the tendency of Bible readers is to read this section of the chapter and say pretty quickly, this is the second coming of Christ, closed case. And to that I respond, yes, that's not the only thing I want to say. So a coming of Christ here and certainly a picture of judgment, I want to say more to that. In fact, I want to say what I've done with a number of these chapters already, think about if there's a more immediate application and not only for us then as readers looking forward to a coming of Christ. I want to consider that in the first century there were years that would have reached a fulfillment that I think immediately could have been seen. Now why would I even bother to take a passage like this with Christ on a white horse and a picture of judgment and a robe dipped in blood and say anything about the first century instead of going immediately to a second coming? because of statements like verses 19 through 21. So I read these, but I want us to think carefully about the realities here. I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was on the horse and against his army. In verse 20, the beast was captured and with it the false prophet. Now, we've not seen these for the first time here in this passage. These are characters that have been introduced earlier. And the important thing to note is that these were first century realities that I've been arguing for. I've been suggesting that this beast represents the Roman Empire. And a beast was the way the book of Daniel described empires who were led by arrogant kings. And various empires have come and gone. In Daniel's day it was Babylon, followed by Medo-Persia, followed by Greece, and then Rome. And you saw four beasts rising out of the sea in Daniel 7, but you only see one when you get to Revelation 13, because there only is one that remains. It's the Roman Empire, the one that is in power in John's day. And that beast is in view in verses 19, 20, and 21. And it also talks about, in verse 20, people who had been receiving the mark of the beast and worshipped its image. And I've suggested to you from Revelation 13, that was happening in the first century, when people were expressing allegiance to the Roman cult and emperors. And I think that immediately a reader, because of how this chapter is traditionally understood, goes to the second coming and says, this is Jesus on a white horse at the end of all things. And I say, well, I mean, maybe. I'd want to say things about the judgment and the second coming, for sure, and will. And for years, that was the only way I read this last part of chapter 19. Part of what I'm going to say tonight has been influenced by my previous conclusions about these earlier chapters and the fact that in the first century there was a beast and there was persecution and there was allegiance to the Roman Empire that was being commanded and there was Jewish opposition to the church and all of those things which I think the beast and the false prophet represent. The thing to keep in mind is that the beast and false prophet here aren't individuals. They're the entities, if you will, or the systems that are opposed. It's the empire, it's the Roman cult. It's not like there's one guy that they have in view. And so when we read that something is happening in that day to these systems, I think to be consistent with what I've concluded in earlier chapters, I want to see a first century application to this passage before I also say things about what this could mean for the end. And so with that said, what I'm going to say about this passage tonight is probably going to be different from what you've heard people say about verses 11 to 21 before if you've heard people teach from Revelation. And therefore, I just want you to hear me out and we'll see how this goes. Now, what's being dealt with here is the beast and the false prophet. And in chapter 20, what he deals with is the dragon. And what he's just dealt with in chapters 17, 18, and 19 is the great harlot. And if you'll permit me a moment here on the board, I want to show that what he's doing is bringing certain characters on the scene in an order. and then reversing that order and dealing with them. So in Revelation 12, you have the dragon that's introduced, this dragon that's called Satan and the ancient serpent and the devil and all of that. And then in Revelation 13, you have the beast and the false prophet, which I'm just gonna put FP here, the beast and the false prophet. And then in Revelation 16, and 17 and 18, you have the harlot, which is viewed as the city. I should just limit that to 16 and 17 because that's when judgment is promised and the bowls are followed by this alliance of the woman on the beast and her judgment's promised. But then what happens beginning in Revelation 18 through 1910 is that the harlot is judged. And then in Revelation 19, 11 through 21, you have the beast and false prophet. And then in Revelation 20, you have Satan or the dragon. And at the end of Revelation 20, he's cast into the lake of fire for torment forever. This is carefully arranged, okay? This just speaks to the design of the book. The order of these key figures have been introduced and are now being taken up in reverse