The Revelation to John 19:11-21 [NLTse]
11 Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. 12 His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself. 13 He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses. 15 From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress. 16 On his robe at his thigh[e] was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords.
17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, shouting to the vultures flying high in the sky: “Come! Gather together for the great banquet God has prepared. 18 Come and eat the flesh of kings, generals, and strong warriors; of horses and their riders; and of all humanity, both free and slave, small and great.”
19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the world and their armies gathered together to fight against the one sitting on the horse and his army. 20 And the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who did mighty miracles on behalf of the beast—miracles that deceived all who had accepted the mark of the beast and who worshiped his statue. Both the beast and his false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. 21 Their entire army was killed by the sharp sword that came from the mouth of the one riding the white horse. And the vultures all gorged themselves on the dead bodies.
Jesus spoke often about coming again. He said, “You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.” (Matthew 24:44) He said, “When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with Me where I am.” (John 14:3) As we read earlier, immediately after Jesus had ascended into Heaven, two angels said to the disciples, “‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why are you standing here staring into Heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into Heaven, but someday He will return from Heaven in the same way you saw Him go!’” (Acts 1:11) Paul taught, “… the Lord Himself will come down from Heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16) The author of Hebrews wrote that Christ “died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for Him.” (Hebrews 9:28) James wrote, “…the coming of the Lord is near.” (James 5:8) Peter said, “…the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief.” (2 Peter 3:10) John wrote, “Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but He has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like Him…” (1 John 3:2) And The Revelation to John has frequent references to Christ’s return, but ends with this promise from Jesus, “Yes, I am coming soon!” And John’s response, “Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!” (The Revelation 22:20)
The Second Coming of Jesus Christ is the dominant, living hope of the New Testament church. The verses we just read speak of a sudden return of Christ that will be dramatic and visible. (“As the lightning flashes in the east and shines to the west, so it will be when the Son of Man comes.” [Matthew 24:27] “…everyone will see Him…” [The Revelation 1:7]) Although it was once popular to believe that the Lord Jesus would not bodily return, but that merely His teachings- and lifestyle-of-love would return and overwhelm the peoples of the Earth, the passages we’ve just read are far too explicit to allow for that idea. It is not His teachings or His style of conduct, but “the Lord Himself” Who will descend from Heaven (1 Thessalonians 4:16). It is Jesus Himself Who “will return from Heaven in the same way you saw Him go!” (Acts 1:11)
Several passages indicate that we do not, and cannot, know the time when Christ will return. Let’s open to Matthew 24:44. The Lord Jesus says, “… the Son of Man will come when least expected.” Turn the page to 25:13. Jesus goes on, “…keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of My return.” Keep turning to Mark 13:32-33. Jesus says, “…no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in Heaven or the Son Himself. Only the Father knows. And since you don’t know when that time will come, be on guard! Stay alert!”
The practical result of the force of these passages is that anyone who claims to know the hour or the day or even the month or the year when the world will end and Jesus will come back is automatically to be considered wrong.
Even so, there are certain events that need to happen before Christ’s return. If you still have your Bibles open to Mark 13, good. If not, let’s open back to Mark 13 together.
1) In v. 10 Jesus says, “The Good News must first be preached to all nations.” (Mark 13:10) Has it been? In that first century Paul could write to the Colossians, “The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it.” (1:23) Here in our day, with modern print and media resources along with the plus or minus six million Christian missionaries at work in the world, we could say, “The Good News has been preached all over the world.”
2) Look with me at Mark 13:7-8. Jesus says, “You will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in many parts of the world, as well as famines. But this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.” In vv. 19-20 He continues, “There will be greater anguish in those days than at any time since God created the world. And it will never be so great again. In fact, unless the Lord shortens that time of calamity, not a single person will survive. But for the sake of His chosen ones He has shortened those days.”
This has come to be called the “Great Tribulation”, this time of anguish and war and earthquake and famine, but a time of anguish greater than any the Earth has ever known. The first century knew times of horrific suffering for Christians and many people’s during the Roman siege of Jerusalem in 66AD and during the periods of Christian persecution under emperors Nero and Domitian. And since the first century, there have been many periods of violent and intense persecution of Christians, and in the past hundred years much of it has occurred over large portions of the globe, with Christians being horribly persecuted in the former Soviet Union, in communist China, and in Muslim countries. I can imagine it would be difficult to convince the many modern-day Christians who have undergone decades of persecution for their faith, and who have know that persecution to affect thousands of other Christians throughout large segments of the world that such a great tribulation has not yet occurred!
