The Return of the King
Revelation Series • Sermon • Submitted • 44:22
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· 11 viewsJohn describes in vivid detail the return of King Jesus, King of Kings & Lord of Lords. The text presents 2 overwhelming scenes surrounding the return of the King.
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The Return of the King - Revelation 19:1-21.
Textual Idea – John describes in vivid detail the return of King Jesus, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Sermon Idea – People need to understand the reality of the return of King Jesus.
Interrogative – What happens when King Jesus returns?
Transition w/ key word – The text presents two overwhelming scenes surrounding the return of the King.
1. An overwhelming scene of joy in Heaven - vs. 1-10
A. A crescendo of praise to the King - vs. 1-6
B. A crescendo of celebration with the King - vs. 7-10
2. An overwhelming scene of judgment on Earth - vs. 11-21
A. The conquering King’s command presence - vs. 11-16
B. The conquering King’s command of punishment - vs. 17-21
Introduction – When I was a child, I used to think there was no one stronger than my dad. You remember how boys in particular used to have “My dad can beat your dad” conversations? It was always a silly discussion of how their father’s could beat the other boys fathers at a myriad of activities. Childish “one-upmanship” at it’s finest.
To add to this legend in my mind, that dad was the strongest man anywhere, Dad use to show me his clinched fists and tell me things like they were registered weapons with the FBI. (I have no idea to this day why he felt the urge to tell me things like this - well maybe just to keep me in my place as a teenager).
Then he would hold out his right fist in front of me and say “Ralph, you see this fist? Take a good look at it, feel it. Did you know there are literally hundreds of men, whose blood runs cold at the very thought of having to face this fist one more time!” Then he’d laugh and go on doing whatever he was doing, leaving me there wondering.
One night, I was in kindergarten, Dad heard the church he pastored was being broken into, so dad grabbed a flashlight kissed mom and ran out the door to chase down the burglars! I thought not only is he the strongest man I know, he’s the bravest man I know!
He never used those fists on me but he did use those hands to discipline and correct me when I was going astray and to hug me and tell me he was proud of me when I was doing what was right.
Dad was orphaned when he was 8 years old, had 2 older brothers about 10 years older than he was; probably tough on him like older brothers do. Dad ended up in an Episcopal orphanage named Boys Home in Covington Virginia. While he was waiting outside for them to get the papers filled out to sign him in, he told me within 15 minutes of his arrival at Boys Home, he was rolling on the ground fighting with another boy to establish his place in the pecking order. He didn’t start the fight and apparently it was some kind of ritual there. My dad taught me to stand up to bullies & tyrants and to defend people in distress. There was no “sissy” in Ralph W. Green II.
Transition - Sadly, a lot of artists renderings of Jesus Christ, have Him pictured as some kind of weak looking effeminate, sissified man. People confuse meekness with weakness. Jesus is meek, but He certainly isn’t weak! Meekness is strength under control. As we continue our study through Revelation 19 called “The return of the King,” John describes in vivid detail the return of King Jesus, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Transition w/ key word – The text presents two overwhelming scenes surrounding the return of the King. In one of the greatest chapters in all of Scripture, we’ll see an overwhelming picture of Jesus Christ, the King of Kings, & Lord of Lords! Read text: 19:1-10
1. An overwhelming scene of joy in Heaven - vs. 1-10
Explanation - In chapter 17, we saw the fall of the World’s false religious empire, to be replaced with the worship of the Antichrist himself. Last week in chapter 18, we saw the fall of the Antichrist’s economic empire and the mourning on earth as Babylon is overthrown. Remember Babylon is both a real city and figurative expression to describe the Antichrist’s empire. John says “After these things” which introduces a new vision. Everything from 17-18 is in rapid fire succession and in Heaven there is a spontaneous eruption of celebration that breaks out in Heaven after the demise of Babylon. In verses 1-10, there are actually two parts of this overwhelming scene of joy in Heaven. Notice first:
A. A crescendo of praise to the King - vs. 1-6
In verses 1-6, there are four allelujah’s (1,3,4,6) which is a transliteration of the Hebrew word Hallelujah, which literally means “Praise the Lord.” Ps. 113-118 are known as the great Hallel - specifically praising the Lord for His deliverance of the COI from 400 years of slavery in Egypt. (Throne Slide) Here in Revelation, it is to celebrate God’s final victory over the slavery from Satan, sin, the Antichrist and the wicked world system called Babylon which has been in place since the fall of man in Genesis 3! Notice the subjects of these 4 Hallelujahs:
The Hallelujah of redemption vs. 1 - Salvation, and glory and power belong to the Lord our God! In verses 11-21, we’re about to see Jesus Christ appear with His church to complete the redemption He began on that old rugged cross on Mount Calvary. The host of Heaven, OT & NT saints alike celebrate with a crescendo of praise to King Jesus - Praise the Lord for His redeeming work of salvation!