order. which I think suggests to us again, we're not to read Revelation pressing a tight chronology with all the various scenarios that sometimes popular readings of Revelation lend themselves to. Rather, I think that we should see this as a literary design that the writer is giving us so that the activities of these key figures are followed up by the reader giving us presentations of God dealing with them. And the beast and the harlot, and the harlot and the beast and false prophet, these chapters here, are first century realities that I think are dealt with in a first century way. And then the dragon you see dealt with from Revelation 12 and then back in Revelation 20. This tells me that in order to be consistent, I need to think about what in the first century something like this might communicate. And in verse 11 through 16, you see the rider on the horse described, okay? So the first part is the rider who's on this horse and all the various things he's doing and what's about him that they're depicting. And it's really glorious and majestic and it's meant to be that way. He's powerful and intimidating and who can withstand him? Then, verses 17 and 18 is calling them to a great supper. This is to contrast the feast that we just saw last week in Revelation 19.8. What were the saints invited to? They were looking toward a marriage supper of the Lamb. And while that would involve great joy and rejoicing and fellowship and fulfillment, they're looking for the day when that's going to come about. They've been hoping for it since the Old Testament times. That time when God's going to gather the nations and on that day, He's going to have this feast with them, if you will. But here in Revelation 19, 11 to 21, the rider on the horse is going to come out, if you will, and call upon the birds to devour the flesh of these people. And he calls it in verse. In verse 17, the great supper, to eat the flesh of kings and captains and mighty men. So we're to see a contrast with this marriage supper in chapter 19, one to 10, and this really ghastly, disturbing supper that's depicted in verses 11 to 21. And then you see the last part of our passage, in verses 19 to 21, there is a defeat that's brought about. Now, again, I think, Metaphors and figures are high here, okay? I don't think that they're to actually expect Jesus to come on a horse. I think this is depicted for a reason. Just as I think in Revelation 6, when the four horsemen are being described, they're not actually to be thought of as, in terms of fulfillment, as people actually arriving on horses. I think that they're drawing on images of someone conquering, okay? Because someone's on a white horse, and it's almost like they're leading out in battle. Now, what he says here in verse 11, as we start our first part of the passage, is that, I saw heaven opened. I saw heaven opened. This is how Ezekiel's prophecy begins. Isaiah doesn't begin that way, Jeremiah doesn't begin that way, none of the minor prophets begin that way, but Ezekiel begins with saying with his prophecy that the heavens were opened and he saw visions. This may clue us in to Ezekiel being some help. And Ezekiel is going to be help. Because in the latter chapters of Ezekiel, you see a supper where enemies are consumed. You see a binding of a dragon which which is what the Pharaoh, the king of Egypt is compared to, this dragon that's captured. You also see this image of resurrection and you see new creation and new temple at the end of Ezekiel. I think the writer is cluing us in with the way he opens to connect us to a certain prophet in the Old Testament, and Ezekiel will be much help for this. Then when heaven opens, he says, I saw a white horse, and the one sitting on it is faithful and true, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. It doesn't take us long to realize that this is Jesus being spoken about, because in verse 13, he has a robe dipped in blood, and by the name he's called is Word of God. And in verse 15, he's going to tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. It's as if the Father's wrath and judgment he is accomplishing. Well, who is this mighty figure? Well, I think the robe dipped in blood will probably remind us of Revelation 5-6 where John saw among the crowd around the throne someone come forward to take the scroll and who was it? It was a lamb looking as though it had been slain. So there's this picture, there's this figure that's there and is powerful and yet there's something connected to death or to sacrifice. And I think that anybody who concludes that this is Jesus has rightly identified the figure right here on the horse. The question is why is he wearing a horse? Or wearing a horse? Oh goodness. Oh, that would even be weirder. I hope my mind is going to be clear to say. That's all right. Even worse as it's recorded. He's on a horse, and he's riding in to judge. Now, what's important to notice, earlier in Revelation 6, these four horsemen begin with somebody who's riding a white horse, except that one is described a bit differently, and that one has a bow, and that is coming out to mediate some curses upon the city, along with the other riders. I don't think the one in Revelation 6, the