life from the parent stem? Let us reply to this in His own words, I am the way and the truth and the life. It is He who has revealed to us the truth, and He has revealed it in Himself. And as He is the revelation and the fountain of truth, so in order to be a subject of His blessed kingdom of truth must a man enter into it by Him: by knowing Him and believing Him, and being knit unto Him, and living his common life by virtue of faith in Him. This process of self-renunciation, this acceptance of Him as King, and of His Spirit as guide of His life, must accompany all effectual entrance, with the will and the affection, into His kingdom of grace–all heirship of His kingdom of glory. Such a kingdom then is God establishing on earth among men: a kingdom of truth and mercy and love, of which His Son is the Head and King. Day by day He is calling its subjects out from among the falsehood and the strife which is the rule of life of this world. Among the nations, He is preparing it; in His own way, not in ours. He is still suffering the darkness to prevail over wide tracts of this earth: still permitting the oppressor to oppress, and the truth to be kept down: but it is that that truth, by trial and by sifting, may become purer and surer. And we look for a day when that His kingdom, which sprung not out of this world, shall yet be manifested in this world and rule over this world. But we are called on by our text to look forward further even than this. Its words treat of a time when Christs kingdom shall have passed altogether out of conflict into triumph, out of grace into glory. (Dean Alford.)
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Christ a King
This title is one of very extensive meaning. Other kings are usually content to wield the sceptre over an empire of private individuals. But instead of being king over individuals in a private capacity, our Lord claims to be the King of kings. Princes and monarchs of every degree of power are subject to His control. Before Him they all are required alike to bow, to pour forth their gratitude, and to offer a tribute of adoration.
I. Contemplate Him as the mighty God, the everlasting Father; as Him by whom the foundations of the earth were laid, and the work of whose hands are the heavens. Contemplate Him as invested with all the attributes and perfections of the Deity, and you will see that His control is illimitable, and that His government is without termination.
II. What is the practical use of this truth?
1. If Christ be the King of kings, the almighty Ruler of the universe, then we have confidence that all the dispensations of Divine providence will be such as to promote the general interests of His people.
2. If Christ be the King of kings and the Lord of lords, then we have confidence that He will so direct whatever pertains to our spiritual interests, as to promote and secure our growth in grace, and our final salvation.
3. If Christ be the King of kings and the Lord of lords, then the Church is safe.
4. If Christ be the King of kings and the Lord of lords, then individual Christians are safe.
5. If Christ be the King of kings and the Lord of lords, then His people have no occasion to be ashamed of their Lord, or of the principles of His government.
6. If Christ be so great a King, He ought to be feared. He wields all the machinery of nature, and can bid winds, lightnings, tempests, diseases, arrest, scourge, or destroy His enemies. He can turn against them the tide of human passions, and thus overwhelm them in dismay. Even our breath is in His hands; and subject to His control are all our ways. He has power to destroy both soul and body in hell.
7. He ought to be adored.
8. If Christ be so great a King, His enemies ought to tremble before Him. (J. Foot, D. D.)
The mark of the beast.—
The mark of the beast
In the eyebrows of some people there are one or two hairs that are thicker and longer than the others, and stand out like the whiskers of a cat. A good many persons have the round fold in the upper part of their ears ending in a blunt point, like the tip of an animals ear folded down. At school I knew a boy who had the strange power of moving his ears at will, like a dog or a rabbit; and there was one big lad who could contract the skin of his head so strongly that, by the mere power of his muscles, without moving his head, he could throw off a book laid upon it. Some people have great canine teeth, and others have their face and body covered all over with thick hair. These things are said by scientific men to be the signs of mans origin from the lower animals, and remain as traces in some persons of the stages through which all the human race has passed. The lower animals are our poor relations; and it ought not to be considered strange if we should retain many marks and proofs of the relationship. Every human being has the mark of the beast in him, to show that God has made all animal structures after the same pattern; and united together all His creatures, from the highest to the lowest, by ties of mutual resemblance and sympathy, so that they all might be able to live harmoniously together on the earth. But there is a mark of the beast that ought to make us ashamed–that does degrade us. It is the mark of sin in our souls which destroys the image of God within us, and reduces us to the level, nay, below the level, of the beasts that perish. For the dumb, irrational animals faithfully obey the instincts of their nature, and God can say of them, The stork in the heavens knoweth its appointed time; The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his masters crib; but of man He says, Israel doth not know, My people do not consider. The animals obey in every respect the will of God; they cannot but obey; but we are continually breaking His commandments, and doing things that are contrary to His will and to our own welfare. One of the marks of a beast is impatience and hasty rage if it does not get its own way. The reason is that dumb animals have no other way of expressing themselves; and you find that the more limited the power of utterance, the quicker and more violent is the temper. And when any of us yield to the temptation of indulging in rage and violence and impatience, we show very distinctly upon us the mark of the beast, and forfeit our glorious gift of gentle and dignified speech, and descend to the level of the beast. So, too, with falsehood and dishonesty. Wild beasts steal from one another and deceive one another without compunction, for that is their nature, and in the stern struggle of life they have to be selfish and to take care of themselves at the expense of others. But in us who have a high moral nature, such acts would be wrong. Such marks of the beast in us would degrade us in our own esteem and in the estimation of others. Wild beasts kill each other without any mercy or remorse. And alas! many human beings have this wild-beast nature in them. If they do not go the length of acts of bodily violence, they wound each other in their hearts and characters. They are guilty of many acts of unkindness and positive cruelty to each other. Animals rend the sick or lame animal. Wolves will devour the unfortunate wolf that is wounded in the pack; and, therefore, animals instinctively avoid their fellows when they are hurt in any way, and seek the loneliest solitude in which to suffer or die in peace. All human beings who act in the same way–who, when they discover a weakness or a failing in their friends and neighbours, hasten to crush them altogether; who, if they discern a pin-hole, wish to work it into a huge gap, and, if they can only get their fingers in, long to rend the piece asunder–all such persons have the mark of the beast. It is an awful truth, that the more the image of God disappears in us, the more do the marks of the beast manifest themselves. What is it that can remove the mark of the beast in man, and restore the image of God? The brute elements cannot drop out of mans character by a natural process, however favourable may be his environment; the human race of its own accord cannot grow better, as surely as the bud expands into the perfect flower. Scientific men themselves tell us that the natural process is not necessarily upwards to better things, but may, indeed, be downwards to worse; especially if the surrounding circumstances and conditions of life be degrading. And we might well despair of the future of our race, if it were left to the force of natural evolution alone to work out the beast in man, and let the ape and tiger die. It is here that the power of spiritual religion comes in. The regenerating forces of living Christianity can be trusted to raise and renew mankind. You know that loveliest and most instructive of all the fairy tales–the familiar story of Beauty and the Beast. You remember how the merchant was to be put to death for plucking the bunch of roses in the garden of the Beast, and how his youngest and fairest daughter, whom he loved the most, offered to take his place and suffer his doom. When Beauty first saw the frightful form of the Beast, she was dreadfully afraid, and shrank from him; but by and by, as she got to know him better, she began to feel pity for him, and was touched with his gentleness and kindness. At last she agreed to marry him; and then a wonderful thing happened. Instead of the ugly beast, she saw a handsome and graceful young prince, who thanked her with the tenderest expressions for having delivered him from the wicked enchantment that had transformed him into a beast. The moral of this lovely story, which is as old as the hills and as young as each child in our midst, is that it is love that changes the beast in us into the nobler human nature, that takes away all the marks of the beast in us, and transforms us into true men and women. And so, in the highest sense of all, is it not the pure, disinterested love of Jesus Christ, who consented to take our nature, and die in our room and stead, and who unites us to Himself by an everlasting union, that takes away all the marks of the beasts in us, the old, sinful, degraded nature, and transforms us into His own likeness by the renewing of our minds? United to Christ, we become new creatures; the image of God is restored in us; our faces shine as the face of Moses shone when he came down from his communion with God on the mount. It is said of the great St. Francis of Assisi, that he prayed earnestly on one occasion, that he might realise in his body, as well as in his soul, the sufferings of Christ; and immediately there appeared in his hands the prints of the nails, and in his side the wound of the spear, which he bore all the rest of his life, but carefully hid, for he did not wish to expose to the eyes of cold curiosity the secret which made him one with his Lord. But not in visible imprint, not in fleshly wounds, do we bear the signs of the cross; no, but in holy affections, in crucified tempers, in heavenly desires, in Christlike meekness and gentleness. The Brahmins of India have a mark upon their foreheads in honour of the god they worship, by which every one can distinguish them. And so those who love the Lord Jesus Christ and serve Him have a mark upon their foreheads, by which all men can take knowledge of them that they are keeping company with Him. They have what the high priest of old had inscribed upon the gold plate of his mitre, in a pure and candid and heavenly look, Holiness to the Lord. And as they grow in likeness to Christ, so this bright sign of their high calling will be more clearly seen, and their outward beauty will be as their inward grace. In the old creation we see how beasts of low type and cruel nature, that wallowed in the mire, were swept away, and creatures of higher organisation and gentler mood appeared on the earth in their place. The wonderful researches of geology have made us familiar with this significant fact, that after forms that were emblems of evil, there gradually rose others that were emblems of good; and the Bible tells us that the new creation will develop this progress on a higher plane; that eventually all serpent-forms of evil will be subdued, and the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and a little child shall lead the most ferocious creatures. He who was with the wild beasts in the wilderness of the temptation will change the wilderness of mens souls, with its wild beasts of evil passions and tempers, into a fair and fertile garden, the home of gentle and holy graces. And John shows us, in his glorious vision in Revelation, those who had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, standing on the sea of glass as the symbol of their purity, and having the harps of God as the symbol of their harmony, and singing the song of Moses and the Lamb as the token of their triumph. They have obtained the final victory over the beast in man; they have risen completely out of the degradation of sin; they have had all the marks of the beast obliterated, and all the image of God restored in their glorified souls and bodies. (H. Macmillan, D. D.)
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Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 11. A white horse] This is an exhibition of the triumph of Christ after the destruction of his enemies. The white horse is the emblem of this, and FAITHFUL and TRUE are characters of Christ. See Re 3:14.
In righteousness he doth judge and make war.] The wars which he wages are from no principle of ambition, lust of power, or extension of conquest and dominion; they are righteous in their principle and in their object. And this is perhaps what no earthly potentate could ever say.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The remaining part of this chapter is conceived more fully to open what shall come to pass under the sixth and seventh vials, mentioned Rev 16:12,17, more especially the battle in Armageddon, mentioned there, Rev 16:16. There mention was made only of the armies being gathered together; here it is more fully described. At the beginning of the gospel, (saith a late learned annotator), John saw only a door opened, Rev 4:1. At the resurrection of the witnesses, he saw the temple opened, Rev 11:19. Here, after the ruin of Babylon, he seeth
heaven opened.
And behold a white horse: John saw such a horse, Rev 6:2. Dr. More observes, that the horse with his rider signifies rule; and the white colour, prosperity and success. It appears that the rider was Christ, because he is called
Faithful and True, which agrees with Rev 1:5; and by the names in the following verses, Rev 19:13,16, given to him.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
11. behold a white horse; and hethat sat upon himidentical with Re6:2. Here as there he comes forth “conquering and toconquer.” Compare the ass-colt on which He rode intoJerusalem (Mt 21:1-7).The horse was used for war: and here He is going forth to warwith the beast. The ass is for peace. His riding on it intoJerusalem is an earnest of His reign in Jerusalem over the earth, asthe Prince of peace, after all hostile powers have beenoverthrown. When the security of the world power, and the distress ofthe people of God, have reached the highest point, the Lord Jesusshall appear visibly from heaven to put an end to the whole course ofthe world, and establish His kingdom of glory. He comes to judge withvengeance the world power, and to bring to the Church redemption,transfiguration, and power over the world. Distinguish between thiscoming (Mat 24:27; Mat 24:29;Mat 24:37; Mat 24:39;Greek, “parousia“) and the end, orfinal judgment (Mat 25:31;1Co 15:23). Powerful naturalphenomena shall accompany His advent [AUBERLEN].
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And I saw heaven opened,…. This vision refers not to the same time the first seal does, Re 6:2 for though a white horse, with a rider on it, is seen here, as there; that respects the first times of the Gospel, this the latter part of the dispensation of it; nor to the war in heaven between Michael and the dragon, and their angels, Re 12:7 that issued in the downfall of Paganism in the Roman empire, this will issue in the downfall of the Papacy in it; nor to the personal coming of Christ to the last judgment, of which an account is given in the following chapter; but to the battle at Armageddon, to which the sixth vial is a preparation, and which is finished under the seventh, Re 16:13 and what is briefly hinted at there is at large related here; in which Christ, the General, and his armies, on the one hand, and the kings of the earth, with the beast and false prophet, and their armies, on the other hand, appear to give battle to each other: and the issue of the battle is particularly represented, in order to have a view of which, “John saw heaven opened”: not literally, as at Christ’s baptism, and at the stoning of Stephen, nor in a spiritual sense, by the blood of Christ, but visionally, as in Re 4:1 and since heaven, often in this book, signifies the church on earth, a more glorious and comfortable state of the church may be designed; when her gates shall be opened continually, and not shut day nor night, to receive the forces of the Gentiles, and their kings, Isa 60:15 such a state as is referred to in
Re 11:19 to which visions this is contemporary; and it may denote a very glorious appearing of Christ, not in person, which will be after this, but in his kingdom and power, in defeating his enemies, and reigning spiritually with his saints: and it may also design the clear revelation and discerning John had of the following things:
and behold a white horse which, as in Re 6:2 may be a symbol of the Gospel, and Gospel ministers, as there in the former, here in the latter part of the Gospel dispensation; signified by a horse, to denote the swift progress of the Gospel in the latter day, the majesty, power, and authority with which it will come, bearing down all opposition made against it; and by a white horse, to express the purity of the Gospel, and of its preachers and professors, and the peace it publishes, and gives, and the joy it brings, and the triumphs that will attend it.
And he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True: that Christ is here meant, is evident from the description of his eyes, Re 19:12 being the same as in Re 1:14 and from his name, Re 19:13 which is the peculiar name of the Son of God, Joh 1:1 and he sits upon, and is bore by, and rides forth in the Gospel, and the ministry of it, with glory and majesty, and prosperously, Ps 45:3 and the characters of faithful and true well agree with him;
[See comments on Re 3:7].
[See comments on Re 3:14]. He is “faithful and true” to God, who appointed him a Leader and Commander of the people, and to them he is the Commander of: and these characters well suit him now, when he will accomplish all the glorious things spoken of the church, relating to her spiritual and happy state in the latter day, and serve greatly to recommend him as a General.
And in righteousness he doth judge and make war; which is to be understood not of the last judgment, though that will be executed in righteousness, and therefore is called the righteous judgment, yet in that day there will be no war, no opposition, the wicked will at once submit; but of Christ’s judging of his people, and avenging their blood on their enemies, and the remainder of them among Papists, Pagans, and Mahometans; who will be gathered together at Armageddon in battle array against them, when there will be an utter discomfiture of them in righteous judgment; for as in times past the beast made war with the saints and witnesses, and overcame them, Christ will enable his people to make war with him and his accomplices, and overcome them, as the sequel of this vision shows, Christ being at the head of them, though not in person, yet in power.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| The Triumph of the Saints. | A. D. 95. |
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. 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. 13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 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. 16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. 17 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; 18 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. 19 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. 20 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. 21 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.
No sooner was the marriage solemnized between Christ and his church by the conversion of the Jews than the glorious head and husband of the church is called out to a new expedition, which seems to be the great battle that was to be fought at Armageddon, foretold ch. xvi. 16. And here observe,
I. The description of the great Commander, 1. By the seat of his empire; and that is heaven; his throne is there, and his power and authority are heavenly and divine. 2. His equipage: he is again described as sitting on a white horse, to show the equity of the cause, and certainty of success. 3. His attributes: he is faithful and true to his covenant and promise, he is righteous in all his judicial and military proceedings, he has a penetrating insight into all the strength and stratagems of his enemies, he has a large and extensive dominion, many crowns, for he is King of kings, and Lord of lords. 4. His armour; and that is a vesture dipped in blood, either his own blood, by which he purchased this mediatorial power, or the blood of his enemies, over whom he has always prevailed. 5. His name: The Word of God, a name that none fully knows but himself, only this we know, that this Word was God manifest in the flesh; but his perfections are incomprehensible by any creature.
II. The army which he commands (v. 14), a very large one, made up of many armies; angels and saints followed his conduct, and resembled him in their equipage, and in their armour of purity and righteousness–chosen, and called, and faithful.
III. The weapons of his warfare–A sharp sword proceeding from his mouth (v. 15), with which he smites the nations, either the threatenings of the written word, which now he is going to execute, or rather his word of command calling on his followers to take a just revenge on his and their enemies, who are now put into the wine-press of the wrath of God, to be trodden under foot by him.
IV. The ensigns of his authority, his coat of arms–a name written on his vesture and thigh, King of kings, and Lord of lords, asserting his authority and power, and the cause of the quarrel, v. 16.
V. An invitation given to the fowls of heaven, that they should come and see the battle, and share in the spoil and pillage of the field (Rev 19:17; Rev 19:18), intimating that this great decisive engagement should leave the enemies of the church a feast for the birds of prey, and that all the world should have cause to rejoice in the issue of it.
VI. The battle joined. The enemy falls on with great fury, headed by the beast, and the kings of the earth; the powers of earth and hell gathered, to make their utmost effort, v. 19.
VII. The victory gained by the great and glorious head of the church: The beast and the false prophet, the leaders of the army, are taken prisoners, both he who led them by power and he who led them by policy and falsehood; these are taken and cast into the burning lake, made incapable of molesting the church of God any more; and their followers, whether officers or common soldiers, are given up to military execution, and made a feast for the fowls of heaven. Though the divine vengeance will chiefly fall upon the beast, and the false prophet, yet it will be no excuse to those who fight under their banner that they only followed their leaders and obeyed their command; since they would fight for them, they must fall and perish with them. Be wise now therefore, O you kings, be instructed, you rulers of the earth; kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish from the way,Psa 2:10; Psa 2:12.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
The heaven opened ( ). Perfect passive participle (triple reduplication) of . Accusative case after . So Ezekiel (1:1) begins his prophecy. See also the baptism of Jesus (Matt 3:16; Luke 3:21, but in Mr 1:10). Jesus predicted the opened heavens to Nathanael (Joh 1:51). In Re 4:1 a door is opened in heaven, the sanctuary is opened (Rev 11:19; Rev 15:5), angels come out of heaven (Rev 10:1; Rev 14:17; Rev 18:1), and sounds come from heaven (19:1).
Behold, a white horse ( ). Nominative case because of , not . Cf. 6:2 for . The emblem of victory in both cases, but the riders are very different. Here it is the Messiah who is the Warrior, as is made plain by “Faithful and True” ( ), epithets already applied to Christ (Rev 1:5; Rev 3:7; Rev 3:14). Cf. also 22:6.
In righteousness he doth judge and make war ( ). See Isa 11:3ff. The Messiah is both Judge and Warrior, but he does both in righteousness (Rev 15:3; Rev 16:5; Rev 16:7; Rev 19:2). He passes judgment on the beast (antichrist) and makes war on him. Satan had offered Christ a victory of compromise which was rejected.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
A white horse. Compare ch. 6 2.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
The White Horse Riding Glorified Christ in Return v. 11-16
1) “And I saw heaven opened,” (kai eidon ton ouranon eneogmenon) “And I saw heaven as it had been opened as before, but this time there comes forth the conquering King of glory eternal, in resplendent glory with his bride, all the redeemed and his holy angels, to be glorified in his saints and to reign on earth, Mat 3:16-17; Joh 1:51; Act 7:55; Rev 4:1; 2Th 1:6-11.
2) “And behold a white horse,” (kai idou hippos leukos) “And behold there was a white horse; He who sat on the first white horse of Rev 6:2 was a deceiver, the antichrist, the one posing as the Christ, who rode four different horses, and was received by the world, as pre-told by Jesus, Joh 5:43; 2Th 2:4-5.
3) “And he that sat upon him,” (kai ho kathemenos ep’ auton) “And (I saw) the one sitting upon it,” riding on the white horse, symbol of honorable triumph in warfare, Psa 45:3-4; Mat 21:2-11; He came at his first coming riding a donkey, symbol of service, but comes again, on the white horse in triumph, Rev 14:14.
4) “Was called Faithful and True,” (pistos kaloumenos kai a lethi nos) “He was being called (the) Faithful and (the) True one,” the genuine-not a counterfeit, like that of Rev 6:2; Joh 5:43.
5) “And in righteousness he doth judge and make war,” (kai en dikaiosune krinei kai polemei) “And in righteousness (or justice) he judges and makes war,” Isa 11:4; 2Ti 4:1; 2Th 1:7-10, ending the Armageddon and The Tribulation the great, 1Co 15:24-28.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
Strauss Comments
SECTION 63
Text Rev. 19:11-16
11 And I saw the heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and he that sat thereon called Faithful and True; and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12 And his eyes are a flame of fire, and upon his head are many diadems; and he hath a name written which no one knoweth but he himself. 13 And he is arrayed in a garment sprinkled with blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which are in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and pure. 15 And out of his mouth proceedeth 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 fireceness of the wrath of God, the Almighty. 16 And he hath on his garment and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
Initial Questions Rev. 19:11-16
1.
What do the names of the rider of the white horse (Faithful and True) signify about His character Rev. 19:11?
2.
Discuss the imagery of righteous judgment and war in Rev. 19:11.
3.
What is a diadem Rev. 19:12?
4.
Where, besides Rev. 19:13, is the name word of God or just Word (in reference to Christ) found?
5.
Who makes up the army following the rider upon the white horse Rev. 19:14?
6.
Where else do we find the descriptive phrases clothed in fine linen, white and pure Rev. 19:14? To whom do these descriptions refer?
7.
Where else do we read of a sharp sword in the N.T. Rev. 19:15? What is the function of this sharp sword?
8.
Who is this victor leading the victorious according to Rev. 19:16?
Rev. 19:11
Beginning in this verse and continuing to the final shout Come Lord Jesus, John is led by the spirit to speak to the triumph of Christ. We have passed through the sections of gloom and despair; now we turn to hope and victory. We have now passed through the valley of darkness. The triumphant warrior leads the great host of the redeemed. The imagery comes from Isa. 63:1-3 and Psalms 2, etc. The action is taking place in heaven and not on the earth. The rider of the white horse is going to judge and make war. (Rev. 19:11-16 reveal the Conquering Christ.)
Rev. 19:12
Some of the imagery in this verse is also used in Rev. 1:14. He wears many crowns implying his vast rule.
Rev. 19:13
The rider of the white horse is identified by His name the Word of God (see Special Study on The Titles for Christ in The Revelation of the Word of God). John has already declared in his Gospel record that In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word . . . (the Greek text has the last clause instead of the Word was God.) . . . And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we behold his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father), full of grace and truth. (Joh. 1:1; Joh. 1:14) In the Gospel record, Christ is the absolute Word, and here the title is qualified Word of God!
Rev. 19:14
The followers of The Word of God are now mentioned. They are pure and holy, because He is the source and cause of their righteousness. The army of Christ followed (ekolouthei imperfect tense signifying progressive following or following Him where soever He goes) Him. Their purpose and power were obtained from Him.
