Revelation chapter 19 and verses 11 to 21.
Then I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse.
The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True.
And in righteousness he judges and makes war.
His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems.
And he has a name written that no one knows but himself.
He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood.
And the name by which he is called is the word of God.
And the armies of heaven are red and fine linen, white and pure,
were following him on white horses.
From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the
nations, and he will rule them.
With a rod of iron he will tread the winepress of the fury of
the wrath of God the Almighty.
On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of Kings
and Lord of Lords.
Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice
he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, come
gather for the great supper of God to eat the flesh of kings, the
flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses
and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave,
both small and great.
And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies
gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse
and and against his army.
And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet, who
in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those
who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshipped
its image.
These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns
with sulfur.
And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of
him who was sitting on the horse.
And all the birds were gorged with their flesh.
Amen.
This is the word of God.
I don't know if you've been a big fan of them or not, but my father
loved country and western films.
He would enjoy watching John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, James Coburn,
and James Stewart and take on whatever role they would undertake
for a good western film.
Now, I'll be honest and say that I may not have been into them
as much as he was, because most of the plot lines were virtually
the same.
But he loved watching them all the same.
And you know how it would go.
A prairie town was besieged by a bloodthirsty gang who had run off
the law.
But then, followed by a cloud of dust, a rider on a white horse
appeared and there would be a new sheriff in town.
In short order, the hero would produce a pile of bodies of the wicked
men that he had slain.
The women and children could return to the town streets, and hope
was reclaimed.
My first taste of western films was in the 1990s trilogy Back
to the Future, because the third incarnation of that franchise
was set in a western time.
But it wasn't a white horse.
It was a silver DeLorean.
And so that was how I was introduced to what would happen in
the Wild west and how towns would be saved from those who would
bring plight to them.
Well, opening the second half of chapter 19 of Revelation, we read
of a similar scene, only it's not set in a priory town.
Rather, it's what John sees as heaven is opened before him.
And that's what verse 11 tells to us.
And so here we're very much where the first half was what John
heard.
Now it's what John sees.
This is what's recorded for us.
Then I saw heaven open, that beautiful escape or that escarpment
in front of him, that expanse of what was there.
And he says, behold a white horse.
The one sitting on it is called faithful and true.
And in righteousness he judges and makes war.
See, you could picture it in a Western, on the plain, coming from
the distance, smoke rising or dust rising, because John sees a
rider on a white horse coming towards him.
And he goes on to describe what the rider looks like, but he
tells us that his name is faithful and true.
And these are words that we've already heard in Revelation, if you
recall back to the very beginning and the letters to the
churches you heard, that these were good and true, or faithful and
true of what they must believe.
And the white horse points us here to Jesus, rule and majesty as
a great warrior.
For that's how we interpret what John sees.
And Christ, we know, is faithful to God and faithful to his
promises.
And believers can count on him to vindicate them and to vindicate
the truth.
And that's what we must understand of what this great last
battle is about.
It's that vindication, not just of the righteous, that they
were right not in themselves, but under the authority of Christ,
but that Christ will stand for the truth, that the wicked will see
they were wrong, and Christ will vindicate the truth.
That in fact the truth has been true and right all along.
And so Jesus is coming on his horse of war, and many wars are unjust.
A ruler rampages and ravages for selfish gain.
But Jesus judges and makes war righteously, fulfilling the vision
of the Messiah in Psalm 72 that we saw last Sunday morning,
and in Isaiah 11, as we've already seen in Revelation, righteous
judgment includes both punishment and salvation.
We've picked up on that a couple of weeks in a row now, that
as this righteous judgment is brought on the wicked of the world,
so comes salvation for the righteous.
You see, Jesus judges and wages war for righteous and good
purposes, and he does it so that evil is removed from the earth.
And what scripture?
In a mixture of the Hebrew language, the shalom peace that was
promised for creation is established for all eternity.
And in verse 12, we get a description of the writer.