first of the seals, is Jesus there. But I think this is Jesus here. I think the earlier one was a parody. Because Matthew 24, Jesus tells us in the Olivet Discourse, many are going to come in my name, saying, I am the Christ. So I think a false Christ is being put up forward in the first seal, when it's opened with the first horseman. But here I think we have the real deal. I think this is no counterfeit. This is Jesus himself on a horse, and he's going to judge. Now, the last time, and I think this is a metaphor here, but there is a historical event that may pertain to this. A king on a beast in the Old Testament references Zechariah 9. And it tells us that a king was going to come in and riding upon a beast or a foal was going to come in and it was this picture of humility and yet at the same time recognize there's a royal status that's to be acknowledged. This happened in Jesus' day on Palm Sunday, right? This is what we remember, where Jesus comes in riding on a beast. And I just want to observe, because this could be significant, the last time Jesus was on a beast, he was heading to Jerusalem. And when he was going into Jerusalem for Palm Sunday, he's heading into Jerusalem that he might have this particular sacrifice that he's going to offer his own life, and it's all about redemption. And I would suggest to you, maybe we should think about this as Part two, because when Christ was teaching in Jerusalem during his earthly ministry, one of the things he taught was that this city was going to be judged. And here you have Jesus now on a beast, and he's called in verse 11 here, faithful and true and in righteousness judges and makes war. I don't think we should see that this is a horse that's coming to dazzle and leave people in awe as much as it is this figure and this picture to terrify people. He's coming to make war. And I also want to note that this is a picture he sees when heaven opens. So he sees heaven open and what does he see? He sees a white horse and someone sitting on it. This means the heavenly reality is that somebody in heaven is reigning and is worthy to judge. He's worthy to mediate it and to dispense it. Okay, so just some things to keep in mind and then we'll progress then. In verse 11, He's called faithful and true, which Jesus is called also earlier in the letters. Chapter 3.14 is one example in one of the letters to the churches where he's called faithful and true. And I think this is another way of identifying this with Jesus. Now, why is he faithful and true? Well, you can trust that he's going to do what he says, and he never deceives. He's not like the beast. So the beast is a counterfeit. But Jesus is faithful and true. That's the one thing the beast isn't. And by the nature of calling it a false prophet, the false prophet obviously isn't telling the truth. The false prophet is seeking to direct people to worship the beast. Jesus is different. Here's the one actually worthy of worship. And unlike the competing Roman realities of their day in the first century, and in ours, Jesus is faithful and true and the only one worthy of worship. And it tells us that in righteousness He judges and makes war, so that what we're about to see, it's right for Him to do. This isn't an overreaction, nor is it an underwhelming event. It's the right proportion in every way, because the Lord never acts in an overwhelming or underwhelming way that would suggest He's out of control. Instead, He acts in righteousness and in justice with what He's about to do. It tells us in Isaiah 11, Well, I can read you from Isaiah 11, just a couple verses. It tells us a couple things that pertain to this figure here on the white horse. Isaiah 11.3, it tells us that he shall not judge by what his eyes see or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor and decide with equity for the meek of the earth. He shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth and the breath of his lips shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist and faithfulness the belt of his loins. Because there's too much injustice in the world. And there's too many people who aren't caring about pursuing righteousness in their dealings with others and in society. And Jesus is an example of one who in righteousness judges and makes war. The decisions He makes and the judgments He exacts are all righteous and good. Now, I don't think he's talking here about a literal war at the final time in our particular passage tonight. I'm gonna suggest that this has in view primarily, and most immediately, about a year or so from the pinning of the book, a destruction in Jerusalem that Jesus, the exalted king, would accomplish. and this heavenly image of him on a horse is there. Notice, by the way, when other passages teach about Jesus' return, it talks about the dead being raised. It talks about a trumpet sound. It never mentions Jesus on a horse in any of those pictures. And what I'd wanna note here in verses 11 to 21 is it does mention Jesus on a horse, which is unusual. That's not said elsewhere. But it also mentions nothing about the dead being raised at all here. And not only that, if we look, there's still other events that the writer wants to describe for