Rev. 19:15
John uses descriptive imagery which is also found in Heb. 4:12-13. Out of the mouth of the Word of God proceeds (continually proceeds) a sharp sword in order that (hina purpose) he may smite the nations with it; and he will shepherd (or oversee them. This is one of the N.T. terms for Elder;) them with an iron staff;. . . This is a paradoxical symbol an iron staff! The last clause of this verse is one of the sources for some of the imagery in The Battle Hymn of the Republic.
Rev. 19:16
Christ has one name which is known only to Himself; He is known as the Word of God by His followers; and He has this third name which is recorded on His garment and on his thigh-King of kings and Lord of lords. (See Special Study on Titles for Christ under this name.) This name is descriptive of His sovereign control in the universe. He is King (Ruler) over all the rulers of the earth; and His lordship extends in order to encompass the demands of every human lordship. We have here the cosmic King and Lord! (See Act. 10:36He is Lord of all. All is neuter, meaning all things or a Cosmic Lordship.)
Note: The Revelation of Christ Rev. 19:11-16
1.
Christs description, Rev. 19:11-13; Rev. 19:15-16
2.
Christs followers, Rev. 19:14
3.
Christs Act. 19:11; Act. 19:15-16.
Discussion Questions
See Rev. 19:17-21.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(11) And I saw heaven opened . . .Better, And I saw the heaven opened (not opening, but set open, already opened, as in Rev. 4:1), and behold a white horse, and (behold) one that sitteth upon him called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judgeth and warreth. The description reminds us of the opening of the first seal. Again we have the white horse, and the rider. That early vision of a conquering Christ had been first a hope and then a despair, as age after age interposed its obstacles to the manifestation of the sons of God; but now, with added splendour, the vision is renewed: the hopes of the waiting shall not perish for ever. Once more the victorious rider appears, and His name dispels all fear, though the vision has been long in tarrying. At the end it speaks and does not tarry (Hab. 2:1-4), for He who rides upon the heavens, as it were upon a horse, has His name Faithful and True (Heb. 10:23; Heb. 10:36-38). This name combines two characteristics: fidelity to promises, trustworthiness; and the power to satisfy every legitimate desire which has been awakened in the hearts of His people; for in Him all hopes find repose, and every ideal is realised. He is further pictured as a warrior. This warrior bridegroom carries us back to Psalms 45, where a similar combination of marriage joy and martial triumph is found. Righteousness marks His progress in war, as faithfulness is manifested towards those who trust Him (Isa. 11:4-5). Here is comfort on the threshold of a vision of deliverance. The book has shown us war, conflict, confusion: the passions of men surging against one another, and dashing like vain waves against Gods immutable laws; the world history is written in blood. We blame men for these cruel and desolating wars; but another question rises imperiously, Why does an all-good ruler allow these heart-breaking scenes? If earths groans pain and trouble us, do they not grieve Him? Where is He that He permits all this? The answer is, In righteousness He judges and makes war. The worked-out history of the world will make this plain. The righteousness of God is being revealed: all will see it one day; but now the just must live by faith in Him who is faithful and true, and who preserves the germ of all divine life in the history of the world.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
11. Heaven opened The seer, expecting the apocalyptic exhibition closed at Rev 19:9, is magnificently surprised as he looks upwards and beholds the visible firmament opening, and through its portals the divine array descending to the earth.
White horse Note on Rev 6:2.
Faithful and True Being the faithful impersonation of truth.
In righteousness Thus he is living truth and righteousness. And in that cause does he judge and make war. Yes, he does judge, and is judge, in the broad Scripture sense of king; but this is not his judicial action. That appears in Rev 20:11.
Make war He so overrules the wars of the world as to bring out the ultimate triumph of right.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
III. THIRD AND LAST OVERTHROW OF THE ARMIES OF ANTICHRIST, Rev 19:11 to Rev 20:3.
This last sublime victory is now to be achieved. The capital of antichrist was taken, 14-16; his harlot was destroyed, xvii; and now comes the final destruction of all the forces and champions opposed to truth and righteousness, preparatory to the introduction of the universal reign of holy peace. That these three great successive phases of historical progress evolve through centuries, is required by the whole structure of the apocalypse, based, as that is, on the imageries of Daniel’s visions. The three phases succeed in the order given, yet, no doubt, each preceding phase laps into its successor. This last ”the great moral battle of the world” doubtless in a measure includes the preceding two, and carries the whole process of advancing knowledge, truth, and righteousness to the millennial culmination.
On this important passage we may note, 1. We do not agree with Alford in identifying the rider of the white horse here with that in Rev 6:2. But it conclusively follows, that if that is symbolical, so is this. There is no more reason for supposing the personage is corporeally “present” in one case than in the other. 2. Nor is there any more reason for supposing a corporeal riding out of heaven on a literal live horse here, than to suppose a corporeal dragon in chap. 12, flung by Michael from the sky to the ground. That downfall is, no doubt, allusively drawn from the pre-terrene fall of the angels; just as this is drawn allusively from the real post-terrene second advent yet to come. The dragon is a real person, namely, Satan; yet this, his phenomenal apparition, is a symbol; just so the Messiah is a real person, while this, his phenomenal presentation, is a symbol. And so fallacious is Gebhardt’s argument, that the man-child’s ascension was real, and so, therefore, this descent of the same must be literal. The man-child was real, but his infantile snatching up, in chapter 12, was symbolical, based on his real ascension. See notes chap. 12. 3. The phantasy that this is a picture of Christ’s real coming to “judge the quick and dead,” is contradicted on the entire face of the passage, and by every detail of its particulars. It is not a judicial scene, but a military. It is not a court, but a battle. The leader is not here a judge in the judiciary sense, but a general and a conqueror. Can it be for one moment seriously believed that there will be literal horses in heaven, on which Christ and his saints will sit astride, and ride down to the earth? 4. What confirms this view is, that it is the last battle in a serial emblematic war; the last third of a regular symbolic campaign. The enemy’s capital has been captured, his harlot has been exposed and destroyed. But the chief leaders the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet with their armies, are yet in the field. This is simply a clear narrative, under due symbol guise, of their overthrow, arrest, and consignment to durance vile. 5. What settles this view finally and conclusively is, the fact that at the close of the battle and the imprisonment of the last great rebel, (Rev 20:3-6,) we have the trophies of victory and the repose and full enjoyment of conquest. The world is cleared of rebels and devils; the imparadised martyr “souls” are enthroned with Christ in exaltation, and rule over its broad area; and for a symbolic thousand years not a traitor dares lift a warlike head. When, at the close of that period, the ancient rebel re-rebels, the world’s status is fixed forever.
The grand judicature takes place, and the portals of eternity are opened. 6. This picture is, then, symbolical. The horses and the riders on horseback are the impersonations of the cause, and of the champions of truth, righteousness, and human happiness, headed by Him who is the Word of God, the Truth itself. His enemies are the agencies of evil, the obstructive forces to the Gospel, to human progress, to universal Christianization, peace, and civilization. But the leader in the advance is divine; heavenly auxiliaries form his retinue; the enemies are paralyzed, and victory crowns the day. If any one doubts whether this battle of right against wrong, of the true against the false, of Christ against antichrist, is really in hopeful progress, let him consider a few facts.
Three or four centuries ago this our American continent was covered with the howling forests, inhabited by savage pagans, with their horrid Satanic rites and diabolical cruelties. It is now being overspread with churches, schools, and universities. At that time the sea was navigated by a feeble craft, and liable to be overrun with piracies. Europe was wrapped in ignorance, the press was uninvented, Christendom was ruled by the absolute pope, and yet the Turks were threatening Vienna, with a great possibility of establishing Mohammedanism as the religion of the western world. Asia was ruled by pagan or Mohammedan, and locked against all Christian missions, had there been life enough in Christianity to send one.
Africa was an unexplored pagan blackness. And thus two or three centuries ago the four quarters of the globe were covered with a solid midnight, save a few rays of twilight dawn in Europe. Picture as great a change for the better through our next three centuries, and say if the heavenly battle is not in progress! Thus is our Apocalypse the book of hope and triumph.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And I saw Heaven opened and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it called Faithful and True, and he judges and makes war in righteousness. And his eyes are a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written which no one knows but himself. And he is clothed in a garment sprinkled with blood, and his name is called The Word of God.’
In Rev 4:1 a door was opened in Heaven for John to have access to heavenly things but now the Heaven itself is opened and the world sees the glory of Christ. In the words of Rev 1:7, ‘behold He comes with the clouds and every eye will see Him’.
Jesus elsewhere connects this moment with the rapture of the people of God, ‘they shall see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, and he will send out his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other’ (Mat 24:30-31). They are transformed in the twinkling of an eye (1Co 15:52). They meet the Lord ‘in the air’ (1Th 4:17). And He then proceeds onward to judge the world. The judgment of the nations in Mat 25:31-46 pictures this in another way. All such descriptions are using earthly illustrations to depict heavenly realities, the taking of His people to be with Himself and the final judgment of mankind and of Satan.
‘A white horse.’ Whiteness represents righteousness. The horse here is in contrast with the white horse of Rev 6:2 where it represented a false profession of righteousness and messiahship by the one who went out. This rider has a sharp two-edged sword coming from His mouth, that rider had a bow, this rider has many diadems, that one had a single crown, this rider’s aim is to judge and fight wickedness, He ‘makes war’ in righteousness, that rider’s aim was only to conquer. This is the true Messiah, that one represented the false. The only thing in common is the white horse.
‘Called faithful and true.’ The combination, taken from Rev 3:14 (which see – compare Rev 1:5 for faithful and Rev 3:7 for true), emphasises truth against falsehood and reliability against unfaithfulness. He is the supreme One in whose mouth is no lie (Rev 14:5), the One Who can be fully trusted both for rightness of teaching and honesty of purpose. He is the truth (Joh 14:6), very much in contrast with the ‘father of lies’ (Joh 8:11). In both the earlier references to ‘faithful’ it connects with ‘witness’ and we must therefore see here also that He Who comes was the One Who Himself suffered unto death, the faithful Witness.
‘He judges and makes war in righteousness.’ Again we have the contrast with others who ‘make war’ but in their case it was not in righteousness. He is a new visible authority on the scene of earth and the contrast of what He is, is emphatically brought out. This is expanded in v. 15 where it is noted that He fights with a sharp sword that comes from His mouth (compare Rev 1:16). He does not fight with weapons but with His eyes of fire and with His word of power, for none can resist Him. This brings out again that the warfare which is such a common feature of Revelation is largely a war of ‘words’, of truth against falsehood, of right against wrong, although those whose power is less, often have to enforce them by physical means.
‘His eyes are as a flame of fire’ (compare Rev 1:14; Rev 2:18). Fire reveals the ‘otherness’ and holiness of God (Exo 19:18; Exo 24:17; Eze 1:27; Heb 12:29), it reveals the purity and effectiveness of His judgments (Deu 4:24; Isa 66:15-16; 1Co 3:13; 2Th 1:8; Heb 12:29), it tests for and removes impurities (Zec 13:9). His fire burns up His adversaries in the context of righteousness and justice (Psa 97:3). So He is the Holy One, tearing away the refuge of lies (Isa 28:17), revealing falsehood, searching the heart and mind, and in the end, where He cannot save, judging and destroying.
‘And on his head are many diadems.’ He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Rev 17:14; Rev 19:16) and thus His crowns are numberless. This contrasts with the seven heads and the ten horns of Satan whose power and jurisdiction is limited. It contrasts even more with earthly rulers who have even fewer crowns and are even more limited.
‘And he has a name written which no one knows but himself.’ We can compare the secret name given to the overcomer (Rev 2:17) and His new name (Rev 3:12). The ‘name’ in the Old Testament revealed the personality and/or importance of the bearer. Thus the fact that He has an unrevealed name declares that He is not yet fully known because such knowledge awaits the future. He has yet more wonders in store for His people. It is the prerogative of the overcomer that he will come to know that new name, to fully know Christ in all the wonder of His being. It may, however, be that we are to see that ‘hidden’ name as ‘King of Kings and Lord of Lords’, the name written on His clothes and on His thigh (Rev 19:16), previously hidden but now revealed in all its fullness at His coming (compare Php 2:11).
‘And he is clothed in a garment dipped (some authorities have ‘sprinkled’) in blood.’ In Isaiah 63, when God carries out His judgment on Edom He appears as a figure ‘glorious in his apparel, marching in the greatness of His strength’ (Isa 63:1). He is One Who is pictured as having trodden the winepress of His wrath with the result that His clothes are sprinkled with men’s blood (Isa 63:3). Thus the picture here is primarily one of judgment. His clothes are blood sprinkled because He is coming as the judge, carrying out the judgments of God.
Yet His clothes appear to have been ‘dipped in blood’ even before He comes, and He has come directly from Heaven. There is no suggestion anywhere of previous conflict. And the only blood in Heaven is that of the slain Lamb. This would therefore suggest that we are to see here One Who Himself has been in the winepress of God’s wrath as He bore the sins of others. He is the Lamb as it had been slain (Rev 5:6), with blood sprinkled on its fleece. He Who carries out the judgments of God has Himself experienced that judgment, for He has borne it on behalf of the redeemed. We can compare how the coat of Joseph was dipped in blood to signify his death (in that case falsely) (Gen 37:31). Thus the blood speaks both of redemption and of judgment.
‘And His name is called the Word of God.’ This is one of John’s favourite names for Christ. He is the Word Who was with God before time began, and indeed was Himself of the nature of Godhood (Joh 1:1); He is the Word through Whom God created the world (Joh 1:3 compare Heb 1:1-3); He is the Word as the revelation of God to man and giver of life (Joh 1:14; 1Jn 1:1). But He is also the Word made flesh (Joh 1:14). Now He comes as God’s Word in judgment. By Him, the perfect man, will all men be tested and measured, and by Him those who rejected Him as the Word will be condemned. He comes not only as the Creator God, and the God of revelation and judgment, but also as perfect Man, as God’s revelation of Himself to man.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Great Last Battle ( Rev 19:11-21 ).
The purpose behind this narrative is to exalt Him Who is the Word of God and to demonstrate the total defeat of the forces of evil. As with much in Revelation it is not to be taken literally. But the scene is magnificent. The last judgment is described in many ways. This is but one of them. It is depicted in terms of vivid climactic events (Rev 6:12-17); it is depicted as a huge earthquake and great hail (Rev 11:19; Rev 16:18-21); it is depicted in terms of the reaping of harvest, intermingled with the idea of a great battle (Rev 14:14-20); it is depicted as a great white throne of judgment (Rev 20:11-15). Here it is depicted in terms of a great battlefield.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Christ on the White Horse Defeats the Beast and His Armies: The Battle of Armageddon In Rev 19:11-21 we have the description of the final battle that ends the seven-year Tribulation Period. Jesus comes from Heaven riding a white horse with a host from heaven. Other parallel passages tell us that the beast and his mighty army have gathered against the holy city Jerusalem. Jesus opens His mouth and smites them with a mighty slaughter. He then invites the beasts of the earth and the fowls of the air to gather together to feast upon the slain. We find a similar battle described in Eze 38:1 to Eze 39:29 in which Russia and its allies gather against Jerusalem. In this battle the beasts and fowls are also called to feast upon the dead. Thus, many scholars believe that these two passages describe the same event. Some call it the Battle of Armageddon that will take place in the plain of Megiddo.
Rev 19:13 “and on his head were many crowns” Comments The multitude of crowns on the head of Jesus Christ represents His unlimited rulership over the nations of the earth.
Rev 19:15 Scripture Reference – Note:
Isa 11:4, “But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.”
Rev 19:17-18 Comments – The Fowls and Beasts are Called to Devour the Slain We find a parallel passage to this in Eze 39:17-20.
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
The vision of the exalted Christ:
v. 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.
v. 12. His eyes were as a dame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a name written that no man knew but He Himself.
v. 13. And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of God.
v. 14. And the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
v. 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 wine-press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
v. 16. And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Here the last door is opened, and the great Victor appears in person: And I saw heaven opened, and, behold, a white horse, and He that sat upon Him was called Faithful and True, and in justice He judges and wages war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head He had many diadems, having a name written which no one knows but Himself, and clothed with a garment bespattered with blood, and His name is called “The Word of God. ” Every Bible-reader recognizes this man at a glance; for every feature of this picture is depicted and repeated again and again. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself appears here upon a white horse as the Victor, as the triumphant King. In that bloody battle for the souls of men He has proved Himself the stronger, He has conquered all the enemies of mankind, forcing them to acknowledge His power forever. Faithful He is, for He has kept His promise, as it was given even in the Garden of Eden after the Fall; true He is, to be trusted at all times implicitly, for He is a Rock upon whom our confidence may rest without wavering. He has brought about a decision in the just cause which He represented; He has overcome in the war which the enemies themselves began. The zeal of justice and of judgment shines from His eyes, and He has the power over all the diadems and crowns of the world, all kings and rulers being but clay in His hands. All the languages of the world cannot possibly express the unspeakable majesty of the name of the Lord, Mat 11:27. His garment is bespattered with the blood which He shed for the salvation of the world, Gen 49:11; Isa 63:2-3. Like the wounds in His hands and feet and in His side His blood-spattered garment is a witness of His triumph. One of the names which He proudly bears is “The Word of God,” Joh 1:1. As the almighty Word of the Father He has revealed Himself in this war by the victory which He has won, by which world, death, and Satan are overcome and vanquished forever.
The Lord and His companions are further described: And the troops in heaven followed Him on white horses, clothed in white, clean, fine linen; and out of His mouth there proceeds a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations, and Himself will rule them with an iron rod, and Himself will tread the wine-press of the anger of the wrath of God Almighty; and He has upon His garment and upon His thigh a name written, “King of kings and Lord of lords. ” The great army of heaven, consisting of the troops of all the elect, takes part in the triumph of the Champion. With white, clean, silk like linen the saints are clothed, as the Lord had promised them, chap. 3:5; for their garment is the perfect righteousness of their Savior. They can trust their Lord all the more implicitly since the sharp, two-edged sword of the Word proceeds out of His mouth. This is the Word with which the Lord will kill His enemies, Isa 66:16, and overcome all antichrists and adversaries, Isa 11:4; 2Th 2:8. Against them it is the Word of His wrath, with which He will rule as with an iron scepter, Psa 2:9. He it is that treads the wine-press of the wrath of God, of which the seer had spoken, Rev 14:19-20. Thus, in the final destruction of His enemies, the exalted Christ will reveal Himself as the King of kings and the Lord of lords, having divine power and glory from everlasting to everlasting.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Rev 19:11-21. I saw heaven opened, &c. It was said by the angel, speaking of the kings subject to the beast, These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, &c. ch. Rev 17:14. and this vision is added by way of enlargement and explanation of that great event. Heaven is opened, and our Saviour cometh forth, riding upon a white horse, as a token of his victory and triumph over his enemies. He is described in such characters as are appropriated to him in this book, and in the ancient prophets. On his head also were many crowns, to denote his numerous conquests and kingdoms, which were now become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, &c. ch. Rev 11:15. As the Jewish high-priests wore the ineffable name of Jehovah on his forehead, so he had a name written, which none could perfectly comprehend but himself; and his name is called, The Word of God; Rev 19:12-13. His armies are mounted upon white horses like himself, and are clothed in fine linen, white and clean, as emblems of their victory and sanctity. This title,“The Word of God,” makes it evident that the person designed in this vision, is the same person whom St. John in his Gospel calls by the same name: so that Jesus Christ himself is represented as riding at the head of an army, to take vengeance on the enemies of his religion and faithful servants: and HE is the , the WORD, that was with God, and was God (Joh 1:1 .), the eternal and supreme God, of the same substance with the Father, and of equal power and glory, majesty and eternity,over all, God blessed for ever (Rom 9:5 .). But , or The Word, may have here also three other significations; it may signify words, actions, and commands; and Christ is also The Word of God in all these respects. I. He is his Word, because, before his incarnation, and much more since, he has been the great Angel of God, to men: II. Because he is the Minister of God the Father, to perform all works of creation, preservation, and redemption: III. As to the word signifying command, Christ is in that respect two ways the Word of God;First, as he is the grand executor of all God’s commands; secondly, as he is himself the chief commander, and sitting as mediatorial King upon the throne of God at his right hand;the Prince of the creation, the King of kings, and Lord of lords. This account not only shews why Christ is called THE WORD OF GOD in general, as being the eternal Word, Wisdom, and Son of the Father; but why he is so called particularly in this place: I. Being the Word, as He is the great Angel, or Messenger of the covenant, he brings now the greatest errand;the perfection of the covenant in the resurrection, first of the saints, and then of all the dead: II. Being the Word of God, as He is the great Minister, he comes now to perform the most magnificent of God’s works: III. As he is the grand Executor of the divine commands, he commands and rules the universe in a peculiar sense as the great Mediator, and therefore is in this respect King of kings, and Lord of lords. In Rev 19:16. Christ is further described as a general, at the head of the armies of heaven, about to engage his enemies; whom he is presently after said to subdue. It was a common custom among the ancient Heathens to represent their idols and the statues of their kings and heroes as dressed in royal or splendid vestments, on which, and more particularly on the thigh parts of which, inscriptions were drawn or engraved. Many instances of this practice might be given from ancient history. Consequently, the figure of a person dressed in such a vesture with an inscription thereon, was quite familiar to the ancients: and therefore, probably, for this reason among perhaps others, the adorable Jesus was pleased to appear to St. John in a manner familiar to the people of that age, in an imperial robe, with the inscription of King of kings, and Lord of lords, on the thigh part thereof, as being the only potentate, the Lord God of heaven and earth. This is the opinion of Grotius and other eminent commentators. We may here observe, that the title of King of kings, and Lord of lords, is much affected by the Eastern monarchs; and by antichrist himself, the Pope being styled king of kings, and lord of lords. An angel standing in the sun, &c. Rev 19:17. and so conspicuous to all, in lofty strains, taken from the ancient prophets, and particularly from Eze 39:17-18 . calleth the fowls to the great slaughter of Christ’s enemies. These enemies are the beast, and the false prophet,the antichristian powers, civil and ecclesiastical, with their armies gathered together,
(Rev 19:19.) their adherents and followers, combined and determined to support idolatry, and oppose all reformation. But the principals, as deserving of the greatest punishment, are taken and cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone, Rev 19:20. and their followers are slain with the word of Christ, the sword which proceedeth out of his mouth, and all the fowls are filled with their flesh; Rev 19:21. Their substance is seized for other persons, and for other uses. In a word, the design of this sublime and figurative description is, to show the downfal of Popery, and the triumph of Christianity: the true word of God will prevail over superstition and idolatry; all the powers of antichrist will be completely subdued; and the religion of Rome, as well as Rome herself, will be totally destroyed.
Inferences.Let us learn by what we have here been reading, to adore the Lord God omnipotent, who reigneth over all, and who displays the truth and righteousness of his judgments in his vengeance on the enemies of his church, even when he inflicts on them a torment, the smoke of which rises up for ever and ever. In the certain assurance, that in due time he will plead his own cause, and rescue and exalt his people, let all his servants and people praise him, even all that fear him, both small and great, and labour to live that divine life of gratitude and joyful thanksgiving on earth, which may anticipate the pleasures and employments of the heavenly world. The time will at length come, when all of such a character shall celebrate the marriage day of the Lamb; yea, when the whole society shall appear in his presence as one chaste virgin whom he has espoused to himself; and whom, with unutterable delight, he places in his more immediate view, not only as arrayed in robes of pure and shining linen, which is the righteousness of the saints, but as perfectly free from spot, or blemish, or any such thing. He will admit them all to feast in his own presence; yea, to dwell for ever with him; so shall we ever be with the Lord. These are the true sayings of God. And, though a consciousness of our own utter unworthiness of such honours might be ready to detract from the credibility of these divine assurances, or at least prevent us from giving so clear an assent to them as we might otherwise do, yet let God be true, and every man a liar.
