The First “Last Thing”: The Second Coming of Christ (Rev. 19:11-16)

By David J. MacLeod

David J. MacLeod is a member of the faculty of Emmaus Bible College in Dubuque, Iowa, and is associate editor of The Emmaus Journal.

This is article two in an eight-part series, “Expositional Studies of the Seven ‘Last Things’ in the Book of Revelation.”

In the city of Milan, Italy, stands a magnificent cathedral, one of the most beautiful religious buildings in the world. The fifty-two marble columns that hold up its lofty dome, and the 4,440 turrets and pinnacles, and the statues of angels and saints produce an incomparable combination of grace and grandeur, beauty and vastness. Behind the high altar is one of the largest stained-glass windows in the world. Its subject matter is arresting. It depicts no scene from the Old Testament and no Old Testament person. Nor does it depict scenes from the Gospels such as the birth of Christ, His temptation, transfiguration, crucifixion, or resurrection. Nor are there scenes from the Acts of the Apostles and the early spread of the gospel. No, the artist’s subject is the tremendous imagery of the Book of the Revelation: the sounding trumpets, the outpoured bowls, Michael and his angels in battle with the dragon and his angels, the woman with the sun and moon under her feet, Satan bound with a chain and cast into the abyss, and—most impressive of all—the rider on the white horse going forth to war with the armies of heaven following behind.[1]

The artist of this great masterpiece was undoubtedly convinced that his subject, the second coming of Christ, was of great importance-and it is. Yet it is a subject that is puzzling to many people. Perhaps the only individuals most people know who have any interest in the subject are cultists or religious cranks-like the Jehovah’s Witnesses who predicted the Lord’s return in 1975, the radio preacher who predicted the return of Christ in 1988, and the preacher who predicted that Jesus would return in 1994.[2] As a result this great subject has fallen into disrepute in some quarters, and it has been long neglected in others. In most major denominations this fundamental doctrine of the Christian faith is only lightly touched on, if it is mentioned at all.[3]

Andrew Bonar (1810–1892), a great Scottish minister, told of a man in his parish whom he often used to visit. He was a simple and poor man, but he had found Christ and had great joy in the thought that Jesus will someday return to earth. On one occasion he went to Edinburgh and heard some of the famous preachers of the day. But he came home much dissatisfied on one vital issue. When Bonar asked him why he felt that their ministry was deficient, he replied, “Oh, they all flee wi’ ae wing!” (i.e., “they all fly with one wing”). He meant they were like lame birds, since they spoke of Christ’s first coming but not His second coming.[4]

Bonar’s friend was right. Too often, Christians have conceived of the Incarnation as the only focus of God’s dealings with the world, when in reality there are two focal points: the first coming of Christ and the second coming of Christ. “In His cross and resurrection,” wrote George Ladd, “Christ won a great victory over the powers of evil; by His second coming, He will execute that victory. Apart from His return to purge His creation of evil, redemption remains forever incomplete.”[5] As a German commentator has written, “Those who believe in the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ must also look for His return.”[6] The Second Coming, then, like the First Coming, is “an absolutely essential theme in New Testament” teaching.[7]

The second coming of Christ is not just the aberrant fascination of “end-time junkies” and apocalyptic doomsdayers. It is the historic faith of the Christian church. The early church fathers certainly believed in the Second Coming.[8] For example The Epistle of Barnabas, probably written in Alexandria between A.D. 70 and 100, states, “When His Son comes He will destroy. .. the wicked one, and will judge the godless, and will change the sun and the moon and the stars, and then He will truly rest.”[9] Clement of Rome, writing about A.D. 96, said, “Therefore we must be prompt in well doing: for all things are from Him. For He warns us, ‘Behold the Lord cometh, and His reward is before His face, to pay to each according to His work.’ ”[10] A later church father, Justin Martyr, writing to the emperor in the second century (ca. A.D. 155), said, “Hear, too, how He was to ascend into heaven according to prophecy.. .. And how also He should come again out of heaven with glory.”[11] Irenaeus (ca. 130-ca. 200), wrote this in a famous work on heresy: “But when this Antichrist shall have devastated all things in this world, he will reign for three years and six months, and sit in the temple at Jerusalem; and then the Lord will come from heaven in the clouds, in the glory of the Father, sending this man and those who follow him into the lake of fire.”[12] The African church father, Tertullian, who lived in the second and third centuries (ca. 160-ca. 225), alluded to 1 Thessalonians 4:17 when he said, “For we shall, according to the apostle, be caught up into the clouds to meet the Lord (even the Son of man who shall come in the clouds [i.e., in glory].”[13]

In similar fashion the great Reformers eagerly anticipated the return of Christ. Martin Luther (1483–1546) said, “The prophets spoke and preached of the second coming of Christ as we do now.”[14] In another place he said, “It is my firm belief that the angels are getting ready, putting on their armor and girding their swords about them, for the last day is already breaking, and the angels are preparing for battle.”[15] One of his students, Erasmus Alber, wrote,

Your dear children are waiting all:
For the world apart to fall,
The devil’s power to pass away,
And he be damned to hell alway.