us. So I don't know if we should view this primarily as something that's bringing an end to all things. But I think it foreshadows the coming of Christ, just like every historical deliverance and judgment would. Okay, so again, I'm wanting to point out that in verses 19 and 20, the first century beast and kings and false prophet have things happening to them. Now, if that's happening to them, when must that have happened according to how these figures operated earlier in the book? Well, they were first century realities that would have these things happen to them. So this figure in verse 12 has eyes like a flame of fire, which are penetrating. And I think that's how we should understand his vision here. He has penetrating fiery eyes. I don't think his eyes are actually fire, right? These are all metaphors, all metaphors. on a horse, eyes of fire, on his head, many diadems, and that makes us think of royalty. Now, the reason it's important to note that on his head there are many diadems is because a specific small number of them were said to belong to the dragon and said to belong to the beast. Well, here, it's almost as if you can't count them. There's many diadems. It's not like a limited number like the dragon and the beast had. This is the one who surpasses them. This is the one who's truly worthy. So if you read in Revelation 12 and Revelation 13, the dragon has power and authority ascribed to it. This is someone with unmatched power. Someone whose authority and glory exceeds them. And so in verse 12, it goes on to say, he has a name written that no one knows but himself. Where would that name be? Possibly on the crowns. After all, that's where the other blasphemous names on the beast were. They were written on the crowns and the diadems, so possibly this name. Now, what's the value of having a name that no one knows? That might seem strange, but I actually don't think it's a name that no one knows. So, the reason you would say something like that in the first century is because part of their culture and worldview assumed that when you knew somebody's name, you could have control over them and authority over them. And to say that no one knows this name is a way of saying that no one controls him. He's on a horse. He's got many diadems. This is the one with the eyes of fire. Nobody has authority over him. He's actually the one that has authority and power over everyone else. It's like he has an unknowable name. Now, if we were to speculate on what the name might be, It would probably be equivalent with the divine name or the sacred name, which is viewed to be Yahweh in the Old Testament. So I think that that's the idea there. Now, in verse 13, he is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is the Word of God. A couple points to note here. First, I'm referencing again Revelation 5-6. There was a lamb looking as though it had been slain. I think this is connecting here, that this figure has undergone a redemptive work, and that's maybe the robe dipped in blood. The name by which he is called is the Word of God. John's writing Revelation, and only one gospel refers to Jesus as the Word. You know which gospel it happens to be? It happens to be John's gospel. And that's the opening of the gospel, right? In the beginning was the word. Jesus is God's revelation. Jesus is God's disclosure. It's like a self-revelation of who the Father is. Jesus says, to the degree, if you've seen me, you've seen the Father. He's come to make known God in the fullness of deity. But he's not like a prophet who's come to say what God gives him to say. And he's not just like somebody who has a word from the Lord. He is the enfleshed, Word of God, the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. So I think the significance there of the Word of God is connected to how John's gospel uses that as well. So he's powerful, he is in authority, he's intimidating, nobody owns him. Then in verse 14, the armies of heaven arrayed in fine linen, white and pure were following him on white horses. Okay, so not only do you have him on a white horse, you have this army of people. But who earlier was described in fine linen and white and pure? Look earlier in chapter 19 in verse 8. It was granted to the bride to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure. I don't think these are angels on horses. I think these are the saints. I think these are the saints who are longing for their vindication because they have suffered and they've gone through tribulation and they have been opposed and persecuted and the reigning Christ has promised to pour out judgment on the beast or in this particular time period and the beast will be affected and false prophet affected as well. So I think that this is primarily a first century reality that they are longing to see. This is just like what chapter 19, 1-10 described. They were in heaven rejoicing! They were thrilled at this, right? So I think he's seeing a vision that's describing this now from another angle. He's witnessing the victorious Christ and the armies of heaven arrayed in linen, white and pure. So the white and pure, it speaks to their devotion to Christ, it speaks to their love for Him and their faithfulness. They did