The Climax of History-Revelation 19:11-21

Typically once a couple is married they take time off for a honeymoon and, for a brief season, they are able to enjoy their new lives together uninhibited by the regular cares of the world. In the case of the bride and groom in the Book of Revelation, one small task stands in the way of so smooth a progression—defeating the fallen world and all its wickedness. Thankfully, what might appear to be a tall order for any one of us is no problem at all for Christ. As we turn to Revelation 19:11-21, immediately after the wedding feast, we are whisked away to the battlefield. I use the term battlefield loosely for the conflict that is about to commence in this text is hardly a fair fight at all. In fact, the spectacle lacks the sort of tension one might expect to find in a gripping war epic. Let’s not put it off any further and dig right in to see three scenes that successfully portray the Second Coming of Christ and his victory over the world as we know it in Revelation 19:11-21.

a. SCENE #1: Jesus rides on Horseback from Heaven-19:11-16

Once the marriage feast the verses 7-10 is complete, it is time for the groom (Christ) and his bride (the Church) to make their way to their new lives together. In this particular case, this means returning to the earth. However, on the earth is a very bleak reality. By this late point in the tribulation, the Antichrist/beast (see Rev. 13:1ff) has consolidated all power under his evil rule (see Rev. 17:8-13) and together with the kings of the earth is persecuting any and all who defy him by refusing to worship his image (see Rev. 18:24). The false prophet (see Rev. 13:11ff) is cheering him on and the dragon (see Rev. 12:3ff) is empowering him every step of the way (see also Rev. 16:13-16). Doesn’t sound like the kind of place to enjoy much of a honeymoon for this couple! However, this is no problem for Christ, and as this passage reveals, victory over these characters will come swiftly.

This passage is introduced with “after these things” (Μετὰ ταῦτα) and breaks up the rising action culminating in the climax and the falling action that leads to the resolution and conclusion of the entire book. What follows Revelation 19:11-21 will include the bliss and long-awaited peace that many in the believing community are anticipating now and will on day experience. However, this peace must be brought about by means of a final and ultimate victory. This victory is introduced with “And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on is called Faithful and True,…”(19:11a). It is here where the divide between the spiritual and physical realm is forsaken and Christ breaks through in a most climactic and cosmic way.

Equal to this dramatic entrance is his other-worldly description. The opening line of the passage portrays Christ as seated “on a white horse” (suggesting purity), and calls Him “Faithful and True.” In the first coming, Jesus’ ministry culminated in the Passion which was set in motion after he entered Jerusalem on a young donkey—a beast of burden (humble and submissive). Here, in the description of His Second Coming, Jesus’ conclusive ministry is predicted to culminate in a procession in which Jesus is seated on a pure white war horse (brilliant, victorious, and regal). Other horses were used in the Book of Revelation to describe coming plagues (white, red, black, pale green); however, this horse is superior because of its rider—“Faithful and True.” This is none other than Jesus Christ who returns to bring about a new reality upon the earth.  

“Faithful and True” riding on this white war horse is next said to, “in righteousness,…judge and wage war,…” (19:11b). Though in today’s world wars are fought for a whole host of unjust and immoral reasons, there is coming a war, perhaps the shortest war of all, in which one will fight against legions and in the struggle judge the wicked and battle against the corrupt. It will be a war that will, once and for all, end all wars. This is the war Jesus will fight and win and this statement is as faithful and true as the name He is given in this context!

“Faithful and true” is described next with the following, “His 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,…” (19:12). Equipped with the piercing perception afforded Him by his omniscience (the flaming eyes) and marked with the emblems of absolute authority and power (the many diadems), Jesus is no longer shown to be an ordinary man from Nazareth in Galilee, but an all-knowing warrior King.

As the description continues, we are introduced to a mysterious name that is not revealed along with the following added detail: “He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood and His name is called the Word of God” (19:13). The graphic details of Jesus’ “robe dipped in blood” indicates that Christ is not above getting His hands dirty in bringing about the final victory envisioned in this passage (v. 13). While in his first coming, Christ’s own blood was spilled, in his Second Coming, it will be the enemy’s blood that is spilled, thereby staining Jesus’ heavenly robe. Though in Jesus’ first coming the “angry fury of God” was directed toward him on the cross, in the Second Coming this same wrath will be directed against an unbelieving world that has not accepted the cross.  

This blood-stained warrior on the horse is called in verse 13 “the Word of God.” Sound familiar? It should, for in John 1, the same author of this vision described Jesus thusly, “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. . .and the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:1-3, 14). In John, the Word of God is said to have spoken the world into existence and proved the character of God through His presence. Here, the “Word of God” is the commander of armies, bringing about total victory so that a new world may exist. This particular name of Jesus brings continuity to His office as creator, redeemer, and vindicator. He is present at the beginning, middle, and end of history and plays the most crucial role in it all. Jesus is the Word which spoke the heavens into existence, redeemed the world after it fell, and the same Word that will usher in a new world to replace the present one as predicted here in this little preview.

Jesus was, is, and will be not just any Word, but the Word “of God.” The phrase, “of God” is especially loaded with theological importance as its grammatical function does not describe what kind of word Jesus is, but renames Jesus altogether. Properly translated, this phrase reads, “His name is called the Word who is God.” That is a powerful Word!

As such, Jesus leads the armies of heaven which are described as “clothed in fine linen, white and clean,…following Him on white horses,…”(19:14). Though this description of the heavenly ranks tells us something of the holiness and purity of the forces represented, what is perhaps most significant about this description is what is not present. This heavenly army, unlike any well-prepared legion, has no swords or spears. This could only mean that this army, though present, takes no part in the coming action of military/spiritual victory. “They are noncombatant supporters of the Messiah as He wages the war single-handedly” (Thomas, Revelation 8-22, 387).

