We've been studying all about the fall of Babylon, a section in rev that starts at the beginning of chapter 17 and goes through the end of 19. Last episode we looked at John's vision of three sets of Hallelujahs being declared in Heaven as victory songs as Babylon is finally completely defeated.
Then we saw that the invitation for every true believer to join in on the Marriage Supper of the Lamb is made explicit, and in response to that powerful word, John almost worships the messenger.
But unlike fallen/rebelled angels who accept and revel in worship from confused humans, this messenger does a good job of knowing his place - he says no I don't need/want your attention or reverence, I want you to worship God alone. "For it is the spirit of prophesy that bears witness to JESUS" - this whole thing is all about Jesus, forever.
Now, we're going to look at the rest of chapter 19, meaning verses 11-21. This is the next vision, it's a war scene in which the Heavenly Warrior (yep, that's Jesus) defeats another prominent character in the bk (you may call it an avatar): the beast. The beast was used to defeat the prostitute (babylon), and now the beast has to be dealt with as well, for the judgement to be complete.
Most Bible teachers seem to feel that this vision is a description of Armageddon, or Har-meggedo, or har-moed. You may have heard me ask Dr. Adam Ayers about this phrase, and he explained the majority view that this refers to Megiddo, a valley and that a lot of blood shed and war happened there. Then in my podcast on Rev 16 where the word is explicitly mentioned, i threw out 5 or six stances that Bible scholars commonly take on what the word Armageddon means. One of those that I mentioned was Dr Michael Heiser's opinion - that it's actually supposed to read Har-Moed meaning mount of assembly, which a lot of Bible teachers say is the temple mount, and that it's a final apocalyptic conflict for and at Zion/Jerusalem. Since I released that episode, I'm 20 % even more compelled that his argument for it being har-moed is a strong possibility. This is a view that was worked out by Dr. Charles Torrey in the Harvard Theological Review in the 1930s, Heiser just made it more well known. whatever the word means, lets read about this war vision which is likely Armageddon:
chapter 19:11-21:
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. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 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.
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.
Breakdown:
11aThen I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and true.
The end of the last section was an angel saying, "the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus." and now Who shows up. The Lord Jesus Himself, as a warrior king on a white horse (white prob representing victory here, although there's also a connection to the huge theme of purity that's present throughout the book as well. in fact, you could think of it as the victory that is the reward for purity. And several times in the book, the color white also indicates final vindication during a judgement).
When John sees heaven open, it's often a scene about judgement. Not only here but in chapters 4, 11 and 15.
and here some of Jesus' many names are highlighted: Faithful (greek: pistos - trustworthy, reliable) and True (greek: alethenos - real, actual and genuine). Contrasted with Babylon in the previous chapter being described as faithless and deceitful. Here, we see Jesus is faithful and true - He promised to judge and defeat evil, and He's making good on the promise.
This here is the moment in the text that many Bible teachers call the second coming, aka the return, of Jesus Christ. (which a lot of Bible teachers feel is a diff event than the rapture, which would be a moment when believers are resurrected as needed, and taken up in the air at some pt and/or to heaven and are changed, potentially meaning becoming immortal).
11b and in righteousness (dikaiosynē) he judges (krinō) and makes war (polemeō).
So Jesus judges, and He does so righteously - What is He doing when he "judges"? The word "krino" means to decree, decide, to sort out, to resolve, to rule to govern or to GIVE AN OFFICIAL OPINION OR VERDICT ON OTHERS' ACTIONS AND WORDS.
Ps 96:10 says "The Lord reigns... He will judge the people with equity." Here in Rev, John is saying Jesus is the Lord - He's the Hebrew God in a bod - and therefore He is judge of all.
And what is so "righteous" about the way He does it? dikaiosynē: Blue Letter Bible: in a broad sense: state of him who is as he ought to be, righteousness, the condition acceptable to God. integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking feeling, and acting. in a narrower sense, justice or the virtue which gives each his due. equity (of character or act).
Righteousness is RIGHTNESS. We're seeing here that God judges perfectly correctly and uprightly. Without error. It's not like the court system here where only some facts are taken into account, only some truth comes to light. He KNOWS EVERYTHING. He understands what went on as you walked through life. He knows what's fair for every human, and how to make right judgements about every event.
12 His eyes are like a flame of fire (a metaphor for being a judge borrowed from Daniel 10 which we also saw in the letters to the churches when Jesus was calling out false teachers and apostates), and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself.
