Revelation 19
BWJRevelation 19:11-16
The nineteenth chapter of Revelation describes some of the events that precede the full acknowledgment of the reign of Christ among the children of men. These have been partly described in preceding chapters. In chapter 14:6 the apostle points out the mighty strides of the gospel of Christ. In succeeding verses he announces the fall of Babylon, a mighty event which is more fully described in succeeding chapters. In chapter 16:13 the gathering of the united hosts of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet, to the battle of Armageddon is pointed out. In the sublime imagery of chapter XIX. the same mighty events are declared. The first of these to which I will now allude is the one before symbolized by the angel that flies through heaven with the everlasting gospel, but now presented in a grand vision of the triumphant march of THE WORD OF GOD. “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. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man know, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him on white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”–19:11-16. He rides upon the white horse, the symbol of conquest, clothed in a garment dipped in blood, the blood of him who gives it power; out of his mouth cometh a sharp sword, the sword of the Spirit, the word of God and Christ, the LOGOS, the WORD that was with God and was God, which becomes by these conquests the ruler of all, and is acknowledged as the King of kings and Lord of lords.
Revelation 19:17-21
“And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him, the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with Which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshiped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with the brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were tilled with their flesh.”–19:19-21. After this grand, triumphant march of the gospel, thus sublimely symbolized, there is an alliance of the hosts of sin, to check the progress and turn back the tide of the gospel of Christ. The beast calls forth his armies to fight their last battle; the false prophet of chapter XVI. is by his side with his wicked hosts. The kings of the earth, the same manifestation of the dragon power described in chapter XVI, the dragon power exhibited when imperial Rome tried to devour the Man child; the despotic power always shown when earthly kings have tried to drown the gospel in blood, is the third ally in this final conflict. What are earthly powers when they fight against God? The kings of the earth “may take counsel against the Lord and his anointed, but he that sitteth upon the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall have them in derision.” The dragon, the beast, the false prophet, and their followers are discomfited. They do not escape, but are taken captive. The two last with all their hosts are cast into the eternal prison house; the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone. I would call the attention of the, reader to the fact that the beast and false prophet appear no more on earth. Their work of wickedness is forever ended. They have been weighed in the balance and found wanting. They have been cast into the dark prison house from whence none ever return. The Scriptures show us that the doors of the burning lake open to let the wicked in, but never open for them to come out. To enter there is the second death. For the victims of the second death there is no resurrection. To enter this lake is the second death. After this mighty conflict, this crisis of the fate of the world, the apostle beholds the results of the glorious victory. Spiritual Babylon, the beast, the Papacy, overwhelmed in the battle or Armageddon, has disappeared from earthly history. The false prophet, the host of Islam, its ally, has shared its fate. The old serpent, the dragon, the devil, who under so many forms; as pagan Rome, as the imperial power, as the kings of the earth; has persecuted the Church, is now to meet the results of his disastrous failure.