An answer to the question “where will we be when this all occurs?” is found here. In the preview of this battle in 17:14, the Lamb was accompanied by his faithful followers. Also, the uniform of these riders behind Christ is the same apparel worn by the saints at the marriage supper of the Lamb in 19:8. The army, is the bride of Christ—the people of God (Wilson, ZIBBC, 356). Where will we be when all of this transpires? We will be following our Savior on horseback among these ranks in victory. As we have followed him in this life and in the next, so too will we follow him here at the climax of the eschaton in his Second Coming. “…Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ,…” (2 Cor. 2:14).

The victory that Jesus will receive is described in three ways. First, the text reads, “from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations” (19:15a). The same Word of God that spoke the heavens and earth into existence will bring an end to this world of corruption and pave the way for a new world in its place. This, he will do by striking down the nations that are bent against them with a word.

This single passage celebrates so much about Christ. Just Jesus was the agent of the creation (see John 1:1-3) so too will he be the agent of the recreation in the end. Just as the Word of God was stained with blood in His first coming to bring salvation on the cross, so too will His robe be stained with blood when He brings about total victory in the end. Just as Jesus provided righteousness to the lost who could do nothing for themselves, so too will He usher in heaven for the righteous who will do nothing to earn it and are yet present to receive it. The same Savior who saved believers totally in the past and sustains believers in the present, will ultimately usher believers into glory. In all, Christ satisfies the ongoing theme of the God’s agent that has existed from the beginning.

The second way Jesus’ victory is described is “and He will rule them with a rod of iron” (19:15b). This image builds off Psalm 2:9 in which an iron scepter is conceived as a shepherd’s club that kills the enemies of the sheep. In this context, the “shepherding” does not pertain to the care of the sheep so much as the destruction of predatory foes (Antichrist, kings of the earth, etc.) (Osborne, Revelation, 685).

The third description of his victory is found in the last part of verse 15 which reads “and He treads the winepress of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty” (19:15c). Why settle for two ways of highlighting the victory (by sword and iron scepter) when you can throw a third one in there! This last image of the wine press of the fierce wrath of God combines 14:19-20 and 16:19 where the nations are thrown into the great wine press of God and where God gave Babylon the Great the cup filed with wine of his furious wrath (Osborne, Revelation, 686). In Isa. 63 God trod the winepress so that blood stained his garments (62:2-3). In this image and in Revelation, the shedding of blood will serve as just payment for the world’s program of murdering the saints.

The two names already given of Christ in this passage (“Faithful and True” in verse 11 and “Word of God” in verse 13) are joined by a the third name in verse 16, “and on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, ‘King of Kings, and Lord of Lords’.” This title’s unique placement on the part of the robe covering Jesus’ thigh, given that Jesus sits atop his horse, makes it noticeable to all who see him. The importance of this title is further reiterated by its placement at the very end of this section and accentuates his total sovereign rule over all the earth.

b. SCENE #2: An Angel Invites the Birds to Feed upon the Vanquished-19:17-18

The demonstrative victory of Christ spells total defeat for those who would come against him and before the defeat of Jesus’ enemies is even described, a morbid image foreshadows just how awful the loss will be for the wicked. “…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, 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,…” (Rev. 19:17-18).

Just as the false trinity gathered her forces for this battle in 16:14, 16, so too does this angel call forth the birds who will clean up what is left behind following the inevitable slaughter. In fact, there is a grim juxtaposition drawn here between the glorious wedding feast of verses 7-10 and the birds that will feast upon the bodies of the wicked here in verse 18 (see also Ezekiel 29:17-20).

c. SCENE #3: The Beast and his Forces Lose an Important Battle-19:19-21

What is foreshadowed by the calling of the birds comes to fruition in verses 19-21. In these final three verses of chapter 19, two different phases of the loss are recorded. The first phase involves the assembling of the armies—“And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army,…” (19:19). This is a reiteration of what was prophesied in 16:14. The Antichrist and his horde will join ranks against Christ and the church who follows behind.

However, the battle is not long at all, for, as soon as they assemble, the text reveals “And 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…” (19:20). This is phase two of Jesus’ victory and the world’s defeat. To call this a battle is a bit euphemistic as it is not a fair fight at all. Christ speaks with the sword of his mouth and instantly arrests all wicked leaders—beast and false prophet—and throws them into the lake of fire. This demonstrates, once again, that the forces of evil in the world are no match for the goodness of God. God is infinitely better at goodness than the world is at being wicked.

Not only were the beast and the false prophet destroyed, so too were the others—"and the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh,…” (19:21). So total is the victory over the fallen world that the text reveals that to the degree the enemies of God were killed, the birds feeding are their flesh were filled. YIKES!

So What?

Here in lies the climax of the book of Revelation and, in many ways, the climax of history. This is what the whole book as been pointing to—the total victory of Christ over the fallen world. Everything that precedes these verses has been anticipating this so-called battle and everything that follows is, in many respects, a result of the victory Christ achieves here.

For us to rejoice upon reading this victory and in order to be counted among the ranks that will be following the Lord Jesus on horseback when this all comes to pass, we must have embraced another victory that Jesus achieved—the victory over sin and death. When Jesus first came to the earth as a baby in Bethlehem, he came to die and be brought back to life so that we might be freed from sin and have the hope of glory with him in heaven. When Jesus will return to the earth as a warrior king, he will bring death and judgment to the wicked world. In order to be ready for the second coming and the climax of history, one must embrace who Jesus proved himself to be in his first coming—Lord and Savior of the world. Is he your Lord and savior today? I pray that if you have not yet embraced the Word of the Lord, you will do so before that same Word of the Lord brings judgment upon the deserving world.