THE FINAL WAR ON EARTH

Revelation 19:11-21
Bob Bonner
April 30, 2006

A little over 100 years ago, a movement birthed in Europe among its intellectual elite crossed the Atlantic Ocean to the United States and infected many of our institutions of higher learning. Its message: “Mankind is in its greatest hour, pushing toward a humanly constructed utopia.” This belief was fueled by the Industrial Revolution, the tremendous advances of scientific discovery especially in the medical arenas, and was further encouraged by the birth of many social reforms and the ever increasing economic growth and wealth of this country. This move of optimism that proclaimed the glory of the human race eventually touched Christian seminaries, like Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Perkins and others, such that they refused to take God’s Word as true, and soon the mainline churches followed their religious leaders and joined the chorus singing of the glory of man and preaching humanism.

However, today, after two world wars, the Korean War, the Viet Nam War, two wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and what looks like a new war to come in Iran, combined with the countless and senseless acts of terrorism and violence, along with the continual collapse of moral values, few feel deeply optimistic about the future of our world.

On the other hand, the Bible does truthfully teach that things will be wonderfully better, but only after they become unimaginably worse. Sadly, even though billions will be warned along the way, few will listen or respond to the truth. As a result, God’s solution to the world’s problems will be to bring on the return of the King, the Lord Jesus Christ, to bring final order to our world. He will come first to judge, then to establish a new kingdom on earth, over which He will rule as the absolute monarch. Only then, will this earth experience peace instead of war, justice instead of inequity, righteousness instead of wickedness.

But as that day of Christ’s return comes, He and His followers will face increasing opposition. The last seven years of this world, as we know it, will be that period of time called in the Bible, the “ Tribulation.” This future period of time will be driven by an evil genius known as the Beast or the “ Antichrist” who will be supported by his right-hand man, “the false prophet.” Both of these evil leaders will be supernaturally empowered by Satan.

Despite God’s unprecedented judgments against the earth during those seven years, the human race will stand stubbornly defiant against God and His message of how to be rescued from this evil age. The Bible calls that message “the Gospel” or the good news of how one can be rescued from eternal punishment to be joined in an intimate loving relationship with God, through putting one’s complete trust in Jesus Christ as one’s personal Savior and Lord.

Thankfully, before that period of God’s judgment on this earth begins, those who have previously committed their lives to Jesus Christ will be taken off this earth, in what is known as the Rapture, to sit in the grandstands of heaven, in the throne room of God, to watch the final chapters of earth’s history being played out. Both those who have died in Christ and those who will be alive who have trusted their lives to Jesus, will suddenly be transported to the grandstands of heaven to watch this world come to its end, all the while eagerly anticipating the marriage supper of the Lamb, and the Millennial Kingdom which follows. 

However, before that great celebration takes place, the final world war, known as the battle of Armageddon must take place on earth, between Jesus and the evil driven human forces on earth.

This morning, we return to Revelation 19. As we mentioned last time, to grasp the significance of this chapter, one must see it in light of the two previous chapters. Chapters 17-18 look at the same closing events as does chapter 19, except that they each view the events from a different perspective. Chapters 17-18 look at the world events from the human point of view on earth. Whereas chapter 19 views these events from heaven’s perspective. In chapters 17-18, we read a somber lament by this world’s powerbrokers who will lose all of their wealth with the destruction of Babylon. In chapter 19, the song of praise is sung by the martyred saints who were put to death by this world’s powerbrokers. They are rejoicing over God’s faithfulness to destroy those wicked people that had unjustly killed them.

We also noted last time that chapter 19 falls into two sections, both of which speak of two suppers: vv. 1-10 deal with the “marriage supper of the Lamb,” while verses 11-21 focus on the supper of the vultures and other birds of prey who will take their meals from the mass of dead bodies that will be left on earth as a result of this final world war. Hence, the first half focuses upon a wedding and the second half focuses on the war.

Verses 11-16 introduce us to the eventual victor of this final war, Jesus Christ and His army, coming to earth. We read, ”And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. 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. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down 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 LORDS.’”