And in the mean time, in the mingled scenes of adversity and prosperity which attend the Israel of God, let us direct our believing eyes to him, who is faithful and true; to him, who both administers justice and wages war in righteousness. Let us reverence his penetrating eyes, which are like a flame of fire. Let us rejoice in the diadems placed upon his head, to signify the extent of his dominion; and read with awe the inscription upon his vesture, and his thigh, The Word of God, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords. As such let us pay our homage to him; and let the favour of lords, and kings, be as nothing to us, where his favour or his honour is concerned. The proudest of earthly potentates oppose his dominion in vain; in vain do they marshal their captains, and their mighty men; vain is the strength of horses, and of them that sit thereon, and the combinations of bond and free, though Satan himself abet their rebellion, and inspire them with subtilty, and arm them with rage; their subtilty shall be defeated, their rage shall be repelled. The sword of the Lord shall devour them. The birds of prey shall at his pleasure be feasted with their carcases; and the sad catastrophe of their bodies shall be only an imperfect emblem of the anguish and misery of their spirits, when plunged with the evil spirit that deceived them, they sink deep into the lake that burns for ever, and feel the terrors of the second death. Be wise now therefore, O ye kings, and be instructed, ye judges of the earth, serve the Lord with fear; and, sensible of his uncontrolable dominion, and your own weakness and imperfection, even while ye rejoice before him, rejoice with trembling. (Psa 2:10-11 .)
REFLECTIONS.1st, A command being given in Rev 19:20. of the former chapter, to the saints of God, to rejoice over Babylon fallen, we have, in this chapter; their song of praise on that occasion. They cried, Alleluia, ascribing salvation, and glory, and honour, and power to the Lord their God; acknowledging his righteous judgments in the vengeance executed on the great whore, for her lewdness, idolatry, and cruelty; and they repeated loud Alleluias, while the smoke of her torment arose up for ever and ever. The four living creatures, and the elders, the representatives of the ministers and church of the faithful, hereupon joined in their adorations before the throne, and joyfully cried, Amen! Alleluia!
2dly, The song of triumph over Babylon being ended, a voice from the throne enjoins the whole host of the saints to unite in the praises of their common Lord: and instantly innumerable voices, loud as cataracts of water, or mighty thunders, poured forth their Halleluias: For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth; since the antichristian powers are broken, his kingdom of grace is extended through the earth. The marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready; therefore let us be glad, and rejoice, and give honour to him. This includes the conversion of the Jews, who will now be brought into the church and be publicly joined to the Lord as his people.
1. The dress of the Lamb’s wife is described. She is arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; which signifies the righteousness of saints, implanted in them by the Holy Spirit of God, whereby the church of the faithful becomes meet for the bosom of her Lord.
2. They are declared blessed, who are invited, and come to the marriage-supper of the Lamb; partaking of all the privileges and ordinances of the gospel, and admitted to the happiest communion with Jesus, and joined to the Lord in one spirit.
3. The angel closes with a solemn assurance of the truth of this revelation, which should not fail of its accomplishment; on which, St. John, overcome with the brightness of his glory, fell at his feet, not considering what he did: but the angel rebuked him for his inconsiderate design. He owns himself unworthy of that honour, which was due to God alone; observing that, glorious as he appeared, he was but the apostle’s fellow-servant, bearing testimony to the same Jesus, and now revealing what the Saviour dictated to him, who inspired the prophets, and sent him to deliver this message to John for the church’s use and comfort.
3dly, The Lord Jesus appears in majesty to execute vengeance on the beast and his adherents, now assembled to make their last efforts.
1. A most magnificent description is given of the Captain of our salvation. He is seated on a white horse, the emblem of victory: he is called faithful and true, performing all his promises to his faithful people, and in righteousness executing vengeance on his enemies. His eyes, bright as the flame, pierce into the secrets of the soul; and his many crowns of gold denote his universal dominion: his name and nature, as Jehovah, none can comprehend; his bloody vesture bespeaks his conquest over his slaughtered foes; and one of the names, whereby he hath revealed himself, is, The Word of God. Close behind him follow his faithful warriors, his saints arrayed in robes of righteousness and garments of salvation: from his mouth proceeds the sharp sword of his denunciations of vengeance, before which his foes must fall: as a potter’s vessel before an iron rod, so shall they be broken in pieces; and as grapes laid in the wine-press, so shall he trample them in his fury; and on his vesture, where it hung down over his thigh, was this illustrious motto wrought, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
2. A call is given to all the fowls of the air, to assemble on this dread occasion, and feast on the corpses of all the antichristian host, both great and small, who are now about to perish together.
3. The army of the ungodly, Papist, Pagan, and Mahometan, assembles under the conduct of the beast; the battle is joined, the victory decisive; the beast and false prophet, who wrought the lying wonders, are taken; and the ringleaders in the antichristian apostacy, are cast together into the burning lake; and all their adherents fall by the sword of him that sat on the white horse, and the fowls are gorged with their carcases. And now, all foes being subdued, the glorious millennium commences, where the kingdoms of the world become the kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Rev 19:11-16 . The going forth of Christ and his followers from heaven to the judgment.
, cf. Rev 4:1 . The seer, at Rev 17:3 , in spirit was carried to the earth. [4091]
, cf. Rev 4:2 .
. The construction of the individual expressions is also entirely similar to that of Rev 6:2 . The placed without in a kind of apposition to . effects a transition to the description in the finite tense ( . , . . . ). Concerning the idea of and of , cf. Rev 3:7 ; Rev 3:14 . There is a significant prominence given to the circumstance that the one now going forth to most complete final victory is called not only “faithful,” with respect to his promises to his believers now to be fulfilled by himself, but also “true;” for it is just by his present triumphal march against his enemies, that he proves himself to be the Messiah announced from olden time. Hence the entire description is filled with tones harmonizing with the O. T. prophecies; the Lord now manifests himself as the One who was truly meant in all those prophecies.
. Cf. Isa 11:3 sqq. The added in this passage expresses the meaning of the in a way corresponding to the nature of the description here presented. [4092]
., . . . Cf. Rev 1:14 .
. If the many diadems upon his head are to be regarded trophies of victories already won, [4093] the kings, possibly the ten kings of ch. 17, [4094] must at all events be regarded as vanquished. But the judgment upon these is not yet fulfilled. It might also be said that the Lord, going forth as triumphant victor, who also (Rev 6:2 ) receives from the very beginning a victor’s garland, appears here already adorned with the crowns of the kings to be judged by him. But the reference to Rev 19:16 , where Christ is called the , is more probable. [4095] The explanation of Andr., that the dominion of Christ over all who are in heaven and on earth is indicated, is too indefinite.
. Either the name mentioned in Rev 19:13 is meant, [4096] or although it was “written,” possibly on the Lord’s forehead, [4097] but not, indeed, upon his vesture, [4098] or on the many diadems, [4099] and therefore was visible to John, the name remained, nevertheless, unknown to him, because it was inscrutable [4100] To think of any definite name besides that designated (Rev 19:13 ), and to attempt to conjecture it, is an undertaking in violation of the context. [4101] The second of the two possible views is the more probable; for even if the , . . . , be explained by the mystery lying in the name , [4102] yet the context makes the impression, particularly as the assertion , . . . , is separated from Rev 19:12 by a special item of the description ( . ., . . . ), that a name is intended to be indicated, which is known only to the Lord himself, since He alone has and knows what is designated in the name. [4103] But in accordance with Rev 3:12 , it may be thought that the complete blessedness of believers in immediate communion with the Lord (Rev 19:9 ) will disclose also the mystery of this name. [4104]
. After the manner of the victor, Isa 63:1 sqq., [4105] whose prophetic description finds its true fulfilment in the Lord. [4106]
. The form of the expression . . . shows that here [4107] the definite name, familiar to believers, which the Lord has received as a significant proper name, [4108] and continues to bear, is intended to be designated. The name corresponds to the position of the Lord as Mediator, as described Rev 1:1 sqq. [4109] Cf. also Introduction, p. 66.
, . . . The armies of the Lord [4110] are not only the hosts of angels who appear elsewhere as attendants of the Lord coming to judgment, [4111] but departed believers are also to be regarded as referred to. [4112] This is indicated not only by the comprehensive expression . ., but also by the vesture ( . . .; cf. Rev 19:8 ).
. The sharp sword proceeding from the mouth of the Lord designates here, where, besides, it is attached to statements recalling ancient prophetical descriptions ( . ), [4113] still more clearly than Rev 1:16 , the Lord thus appearing as the true and real One who is to come (Rev 19:11 ).
, . . . Cf. also, on this definitive and, therefore, so full-toned description, which gives assurance [4114] of the certainty of the threat by . . . , Isa 63:2 sq. with Rev 14:10 ; Rev 14:19 . The expression , Hengstenb. explains, not, indeed, accurately, by saying that the wine-press is the wrath of God, and the wine flowing from it is the blood of enemies. The form of the idea in which the two figures of the wine-press [4115] and the cup of wrath [4116] are combined, [4117] affirms, however, that from the wine-press trodden by the Lord, the wine of God’s anger flows, with which his enemies are to be made drunk.
The name, which (Rev 19:16 ) is written on the vesture and on the thigh, , gives as is made prominent at the conclusion of this entire description, Rev 19:11 sqq. the express pledge of that which is distinctly marked already in the entire appearance of the Lord; viz., that the Lord who now goes forth to the conflict with the kings of the earth, will show himself to be the King of all kings.
. The meaning cannot be that the name stood not only on the vesture, but also on the actual thigh, so that, after laying aside the bloody garment, the name could appear in the same place. [4118] But the explanation of Wetst., Eichh., De Wette, Bleek, etc., who allude to the fact that, e.g., sculptors are accustomed to fix the stamp of their name on the body of the statue in the region of the thighs, is opposed by the preceding , in connection with which the . has the force, that the name, at all events, must be regarded as on the vesture, and that, too, where the thigh is. The name is, therefore, not to be sought upon an imaginary [4119] sword-handle, [4120] but we must regard it as being upon the girdle, although this, however, does not come into consideration as the sword-belt, [4121] but as a girdle which holds the tucked-up vesture of one advancing to battle. [4122] In violation of the context, Ew. ii.: “From the shoulders to the thighs.”
[4091] De Wette. Cf. Rev 22:10 .
[4092] Rev 19:14 : ; Rev 19:19 : . .
[4093] Cf. 2Sa 12:13 ; 1Ma 11:13 . Grot., Wetst., Beng.; cf. also Vitr.
[4094] Zllig.
[4095] Ewald, De Wette, Hengstenb., Bleek, Volkm., Luthardt.
[4096] Calov., Vitr., etc.
[4097] Ewald, Bleek, Hengstenb.
[4098] Calov.
[4099] Eichh.
[4100] Grot., Beng., De Wette, Hengstenb., Ebrard.
[4101] Against Ewald, Volkmar, etc., who understand the name .
[4102] Vitr.
[4103] Cf. Rev 2:17 .
[4104] The several names indicated in the at least uncertain reading (see Critical Notes) give no clear idea. Perhaps also the plural . . has had much to do with the origin of the reading.
[4105] Beng., Zll., De Wette, Hengstenb., etc.
[4106] Cf. Rev 19:11 .
[4107] Cf., on the other hand, Rev 19:12 .
[4108] Cf., on the other hand, the several appellative designations of Rev 19:11 ; Rev 19:16 .
[4109] Cf. also Rev 19:10 , Rev 3:14 .
[4110] Cf., on the other hand, Rev 19:19 .
[4111] Mat 16:27 ; Mat 25:31 ; 2Th 1:7 . De Wette, Hengstenb., Bleek, Luthardt.
[4112] Cf. also Ew. ii. Incorrectly, Volkm.: The earthly.
[4113] Cf. Isa 11:4 . . . , . . . Cf. Rev 2:27 , Rev 12:5 .
[4114] Cf. Rev 1:8 , Rev 11:17 , Rev 15:3 .
[4115] Rev 14:19 .
[4116] Rev 14:10 .
[4117] De Wette
[4118] Against Beng.
[4119] And that, too, against Rev 19:15 .
[4120] Grot.
[4121] Against Vitr., also against Hengstenb., who, on account of Rev 19:15 , explains that the name appears here in the place of the engirded sword; cf. Psa 45:4 sq.
[4122] Zll., Volkm.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
Rev 19:11-21 . Christ himself, as the already triumphant victor, goes forth with his heavenly hosts to destroy the secular powers still remaining; viz., that of the beast and false prophet (Rev 19:19 sq.), and the inhabitants of the earth rendering allegiance to the beast (Rev 19:21 ).
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
(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. (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. (13) And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
Here indeed we have Christ, as is most evident from his double names, faithful and true. His perfections also confirm the glories of his person, for righteousness is the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins, Isa 11:5 . I admire what is said of the many crowns of the Lord Jesus. Who indeed can number them. He hath the essential crown of Godhead. He hath the Personal crown of the God-Man, which was, and is his native right, by virtue of that special character of his, and independent of any single act, by which he hath endeared himself to his people. He hath the Mediatorial crown, both of office and of work, from the infinite merit and dignity of his labors in redemption. And he hath the rightful crown put upon his sacred head, by every individual one of his people, for whom he hath wrought out and accomplished salvation. Oh! the blissful sight of beholding the Lord Jesus, thus wearing his many crowns, and especially when the poor sinner espies among the many, the very one which he had put upon Christ’s head, when ascribing to him, as is most justly his due, the sole honor of every poor sinner’s salvation.
I must be the Reader to regard with me, the very great blessedness of the name here spoken of, which no man knew but he himself.
I do not presume to speak decidedly upon such a subject. Indeed, what is here said is enough, one should think, to deter any man, and every man, yea, every Angel of Light, from speaking on so mysterious a subject decidedly. For if no man knoweth this name of Jesus written, but he himself, how presumptuous must it be, in any to attempt the discovery. Reader! pause for the moment, and before you go further, ask yourself, whether any higher testimony can be desired, in proof of Christ’s Godhead. If none can know his name, who shall know his Person? Who shall declare his generation. Oh! how overwhelming is the testimony to a heart taught of God. Truly, dearest Lord, I behold a blessedness in thy words, used upon another occasion, which bring a peculiar strength of expression, when applied here upon this. No man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him, Mat 11:27 .
But we must not stop here. Though no man knoweth his name, but he himself, yet his name is subjoined, and it is called, The Word of God. Reader! I do beseech you, ponder it well. We are accustomed to this name in the scripture. John, in the opening of his gospel, calls Christ by this very name, the Word. But we learn here, that though the Lord is called by this name, no man hath, or can have, a full, and clear apprehension of it. I am free to confess, that though I have for many a year past felt a satisfaction in my mind, that the peculiarity of the name, the Word belonging to the Son of God was intended to express, the infinite dignity of his Person; yet, here I rested and concluded; that this implied the whole, as in relation to his Person and dignity. I now behold in it somewhat more. And although this very scripture, which hath been made the means of awakening an increased apprehension in my mind, of its vast importance, while now reading of it, assures me, and in that assurance, satisfies me at the same time, that the full investigation of it baffles all human knowledge, yet I hope shall never more read it, but with increased and increasing solemnity, and profound reverence of thought. Oh! what infinite sublimity, must there be in the name; The Word of God! How in finitely great must He be, to whom it peculiarly and personally belongs. How inconceivably deep and secret must the very name be, who, when he came forth from the invisibility of Jehovah, to make known what revelations of God he hath made, and without whose coming, never could any have been known, still came in a name, that none knoweth but he himself? Precious Lord Jesus! thy name is indeed wonderful! Oh! for grace to be everlastingly contemplating what to all eternity can never be fully known, thou hast a name written that no man knew but thou thyself; and thy name is called, the Word of God.
One word more on this most precious scripture. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood! I pray the Reader, to pause over this most interesting account of Jesus, and while he ponders the subject, look up with an eye of faith, and behold the Lord in this garment of redemption. Surely the design must have been most gracious. And it may well become every child of God, to search and seek out the cause of such a condescending revelation of himself, in thus appearing to his people.
It is blessed to eye Christ in every name, its every relation, in every office, and in every character. And it is doubly blessed, when the child of God knows him in all, enjoys him in all, and lives upon him in all. When in the council of peace before all worlds, Christ Stood up at the call of his Father, the Head and Husband of his people, the Church was beheld in him, accepted in him, Made holy in him, and one with him to all eternity, for all the purposes, council, will, and pleasure of Jehovah, which should hereafter take place, and in all the circumstances which should follow. Christ then stood forth as the Head and Husband of his Church, his spouse; chosen in him, to be holy and without blame before God in love. But when in the after time-state of the Church, at the fall of Adam, the Church became involved and implicated in that fall; the Church was then to know her Head and Husband in another endearing character, namely, her, Redeemer and Savior. So that from henceforth, redemption became another great and glorious subject, in the view of the Church; and Christ came home recommended and endeared to her affection, both as her Head and Husband, and her Redeemer and Savior, the Lord her righteousness. The Holy Ghost hath blessedly stated both, in that glorious scripture by Paul to the Colossians. And he is the Head of the body, the Church: who is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; that in all things he might have the pre-eminence. For it pleased the Father, that in him should all fulness dwell. Then cometh the second glorious character of the Lord Jesus as Redeemer. And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things to himself; by him I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven, Col 1:18-20 . Hence, we have here, the Lord Jesus Christ in his double relation to his Church, both as an Head and Savior. First, as an Head in union, the beginning, and the first-born from the dead, as the founder of the future world, for which the Church hath from everlasting been designed, and by his resurrection, to which Christ hath begotten the Church. And, secondly, as a Savior in redemption, having made peace to all the sins of his body the Church, by the blood of his cross, to reconcile all things to himself. Reader! pause over the wonderful subject, and then again and again, look up and behold him, as John here beheld him, on his white horse, with his many crowns, (and, oh! if you can behold the crown of your own personal salvation, among the number, and in his vesture dipped in blood. Doth not Jesus seem to speak in this apparel. Doth he not seem to say, wherefore do I wear this but to convince my people of the everlasting efficacy of my blood? And do I not still appear in it, to convince them by such a palpable demonstration, that redemption-work is finished, and I am still clothed in my redemption-robes, to tell my poor ones upon earth, this most assured truth, ad to encourage them to come to me, under all their sins and sorrows, and temptations, with full assurance of faith. Reader! were not these among the causes for which Christ so appeared to John? And shall not his Church feel confidence from it, and look to Him as such, whose name is Faithful and True?
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
XVII
THE TRIUMPHANT HOLY WAR, INTRODUCING THE MILLENNIUM
Rev 19:11-20:10
This is the last synchronous view in this book. The first one was from chapter Rev 6:1-8:1 , the gospel as preached to the end of time; the second one was from Rev 8:2-11:19 , the gospel as prayed to the end of time; the third one was from Rev 12:1-19:10 , the conflict between the true church and the counterfeit church. Now, we have the fourth and last synchronous view; that is to say, the triumphant holy war that introduces the millennium. I am going to put this study in the form of a catechism.
1. Who is the hero of this war?
ANSWER. Our Lord himself, as the chief captain of our salvation. Your lesson says: “And I saw the heavens open, and behold! a white horse; and he that sat thereon called Faithful and True; and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.” The other references to him we will note later.
2. What are his titles?
ANSWER. With reference to his covenant-keeping with his people he is called Faithful and True. Whatever he says to his people is true, and to whatever promise he makes he is faithful: Faithful and True is his name, that refers to his people. With reference to the Father, his name is “Logos,” or the word of God (see Rev 19:13 of your lesson). With reference to the nations he is “King of kings and Lord of lords” (see Rev 19:16 of your lesson). With reference to the angels he is Michael, the Prince. (See Rev 12:7 .) Now these are his titles in four directions: with reference to his people; with reference to the Father; with reference to the nations; with reference to the angels.
3. In the exercise of what office is he here represented?
ANSWER. In his kingly office as a royal conqueror, judging and making war, on his head many crowns.
4. What is the distinction between his appearance on the white horse here, and his appearance on the white horse in chapter Rev 6:2 ; both times there comes forth a white horse and rider?
ANSWER. There, on the white horse (Rev 6 ), his weapon was a bow, shooting arrows of conviction into individual hearts, as the gospel was preached, and that record says that a crown was given him. But here, on his head are many crowns, and his weapon is a sword of judgment, smiting nations and governments, not individuals. There the bow was used for the salvation of the hearer of the gospel. Here the sword is to make all nations bow to his supremacy as Lord.
5. Who constitute his armies, and how are they described?
ANSWER. His armies are the saints, and they are described as clothed in fine linen, pure and white. I will ask you to recall that great war song, Psa 110 :
The Lord saith unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool; the law shall go forth from Zion, and in the day that thou leadest forth thine armies, thy young men shall be volunteers, going forth in the beauties of holiness and as multitudinous as the drops of the dew at the dawn of morning. Psa 110 .
How aptly that applies here. I do not mean to say that Christ, in his body, is present on earth in this war; he is conducting the campaign from heaven, and his armies are to wage war here on this earth. I call your attention again to another pertinent Psalm: “The kings of the earth set themselves and take counsel together against the Lord and his anointed! Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion” (Psa 2:2 ; Psa 2:6 ), and Just exactly what he does here is ascribed to him in Psalm
2. The fine linen, pure and white, as I have explained to you in the lecture on the promises, expresses the righteousnesses of the saints, which they receive in justification, regeneration, and sanctification.
Now, here comes an important question: His people had a very active part in the overthrow of the counterfeit church, but
6. What part has his people in this war of judgment that we are now reading about?
ANSWER. They have no executive part. We notice they carry no weapons; they have no part except declarative, and to be witnesses of his might.
7. How does this appear?
ANSWER. From the Old Testament analogues and prototypes; for example: Israel bore no active part in the plagues of judgment sent upon Egypt; no part in the overthrow of Pharaoh’s host at the Red Sea. They were witnesses and the Lord fought the battle. They had no part in the overthrow of Sennacherib as set forth in 2Ki 19:35 . Now, in order that you may understand this war, and what part God’s people have in it, I will read you a description by George Noel Gordon, Lord Byron: The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold, And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold; And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea, When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee.
Like the leaves of the forest when the Summer is green, That host with their banners at sunset was seen: Like leaves of the forest when Autumn hath blown, That host on the morrow lay withered and strown.
For the angel of death spread his wings on the blast, And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed; And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill, And their hearts but once heaved, and forever grew still.
And there lay the steed with his nostril all wide, But through it there roli’d not the breath of his pride: And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf, And cold as the spray of the rock-beating surf.
And there lay the rider distorted and pale, With the dew on his brow and the rust on his mail; And the tents were all silent, the banners alone, The lances unlifted, the trumpets unblown.
And the widows of Ashur are loud in their wail And the idols are broke in the temple of Baal; And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword, Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord I
BYRON, “The Destruction of Sennacherib”
We are now studying one of the most important lessons in the book, a day in which God himself intervenes by extraordinary judgment. It appears also from the description of this very battle given in Isa 63 ; listen at this:
Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from. Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness. Mighty to save. Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winevat? I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the peoples there was no man with me; yea, I trod them in mine anger, and trampled them in my wrath, and their lifeblood is sprinkled upon my garments, and I have stained all my raiment. For the days of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. And I looked, and there was none to help. And I wondered that there was none to uphold; therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my wrath it upheld me. And I trod down the peoples in mine anger, and made them drunk in my wrath, and I poured out their lifeblood upon the earth. Isa 63:1-6 .