Another student of Luther, Nikolaus Herman, put it this way,

For your coming, Lord, we’re waiting all,
And listening for the trumpet’s call.
Lord Jesus, come-do not delay
And help your church-we are afraid.[16]

John Calvin (1509–1564) wrote, “For he will come down from heaven in the same visible form in which he was seen to ascend [Acts 1:11; Matt. 24:30]. And he will appear to all with the ineffable majesty of his kingdom, with the glow of immortality, with the boundless power of divinity, with a guard of angels. From thence we are commanded to await him as our Redeemer on that day when he will separate the lambs from the goats.. .. No one-living or dead-shall escape his judgment.”[17]

In the same way the great creeds and confessions of the church all express the conviction that Jesus Christ will someday return bodily and visibly to this earth. The so-called Apostles’ Creed, not written by the apostles, but a popular summary of apostolic teaching, says, “I believe in God the Father Almighty, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. The third day he rose from the dead; He ascended into heaven; and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.”[18] In similar fashion the Nicene Creed states, “And he shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead.”[19] The Augsburg Confession (1530) of the Lutheran churches, says, ”[The churches] teach that, in the consummation of the world [at the last day], Christ shall appear to judge, and shall raise up the dead, and shall give unto the godly and elect eternal life and everlasting joys.”[20] The Belgic Confession (1561), of the Flemish and Dutch Reformation churches, says, “We believe, according to the Word of God. .. that our Lord Jesus Christ will come from heaven, corporally [i.e., bodily] and visibly, as he ascended with great glory and majesty, to declare himself Judge of the quick and the dead, burning this old world with fire and flame to cleanse it.”[21]

The Thirty Nine Articles (1571) of the Church of England or Anglican Church (Episcopal Church in North America) says, “He ascended into Heaven, and there sitteth, until he return to judge all Men at the last day.”[22] The Westminster Confession (1647) of the Presbyterian churches says that the Lord Jesus “shall return to judge men and angels at the end of the world.”[23] The confession of the Congregational Union of England and Wales (1833) has these words: “They believe that Christ will finally come to judge the whole human race according to their works.”[24] The New Hampshire Confession (1833) of the Baptist churches likewise affirms, “We believe that the end of the world is approaching; that at the last day Christ will descend from heaven, and raise the dead from the grave to final retribution; that a solemn separation will then take place; that the wicked will be adjudged to endless punishment, and the righteous to endless joy.”[25]

These statements from the Fathers, the Reformers, and the creeds and confessions show that the second coming of Christ is part of the historic faith of the church because it is deeply embedded in God’s Word. It is the teaching of the Old Testament prophets and of the New Testament apostles, and it is part of the teachings of Jesus Christ Himself. He told His disciples, “And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory” (Matt. 24:30). “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne” (25:31). “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:3).

In light of the united testimony of prophets, apostles, the Lord, and the greatest teachers of the church, evangelical ministers of the Word dare not be part of the silence that surrounds the doctrine of the Second Coming in many churches today. The creeds and confessions suggest a number of reasons why the Lord Jesus will return. First, He will come to rescue His people from this earth, raising from the dead those who have died before His coming. Second, He will come to judge His people, evaluating their faithfulness and watchfulness during the time of His absence (2 Cor. 5:10; cf. Mark 8:38). Those who say, “Come, Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:20), should live in such a way that they will not be ashamed at His coming. Third, He will come to display His great glory. At His first coming He lived in obscurity and weakness. At His second coming there will be an open manifestation of the character and splendor of the Lord Jesus Christ. Fourth, He will come to transform the universe and create new heavens and a new earth (21:1). Fifth, He will come to conquer all that is evil, whether human or demonic.[26]

This fifth reason is the subject of the passage under consideration, a classic passage on the Lord’s return.[27] The One who today sits on the throne of God in heaven will return to earth, wielding great power and authority to root up and totally destroy evil from this world.[28]

Christ Will Return as a Righteous and Victorious Warrior King (Rev. 19:11)

His Origin

Verse 11 introduces one of the most dramatic moments recorded in the Book of Revelation.[29] Babylon, the commercial and political capital of the earth at the end of the age, will have been destroyed. Earlier in the book (4:1) a door in heaven was opened and John was called to the throne room of God in heaven. Now the heavens will open to disclose a rider on a white horse. There is no doubt about His identity. “The sublime hero” is none other than our Lord Jesus Christ,[30] and He is portrayed as a man of war.[31]

Most people today think of horses as either farm animals or runners on the racetrack. This, however, is not the way people in the ancient world thought of horses. They thought of them as military machines. Horses were used primarily in war. The prophets pictured horses in battle as swift, sure-footed, and determined (Isa. 63:13; Jer. 12:5; 8:6).[32]

Three short observations should be made about the symbolism[33] used here of Christ as the warrior King on a white horse. First, the picture contrasts sharply to that of His first coming. In Jesus’ procession into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, He rode on a donkey, a lowly beast of burden (Matt. 21:5; cf. Zech. 9:9). At Christ’s second coming the little domestic animal will be exchanged for the military steed.