We're told that his eyes are like a flame of fire, proving that
he is a righteous judge.
And again, as we saw earlier in Revelation, he sees beneath the
surface these piercing eyes.
So his judgment is not superficial, nor is it mistaken.
In fact, his judgment is rightly placed.
His judgment is firmly rooted in this truth that he bears the name
of.
He sees the way things really are.
But he's also able to judge and triumph because of his kingly
rule, of his strength.
He is described as having many diadems on his head, telling us of
his sovereign rule and his authority.
Now he not only sees what is right, but he has the strength to
enforce the right as sovereign ruler.
Again, that image of that Western movie where the sheriff rides
in on this white horse.
He has the authority because he has the badge.
He has the authority and he has the strength to overcome the
enemies.
So the rider on the white horse is sovereign because the name
inscribed on himself is only known by himself.
In the ancient world, to know another person's name was to exercise
control over that person.
But no one is able to control, nor are they able to manipulate the
one who is on the white horse.
Yet it's no contradiction that Jesus is also identified as having
the names King of Kings and Lord of Lords, as we read in verse
16, and that of the word of God in verse 13.
For there is a sense in which we know Jesus and a sense in which
he is hidden from us.
He is both immanent and transcendent, near to us and hidden
from us.
We truly know God through Jesus Christ, but we do not know
him exhaustively or fully.
And as John describes him here in verse 14, he tells us what he
is wearing and also what he is carrying.
We're told that he's clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the
name by which he is called is the Word of God.
Although it looks gruesome, this is actually an image of victory.
Now, this is not Christ's own blood shed at Calvary for the sins
of Many.
But as the image is given to us of the second coming in this passage,
the blood here is the blood of judgment of those who have rejected
God and rebelled against him.
For God's people watching on, they see the final victory of Jesus
over his enemies.
And he's called the Word of God.
And this echoes what we're told way back in John's Gospel, chapter
one and verse one.
God's word is effective and powerful and is seen lived in Christ.
And it's his Word now, his living word, that pours out or unleashes
his judgment upon the world.
And we read of this in Psalm 33:6.
By the word of the Lord, the heavens were made, and by the breath
of his mouth all their host.
So the God who made is the rightful God who can judge.
And Isaiah further says that God's word does not return to me
empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose and shall succeed
in the thing for which I sent it.
And that's Isaiah 55:11.
Jesus himself is God's word.
He's God's message to the world.
And here he is expressing that message of both judgment and salvation.
The judgment of the rebellious and the eternal salvation, the redeemed.
Now, moving on to the next three verses, they describe for us
what the victory army looks like.
Verse 14 tells us that the army following the white horse is
clothed in white linen.
Now, we saw fine linen in verse 8 of this chapter being worn
by the church, and now white linen is being worn by the heavenly
army.
And I don't think there's any distinction here between the linen
in both cases.
It signifies righteousness and it signifies holiness.
You see, these are forces of good, and they are arrayed against
the forces of evil.
And verse 15 brings us back to the rider of the white horse again
and presents information to us that we've already read in this book.
The three images that this verse contains proves that Jesus
is coming for judgment.
First of all, he has a sword, and he will use that sword to strike
the nations in judgment.
Secondly, he has an iron rod, and that rod is used for ruling those
nations.
So once again, he has the power and he has the authority.
And the third image is what we looked at a few chapters ago.
He is trading the wine press.
And throughout the Old Testament we are very aware that
this winepress are the grapes of God's wrath.
Therefore God's wrath, his righteous judgment, is being poured
out.
And so here we see again what Christ has come to do.
Strike the nations, have authority over them, and pour out
God's justice, his wrath upon them for their wickedness and rebellion.
And so, reading this, we know that the final judgment has come,
but we also know that Christ will be victorious.
But John's attention is drawn away again, and he is shown something
else.
And this time he sees an angel.
And this is what the angel says in verses 17 to 18.
Come gather.