not worship the beast. That's why they have fine linen, white and pure. They're not like those who follow the beast and therefore bore his mark with their allegiance. In verse 15, oh by the way in verse 14 when it says he's following him on white horses, again, I'm not taking this literally. I don't think that when you have Jesus on a horse, you actually have other horses behind him, okay? I take this to be metaphorical. It's as if they're his army and they are the faithful and viewing them as an army has already been given to us in chapter 14 verses 3 and 4. Verse 3 of chapter 14, the saints are singing a song before the throne and before the four living creatures and elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who'd been redeemed from the earth. And I've suggested that the 144,000 represent the people of God who have been faithful. And in verse 4, They have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb. And in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless. When it says that they have not defiled themselves as women, but are virgins, This is to play on the idea that in the first century and in the Old Testament days, the armies were to be faithful and pure and undefiled. So it's describing the people of God as an army. I say all of that by way of reminder so that when we get to a passage that says, here's this group of people that's on horses and they are basically behind Jesus as an army. They are the faithful and the 144,000. Okay, so verse 15, what else about Jesus? From his mouth comes a sharp sword. I mean, again, I think if we try to take this literally, I mean, we're looking at an absurd situation because you've got a sword sticking out of somebody's mouth. But what comes from people's mouths in Revelation is either a false word or a true word. And in Revelation 16, the beast and the false prophet have demonic deception pouring from their mouths. But here, Jesus has a sword. Now, the sword in Hebrews and in Ephesians, and I think here as well, represents the word of God. So let me ask it this way. In verse 13, if Jesus is called the word of God, and then in verse 15 has a sharp sword, what do you think the word of God himself is going to be speaking? Well, the true and faithful word, right? And this would not only be the truth about who He is, but truthful judgment that He's about to dispense as well. This is a frightening picture. Somebody's got a sword coming out of their mouth. Now, what's it used for in verse 15? It's going to strike down the nations and He will rule them with a rod of iron. I think it's this picture that Jesus, through the powerful gospel and word, is going to reign over all who oppose Him. Now the people of God will rejoice under the reign of Christ, but he will subject all opponents under his reign as well, in verse 15. So this sharp sword strikes down the nations and with it he will rule with a rod of iron. That's also from Psalm 2, isn't it? Psalm 2, the anointed king was going to rule the nations and had an iron that would shatter pots, a rod of iron that is. Now it also tells us in verse 15, he will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. Now he will tread the winepress, that's a picture of judgment. I think all of these pictures are pointing toward the same idea. He's pictured in heaven as about to pour out his judgment, if you will. and the saints are watching on their horses in affirmation gladly for it. In verse 16, one other thing about verse 15, in fact, 15 talks about this wine press that's being trodden. I'd point to a first century application that I made about the image from chapter 14. If you wanna go to chapter 14 for a moment, just a few pages back, I wanna show you how in verses 19 and 20, this connects us to the land of Israel. which would matter in a first century application for John's readers, I think. In Revelation 14, 19, and 20, an angel swings his sickle across the earth, gathers the grape harvest of the earth, throws it into the great winepress of the wrath of God, and the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress as high as a horse's bridle for 1600 Stadia. Now, 1600 Stadia was the rounded number length of the land of Israel from one end to the other. And that's significant because all of a sudden you have the land in view, right? But not only that, it tells us in verse 20 that the winepress was trodden outside the city. Now, what city? Well, Jesus died outside the city of Jerusalem. So going outside a city for first century readers would make them think of one city above all others, the one where Christ died. Not only that, The city was called a great city earlier in Revelation 11 verse 8, where it says that this city is called Sodom and Egypt symbolically. It's the place it says where our Lord was crucified. When you get then to Revelation 19, and now this reigning king is going to trodden the winepress, I don't think you have any other location in view but the place that was going to get it in Revelation 14. And the city that is in view is Jerusalem there. So I'm trying to make a point that I think these images continue to draw us back. And if we've made certain conclusions that seem compelling earlier, let those influence