Second, the scene in Revelation 19 stands in contrast to the scene in chapter 6, which refers to another rider on a white horse. That rider is Antichrist, who will bring new levels of evil to the earth, but the rider in chapter 19 will remove that evil. Third, He will ride a white horse. In Revelation the color white symbolizes judgment (20:11) and victory.[34] The white stallion was a favorite of Roman generals as they rode in victory processions.[35]

His Reputation[36]

John told his readers that the rider is known as “Faithful and True” (πιστὸς. .. καὶ ἀληθινός).[37] The word “faithful” has the idea of trustworthiness; God is faithful to His promises and will fulfill them all. Christ will come and fulfill all the covenant promises of the Old Testament.[38] All those who place their confidence in Him will be vindicated.[39] The word “true” can mean “trustworthy” or “truthful,” or genuine in contrast to the falseness of idols.[40] Thus the Messiah is in sharp contrast to Satan, who is a deceiver; the beast, who is a false Christ; the second beast who is a false prophet; and people in the Tribulation who worship the gods of this age.

His Character

The warrior King from heaven will judge and wage war “in righteousness.” Macartney said, “There are times when the heart grows dull and heavy with the deadly monotony of evil in the world.”[41] Evil in people’s hearts and in human institutions is constantly reemerging, he wrote. It is seen today in unending warfare, terrorism and death squads, the shameful dishonesty of businessmen, media moguls, and lawmakers, the perversion of the arts and culture, and the injustice against the poor and weak. Is God not omnipotent? Is He not good? The answer this verse gives is that God will overthrow evil at the second coming of Christ. Righteousness is “that phase of God’s holiness. .. whereby He gives to everyone what is due him.”[42]

Gregory Fisher was a teacher in a West African Bible college. One of his students asked him to comment on 1 Thessalonians 4:16, “The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout.” “What will He say when He shouts?” asked the student. Fisher thought of the senseless terrorism he had seen in that part of the world, of the hopeless looks of starving beggars. “Enough!” Fisher answered. “He will shout ‘Enough!’ when He returns.” “Enough starvation, enough suffering, enough terror, enough death, enough indignity, enough hopelessness, enough sickness and disease, enough corruption, enough dishonesty, enough perversion, enough violence, enough infidelity in marriage, enough disobedience to parents, enough abuse of children, enough cheating, enough blasphemy and irreverence toward God. Enough!”[43]

Jesus’ Return Will Be Marked by Discernment, Authority, and Mystery (Rev. 19:12)

His Divine Discernment

John wrote, “His eyes are a flame of fire.” This speaks of the Lord’s ability to see through all pretense. Nothing can be hidden from the penetrating gaze of the Messiah.[44] He is omniscient (cf. 1:14; 2:18). Many things in human experience are mysteries and unsolved riddles. But the eyes of Christ search and understand all things.[45] There are sins in the lives of people that no one else can see. Yet He sees them all. People rationalize many sins and crimes, refusing to censure them as evil. Christ sees the innermost heart and evaluates everything by the perfect standard of His holiness.[46]

His Supreme Authority

On the Warrior’s head John saw “many diadems.” The diadem (διάδημα) was a royal crown. At His crucifixion Jesus received a crown (στέφανος) of thorns (Matt. 27:29; Mark 15:17; John 19:2, 5). To the soldiers it was an attempt to mock royalty. To His followers, however, it testified of His true kingship, and it anticipated His victory over death and His return to rule the world.[47]

Earlier in the book the dragon, Satan, wore seven diadems (12:3). The beast or the Antichrist wore ten of them (13:1; 17:12)—one for each of the ten kings who will be subservient to him in the Tribulation.

The accumulated crowns on Jesus’ head speak of accumulated victories and dominions-the greatest of all, by far, being His victorious passion.[48] It says He is the winner of many mighty battles and the holder of many sovereignties.

When David conquered the Ammonites, he put the crown of the vanquished king on his own head, in addition to the crown he already owned (2 Sam. 12:30). In similar fashion when Ptolemy entered Antioch, he set two crowns on his head, the crown of Asia and the crown of Egypt (1 Macc. 11:13).[49]

His Transcendent Mystery

John added that Jesus “has a name written upon Him which no one knows except Himself.” In the ancient world a name often revealed the nature of an individual. In 13:1 the Antichrist’s many names are “blasphemous names.” What does it mean that Christ has a name that no one knows? Many have attempted to explain this.[50]

Some say Jesus’ name is the tetragrammaton (יהוה, Yahweh). Others say it is the name Lord (κύριος), pointing out that this is the name that is above every name (Phil. 2:9–11). Another view is that it is “the Word of God” (Rev. 19:13).[51] Some say that it is a name that the Lord will reveal to His own only when they are finally united to Him.[52] Others see a reference to the magical and occultic practices of the first century. People then believed that to know the name of a god or demon gave them power over him. John may have meant that no one has power over this warrior King, for He is supreme.[53]

The present writer is inclined to adopt yet another view. John meant that the human mind cannot grasp the depth of Christ’s being. There is a lesson here in humility. In spite of all the help given by theologians, there are unrevealed and unknowable wonders to His person that believers can never fathom. Of course, the words “no one” (οὐδείς) mean no created being. This name is purposefully left in obscurity so that people will remember that it is God the Son of whom John was speaking and be reminded of the wonder and reverence due Him.

