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Whenever John tells us that heaven was opened, then some new phase of revelation takes place. In chapter 4, the door in heaven stood open so that John was translated into the rarified atmosphere of God’s heavenly presence. There he saw “a throne…standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne.” His description that follows expresses the sheer glory of our God in all of His holiness and worthiness. His vision continued as he saw “a Lamb standing, as if slain” (5:6). Before his eyes, the exalted Christ with emblems of His redeeming, sacrificial love visible, and the glory of the resurrected and exalted Christ unquestionably worthy “to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing” (5:12). The Lamb opened the seals, showing the unfolding of human history under the sovereign rule of the Lamb. The first heavenly vision reinforces God’s sovereign rule.
Next, John saw “the temple of God which is in heaven…opened” (11:19). Here he learned about “the cosmic conflict” [Dennis Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, 270] affecting human history, as the “great red dragon having seven heads and seven horns” sought to destroy the “male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron” (12:3-5). Satan’s bent to destroy the Church is set forth in this vision; but so also is the sustaining power of God toward the Church so that the devil cannot overcome it (12:10-17). John teaches us that as long as we are in this world, the Church will face persecution and must overcome by the provisions of Christ in the gospel. We see that Christ’s kingdom has come through His death and resurrection, so that believers overcome the devil’s rage “because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony,” and they are not to “love their life even when faced with death” (12:10-11). This second vision reinforces the preservation of the Church through the provisions of Christ in the gospel.
The third opening of “the temple of the tabernacle of testimony in heaven” (15:5) shows the beginning of God’s wrath poured out upon all the wicked and unbelieving. The glory of God filled the temple, demonstrating that His wrath is both righteous and holy. God judges in righteousness. His wrath finds its mark on all “who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image” (16:2). The third vision reinforces the certainty of God’s wrath on the great harlot, the beast, the false prophet, and all marked by the beast’s name and worshiping his image (chaps. 16-18).
Now we come to the fourth vision of heaven opening (19:11). Here we see Christ, not as the gentle Lamb but as the Conquering Warrior and King. All of those rejecting Christ as “the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), will know Him as the terrifying Warrior that conquers every vestige of evil in the world. This fourth vision reinforces the certainty of Christ’s second coming and the finality of judgment on the unbelieving world. John has already introduced the second coming of Christ (11:15-16; 14:1-5; cf. Johnson, 270), yet in the typical fashion of apocalyptic writing, he introduces an idea only to return to it later with more detail, filling in the gaps in our understanding and amplifying the majestic picture before us. Christ will return as the Conquering Warrior King. Are you ready to welcome Him or will you tremble in anguish before Him? That’s the piercing question of our text.
Those of us that were introduced to the idea of Christ’s return by cheesy movies and glamorized novels must unlearn some things! Jesus promised His return at the appointed time as an encouragement to His disciples (Matt. 24:29-31; John 14:3). Believers found comfort and motivation to faithfulness due to the promise of Christ’s return (1 Thes. 4:13-18; Titus 2:13-14; 1 John 3:1-3). Just as that was true for 1st century Christians, it is the same for us. As we consider the rebellious nature of the world that is so bent on the lusty pursuit of all manner of sin and unbelief, then it is a great consolation to know that one day Christ will return, judging the world and eliminating every trace of sin. When He returns, there will be no more unbelief! All unbelievers will face His wrath; though too late for eternal life, they will confess that He is Lord (Phil. 2:9-11). No more skeptics or atheists will denigrate our Lord or the gospel. The anxiety that we feel over our own weaknesses with regard to sin will be over. The grief that ladens us due to the wickedness in the world will be forever removed. “The Son of God appeared for this purpose,” John tells us, “to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). The finality of that work transpires at the Second Coming as the full measure of Christ’s conquering death at the cross will be applied. That’s the picture that John gives us in our text. So let’s consider it by focusing, primarily, as John does, on the second coming of Christ.
In both the Old and New Testaments, the idea of “name” conveys more than a mere moniker by which one is called. It distinguishes a person from others and expresses his character and person. That’s why we see names changed, such as with Abraham, Jacob, and Peter, in order to reflect the change in their character. What they were inwardly was conveyed to some degree in their names.