how we're going to see these images. I don't think John is switching a bunch of things up on us. I think he's taking those images and continuing to draw them forward. Now, in verse 16, on his robe and on his thigh, he has a name written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The thigh, by the way, would be a weird place to put a name, it seems. Why would a warrior want that? Well, for this reason, it seems, this is the most likely explanation, I think, because it is a strange place to go ahead and put your name there. Apparently, it could be because the robe would cover the thigh and this particular area was where the sword would cover. So the sword, when sheathed, would cover the thigh or this part of the robe. But what if the sword is in his mouth? then this would suggest that whatever's there on that robe or normally in that spot, the place of where the instrument of judgment would be, you know, over the thigh, it's visible. And this is a significant title, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. This is to claim that the one who is exercising judgment is this supreme ruler, the Almighty Himself. and King of Kings, Lord of Lords, you know, finds its way into a lot of great Christian lingo and hymns, and rightly so, because we want to, what an important title this is. This is also from Revelation, and I think in chapter either chapter 14 or chapter 16. I forget the exact chapter. I say that, though, to say, once again, we have a title reminding us of something that happened earlier. Well, that's the description of Jesus, right? You've got this imposing, mighty, majestic figure, and he's on the horse, and it looks like he's ready to come with judgment, and the saints are there, and he's got a robe dipped in blood, and they're looking for, and the last time he was on a horse, was going into, or the donkey, going into Jerusalem. And I think here, seeing him once again on a beast, may have Jerusalem once more in view. And if that's the case, then it certainly fits the setting, I think, that the book is based in. Verses 17 to 21, or verses 17 and 18, are calling for a supper. So what I want you to notice is, you've got all the saints on horses, but they don't actually go into battle with anybody on earth. Okay, so think carefully about the image here. It's not as if all these saints on horses are now rushing down into the earth and sort of like fighting with people. Interestingly, when all the saints are on horses, what he says next in verse 17 is to a bunch of birds. to a bunch of birds. He says in verse 17, I saw an angel standing in the sun with a loud voice. He called all the birds that fly directly overhead, literally who fly mid-heaven. And he says, come gather for the great supper of God to eat the flesh of kings and captains and mighty men, horses and riders and flesh of all men, slave and free, small and great. Why would being consumed by birds be anything? Well, it just happens to be the case that in Deuteronomy 28, apostate Israel could receive a curse of being consumed by vultures. In other words, their bodies would be eaten by the vultures. And here, he's talking about a supper. And if apostate Jerusalem is in view, then he's actually recalling a covenant curse. So you've got Jesus on a horse, you've got the saints about to watch this take place, they've just rejoiced in heaven because judgment on Babylon is what they're wanting, and what he's now calling for is a covenant curse, no less, that these people will be consumed by. The groups, right? Kings, captains, mighty men, horses, riders. It's envisioning this various groups of people that would no doubt be engaged in some kind of warfare on the land. And I just want to suggest to you that in 70 AD, You saw exactly that. Not only Jerusalem being judged, but the Roman armies themselves had been engaged in various civil wars, and while being steadied by Vespasian, you still had ongoing issues as well. I think that these captains and kings and mighty men, these are all people related to the Roman Empire, I believe. All flesh, slave and free. These particular categories were given earlier in chapter 6. So I want to take us there for a moment to chapter 6.15. Chapter 6.15, the kings of the earth, the great ones, the generals, the rich, the powerful, everyone slave and free. So you have all these various groups. Notice what they say. They hide themselves in the rocks of the mountains calling, fall on us and hide us from him who's seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. Jesus promised that the day would come when people would call upon the rocks for refuge, but they would not find it. It happened in Luke 23, when Jesus is walking to the cross. And he said it to his generation, saying, you should not weep for me, but for yourselves. And in Luke 23, He's saying about the rocks being a place of refuge people will long for but not find. So I think in Revelation six, it's alluding to that. A coming destruction upon the city and there will not be an escape. God's judgment's going to be poured out in full upon that city. And here, I think the same idea. You've got all these various groups just like you had in chapter six. Then in verse 19, He says, and