What a difference a few thousand years makes, between Jesus Christ’s first coming to earth and this, His second coming to earth. Both stand in stark contrast to the other. In Christ’s first advent, Jesus came as the humble Savior, but He will return as the honorable judge. The first time around, Jesus was prosecuted by the wicked people such as Herod, Pilate, Annas and Caiaphas. When He returns, He will judge all of the wicked people (Acts 17:31) and according to verses 15 and 21 of this chapter, He will also be their executioner.

The description of Christ’s physical being at His second coming tells us a great deal. “His eyes are a flame of fire” speaks of the reality that nothing escapes Christ’s view. His piercing, penetrating vision can see deep into the recesses of the human heart and correctly judges all human motives. And yet, these eyes are still the same tender eyes that reveal the joy of gathering His children about Him. They reflect the compassion of His heart aimed at those who are distressed and lost. His eyes are those eyes that telegraph forgiveness to His restored disciple, Peter. These same eyes wept over the fate of unrepentant Jerusalem. But here, John sees Christ’s eyes flashing with the fire of judgment.

There are two terms in the Bible translated “crown.” One term, “stephanos” speaks of the “crown” given to a winner of a race, like in the Olympic games, or a crown given to a special guest at a party. But that is not the term used here. The term used here is the term from which we get our word “diadem.” This crown is the crown of majesty or the right to rule. Collecting the crown of a vanquished king was customary in the ancient world. In observing that Jesus is wearing “many crowns” John is indicating that Christ has already won the battle before it has even started, and that He possesses of all the earth’s crowns, signifying that He alone is the sovereign ruler of the earth. He alone, is the King of all kings.

The sharp sword of His mouth is an instrument of execution; whereas the iron rod, like a rod used by a shepherd will be used for correction. These two instruments not only signal what is taking place in this final war, but also illustrates what kind of ruler Jesus will be in the Millennial Kingdom. His will be an unyielding absolute governmental rule of righteousness.  During the Millennial Kingdom, all will be required to conform to His law or face the immediate consequences.

His bloody robe reflects His past and future slaughter of His enemies. It also points to the fulfillment of the prophet dialogue found in Isaiah 63:1-6 between the prophet Isaiah and Jesus, the Warrior-Messiah. It goes like this:

Isaiah: “Who is this coming from Edom, 
         From Bozrah, with his garments stained in crimson?  |
       Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the
         greatness of his strength?”

Warrior-Messiah: “It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.”

Isaiah: “Why are your garments red, like those of one treading the winepress?”

Warrior-Messiah: “I have trodden the winepress alone;
                 From the nations no one was with me. 
               I trampled them in my anger;
                 And trod them down in my wrath;
                 And their blood spattered my garments,
                 And stained all my clothing. 
               For the day of vengeance was in my heart,
                 And the year of my redemption has come. 
               I looked, but there was no one to help, I was appalled that                    no one gave support; so my own arm worked salvation for                  me, and my own wrath sustained me. 
               I trampled the nations in my anger; in my wrath I made                       them drunk and poured their blood on the ground.”

Back in Revelation 14:20, we are told that there will be so much blood flowing from dead bodies that for a 200-mile area, the valleys and ravines between Mt. Hermon and the southernmost part of the Dead Sea will be filled with blood up to the horses bridles! Although the battle will be focused upon Jerusalem, most of it, if not all of it will take place outside the city of Jerusalem. 

This battle is further described through the use of the illustration of a wine press. A wine press had two vats: one in which the grapes were stomped; the second below collected the juices.  The low-lying areas, like the Kidron Valley, will be the “collecting vats” for the blood of the dead!  Also, the one stomping the grapes typically had dark red grape juice splashed up against his garments, hence, the analogy of Christ’s robe, dripped in blood.

Lastly, we read that Christ’s army will be clothed in fine linen, white and clean which refers to the glorified believers, the “bride of Christ” that we read about earlier in this chapter. As an army, their role will not be to fight, but to witness the victory of their King, their groom.

Now we come to the second half of this section which focuses mostly on the losers of the war, but in the first two verses, we meet what I’m calling “the clean- up crew.” We read, “Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, ‘Come, assemble for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great.’”

Obviously, the “clean-up crew” are the flesh eating birds, vultures feeding on the carcasses of those dead deviant souls who refused to turn away from the Antichrist so as to follow Jesus. This scene is also mentioned in Matthew 24:27-28, where we read, “For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”

Verse 19, gives us the broad list of “losers.” It says, And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.