So it is significant that John uses four different titles or names to describe Jesus Christ in this passage. The dominating name for Christ thus far in Revelation is “Lamb.” The Lamb is worshiped by the elders and living creatures in heaven, along with the vast heavenly host (chap. 5). The rebels of the world fear “the wrath of the Lamb” (6:16). Those saved out of the tribulation of the world are said to have “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (7:14). The Lamb is pictured as “in the center of the throne” guiding suffering believers to complete comfort forever (7:17). The Lamb breaks the seals (chaps. 6 & 8), and so unfolds human history by His sovereign rule. Believers overcome the devil’s onslaught “because of the blood of the Lamb” (12:11). The Lamb stands triumphantly on Mount Zion with His army (14:1). The beast’s army wages war against the Lamb, and the Lamb overcomes them (17:14). Eternal blessings are pronounced upon all of those invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb (19:9). We will see later that the Lamb is both the temple of heaven and its lamp to illumine it for eternity (21:22-23). Finally, the Lamb’s throne is in heaven from which flow the “river of the water of life” (22:1). In the words of Samuel Rutherford, “The Lamb is all the glory of Immanuel’s land” (“The Sands of Time Are Sinking”).
No one title or name is adequate to express the majesty of Jesus Christ the Lord. So, John begins by saying the Lamb “is called Faithful and True.” Christ identified Himself to the Laodicean church as “the faithful and true Witness” (3:14). Faithfulness and truth are two sides of the same coin of divine integrity and dependability. This speaks of His impeccable dependability. Jesus Christ is worthy of our trust and confidence because He always fulfills His Word. What He promises He does; whether for blessing or curse. Those who come to Him in faith can be sure of the provision of eternal life. Those whom Christ saves can be certain that He keeps forever (cf. John 6:37, 40, 44-45, 47, 57-58; 10:14-14, 27-30). Hear this clearly! Some of you struggle over trusting Christ because you think that His promise is good for everyone else but not for you. You think that He cannot save you to the uttermost because of your own weakness. My friend, Christ is not dependent upon your strength to accomplish anything! By His own sacrificial death, He has secured your salvation at the cross. The blood that He shed to satisfy God’s judgment toward you propitiated God, i.e. God found it fully satisfying so that nothing else need be added to reconcile you to God or to count you righteous before Him. He is Faithful and True.
Yet, not all know the Lamb of God or understand Him nor have any comprehended Him fully. “He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself.” Here we grapple with the transcendence and incomprehensibility of our Lord. There are things about God that we do know. Each aspect of our knowledge, as long as it accords with Scripture, is something that God has revealed to us. Yet we have not plumbed the depths or soared to the heights of the knowledge of Jesus Christ in His essence or being. What John implies is that in this life and the next, we cannot exhaust the knowledge of Christ [cf. John Frame, The Doctrine of God, 200-207]. The early sixth century writer, Andrew of Caesarea stated, “That his name is unknown signifies the incomprehensibility of his essence. By virtue of his works he is known by many names, such as Good, Shepherd, Sun, Light, Life, Righteous, Holiness, Redemption.” Further he wrote, “Similarly, he is called by terms of negation, such as Incorruptible, Invisible, Immortal, Unchangeable. However, according to his essence he is without name and is unapproachable, being known by himself alone with the Father and the Spirit” [from his “Commentary on the Apocalypse,” William C. Weinrich, ed., Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: Revelation, XII, 310]. Paul expressed it best after he wrestled with God’s sovereignty in salvation. “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!” (Rom. 11:33)
Then, returning to the memorable revelation of Christ in John’s Prologue (John 1:1-18), he tells us, “His name is called The Word of God.” The article is emphatic; stressing that Christ is the full and final revelation of God. “This is the point,” writes Richard Bauckham, “at which the perspective of heaven prevails on earth, finally dispelling all the lies of the beast” [The Theology of the Book of Revelation, 105]. John distinguished Christ in his Gospel as “the Word.” The Greek world thought of the Word or the Logos as an emanation from the cosmic God and an instrument in creation. The Jews thought of the Word as a personification of the wisdom of God. John tells us, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” He is no emanation from God but God Himself. Everything that has come into being came by His creative power. He is not the utterance of God but God the Creator in whom is life. This “Word became flesh and dwelt among us,” so that in Him “we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Here is the uniqueness of Jesus Christ as both fully God and fully man; with no beginning as God and yet born in time as man. John’s emphasis in his Gospel was upon the Word as life, for all receiving Him (1:4, 12-13). The Word became flesh for the purpose of redemption. But the emphasis in Revelation is upon the Word as Judge. He has revealed God and became the only Way to God. Yet men have rejected Him, and at His second coming will face Him as Judge.
