Revelation 19: 11-21
“11Then 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. 13He is clothed in a robe dipped in[d] blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14And 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. 16On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
“17Then 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." 19And 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. 20And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence[f] 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. 21And 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.”
Before we look at Jesus Christ’s glorious Second Coming as an event, let us first look at the Christ that we see coming triumphantly from the sky. “His eyes are like a flame of fire” is a combination of Jesus’ description as the Ancient of Days recorded in Daniel 7:9:
9 "As I kept watching, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took His seat. His clothing was white like snow, and the hair of His head like whitest wool. His throne was flaming fire; its wheels were blazing fire.
The appearance combines with His appearance during the Transfiguration, recorded in Matthew 7: 1-3:
1 After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. 2 He was transformed [a] in front of them, and His face shone like the sun. Even His clothes became as white as the light.
On his head are “many crowns”, showing that he has more power to rule than Satan (12:3) or the Beast (13:1) does over the earth. A name…that nobody knows is a sign that while God has revealed Himself to us, there are things that we still do not and cannot know about Him. A robe stained with blood reminds of us the past and the future: His redemptive death (7:9) and forward to His treading the winepress of God’s wrath (19:15; Isaiah 63:1).
The armies accompanying the Lord are wearing pure white linen, as did the Lamb’s wife in verse 8. This would say that this is another image for the same group called “the multitude” in verses 1, 6 and 7:9 and “heaven dwellers” in 12:12 and 13:6. The armies that followed Him from Heaven came on white horses, which gives us an idea of whom 20:6 refers to:
6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! The second death has no power [a] over these, but they will be priests of God and the Messiah, and they will reign with Him for 1,000 years.
Don't forget, too, to look at the events and the aftermath of the incredible battle: Jesus used a sword and a scepter to destroy the armies that oppose Him (apparently at Armagedon; 16:12-14, 16) and feed them to the birds, who gorge themselves on the enemy of Christ.
But what does this have to do with the story of Christmas? Actually, it gives us even more insight to the first time that He came to the earth. The picture that we are painted in Revelation 19 is a picture of a glorious conqueror, coming down from Heaven followed by an army of the chosen on white horses, coming down for victory against Satan and the Beast. Why did Jesus choose to come down the way that He did, in a dirty animal hole sleeping in a nasty animal feeding trough?
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