Jesus’ Garments Will Be Covered with the Marks of Battle (Rev. 19:13)

The Blood of the Foes

John wrote, “He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood.” Some have suggested that this refers to the blood of Christ shed at the cross.[54] However, the context, especially verse 15, shows that the Old Testament background to John’s thought is Isaiah 63, and the imagery there is of the blood of Messiah’s foes.[55] Others have argued that this cannot be the blood of His enemies because the battle has not yet begun.[56] They suggest that His garment bears the traces of the blood of the martyrs He will now avenge. However, this misunderstands the symbolic nature of prophetic language.[57]

Most likely the blood-stained garment points in two directions: ahead to the victory in the coming Battle of Armageddon and back over many enemies already vanquished. Christ will come to this final great war not as a raw recruit, but as a veteran in battle. He is the One who fought for Israel (Isa. 51:9). He fought the kings of Canaan at Taanach (Judg. 5:19–20). He won a great victory over Satan and his hosts at the cross (Col. 2:15). He is the One who will have brought down the great powers mentioned earlier in the book (Rev. 17:10; cf. Dan. 2:21). So He will come wearing the garment worn and stained on many “battlefields.” And He will come in the same invincible power.[58]

The Palestinian Targum on Genesis 49:11 reads in part, “How Beauteous is the King Messiah! Binding His loins and going forth to war against them that hate Him, He will slay kings with princes, and make the rivers red with the blood of their slain.. .. His garments will be dipped in blood. .. like the juice of the winepress.”[59]

The Means of the Victory

John then mentioned the third name of the Warrior in this section. “His name is called The Word of God.” Here John clearly identified the victorious Warrior with Jesus of Nazareth, who is called “the Word” (ὁ λόγος). In John 1:1, 14 the Word is God the Son who took a human nature. Thus as “the Word” Christ expresses God in His being.[60]

Words reveal what is on a person’s mind and are considered to have authority proportionate to the authority of the speaker. If a human word has impact, how much more a word from God? When God spoke, the universe was created (Gen. 1). Christ is the Word through whom God made the universe (John 1:3), and in Revelation 19:13 Messiah is the Word through whom God will bring judgment. Christ reveals the mind of God in His life and teaching (John 1:18). He is the Agent of the divine will in creation (1:3) and in judgment.[61]

The apocryphal Wisdom of Solomon 18:15, has a similar description: “Thy all-powerful word leaped from heaven, from the royal throne, into the midst of the land that was doomed, a stern warrior carrying the sharp sword of thy authentic command.”

Jesus Will Be Accompanied by a Celestial Army of the Saints (Rev. 19:14)

The Identity of the Army

The royal Commander, says Swete, will be “followed by a dazzling retinue.”[62] Who are the “armies which are in heaven” that follow Christ? Many commentators say that these are angels.[63] Of course other New Testament passages say that angels will accompany Christ at His coming (Matt. 25:31; Mark 13:27; 2 Thess. 1:7–8). But in this passage the armies are the glorified church.[64] There are two reasons for saying this: In Revelation 17:14 the Lamb goes to war with an army identified as “the called and chosen and faithful.”[65] Furthermore in 19:8 the bride is dressed in “fine linen, bright and clean,” that is, in the same clothing as this army. Those who have been Christ’s companions in His rejection now accompany Him at the judgment.

The Description of the Army

The clothing of the cavalry that will accompany the warrior King is “white and clean.” Their garments are not “dipped in blood” (cf. v. 13). They do not wear armor, nor do they carry weapons. They are still wearing the apparel of festivity, for they are on their way to a wedding feast![66] On their way they will watch their Commander singlehandedly engage in mortal combat. The victory against evil will be won by Him alone.[67]

Jesus Will Return to Judge All Evil (Rev. 19:15)

The judgment of Christ is now depicted by four figures drawn from Old Testament messianic passages.[68] First, John alluded to Isaiah 49:2, “And He has made My mouth like a sharp sword.”[69]

Then there is the echo of Isaiah 11:4, “And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth.” This indicates that the final battle will not be a prolonged affair, when Christ uses military weapons against the forces of the Antichrist. That the Antichrist and the nations will have military weapons cannot be doubted. But Messiah will speak, and they will be destroyed.

When Jesus was confronted by Judas and the Roman cohort at Gethsemane, He asked them, “Whom do you seek?” They replied, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He responded, “I am He,” and they fell to the ground (John 18:4–6). If such a mild utterance had that effect, what will it be like when Christ arms Himself for the “war of the great day of God, the Almighty” (Rev. 16:14)?[70]

In Psalm 2:9, the psalmist wrote, “Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron.”[71] The picture is of a shepherd who guards His flock by destroying the predators that would harm it. Still another Old Testament allusion in Revelation 19:15 is from Isaiah 63:3: “I have trodden the wine trough alone.. .. I also trod them in My anger, and trampled them in My wrath.” The picture here is graphic. Christ is the winemaker, and His enemies are the grapes that are crushed in His fury.[72] Any view of God that eliminates His hatred of sin ignores and weakens the witness of the Bible.[73]

People of the world have many answers to the problems confronting society. For some the answer is progress, growth, and development. They say the only thing people need is time, and solutions will come, for they have the tools, namely, education, science, and democracy. For others the answer is found in various religions and the development of spiritual forces. However, the Bible repudiates all human answers. The solution to the problem of evil in the world is not through some sort of improvement or development of the present order. The solution is the complete rooting up and throwing over of the present order.

