The King Returns, Part 2a

Revelation 19, verse number 11, and I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat upon it is called faithful and true, and in righteousness he judges and wages war. And his eyes are a flame of fire, and upon his head are many diadems, and he has a name written upon him which no one knows except himself. And he is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following him on white horses.

And from his mouth comes a sharp sword. so that with it he may smite the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, and he treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God the Almighty. And on his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of Kings. And Lord of Lord. An event that we've all anticipated: the return of Jesus Christ our Lord. The return of the king was planned by God. We looked at that last time we were together. God has a marvelous plan. And even from the very beginning at the fall of man in Genesis 3, verse number 15, he Gave us insight into that plan.

And as you go through the book of Genesis, you see how Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were all anticipating the coming of the promised seed, the promised Messiah. Even in Genesis 49, verse number 10, it was told that from Judah the scepter will not depart until Shiloh comes, that is, the one whose right it is to rule, arrives. And we realize that that which was anticipated by God's people was all planned by God from the very beginning. Number two, it was proclaimed by the prophets.

We read about it in the book of Isaiah, the 9th chapter, the 11th chapter, the 33rd, 35th, 45th, and 6 chapter. In Ezekiel chapter 21, we read about it, Zach chapter 14. And even one that we didn't look at, Daniel chapter 7, it says this: I kept looking in the night, verse number 13.

And behold, with the clouds of heaven, one like a Son of Man was coming, and it came up to the ancient of days, and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion, glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and men of every language might serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which will not pass away. And his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed. And then, down in verse number 18, but the saints of the highest one will receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever for all ages to come.

So, even Daniel. Was able to peer into the future and understand the arrival of the coming king. It was planned by God, proclaimed by the prophets, promised by Christ. Jesus Christ Himself in John 14 and Matthew 24 and 25, in the parables that he gave about the two ser and the talents and the ten virgins, prophesied his return. And then also, as we looked at the apostles, whether it be Peter, whether it be James, whether it be Paul, whether it be John, it was preached by the Apostles that the king him.

Would return. It was previewed on the Mount of Transfiguration. We looked at that last time, too, in Luke chapter 9, as Christ unzipped his flesh. And he revealed his glory to Peter, James, and John there on the Mount of Transfiguration that they might understand a little bit of the coming kingdom. There's another one I want to give you, and that it's this. It was petitioned by those who love him. There was a prayer, a pleading on the part of a man by the name of Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 64, verses 1 and 2.

It says, This, Oh, that thou wouldst rend the heavens and come down. The mountains might quake at thy presence. As fire kindles the brushwood, as fire causes water to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy Presence. Even the prophet Isaiah was consumed with the fact of the coming king and his presence on this earth. Even in Revelation chapter 6, a text that we have looked at quite often, in verse number 9, and when he broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain, because of the word of God and because of the testimony which they had maintained.

And they cried out with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, wilt thou refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth? How long, O Lord? When will you return? When will you come back? When will you take out your vengeance on those who have come against us? So we see the petition by those who love him, the pleading, the prayers of those who love him that somehow the king would return. They anticipated his arrival. Thus, we understand that Jesus Christ him will return.

And lastly, it was presented and is presented in the book of Revelation. We saw it in Revelation chapter 1. Behold, the king is coming. We saw it in Revelation chapter 14. For in Revelation chapter 14, we understand the visions. And it says, Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like the Son of Man, having a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand. It says in verse number 17, And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle.

And another angel, the one who has power over fire, came out from the altar, and he called with a loud voice to him. Who had the sharp sickle, saying, Put in your sharp sickle, and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe. And the angel swung his sickle to the earth, and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great winepress of the wrath of God. and the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out from the wine press up to the hors' bridles, for a distance of two hundred miles.