The Hallelujah of retribution vs. 2-3 -
“For true & righteous are His judgements…He has judged and avenged the blood of His servants shed by her.” All of God’s judgments upon the good and the evil are true and righteous. Babylon has received just retribution for her filth & evil. Her doom and the smoke rising up forever and ever are a testimony to the everlasting righteous judgment of God. The Psalmist put it this way in Ps. 104:35 “May sinners be consumed from the earth, And the wicked be no more. Bless the Lord, O my soul! Praise the Lord!” (Hallelujah). The Hallelujah of redemption & retribution.
The Hallelujah of realization vs. 4-5 -
Once again we see the 24 elders and the 4 living creatures we were introduced to in chapter 4-5 worshipping Jesus Christ in the throne room of Heaven. (Elder Slide) This the last mention of them as they join the great Hallelujah Chorus here as the host of Heaven comes to realize the greatness of God. The first use of the Hallelujah appears in 1st Chron. 16:4 in connection with the COI recovered the Ark of the Covenant that had been captured by the Philistines. David put it in a specially made tent and “appointed some the Levites to commemorate, to thank and praise the Lord (hallelujah) God of Israel.”
The ark represented God’s manifest presence, His greatness and His glory over all the nations around them. Here, the host of Heaven rejoices and celebrates the realization the Jesus Christ has conquered all His enemies. Coming to the realization of how great, how magnificent, brilliant, complex, God’s plan of redemption has been & yet its such a simple plan of redemption that even a child can understand it and embrace the grace of God by faith is reason to sing Hallelujah - Praise the Lord for all of eternity!
CF 1st Peter 1:10-12 - the angels of Heaven marvel at God’s plan of redemption & the realization of how great God is & His plans are! They don’t get to experience it, but you and I do through faith in Jesus Christ! Philip Bliss nailed it when he wrote: “Man of sorrows, what a name, for the Son of God who came, ruined sinners to reclaim! Hallelujah what a Savior!” 4th there is:
The Hallelujah for Christ’s Sovereign Rule & Reign vs. 6 -
The host of Heaven joins the crescendo of praise to the King singing the Hallelujah Chorus: Hallelujah for the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!
The Psalmist said in 97:1 “The Lord reigns; the earth rejoice, let the multitude of isles be glad!”
The saints of God have been praying to this end for centuries: “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”
When Jesus came the first time, He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and aquatinted with grief. We hid our faces from Him and mankind nailed Jesus to a cross; but it was all part of the redemptive plan of God!
John described an overwhelming scene of joy in Heaven when Jesus Christ the King of Kings and Lord of Lords comes the 2nd time: the host of the universe will say praise the Lord, for the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!
Not only is there a crescendo of praise to the King in this overwhelming scene of joy in Heaven, there is...
B. A crescendo of celebration with the King - vs. 7-10
Weddings have always been a great reason to rejoice and celebrate. They are elaborate and gorgeous events thought through with meticulous detail where nothing but the best will do. I still have no idea how I paid for the weddings of my three daughters, except for the grace of God and the frugality of my wife & girls. Our oldest two, Rachel & Ginny, got married two weeks apart and Cheryl planned it all long distance! I was on a first name basis with David’s Bridal!
Well of all the wedding celebrations that have ever taken place in human history, none will ever come close to the wedding celebration of Jesus Christ the Bridegroom & His Bride the Church! Human weddings are all about the Bride, all dressed in white. The wedding John sees & recorded in Rev. 19:7-10 is all about the Groom! Instead of the organ playing: “Here comes the bride” - It will be “Here comes the Groom”; the Lamb of God!
Last week we read in 18:23 the voice of the bridegroom & bride would not be heard in Babylon anymore. But now that the harlot Babylon has been exposed and expelled, the true Bride of Christ, the Church is brought into view.
The Church has not been present in Revelation since chapter 4 where she was caught up to Heaven in the Rapture, she’s been absent throughout all these judgments of God during the 7 year tribulation from chapter 6-18.
In Ephesians 5:25-27, Paul speaks of the church of Jesus Christ as a bride without blemish and without spot. The Bride has made herself ready. She is pure by the blood of Jesus Christ which cleanses us from all sin. According to vs. 8 she’s decked out in the finest wedding gown ever conceived: “the righteous acts of the saints.”