I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies. And again, this by the way is why I'm so inclined to see an immediate first century application. And not just think about the second coming when Jesus is going to arrive. If all you had was verses 11 to 16, and you've got Jesus on a horse, and he's clothed with a robe, and he's got his army of saints. I mean, I think we could say things about the second coming without having to make an immediate first century comment. But because all of a sudden the beast and the false prophet are mentioned, earlier in the book, these were things the readers of John's day were having to deal with. So that makes me say, okay, something in this chapter must be said first of all about John's day. In verse 19, I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war. Now, he talked about 10 kings in Revelation 17. And those may be the various puppet kings and provincial kings that were under the Roman senatorial rule, even though scholars dispute over that. But either way, they're people connected with the Roman Empire. And what happened in 70 AD is Rome set itself against Jerusalem. And if the harlot is Jerusalem, that's described, this little battle, in Revelation 17, 16. the ten horns, or the kings, they and the beast will hate the harlot. They will make her desolate and naked and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire. And God has put it in their hearts to do this. So this means the beast and his various people aligned with him are going to destroy the harlot. Now I've said the harlot is Jerusalem, and the judgment came in 70 AD. But Rome doesn't get off scot-free, just like the Old Testament empires didn't get off scot-free. So what I think we're about to read is to say, no, God's judgment is for all pagan nations, not just for the people in Jerusalem that I think are mainly in view. For example, In the Old Testament, God raised up Assyria, and Assyria was going to be led by Sennacherib V in 722 BC to destroy the northern kingdom of Israel. And yes, the Northern Kingdom fell in 722 B.C. But you know what happened later? Assyria got what was coming to them. Fast forward a couple centuries to 586 B.C. The Babylonians are raised up by God. Habakkuk had a really hard time figuring out that this was something the Lord would do because they're such an unrighteous pagan nation. Yet the Lord raised the Babylonians up to punish his people. And then you know what happened years later? The Babylonians got what was coming to them. Now, if you fast forward centuries later, I think this is an example of saying even Rome itself will not stand. In fact, all nations will fall under the reign of Christ. But if we think of Daniel 2, During the reign of the fourth metal that's on this metal man from Daniel 2 in that dream, there was a rock that was going to come and crush the feet of the statue that was mixed with clay and with iron. And so I think that this rock is representing the ministry of Jesus and salvation and judgment. I think it was that first century reality that this is the kingdom that's been established. And what that spells the end of is the, in any supreme empire of the day, including Rome. I mean, Rome wasn't sacked in 70 AD, but this is a picture here, I think, of what's to come. In fact, in verse 20, it tells us the beast was captured and with it the false prophet. Well, the reason I think that this is foreshadowing the judgment of these people is because these figures here aren't actually individuals, according to the way I read in the book, so that the beast being captured and the false prophet being thrown into the lake of fire, this is bad news for anyone who aligns themselves with them. Because what's going to happen in Revelation 20, at the very end of that chapter, is the dead are going to... the sea and all the other things in the world will give up their dead. And any whose name is not written in the Lamb's Book of Life... or say it another way, those who've taken the mark of the beast, if you will, are going to be judged in the lake of fire. So I think this is spelling the end of these figures, the beast and the false prophet. It tells us the false prophet in the presence of the beast had done signs by which he deceived those who received the mark and those who worshiped its image. All of that language is from Revelation 13. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. And again, I think this is a figure, because the beast is the empire, and it's not like the empire, you know, went into the lake of fire literally in the first century AD. It's a picture, though, of Christ engaging these entities with a posture of judgment. And we see any who oppose Christ in the first century, even through now, they will be thrown in the lake of fire in Revelation 20. The lake of fire that burns with sulfur. This is a picture of a place of judgment that's going to be used multiple times. The Gospels don't necessarily call the final place of judgment a lake of fire, but it's consistent, I think, with how the Gospels present it. This place of judgment, unending torment, away from the good and blessed presence of the Lord in that sense. And instead, they experience his presence in wrath and