The Rider on the White Horse ~ Part 2

Revelation 19:11-21
The End Times

In my last post, we explored Revelation 19:11-21 ~ The Rider on the White Horse ~ Part 1. In this post, we continue to examine Revelation 19:11-21 ~ The Rider on the White Horse ~ Part 2.

¹¹ Next I saw heaven opened, and there before me was a white horse. Sitting on it was the One called Faithful and True, and it is in righteousness that He passes judgment and goes to battle. ¹² His eyes were like a fiery flame, and on His head were many royal crowns. And He had a name written which no one knew but Himself. ¹³ He was wearing a robe that had been soaked in blood, and the name by which He is called is, “THE WORD OF GOD.” ¹⁴ The armies of heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and pure, were following Him on white horses. ¹⁵ And out of His mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down nations — “He will rule them with a staff of iron.” It is He who treads the winepress from which flows the wine of the furious rage of Adonai, God of heaven’s armies. ¹⁶ And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. ¹⁷ Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out in a loud voice to all the birds that fly about in mid-heaven, “Come, gather together for the great feast God is giving, ¹⁸ to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of generals, the flesh of important men, the flesh of horses and their riders and the flesh of all kinds of people, free and slave, small and great!” ¹⁹ I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to do battle with the rider of the horse and his army. ²⁰ But the beast was taken captive, and with it the false prophet who, in its presence, had done the miracles which he had used to deceive those who had received the mark of the beast and those who had worshipped his image. The beast and the false prophet were both thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. ²¹ The rest were killed with the sword that goes out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh. ~ Revelation 19:11-21 (CJB)

The Armies of Heaven Follow the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords (19:14-16)

¹⁴ The armies of heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and pure, were following Him on white horses. ¹⁵ And out of His mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down nations — “He will rule them with a staff of iron.” It is He who treads the winepress from which flows the wine of the furious rage of Adonai, God of heaven’s armies. ¹⁶ And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

Who is this army following Yeshua? Some think they might be angels; however, a close examination of the verse seems to imply otherwise. Note that they are clothed in fine linen, white and pure. Look back to verse eight where there is a description of the Bride of Yeshua. It says fine linen, bright and clean has been given her to wear” (“Fine linen” means the righteous deeds of God’s people) almost word for word the same as verse fourteen. This army is a fulfillment of the prophecy of Hanokh (Enoch) as recorded in Jude, verses fourteen and fifteen: “Look! Adonai came with his myriads of holy ones  to execute judgment against everyone, that is, to convict all the godless for their godless deeds which they have done in such a godless way, and for all the harsh words these godless sinners have spoken against him.”  Imagine being on earth at this time and looking up to witness such a sight!

The armies that follow Yeshua have no weapons; in fact, there seems to be only one offensive weapon, and that is a sharp sword, which represents the Word of God (see Hebrews 4:12). One needs just to read the account of creation to understand that when God speaks, things happen. Yeshua will need no human-made weapon to defeat the Anti-Messiah and his army. The Word of God carries unlimited power, whether it is for creation or destruction. The Word of God brings salvation to those who believe and will, just as inevitably, bring judgment to those who refuse to believe. The expression, He will rule them with a staff of iron speaks of Yeshua’s one thousand year Kingdom on earth and that He will be equipped to break man’s rebellious will, and thus, rule over him with all of His power and authority. Add to this the picture of the winepress, a symbol of Yeshua’s extreme wrath. This description contradicts modern man’s notion that God will overlook man’s frailties. Our God will display His wrath and not a single rival will remain to contest His sovereignty.

On His robe and on His thigh He has a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

Nothing more needs to be added to clarify this picture.

Special Comparative Note on Chapter 19:11-21 ^[1]

See the explanation for each of the four views in Part 1 of the Rider on the White Horse.

In my next post, we’ll examine Revelation 19:11-21 ~ The Rider on the White Horse ~ Part 3.

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[1] Material in this post is taken from “Revelation: Four Views, Revised & Updated” by Steve Gregg. Notations in brackets, if any, are my comments.