Make no mistake, the Church did not earn her salvation (19:1); God’s righteousness has been imputed to us and placed in our spiritual bank accounts. What we see here is the righteous acts of the saints; dressing ourselves in service of the Savior.
Far too many Christians have assumed once saved, you can live any old way you want to. Yet God demands purity in His Bride! Has it ever occurred to you that someday you’ll stand before the Lord wearing the wedding gown of your own making?
You don’t want to be a carnal, selfish Christian who refused to serve Jesus Christ and work in the nursery or Wednesday night K4C. (God is calling!) What kind of robe will you be wearing that day?
2nd Cor. 5:10 says “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”
I mentioned Paul’s discussion in Eph. 5:25-27 about the necessity of purity for the Bride of Christ where Jesus is actively working to purify His bride. Eph. 5:26-27 says: “That He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.”
The two words sanctify & cleanse are two different words there. Sanctify is hagiadzo - to make holy, the second word cleanse “katharidzo” where our English word cathartic comes from. It’s related to the word cauterize which describes the burning of skin or flesh to stop bleeding & infection. God has two methods of making us clean. He can sanctify us by His Word. If we refuse this method, He will cleanse us by catharsis which is painful but effective.
In Rev. 16:15, Our Lord Jesus pronounced a blessing toward the end of the bowl judgments: “Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.””
One way or the other, Jesus Christ will have a clean and pure Bride! After the judgment seat and the testing by fire, what remains will be our wedding gown before Jesus Christ. Get busy serving the Lord! Lay up treasure in Heaven by serving the Lord and putting clean and pure linen away in your heavenly hope chest.
Vs. 9 Every wedding has a great reception, a marriage supper but this one will be hosted by the Lamb of God! What a day and feast that will be!
Vs. 10 tells us John is overwhelmed by the joy in Heaven and he fell on his face to worship the angel speaking to him and was promptly and sharply rebuked for it. Worship Jesus Christ alone, never worship angels!
The marriage supper of the Lamb of God will be a crescendo of celebration of the Bridegroom Jesus Christ. Not only is there an an overwhelming scene of joy in Heaven, notice:
2. An overwhelming scene of judgment on Earth - vs. 11-21
Explanation - As poor John is trying to collect himself from the angels rebuke and the overwhelming joy in Heaven; he immediately sees another scene, a vision unfolding before His eyes. The Bridegroom has changed out of his tux and arrayed Himself for battle as the conquering King who has another item of business to attend to for all of Heaven to see.
A. The conquering King’s command presence - vs. 11-16 - (Read 11-16)
John begins to describe the absolute, unmistakable awe inspiring sight of Jesus Christ the conquering King mounting His white stallion & preparing to ride out to cast the Antichrist and His crowd into the lake of fire!
(Jesus on a white horse slide)
Commentator Bruce Metzger observes:
“From here on the tempo of the action increases. The ultimate outcome cannot be in doubt, but there are some surprises ahead with the suspense of the drama sustained to the conclusion. From vs. 11 to the first verse of chapter 21, we have in rapid succession of seven visions preparing us for the end. Each vision begins with the words: “I saw.”
Illustrate - When I was in law enforcement; we had to learn how to carry ourselves that we were sworn law enforcement officers sworn to uphold the laws of the great state of the Republic of Texas. They called this “command presence and bearing.” The idea was to act in confidence we were acting under the authority of the law given to us by the State of Texas. Believer it or not, one way they trained that was directing traffic. You’ve never lived till you’ve directed traffic at Business 83 & 10th street! 4 lanes southbound, 4 lanes northbound, 4 lanes east & westbound and 4 turning lanes in all directions for good measure! If you didn’t know what you where doing and couldn’t communicate to drivers with your clear directions and presence, you’d have a mess in hurry!
Jesus Christ doesn’t have to work on His command presence and bearing! It’s built into who He is as King of Kings & Lord of Lords! The triumphal return of Christ the Conquering King in vs. 11-16; John highlights several aspects of His command presence at the Second Coming. Notice the qualities John lists of the Lord Jesus Christ:
• His character: faithful & true - vs. 11a
The rider we saw on the white horse in chapter 6, the Antichrist was faithless & untrue. Jesus Christ is the faithful & true witness of His own words, His own law and He will execute justice faithfully at the pleasure of His Heavenly Father!