Now, this is an exact prophetic description of the hero in this war as set forth in this chapter; the references are to precisely the same event. We notice that he is just as much alone in the sending of the judgment in this terrible war as he was alone when he sent the angel of death to pass over the hosts of Sennacherib, the king of Assyria.
8. What, then, the supreme lesson of our passage?
ANSWER. God’s government of the nations and judgments on them to enforce their acknowledgment of his supremacy.
9. How did he once enforce this lesson on Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar?
ANSWER. 1 think I had better quote that for you; it is an old lesson that he is giving. I will quote from Dan 5 (Daniel is interpreting to Belshazzar the handwriting on the wall) :
O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar, thy father, the kingdom and greatness and glory and majesty; and because of the greatness that he gave him, all the peoples, nations and languages trembled and feared before him; whom he slew, and whom he would he kept alive; whom he would he raised up, and whom he would he put down. But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him; and he wag driven from the sons of men, and his heart was made like the beast, and his dwelling was with the wild asses; he was fed with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; until he knew that the most high God ruleth in the kingdom of men, and that he setteth up over it whomsoever he will, and thou, Belshazzar, hast seen that lesson and hast not regarded it, and thou hast despised the God of heaven and of law. This handwriting comes out over thy wall: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. It means that thy kingdom is divided; it is measured to the Medes and Persians; thou art weighed in the balance and found wanting. Dan 5:18-27 .
Now, what he did in that case to Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar he is about to assert in this great battle of the nations.
10. Under whose leadership have human governments denied the supremacy of God?
ANSWER. Under the leadership of the devil, who usurped the kingdom of this world, and who shapes the policies of worldly governments and municipalities.
11. Since the preceding chapter disposes of the counterfeit church forever, why do the beast and the false prophet appear in this lesson? This is a very important question.
ANSWER. The beast is that upon which the counterfeit church rode, and it was the false prophet that made the people worship the image of the beast. Now, as the counterfeit church is disposed of before this event here, how is it that the beast and the false prophet appear here, and are taken and are cast into the lake of fire?
My answer is that, as was explained to you repeatedly, the beast is a politico-religious government, a union of church and state, and as such was not confined to Romanism; many Protestant kingdoms are just that way. Germany is that way now, Austria is that way now, England is that way now. There is a union of church and state, and that is the beast here. The woman in purple and scarlet is not riding him, but some other ecclesiasticism is riding him. Now, the one thing that goes down in this war, that never re-appears again in human history, is the union of church and state, and the consequent persecution of the saints. That kind of government God does not favor, unless it is his own theocracy, with him as the king, and the sole judge of what is religion.
It is impossible for me to make you understand, in so brief a space, what a tremendous impediment to the progress of the kingdom of Jesus Christ has been the union of church and state. We had it even here in this country in Colonial times. Within a few miles of where the battle of Lexington was fought, and near the time of that battle, the sheriff came and sold the choice acres out of the garden, or the fields of the Baptists in that community, put it up at auction at forced sale, in order to obtain funds to build a church for another denomination, that had few members in the community. And even John Adams said to Isaac Backus, the great Baptist historian, when he went to him and asked him to urge Massachusetts to allow freedom of conscience: “You might as well expect to see the sun rise in the west and set in the east, as to expect Massachusetts to tolerate anything but state religion.”
We had it in Virginia: Some of the most distinguished Baptists were imprisoned, their property confiscated, and Patrick Henry, when defending one of them, read the indictment: “Indicted for preaching the glorious gospel of the blessed God.” The way he said that shook the union of church and state in Virginia.
Now, in this war, the war that we are now studying, that beast of the union of church and state is taken and cast into hell forever never to reappear. In the same way the false prophet is taken, and false prophets are not limited to Papacy. The Archbishop of Canterbury may be a false prophet just as well as the Pope. When he was over here some months ago, visiting the United States, a number of distinguished ladies and gentlemen called upon him and asked him when he got back home to let the people alone to worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences; he gave slight heed to their petitions. The Greek church, in Russia and the Balkan States, is also a national religion. They fill the world with protest against the Turk for oppressing their religion, but show no toleration to people more evangelical than themselves. Now, that is why the beast and the false prophet appear here.
12. What is the occasion of this gathering of the nations to battle with the Lamb, and distinguish between this conflict and the war of Har-Magedon, which we have recently diseased?
ANSWER. In the war of Har-Magedon the Romanist church, as an institution, was destroyed, many kings and governments assisting in her destruction; but the prelude of this war is the return of the Jews into the Holy Land from every nation where they have been dispersed, and the nations are just as jealous of their restoration to and possession of that land, as they were jealous of the Romanist supremacy, and they gather their armies together for the destruction of the Jews and the retaking of the Holy Land.
That man is blind who cannot see the march of modern events: the railroad that Germany is building into the Holy Land; the eye of England and every other nation is fixed upon that most strategic position in all the East, to wit: The eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Those thundering Bulgarian guns that are today shaking the foundations of Constantinople are but a step toward Jerusalem, and the time will come when God’s many ancient prophecies will be fulfilled: He will gather his people out of all the nations whither they have been dispersed; he will assemble them in their own land; and when assembled there, with their unprecedented wealth, holding the strategical position of the East, the nations will remember their enmity to the Jews. This is the only country in the world that has not persecuted the Jew, this United States. And there will be a gathering of the powers to destroy the Jew and recapture that land. The Jews are unable to withstand the armies of the nations, then comes the rider on the white horse. Then comes Jehovah where these nations are assembled in the valley of Jehoshaphat, and by divine interposition two things happen: The Jews are converted in one day, the whole nation is born in a day, and the judgment of God, just as it fell upon the hosts of Sennacherib, falls upon the gathered armies of the nations, and destroys them.
13. Why, in a previous chapter, were certain Old Testament and New Testament prophecies grouped with the HarMagedon war, and here applied differently?
ANSWER. I thought some of you understood me by this time; frequently I put in a catch question. I designedly mixed up the grouping of those passages to provoke independent investigation. You have only to turn back to Rev 14 for that mixed grouping of Har-Magedon. I wanted you to see for yourselves the difference on the issues between the conflict of the counterfeit church with the true church at Har-Magedon, and this great battle for the salvation of the Jews.
14. What passages, then, in both Testaments, are now grouped as belonging to the holy war of this lesson?
ANSWER. There is no catch in the question this time. I will give you the passages that bear upon your lesson: Isa 63:1-6 : “Who is this that cometh out of Edom with dyed garments?” etc. I will quote the other passage from Isaiah, a continuation of the same subject all through the rest of the book of Isaiah. I quote from Isa 66 , following that war (I preached on this at the Convention in Houston): “Whoever heard of such a thing; who hath ever seen such a thing: shall a land be born in one day? shall a nation be brought forth at once? for as soon as Zion travailed she brought forth her children.” That connects with this battle, in which the hero has the dyed garments sprinkled with blood.
Then, in Eze 36:22-25 ; Eze 36:37 , I will quote, substantially, the pertinent part:
Not for your sakes will I do this, but for my own name sake will I do it, which name you have profaned among nations where you have been dispersed; I will gather you out of all the nations where you have profaned my name, into your own land, and then I will sprinkle the water of purification upon you, and you shall be clean, from all your idols and all your filthiness will I cleanse you; and I will take away your stony heart and give you a heart of flesh, I will put my spirit within you, and then you will keep my commandments and do them.
Eze 37 shows a great valley full of dry bones, representing all the dispersed fragments of Israel, and the question is propounded: “Can these dry bones live?” And the prophet says: “Thou knowest”; and God says: “Prophecy over these dry bones.” “What shall I prophesy?” “Prophesy this: Come, Oh Spirit, from the four ends of the earth, and breathe upon these slain,” and the Spirit came, and they lived and stood up, a mighty army. And this, says the prophet, is the restoration of the whole house of Israel.
All of Joe 3 refers to this war. He says:
I will gather all the nations together against you, when I have assembled you in my own land, I will gather them in the valley of Jehoshaphat; multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision. And I will say: Put in the sickle and reap the vintage; and fill up the winevat, and I will tread out the winevat until all my garments are stained with blood.
Then in Zec 12 it is said:
I will gather my people in the last day out of all the nations, and in that day I will pour out upon them the spirit of grace and supplication, and they shall look upon him whom they pierced, and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his firstborn son; it shall be a great mourning, every family apart. And in that day a fountain shall be opened for sin, and for uncleanness, in Jerusalem. And then in chapter 14 he goes on to describe the battle of the nations gathered against the Jews restored and converted, and all at once the lights go out. “Never was there such a day,” says the prophet. “The sun is darkened, the moon is darkened, but at even time there shall be light, and there shall be an earthquake such as the earth never felt before, and Mount Olivet shall split wide open, and half shall go to the west and half to the east,” and then he goes on to describe the millennium that follows.
And then (Rom 11 ) Paul says that the Jews did not stumble that they might fall forever. You Gentiles were saved by their fall. Their coming back will be as the life from the dead, and so all Israel shall be saved when they look to their Saviour.
15. Now comes this question: Why are the vintage of Rev 14:19 , and the war of Rev 19 classed with the prophecies promising the restoration of the Jews to their land, the war of the nations on them and the conversion of the Jews in one day?
ANSWER. Because the prophet Joel predicts in express words that very vintage that we described in Rev 14 of this book. And the prophet Isaiah draws the very picture of this hero conquering with his garments stained with blood, and commences it with the battle against the nations and tells of the salvation of the Jews; and because Peter says, speaking to the Jews: “Repent ye, so that your sins may be blotted out, and so that refreshings may come from his presence, and so that he may send Jesus whom the heavens must receive until the time of the restitution of all things.” That shows that Peter makes the repentance and conversion of the Jews a condition precedent to the final advent of our Lord and his restoration of all things. I told you that there never could be a millennium until the Romanist church had passed away; and I now tell you that there never can be a millennium until the Jews are converted, and it will be the quickest, widest entrance into the gate of salvation that this world has ever seen, a whole nation in a day. Three thousand on the day of Pentecost were converted; that was only the offering of the first sheaf, the firstfruits, and if three thousand be one sheaf, what will the harvest be? Therefore, I say that the Christian ought not to long for Pentecostal times; keep your back turned on Pentecost, and look to the harvest ten thousand times bigger than Pentecost that is ahead of you.
16. What is meant by the binding of Satan?
ANSWER. God’s power is exercised over this usurper that has held the earth six thousand years, or nearly all of that time, and he is determined that the earth shall have a sabbath, a thousand-year sabbath. As Satan has held it six thousand years, there shall be a thousand years of peace and salvation; the devil shall not cast a shadow over any man’s soul, nor press his cloven foot on any breaking heart, nor come with terrors to any dying man or woman, and shall not weave his spells of enchantment, and shall not beguile the nations, but he shall be chained and cast into the pit, and a rock placed over the mouth and sealed up for a thousand years. I will be glad when it comes. I want to tell you about the millennium; I want you to understand; you will be able to understand a great many strange scriptures when you comprehend the millennium.
What, then, is this war? It is a war of Jesus Christ against human governments, based on Satan’s power. Governments coming to thwart the promises of God by the destruction of the Jewish nation, in which the beast government goes down forever, and the false prophet forever, and Satan is bound for a thousand years, and all the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our Lord and his Christ. And it is not so very far off. The world was four thousand years old when Christ came, and it is nearly two thousand years since he came. The devil’s time is nearly out; events are moving rapidly, ocean and air are navigated, telegraph wires long rusted with commercial and political lies shall shine with the transmission of messages of mercy and salvation.
The questions on this chapter are embodied in the text, as it was prepared in the form of a catechism.
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
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.
Ver. 11. And I saw heaven opened ] i.e. He saw things done before his eyes, as it were; so do not we, but are left to conjectures. Here is showed, saith one, the foil of the beast, bearer up of the whore, and no question but now highly chafed with her fall. This is the last and noblest act of Christ’s riding, for the dragon and his vicars’ utter destruction. Thus he. Here is showed, saith another interpreter, in what state the Church shall be in, upon the ruin of Rome, even as people standing in arms under their General Christ Jesus for a time, till the last battle be fought, and the enemies destroyed.
Behold, a white horse ] Christ riding as an Emperor triumphing, and as a righteous Judge, Psa 9:8 ; Psa 96:10 ; Psa 96:13 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
11 16 .] The triumphal coming forth of the Lord and His hosts to victory . And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse (the same words, including the five following, as in ch. Rev 6:2 . It is wonderful that this striking identity, in a book where symbolism is so constant to itself, has not prevented the mistakes which have been made in interpreting that place. This horse and Rider are (symbolically) the same as there: the is on the point of its completion: the other horses and their riders, dark forms in His great world-long procession to victory, will now for ever vanish, and war and famine and pestilence be known no more), and He that sitteth upon him [ called ] faithful and true (see ref.), and in righteousness He judgeth and warreth (both those acts being his concern in his present triumphant progress. Notice that the very construction with the participles and is the same as that in ch. Rev 6:2 ). His eyes (the , as often, is best given in English by an asyndeton, marking a break in the sense, passing from the subjective to the objective description) [ were as ] a flame of fire (ch. Rev 1:14 verbatim, again beyond question identifying Him), and upon His head (accus.: see ch. Rev 4:2 , note) many diadems (probably as He is : so Ewald, De W., Hengstb. Certainly these are not the crowns of the ten kings, as Zllig, al., for they are yet to be overthrown, Rev 19:19 ff. The of ch. Rev 6:2 has become multiplied in the course of the subjection of the world to Him): having [ names written (if these words are genuine, probably the meaning is that the names were inscribed on the diadems, signifying the import of each), and ] a name written (where, is not said. From this portion of the description regarding His head, probably on the Brow) which none knoweth except Himself (what name is indicated? Certainly not that given below, Rev 19:13 ; nor can these words mean that He Himself alone knows the mystery latent in that name (so Vitringa, al.). Nor again can we say that it is any of the names by which our blessed Lord is known to us already (so Ewald, al.). But it is the of ch. Rev 3:12 ; some new and glorious name, indicative, as appears from the context there, of the completed union between Him and His people, and of His final triumph. This name the Apostle saw written, but knew not its import: that, like the contents of the sealed book, being reserved for the day when He shall reveal it): and clothed in a vesture dipped in blood (see Isa 63:2-3 ; which is clearly in contemplation here, from our Rev 19:15 b. This being so, it is better perhaps to avoid the idea of His own blood being in view): and His name is called, The Word of God (this title forms so plain a link between the Apocalypse and St. John’s writings, where only it occurs, that various attempts have been made by those who reject his authorship, to deprive it of that significance. I have discussed these in the Prolegomena, i. parr. 110, 111). And the armies which are in heaven (not the holy angels only, as De W. and Hengstb., but the glorified saints: the of ch. Rev 17:14 , who are spoken of in reference to this very triumph, and are said to be ) followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen [ raiment ] white, pure (this clothing also speaks for the saints being included in the triumphal procession: see Rev 19:8 , and ch. Rev 6:11 ). And out of His mouth goeth forth a sharp sword (see ch. Rev 1:16 , Rev 2:12 ; Rev 2:16 ), that with ( , as invested in or with) it he may smite the nations; and He (there is an emphasis in this and the following clause on , which however would be too strongly rendered by “ himself ”) shall rule (see ch. Rev 2:27 , Rev 12:5 , and note) them (masc.; their component members being in the Writer’s mind) with a rod of iron: and He (and none other, as we know from Isa 63:3 ) treadeth (it is His office to tread) the winepress of the wine of the fierceness of the wrath (of the outbreaking of the anger: see on ch. Rev 16:19 ) of Almighty God. And He hath upon His vesture and upon His thigh a name written (i. e. most naturally, written at length, partly on the vesture, partly on the thigh itself; at the part where, in an equestrian figure, the robe drops from the thigh. The usual way of taking the words is to suppose the epexegetic or definitive of the former words, “on His vesture,” and that on the part of it covering His thigh. So De W., Dsterd., al. Others imagine (so Grot., al.) a sword, on the hilt of which the name is inscribed. But there is no trace of this in the text. Wetst. quotes Cicero, Verr. iv. 43, “Signum Apollinis pulcherrimum, cujus in femore literulis minutis argenteis nomen Myronis erat inscriptum:” and Pausanias, Eliac. extr., , . See also Herod. ii. 106, where the inscription runs across the chest from shoulder to shoulder), King of Kings, and Lord of Lords (ch. Rev 17:14 ).
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Rev 19:11 to Rev 22:5 .] THE END: beginning with the triumphal coming forth of the Lord and His saints to victory ( Rev 19:11-16 ), then proceeding with the great defeat and destruction of the beast and false prophet and kings of the earth ( Rev 19:17-21 ), the binding of Satan and the millennial reign (ch. Rev 20:1-6 ), the unbinding of Satan and his destruction and that of the deceived nations ( Rev 20:7-10 ), the great general judgment ( Rev 20:11-15 ), and terminating with the vision of the new heavens and earth , and the glories of the new Jerusalem ( Rev 21:1 to Rev 22:5 ).
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Rev 19:11-21 : a second vision of doom, on the Beast and his allies (in fulfilment of Rev 12:5 ). Their fate (Rev 19:17-21 ) follows a procession of the angelic troops (Rev 19:11-16 , contrast Rev 9:16 f.). The connexion of this and the foregoing volume (Rev 19:7-9 ) is mediated by the idea that the marriage of the warrior-messiah ( cf. En. lx. 2; 4 Esd. 12:32, 13:38; Apoc. Bar. xxxix., xl., lxx.) cannot take place till he returns from victory (so in the messianic Psa 45 .). Now that the preliminary movements of the enemy (Rev 17:16-17 ) are over, the holy war of Rev 17:14 begins, which is to end in a ghastly Armageddon. This passage and the subsequent oracle of Rev 20:1-10 reproduce in part a messianic programme according to which the dolores Messiae ( cf. Klausner: mess. Vorstellungen d. jd. Volkes im Zeitalter der Tannaiten , 1904, 47 f, and Charles on Apoc. Bar. 27:1) are followed by messiah’s royal advent on earth (here sketched in part from Sap. 18:4-24) t o found a kingdom of the just ( i.e. , Israel) who are raised for this purpose. Israel supplants Rome as the world-power (Bar. 39.). Her period of superiority opens with the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple, and closes with a crushing defeat of Gog and Magog, who are led by an incarnate villain (“dux ultimus,” xl.), but are finally vanquished by the aid of the ten tribes who return to take part in this campaign. Death and Satan then are annihilated, and eternal bliss ensues. Like Paul in 1Co 15:20 f., John modifies this scheme of tradition freely for his own Christian ends. He introduces a realistic expansion of the messianic age into three periods: ( a ) a victory of messiah (mounted, like Vishnu, on a white horse for the last battle) and his ( cf. Rev 14:20 ) over the beast, the false prophet, and the kings of the world, who as already noted turn their attention to the saints after crushing Rome (Rev 19:11-21 ); ( b ) an undisturbed reign of Christ and his martyrs (Rev 20:1-6 ), evidently in Palestine; ( c ) the final defeat of Gog and Magog, with Satan their instigator (Rev 20:7-10 ). There is little or nothing specifically Christian in all this section (except Rev 20:4-6 , cf. Rev 19:13 ), but the general style betrays the author’s own hand, and there is no reason to suppose that a Jewish source in whole or part (so e.g. , Vischer, Sabatier, de Faye, Weyland, Spitta, von Soden) underlies it. The sequence of the passage with Rev 16:13-16 ; Rev 16:18-20 is due to a common cycle of tradition, rather than to any literary source (Schn). It is a homogeneous final written by the prophet, in terms of current eschatology, to round off the predictions at which he has already hinted. Moralising traits emerge amidst the realism, but it is impossible to be sure how far the whole passage ( i.e. , 11 21) was intended to be figurative.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Rev 19:11-16 . messiah and his troops or retinue: Jesus to the rescue ( cf. Samson Agonistes , 1268 f.). The following description of a semi-judicial, semi-military hero is painted from passages like Isa 11:3-5 (where messiah, instead of judging by appearances, decides equitably: : his breath slays the wicked: his loins are girt and ), the theophany of Hab 3 , and the sanguinary picture of Yahveh returning in triumph from the carnage in Idumea ( cf. Rev 19:13 with Isa 63:1-6 ). On the connexion of this celestial Rider with the Rider in 2 Maccabees 3., cf. Nestle in Zeits. f. alt. Wiss. 1905, pp. 203f.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Rev 19:11 . The military function of the messiah is known even to the philosophic Philo, who ( de praem. et poen. 15 20) represents him incidentally as . The victory of messiah over the earthly foes of God’s kingdom meant the triumph of the kingdom, according to Jewish and Jewish Christian hopes; but owing to the increased spiritualisation of the latter, this nationalistic tradition was laid side by side with the wider hope of an eternal, universal judgment upon dead and living. The latter was originally independent ot the earlier view, which made the culmination of providence for Israel consist in the earthly subjugation of her foes. The prophet John, by dividing God’s foes into the two classes of Rome and Rome’s destroyers, preserves the archaic tradition and also finds room for the Gog and Magog tradition later on.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Rev 19:11-16
11And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. 13He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. 15From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. 16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
Rev 19:11 “And I saw heaven opened” This is a perfect passive verbal form and may relate to Eze 1:1. Several times in Revelation heaven has been opened (in partial ways) to reveal truth to John in progressive stages (cf. Rev 4:1; Rev 11:19; Rev 15:5). See Special Topic at Rev 3:7.
“a white horse” The bridegroom in the previous paragraph is revealed further as an all-conquering warrior. This describes Jesus’ coming as the Jews expected Him the first time, a powerful military general. This is somewhat different from Paul’s description of the Second Coming (the Parousia) found in 1Th 4:13-18. For a group of persecuted Christians this is an extremely encouraging metaphor. Interpreters must remember
1. that this is not a full and complete discussion of the Second Coming
2. that it is clothed in symbolic, apocalyptic language
3. that it is true; our God, in Christ, is personally coming again to receive His own (cf. Joh 14:2-3) and to judge all mankind according to their deeds (cf. Gal 6:7)
“He who sat on it” Although there is a white horse in Rev 6:2, this is obviously different.
“called faithful and true” The terms “Faithful and True” in Hebrew convey trustworthiness (cf. Rev 3:14 as well as Rev 1:5; Rev 3:7).
SPECIAL TOPIC: “TRUTH” (THE CONCEPT) IN JOHN’S WRITINGS
SPECIAL TOPIC: “TRUE” (THE TERM) IN JOHN’S WRITINGS
“in righteousness He judges and wages war” This is an allusion to Isa 11:3-5 (cf. Isa 9:7; Isa 16:5; Isa 32:1; Psa 96:13), which describes the New Age of righteousness, the New Age of the Spirit. See Special Topic below.
SPECIAL TOPIC: RIGHTEOUSNESS
Rev 19:12 “His eyes are a flame of fire” This is a description of Jesus from Rev 1:14; Rev 2:18. It has an OT angelic background from Dan 10:6.
“On His head are many diadems” This refers to royal crowns. Jesus has more crowns than
1. the rider on the white horse in Rev 6:2 (which symbolizes effective warfare)
2. Satan (the red dragon of Rev 12:3)
3. the beast of Rev 13:1
“and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself” This may be an allusion to Rev 2:17, but if it is, its meaning is still uncertain. Some see it as an allusion to the ancient belief that to know the name of gods was to have power over them. Others believe that it represents the fact that no one can completely know the character of Christ. Since the title is unknown, it does not refer to any of the titles of Jesus (“Faithful and True” of Rev 19:11, and “The Word of God” of Rev 19:13) found in this passage (or in the book) including “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” of Rev 19:16.