The crescendo of this description of Christ comes in verse 16. “And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “King of kings and Lord of lords.” John has already told that when the beast and his army wage war against the Lamb they will discover that “He is Lord of lords and King of kings” (17:14). For that reason, He conquers every power opposing Him. The collective might of all the lords of earth seeks to stand against Jesus Christ. They presently oppose Him: shutting down churches, throwing believers into prison, kidnapping and killing Christians, deriding the Bible and its gospel message, infiltrating churches with a watered-down gospel, persecuting the saints. But that opposition will fizzle before the presence of Him who is King of kings and Lord of lords! He is the One before whom every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father! (Phil. 2:10-11).
Does your heart resonate in agreement with the names of Christ? Do these names encourage you and cause you to rejoice? That reality belongs only to those who confess Him as Lord. At His return, the revelation of Jesus Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords will be unquestioned.
John uses metaphorical language, once again, to describe Jesus Christ. Each metaphor gives us pause to contemplate Him. “His eyes are a flame of fire,” helps us to grasp the piercing gaze of Jesus Christ who knows every detail about us. His omniscience is expressed in that picture, just as it was in John’s opening description of Christ (1:14). When our Lord wrote to the church at Thyatira that tolerated immorality and idolatry, He introduced Himself as “The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire” (2:18). He sees everything; no idolatry or unbelief or rebellion can hide under a rock and escape His judgment. There is a strange irony in the visible church of our day. Multitudes think that their mere profession of Christianity and church membership will suffice before God, and yet, their lives show no evidence of regenerate life. They think that Christ will not notice that they do not follow His commands or love Him with all of their heart or seek to serve Him in faithfulness. But no detail will escape Him. None who are true believers, though extremely weak in their faith, will meet His wrath. His eyes pierce through the weakness to see the heart. And none who masquerade as Christians can evade the burning vision of Christ that consumes every excuse and cover for the darkness of the heart.
“And on His head are many diadems,” stands in sharp contrast to the ruse of sovereignty displayed by both the dragon and the beast. The dragon had seven heads with seven diadems (12:3), while the beast had ten horns and seven heads with ten diadems on his horns (13:1). Both gave a pretentious claim to sovereignty. Both pretended, and maybe even believed, that they ruled the world by their might. That’s why the picture that John gives is so important for us, especially in light of the seeming rule of wickedness in our world. On Christ’s head are many diadems—the ruling crowns. John is not giving a literalism but rather declaring metaphorically that no power or rule or authority is over Jesus Christ the King of kings. The universal dominion of Christ gives us cause for confidence in His governance and assurance of His ultimate victory of evil.
Not only does He have many diadems on His royal head, but “He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood.” There’s much discussion by scholars on the meaning of this phrase. Following the antecedent in Isaiah 63:1-6 and the Warrior King, there’s certainly, an indication of the blood of judgment, as His garments are red from treading alone the winepress of God’s wrath. Yet the emphasis throughout Revelation is upon the effective victory of Jesus Christ in His bloody death at the cross. Bauckham states, “The continuing and ultimate victory of God over evil which the rest of Revelation [i.e., beyond chapter 5] describes is no more than the working-out of the decisive victory of the Lamb on the cross” [Theology of Revelation, 75]. Leon Morris adds, “In this book [John] repeatedly makes the point that it is in His capacity as ‘a Lamb as it had been slain’ that Christ conquers. He overcame, not by shedding the blood of others, but by shedding His own” [TNTC: Revelation, 230]. Here is the culmination of Christ’s declaration, “It is finished,” when He conquered forever sin, death, and Satan (John 19:30). I believe that what John drives home is that the full application of Christ’s death on the cross is now pursued with victorious finality in judgment. Yes, the blood of His enemies stains His garments as He treads the winepress of God’s wrath. But the foundation of this victory is not simply the sheer demonstration of sovereign power but the demonstration of eternal justice at the cross for all of the redeemed. Jesus Christ came “to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). “When he had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through the cross” (Col. 2:15, following NASB marginal reading).
