Revelation 19:11-21--The Rider on a White Horse

Revelation 19:11-21
English Standard Version

The Rider on a White Horse
11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, 18 to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.” 19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. 20 And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. 21 And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.

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John sees a rider on a white horse.  Unlike the one he saw in Revelation 6, this one is the true Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lord.  His Name is "Faithful and True."  His eyes are like a flaming fire, ready to make war and execute judgment on the world.  On His head are many crowns (remember that Antichrist only wore one crown on his head).  Somewhere, He has a name written that no one knows besides Himself.

He is clothed in a robe that has been dipped in blood (a tradition of warriors back in the day, but I think we are to remember His blood that was shed for us).  He is called The Word of God.  He commands the armies of heaven (I believe these are angelic warriors, as we see the saints come down from heaven later) who are dressed in fine, while linen.  Out of His mouth comes a sharp sword so that by His very words that spoke the world into existence, He will slay His enemies and the enemies of His people.  He will save the people that belong to Him who live on the earth at that time for all their enemies in a miraculous was that can only be compared to a new Passover and Exodus.  It will not be just the firstborn of Egypt that will die, but all of the wicked will die in this judgment.

He will tread out the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God that we talked about in Revelation 14:17-20 (I think we are to remember this river of blood too when we think of His robes dipped in blood, for He is the one pressing the grapes--only it is blood and not grape juice that stains His garments).  He is truly King of Kings and Lord of Lords--the name written on His robe and on His thigh.

Then, there is another supper--not the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, but the carrion-eating birds are all invited to a "supper" prepared for them of the bodies of all the dead, wicked people of the world who died in the plagues and in this final battle.  They will all alike die whether king or pauper, rich or poor, young or old, or great or small in the eyes of the world.  They will be led into war by the beast, that is the Antichrist, and the armies of this world will attempt to make war with Jesus to try to keep Him from establishing His Kingdom and against His army (the saints) to keep them from inheriting that Kingdom.  That is not going to go well for them.

The beast, that is the Antichrist, is captured along with the False Prophet and they are thrown into the Lake of Fire alive.  The other people of the world will have their souls cast into the Lake of Fire after The Great White Throne Judgment, but their bodies are destroyed here and now.  We'll also see all the demons (and eventually the Devil) also cast into the Lake of Fire which was prepared for them.  Everyone other than the Antichrist and False Prophet who belonged to the kingdom of Antichrists died by the sword the came out from Jesus' mouth (His spoken Word), and the carrion-eating birds were gorged with the flesh of the armies of the wicked

This is still a pretty dreadful picture and there will be a lot of cleanup and other work to do to try to restore everything to its intended condition (note that the place that Jesus prepared for His people does not come out of heaven at this time).  This is the Messianic, Millennial Kingdom of Christ that was promised to the Jews where Jesus will rule from the throne of David in Jerusalem, and is a huge part of the prophecies of the Old Testament.  I know  Amillennials will disagree with me here because they do not believe that Israel will have an inheritance separate from that which belongs to the Church, but it is important to note that this earthly Kingdom is not eternal, as it is still part of the earth that is corrupted by sin.  What matters for today's passage is that Jesus Himself wins the battle to save HIs people once again with help from no one else--the battle belongs to the Lord!

We'll talk more of the Thousand-year reign of Christ next time.  Again, this is where I know I differ from many other friends of mine, but believe this is a literal 1,000 years--we still have sun, moon, and stars to tell the passage of time here as opposed to when the New Heavens and the New Earth are created and there will be no more Sun, Moon, or stars because we will no longer need to tell the passage of time (their purpose given in Genesis 1).  Satan will only be bound, but not truly 100% gone at this point.  There will be one more final rebellion before this heaven and earth will pass away.  We'll talk about that and the final battle and The Great White Throne Judgment in Chapter 20 before we get to the New Creation and the New Jerusalem in Chapter 21 and the epilogue and invitation of Chapter 22.