When the army of Julian the Apostate (A.D. 332-363) was marching to Persia, some of his soldiers were tormenting and torturing a Christian believer. Tiring of their brutal games, they looked down on their victim and asked him with unconcealed scorn, “Where now is your Carpenter-God?” The man looked up at them through his bloodied eyes and answered, “He is making a coffin for your emperor.”

Yes, for every God-defying person and power, for all that exalts itself against God and His Word, a coffin is now being prepared. When Christ comes as Conqueror, He will pronounce the divine doom on wicked civilizations and all forms of cruelty and lust, and on all enemies of God and righteousness.[74]

Jesus Will Return to Earth in Great Majesty (Rev. 19:16)

The Display of His Name

The paragraph closes with one final glimpse of the divine Warrior and His heavenly horsemen as they sweep downward from heaven and onward against the armies of the beast. As they thunder along, their garments stream behind them and on the Leader John sees the name displayed “King of kings, and Lord of lords,” apparently embroidered on His robe and inscribed on his thigh.[75] Christ will bear on His garment and on His person the sign of universal sovereignty.[76]

The Significance of His Name

When Jesus Christ returns, He will come with authority to punish rebels and evildoers. For centuries the government of this world has been in other hands. Daniel affirmed that nations, like beasts, have held the sword and reigned (Dan. 7). At the end they will align to oppose Christ. However, this will be a dreadful miscalculation! The Lion of the tribe of Judah will come to meet them, armed to enforce His rights as sole King of the earth.

At the 1927 exhibition of the Royal Academy in London Charles E. Butler unveiled his now-famous painting, “King of Kings.” It pictures the Lord Jesus Christ standing at the foot of His cross, receiving the homage of the crowned heads of the world. Some 158 portraits are included on the canvas. Louis the Ninth of France offers His crown. Constantine, the Roman emperor, kneels before Him. Julius Caesar, Richard the Lionhearted, and Napoleon Bonaparte are all in the worshiping throng.[77] If a similar painting were made today, it should include portraits of Hitler, Stalin, and Mao Zedong, as well as Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Richard M. Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and William Clinton.

This painting will be fulfilled in the future at the return of Christ, when every knee will bow to Him (Phil. 2:9–11). Some will bow the knee in glad surrender, but others will bow because they will be forced to do so against their hardened wills.

Conclusion

The doctrine of the Second Coming is part of the historic faith of the church and should not be neglected. Yes, there is too much sensationalism on the subject of biblical prophecy in some quarters. But there is much in the Book of Revelation that is clear.

The day is coming when Jesus Christ will return to earth to root out and destroy evil. This should fill every heart with the fear and reverence of God. One group of people need not fear that judgment, namely, those who are portrayed here in white garments. They are the church, the bride of Christ, those who have confessed their sins to Him and embraced Him as Savior, accepting the forgiveness that He offers to all.

For Christians, then, there are three brief lessons.

An Incentive to Be Faithful

After the fall of Atlanta in July 1864, General John B. Hood, commander of the Confederate Army, marched westward to attack the communications of General Sherman with Chattanooga and Nashville. He hoped to draw Sherman’s army from Georgia. One of the posts he attacked was Allatoona Pass, commanded by the brave and capable General Corse. Sherman himself went back with part of his army as far as Kenesaw Mountain. From the summit of the mountain he signaled to the beleaguered garrison, “Hold the fort! I am coming!”

Major Whittle, an evangelical Christian, related this incident to the hymn writer P. P. Bliss, who was inspired to write,

Hold the fort, for I am coming,
Jesus signals still;
Wave the answer back to heaven,
By Thy grace we will.

An Incentive to be Watchful

Believers say with John, “Come, Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:20). They need to heed the Lord’s admonition, “Be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming” (Matt. 24:42).

An Incentive to be worshipful

In this passage four names are applied to our Lord: First, He is “Faithful and True” (Rev. 19:11). He can be trusted to fulfill all His promises; He is the true object of worship in contrast to the false gods. Second, He has “a name. .. which no one knows” (v. 12). This is a reminder of the fathomless wonders of His person. Third, He is called “the Word of God” (v. 13). He is the One who created the universe, and He is the One who will judge it. Fourth, He is called, “King of kings and Lord of lords” (v. 16). He is the One who will rule during the millennial age. Believers can rejoice as they anticipate that wonderful day, and worship Him because of who He is.

