What a party it is going to be in heaven! We all are invited. Many of us accepted His gracious invitation to be His bride. But some of you still turn down His ever-kind and ever-merciful invitation. If you continuously refuse to accept His invitation, someday you will no longer be able to hear His loving invitation.
Then, you will become the food of this feast we are about to study. This nineteenth chapter of Revelation is the grand climax of the book.
A. NO ANGEL WORSHIP
Revelation 19:10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”Apostle John was so overwhelmed by all of this that he fell down to worship the angel who was guiding him, an act that he later repeats in Rev. 22:8-9. Of course, worshiping angels is wrong and John knew this.
Colossians 2:18 Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,As many of you know, angel worship is very popular in America. Guess who are leading the band wagon of angel worshipping? New Age people from la-la land and the pathetic Hollywood people. “Touch by angels”, “Highway to heaven”, “City of angels”, “Angels in the outfield” to name a few. They would come up with anything to replace the one true God. That is exactly what satan wants. In addition to that, he would do anything to receive worship from people. Angel worshipping is idolatry. 2Co 11:14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.
B. CHRIST ON A WHITE HORSE
Revelation 19:11 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.It is only in the Book of Revelation that we see the door of heaven open. In chapter 4, verse 1, the door is opened for the entrance of the raptured church with Jesus Christ. Here in chapter 19, the door is opened for the exit of the church seven years later when the body of Jesus, the church returns to earth with Jesus at His Second Coming.
According to Zechariah 14:3-4, when Jesus returns He will come first the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.
Zechariah 14:3-4 Then the Lord will go forth And fight against those nations, As He fights in the day of battle. And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north And half of it toward the south.In v11, Jesus comes as the Ultimate Judge and the Supreme General, to make war. The world that rejected Him before rejects Him again, but this time Jesus judges those who reject Him.
All of these passages point to the sad conclusion that in the day of judgment it is too late for men to expect the mercy of God.
Revelation 19:11-12 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself.There is no hypocrisy, no formalism, and no deceit, that He does not scan as easily as a man reads a page in a book. His eyes are like a flame of fire to read us through and through, and know us to our inner most soul.
1 Cor 3:12-15 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.Based on these verses I used to think that all of my work done on earth would be judged and through the fire of God. Anything I’ve done with wrong motives and for my own glory will be gone up in smoke. But from the verse of Rev 19:12, I realize that it is the eyes of God that sees every hidden motives of my work would be revealed to him.
The last time this earth saw Jesus He wore a ‘crown of thorns’, but not in Revelation 19. Now, He wears ‘many crowns’. The ancient Greek word used for crowns here is the ‘diadema’, the crown of royalty and authority, not the ‘stephanos’, the crown of achievement.
The fact that there are many crowns means that Jesus is the ultimate in royal authority and power. It is a visible manifestation of what we mean when we say King of Kings. It is an expression of unlimited sovereignty.
I asked you to underline “He had a name written that no one knew except Himself”. What does it mean? God’s name speaks of His nature and attributes. No one can completely figure out about God. He is infinite, but we are finite. We will spend eternity exploring portions of His nature, astounded by His beauty, awed by His holiness, and amazed at His love that we only see a tiny glimpse.
C. TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS
Revelation 19:13-16 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.Jesus’ robe is dipped in blood. Bible student’s debate whether this is His own blood from His crucifixion or the blood of His enemies. Either is quite possible.
“The Word of God” is one of the familiar names of our Lord in Scripture according to John 1:1-14. Just as we reveal our minds and hearts to others by our words, so the Father reveals Himself to us through His Son, the incarnate Word.
There are some Christian denominations which neglect the study of the Word of God and they’d rather use man-written imperfect books as their texts. That is plain wrong.
The Word of God is “living and powerful”. What’s more, it fulfills His purposes on earth. Just as the Word, Jesus was God the Father’s Agent in Creation, so the Word is His Agent for judgment and consummation.
Right behind our conquering King Jesus, there are the armies of heaven following. That would be all the believers in Christ Jesus who went to heaven. That’s us, folks. We all are going to ride on white horses. However, we are not following Him so that we can join in His battle. He is going to take care of them by Himself. We are going to watch.
I’ve seen an artist’s painting of the scene of v15 with a sword literally coming out from the mouth of the Lord. I don’t believe such is the proper view. I believe the “sharp sword” that comes forth from His mouth is simply the Word He speaks – sharper than any two-edged sword according to Hebrews 4:12.
When Jesus created heaven and earth in the beginning, He did it with His words. Now He is finishing off the evil doers with His words.
D. THE DINNER IS SERVED
Revelation 19:17-18 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, 18 that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.”When we stand in front of the sun, the person who looks at us would see our silhouette. But this shows how bright this angels shines with the glory of God. The angel can be seen, even though it stands before the sun.
This is a preparation for the great slaughter of Armageddon.
There are four different suppers described in the Bible. • The supper of salvation, alluded to in Jesus’ parable - Luke 14:16-24 • The Lord’s supper, a commemoration of Jesus’ sacrifice - Matt 26:26 • The marriage supper of the Lamb - Rev 19:1-9 • The supper of the great God - Rev 19:17-21 If you reject the first supper, the second supper will mean nothing to you. Then you will not be present at the third supper in heaven, but will be present at the fourth supper on earth. Everybody gets to attend at least one of these suppers, but some will eat and others are eaten at the fourth suppers.
E. EGGS vs. JACKHAMMER
Revelation 19:19 And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.The armies of the world gather in the plain of Jezreel, the valley in northern Israel called the Valley of Megiddo – the place we know as Armageddon. Two hundred million men have come from the East. Antichrist is storming into Jerusalem to secure his power base. According to Daniel 11, the South, which would include the Pan African nations and the Arab states banded together, also head toward Israel, to which the Northern armies come from Europe. They all converge to fight against Jesus who is coming down from Heaven.
Some of you may have heard that all these military powers are getting together to fight against one another. But from what we just have read, I don’t find the basis of that theory.
What they are doing here – an attempt to fight against God is like a fight between eggs and a Jackhammer.
F. SINCE THEY ASKED FOR IT
Revelation 19:20-21 Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21 And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.Please note that Apostle John says nothing about a battle. This is an entirely one-sided game, more of a simple act of judgment than an actual war. The battle of Armageddon is the laughter of God against the climax of man’s arrogance.
The beast and the false prophet receive special treatment. They are cast alive into the lake of fire without the Great White Throne of judgment.
In due season, our Lord will, indeed, come again, and there will be no more battle whatsoever. In the meantime, He prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives, and we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
G. APPLICATIONS 1) We always have a choice to do what is right in the sight of God or do what our carnal desires want. If we choose our carnal desires now because we want it so bad, it will turn out to be really bad for us in the presence of God later.
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