You might remember that in our study of Revelation 16, I described how the armies of the world will surround the city of Jerusalem making ready their attack on Christ when He comes. This verse references this military strategy. 

But before the armies of the world know what hit them, the war is over, with a simple word from Jesus. And immediately, the two key leaders, the Antichrist and his prophet are seized, sentenced and sent to hell forever. We read, “And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.”

These two culprits are the first to arrive at the eternal lake of fire, 1,000 years before the other rebellious and unrepentant human beings will be sent there after the great white throne judgment. That final judgment, as we will see in the near future, takes place after the Millennial Kingdom.

Of the rest of the armies and peoples of the earth who will stand against Christ, we read, “And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.” The picture this verse paints for us is that with just a word from Christ, no battle, just a word, His enemies die and the war is over. There is no real fight as what we would think of as should happen in a war. There was no weapon of mass destruction. Just a word from the Lord’s mouth. This passage reminds of the truth of God’s power, revealed in Martin Luther’s great hymn, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God;” in particular, the line which refers to Satan and his confrontation of the devil, “one little word shall fell him.” Just like a tree, after a logger cuts its, and it falls, one word will drop these people dead for the vultures to munch on.

J. B. Phillips, in his commentary, Exploring Revelation, [p. 249] described this final scene, this final act of arrogance upon the part of humanity, thinking we can stand against God’s anointed this way. He writes:

“With what panoply and pomp the armies march across the plains of Galilee, [ a “panoply” is an impressive display of a complete set of armor or suit of armor] file through the passes and deploy on the fertile fields of Megiddo! What masses of military equipment are stockpiled in the hills! What fleets ride at anchor in the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, and along the shore lines of the eastern Mediterranean! What stirring strains of martial music are heard. The ground shakes to the beat of marching feet; the skies darken with aircraft drawn from the ends of the earth. Amazing new weapons, given to men by the beast, are brought into place. Miracles are wrought by the false prophet to encourage the troops. The final commands are given.

“Then suddenly it will all be over. In fact, there will be no war at all, in the sense that we think of war. There will be just a word spoken from Him who sits astride the great white horse. Once He spoke a word to a fig tree, and it withered away. Once He spoke a word to howling winds and heaving waves, and the storm clouds vanished and the waves fell still. Once He spoke to a legion of demons bursting at the seams of a poor man’s soul, and instantly they fled. Now He speaks a word, and the war is over. The blasphemous, loud-mouthed beast is stricken where he stands. The false prophet, the miracle-working windbag from the pit is punctured and still. The pair of them are bundled up and hurled headlong into the everlasting flames. Another word, and the panic-stricken armies reel and stagger and fall down dead. Field marshals and generals, admirals and air commanders, soldiers and sailors, rank and file, one and all—they fall. And the vultures descend and cover the scene. Thus ends the battle of Armageddon!”

The aspect of this passage that I have deliberately skipped over and saved til now, is the obvious emphasis and description of Jesus Christ found in verses 11-16. The whole purpose of the last half of this chapter is to illustrate the how great a victor He will be. In these verse we find a total of six descriptive terms, names and titles that reveal the very nature of Jesus, the Victor.  When people ask you, “Who is Jesus, really and why have you chosen to submit your life to Him?”, you might want to point them to these six descriptions of Jesus. Then ask them, “Why haven’t you turned your life over to Him?”

First, we are told that Jesus is “faithful.” This terms has been used several times in Revelation to describe Jesus. To call Jesus faithful points to two aspects of His dealing with us. First, He is faithful to fulfill every promise He has ever made. Second, He has been faithful in the sense that He has been loyal, never abandoning us. This is important for not only believers who are and will be persecuted for their faith, but for those of us today who may find ourselves backed into a corner of some kind and don’t see a way out. At times like that, we need to be reminded that God is faithful and will not desert or abandon us. He is still in control and He will deliver us one way or another.

In contrast, Jesus is not like the world or the Antichrist, who is unfaithful and during the last days, will break his promise or covenant with Israel.

Another term used several times in Revelation that describes Jesus is that He is “true.” This term is similar to being faithful, but the added dimension that this term  brings to Christ’s character is that He never lies. Whereas His counterpart, the Antichrist will deceive, speak falsehood and is a child of the devil who is the father of lies.