Notes

1. Clarence E. Macartney, “Behold, a White Horse,” in Classic Sermons on the Second Coming, ed. Warren W. Wiersbe (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1992), 73–74.
2. Charles R. Taylor, Watch 1988! The Year of Climax (Huntington Beach, CA: Today in Bible Prophecy, 1988); cf. Rodney Clapp, “Overdosing on the Apocalypse,” Christianity Today, October 28, 1991, 26. Also see Harold Camping, 1994? as reported in “End-time Prediction Draws Strong Following,” Christianity Today, June 20, 1994, 46–47.
3. The silence of many pulpits on the subject of the second coming of Christ is often due to the intellectual apostasy of much modern scholarship. Marcus Borg, a self-styled “mainline” biblical scholar, argues that the New Testament does not speak about the second coming “in our time or at any future time” (“Thinking about the Second Coming,” Bible Review 10 [August 1994]: 16, 55, italics his).
4. For this account this writer is indebted to A. Skevington Wood, Prophecy in the Space Age (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1963), 27–31.
5. George Eldon Ladd, A Commentary on the Revelation of John (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1972), 252–53.
6. Hanns Lilje, The Last Book of the Bible, trans. Olive Wyon (Philadelphia: Muhlenberg, 1957), 244.
7. Ladd, A Commentary on theRevelation of John, 252.
8. For a number of the following examples the writer is indebted to Wood, Prophecy in the Space Age, 28–29, and William F. Kerr, “The Lord’s Return in Patristic Literature,” in Understanding the Times, ed. W. Culbertson and H. B. Centz (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1956), 90–91.
9. The Epistle of Barnabas 15.5, in The Apostolic Fathers, trans. Kirsopp Lake, Loeb Classical Library (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1912), 1:395.
10. 1 Clement 34.2-3, in The Apostolic Fathers, 1:65.
11. Justin Martyr, The First Apology 51, in The Ante-Nicene Fathers, ed. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, trans. A. Cleveland Coxe (1885; reprint, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1967), 1:180.
12. Irenaeus, Against Heresies 5.30.4, in The Ante-Nicene Fathers, 1:560.
13. Tertullian, Against Marcion 3.25, in The Ante-Nicene Fathers, 3:343.
14. Martin Luther, Table Talk, quoted in Hugh T. Kerr, ed., A Compend of Luther’s Theology, 2d ed. (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1966), 244.
15. Conversations with Luther, quoted by Kerr, A Compend of Luther’s Theology, 244.
16. Alber and Herman quoted in Paul Althaus, The Theology of Martin Luther, trans. Robert C. Schultz (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1966), 422.
17. John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, trans. Ford Lewis Battles (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1960), 1:525 (2.16.17).
18. The Apostles’ Creed, in The Creeds of Christendom, ed. Philip Schaff, 4th ed. (New York: Harper, 1884; reprint, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1977), 1:21.
19. The Nicene Creed, in The Creeds of Christendom, 1:28. The original Nicene Creed dates from the Council of Nicea in A.D. 325.
20. The Augsburg Confession, Article 17, in The Creeds of Christendom, 3:17.
21. The Belgic Confession, Article 37, in The Creeds of Christendom, 3:433–34.
22. The Thirty Nine Articles of the Church of England, Article 4, in The Creeds of Christendom, 3:489. The above quotation is from the American revision of 1801.
23. The Westminster Confession, 8.4, in The Creeds of Christendom, 3:620–21. Also see The Westminster Confession 33.3 (672–73).
24. The Declaration of the Congregational Union of England and Wales, Principle 19, in The Creeds of Christendom, 3:733.
25. The New Hampshire Baptist Confession, Article 18, in The Creeds of Christendom, 3:748.
26. Cf. Stephen Travis, I Believe in the Second Coming of Jesus (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1982), 106–9.
27. Remarkably, this is denied by David Chilton, The Days of Vengeance (Fort Worth: Dominion Press, 1987), 485–86. Following Swete, he argues that the passage describes the expansion of Christianity and conversion of the Western nations subsequent to the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Cf. Henry Barclay Swete, The Apocalypse of St. John (London: Macmillan, 1906), 250–51.
28. John’s subject in Revelation 19:11–16 is the revelation of Jesus Christ and not the rapture or translation of the church. In the one event (the rapture) God’s people will meet Christ in the clouds (1 Thess. 4:16–17); in the other (the revelation) they will come with Him to the earth. In the rapture Christ will return with His saints to heaven; at the other He will come with them to earth and will establish His kingdom. At the rapture the saints will put on immortality and incorruptibility (1 Cor. 15:53); at the other they will be displayed in glory (Rom. 8:21–23). In Revelation John did not describe the rapture as such, and there has been much debate among evangelicals over its timing. Several theories have been advanced, but three are common: (1) Some argue that the rapture will take place at the same time as the revelation; they are known as posttribulationists (e.g., Alexander Reese, The Approaching Advent of Christ [London: Marshall, Morgan & Scott, 1937]; George E. Ladd, The Blessed Hope [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1956]; Robert H. Gundry, The Church and the Tribulation [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1973]). (2) Others argue that the rapture will take place at the middle of the tribulation period (i.e., Rev. 11:12–19 or 14:14), and they are known as midtribulationists (e.g., Norman B. Harrison, The End: Rethinking the Revelation [Minneapolis: Harrison, 1941], 109–18, 231–33; J. Oliver Buswell, A Systematic Theology of the Christian Religion [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1962], 2:397; Gleason L. Archer Jr., “The Case for the Mid-Seventieth Week Rapture Position,” in The Rapture, by Gleason L. Archer, Paul D. Feinberg, Douglas J. Moo, and R. R. Reiter [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984], 115–45). (3) A third group