Rev 19:13 “He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood” This is an allusion to a poem of YHWH’s judgment from Isa 63:3, which is also alluded to in Rev 19:15. The term “dipped” (MS A, UBS4 gives it a B rating) or “sprinkled” (MSS *, P from Isa 63:3) is in perfect tense; commentators disagree as to whether it refers to
1. the blood of his enemies, which seems to be the focus of the paragraph and is reflected in a Targum on Gen 49:10-11 (however, in context, the battle has not occurred)
2. His own redemptive, sacrificial blood in which the saints have washed their own garments white (cf. Rev 7:14)
3. it is even possible it is the blood of His witnesses, who are precious to Him
In context option #1 seems best.
“and His name is called The Word of God” This is the term logos, which links the book of the Revelation with the Apostle John, for he is the only biblical author who uses this as a title of Jesus (cf. Joh 1:1; Joh 1:14; 1Jn 1:1).
The gospel is both a person (the Living Word of God, Jesus) and a message (the written Word of God, the Bible). This same dual aspect is reflected in the biblical use of the term “faith,” which is both a personal act of welcoming Jesus and a cognitive act of believing doctrinal truths (“the faith,” cf. Jud 1:3; Jud 1:20).
SPECIAL TOPIC: HEBREW AND GREEK BACKGROUND OF LOGOS
Rev 19:14 “the armies which are in heaven” This has been interpreted in two ways.
1. Because of Rev 17:14 and the description of the saints in Rev 19:8 in this immediate context, many have assumed that this refers to the saints.
2. Because of the OT background of Deu 33:2; Psa 68:17; and Zec 14:5 as well as the NT passages of Mat 13:41; Mat 16:27; Mar 8:38; Mar 13:27; Luk 9:26; 1Th 3:13; 2Th 1:7, many believe that it must refer to the angels.
This same ambiguity is present in many passages.
Rev 19:15 “from His mouth” This is an allusion to Isa 11:4 and Rev 1:16; Rev 2:16. This same judgmental metaphor has been found in Jewish apocalyptic literature (cf. IV Esdras 12:6; the Psalms of Solomon 17:10,45,49; and the book of I Enoch 62:6).
“a sharp sword” This is a metaphor for the power of the gospel or of God’s spoken word (cf. Genesis 1; Isa 55:11; Joh 1:1; 2 Thess. 7:8), not a literal description.
The end-time destruction of rebellious human armies is depicted in Ezekiel 38-39. This destruction is accomplished by (1) the sword (cf. Eze 38:21 and Rev 19:15; Rev 19:21) or (2) fire from heaven, cf. Eze 38:22; Eze 39:6; and Rev 20:9. This parallel between Revelation 19 and Revelation 20 (i.e., the different ways of destroying the armies of the nations), both of which reflect Ezekiel 38-39, implies a recapitulation. The Second Coming of Christ in 19 is repeated in different language in Rev 20:1-10. Recapitulation has already been seen between the seals, trumpets, and bowls.
“the nations” The OT origin of these armies is the godless nations listed in Ezekiel 38 from all over the Ancient Near East (cf. Rev 19:2; Rev 19:5-6; Rev 19:13). John is using the end-time battle of Ezekiel 38-39 (or possibly Psalms 2) as the source of his imagery about the eschatological battle between good and evil! Jesus has by far the biggest sword! See notes at Rev 2:26; Rev 10:11.
“He will rule them with a rod of iron” This is the second of three descriptions about the one riding on the white horse. This description of judgment comes from Psa 2:9; Psa 110:5-6 (cf. Rev 2:27; Rev 12:5).
“and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty” This third description of judgment is an allusion to Isa 63:2-3; Jer 51:33; Lam 1:15; Joe 3:13 (cf. Rev 14:19-20). The color of crushed grapes reminded the ancients of blood, death, and battle!
For “wrath of God” see note at Rev 7:14.
Rev 19:16 “on His thigh a name written” There has been much discussion about the term “His thigh”:
1. this was the place that a sword normally hung
2. this was the place that His garment was most clearly seen on horseback
3. it was the strongest muscle of his body and was symbolic of His might
“KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” Does this refer to one name or two? Rev 17:14 shows that it refers to one name (cf. 1Ti 6:15). It has two possible OT backgrounds:
1. a description of YHWH (cf. Deu 10:17 and Enoch 9:4)
2. a Babylonian and later Persian title of deity transferred to YHWH (cf. Dan 2:37)
It is interesting to note that this phrase in Aramaic adds up to 777, in contradistinction to the number of the beast, which is 666. Ultimate perfection versus ultimate imperfection.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
saw. App-133.
heaven = the heaven. See Rev 3:12.
behold. App-133.
white horse. Contrast that and its rider of Rev 6:2.
He That sat, &c. The prophecy in Zec 9:9 as to the Lord entering Jerusalem riding on an ass was fulfilled literally (Mat 21:4-11); why then stumble, as do some, at the prediction here of “this same Jesus” riding on a “white horse”? Zec 9:9, Zec 9:10 takes in both comings. See also Psa 45.
upon him = thereon.
upon. App-104.
Faithful. App-150and App-175
True. App-175.
righteousness. App-191.
judge. App-122.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
11-16.] The triumphal coming forth of the Lord and His hosts to victory. And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse (the same words, including the five following, as in ch. Rev 6:2. It is wonderful that this striking identity, in a book where symbolism is so constant to itself, has not prevented the mistakes which have been made in interpreting that place. This horse and Rider are (symbolically) the same as there: the is on the point of its completion: the other horses and their riders, dark forms in His great world-long procession to victory, will now for ever vanish, and war and famine and pestilence be known no more), and He that sitteth upon him [called] faithful and true (see ref.), and in righteousness He judgeth and warreth (both those acts being his concern in his present triumphant progress. Notice that the very construction with the participles and is the same as that in ch. Rev 6:2). His eyes (the , as often, is best given in English by an asyndeton, marking a break in the sense, passing from the subjective to the objective description) [were as] a flame of fire (ch. Rev 1:14 verbatim, again beyond question identifying Him), and upon His head (accus.: see ch. Rev 4:2, note) many diadems (probably as He is : so Ewald, De W., Hengstb. Certainly these are not the crowns of the ten kings, as Zllig, al., for they are yet to be overthrown, Rev 19:19 ff. The of ch. Rev 6:2 has become multiplied in the course of the subjection of the world to Him): having [names written (if these words are genuine, probably the meaning is that the names were inscribed on the diadems, signifying the import of each), and] a name written (where, is not said. From this portion of the description regarding His head, probably on the Brow) which none knoweth except Himself (what name is indicated? Certainly not that given below, Rev 19:13; nor can these words mean that He Himself alone knows the mystery latent in that name (so Vitringa, al.). Nor again can we say that it is any of the names by which our blessed Lord is known to us already (so Ewald, al.). But it is the of ch. Rev 3:12; some new and glorious name, indicative, as appears from the context there, of the completed union between Him and His people, and of His final triumph. This name the Apostle saw written, but knew not its import: that, like the contents of the sealed book, being reserved for the day when He shall reveal it): and clothed in a vesture dipped in blood (see Isa 63:2-3; which is clearly in contemplation here, from our Rev 19:15 b. This being so, it is better perhaps to avoid the idea of His own blood being in view): and His name is called, The Word of God (this title forms so plain a link between the Apocalypse and St. Johns writings, where only it occurs, that various attempts have been made by those who reject his authorship, to deprive it of that significance. I have discussed these in the Prolegomena, i. parr. 110, 111). And the armies which are in heaven (not the holy angels only, as De W. and Hengstb., but the glorified saints: the of ch. Rev 17:14, who are spoken of in reference to this very triumph, and are said to be ) followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen [raiment] white, pure (this clothing also speaks for the saints being included in the triumphal procession: see Rev 19:8, and ch. Rev 6:11). And out of His mouth goeth forth a sharp sword (see ch. Rev 1:16, Rev 2:12; Rev 2:16), that with (, as invested in or with) it he may smite the nations; and He (there is an emphasis in this and the following clause on , which however would be too strongly rendered by himself) shall rule (see ch. Rev 2:27, Rev 12:5, and note) them (masc.; their component members being in the Writers mind) with a rod of iron: and He (and none other, as we know from Isa 63:3) treadeth (it is His office to tread) the winepress of the wine of the fierceness of the wrath (of the outbreaking of the anger: see on ch. Rev 16:19) of Almighty God. And He hath upon His vesture and upon His thigh a name written (i. e. most naturally, written at length, partly on the vesture, partly on the thigh itself; at the part where, in an equestrian figure, the robe drops from the thigh. The usual way of taking the words is to suppose the epexegetic or definitive of the former words, on His vesture, and that on the part of it covering His thigh. So De W., Dsterd., al. Others imagine (so Grot., al.) a sword, on the hilt of which the name is inscribed. But there is no trace of this in the text. Wetst. quotes Cicero, Verr. iv. 43, Signum Apollinis pulcherrimum, cujus in femore literulis minutis argenteis nomen Myronis erat inscriptum: and Pausanias, Eliac. extr., , . See also Herod. ii. 106, where the inscription runs across the chest from shoulder to shoulder), King of Kings, and Lord of Lords (ch. Rev 17:14).
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Rev 19:11-12. 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;
Bright with all his crowns of glory,
See the royal Victors brow.
Again note the contrast: Then did they spit in his face. And on his head were many crowns;
Rev 19:12-16. 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 this is he in whose face his enemies did spit. Now turn to the next chapter. (See Rev 20:11-15; Rev 21:1)
This exposition consisted of readings from Mat 26:57-68. Rev 6:12-17, Rev 19:11-16, Rev 20:11-15, Rev 21:1.
Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible
Rev 19:11. [211] , a white horse) Antithetical to , Matthew 21- , judges) Lange joins with this chapter many passages, even of the New Testament, concerning the coming of Christ in glory, concerning the resurrection of the dead, and the judgment. Comm. Apoc. f. 107, 108, 256-259. But there is in truth but one coming of Christ in glory, at the last day: of which, however, there is an illustrious and remarkable prelude in the destruction of the beast. See above on 2 Thessalonians 2 T. ii. pp. 333, 334, and Ord. Temp. p. 412 [Ed. II. p. 354]. And the sum of the testimony respecting the resurrection and the judgment has reference to the same last day.
[211] Ver. 10. , and I fell) John appears to have regarded the things which occur ver. 9 as the conclusion of the vision: but there still remained things more excellent than those which had preceded.-V. g.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Rev 19:11-16
6. A VISION OF THE VICTORIOUS ARMY
Rev 19:11-16
11 And I saw the heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and he that sat thereon called Faithful and True; –In 18:1 to 19:10 we have a most vivid picture of the final overthrow of evil under the symbol of Babylon. In this paragraph John is allowed to see a vision describing the Lord’s victorious army in this last struggle. This is not a new and later event, but a pictorial representation of the Lord’s part in the one just described. In this book we are frequently brought back to events already related for the purpose of giving additional information.
The white horse, as we have already seen, is a symbol of successful or victorious warfare. See notes on Rev 6:2. Faithful and true are characteristics of Christ (1:5; 3:14), and, in connection with other expressions in this paragraph, make it certain that the rider on the horse represents him. But for reasons given in the notes on Rev 6:2 the rider there is not Christ. These texts then are not parallel.
and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.–The prophets declared that “righteousness shall be the girdle of his waist, and faithfulness the girdle of his loins.” (Isa 11:5.) His decisions will all be just and his warfare in defense of the truth always right.
12 And his eyes are a flame of fire, and upon his head are many diadems; –His eyes were sharp, piercing, and bright, indicating his power to penetrate and see every object. He had on his head, not the “crown”–victor’s wreath–but the “diadem” –symbol of his regal authority. “Many” diadems indicate the universal nature of his rule, and the complete victory he was to gain over all in the last conflict. This idea is expressed more fully in verse 16.
and he hath a name written which no one knoweth but he himself.–John saw the name, for it was written, but where it was written is not stated. No one knew it means that no one could understand what it signifies. It probably is the same as the “new name” (Rev 2:17), which will be given those who overcome, and therefore will not be known till the final state is reached. This implies that it expresses some heavenly relationship which men in the flesh cannot understand.
13 And he is arrayed in a garment sprinkled with blood:–The King James Version has the word “dipped” in place of “sprinkle.” This is a matter of textual criticism, and the Revisers have decided in favor of “sprinkle” as the correct reading. Some expositors explain this as referring to the blood shed in the last war, some of which would be sprinkled on the garment of the victorious rider of the white horse. This would indicate that the last conflict would be a destructive victory over the Lord’s enemies. Others think the reference is to the shed blood of Christ through which he will gain the final overthrow of wickedness. If this is the reference, the word “sprinkle” is still appropriate. Peter speaks of the “sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.” (1Pe 1:2.) As the first covenant was dedicated by the sprinkling of blood (Heb 9:18-20), so the new covenant by the blood of Christ, figuratively called the “blood of sprinkling” (Heb 12:24) because that was the literal way the blood of animals was applied.
and his name is called The Word of God-Some commentators think this cannot be the same as the name mentioned in verse 12 or the new name of Rev 2:17, for the reason that this one had already been given and could not therefore be “new.” To this others reply that it is not known by man in the sense that no one can fully comprehend its meaning–that is, no one can understand the full import of God’s Son being called the “Word.” Of course this is true in fact, and may be the correct view of the expression, though hardly probable. See verse 12.
14 And the armies which are in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and pure.–We should remember that the text describes what John saw in the vision; what it represents is another matter. There are two important questions regarding this heavenly army: (1) Who are included in it? (2) What part will they take in the conflict? Without doubt the passage refers to the coming of Christ and the last struggle between sin and righteousness. Some think this army will be composed of angels only and base their conclusion on Mat 16:27; Mat 25:31; 2Th 1:7. Others think it includes the martyrs and means the same as those mentioned in Rev 6:9-11; Rev 14:1-5; Rev 20:4. Still others think this army will include the redeemed saints as well as those martyred. It should be observedthat this army clothed in white linen has no implements of war, which indicates that they are present as witnesses, not as actual fighters. There will be no fighting in the ordinary sense of that word, for all the wicked people in the world are no match for divine power. Under the withering touch of divine power 185,000 in the Assyrian army perished in one night without the touch of human hands. (2Ki 19:35.) So the almighty power of Jesus, when he comes, will destroy Satan’s army–a victory sudden and complete. The angelic hosts of heaven will be present to rejoice.
15 And out of his mouth proceedeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations:–Jesus said his kingdom was not to be defended with a carnal sword. (Joh 18:36.) Paul declares that Christians fight with the “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Eph 6:17.) The thing that proceeds from the mouth means words. God’s words are even sharper than a literal sword. (Heb 4:12.) From all this it is evident that smiting with the sword in this emblem represents the victory Christ will gain by his word. As the worlds were created by the word of God, so by the word of Christ wickedness will be banished. This agrees perfectly with Paul’s statement that when Jesus comes he will slay the lawless one (“man of sin”) with “the breath of his mouth.” (2Th 2:8.) Not carnal bloodshed; but Christ will speak the word and divine power will do the rest. This text shows that wicked nations will be here when Jesus comes else there would be none for the Lord to smite.
and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God, the Almighty.–Ruling with a rod of iron means in strict justice, whether in imparting favors or in inflicting punishment. This thought is expressed a number of times. (Psa 2:7-9; Rev 2:27; Rev 12:5.) The setting of the expression in this text shows that it means a just reward to the wicked. The preceding expression speaks of “smiting the nations,” and the following one says that he will tread the wine press of God’s wrath. Verses 17-21 show that the “winepress” of God’s wrath refers to the final punishment of the wicked, a scene pictured in Jud 1:14-15. The meaning is that as the treader presses out the wine from the grapes, so Jesus will inflict the fierceness of God’s wrath against the wicked, but with absolute justice.
16 And he hath on his garment and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.–Seeing this title written upon the garment further identifies the rider of the white horse as Christ. Just as the kingdom (mountain of the Lord’s house) is above or greater than all other kingdoms (Isa 2:2), so Christ’s position as King is superior to all other kings. Legally and rightly that has been his position since he took his seat (throne) at God’s right hand. (Eph 1:19-23; Act 2:36.) This symbol represents him as still having that authority when he comes to execute God’s wrath upon the wicked.
Commentary on Rev 19:11-16 by Foy E. Wallace
(3) The vision of Christ the conqueror-Rev 19:11-16.
After the symbolic Babylon, the Sodom-Egypt, apostate harlot-Jerusalem had been utterly overthrown; the temple demolished and Judaism removed; and the Jewish state terminated; all that Jerusalem represented no longer existent–then the visions of Revelation turned to the victory of the church over heathenism. The visions of this conflict were presented in the language of high symbols, and there is danger of literalism in their application.
In Rev 19:11-14, a name was given to the Rider of the white horse; he was called Faithful and True. He was the Christ himself, leading the procession of triumph, with a heavenly army consisting of the legion of martyrs and overcomers of persecution, to wage war against Caesar-worship and heathenism. With him in this glorious war of Christ against idolatry were the chosen faithful who shared the triumph of the procession of victory.
He was identified as the same Rider of the white horse in Rev 6:2; then going forth to conquer, but now in procession of victory over the emperial persecutors; to judge andmake war against all heathenism. This war was to be waged by the sharp sword which proceeded out of his mouth–that is, a war on the heathen minions by the word of God, the two-edged sword of Heb 4:12, and the sword of the Spirit of Eph 6:17. His descriptions were put in symbols of a royal and ruling conqueror, which compared with the array of the Son of man in the midst of the seven churches in Rev 1:13-16. The vestures of the Rider were dipped in blood, an imagery of the battle with the persecuting beasts who had slain the martyrs and had shed the blood of the saints. With the heavenly army Christ, the Rider, subsequent to the extermination of Judaism, was seen marching against the strongholds of heathenism.
In Rev 19:12 it is stated that the Conqueror had a second name–a name written which no man knew, but he himself–which indicated the things of God and Christ unrevealed to me. It compares with the statement of Jesus in Mat 11:27 : All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. Jesus Christ alone has a name above every name, which signifies a power over heaven and earth that no one can know but Himself –the sole owner of the name and the one possessor of the inherent power of the undefined and unrevealed name.
In Rev 19:13, the Rider was called by a third name –The Word of God. The Word was not a name without significance. The same John of the apocalypse referred to the Son of God as the Word in the gospel of John l:1-14. The word is the vehicle of conveying thoughts–and Jesus Christ was the full and complete expression of Gods will to man; the beginning and the end of all revelation; hence, his title The Word. The name The Word Of God, signifies the armament of the warfare in which he was in this vision to engage–it was the conflict of Christianity with heathenism, and the truth was the weapon against all error.
In Rev 19:14 the armies that followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were the overcomers of the tribulation–redeemed from the period of persecution. In Rev 19:15 it was declared that the Rider would smite the nations and rule them with a rod of iron. The process of this smiting was indicated in Gods commission to Jeremiah, Jer 1:10 : See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant. In the Revelation text the phrases, smite the nations and rule them with a rod of iron, were symbolic of the impact of the gospel on the heathen world.
This inherent power and force of Christianity was prophesied in Psa 2:1-3 : Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his Anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
The psalm prophecy is quoted by the apostle Peter in Act_425-26 with this application of the effect of preaching Christ to the heathen world. The ruling with a rod of iron referred to the inexorable character of the law of Christ–the invincible word of God. The treading of the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of God was the symbol of the execution of the inflexible judgment of retribution. And in Revelation it was Almighty God, the supreme Judge of all men, who should formulate the sentence and render the judgment against the heathen nations.
In Rev 19:16 a fourth name was inscribed on the Rider–King of Kings and Lord of Lords. This was the highest title to be conferred. It symbolized the position and power over all kings and rulers of all rank in the heathen world, all of whom must yield to the invincible Word of God. This stage of the vision was in repetition of Rev 11:15 : The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ. It was the sublime apocalypse of the conquering Lord, and his victorious church. The conquest of the kingdoms of this world was spiritual, not literal; and it was to be accomplished by the spread of the gospel and expansion of Christianity over the heathen world, as stated in Mat 24:31 and as prophesied in the second Psalm.
The names and insignia attached to the Rider comport with the Psalm prophecy and with all the divine offices of the Christ Rider. His insignia were: the white horse, the diadems, the blood-dipped garments, the flaming eyes, and the inscribed name, unknown to men. His divine works were: to judge, to wage war, to smite with a verbal sword, to tread the winepress of Gods wrath, and to rule with the inflexible iron rod of the inexorble law of the Christ.
Commentary on Rev 19:11-16 by Walter Scott
HEAVEN OPENED
(Rev 19:11-21).
INTRODUCTORY.
Rev 19:11-16. – And I saw the Heaven opened, and behold a white horse, and One sitting on it (called) Faithful and True, and He judges, and makes war in righteousness. And His eyes are a flame of fire, and upon His head many diadems, having a Name written, which no one knows but Himself. And (He is) clothed with a garment dipped in blood; and His Name is called the Word of God. And the armies which (are) in the Heaven followed Him upon white horses, clad in white, pure, fine linen. And out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He might smite the nations; and He shall rule them with an iron rod; and He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. And He has upon His garment and upon His thigh a Name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords.
The remaining portion of the chapter to which we have given the general title, Heaven Opened, naturally divides into three parts: (1) the mighty Monarch and His victorious armies (Rev 19:11-16); (2) the call to the ravenous birds of prey to feed upon the slain, to partake of the great supper of God (Rev 19:17-18); (3) the complete overthrow and destruction of the opposing army, the leaders consigned alive to the lake of fire, and their followers slain (Rev 19:19-21).
The special scene before us (Rev 19:11-16) is one of surpassing interest. We have had many and varied displays of Christ, for the whole book is more or less about Him, while all for us upon whom the ends of the ages are come (1Co 10:11, R.V.). But the present vision in its character and far-reaching results is second to none. It is unique. We have not here the Lamb enthroned as in Rev 5:1-14, but the Warrior-King great in victorious, all-conquering power. Before Christ, as here described, the hosts of earth shall quail, and the stout hearts of the mighty stand appalled; but that sight of sights is a gladdening one to saints, for they know Him. The King and Judge is their everlasting Friend.
THE HEAVEN OPENED, AND
A DOOR OPENED IN HEAVEN.
Rev 19:11. – I saw the Heaven opened. This book is full of heavenly action. The scenes in Heaven as witnessed by the Seer are numerous and diversified. Voices heard, songs sung, angels and glorified saints seen, elders and the living creatures bowed in worship, thrones, crowns, robes, harps, books, and more, tell of the happiness and ceaseless activity of Heavens inhabitants. Glimpses into Heaven we have had, but Heaven itself opened is a grand and overpowering sight. In the opening of the heavenly section of the book (Rev 4:1-11) we read, I saw, and behold, a door opened in Heaven. How much greater the astonishment of the Seer as he beholds, of course, in vision Heaven itself opened, not simply an opened door for admission. This action is in keeping with the magnificent pageant – the triumphal procession out of Heaven. A door opened in Heaven was for the Seer to pass in. Heaven opened was for the heavenly armies to pass out. Four times do we read in the New Testament of the heavens being opened (Mat 3:16; Joh 1:51; Act 7:56; Rev 19:11), and on each occasion in connection with Christ. Two of these instances are past, two are future. His moral glory in humiliation called for it. His manifested glory above demands it. The holy Jerusalem is seen in a subsequent vision descending out of Heaven (Rev 21:9), but it is not said Heaven is then opened for egress; it is opened once, and that is enough.