This is calling the birds of the air for the great supper of God
to eat of the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh
of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the
flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.
And what John sees before him now is a victory feast.
The images of the birds draws on the judgment of Gog and Magog
that's spoken of in Ezekiel chapter 38 and 39, in which the birds
are invited to gather for a sacrificial feast and eat the flesh
and drink the blood of Israel's enemies.
And so we hear, we see it portrayed again now in Revelation
19.
These birds are invited here to gorgeous.
And they gorge on kings, captains, mighty men, horses and
their riders, and the remainder of mankind who rebelled
against God.
We've already seen these people stand back from the destruction
of Babylon, the great city.
And so now we see that they are getting what they deserve.
And we're given a picture here of human flesh.
It's human flesh that is being consumed by birds.
And it's very grisly.
It's a very grisly way of depicting the destruction of those
who reject Jesus Christ.
But we have to remember what it's communicating.
And in the ancient world, to remain unburied was a great dishonor.
To simply be exposed to the elements and allow whatever bird
would come along to feed off you as your corpse lay there was
a great dishonor.
And this is what we're given as will be the fate of those who
reject Jesus Christ.
Following the beast and the false prophets and enjoying the luxuries
of Babylon the great doesn't bring honor.
We have a picture here that says it brings great dishonor.
And that is the fate of a world that rejects Jesus Christ.
Now, that should want to make us sit up and pay attention on two
counts.
The first count should be introspectively where we look at
our own souls and we ask the question, am I truly following Christ?
Am I honoring him, or am I honoring self?
Because we will give our honor to one or the other.
To honor Christ means that we will move on to the second in just
a moment.
But to stick with if we're honoring self, thereby enjoying all
the pleasures of the world and not seeking after Christ and thinking
we'll be okay, the reality is we won't.
For there is no honor in the world.
The world will present great dishonor.
And that leads us to the second, that there is still hope
while there is still time.
Because if we know that we are honoring Christ in all that we do,
then that will want us to proclaim who he is and his goodness
and the joy of his salvation, so that those who are not following
him will come to know what is the truth that Scripture speaks of.
This truth that is here displayed in Revelation 19 in the
person of Jesus Christ, the one who brings both judgment and
salvation.
And I mentioned the beast and the false prophet, those ones who
have misled humanity, and they now come into view in verses 19 to
21.
We first met them in Revelation 16 and 17, and here they
are presenting themselves, ready to take on the armies of heaven.
Now you know how a Western movie's gonna go.
The one on the white horse is gonna win.
The one with the name of Sheriff upon him will overcome.
Now, it might take different twists and turns along the way, but
in the end it will be decisive and the rule of law will return.
And that's just a little something of what we see here, because
there is a battle where two sides are ready to fight.
The armies of the redeemed and the armies of the wicked, thinking
that they can take on the army of heaven and win.
But very little is said about it.
Because what do we read immediately as we're told that they're
there?
Well, we're told that they gather for battle and that the beast
is captured.
And along with false, the prophet is thrown alive into the
lake of fire.
And who had the beast gathered?
Well, the beast had gathered all of those who stood back earlier
in this chapter, in the last chapter, to look at the destruction
of Babylon and cry, it's the kings of the earth.
Together they make one final stand against the army of heaven.
But they cannot stand.
They're all unaware that their fate is sealed and their destruction
for the rebellion of God is inevitable.
The false prophet is mentioned, and this is the same figure
as the second beast that we saw in Revelation 13.
But the designation false prophet emphasizes really what is
the delusional power or the deluding power through signs and
wonders and false prophecies that the false prophet has brought
upon the earth?
In fact, John pauses here to note his signs and how they deceived
those who received the mark of the beast and worshipped his image.
And.
And this suggests that those led astray desired to be misled.
Verse 20 tells us.
And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet.
And this is what we learn about it.
Who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those
who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshipped
its image.
These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns
with sulphur.
Do you see what the false prophet is all about?
Deception.