3) Mark 13:22. Jesus says, “False messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones.” Has this happened yet? Certainly demonic miracles and false signs have been done for centuries, at least since the time that the magicians in Pharaoh’s court produced false signs in opposition to Moses’ miracles (Exodus 7:11; 8:7), and since the time that Simon the Magician won riches, a name, and a following for himself in Samaria before Phillip, Simon Peter, and John brought to gospel there. (Acts 8:9-11)
4) In Mark 13:24-25 the Lord Jesus said, “At that time, after the anguish of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will give no light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.” Although some have sought to explain this as simply symbolic language, contextually it is much more likely that such a shaking of the Earth and Heaven would be a part of the cosmic destruction often spoken of accompanying Christ’s return. These particular signs clearly have not yet occurred, and yet they could occur very quickly – within the space of a few minutes or at the most an hour or two – but nothing that should lead us to deny that Christ could return at any time.
5) Turn with me to 2 Thessalonians 2 for this next one. Paul writes, “Now, dear brothers and sisters, let us clarify some things about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ … that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed—the one who brings destruction. He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God…” (Vv. 1-4) Antichrist this “man of lawlessness” is often called. Surely antichrist hasn’t come yet?
In the first century the Roman emperors Nero and Domitian were thought by many to be this “antichrist”: They claimed deity for themselves and demanded to be worshiped. More recently, Adolf Hitler was commonly thought to be the antichrist, as was Joseph Stalin. Although it is likely that a worse “man of lawlessness” will yet arise on the world scene and bring unparalleled suffering and persecution, the evil already perpetrated by so many world leaders across Christian history would certainly meet the Bible’s qualifications that antichrist has appeared and that this sign has already been fulfilled.
6) Lastly, Romans 11 speaks of the salvation of Israel as taking place before Jesus returns. Let’s turn there. In v. 12 Paul writes, “Now if the Gentiles were enriched because the people of Israel turned down God’s offer of salvation, think how much greater a blessing the world will share when they finally accept it…” (And down to v. 25.) “Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ. And so all Israel will be saved.” Some believe that Romans 9-11 speak of a future mass conversion of Jews accepting Jesus as their Messiah. Yet many others have argued that no such Jewish-conversion is necessary other than the kind already seen throughout the first century and the history of the church, since (if you’ll look with me up to vv. 1-2) Paul gives himself as an example of God bringing Jewish-Israel to Christ. So, perhaps this sign, too, is already being fulfilled as we hear of so many Jews receiving Jesus as their Messiah.
So, except for the spectacular signs in the heavens, it is possible that every sign the Bible speaks of needing to be fulfilled before Jesus returns for us has already been fulfilled, or is being fulfilled at this very moment. And the darkening of the sun and moon, and the falling of the stars, could occur within the space of a few minutes!
So I ask us, “Are we ready?” Are we ready for Jesus’ return? If you knew Jesus was going to appear at the end of this Worship Service, would you welcome that news, or would it make you nervous? Many have gotten into the habit of thinking that because He hasn’t come so far that maybe He’s not coming at all? The Scriptures won’t allow for that chain of thinking. He’s coming. He’s coming back. And because He’s coming at a time when we will least expect it, wouldn’t right now fit the bill? Are you ready? Are we ready?
Jesus is coming back for His Bride, the Church. Is there anything you need to change before He arrives? Anything you need to get into your life, or get out of your life as you expect His return? Are there any disappointments you’ve been facing that have been overwhelming you up until now, but if He’s coming so soon, now you know you can handle it all? Who do you need to be reconciled with whom you’ve been at odds with for too long now that you realize Jesus’ return is so near?
He’s coming back for us! Our protector and redeemer, Who’s bought us and saved us: He’s coming back for us! Let’s decorate our souls, turning “from godless living and sinful pleasures,” Paul writes to Titus. “We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed.” (2:12-13)
Our Husband is coming to take us to our true home. Let’s expect Him. Let’s prepare our hearts and lives for His coming. Let’s get ready. Let’s live always ready!
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