DESCRIPTION OF THE CONQUEROR
AND HIS VICTORIOUS ARMY.
Rev 19:11 – The first part of the description beheld by the Seer was a white horse, the symbol of victorious power. (See notes on Rev 6:2, page 148, and footnote.) The horseman who guides and controls bears the mystic name of Faithful and True. Others may in measure be characterised by these qualities, but Christ alone can be so designated without qualification. He is in His Person and ways the perfect embodiment of these attributes.(*See notes on Rev 15:3, and on Rev 21:5.) Faithful in the performance of every promise and every threat, while every word and act bears the stamp of absolute truth.
Rev 19:11 – He judges and makes war in righteousness. He comes to settle the destinies of the world for a thousand years. He is not only the mighty Warrior, but He judges the world as well as conquers it. God hath appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man Whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men in that He hath raised Him from the dead (Act 17:31). The appointed day is about to dawn, and the ordained Man is before us as the Commander of the hosts of Heaven. This is no iniquitous war; it is not one undertaken for love of conquest, nor for enlargement of territory. The judging is named before the warring, because all is done intelligently. The war and its issues are wisely directed. Righteousness is characteristic of Him as Judge and as Warrior.
Rev 19:12 – His eyes are a flame of fire. In Rev 1:14 and Rev 2:18, of Christ it is said His eyes are as a flame of fire, but here the as of comparison is omitted (R.V. and other authorities). His eyes are a flame of fire; that is the divine omniscience which observes all and searches out every hidden evil, and the piercing judgments which He executes are characteristic attributes of Him in the earlier notices, whereas in our text they are in exercise. The action is here more intense.
Rev 19:12 – Upon His head many diadems. Crowns and diadems are distinguished. (See remarks on Rev 12:3, and on Rev 13:1.) The saints in Heaven have crowns (Rev 4:4; Rev 4:10), the expression of their royal dignity, but on the head of Christ rest diadems, denoting His absolute and supreme authority. The dragon has on his seven heads diadems (Rev 12:3), and the Beast has diadems on his ten horns (Rev 13:1). Thus both the dragon and the Beast affect supreme authority. There is but One Who can be entrusted with the exercise of absolute authority and dominion, and He is the Son of Man (Psa 8:1-9). Seven diadems on the dragon, and ten on the Beast; but many upon the head of the conqueror Christ denote that every form and kind of government is vested in Him. The Authorizsed Version fails to distinguish between the symbols crown and diadem; the Revised Version, however, supplies the omission.
Rev 19:12 – Having a Name written which no one knows but Himself. There are certain divine names as God, Jehovah, Jesus, Christ, Lord, etc., which severally express the divine Being in a certain relation to His creatures. But here is a name not revealed. There is that in Christ – ever was and ever will be – which no name can express. The Son in the fulness of His divine nature can alone be known by the Father (Mat 11:27). Christ ever carries in Himself the knowledge of who and what He was and is.
Rev 19:13. – Clothed with a garment dipped in blood. (It seems absurd to apply the garment dipped in blood to the blood of the Cross, as many do. The Lord is here viewed on a mission of judgment, not one of grace. The blood is not His own, but that of His enemies. The context clearly determines the sense.) This striking and impressive figure proclaims His vengeance in judicial dealing with the opposing hosts of apostate Europe who have come out to do battle with the Lamb. In Isa 63:1-4 we witness the triumphant return from the land of Edom, and from its capital city Bozrah, of the Lord with vengeance in His heart and His garments and vesture stained with the blood of His enemies, but here His garment dipped in blood is witnessed ere He enters on the conflict, a sure token that righteous vengeance shall be meted out to the full upon the gathered hosts under their two great chiefs, the Beast and the False Prophet,
Rev 19:13. – His Name is called the Word of God. Of the eight sacred writers of the New Testament, John is the only one who applies this title to Christ. As the Word He represents and expresses God in His Being, character, and works. He is The Word of Life (1Jn 1:1), as being in His Person and ways its living embodiment. He is termed The Word of God, as perfectly expressing Him in judgment. As the WORD He has personal, independent, eternal existence (Joh 1:1-2); and as the WORD He is the maker of all things (Joh 1:3). He is the Revealer of God, the ONE Who makes Him known. Our words ought to be the exact expression of what we are; the words of Christ were the absolute expression of what He ever is (Joh 8:25). As the WORD He reveals God in His essential nature as light and love, and as the only begotten Son He declares the Father. The first without the second would have left a huge blank, for the heart craves for a known and enjoyed relationship. God is our Father.
The title here used of Christ has peculiar significance in this connection. It is God Who is here seen roused to action. His very nature demands the judgment of those who on earth madly attempt to thwart His purpose to set His Son as King on Mount Zion and put into His hands earths government. Christ, The Word of God, is the absolute expression of God in the scene of judgment about to take place.
THE TRIUMPHANT ARMIES.
Rev 19:14. – The armies in Heaven follow their renowned Leader on white horses, for His victory is their victory, and His triumph their triumph. These armies represent the heavenly saints, those of Old Testament times and those comprising the bride. Each one is arrayed in robes which bespeak personal righteousness, which tell of personal struggle here in doing right, in maintaining the rights of God in the midst of a scene of contrariety and opposition to God and Christ. The clothing of the bride (Rev 19:8) is the clothing of each of the militant hosts (Rev 19:14). The armies in Heaven which triumphantly follow Christ and swell His train are not angels, but saints. What a military spectacle is here presented! These armies of saints in Heaven follow their Captain. He goes first, and heads the triumphing hosts. We have here the fulfilment of Enochs prophecy uttered more than five thousand years ago, but alone recorded in Judes epistle, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints (Jud 1:14). Zechariah (Zec 14:5) writes of the same Coming, but to deal with the powers opposed to the Jews, whereas the apocalyptic scripture reveals as the first object of judgment the nations opposed to the Lamb. Angels, too, follow in the train and swell the triumph of the Lord (Mat 16:27; Mat 25:31; Heb 1:6). Triumphant power (white horses) is put forth on the day when the wrath of the Lamb is so awfully expressed. The statement of the armies in Heaven following Christ in His career of righteous war is an interruption to the general description of Christ which is now resumed. The war itself is merely mentioned (Rev 19:19), but the personal description of the great Captain of our salvation is lengthily dwelt upon. We delight to hear Him well and much spoken of. (The description of the battle is as remarkable for its brevity as that of Christ is for its length; quite naturally, as there can properly be no sustained conflict against Him who slays with the breath of His mouth. – Hengstenberg.)
CHRIST IN JUDICIAL ACTION.
Rev 19:15. – Next we hear of the only offensive weapon amongst the militant, heavenly hosts, a sharp sword. The armies have no weapons, they need them not, for the battle is the Lords. Out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He might smite the nations. (In Rev 1:16 and Rev 2:12, the sword is said to be not only sharp, but two-edged. Many authorities insert the word in the text of Rev 19:15, but it is a doubtful reading.) The reference is to Isa 11:4. He speaks as He did in the garden when His enemies fell to the ground (Joh 18:5-6). His Word at once smites and slays. The power is irresistible. No carnal weapon is in question, but a destructive power more terrible in its effects than any weapon forged by human skill – the spoken Word of the Lord.
Rev 19:15. – He shall rule them with an iron rod. The second Psalm is evidently before the writer in this glorious description of almighty power. The stern and inflexible rule exercised over the rebellious nations is intimated in the firm unyielding rod of iron. He shall rule, that is, govern (Rev 12:5). Our association with Him in His government of the world (Psa 149:6-9), and judgment of His foes, in no wise clashes with the truth in our text, He shall rule them with an iron rod. It is His work, and He is invested with plenitude of power to do it. The determined will of the nations must be broken and their power shivered to atoms.
Rev 19:15 – He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. This is not the figure of the harvest in which the good is separated from the bad, but the vintage which is unsparing vengeance on evil, on religious evil developed into apostasy (Rev 14:17-20). (See remarks on the winepress, Rev 14:20.) There are three symbols of judgment in Rev 19:15. (1) A sharp sword for immediate, judicial punishment, probably death. (2) A rod of iron for righteous, inflexible government. (3) The winepress of wrath for the guiltiest of all. This latter is the expression of extremest wrath. The Almighty God is roused. Vengeance is Mine, saith the Lord. Again, the personal pronoun marks off the judgment as the work of the Lord alone. I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the peoples there was none with Me (Isa 63:3). (The armies in Heaven are not said to be associated with Christ when He bathes His sword in Idumea, but they are in His victory over the Beast. In the act of taking vengeance the Lord is alone, whether in Idumea or amongst the gathered European apostate nations, but in sessional judgment His heavenly saints take part, as the promise to the overcomer in Thyatira shows (Rev 2:26-27). On certain powers the Jews take part in the execution of judgment (Zec 9:13; Zec 12:6; Zec 14:14; Isa 11:14).)
Rev 19:16. – This lengthened description closes with a grand assertion of His glory, He has upon His garment and upon His thigh a Name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords. (He is publicly, officially, and intrinsically King of kings and Lord of Lords. – Synopsis of the Books of the Bible, vol. 5, p. 635, Morrish ed.) His garment, His outward character and ways as beheld by others, bears the title expressive of universal dominion. Instead of the sword on the thigh (Psa 45:3), the Name here mentioned is written on it. The sword is in His mouth; the Name on the thigh. There one would naturally look for the sword, instead of which they read the pre-eminent dignity of Christ as Monarch of all who reign; and Lord of all lesser ruling authorities. In Rev 17:14 the same titles are applied to the Lord; there, however, stated in inverse order, Lord of lords preceding King of kings. No pen can do justice in the attempt to set forth the glorious Personage of these verses. In the interpretation of symbol and literal statement care is needed, but there is no real difficulty. Seize upon the circumstance, the occasion, and the reason of war; that actual peoples on earth are found in open, daring, armed rebellion against the authority of God, whether exercised morally or governmentally; further, that the nations on earth and the saints issuing from Heaven are literal armies, and in purpose, aims, and projects opposed. The foregoing considerations may help one out of the vague and uncertain into what is real and about to happen, and in which we all shall have our part.
Commentary on Rev 19:11-16 by E.M. Zerr
Rev 19:11. White horse symbolizes a war animal that is to engage in a war for purity. The rider was Christ who is described as Faithful and True. That is because the war in which He is about to engage (the Reformation) is a righteous one.
Rev 19:12. Eyes of fire would signify that which is bright and penetrating. Many crowns. Actually no king wears more than one crown as far as the article as a unit is concerned, but in some way the ornamentations on it showed that Christ had won over all others. Name no man knew does not indicate some dark or mysterious secret, for Rev 19:16 gives a great description of His name as written on his clothing. But no mere man can appreciate the name of Christ until he becomes His disciple.
Rev 19:13. Vesture dipped in blood is because Christ shed his blood for the sake of mankind. The Word of God is the name which all men can read and hence is not a secret, but they cannot realize what it means unless they appropriate that name to themselves by wholehearted obedience to its commandments. (See the name at Joh 1:1.)
Rev 19:14. This is a symbolic picture of the war that is about to be fought against the beast that has been defying Heaven’s authority for 1260 years.
Rev 19:15. The sharp sword is the sword of the Spirit(Eph 6:17; Heb 4:12). Smite the nations with this Word by the work of the Reformation. Rule with a rod of iron. Iron is both firm and severe, and it will be used in the latter sense against the wicked nations who have been supporting Babylon. Treadeth the winepress is explained at Rev 14:10.
Rev 19:16. King of kings and Lord of lords. King indicates supreme authority and lord means one who governs the conduct of others. Jesus was given these two titles because He had overcome all who opposed him. Having the title attached to his vesture (clothing) was on the principle of decorations given men who have distinguished themselves in the service of their country.
Commentary on Rev 19:11-16 by Burton Coffman
Rev 19:11
And I saw the heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and he that sat thereon called Faithful and True; and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
A white horse, and he that sat thereon called Faithful and True … This seems to be one of the few places in Revelation where all the opinions meld into one. This is a description of the Lord Jesus Christ. We also identify him with the rider of the white horse in the first seal (Rev 6:2). It is objected that those seals are judgments; but what is the scene here if it is not a judgment, not merely a judgment, but the final and last judgment? The judgment in the seals (Rev 6:2) was due to the preaching of the truth, an odor of life to some, death to others; and this judgment is the final and total execution of the judgment determined by the preaching of the gospel, which always results in the salvation of some and the rejection of others, and culminates in the wicked being overthrown as in this judgment.
The dark scenes of the balance of this chapter are objected to by many who find what they call their “Christian sensibilities” offended. They say this contradicts the conception of a gracious and merciful Christ; but such views are simply incorrect. “Everywhere in the New Testament, the element of victory through judgment is an inescapable aspect of Christ’s total work.”[32]
The warfare now to be described must be understood as that which is taking place between the hosts of Christ and Satan throughout the period of the world’s existence.[33]
We reject the type of slander of this part of Revelation which declares that, “There is little or nothing that is specifically Christian in the whole section.”[34] People with such views have merely overlooked the New Testament doctrine of judgment. Even Roberts overlooked the judgment here, thinking that John “expected a thousand year reign of the saints before the end of the world and the judgment.”[35] He and so many others overlooked the recapitulatory nature of these chapters (Revelation 18; Revelation 19, and Revelation 20). It is true, of course, that the 1,000 years’ reign comes before the judgment, as the recapitulation in the next chapter shows. But the judgment here in this chapter is exactly the same as the judgment there. “This chapter does not give us a picture of the millennial age”[36] in Any sense of its being any different from the rest of the Christian dispensation. The chapter is a view of the whole “millennial age,” the “forty two months,” the “one thousand two hundred and sixty days,” etc., all of which are synonyms, symbolical representations of the total time between the two Advents of Christ, covering exactly the same time-period as that already covered in this prophecy, again, and again, and again.
Keep in mind that Revelation 18 gave the overthrow of the harlot; this chapter gives the overthrow of the beast (in his phase of the ten kings, the final phase, that of the eighth head); and the next chapter (Revelation 20) gives the overthrow of Satan (the dragon). These three: the dragon (Satan), the sea-beast (world persecuting governments), and the harlot (the land-beast, also the false prophet), are the three great enemies of Christianity depicted in Revelation. Their destruction in these three chapters occurs in exactly the reverse order of their appearance in the prophecy (beginning at Rev 12:1); and despite their overthrow being related in separate chapters and separate recapitulations, “All three go down together:”[37] They are all three destroyed simultaneously in the final judgment, and shall continue “alive” and active until the very last day of time.
The circumstance that each is revealed in a separate vision should not lead us to think that there is an interval of centuries, either between their appearances (or their overthrow). In reality, all perish together by the Parousia of the Lamb.[38]
[32] George Eldon Ladd, op. cit., p. 151.
[33] A. Plummer, op. cit., p. 449.
[34] James Moffatt, op. cit., p. 466.
[35] J. W. Roberts, op. cit., p. 158.
[36] James William Russell, op. cit., p. 650.
[37] R. C. H. Lenski, op. cit., p. 547.
[38] R. C. H. Lenski, op. cit., p. 547,548.
Rev 19:12
And his eyes are a flame of fire, and upon his head are many diadems; and he hath a name written which no one knoweth but he himself.
And his eyes are a flame of fire … The glorious appearance of Christ here recalls the first vision of him with which the prophecy opened (Revelation 1). The flaming eyes suggest purity, truth, and omniscience.
Many diadems … The vast and eternal authority of Christ as set forth in Mat 28:18-20 is symbolized by these.
Name … which no man knoweth but he himself … There are two excellent interpretations of this, either one of which, or both of which, may be correct. “The unknown name of Christ comports with the fact that his nature, his relationship to the Father, and even his relationship to humanity, transcend all human understanding.”[39] Barclay thought it might be, “The sacred tetragrammaton, the sacred YHWH, the unpronounceable, unknown name of God.”[40] The status of Christ as God in the New Testament makes this altogether reasonable and logical. The sacred Hebrew word for God is still not known to any man; and it would be appropriate enough applied to Christ.
[39] G. R. Beasley-Murray, op. cit., p. 280.
[40] William Barclay, op. cit., p. 180.
Rev 19:13
And he is arrayed in a garment sprinkled with blood: and his name is called the Word of God.
Garment sprinkled with blood … The imagery of this is thought to reflect the figure of the winepress in Isaiah 63, but there the blood was the blood of the Lord’s enemies. As Caird pointed out, “The Rider’s garment is already soaked in blood before the battle begins.”[41] Some point out that Christ has already won many victories before the one pointed out here; but we seem to be compelled to seek the meaning symbolized by the bloodstains in that eternal victory of the Cross, where the enabling victory of all that came afterwards was achieved. “His garment is dipped in blood because Christ shed his blood for mankind.”[42]
And his name is called the Word of God … “This is a title of Christ used only by the apostle John (Joh 1:1; Joh 1:14,1Jn 1:1; 1Jn 5:7).”[43] The apostle is thus linked with all three writings.
[41] G. B. Caird, The Revelation of St. John the Divine (New York: Harper and Row, 1966), p. 242.
[42] E. M. Zerr, op. cit., p. 340.
[43] Charles Caldwell Ryrie, op. cit., p. 112.
Rev 19:14
And the armies which are in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and pure.
And the armies which are in heaven followed him … Any literalism here, as in most of the prophecy, is impossible. We agree with Pieters that this does not symbolize Christians. “It is an idea alien to the Scriptures to speak of Christians going forth again to wage war on evil, after attaining a heavenly rest.”[44] The Lord never depicted his sheep as organized in a campaign of destruction directed against the wolves! “The armies which are in heaven must be angelic armies.”[45] This also corresponds to the oft-repeated mention of a host of holy angels participating in the final judgment (Mat 13:41; Mat 13:49,2Th 1:7). The undeniable identification of the last part of this chapter with the final judgment is inherent in the makeup of this vast army. Caird thought these were Christians,[46] and Rist identified them as “the martyrs”;[47] but such views impose great difficulty in fitting them logically into the entire vision.
[44] Albertus Pieters, op. cit., p. 204.
[45] Ibid.
[46] G. B. Caird, op. cit., p. 265.
[47] Martin Rist, The Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. XII (New York-Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1950), p. 514.
Rev 19:15
And out of his mouth proceeded 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 of the wrath of God, the Almighty.
And out of his mouth proceeded a sharp sword … Again, all voices agree as one in seeing this as a symbol of the word of God (Heb 4:12-13; Eph 6:17 f).
With it he should smite the nations … rule them with a rod of iron … These are not references to the merciful and benign reign of Christ through his saints on earth in the present dispensation, but to the final wrath and judgment of God upon the ungodly.
He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God … This tells what Christ is depicted as doing in this scene. It is a picture of final judgment. “All three of the figures in this verse are representations of the word of Christ, by which he executes with indisputable authority the judgment of God.”[48] No “battle” of any kind takes place here. The so-called Battle of Armageddon, as usually conceived, is nothing but man’s imagination. Christ needs no armies, whether of angels, or anyone else. His word which hurled the suns in space will execute his will when the time comes. To be sure, the language here suggests Armageddon, the great spiritual conflict going on throughout history, the results of which will be announced and executed on the last day. Note that there is no fighting or conflict of any kind in view here. At the moment of this vision, the conflict is already over; only the judgment remains to be executed; the issues which were long ago determined are here to be revealed and executed in the final judgment of all people.
ENDNOTE:
[48] G. R. Beasley-Murray, op. cit., p. 281.
Rev 19:16
And he hath on his garment and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS; AND LORD OF LORDS.
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS … This makes it mandatory to view the similar passage in 1Ti 6:15 as also being a plain reference to the Lord Jesus Christ. See comment on that reference in this series.
This superlative title does not refer to what Christ will become after this so-called “battle.” “He will conquer the monster and the kings because he is already King of kings and Lord of lords.”[49] This section teaches:
That Christ is reigning; he is reigning through the power of his word; he is reigning in every heart that will yield to the gospel. When he comes in the clouds of his glory (with his angels, as here), the final stroke will be delivered.[50]
See the dissertation on “The King of Kings and Lord of Lords” in my Commentary on 1Timothy, pp. 229-234.
[49] Ibid.
[50] Frank L. Cox, Revelation in 26 Lessons (Nashville: The Gospel Advocate Company, 1956), p. 113.
Commentary on Rev 19:11-16 by Manly Luscombe
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. Heaven opened up. A white horse appears with Christ as the rider. The focus is on the rider. The rider is named Faithful and True. He is the judge. His judgments are righteous. He is also the captain of our salvation, the leader of the army of God. He is ready to make war. Some have great difficulty here. It is argued – How can the prince of peace come to make war? We must understand this is not a literal war of men, weapons and bloodshed. This is a spiritual warfare. All Christians are in this war. We are fighting evil (immorality) and corruption in high places. We are not fighting flesh and blood. Our war is against principalities and powers in heavenly places.
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. These verses give a graphic description of Jesus. All of these terms are descriptions of Jesus.
1. He is on a white horse. His name is Faithful and True. He is the judge. He is the leader of the army (Rev 19:11)
2. His eyes are alive with the flame of fire. He wears all the crowns. He has a name that only He can wear. (Rev 19:12)
3. He wears a robe dipped in blood (His death on the cross). He is called the Word of God. John uses this term in his gospel and in the first epistle. (Joh 1:1-4; 1Jn 1:1-3) (Rev 19:13)
4. He has an army of soldiers clothed in white clean linen. The whole army is on white horses. (Rev 19:14)
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. He speaks and we are judged. (Joh 12:48). His judgment will fall upon all the nations. Jesus rules. He is the king. He is also the judge. He will tread the winepress of Gods Almighty wrath.
16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. Jesus is the King of kings, and Lord of lords. To better understand these phrases, replace the word of with the word over and you will see that Jesus is King over all kings. He is Lord over all lords.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
King of Kings, and Lord of Lords
Rev 19:11-21
A sublime vision of Christ, as He comes to judge the beast, that is, the world-power, which has ever been in antagonism to the principles of His Kingdom. We must distinguish between it and the final judgment. This precedes, that follows, the millennial reign. Compare Mat 24:27; Mat 24:29; Mat 24:37; Mat 24:39. The blood in which His vesture is dipped is not His own, but that of His foes. See Isa 63:2. Here at last is fulfilled Psa 2:9.