So we saw in Revelation chapter 14 the anticipation through a vision of the coming king who will take his sickle and he will, as it would, slice through the harvest. And come and destroy those who have rebelled against him. And then, of course, Revelation chapter 19. He arrives, he is here. And what we see in Revelation 19. Is the revelation of Jesus Christ our Lord to this earth? An incredible passage of Scripture. I want you to turn back with me, if you would, to Isaiah 63. We looked at it last time, but I just want to draw your attention to it again because it's sort of.

Folllows the imagery of Revelation 19. Isaiah 11 verses 1 to 10 follows the same type of imagery. So does Isaiah 63 verses 1 To six, but you need to understand that what Isaiah would see, John now sees in Revelation nineteen, verses ele to sixteen. It says in Isaiah 63, verse number 1, these words: Who is this who comes from Edom with garments of glowing colors from Boz, if you were with us last time? We told you this is the place in which Jesus Christ Himself is going to arrive on the earth. We looked here, we looked also in.

Isaiah 34, verses 1 to 7. You can read about it in Micah 2, 12 to 13, as well as Habakkuk chapter 3, verse number 3. But this is the place in which the Son of Man is going to return. And it says, This one who is majestic in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength, it is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Why is your apparel red? And your garments like the one who treads in the winepress? I have trodden the wine trough alone, and for the peoples there was no man with me. I also trod them in my anger, and trampled them in my wrath.

and their life blood is sprinkled on my garments, and I stained all my raiment, for the day of vengeance was in my heart. And my year of redemption has come. And I looked, and there was no one to help, and I was astonished, and there was no one to uphold. So my own arm brought salvation to me, and my wrath upheld me. And I trod down the peoples in my anger, and made them drunk in my wrath, and I poured out their lifeblood on the ear. What Isaiah saw, what Isaiah encountered as he faced the majestic one, as he faced the return of the king, now John himself encounters.

And so John might be referring back and thinking back to what Isaiah would have saw when he was able to observe. The majestic one coming in his garments stained in blood from Boz. And now in Revelation 19, verses 11 to 16, John sees him coming. Remember, Matthew 24 is the setting for Revelation chapter 19, for in Matthew 24, verse number 29 it says, But immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

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. And he will send forth his angels with a great trumpet, and they will gather together his elect. From the four winds from one end of the sky to the other. That is the setting of Revelation chapter 19. And in verse number 11, John says. I sa heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. There are four things I want you to see as we look at the arrival of the king.

Number one is some details. Number two are his designations. Number three, his demeanor. And number four, his deeds. Very simple outline. But I want to give you some details as we begin to embark on this text. Some details I think that are extremely important. Heaven is opened not to let us in, to see what is there, but to let Christ Out. That's important for us to understand. And you will notice that the text says, Behold.

A white horse, and he who sat upon it is called faithful and true, and in righteousness he judges and wages war. Please understand this. There is a mixture of symbolism as well as reality in Revelation 19, verses 11 to 16. All the symbolism point to the one reality that the king is returning. The king is coming, and the king who comes is a conquering king. In ancient days, when a king conquered, he came riding into the city on a white horse. And he would wear the crown of those in whom he defeated.

And you will notice that Christ wears all the crowns, and we'll look about that here in a moment. But it's important for us to understand that Jesus Christ Himself is not going to have a literal rod in his hand where he goes around bashing people's skulls in because they're disobedient to him. It's all symbolism that points to the one great real that this is the coming king. He is the conquering king. He is the ruling king. And he has already won the victory. So he comes with his process as a conquering warrior.

The majestic symbol is of a Roman conqueror who was coming back in a triumphal procession. As a general would ride to war on a white horse, wearing royal garb, so the Son of Man comes. In all of his glory. And what John sees is the king's victory. He no longer sees him as a lamb. He no longer sees him on a donkey as he did in the triumphal entry way back when he was in Jerusalem. And as Zach the prophet prophesied in Zechariah 9, 9. He comes on a white horse because white is a symbol for purity. It's a symbol of spotlessness.