justice. In verse 21, all 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 on their flesh. I mean, again, people dispute so much of the details of this. I'm trying to wrestle my way through being consistent with my view and say, if this is a first century battle that's in view, then there were many others who were slain, but I don't think we should actually picture Jesus sort of like removing the sword from his mouth and like literally you know, going after people. I think these are all metaphors, and his word is what the sword represents, I believe. And if that's the case, the word of Christ triumphs. And what's interesting to note is in Christian history, something very unusual began to happen in the Roman Empire itself. And if you read centuries later, there were people like Constantine and others who were actually very favorable in terms of the liberty that some Christians were able to express. And it's not that every emperor from them onward were all believers or something like that, but it does contrast in later centuries with like the terrible days of Nero and the terrible days that were under Vespasian for the people in Jerusalem. Which might be a way of saying what the words depict here, that the word of Christ, his sword, had a powerful effect. And it happened in the reign of the Roman Empire as well. Now, I say, I go through these verses from this perspective not to exclude that we are to expect Christ to return. We should expect Christ to return for the scripture elsewhere teaches it. What would a passage like this speak about? This would say that the one who's returning is the one whose robe was dipped in blood. The one who's returning at the end to raise the dead and make all things new is the one who will judge the earth in righteousness and all the nations in righteousness. This is the one who is faithful and true and who will make good on all of his promises. The one who's returning is the one who has the name Word of God and King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Now I don't think we should expect his return to be on a literal horse, but a passage like this is hopeful because if there is a first century application, every historical judgment and every historical deliverance foreshadows that last day. But verses 19, 20, and 21 are what lead me to say something more immediate about the time period than first of all going to the second coming. Though I think this passage points to that as well. And when Christ comes, I'm happy to say he's coming with a sword in his mouth. I'm happy to say that he's coming and he's going to judge in righteousness the living and the dead. And he will issue and dispense final states. Jesus is coming to do these things because He Himself said so in John 5. The writer of this book said in John 5 that the day is going to come when everybody in the tombs are going to hear His voice. And the dead are going to come. Some will rise to everlasting righteousness and others will rise to everlasting condemnation. But either way, this will be brought about by the Son of Man. I just want to point out though, none of those things are described in our passage tonight. which is the very kinds of things you see the gospel writers and the apostle talking about in other places with all these resurrection hope passages. Instead, I think there's an immediate application to a past like this. I think that it's hope giving to the people who would see the city that it was an apostasy fall in 70 AD and even the supremacy of Christ be established over the Roman Empire, just like Daniel 2 and Daniel 7 hope for. Jesus though will return to save and to judge. He will conquer the wicked. and any who oppose him will face judgment. And the judgment they face, all you have to read is the end of Revelation 20. It will be terrible and it will be eternal. The dead are going to be raised for these various states. And then we see Revelation 21 and 22, he will make all things new. So I should follow this up by saying, I don't think the remainder of Revelation has only the first century in view. What you'll see next time we meet, which won't be this next Sunday, we won't have an evening service in lieu of the picnic at Tom Wallace Park, but the following Sunday, we will go ahead and meet even on the first Sunday of the month, because of the days that I'm gonna need to teach through the rest of Revelation. I don't wanna hold an evening service on Mother's Day, which is the week after that. So we're gonna go ahead and meet on the 1st of May, and we're going to go through the millennium together. And what we're going to see is that that also, in the first century, not only did something happen to the harlot and to the beast and the false prophet, in the first century something also happened to the dragon. And then there's a release that takes place where the dragon is then defeated and cast into the lake of fire at the end of that chapter. So Revelation 20 continues to shift. He's introduced various figures and then he's going to not only have them enter in a certain order, he's going to have them exit the stage of Revelation in a reverse order. but Jesus will return and a passage like this still points to that great reality.