of scholars places the rapture before the tribulation, and they are known as pretribulationists (e.g., J. Dwight Pentecost, Things to Come [Findley, OH: Dunham, 1958; reprint, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1964], 193–218; John F. Walvoord, The Rapture Question, rev. ed. [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1979]; John A. Sproule, In Defense of Pre-Tribulationism [Winona Lake, IN: BMH, 1980]; Paul D. Feinberg, “The Case for the Pretribulation Rapture Position,” in The Rapture, 45–86; and Charles C. Ryrie, Come Quickly, Lord Jesus! What You Need to Know about the Rapture, rev. ed. [Eugene, OR: Harvest, 1996]). The present writer holds to the pretribulational view based on the following observations in the Book of Revelation: (1) the promise of 3:10, (2) the absence of any mention of the church on earth in chapters 6–18, and (3) the presence of the church (twenty-four elders, the bride) in heaven during the Tribulation and before the return of Christ to the earth.
29. William Barclay, The Revelation of John, rev. ed. (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1976), 2:177.
30. Joseph Seiss, Lectures on the Apocalypse, 9th ed. (New York: Charles C. Cook, 1906), 3:288.
31. R. H. Charles, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Revelation of St. John, International Critical Commentary (Edinburgh: Clark, 1920), 2:131.
32. D. F. Morgan, “Horse,” in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, 2 (1982), 759–60.
33. Kelly writes, “None, I trust, would be so foolish as to imagine that, when this blessed scene really comes, it will be a question of horses literally. It is the symbol that passed before the eye of the prophet” (William Kelly, Lectures on the Book of the Revelation, rev. ed. [London: Morrish, 1874], 399). As Beasley-Murray put it, “There is no cavalry kept in heaven” (George R. Beasley-Murray, The Book of Revelation [London: Oliphants, 1974], 278). Johnson points out that although the horse is not one that might be entered in the Kentucky Derby, the apostle was nevertheless describing a literal, historical event (S. Lewis Johnson Jr., The Old Testament in the New [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1980], 13). Incidentally Seiss and Thomas do argue for literal horses in Revelation 19:11, 14 (Seiss, Lectures on the Apocalypse, 3:249–50; and Robert L. Thomas, Revelation 8–22: An Exegetical Commentary [Chicago: Moody, 1995], 387–88).
34. Cf. Swete, The Apocalypse of St. John, 247.
35. Barclay, The Revelation of John, 2:178. Tenney writes, “The symbolism follows the pattern of a Roman triumphal procession. When a general returned from a successful campaign, he and his legions were granted the right to parade up the Via Sacra, the main street of Rome that led from the Forum to the Temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill. Mounted on a white horse, the general rode at the head of his troops, followed by the wagonloads of booty that he had taken from the conquered nations, and by the chained captives that were to be executed or sold in the slave markets of the city. The chief captives or rebels were remanded to the Mamertine prison, where they were usually executed, while sacrifices of thanksgiving were offered in the temple” (Merrill C. Tenney, The Book of Revelation, Proclaiming the New Testament [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1963], 94).
36. Swete, The Apocalypse of St. John, 248.
37. Ibid., 247.
38. Cf. Ladd, A Commentary on the Revelation of John, 253.
39. Robert H. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, New International Commentary on the New Testament, rev. ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998), 352.
40. Rudolf Bultmann, ”ἀληθινός,” in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, 1 (1964), 249.
41. Macartney, “Behold, a White Horse,” 76.
42. William G. T. Shedd, Dogmatic Theology (Edinburgh: Clark, 1889; reprint, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, n.d.), 1:365.
43. Gregory L. Fisher, “To Illustrate,” Leadership 12 (Fall 1991): 45. Careful students will note that Fisher’s text (1 Thess. 4:13–18) deals with the rapture and not the Second Advent to the earth. In light of the context in 1 Thessalonians 4 it is more likely that our Lord will shout, “Come up here” (Rev. 4:1), or “Come forth” (John 11:43). Yet with regard to the passage at hand (Rev. 19:11–16), Fisher’s point is well taken. Christ will return to the earth to judge all that is evil.
44. Beasley-Murray, The Book of Revelation, 279; and Mounce, The Book of Revelation, 353.
45. Ladd, A Commentary on the Revelation of John, 254.
46. Cf. Martin Kiddle, The Revelation of St. John, Moffatt New Testament Commentary (New York: Harper, 1940), 384.
47. Colin J. Hemer, “Crown,” in New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, 1:405–6. The στέφανος (wreath, often with gold threads) played its part in many ancient customs, connoting victory, festivity, worship, kingship, or royal visitation. The view that στέφανος could never be used of kingship is overstated.
48. Swete, The Apocalypse of St. John, 248.
49. Seiss, Lectures on theApocalypse, 3:243.
50. See the discussions in Charles, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Revelation of St. John, 2:132–33; and Barclay, The Revelation of John, 2:179–80.
51. Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament (1851; reprint, Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1972), 412–13.
52. Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (reprint, Chicago: Moody, 1958), 4:727. Also see A. R. Fausset, “1 Corinthians-Revelation,” in A Commentary Critical, Experimental and Practical on the Old and New Testaments, ed. Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown (reprint, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1967), 6:719.
53. Leon Morris, The Revelation of St. John, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1969), 230; Isbon T. Beckwith, The Apocalypse of John (New York: Macmillan, 1919; reprint, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1979), 463, 732–33; and Charles, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Revelation of St. John, 2:132–33. As Mounce observes, however, it is unlikely that this returning warrior King would fear any power, human or demonic (The Book of Revelation, 353).