It's a symbol of unblem, holy power. He comes as a warrior king. The sword, the crown, the rod are all symbolic, but his coming is a real. Revelation 1:7 says, Every eye will see him. Can you imagine that? Everybody who exists at that time will see him. Every eye will see him. Why? Because everybody will be at the same place. Everybody will have gathered together in the valley called Harmag. They will have made their way down to the place called Edom in Bozra. That they might finally destroy the Jewish nation.

And as they make their journey for their last battle, the Son of Man appears. It's pitch black, the sun has been darkened. And the king arrives. And when does he arrive? We all know when he's coming, don't we? Sure, you do. If you were here last time, you know exactly when the Lord's going to return. He comes back when? At the hour you least expect him. That's what the Bible says.

Matthew chapter 24. Tells us exactly when he's going to return. The time you least, at the hour you least, ex him. And please understand this, and we're still into some details here. There is nothing in this scenario that comp to the rapture of the church, the catching away of the bride of Christ. The coming of the Lord for his bel br. Please understand that. There are two specific passages in Scripture that speak about The rapture of the church. One is John 14, verses 1 to 3, which speaks about the fact that he's going to come back and take us to his father's house.

And then, of course, there is 1 Thessalonians 4, verses 13 to 17, when he descends from heaven with a shout and the voice of the archangel and the trump of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first, and we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together in the air with him, and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Therefore, comfort one another with these words. It speaks of the catching away of the bride. But the rapture is a distinct event. It is a separate event. If you recall, if you were with us a number of months ago, we gave you one of these pieces of paper that would help you understand the difference between the revelation of Christ. And the rapture of the church, the distinct elements that help you understand that they are separate. They are not the same. At the rapture, he meets us in the air. At the revelation of Christ, he actually comes down to the ear.

At the rapture, he brings his saints to him. At the revelation of Christ, his saints come with him, as we have read in Revelation 19. They come with him back to earth. In Revelation 19, it's a time of cursing. It's a time of judgment. In Zach 14. We understand that he arrives at the Mount of Olives and splits it. It doesn't mean that's where he touches first, it means that's where he inevitably ends up because he's going to judge those.

Who have rebelled against him? And when he touches the Mount of Olives, then he splits the Mount of Olives. That is Matthew chapter 25, the sheep-g judgment, where he puts the sheep on his right. the goats on his left, and the sheep enter into the millennial kingdom, and the goats into everlasting damnation. Those are just some details you need to understand before we get actually into the text. And let's look at number two: his designations.

His designations. What is he called? Well, he's called faithful. And true. That is so good. It's almost as if he says when he returns, I told you I was coming. And you didn't believe me. Because I'm faithful, because I'm true, I am committed to doing what I said I would do. I keep my promises. S, we have a hard time with that because we don't know very many people who keep their promises. But Jesus does. He always keeps his promises. And so here he is. Faithful and true. He is reliable. He is credible.

His words are true. He keeps his words. He is truth person. As you recall back in Revelation chapter 3, Revelation chapter 3, verse number 14. And to the angel of the church and Laod, write, the amen, the faithful and true. Witness the beginning of the creation of God. Christ is described as the faithful and true witness. Over in Revelation 3, verse number 7: He who is holy, who is True. So we see him described again as the God who is true. God can li. He always keeps his word. And that's good for you and me, isn't it?

That's so good for us. The Bible tells us in Hebrews chapter 10 and verse number 23 that we ought to hold fast to our confession without wavering. Why? Because the Bible says, he who promised is faithful.

That's why. What is the motivation to persevere? What is the motivation not to let go of what God has given to you? What is the motivation to hold on? What is the motivation to keep going when things around you are falling apart? Because he who promised is faithful. And because he's faithful, he will do exactly what he promised to do. 1 Corinthians 10:1: No temptation has overtaken you. Such as common to man. And God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with that temptation, provide the way.

Of escape. God is faithful to always provide a route of escape. Over in 2 Thessalonians 3:3, it tells us that God's so faithful, He protects us from Satan. It says, But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. God is so faithful that He protects you from Satan. That's good news. God is so faithful that He says that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. You know, it's so good because, you know, if we sin against a brother, or a brother sins against us, and we go to them and ask for forgiveness.

