Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

Revelation 19:11
Jan 2nd, 2011
Exploring RevelationArt Sadlier
Categories: Commentary;Prophecy;Book Study

“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.”

A climactic moment has arrived. This is the moment to which all has been moving since Christ ascended from the Mount of Olives. In our text, John “saw heaven opened.” Earlier in the book, in Revelation 4:1-2, heaven was opened to let John enter into heaven. In John’s entrance into heaven, we have prophetic foreview of the rapture of the church.

Here in 19:11, heaven is opened as Christ returns to the earth, as the scriptures have long promised. In chapter 4, John’s was an entrance, an entrance into heaven, an entrance which included the body of Christ at the rapture. In chapter 19, we see Christ as He exits heaven along with the body of Christ and the angels.

This is a prelude to the great catastrophic destruction that is about to befall the gentile nations and peoples who have rebelled against God and His Christ. These powers are consolidated under Antichrist and we view them in Daniel 2:35, in a prophetic foreview of our text in Revelation 19. “Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.” The smiting stone is Christ at His return to the earth to fill the world with His kingdom.

This event is the final manifestation of the wrath of God upon nations and men in rebellion against God in a sinful world. There will be a final judgment against individual sinful men at the great white throne, but this is a judgment against nations and Antichrist and his kingdom. This also involves the judgment of all false religions and false religious systems, which will be unified in the last days. This false religion will used by Satan to deceive the nations into worshipping Satan himself.

All unrighteousness must be put down as Christ comes to the throne of David to rule over the world. Christ is fittingly pictured as riding upon a white horse as He comes as the conqueror of the earth.

In Revelation 6:2, we see a false Christ coming upon the earth, “And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.” This imposter is the Antichrist. He comes in an attempt to make people believe that he is Messiah of Israel and the Christ of Christendom. He is successful in deceiving Israel, Christendom and the nations. “Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie” (2 Thess. 9-11).

Notice God’s purpose in this deception in verse 12, “That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” God deceives those who want to be deceived, those who reject the truth.

At His first coming, Christ humbly presents Himself to Israel as her king, riding on a donkey. At His second coming, we see him riding on a white horse as a conquering king. He comes as a king to destroy His enemies before He sits on the throne of David, as king over all the earth. “He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end” (Luke 1:32-33).

He is called, “Faithful and true.” The world has sought for truth and has never found it, because it has rejected the one who is, “The way the truth and the life.” (John 14:6)  Our world has been filled with deception ever since Eve allowed herself to be deceived by Satan. When Christ comes to reign He will fill the whole world with truth, “For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” (Habakkuk 2:14)

“In righteousness he doth judge and make war.” In Philippians 2 we see both comings of Christ. We see His first coming in verses 6-8, “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

We see His second coming in verses 9-11. “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

There are two Old Testament scriptures where we have a clear prophecy of our Lord`s second coming to the earth. Zechariah 14:5, “And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.”

Isaiah 66:15-16, “For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.”

Also in Jude 14, “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints.”

Today, we who are a part of the Body of Christ, are not looking for His coming to judge, but rather we are listening for the call of the trumpet, and to be taken by Him, to be forever with Him.