He's wearing diadems which are the type of crown that indicate royalty, contrasted with the stephanos which was a victor crown like a winner in the games if you remember seeing those crowns in earlier chapters. The only characters in this whole book with diadems are the dragon, the beast, and in the end Jesus. And some people would say also the first horseman during the first seal in chapter 6 cause "he was given a crown" - that may have even been a temporary job related assignment thing. The first seal that starts the whole judgement process is a horseman with a crown on a white horse, and here as it all culminates, JESUS is the ultimate rider on the white horse with diadems, to bookend the story arc. The dragon and beast try to assert themselves as authoritative on the earth - their diadems are basically claims they make about themselves - but Jesus is truly forever the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and the diadems He wears are legit.
And we followers wear stephanos crowns cause we share in His victory and we are identified with our savior.
And He has a Name written that no one knows but Himself. This reminds me of the letter to the church in Pergamum in chap 2 where each believer who perseveres is given a white stone with a new name engraved known to nobody but that person. (plus hidden manna which is another cool secret thing). We dont currently know all the details about this secret name thing, but if you remember back to the episodes on the letters to the churches, it likely has to do with God's Name and with the city of our God. And having a name written on a crown or on a forehead is a theme throughout the whole book. It happens in both God's kingdom and the beast's. Beale says "the full revelation of Christ's identity, particularly in relation to judgement, will only be given on His return and His judgement of the world." Jesus fully and completely bears the name that is above every other name, we learn that from philippians 2.
Beale continues: [read 411-412]
In Isaiah 62 the prophet Isaiah shares that some time in the future, Israel will be vindicated, receive a new name, and "be a crown of splendor in the Lord's hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God." So there's a sense in which God's people are His crown. It's pictured in Isaiah in His hand, and here in Rev it's on His head. (Cause John's always revving things up to the highest level, and finalizing stuff).
13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.
The robe dipped in blood might to remind us of Rev 7:14 "they have washed their robes in the blood of the lamb and made them white" - so we see that throughout the book of Rev, the shed blood of Christ actually makes our robes white and pure. Is this what's going on on His own robe too? Or is this a picture of warrior battle blood from Isaiah 63 "with garments like the one who treads the winepress/their lifeblood on My garments"? or somehow both?
And then it says that THE NAME HE IS CALLED IS THE WORD OF GOD. So the secret's no longer a secret - that's something that happens several times in this Revelatory book. Mysteries and Secrets are made known. Jesus is the Word of God. and here He's carrying out the finality of every predicted prophetic judgement in Scripture.
14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses.
John is using Ezekiel 38-39 (the Gog of Magog conflict - which we'll hash out more next chapter when John uses that actual phrase, but Gog is basically the original jewish version of our idea of antichrist - a man who opposes God) for his description of this end times battle. Those chapters in Ezek have an army on horses just like we see here, and a sword being brought against them, and a call to the scavenger birds to feast on the dead, and some other similarities.
So this heavenly army is referenced in Ezek, and it's God's faithful followers who have overcome - a main theme in Rev. It's now time for us to suit up and finish this thing. This is the battle of armageddon. The capital D day of the Lord. A lot of Bible scholars say this is also the Joel 2 Judgement Day. (using the phrase in the sense of a battle - other times Christian theology also uses the term judgement day to refer to post death judgement from God so it gets a little confusing, cause thats more referring to the next chapter, rev 20, the great white throne judgement where the book gets opened).
We His followers are part of His victorious army on this day. In a sense we judge and defeat evil right alongside him. It's a lofty thought. Do you see yourself included in that day? Do you know this type of leadership and authority and victory are in your future? Are you living the reality of that identity yet?
And what's our main role in the victory over evil? Beale suggests that it's our testimony. He says that the saints' testimony is the legal evidence condemning their oppressors, and he sites Matthew 12 and Rom 2 as other examples of a WITNESS getting to JUDGE.
15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword (another metaphor for being a judge which we saw in the letters to the churches) 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.
Here we have 4 very overt OT hyperlinks.
1-A rider with a sharp sword in His mouth is from Isaiah 49.
2-He will smite the nations is from Isaiah 11.
3-the Rod of Iron He rules with is from Psalm 2.
4- treads the winepress of the wrath of God - that's from Isaiah 63 the final judgement
16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
But that's YHWH's name from the Hebrew Scriptures like Daniel 4 - yep. Jesus is inarguably shown to be God Himself, this gets confirmed all throughout the NT.
so at a time when a lot of the world is worshipping the beast, this is a proclamation that Jesus Christ is so far superior to the beast and every other entity, that He created, and can destroy them surely, which is what's about to happen.