And they say, I forgive you. You show up at church next week, and they don't speak to you. They give you the cold shoulder. They don't treat you like they used to treat you. And somehow we conjure this image of God be the same way. That we've gone to Him, we our sins, He's forgiven us our sins, but we go to Him again and He kind of turns the cold shoulder. Kind of ignores us when we go to Him the next time. That's not true. Why? Because God is faithful. If you confess, God is faithful to forgive.

Your sins. He is just. He is righteous. Because he is true, he is not a counterfeit. He's genuine. He's reliable. He is the real thing. There's no dishonesty in him. His ways and his judgments are just and true. We read about them over in Revelation 19, verse number 2. What does it say? It says, Because his judgments are true and righteous, for he has judged the great harlot, who is corrupting the earth with her immorality, and he has avenged the blood of his bonds on her. He is true. He is righteous.

He is faithful. The dragon, he is the deceiver. The beast, he is the false Christ. And his cohort is the false prophet. Everything that contradicts God, they are. God is the opposite of a deceiver. God is the opposite of a false prophet. He's a true prophet, He is faithful. And true. His next designation is another good one. It says this: in verse number 12. He has a name written on him which no one knows except him. The second designation is the fact that he has a name that nobody knows.

Can you imagine that? John sees the Son of Man coming, sees him on his white horse, and yet he has this name that nobody knows. That's because he is incomprehensible. Listen, if nobody knows it, that means the glorified saints who are coming with him don't know it either. That means the angels don't know it either. That means when you get to heaven and you have a glorified body, you're still not going to comprehend all that God is. You're never really going to fully grasp God. Why? Because He's infinite.

He's incomparable. He's incomprehensible. And so here, John sees him coming, and what does he see? A name written on him, which nobody knows. No one knows it. Because he's beyond anything that we can ever imagine. People say, What are you going to do when you get to heaven? You're going to keep trying to comprehend the incomprehensible. For the rest of your life, for the rest of eternity. There is so much about God you don't know. There is so much about God you cannot grasp, you're going to spend the rest of eternity trying to figure out God.

And when eternity is over, which it never is, you'll still never figure him out. Because you'll still have a name written on him that nobody knows. Nobody knows. It's encouraging. Because sometimes, you know, we think we know a lot. We think we know much more than somebody else knows. Most of us are educated way beyond our intelligence, and yet somehow we think that we are smarter than somebody else. But the thing about God is you never really fully grasp. God. His nature is beyond us. He is beyond understanding.

He is beyond knowledge. And yet he beckons us to come to know him. He beckons us to try to figure him out. He beckons us to come after him and seek him When you do, you'll find him. And we should somehow seek to know him. The third designation I want you to see is that his name is called the Word of God.

John sees him, and what does he see? The one who's called faithful and true. The one. Who has a name written on him which no one knows? The one whose name is called the Word of God. Who's that? Second member of the Trinity, the inc one, the Creator.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. John talks about the word, the incarnate word of God. Why? Because the word is that which communicates. And the greatest communicator of God was Jesus in the flesh, who is God. And he was able to communicate to us the real of his Father who is in heaven. He's the expression of God, the exact representation of God. He's a revelation of God. He is the declaration of God. He is the one in whom we hear God speak and see God act.

He is God's word. And then, fourthly, he is the king of kings and lord of lords. He's the king of all the kings. He is the Lord of all the lords. All the other kings have a small K. He's got a big K. All the other lords have little L's. He's got the big L. Why? Because he is the king. He is the Lord. This name is written on his robe and his thigh. It's a banner that sweeps across his chest, down through his thighs. King of kings, Lord of lords. Can you imagine the vision? John Gitz in Revelation 19.

What an event. What a time. And we're coming back with him. We're going to be there. And he'll be leading the way the return of the king.