God’s final Word – Chapter 19, verses 11 through 21

God’s final Word – The glorious return of Jesus Christ

The following comes through the notes of Mark Ramsey.

1. Is the Second Coming of Christ necessary?

   JFK – January 1961 – discussion with Billy Graham. Do you believe in a bodily return of Jesus Christ to earth? Do you believe the second coming of Christ is necessary? Do we hear much about the return of Christ in our discussions or from the pulpits today?

   The fact is certain: Jesus Christ is returning to the earth one day. The second coming of Christ is the culmination of redemptive history.

   Four reasons the second coming of Christ is important and necessary:

   1. It fulfills the promises in the Bible. There are 1,800 references to the second coming in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, there are over 300 references.
   2. It is necessary to judge the unbelievers of their sin. If Christ doesn’t return, wickedness and sin will only increase and intensify.
   3. It is necessary to depose Satan from his earthly dominion.
   4. Christ must come again to establish His kingdom on earth.

   Revelation 19:1-10 sets the stage for the return of Jesus Christ. Before the wedding feast can occur, Jesus and His bride must come back to the earth to begin His millennium kingdom. Before they get to the earth, all the enemies of the groom and the bride have to be extinguished. This is what we see happening in the second half of Revelation 19.

   After 3 ¹/₂ years, the Antichrist began to persecute Israel and the believers on the earth. During that time, God’s judgments against the earth intensified and those over whom the Antichrist was reigning got tired of everything which was happening and the kings gathered to overthrow the Antichrist in the valley of Armageddon.

   The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. Then I saw three impure spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. They are demonic spirits that perform signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty. “Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed.” Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. (Revelation 16:12‭-‬16 NIV)

   The world’s forces are fighting to overthrow the Antichrist when they look up in the sky and see the Conqueror, Jesus Christ. Suddenly, the divided human army unites to fight against Christ. This is where we read about the coming King.

2. The return of the Conqueror — Revelation 19:11-13
   

   I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. (Revelation 19:11‭-‬13 NIV)

   The last time we saw heaven opened was in Revelation 4:1 when it opened to let John in; this time it opens to let Jesus out, so to speak, because the time has now come in which all of Revelation has been pointing and the time of which Jesus spoke:

   For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. “Immediately after the distress of those days “ ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. (Matthew 24:27‭-‬31 NIV)

   Jesus is no longer portrayed as He was in humiliation. (Zechariah 9:9 – humble and mounted on a donkey) Now, He rides the traditional white horse ridden by victorious Roman generals. White also symbolizes the absolutely holy character of the Rider.

   “Faithful and True.”

   “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. (Revelation 3:14 NIV)

   He is faithful to His promises and He always speaks the truth.

   “In righteousness He judges” – Jesus came the first time as Savior; He will return as Judge. When He came the first time, He was judged by wicked people; when He returns, he will judge the wicked people. “…wages war” – No longer the Suffering Servant but now the warrior King.

   “His eyes are like blazing fire” – nothing escapes the notice of His penetrating vision.

   “…(M)any crowns” – symbolic of His royal rank and regal authority. An exchange for the crown of thorns.

   “The name no one knows except Himself” – Interestingly, Jesus extended a promise to believers that he will give them a new name “which no one knows except the one who receives it.” Revelation 2:17 (I believe this represents a deep, personal and inseparable relationship believers enjoy with Christ – a relationship as unbreakable as Christ’s relationship with the Father)

   “(A) robe dipped in blood” – a picture of judgment; the blood of His enemies.

   “I have trodden the winepress alone; from the nations no one was with me. I trampled them in my anger and trod them down in my wrath; their blood spattered my garments, and I stained all my clothing. It was for me the day of vengeance; the year for me to redeem had come. (Isaiah 63:3‭-‬4 NIV)

   “His name is called the Word of God” – the Rider is unmistakably the Lord Jesus Christ.

   In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1 NIV)

   The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:‬14 NIV)

   He is the full expression and revelation of God.

3. The army of the Conqueror — Revelation 19:14
   

   The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. (Revelation 19:14 NIV)

   Four divisions make up the glorified troops – the raptured church, the Tribulation saints, the Old Testament saints, who are resurrected at the end of the Tribulation and the holy angels.

   “At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. (Daniel 12:1‭-‬2 NIV)

   The heavenly army is unarmed. Why? (Jesus alone will destroy His enemies. The saints did not come to fight but to reign with Jesus.)

   I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. (Revelation 20:4‭-‬6 NIV)

   Or do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? (1 Corinthians 6:2 NIV)

4. The rule of the Conqueror — Revelation 19:15-16
   

   Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: king of kings and Lord of Lords. (Revelation 19:15‭-‬16 NIV)

   Here, we see the sword of judgment, showing the deadly power of Christ’s words. Once He spoke words of comfort, now He speaks words of death. The dead will include all those gathered for battle at Armageddon. The rest of the world’s unredeemed people will be judged and executed at the sheep and goat judgment that follows Christ’s return.

   “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” (Matthew 25:31‭-‬46 NIV)

   During His 1,000 year reign, He will rule the nations with a rod of iron and swiftly judge all sin and instantly put down any rebellion. Returning to the judgment at the outset of Christ’s rule, John writes that He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God symbolizing God’s wrath. The unbelievers spurned God’s grace and now they receive His wrath.

   The name written on the banner around His robe and on His thigh expresses His sovereign triumph over all foes and His absolute rule in the coming Kingdom – KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

5. The victory of the Conqueror — Revelation 19:17-21
   

   And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and the mighty, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, great and small.” Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army. But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. The rest were killed with the sword coming out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh. (Revelation 19:17‭-‬21 NIV)

   Revelation 19 describes two feasts. The first feast is the marriage supper of the Lamb, which is a time of rejoicing. The second feast is the “great supper of God,” which is a time of devastating judgment. Vultures and other birds of prey will eat the flesh of the 10 kings and the commanders as well as all the soldiers.

   This is the first mention of the lake of fire in Revelation. It is the place of eternal torment for those who die apart from Christ. Right now, unbelievers go to a place of suffering, called hades. This is a temporary abode of the dead unbelievers, where they are held until their resurrection.

   “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’ “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’ “ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ ” (Luke 16:19‭-‬31 NIV)

   As of now, no one is in the lake of fire. The first two occupants will be the Antichrist and the false prophet. Unbelievers who died will receive their resurrected bodies and be judged at the great white throne judgment and along with Satan, will be thrown into the lake of fire for eternity.

6. What about the here and now?
   

   To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.” The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” (John 2:16‭-‬19 NIV)

   Jesus came the first time to be our Savior – to pardon us from our sins if we accept His forgiveness. But, if we leave this world without receiving that pardon from our sins, then we will face Jesus one day as our Judge. The second coming of Jesus Christ will be the worst day of your life if you have to face Him as your Judge. But, the second coming of Jesus will be the best day of your life if you receive His forgiveness now and look forward to the wonderful future that He has planned for you.