Wanting to deceive us, to take upon us the name of the beast, the
name of the evil one, and follow his ways, rather than having
the mark of Christ upon us, as Revelation speaks of.
The false prophet is about deception.
He deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and
those who worshiped its image.
All that is false and misleading is now seen, though for
what it is in Revelation 19 it leads to ruin.
And the world has been sold a lie and misled in where their devotion
should be.
The false prophet was nothing more than that.
Completely false.
John encourages his audience to persevere to the end by showing
us the final fate of the beast and the false prophet.
You can't get more finality.
The lake of fire is mentioned here for the first time, but it reappears
several times in these closing chapters of Revelation.
And it's described to us as a place of torment.
And it's identified as the second death.
And so here we have the beast and the false prophet thrown into
that lake, knowing that their punishment is final and complete,
never again to ravage the the people of God or persecute them.
And the image of fire for final punishment is used elsewhere
in the New Testament as well.
So those who die the second death will never come to life.
And so all those who side with the beast and false prophet will
regret forever that they were co opted by them into what was a
false and fake system of the world.
And as this chapter closes, we read of what happens to the rest
of those ready to fight against the army of heaven.
In verse 21 we're told, and the rest were slain by the sword
that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse.
And all the birds were gorged with their flesh.
Now I think it would be fair to say that if the beast and false
prophet are so easily disposed of, well then the rest of their armies
are no problem at all.
They're killed by the sword coming out of the mouth of the majestic
warrior Jesus, who sits on his white horse.
In other words, his word is powerful and effective enough to
wipe out his enemies.
He judges them by it.
They are held to it, and they are found wanting.
And they have no savior to whom to look to.
They have no savior who took upon himself the punishment that
sins deserved.
Rather, they take upon themselves the punishment they deserve
for their sins.
It leaves carnage on the battlefield.
And birds satisfy themselves with the flesh of those who are judged,
just like Ezekiel prophesied.
And what we're seeing here is a vivid picture of the final judgment
and eternal destruction of those who oppose Jesus Christ.
In the Last of his seven Narnia books, C.S.
Lewis concludes his series with themes drawn from the final
chapters of Revelation.
Lewis's the Last Battle describes the conquest of Narnia
by the tyrannical Kalamne army, whose leader, the Tarquin,
represents Revelation's villainous beast.
Tarkin is a despot.
He could never have taken over Narnia without the help of another
figure who represents Revelation's false prophet.
And Lewis describes him as a monkey who's called Shift.
The ape had found a lion's skin, and he draped it over his reluctant
conspirator.
And that conspirator was a donkey named Puzzle.
And when the donkey was seen in pearl lighting, the Narnians were
persuaded that this false Christ was really their divine king,
the lion, Aslan.
You will pretend to be Aslan, the monkey explained to the donkey,
and I'll tell you what to say.
So soon the monkey, Shift had secured power for the sake of the
Calermine invaders and supposedly at Aslan's command.
And the evil soldiers began destroying forests and otherwise
devastating Narnia.
The false prophet had succeeded not only in passing power
to the tyrant, but also in tarnishing the faith of many who
had believed in Aslan.
Lewis's story is just that.
It's allegory.
It's a story.
But it captivates the satanic strategy that Revelation foretells
for the end of history.
The Apostle Paul, or the Apostle John, writes that supported
by the false prophet, the beast and the kings of the earth
with their armies gathered to make war, this is how they had been
misled.
Lewis highlighted the role played by the false prophet's deceptions,
even as he mocked him as the cleverest, ugliest, most wrinkled
ape you can imagine.
See how clever Lewis is?
He tells us what is the reality, but yet we refuse to see
the ugliness in front of us.
And as the book moves to its climax, brave King Tyrion calls the
legendary Narnian heroes from all the previous Books Polly and
Diggory, Edmund, Lucy, Jill, Eustace and the High King Peter,
who together represent the faithful militant church.
