Revelation 19:11-21 | The Rider on the White Horse

Lesson Handout

Introduction

The closing verses of chapter 19 are some of the most faith-building verses in all of Scripture for they describe the return of Jesus in His glory – the second Advent. Evil and its perpetrators are defeated, Christ and His people rule and reign.

Verse-By-Verse Notes

Verse 11

• John’s vision turns to heaven and the appearance of the Messianic Warrior – Christ, coming in judgment. Everything about Christ described in the following verses picture a warring triumphant king. This is not the Christ of the first Advent – a baby in Bethlehem’s manger. This is not the Christ of the modern social gospel – He is not a social worker coming to enact policies of equity and justice. He is the Lord of all creation, coming to make war against His enemies. Many in the church today find the Christ described in Revelation incompatible with their “version” of Christianity, nevertheless, this is who He is.

Verse 12

• The description of Christ is staggeringly glorious. His eyes of fire denote the urgency of His mission. His many crowns denote His lordship. His secret name denotes His uniqueness.
• Robert Mounce: The most common interpretation is that it is a secret name whose meaning is veiled from all created beings. It expresses the mystery of his person. There will always remain a mystery about Christ that finite minds will never fully grasp.”

Verses 13-14

• The imagery here is graphic – Christ’s robe appears as it has been dipped in blood. Note this is not His blood, but the blood of His enemies. See Genesis 49:8-12 & Isaiah 63:1-6
• Christ’s name is “the word of God” (Greek: λόγος/logos). Logos is a favorite title for Christ in John’s writings – see John 1:1, 14; 1 John 1:1.
• Mounce: “In Hebrew thought, a word is not a lifeless sound but an active agent that achieves the intention of the one who speaks (Gen. 1:3, 7, 9, etc.). The Word of God is God fulfilling his divine purpose. The Messiah as avenging warrior is appropriately named ‘the Word [the powerful and active utterance] of God.’”
• The armies of the redeemed with ride with their Messianic Warrior-King, but note, their robes are white and clean while His is bloody. Christ and Christ alone will be the One executing judgment on the wicked. The warfare of the redeemed is over and their Messianic Champion now fights for them.

Verses 15-16

• There are three figures here rooted in the Old Testament:
  • A sharp sword – see Isaiah 11:4. The “sharp sword” that proceeds from Christ’s mouth shouldn’t be understood as a literal sword, but rather as the decisive pronouncement of judgment on His enemies. Mounce calls it “a death-dealing pronouncement that goes forth like a sharp blade from the lips of Christ.”
  • An iron scepter – see Psalm 2:7-9.
  • A winepress – see Isaiah 63:3; Joel 3:12-13
• Mounce: “Any view of God that eliminates judgment and his hatred of sin in the interest of an emasculated doctrine of sentimental affection finds no support in the strong and virile realism of the Apocalypse.”
• “King of kings and Lord of lords” – Mounce: This name emphasizes the universal sovereignty of the warrior Christ in his eschatological triumph over all the enemies of God.”

Verses 17-18

• The angel announces the “great supper of God” – a rather grim picture of divine judgment as scavenging birds are invited to feast on the carcasses of the wicked both small and great, indicating universal
• Again, the God of Scripture is not a wrathless, cuddly grandfather figure, but a righteous Ruler and Judge, and His judgment is horrific.

Verse 19

• The are Battle of Armageddon has arrived. Mounce: “The scene is eschatological in an absolute sense. The Seer is not describing the gradual conquest of evil . . . but a great historic event that brings to an end the Antichrist and his forces and ushers in the long-awaited era of righteousness.”

Verses 20-21

• The Antichrist (Beast) and the False Prophet are the first inhabitants of the Lake of Fire, and they were thrown in alive. Note the violence of the verb thrown (Greek: βάλλω/ballo). This same verb is used of Satan, Death & Hades, and all the wicked whose names were not in the book of life (Revelation 20:10, 14, 15)
• The rest of the wicked gathered together at the Battle of Armageddon was killed by the pronouncement of judgment coming from Christ’s mouth, and the birds feasted on their dead bodies.

BIG IDEA: CHRIST IS RETURNING AS A VICTORIOUS WARRIOR-KING AND WILL DECISIVELY TRAMPLE HIS ENEMIES BEFORE USHERING IN A MILLENNIUM OF PEACE.