I believe that this is further evidenced by the sword that comes from His mouth. “From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations.” The sword cuts both ways. As Caesarius of Arles wrote in the early sixth century, “The two-edged sharp sword is the power of Christ by which the righteous are defended and the unrighteous are punished” [from his “Exposition of on the Apocalypse 19.15,” in ed. Weinrich, ACCS: Revelation, XII, 313]. John had earlier described Christ: “out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword” (1:16). Christ revealed Himself to the church at Pergamum, as “The One who has the sharp two-edged sword” (2:12). In Isaiah 49:2, the Messiah confesses, “He has made My mouth like a sharp sword.” We know that Hebrews 4:12 tells us, “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Paul calls the word of God, “the sword of the Spirit” (Eph. 6:17). So what is this sword coming out of Christ’s mouth? At minimum, it is the Word of God, but specifically, it is the sharp, cutting word of the gospel. Christ conquers the beast and false prophet and their followers “with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse” (v. 21). Here is the full application of the gospel! On one hand, this sword defends us for eternity from judgment because Christ has atoned for our sins. On the other, it judges all of those rejecting Jesus Christ. Our Lord told the religious leaders of Israel, “He who rejects Me and does not receive My saying, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day” (John 12:48). It is the gospel that ultimately conquers.
The gospel is either good news to you or the certain news of judgment by rejecting the Lamb of God slain at the cross.
As John describes the second coming of Christ, he uses vivid words and phrases to help us picture the judgment at His coming. Christ is not One fearful of His enemies or intimidated by them. “And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True.” Christ is reposed in strength and confidence sitting on this white horse, representing His conquering might and victory. “And in righteousness He judges and wages war.” Here is no “unjust war” at the end of time. Divine justice is served upon the wickedness of humanity. “Righteousness” is used in its full legal sense to express the proper justice of eternal punishment. We need not think that Christ is unfair or too severe. Righteousness characterizes His judgments. “And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.” The armies of the redeemed, and perhaps angels, though the emphasis on “white and clean” indicates the effects of Christ’s cleansing blood (7:14; 14:1-5; 19:7-8); they follow in His entourage of triumph. “The armies play no part except as backdrop to the Word. They are a fitting retinue, but He does not depend on them” [Morris, 231].
The sword coming from His mouth is “so that He may strike down the nations.” The gospel fully applied on Christ’s adversaries conquers them. “He will rule them with a rod of iron,” literally, “He will shepherd them with a staff of iron.” Believers find the staff comforting; unbelievers find it terrifying. His sovereign, universal, and eternal rule is reinforced by this image. “He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty,” brings back the scene from an earlier introduction to this picture of judgment (14:19-20). Morris writes, “The figure of treading out the winepress of God’s wrath…points to the complete overthrow of those who resist God” [231].
Here is Christ at His second coming. Unless we know Him through His first coming as the Word made flesh and crucified for us, then we will not welcome His return.
John gives another phase of the final judgment. He’s already told of the overthrow of the great harlot, Babylon the Great. Now, the beast and false prophet, along with all marked by the beast and worshiping his image, face judgment. The judgment of Satan is yet to follow.
So certain this judgment, that we find the angel inviting the vultures to feast on the carnage. “Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, “Come, assemble for the great supper of God”.” The contrast in the marriage feast of the Lamb (19:9) with “the great supper of God” could not be more startling. One celebrates the triumph of the Lamb at the cross; the other displays the judgment of all rejecting the crucified Christ. This is a restatement of the Battle of Har-Magedon unveiled in chapter 16. The staggering scene shows universal judgment in righteousness. “Come…so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great.” John’s detailing of the breadth of humanity is for the purpose of showing that judgment misses none except those upon whom judgment has fallen for them on Christ.
The vanity of the beast and kings of the earth and their armies is shown by being “assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.” But in a moment, “the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.” Rather than two personalities in these enemies of Christ, these, “like the harlot Babylon, symbolize not particular human individuals…but rather institutional structures by which human civilizations and cultures oppose God, his truth, and his church,” explains Dennis Johnson. “If the beast and the false prophet portrayed mere human beings, there would be no reason for Christ to spare them the first death (physical death) before casting them into the second death, the lake of fire (20:14). Their followers will experience both” [278].
Christ came in humility, died in victory over sin and Satan, and will return in absolute triumph. Only those that know Him and the forgiveness of sins will find His coming a joyous occasion. All others, without exception, will find, not a welcoming Savior but a fierce Judge. Will you welcome the returning King of kings and Lord of lords?
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