Third, Christ is the “righteous one.” Opposite than the Antichrist who is wicked, in Jesus there is no evil or wrong motive or action lived out against another person. He is fair and just in all of His dealings with humanity.

Fourth, whereas the Antichrist and all who defiantly reject Jesus Christ will be the defendants, Jesus is “the judge.” He is the only righteous, fair, all knowing being who cannot be deceived and has all of the facts to rightly convict and condemn those who are evil and have in turn, rejected Him.

Because He is the revelation of God, Jesus is also the full expression of the mind, will, and purpose of God. In short, He is what the Greeks called, the “logos” or the “Word of God.” 

Interestingly, this name for Jesus did not begin with the early Church. Six-hundred years before Christ, the known world around the Mediterranean Sea was highly influenced by Greek philosophy, that had carried over into John’s day. In the 6th century B.C., there was a philosopher named Heraclitus, who lived in Ephesus. He taught that life was in a constant state of ordered change. And for there to be ordered change rather than chaos, he reasoned that there must be some divine "logos", some divine "reason" or divine "word" that controls this change.

For Heraclitus and all of the Greek philosophers who followed him, this term, "logos" or "word" became nothing less than a term that referred to the mind of God controlling this world and all men. In fact, Plato, we are told, who followed Heraclitus, taught during the Golden Age of Greece, “...That some day there will come forth from God a word, a "logos," or a person who will reveal all mysteries and make everything plain." [JOHN, Boice, Vol. 1, p.39-40]

Hence, when the Apostle John, through the leading of the Holy Spirit, specifically seized upon this significant term "logos" in reference to Jesus Christ, calling Jesus, “the Word of God,” he was saying to the known world of his day, "Yes, Plato. You were right, and the "logos" has come in the flesh; now God is revealed to us perfectly." Everything that is going on in the mind and actions of God are expressed in this person, Jesus Christ, for He is deity.  In the flesh, you see in Christ, the very mind, purpose and heart of God. That’s why Jesus would later say that “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father.”

Saving the best til last, John declares that Jesus will no longer be viewed as the humiliated suffering servant. Rather, at this point in time, in still future history, Jesus will be seen as the victorious warrior “King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.”

So, why this chapter? Why would God want us to know the contents of this passage, that point to Jesus as being the victorious Son of God? I can see three reasons.

The first reason that believers throughout history, and not just during the Tribulation period need to understand what kind of victorious King Jesus is, is to strengthen and shore up the confidence of suffering saints. For those who are suffering physically, emotionally or due to political, social, religious or economic injustice, God wants us to know that this suffering is only temporary and it is not without a purpose. Jesus, the “Word of God” has a purposeful order and plan to all that is happening to us, around us and through us. It may seem as dark as night, but the Son will come up in the morning, because look at with whom we are dealing.

The second reason is summarized better by two passages. First, the Apostle Peter, who was martyred for his faith writes, “Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.” 

The Apostle Paul put it this way, “The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.”

In other words, God wants us to understand what is coming, when Jesus Christ appears again as the victorious warrior King, so that we don’t waste our lives here on earth. He wants us tostimulate the saints to invest their lives in holy living. And by holy living, God does not mean holing up in a monastery as a single person, wearing itchy clothes and feeding on mush. No, He means for us to live a life that is representative of one who is following Jesus Christ. We are to live our lives as people set apart for a purpose. That purpose is to bring glory to God by calling others to meet, know, worship and follow Jesus Christ.

Finally, Jesus wants us to understand that one day this world will come to an end and with it, He will return. When He does, by then, those who have refused to place their lives in the hands of Jesus Christ will be damned, lost forever. There, God has given us this passage that He might stir us up to fulfill our calling to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all of our friends, relatives and neighbors.

Has your confidence been strengthened? When you leave here this morning, are you more stimulated to live for Christ in an honoring way, than you were before you came in? Are you more determined to share the truth about the love of Christ with others? If you are not, there is a problem. The problem isn’t with the messenger, whether John or the pastor. The problem isn’t with God’s Word or God. If we are not moved to consider change in these three areas, the problem is with us. The problem may be even as serious as to cause us to consider, are we really part of God’s eternal family. As it relates to these three reasons, what decision do you need to make today, for you?

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