In the end, their struggle is crowned with victory by the appearing
of Aslan, who brings Narnia to an end in final judgment and the
coming of a new world.
I tell you this because I enjoy the stories of Narnia.
But I also tell you it because it's a good image to use to help
us understand how serious this false prophet is.
Even though we read here in chapter 19 of his eventual punishment
and destruction forever, we must be aware that the beast works
through human through world governments to rule and persecute.
But it is the false prophet who is his mouthpiece, much like
the the ape who is the cleverest, ugliest, most wrinkled
ape you can imagine.
And with an aim like shift could he ever be trusted.
But that is who the false prophet is.
We need to be aware of the deception.
We need to be aware of the lies that will be used to convince
us that this hideous ape, this false prophet, is something of beauty.
And we must stand against it.
For sometimes it seems as if evil will triumph forever.
But such an idea doesn't match with what we read in Revelation 19
as reality.
Jesus is coming again, and the rulers and people opposed to him
will be destroyed.
Evil is no illusion, but goodness is always stronger and has
an enduring permanence that evil cannot match.
God has allowed evil to do its worst for many millennia, but he
will not tolerate it forever.
When Jesus returns, we will see the last battle.
But the battle is remarkably easy, for Jesus simply speaks the
Word and his enemies are routed and thrown into the lake of
fire.
In any good story, we all want to be on the side of the victors.
If we belong to Jesus, we are assured of ultimate victory.
That's why Paul writes what he does in First Corinthians, chapter
15.
But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ.
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable,
always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the
Lord your labor is not in vain.
You see, ultimate victory is guaranteed for the people of God
and eternal damnation for those who reject him.
Earlier I asked you to search your heart.
Were you seeking the honour of Christ or were you seeking your own
honour?
And that's how we conclude again this evening.
Are you wanting to stay steadfast for Christ, immovable,
always abounding in the work of the Lord?
If you are, then ultimate victory is yours.
You need not fear whatever this world will throw at us or throw
at you.
We do not fear because victory is ours, because victory is in Christ.
But like the mighty men and the kings of the earth and the finest
of stallions and their riders, if we're honoring Babylon, if we're
going after the things of the world and not the things of Christ,
then we will face the greatest dishonor.
And we will be found in a place of torment, suffering and pain
forever.
And so tonight we either leave confident in Christ or we leave knowing
what is the reality of our destiny.
Because of our rejection of Christ.
And while there is still time, we are urged to look to Christ and
to trust in him so that we will be confident this night in him
and him alone, and that the victory will be his.
That's why we look to the Cross of Christ.
And in a few moments, we will sing our concluding hymn that speaks
of this when it says, beneath the Cross of Jesus I find a place
to stand and wonder at such mercy that calls me as I am.
And as it concludes, it says that this promised hope is found
only in Jesus.
How great the joy before us.
To be his perfect bride.
Beneath the Cross of Jesus we will gladly live our lives.
This is what we're called to, to look to Christ to know that on
the cross he has done what is enough to satisfy God's wrath against
us and our sin.
But only if we turn to him and trust in him, knowing that indeed
he will keep us forever.
So may we each be found with Christ this night and be confident
in him alone.
Let us pray.
And as we do, I want to begin by using a prayer of Martin Luther
that says, O Lord, let us not die in unbelief and blasphemy, but
strengthen and increase our faith that neither sin, hell, nor
the devil can hurt us.
You are stronger and more powerful than all of them.
Therefore, in you will we trust.
O Lord, let us not be confounded.
And, Father, these ancient words of 500 years we use tonight
to be our prayer from our hearts, affirming that you are stronger
and more powerful than sin, hell and the devil.
So may we believe this so that indeed we will remain steadfast in
Christ, looking ever to him, knowing that beneath his cross we
find a place to stand, not on our own merit or by our own right,
but only in what he has done.
So, Father, implant your word in our hearts that we may respond
well to Christ this night and know him as our only true Saviour.
And it's in his name we pray.
Amen.