Notice the attributes of Christ: He is Faithful, because He will stand by us to the end. He is True, never doing less but always more than He has promised. Pure as flame. He is also in many realms; and the Word of God, that is, the final utterance and complete revelation of the Most High. Let us follow Him! But if we do, we must resemble Him. His robes are naturally white, but we must wash ours, that we may have the right to the tree of life and to enter the city of God. Compare Psa 110:1-7. This will be the time, also, to which our Lord referred in Mat 13:41. Gods whirlwind will scatter the chaff.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Chapter 44
Christ the Man of War
‘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’
Rev 19:11-16
When Moses saw Pharoah and his armies drowned in the Red Sea and the people of God standing safely upon the shores of deliverance, he sang, ‘The LORD is a man of war’ (Exo 15:3). How often our Savior proves himself to be just that! In the garden of Eden our Lord foiled the schemes of the old serpent, and out of the fall accomplished his own purpose, promising redemption to the fallen pair (Gen 3:15; Isa 14:24; Isa 14:26-27). Throughout the history of the Old Testament we see our great God illustrating his redemptive purpose in the deliverances of the chosen nation from the hands of their enemies. Then, at last, Christ came to deliver and save his people from sin, satan, and the curse of the law (Mat 1:21). In the wilderness of temptation Christ Jesus overcame the temptations of the devil (Mat 4:1-11). He met the accuser in Gethsemane again and overcame his power (Mat 26:38-46). Then, at the appointed hour, the Son of God thoroughly routed his enemy and ours, spoiled him, and accomplished redemption for Gods elect by his death upon the cross as their Substitute (Joh 12:31-33; Rev 20:1-6). Having accomplished eternal redemption for us, the Lord Jesus Christ took away our sins and carried the prince of darkness into everlasting captivity. He rose on high, was enthroned as the King of glory, and reigns forever to save his redeemed ones (Psa 68:18-20). Yet, even now, ‘the LORD is a man of war.’ He rides forth in majesty, power, and great glory, ‘conquering and still to conquer’ (Rev 6:2). The Son of God has a controversy with his fallen creatures. The controversy is over his Lordship. But the end of that controversy is not in doubt. It is written, ‘His foes shall become his footstool.’ Either by the irresistible power of his grace, or by the irresistible power of his wrath, King Jesus will defeat all his enemies and cause them to bow before his throne, acknowledging that it is right for him to be Lord (Psa 89:21-25; Isa 45:20-25; Php 2:9-11). In Rev 19:11-16 John sees ‘heaven opened.’ Not a window, or a door, but heaven itself is opened, and the Lord Jesus Christ comes forth riding upon a white charger, like a mighty man of war. Four things are clearly revealed in this symbolic picture.
Christ is a mighty conqueror (Rev 19:11-13)
John had seen the Lord Jesus in his humiliation and even leaned upon his breast. Now he sees Christ in his glory as the Captain of our salvation, the King of kings and Lord of lords. But he sees a warfare on the earth. The Seed of the woman and the serpent are in conflict. Truth and error are engaged against one another. The kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness are involved in a war. Sometimes, when we see this warfare, we tremble. But John sees it and describes it from heavens vantage point. He wrote down what he saw that we might take courage. If we are soldiers enlisted under the banner of Christ, pledged to the advancement of truth, sworn to the precious blood of atonement, the glorious doctrines of the gospel, and the honor of Christ, it will do us good to rise with John above the mists of the earth and see this warfare from heavens viewpoint. Though the battle must rage until Armageddon is over, there is no cause for fear. The ark of God is safe. The cause of Christ is secure. The church of the living God will overcome her enemies. The truth of God shall prevail.
Our mighty Savior comes forth riding upon a white horse
Of course, the picture is purely symbolical. The Son of God does not ride through the air upon a white horse! This picture of Christ charging his foes upon a white horse suggests four things: (1.) Christ Jesus rides forth upon a white horse as the leader of a great army because he is highly honored in heaven. God the Father has given him the place of highest honor (Php 2:9-10; Col 1:18). The holy angels extol him above all others (Rev 5:11). All the saints in heaven and earth honor Christ as precious above all (1Pe 2:7). (2.) This white horse represents our Saviors power and dominion as our great Captain (Joh 17:2). The horse is a symbol of power (Job 39:19-25). (3.) The horse also symbolizes speed (Zec 10:3). The Word of God runs swiftly through the earth according to his sovereign will. He only wills it, and his gospel is spread to the uttermost parts of the earth. The church of God is made a swift running horse for the spread of the gospel. And (4.) This white horse represents the certain victory of our Savior (Rev 6:2). The Lion of the tribe of Judah shall prevail!
John also saw that our mighty Savior is good, as good as he is great
Here is a conquering man of war who is altogether good. He who is vested with total power is perfectly good. He is called, ‘Faithful and True.’ He is faithful and true to his Father, to fulfill all his covenant engagements; to his people, to fulfill every word of promise; and to his enemies, to fulfill every threat of wrath against them. His warfare is carried on in righteousness. ‘In righteousness he doth judge and make war.’ ‘Christs kingdom needs no deception: The plainest speech and clearest truth – these are the weapons of our warfare’ (C. H. Spurgeon). The Son of God defeated satan by bringing in everlasting righteousness. He conquers the hearts of chosen sinners by the proclamation of righteousness in the gospel. And in the last day, he will judge everyone in perfect righteousness. ‘His eyes were as a flame of fire’ to discover the hearts of men, to understand the plots of satan and all his enemies, to consume those who oppose him, and to melt the hearts of his people (Luk 22:61). Those flaming eyes represent the purity of our Lord in all his Being and in all his works. ‘And on his head were many crowns.’ Our mighty defender is the crowned King of the universe. He wears the crown of creation (Col 1:16-19), the crown of providence (Rom 14:9), and the crown of grace (Joh 5:21). Christ rules everywhere. He rules everyone. He rules everything. And he rules always!
His vesture is glorious
‘He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood.’ Whenever we think about our great God and Savior, believers rejoice to see his whole Being dipped in blood. We must never think about him or anything he does without seeing him dipped in blood. Our Shepherd is a blood red Shepherd. Our great Prophet is one whose words are written in his own blood. Our King wears a crown won by his own blood. Our heavenly Advocate pleads his blood for us at the throne of God. The Lord Jesus Christ is seen best, and seen in his truest glory, when he is seen as the sin-atoning sacrifice for Gods elect. It is impossible to understand anything about him or about his works until he is seen as one whose vesture is dipped in blood. The greatest thing he ever did, his greatest glory, and the key to understanding both who he is and what he does is revealed in these words – ‘He laid down his life for us’ (1Jn 3:16). We cannot think, talk, sing, or preach too much about his blood. His blood is our life. His blood is our gospel. His blood is that which attracts sinners to him (Joh 12:32). His blood is our motive and example (1Pe 2:21-24).
This mighty Warriors name sets him apart from all others
‘He had a name written that no man knew, but himself’ (Rev 19:12). ‘And his name is called The Word of God’ (Rev 19:13). Those two statements do not contradict one another. Our Savior himself declared, ‘No man knoweth the Son, but the Father’ (Mat 11:26). Christ is called ‘The Word of God,’ because he is the embodiment and revelation of the glorious, triune God (Joh 1:1-3; John 14-18; Col 2:9-10). He sets before us, in human form, the mind, will, heart, nature, and glory of God. We know these things. Yet, we recognize such mysterious majesty and such majestic mystery in him that we readily acknowledge our ignorance concerning him. Our great Savior is unspeakably, unknowably glorious. Who can understand and know the mystery of his Person, the depth of his love, the wonder of his redemption, the treasure of his grace, or the blessedness of his peace?
The armies that follow him are the saints of god, sinners saved by the great Man of War (Rev 19:14)
‘These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth’ (Rev 14:4). The church of God is a mighty army, steadily advancing through this world under the direction of Christ himself.
The church of God marches as many armies under one great Captain
Though we are one in Christ, Gods church scattered throughout the earth, through all the ages of time, is made up of many armies. At any one time, in any given place, it seems to be a small army of rag-tag nobodies. But Gods church is many. And this army is strong beyond imagination. All the battalions of Christs kingdom are engaged under one banner (the cross), fight under the direction of one King (Christ), and fight for one cause (the glory of God).
All who follow Christ are mounted, like him, upon white horses
As he fares, they fare, for they are all one with him. These white horses mean the same thing here as when we see Christ himself upon a white horse. They represent high honor, great power, wonderful speed, and certain victory.
All who follow Christ in this mighty army are well armed
They have neither sword, nor spear, nor bow, nor gun. They do not even have a little derringer hidden away in case of an emergency. There are no emergencies for Christ and his people! Their only armor is the bright white righteousness of Christ. They are ‘clothed with fine linen, white and clean.’ Christ is our Strength, our Defense, our Refuge, and our Shield. We march with him through this world, in hostile enemy territory. But we are never the ones who do battle. We are engaged in the warfare, yes; but ‘the battle is the Lords’ (2Ch 20:15-17). Therefore, we are assured and confident of victory (Rom 8:36-39). Until our Captain is taken, not one of his recruits can fall (Matt. 1618).
‘Rejoice, believer, in the Lord, Who makes your cause His own;
The hope thats built upon His Word cannot be overthrown!
As surely as He overcame and triumphed once for you,
So surely you that love His name shall triumph in Him too!’
The warfare he wages is altogether spiritual (Rev 19:15)
As you look through the ranks of these great armies, there is not one weapon among them. But there is a sword, not in the hand, but in the mouth of our great Man of War, the Lord Jesus Christ. The sword by which our Savior conquers the hearts of men is the gospel of his grace (Heb 4:12). Our warfare is not carnal, but spiritual. Our only weapons are the Word of God and prayer (2Co 10:4). We are not sent into the world to reform mens lives, or even to reform society. We are sent to preach the gospel for the conversion of sinners, for the saving of Gods elect. Our only mission is the preaching of the gospel. Those who are not subdued by the gospel, our Lord will subdue by the iron rod of his inflexible justice. And in the end he will tread his enemies beneath his feet in the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God.
The cause of this warfare is rebellion against christ the king (Rev 19:16)
The Lord God is determined to make all creatures in heaven, earth, and hell bow to his Son. All Christs enemies shall be made his footstool (Psa 110:1; Heb 10:13). Every creature will be compelled, either by the gospel of the grace of God or by the iron rod of his justice, to bow before the Lord Jesus Christ and confess that he is and rightfully deserves to be ‘King of kings and Lord of lords.’ Christ the mighty Man of War shall win the day (Isa 45:22-25).
Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible
saw heaven opened
The vision is of the departure from heaven of Christ and the saints and angels preparatory to the catastrophe in which Gentile world-power, headed up in the Beast, is smitten by the “stone cut out without hands”. (Dan 2:34); (Dan 2:35).
white horse
Contrast (Rev 6:2); (Psa 45:4).
Contrast (Mat 21:2-5).
Day of the Lord
(Day of Jehovah). (Isa 2:10-22); (Isa 4:1-6); (Isa 11:10-13); (Isa 13:9-16); (Isa 24:21-23); (Isa 26:20-21); (Isa 63:1-6); (Isa 66:15-24); (Rev 19:11-21).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
heaven: Rev 4:1, Rev 11:19, Rev 15:5
a white: Rev 6:2, Zec 1:8
Faithful: Rev 1:5, Rev 3:7, Rev 3:14, Joh 14:6
and in: Rev 15:3-7, Psa 45:3-7, Psa 50:6, Psa 72:2-4, Psa 96:13, Psa 98:9, Psa 99:4, Isa 11:3-5, Isa 32:1, Isa 45:21, Isa 63:1-5, Jer 23:5, Jer 23:6, Jer 33:15, Zec 9:9, Zec 9:10, Heb 7:1, Heb 7:2
Reciprocal: Exo 15:3 – a man Num 23:24 – he shall Deu 9:3 – goeth over Deu 23:9 – General Jos 5:14 – but as captain Jos 11:21 – Joshua destroyed Jdg 1:2 – General 2Ki 6:17 – full of horses 2Ch 20:12 – wilt Psa 24:8 – The Lord strong Psa 45:4 – ride Psa 45:6 – the sceptre Psa 48:10 – thy right Psa 51:4 – when Psa 96:10 – judge Psa 97:4 – the earth Psa 98:1 – his right Psa 110:5 – strike Psa 110:6 – judge Psa 145:17 – righteous Psa 149:7 – General Pro 8:15 – decree Pro 16:12 – for Pro 31:9 – General Isa 2:4 – And he Isa 9:7 – to establish it Isa 11:4 – But with Isa 13:4 – noise Isa 25:1 – thy counsels Isa 40:10 – his arm Isa 42:3 – he shall Isa 59:17 – he put on righteousness Isa 66:16 – General Eze 1:1 – the heavens Eze 21:27 – until Eze 45:8 – and my princes Dan 2:34 – which Dan 7:22 – the Ancient Dan 12:1 – the great Joe 3:12 – for Oba 1:21 – to judge Mic 4:3 – he shall judge Hab 3:8 – ride Zec 6:3 – white Zec 6:13 – bear Mat 12:20 – till Joh 1:51 – Hereafter Joh 8:16 – yet Act 3:20 – General Act 7:56 – I see Act 10:11 – saw Rom 9:28 – in righteousness 1Co 1:9 – God 1Co 10:13 – but 1Co 15:28 – all things 2Ti 4:8 – the righteous Heb 1:13 – until 1Pe 2:23 – judgeth 1Jo 5:20 – him that Rev 11:17 – thou hast Rev 12:7 – war Rev 19:9 – These Rev 19:14 – white horses Rev 19:19 – him Rev 19:21 – the remnant Rev 20:11 – I saw
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
The Battle of Armageddon
Rev 19:11-21
INTRODUCTORY WORDS
When we think of the battle of Armageddon, we are thinking of several Scriptures besides the one written in this study, Some of these are in the Book of Revelation.
1. The breaking of the sixth seal seems to touch this last great battle, as found in Rev 6:13-17.
(1) We read “The sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood.” These words, in other Scriptures, mark the closing of this age, and Christ’s Return. (Read Joe 3:9-16, with emphasis on 15; Zec 14:1-4; Zec 6:1-15, Zec 7:1-14; Mat 24:28-31.)
The great darkness of the sun and moon, and the coming of Christ to the Mount of Olives, and the last great battle, all describe the ending of the present age.
Joel in his second chapter speaks of a day of darkness, and of gloominess, and of thick darkness, and then he describes the same great concourse of nations as a battle set in array.
(2) We read “The kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men * * hid themselves * * and said to the mountains and rocks. Fall on us * *: for the great day of His wrath is come.”
Once more we have the closing scenes of the tribulation, Psa 2:1-12 speaks of the same kings of the earth setting themselves together; and then says, “He that sitteth in the Heavens shall * * have them in derision.”
2. The sounding of the seventh trumpet in Rev 11:15-19, touches this last great battle. First, the angel sounds and there are voices in Heaven saying, “The kingdoms of this world are become the Kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ.” Then we have end things once more epitomized, this time in Revelation: “The nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead.”
3. The great final hour with Armageddon is seen once more in Rev 14:15-20. Here we read of a ripened harvest, and of the cry: “Thrust in thy sharp sickle,” with the following words, closing the chapter-words that speak the same things as the wine press in our study of today, in chapter 19. Compare this with Eze 29:12, Eze 29:13.
During this age, as Daniel said in the Spirit: “Unto the end of the war desolations are determined.” Again the Spirit, through Daniel, speaks of the king that shall “do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished.”
Christ said, “ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: * * but the end is not yet.” Then He said, “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be,” Then He continued His discourse as given in Mat 24:1-51. There can be no cessation of war till Christ comes.
I. THE WHITE HORSE AND HE WHO SAT UPON IT (Rev 19:1)
1. The names of Heaven’s great Warrior. His two Names shew the justice of His war: “And He that sat upon him (that is, upon the white horse) was called Faithful and True.” That the Names refer to Christ’s character as a Warrior, is settled by the closing words of the verse: He is faithful and true because “In righteousness He doth judge and make war.”
2. Let us look at His two Names.
(1) His name is “faithful.” He is faithful to His people; faithful to His enemies; faithful to the saints; faithful to His holy attributes; faithful to His warnings against sin; faithful in all things, in nothing truant.
(2) His name is “true.” He is true because He is Truth. Faithful, but not faithful to an unholy tryst; but faithful and true. He is the same today as He was of old. He is eternally TRUE.
II. THE WISDOM AND GLORY OF OUR HEAVENLY WARRIOR (Rev 19:12)
1. His eyes are as a flame of fire. He knows all things. There is nothing hidden or covered to Him with whom the world has to do. He can be faithful and true in His judgments as He wars, because His eyes are as a flame of fire. We have read that “Our God is a consuming fire”; we read now that His eyes are a fire. Such knowledge is too wonderful to us. He knows all things. Every thought, every word, every impulse. He knows the very imaginations of the thoughts of the heart.
2. On His head were many crowns. He was crowned because He was worthy. His crowns were many because His reign and rule is large, and covers every phase of every dominion. He wears a crown because He met principalities and powers on the Cross and vanquished them, triumphing over them in it. He wears a crown as our Redeemer because He bore our sins and transferred to the believer His redemption and righteousness. He wears a crown because He was raised to the right hand of God and exalted a Priest forever, after the order of Aaron, and then after the order of Melchisedek. He wears a crown because He is Head of the Church, clothed with full authority over the millions who bear His Name and worship Him, He wears a crown of rule, for He shall sit upon David’s throne and be crowned King of kings and Lord of lords.
3. And He had a Name that no one knew. We must let this Name alone; for, if no one knew it but Himself, we are sure we do not know. However, we do know of many precious Names He bears, and not one is without its meaning. He who knows the Names of the. Lord and lives in the assurance of their meaning, will be strong and do many exploits for his God.
III. THE THREE NAMES ACCORDED OUR HEAVENLY WARRIOR (Rev 19:13; Rev 19:16)
1. His Name is “The Word of God.” This Name is a Name given to Christ from the beginning, for, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
The eternity of the Word is a wonderful conception of truth. God’s Word was not something hatched up by man, nor copied from some ancient writers; it is a Word forever settled in Heaven and given to men.
We wonder why this particular Name is fitting for Christ as He comes down to battle. Perhaps it is because He is warring in behalf of His Word, and against all who have assailed it, and counted it as false and untrustworthy.
2. His Name is King of kings. Here is a Name that carries with it all supremacy. Perhaps that is one reason the kings of the earth cry for the rocks and mountains to fall upon them and hide them from His face. They had been used to ruling, many of them, in unrighteousness; now the One comes before whom even kings must bow, for He is King of kings. He will be a King upon David’s throne, even as it was spoken in Isa 9:7, and in Zec 14:9. He will be King as it is written in Psa 2:1-12, “Yet have I set My King upon My holy hill of Zion.”
3. His Name is Lord of lords. There will be other kings upon the earth in His day, yet He will be King of all kings. To Him every knee shall bow. There will also be other lords, but He will be Lord of all lords, and all will have their power from Him. He will reign in things temporal and political; He will also reign in things spiritual and priestly. He will be a King-Priest, and we will be king-priests.
IV. THE VESTURE OF THE HEAVENLY WARRIOR (Rev 19:13, f.c.)
There are two things for us to consider:
1. When Christ’s garments, in His sacrificial death, were covered with Blood. In Isa 63:1-19 we have a twofold vision. First of all we see Christ as One coming from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah, the wine press. Then the Spirit proposes the question: “Wherefore art Thou red in Thine apparel, and Thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat?”
To this query the Lord replies, “I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with Me.” This carries us back to Calvary where the enemy crucified Him, and where He, as it were, was covered with Blood. Now, however, there is another statement, “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.”
Thus, first of all we must go back to Calvary where Christ was crucified. This is brought out abundantly in Revelation.
In Rev 5:6 we read, “In the midst of the throne * * stood a Lamb as it had been slain.”
In Rev 5:9 we read: “For Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy Blood.”
In Rev 5:12 we read: “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain.”
In Rev 7:14 are these words, “And have washed their robes, and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb.”
The fact is that in the Book of Revelation the Name given to Christ is, almost universally, “The Lamb,” and every time it is used, it carries us back to Calvary.
2. When Christ’s garments are stained by the blood of His enemies. At Calvary Christ’s Blood was shed and it stained Him; as it covered Him from His head to His feet. Now, their blood is spilt, as God’s judgments fall.
V. THE ARMIES OF THE HEAVENLY WARRIOR (Rev 19:14)
1. The saints who were raptured, are now seen as Heaven’s armies. After the Rapture it is, “Forever with the Lord.” If He comes down the skies, they are coming with Him; if He is riding a white horse, they, too, are on white horses; if He reigns, they reign with Him. His lot is theirs, and their lot is His.
This battle is like some of those of old, when it was said: “Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord.” We shall have no fighting to do, but we shall be there to witness the majesty and power of the Lord our Saviour.
2. The saints raptured will be clothed with linen clean and white. Once again we are face to face with righteousness. Christ bears a Name “Faithful and True,” for He wars in righteousness; we wear garments of linen, which, from the days of the Tabernacle in the wilderness, has stood for “righteousness.”
Everything about the battle of Armageddon, from the Divine side, is a warfare based on righteous judgment.
3. The raptured saints, clothed in white, shall follow Him. On the earth they follow Him-in Heaven they follow Him; on earth they followed Him in His isolation, rejection, and shame-now they follow Him in His glory, victory, and power.
The fourteenth chapter of Revelation speaks of 144,000 who “follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth.” The nineteenth chapter speaks of us all as following Him.
No greater delight could be ours, no higher privilege, than that of following Christ in the hour of His triumph.
VI. THE WRATH OF THE GOD WHO IS ENOUGH (Rev 19:15-16)
1. The sharp sword of His mouth. How significant are the words, “And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations.”
This sword in Revelation must be the same as that in Hebrews. If so, it is the Word of God which gives life to the soul when it is received as His engrafted Word. It is the Word that is the lamp to our feet and the light to our pathway. It is the Word that is more to be desired than our daily food. It is the Word that is the basis of our faith.
That same Word will be His sword to smite the nations. Therefore, that which was given for life, will bring judgment and death. God pity the men who have been its foes and have sought to knife it, and to cut it asunder; for it shall yet cut them asunder.
2. The treading of the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of the God who is enough. Here is a similar analogy to that above. The Word that gave life, is the sword that cutteth. The Lord God Almighty; that is, the God who is enough, is the same God whose fierceness of wrath Christ shall tread out as He treadeth the wine press.
The same One. who died for all, will judge all who do not believe. We know that men often reject the judging Christ; yet the fact is still true, that God hath given all judgment unto the Son, and He will tread out the wrath of God.
VII. THE GREAT FEAST (Rev 19:17-21)
1. The great battle. Rev 19:19 says: “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.”
Here the battle is joined, and apparently it meets in the air, or at least as the Lord comes down from the air. Little of the battle is told here, save the results of the conflict.
The overwhelming of the man of sin and the false prophet is spoken of in many Scriptures. It is against these that the Lord will descend in flaming fire; and against them who follow with him.
2. The great supper. We now come to the last word: “And all the fowls were filled with their flesh.” This is enlarged upon in Rev 19:17 and Rev 19:18.
What a scene is this! How terrible to consider! Before we say that the God of old, whom Israel worshiped, the God of war, is not our God, let us weigh well these words.
Throughout the Prophets, the Gospels, and the Epistles, it is the same message in each case. Christ is coming in judgment against all who will not come unto Him, and cover their sins with His Blood. They refuse the Covert from the storm of wrath, and therefore they must feel that storm upon themselves.
Let us remember that the same God who is showing the fierceness of His wrath here, showed the same wrath upon His own Son when He hung, for us, upon the Cross, and suffered, the just for the unjust.
AN ILLUSTRATION
As we think of the “blood-stained” garments, our minds go from Armageddon back to Calvary and we see Christ dying for us.
A woman to whom I brought the message of the Cross had one look at that changing aspect of the One who hung upon the accursed Tree and cried in sudden fearful comprehension, “My God! I did not know a human heart could be so black as mine is!” All forgotten the fear of what her fellows might think-only remembered that those were her sins appearing there.
An African chief, listening to the missionary’s recital of the gospel story, in sudden comprehension, leaped to his feet and shouted, “Come down! Come down from that Cross! I tell You You have no business there? That’s my place!”
Fuente: Neighbour’s Wells of Living Water
Rev 19:11. White horse symbolizes a war animal that is to engage in a war for purity. The rider was Christ who is described as Faithful and True. That is because the war in which He is about to engage (the Reformation) is a righteous one.
Comments by Foy E. Wallace
Verse 11.
(3) The vision of Christ the conqueror–Rev 19:11-16.