17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun!!!, (throwback to chapter 18 where a similarly described, illuminated angel first announces the fall of bab, whereas this angel here is speaking of the fall of the beast and false prophet... is this possibly that same angel? idk) and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead (or 'in mid air'), “Come, gather for the great supper of God,
This meal is a kind of sarcasm - since we've been talking in this bk about the celebration meal with God and His people, this directive is to the scavenger birds to feast - on the dead flesh of the finally defeated - on the bodies of those who committed themselves to wickedness, injustice and oppression. those who caused others to come to an untimely gruesome end, now receive the same.
In the parallel event in Ez 39, the enemy that's defeated may be non-human entities. Depending on what translation you're reading, it contains words like princes, giants, bulls/bovine creatures - these are all well-known descriptions of evil spiritual beings, so the birds may actually be somehow eating them in this what scholars often call the Gruesome Feast.
also do ya'll remember that the last three bowl judgements (aka the three woes) there was an eagle flying mid air, announcing judgement them first? thats in chap 8. so some scholars that read rev more cyclically say that this is a development on that.
Here's what Beale says: "The prophesy of God's triumph over His enemies in Ez 39 still awaits fulfillment, but now the angel updates it by identifying Christ as the agent of defeat, and by identifying Gog and Magog as the beast, the false prophet, and their armies... [Ezek 39's] main point is that God will make His HOLY NAME known both to Israel and to Israel's oppressors... all those who follow Him will be vindicated solely bc of their identification with His Name."
18 (the angel still talking to the birds says) 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 (oh you mean this judgement wasnt just for those who were on top socioeconomically?), both small and great (oh even some of the disenfranchised in society could be judged too? yep, each human examined individually and perfectly by an all-knowing righteous judge).”
i know i just said right before this that these defeated enemies may not be human, but this verse now makes it seem to me like there are humans being judged and conquered here as well. throughout the book there seems to be a layered / both-and situation going on, both in the heavenly army sense and in the beastly army sense.
19 [here's where Jesus Christ will defeat the beast and false prophet and their followers at the end of history! right here in the next three verses] And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth (remember, some think these are spiritual entities others think these are human rulers) with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse (kind of a dumb thing to try but ok) and against his army.
The Life Application Study Bible says: "The battle lines have been drawn, and the greatest confrontation in the history of the world is about to begin.
The beast (meaning the antichrist) and the false prophet have gathered the governments and armies of the earth under the antichrist's rule. The enemy armies believe they have come of their own volition; in reality, God has summoned them to the battle in order to defeat them.
That they would even presume to fight against God shows how their pride and rebellion have distorted their thinking.
There really is no fight, however, bc the victory was won when Jesus died on the cross for sin and rose from the dead.
Thus the evil leaders are immediately captured and sent to their punishment and the forces of evil are annihilated."
the armies are GATHERED - this is a nod to Zechariah 14:2 "I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle..." these armies think it's their idea to oppose the people of God but there is a sense in which God is ultimately in control and He's gonna orchestrate this so heavenly good can triumph. Also Psalm 2 says "the kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and His anointed"
20-21 And the beast was captured (yay), 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 (many teachers teach that this is a diff location than the bottomless pit from rev 9). 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.
so Jesus HIMSELF kills the enemy army with His Word - another indication that the army of the beast might be spirit beings, or maybe possessed people or possessed bodies of some kind, that maybe need to be physically killed, in a manner slightly diff from the beast and false prophet, who are higher up evil entities.
Someone might be thinking, we've got the second and third person of the Unholy Trinity getting defeated here - but where's the first person of the Unholy Trinity, the dragon? Satan? dont worry - he gets dealt with directly in the next chapter so hang in there.
they're thrown into the lake of fire, just like in Daniel 7.
and the sword from the mouth of Jesus Christ is what kills the evil armies, which is a hyperlink back to Isaiah 11 and Isaiah 49. The metaphor is about accusation of wrong - they're being condemned in a judgement decree, and it's a death sentence.
Jesus Himself preached on this topic in Matthew 25, and He himself says He's going to tell the people that did evil and not good "depart from me accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and His angels."
Oh the fire wasnt made for humans? no. it's intended to be a place of punishment for the rebelled elohim.
Here's what I have to say about all this: let your victory begin now. Let it begin right here in your life, by you partnering with the love and power of Christ to uproot and destroy any idolatrous alter in your heart or soul. any place that's harboring darkness, allowing abuse, or partnering with lies from hell - let the slaughter begin now. Do Not Tolerate the attempts of the enemy in or ON your life. Armor up, and use the authority that's been given to you by the King of Kings, picture yourself in that very real white robe and kick the enemy OUT. Whatever it takes.