54. Swete, The Apocalypse of St. John, 249; and Morris, The Revelation of St. John, 230. Ford sees the rider as the priestly Messiah with blood on His garments from the sacrifice He offers (J. Massyngberde Ford, Revelation, Anchor Bible [New York: Doubleday, 1975], 313, 320–21).
55. Beasley-Murray, The Book of Revelation, 280. Walvoord writes, “Christ as the slain lamb in Revelation [cf. 5:6] speaks of redemption by blood; here blood represents divine judgment upon wicked men” (John F. Walvoord, The Revelation of Jesus Christ [Chicago: Moody, 1966], 277).
56. G. B. Caird, The Revelation of St. John the Divine, Harper New Testament Commentary (New York: Harper, 1966), 242–44. 
57. Ladd, A Commentary on the Revelation of John, 255; and Mounce, The Book of Revelation, 354.
58. Seiss, Lectures on the Apocalypse, 3:245. 
59. Quoted in Mounce, The Book of Revelation, 354. The Targums are translations or paraphrases of the Hebrew Old Testament into Aramaic (completed in the fifth century A.D.). Some are literal, and some are interspersed with illustrative material.
60. Walter Scott, Exposition of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, 4th ed. (London: Pickering & Inglis, n.d.), 387.
61. Philip Edgcumbe Hughes, The Book of the Revelation (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990), 204. Tenney writes, “Because He embodies the revelation of God to men, He must express God’s severity as well as His goodness” (The Book of Revelation, 97).
62. Swete, The Apocalypse of St. John, 246.
63. Ibid., 250; Morris, The Revelation of St. John, 231; Beasley-Murray, The Book of Revelation, 281; and Ladd, A Commentary on the Revelation of John, 255.
64. Some suggest that the army will include both angels and church-age believers (e.g., Walvoord, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, 277).
65. Caird, The Revelation of St. John the Divine, 244. 
66. Beasley-Murray, The Book of Revelation, 281.
67. Morris, The Revelation of St. John, 231. “They wear no armor because, being immortal, they are immune to injury. They are noncombatant supporters of the Messiah as He wages war single-handedly” (Thomas, Revelation 8–22, 387).
68. John’s citations of these Old Testament texts demonstrate his own conviction as well as the prophets’ conviction that God is sovereign and omniscient. Curiously this has been denied by Clark Pinnock, a professing evangelical Christian. He asserts that predictive prophecy does not prove that God knows everything about the future. A high percentage of predictive prophecy, he suggests, can be accounted for by one of three factors: (1) the announcement ahead of time of what God intends to do, (2) conditional prophecies which leave the outcome open, and (3) predictions based on God’s exhaustive knowledge of the past and the present. However, these are merely assertions. Classical theism, which Pinnock rejects, has always affirmed several facts. (1) God is sovereign and will fulfill His promises and judgments (Eph. 1:11). If He tells man what He intends to do, will it not be done? The precise fulfillment of prophecies relating to Christ’s first advent suggests that what God says He intends to do He will do! (2) Pinnock gives no examples of conditional prophecies, and if he could they would not be prophecies. If the outcome is left open, then the outcome has not been prophesied. (3) Does not God’s exhaustive knowledge of the past and present suggest that His knowledge of the future is also exhaustive? One must ask how Pinnock can be sure God will eventually win over evil? How can it be more than a hope, or even a wish? If God is not all-powerful, all-loving, and all-knowing, then there is no such guarantee. See Clark Pinnock, “God Limits His Knowledge,” in Predestination and Free Will, ed. David and Randall Basinger (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1986), 157–58. Also see the responses of John Feinberg and Norman Geisler to Pinnock (ibid., 163–73). For another defense of classical theism, see Robert A. Morey, Battle of the Gods (Southbridge, MA: Crown, 1989), 9–15, and passim. 
69. “All of these passages point to the sad conclusion that in the day of judgment it is too late for men to expect the mercy of God” (Walvoord, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, 278).
70. Seiss, Lectures on the Apocalypse, 3:246.
71. The NIV has the word “rule” rather than “break.” “Rule,” found also in the NASB margin, reflects the Greek ποιμανεῖ (“shepherd”). The Masoretic text has תְּרֹם (“you will break”) while the Septuagint reads the verb as תִּרְם (“you will shepherd”), the only difference being in the vowels. It is evident that both the Septuagint and John (using ποιμανεῖ in Rev. 19:15) understood the verb in the sense of shepherding by guarding the flock from its enemies (Johnson, The Old Testament in the New, 15–19).
72. Kiddle, The Revelation of St. John, 384. John evidently changed his metaphor from 14:10, where the followers of the beast are not crushed like grapes but are made to drink “the wine of the wrath of God.” In 19:15 the two ideas of the winepress and the cup are combined (Charles, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Revelation of St. John, 2:137). 
73. Cf. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, 356.
74. Macartney, “Behold, a White Horse,” 80.
75. Cf. Charles, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Revelation of St. John, 2:137; Beasley-Murray, The Book ofRevelation, 281–82; and Morris, The Revelation of St. John, 231–32. Commentators differ in their interpretation of the inscription. Some have suggested that the name is inscribed on the rider’s belt. Others say it is displayed on His robe, where it falls over His thigh. Another view is that it is inscribed on the hilt of His sword where He wore it at His side. Greek and Roman authors mention statues with the name of the person inscribed on the thigh. 
76. Beasley-Murray, The Book ofRevelation, 282.
77. Wood, Prophecy in the Space Age, 147–48.