After the symbolic Babylon, the Sodom-Egypt, apostate harlot-Jerusalem had been utterly overthrown; the temple demolished and Judaism removed; and the Jewish state terminated; all that Jerusalem represented no longer existent–then the visions of Revelation turned to the victory of the church over heathenism. The visions of this conflict were presented in the language of high symbols, and there is danger of literalism in their application.
In verses eleven through fourteen, a name was given to the Rider of the white horse; he was called Faithful and True. He was the Christ himself, leading the procession of triumph, with a heavenly army consisting of the legion of martyrs and overcomers of persecution, to wage war against Caesar-worship and heathenism. With him in this glorious war of Christ against idolatry were the chosen faithful who shared the triumph of the procession of victory.
He was identified as the same Rider of the white horse in Rev 6:2; then going forth to conquer, but now in procession of victory over the emperial persecutors; to judge and make war against all heathenism. This war was to be waged by the sharp sword which proceeded out of his mouth–that is, a war on the heathen minions by the word of God, the two-edged sword of Heb 4:12, and the sword of the Spirit of Eph 6:17. His descriptions were put in symbols of a royal and ruling conqueror, which compared with the array of the Son of man in the midst of the seven churches in Rev 1:13-16. The vestures of the Rider were dipped in blood, an imagery of the battle with the persecuting beasts who had slain the martyrs and had shed the blood of the saints. With the heavenly army Christ, the Rider, subsequent to the extermination of Judaism, was seen marching against the strongholds of heathenism.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Rev 19:11. And I saw the heaven opened, and behold a white hone, and he that sat upon him, called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. It is the Lord Himself who comes to wind up the history of the world, to bring salvation to His own, and destruction to His enemies. The Heaven is opened, and a white horse appears, the same as that of chap. Rev 6:2. He who then went forth conquering and to conquer returns in triumph. His victory is won. In His own being He has proved Himself to be faithful and true,faithful to all His promises, true as the essence of all that is real and everlasting.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Section 4. (Rev 19:11-21; Rev 20:1-3.)
The prostration, of the world-powers.
We are now carried back to the earth, to see what in fact is mercy to the earth, in the complete humiliation of the power which has been so long holding it back from God, and therefore from blessing. For thus not only the “kings of the earth upon the earth” must be humbled, but he also who has assumed so long, and usurped with such apparent success, the title of “prince of this world.” Isaiah sees along with him all his rebellious following, and thus speaks of “the host of the high ones that are on high;” but in Revelation, according to its manner, Satan himself stands for the whole of this. They are summed up in him whose will they have implicitly obeyed and been molded by. For those that have manifested most their independence of God only thus show, not their liberty, but their complete subservience to another, whose service has in it no freedom at all, but most degrading slavery. The “stronger than he” has now come, and he is cast down, although this does not even yet end his history. The full tale of creature mutability has not even yet been told, and therefore the full end is not yet reached. But Christ has come, and His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom: through all, the reins of His power are not yet relaxed.
1. The prophecy pauses not further now to dilate upon the blessing. There is needed work to be done before we can enter upon this; and the work is the “strange work” of judgment. The vision that follows is as simple as can be to understand, if there are no thoughts of our own previously in the mind to obscure and make it difficult. And this is the way in which constantly Scripture is obscured.
Revelation, as the closing book of the inspired Word, supposes indeed acquaintance with what has preceded it, and the links with other prophecy are here especially abundant. The kingdom of Christ is the final theme of the Old Testament, upon which all prophetic lines converge; and the judgment which introduces it is over and over again set before us. The appearing of the Lord, and His personal presence to execute this, are also so insisted on that nothing but the infatuation of other hopes could prevail to hide it from men’s eyes. In the New Testament the same thing faces us continually. As we are not considering it for the first time here, it will be sufficient to examine what is in the passage before us, with whatever connection it may have with other scriptures, needful to bring out fully the meaning of it.
Heaven is seen opened, the prophet’s standpoint being therefore now on earth, and a white horse appears, the familiar figure of war and victory. It is upon the Rider that our eyes are fixed. He is called “Faithful and True,” -known manifestly to be that, -and in righteousness He judges and wars; His warring is but itself a judgment. For this His eyes penetrate as a flame of fire; nothing escapes them. Many diadems -the sign of absolute authority -are on His head. And worthily, for His name in its full reality -name expressing (as always in Scripture) nature -is an incommunicable one, beyond the knowledge of finite creatures. But His vesture is dipped in blood, for already many enemies have fallen before Him. And His name is called -has been and is, as the language implies -“The Word of God.” The Gospel of John shows us that in creation already He was acting as that; and now in judgment He is no less so.
Is this revealed name anything else than His incommunicable one? It would seem not. The thought would appear to be in direct refutation of the skeptical denial of the knowledge of the Infinite One as possible to man. We cannot know infinity, but we can know the One who is infinite -yea, know Him to be infinite: know His name, and not know His name. The infinite One, moreover, Christ is declared here to be -no inferior God, but the Highest.
In the power of this, He now comes forth; the armies that are in heaven following their white-horsed Leader, themselves also upon white horses, sharers with Him in the conflict and the victory, clothed in fine linen, white and pure. It is this fine linen which we have just seen as granted to the Bride, and which needed the blood of the Lamb to make it white. It is therefore undoubtedly the same company here as there; only here seen in a new aspect, even as the Lord Himself is seen in a new one. It is communion with Himself that is implied in this change of character. What He is occupied with, they are occupied with; what is His mind, is their mind: so, blessed be God, it will be entirely then. None then will be ignorant of His will; none indifferent or half-hearted as to it. Alas, now to how much of it are even the many willingly strangers! and it is the “willing ignorance” that is so invincible: for all else there is a perfect remedy in the word of God; but what for a back turned upon that Word?
The Lord comes, then, and all the saints with Him. How impossible to think of a providential coming merely here! “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear,” says the apostle, “then shall ye also appear with Him in glory” (Col 3:4). “Know ye not that the saints shall judge the world?” he asks elsewhere. Judgment is now impending: “out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He may smite the nations.” So Isaiah: “He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked” (Isa 11:4). It needs but a word from Him to cause their destruction; while it is judgment no less according to His word: it is that long and oft-threatened, slow to come, but at last coming in the full measure of the denunciation. Patience is not repentance.
“And He shall rule them with an iron rod” -“shepherd” them, to use a scarcely English expression. This is, of course, the fulfilment of the prophecy of the second psalm, and decides against the still retained “break them” of the Revised Version. It is the shepherd’s rod -this rod of iron, used in behalf of the flock: as He says in Isaiah again, “The day of vengeance is in My heart, and the year of My redeemed is come; and I looked, and there was none to help, and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore Mine own arm brought salvation unto Me; and My fury, it upheld Me” (Isa 63:4-5). This is distinctly in answer to the question, “Wherefore art Thou red in Thine apparel, and Thy garments like him that treadeth in the wine-fat?” and to which He answers, I have trodden the wine-press alone.” Here, also, “He treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.”
Would it be believed that commentators have referred this to the cross, and the Lord’s own sufferings there?* And yet it is so; though the iron rod, with which the treading of the wine-press is associated in this place, is something that is promised to the overcomer in Thyatira (Rev 2:27) -“To him will I give power over the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, even as I received of My Father.” We have but, with an honest mind, to put a few texts together after this manner, and all difficulty disappears.
{*Where He was trodden down could not be the place where He treads down His adversaries, though their rejection of Him there is what calls for this judgment. The blood of Christ now speaks of better things than that of Abel but when the day of grace is past, it will call for vengeance on those who despise it. -S.R.}
“And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written -King of kings, and Lord of lords.”
2. Now, in terrible contrast to the invitation lately given to the marriage-supper of the Lamb, an angel standing in the sun bids the birds of the heaven to the “great supper of God,” to feast upon earth’s proudest, and all their following. Immediately after this, the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, are seen gathered together to make war against Him who sits upon the horse, and against His army. We are no doubt to interpret this according to the Lord’s words to Saul of Tarsus -“Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?” But we have seen the idol thrust into Jehovah’s temple, and know well that Israel’s persecutors rage openly against Israel’s God. They are taken thus banded in rebellion, and judgment sweeps them down; the beast and the false prophet that wrought miracles before him (the antichristian second beast of the thirteenth chapter) being exempted from the common death, only to be cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone, where at the end of the thousand years of the saints’ reign with Christ we find them still.
The vision is so clear in meaning that it really has no need of an interpreter; and we should remember this as to a vision, that it is not necessarily even symbolic, though symbols may have their place in it, as here with the white horses of that before us, while the horses whose flesh the birds eat are not at all so. The “beast and the kings of the earth” furnish us with the same juxtaposition of figure and fact, the figure not at all hindering the general literality of fact. In these prophecies of coming judgment, the mercy of God would not permit too thick a veil over the solemn truth. This is the end to which the world is hastening now, and God is proportionally taking off the veil from the eyes upon which it has been lying, that there may be a more urgent note of warning given as it draws nigh. “Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.”
3. The judgment upon living men is followed by that upon Satan their prince, though not yet is it final judgment. This partial dealing with the great deceiver means that the end of man’s trial is not even yet reached. He is shut up in the abyss, or bottomless pit, of which we have read before, but not in hell (the lake of fire). As restraint, it is complete; and with the devil, the host of fallen angels following him share his sentence. This is not merely an inference, however legitimate. Isaiah has long before anticipated what is here, as we have seen (Isa 24:21-23) “And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. And they shall be gathered together as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days they shall be visited. Then the moon shall be confounded and the sun ashamed; for the Lord of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before His ancients gloriously.”
Here the contemporaneous judgment of men and angels at the beginning of the Millennium is clearly revealed, and just as clearly that it is not yet final. The vision in Revelation is also clear. The descent of the angel with the key and chain certainly need not obscure the meaning. Nor could the shutting up of Satan mean anything less than the stoppage of all temptation for the time indicated. The “dragon,” too, is the symbol for the explanation of which we are (as in the twelfth chapter) referred to Eden, “the ancient serpent,” and then are told plainly, “who is the devil and Satan.” It is simply inexcusable to make the interpretation of the symbol still symbolic, and to make the greater stand for the less -Satan the symbol of an earthly empire, or anything of the sort. What plainer words could be used? which Isaiah’s witness also abundantly confirms. God has been pleased to remove all veil from His words here, and it does look as if only wilful perversity could misunderstand His speech.
That after all this he is to be let out to deceive the nations is no doubt, at first sight, hard to understand. It is all right to inquire reverently why it should be; and Scripture, if we have learnt Peter’s way of putting it together, -no prophecy to be interpreted as apart from the general body of prophecy, -will give us satisfactory, if solemn, answer. The fact is revealed, if we could give no reason for it. Who are we, to judge God’s ways? and with which of us must He take counsel? It should be plain that for a thousand years Satan’s temptations cease upon the earth; and then they are renewed and successful -the nations are once more deceived.
What makes it so difficult to understand is that many have a false idea of the millennial age, as if it were “righteousness dwelling” on the earth, instead of “righteousness reigning” over it. It is said indeed of Israel, after they are brought to God nationally, “My people shall be all righteous” (Isa 60:21); but that is not the general condition. The eighteenth psalm, speaking prophetically of that time, declares, “The strangers shall submit themselves unto Me,” which in the margin is given as “lie,” or “yield feigned obedience.” They submit to superior power, not in heart, and so it is added, “The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places.” (Comp. Psa 66:3; Psa 81:15.) And Isaiah, speaking of the long length of years, says, The child shall die a hundred years old,” but adds, and the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed” (Isa 65:20). So Zechariah pronounces the punishment of those who do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the glorious King (Zec 14:17).
The Millennium is not eternal blessedness; it is not the Sabbath, to which so many would compare it. It answers rather to the sixth day than the seventh -to the day when the man and woman (types of Christ and the Church) are set over the other creatures. The seventh is the type of the rest of God, which is the only true rest of the people of God (Heb 4:9). The Millennium is the last period of man’s trial, and that is not rest: trial in circumstances the best that could be imagined -righteousness reigning, the course of the world changed, heaven open overhead, the earth filled with the knowledge of the glory of God, the history of past judgment to admonish for the future: the question will then be fully answered whether sin is the mere fruit of ignorance, bad government, or any of the accidents of life to which it is so constantly imputed. Alas, the issue, after a thousand years of blessing, when Satan is loosed out of his prison, will make all plain; the last lesson as to man will only then be fully learned!
Fuente: Grant’s Numerical Bible Notes and Commentary
Here we have a new and fresh vision, in which St. John saw heaven opened, and Christ represented as a great and victorious general, marching forth with a glorious army for his church’s enemies’ full and final destruction. This great general is first described from the place whence he comes, namely, from heaven; he is no earthly prince or potentate, but an heavenly monarch.
Next he is said to sit on a white horse, denoting victory, prosperity, and success; He is called faithful, and true, and righteous, because faithful in all his promises, true in his threatenings, righteous in all his dispensations towards his enemies; he will do them no wrong.
Next, his eyes are said to be as a flame of fire: denoting his clear and piercing knowledge, and also his terror as a judge, his eyes being in wrath as a flame of fire, ready to consume his enemies.
And farther, to show his royal dignity, it is added, on his head were many crowns, which also denoted his many victories over his many and mighty enemies. And by the name which no man knew but himself, some understand the nature and essence, which is so incomprehensible and unsearchable, as that none but he who is true God is able to comprehend it fully, or reveal it perfectly. Others by his name understand his judgments and ways, by which he is known, as a man by his name.
Observe next, This great and mighty general is described from his vesture dipped in blood, which denotes the mighty overthrow of his enemies: the cruellest and proudest of them can expect nothing in the end from him, but extremity of wrath and deserved destruction, for they must all become his footstool.
And his name being called the word of God, speaks dread and terror to antichrist, who slanders, opposes, corrupts, and suppresses, and offers all manner of indignities to the word of God; exercises the utmost cruelties against the preachers and professors of it.
Observe farther, That after the description of this great and mighty general, follows next the description of his armies, his attendants and followers, namely, the holy angels and glorified saints, Rev 19:14. these also ride upon white horses, as their general before them, and are clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
Behold the comely conformity, and purity, and holiness, between the general and his soldiers, between Christ and his followers; they both appear on white horses, suitable to one another. Christ will admit none to be his followers that are not like him.
Next we have the weapon described, Rev 19:15. which Christ makes use of for the destruction of antichrist, and all his church’s enemies; and that is, a sword, a sharp sword, the holy scriptures, particularly the threatenings of the word, with which he will smite all the wicked nations that side with antichrist against him and his kingdom; dealing with his enemies as men do with grapes gathered into a wine-press, which they can easily crush.
Lastly, He is described by a new name of royal dignity and supreme power, being called King of kings and Lord of lords. And this name is said to be written on his vesture and on his thigh, partly for perspicuity, that all might take notice of it; and partly for permanency, to show that as long as himself lasts, which is for ever, so long shall his kingdom and dominion over all endure.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
A white horse and rider were first introduced in Rev 6:2 . Now, heaven is opened wide to show that horse and rider leading an army against the forces of evil. The “Faithful and True” can be none other than Christ. ( Rev 3:14 ; Rev 3:7 ) Such is confirmed by the fact that his eyes are “as a flame of fire.” ( Rev 1:14 ; Rev 2:18 ) On his head are many royal bands which show his greatness as a king. The blood on his garment may be from battles already won, but this writer prefers to think it is Christ’s own blood shed at Calvary for the sins of the world. “The Word of God” is one of Christ’s titles and is only used by John. ( Joh 1:1 ; Joh 1:14 ; 1Jn 1:1 ; 1Jn 5:7 )
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
Rev 19:11-16. And I saw heaven opened This is a new and peculiar opening of it, in order to show the magnificent expedition of Christ and his attendants against his great adversary; and behold a white horse Many paid little regard to Christ when he came meek and lowly, riding upon an ass: but what will they say or think, when he comes forth upon his white horse, with the sharp sword of his mouth? The white horse, on which Christ is represented as riding, was intended to denote his justice and holiness, and also that victory and triumph should mark his progress. And he that sat on him was called Faithful In performing all his promises; and True In executing all his threatenings; and in righteousness With the utmost justice and equity; he doth judge and make war Often the sentence and execution go together. His eyes were as a flame of fire Gloriously bright and piercing. He is described in such characters as are appropriated to him in this book, and in the ancient prophets; and on his head were many crowns In token of his numerous conquests, and the many countries now become the kingdoms of our God and of his Christ. And he had a name written upon them that no man knew but himself
The praise of his mediatorial undertaking being ineffable and incomprehensible, and his person mysterious and wonderful, Jdg 13:18; Isa 9:6. Hence we read, Mat 11:27, No man knoweth the Son but the Father. And he was clothed with a vesture of pure white, emblematical of his holiness; and dipped in blood In token of his sufferings; or rather, as some think, of the blood of the enemies already conquered. See Isa 63:1, &c. And his name is called, The Word of God Because he spoke every thing into being, and revealeth his Father and his Fathers will to mankind. In other words, he has this name because he is that glorious and Divine Person, said, Joh 1:1-2, to have been in the beginning with God, and to be himself God; and who was the great medium of divine revelation in all ages. And the armies which were in heaven The heavenly hosts; followed him As being most willingly and entirely under his command; upon white horses All the inhabitants of heaven being pure and holy. and all in a state of joy and triumph. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword Signifying that his word is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword; that with it he should smite the nations That he was now about to use it in a strict execution of justice on his enemies; and he shall rule them Who are not slain by his sword; with a rod of iron That is, if they will not submit to his golden sceptre; see on Psa 2:9; and he treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness , of the indignation; and wrath of Almighty God Signified, probably, by the blood which stained his garments. The metaphor signifies that he shall subdue the proudest of his enemies with as much ease as men crush grapes by treading them under their feet. And To the everlasting confusion of his enemies, and the perpetual joy of his friends and followers; he hath on his vesture and on his thigh Or on the part of the vesture which was upon his thigh; a name written Different from that mentioned above; KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS To show that he was really possessed of a just dominion over all the princes and kingdoms of the earth; a dominion which the eastern monarchs, and after them the Roman emperors, unjustly attempted to acquire and establish, and a title which, with great vanity, they assumed to themselves. It was usual of old, for great personages in the eastern countries to have magnificent titles inscribed on, or affixed to, their garments.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Rev 19:11-21. The Vision of the Triumphant Christ.This paragraph really forms an introduction to the closing section of the book, where at last, after many pauses and delays, we reach the real dnouement. The last act of the drama falls into five scenes, of which this is the first. In this scene Christ is portrayed as a warrior riding on a white horse to the final conflict with Anti-christ.
Rev 19:11. a white horse: the same imagery is used in Rev 6:2, but the white horse there does not represent Christ but the spirit of militarism.Faithful and True: cf. Rev 1:5, Rev 3:7; Rev 3:14
Rev 19:12. flame of fire: cf. Rev 1:14.name which no man knoweth: cf. Rev 2:17, Rev 3:12. This phrase seems to imply that the names usually bestowed upon Christ do not exhaust the significance of His person. Only the Son of God can understand the mystery of His own Being (Swete); cf. Mat 11:27, no one knoweth the Son, save the Father.
Rev 19:13. sprinkled with blood: The readings vary. Probably RV is right, but dipped in blood (AV) has very strong MSS support.The Word of God: this phrase is probably used here with the same meaning as in the Prologue to the Fourth Gospel. The Word or Logos is employed in a technical sense (Joh 1:1*).
Rev 19:15. sharp sword: cf. Rev 1:16.rod of iron: cf. Rev 2:27, Rev 12:5.winepress: cf. Rev 14:19.
Rev 19:16. garment . . . thigh: these phrases do not refer to two different inscriptions, but mean on the cloak and on that most exposed part of it which covers the thigh (Swete).King of Kings: the same title is bestowed on the Lamb in Rev 17:14.
Rev 19:17. Cf. Eze 39:17-20, where the birds of prey are summoned to feast on the bodies of the slain.
Rev 19:19. I saw the beast: the last reference to the beast (the Roman power personified in Nero) was in Rev 17:16 ff., where he was forming a confederation of ten kings for the destruction of Babylon.
Rev 19:20. the false prophet: cf. Rev 16:13. In Rev 13:11 f. he is described as the beast that cometh from the land.the signs: a reference to the miracles wrought by the false prophet (Rev 13:13)the mark of the beast: Rev 13:16*.the lake of fire: this phrase occurs in Rev 20:10; Rev 20:14 f., Rev 21:8. The expression is parallel to the Gehenna of fire of the Gospels (Mat 5:22, Mar 9:43). Though burning by fire is the usual doom for the wicked (cf. Dan 7:11, Mat 13:42), the phrase lake of fire is peculiar to Revelation.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
Verse 11
For similar images and expressions denoting Christ, see Revelation 3:14,6:2.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
19:11 {12} And I saw {13} 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.
(12) The second part of this chapter (as I said in) see Geneva “Rev 19:1” is of the victory gained by Christ against both the beasts: in which first Christ is described as one ready to fight, to the sixteenth verse Rev 19:12-16 , then the battle is shown to begin, there to the eighteenth verse Rev 19:17-18 , lastly is set forth the victory, to the end the chapter Rev 19:19-21 . In this place the most excellent properties of Christ as our heavenly judge and avenger shine forth, according to his person, company, effects and names.
(13) Properties belonging to his person, that he is heavenly, judge, faithful, true, just, in this verse, knowing all things, ruling over all, to be known by no one, Rev 19:12 , the triumpher and in essence, the Word of God, in Rev 19:13 .
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
2. The return of Christ to earth 19:11-16
On the one hand, the return of Jesus Christ to the earth is the climax of all that has gone before in Revelation. On the other, it is the first of seven final things that John saw and recorded. These things were Christ’s return, Satan’s capture, Satan’s binding, the Millennium, Satan’s final end, the last judgment, and the new heavens and earth, including the New Jerusalem. [Note: See David J. MacLeod, The Seven Last Things.] These events are in chronological sequence, as will become clear. The view that they are non-sequential rests on similarities between Ezekiel 38-39 and Revelation 19-22. [Note: E.g., M. Eugene Boring, Revelation, p. 195; and Wall, pp. 227-28.] But it fails to account for the differences. The chronological progression of events on earth resumes from Rev 16:21. Thomas viewed the second coming of Christ plus everything else through Rev 22:5 as part of the seventh bowl judgment. [Note: Thomas, Revelation 8-22, p. 381, 567-85.] Most other commentators have seen it as the first event after the seventh bowl judgment. I agree with the majority.
"The second coming of Christ is an absolutely essential theme in New Testament theology. In his cross and resurrection, Christ won a great victory over the powers of evil; by his second coming, he will execute that victory. Apart from his return to purge his creation of evil, redemption remains forever incomplete." [Note: Ladd, pp. 252-53.]
"Those who believe in the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ must also look for his return." [Note: Lilje, p. 244.]
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
John saw another scene in heaven (Gr. kai eidon, "And I saw"). He now saw heaven standing open (cf. Eze 1:1), not just a door open (Rev 4:1) or the heavenly temple open (Rev 11:19). A white horse symbolizes victory over one’s enemies (cf. 2Co 2:14). Here John saw Christ rather than Antichrist (Rev 6:2) riding a white horse (cf. Isa 62:11). John described Him as Faithful (trustworthy) and True (righteous, the real Messiah; cf. Rev 1:5; Rev 3:7; Rev 3:14; 3Ma 2:11). The Antichist was unfaithful in that he broke his covenant with Israel, and he was untrue in that he deceived people. Jesus Christ came out of heaven to judge the beast and to make war with him on earth (cf. Isa 11:3-5).