• His commission: Judges and makes war - vs. 11b
People have been going to war for a variety of evil purposes and evil things throughout human history. The war Jesus Christ wages is holy, pure and righteous for the souls of men, the condemnation of Satan and all who oppose Him. In the OT, “The Lord of Hosts” Lord Sabbaoth is a name describe the Lord as a God of war. He is the Lion of Judah who has been fighting the battle for righteousness and wins the war!
• His clarity: eyes were like a flame of fire - vs.12a (Slide)
Nothing escapes the righteous gaze of King Jesus. Heb. 4:13 tells us “There is nothing hidden from His sight. but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account.”
• His coronation: Many crowns upon His head vs. 12b
Jesus will have collected all the crowns of everyone of His enemies leaving no doubt He is the Sovereign Lord of the Universe. Jesus told His disciples after the resurrection: “All authority has been given to me in Heaven and on earth.” (Rev. 28:18). Jesus declared victory on the cross, what we see pictured here are the mopping up operations!
• His code: A secret name: vs. 12c
Trying to figure out this name is pointless, not even John was given insight to what it is. Only Jesus Christ knows as it is part of the mystery of the Triune God, specifically the Lord Jesus Christ, fully God, fully man.
• His clothing: A robe dipped in blood vs. 13a
This is not the blood from the cross, it is the blood of His vanquished enemies. In chapter 14, we saw the great winepress of the wrath of God, in chapter 16:16 we are given the location of the battle of Armageddon where Jesus Christ will destroy His enemies (vs. 15 He Himself treads the winepress & the fierceness & wrath of Almighty God).
• His confirmation: Called the Word of God vs. 13b -
John was inspired by the Holy Spirit to call Jesus the Word of God in John 1:1 & 14; the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory. How special for John to King Jesus riding a White Horse into victory as the Word of God!
• His conscription: The armies of Heaven vs. 14 -
Note they are clothed in fine, white and clean linen: It’s the Bride and the Host of Heaven who gets a front row seat to His victory!
• His communication: A sword in His mouth vs. 15a
John first saw this sword in the mouth of Jesus Christ in 1:16. It graphically pictures the power in the words of Christ who will destroy His enemies by commanding it to be so. He alone wields the sword of justice to destroy the enemies of His Kingdom. Jesus is the only one pictured in the text with a weapon, the armies of Heaven are just along for the ride and a front row seat to the overwhelming victory of Jesus Christ.
• His command: A rod of iron vs. 15b
Iron is a hard metal. It pictures the reign of Jesus Christ as firmly fixed. He will not change, He will not allow rebellion from any quadrant of His kingdom. He himself treads the winepress of His wrath.
• His celebration: King of Kings & Lord of Lords! vs. 16
This is the 3rd name given to Jesus Christ in this chapter. His mysterious name in vs. 12 alludes to the mystery of His deity. His name “The Word of God” in vs. 13 expresses His incarnation as the God-Man; but His final name leaves no doubt as to His absolute sovereign triumph & rule over the Kingdom of God!
B. The conquering King’s command of punishment - vs. 17-21 (Read 17-21)
The pattern of Revelation has been to present the big picture, a panoramic view, and the details are filled in with smaller snapshots. The battle of Armageddon was revealed in 16:16; here this victory is summarized as Jesus Christ wipes His enemies away and casts the Antichrist & the false prophet into the lake of fire!
The lake of fire we call Hell has been prepared for the devil & his angels Jesus said in Matt. 25:41.
Jesus described it as a place of everlasting torment where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched (Mark 9:48).
He also said in Matt. 13:42 it is a place of wailing and gnashing of teeth.
All the kings of the earth and everyone who has rejected God’s offer of forgiveness through faith in Jesus Christ will be sent to Hell as well!
Applications:
1. The Lord Jesus Christ is not to be trifled with as though He’s a puppet on a string to do your beck & call.
This has two implications for both saved and lost.
A. For Unbelievers: If you reject Him as Savior now, you will face Him as Lord later.
Share the ABC’s.
B. Believers, your King demands a holy & pure life from you & He is worthy of your time, talents & treasure.
Whether your saved or lost, do not fiddle around in your relationship with Jesus Christ.
2. I’ve said it before but it bears repeating again; God is in control & He’s coming again…Soon!
Close – Great Bible scholar Dr. John Phillips summarizes the return of the King and the final war:
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.
(MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2000). Revelation 12–22 (p. 225). Moody Press.)
To quote Philip Bliss again: When He comes our glorious King, all His ransomed home to bring, then anew this song we’ll sing: Hallelujah what a Savior!”