All of us have different facets of our personality. We can be happy during times that cause us to be happy. There are times when we grieve because we're sad. There are times when we have to work hard and be very serious. And there are other times when we can relax and have a good time. And our ability to adapt and to express our personality, through these different circumstances, is what makes us balanced people. But I think you would agree with me that there have been people that you've known. You love them. You respect them, you enjoy being around them. But you've seen a side of them. And you've perhaps made a comment like this. "Well, I love her, but I sure wouldn't wanna be on her bad side." Or he's a great guy. I love hanging out with him, but I sure wouldn't wanna be on his bad side. It's as if we all can say that about people we know and we all have a bad side, so to speak. And maybe by that, we mean that we've seen someone exhibit anger. Or some type of outburst of temper. Or we've seen someone just be outright mean. And sometimes we're talking about people who have different manifestations of personality. Hopefully we're not talking about anyone with multiple personality disorder. Which is a real condition. I want us to transfer that conversation from what we think about ourselves and other people. Having different expressions of the same personality, the same person. I want us to think about Jesus in that way. Because sometimes if we're not careful, we will only see Jesus in one way. When there are different attributes of who Jesus is. Different characteristics and traits of Jesus. Even His personality and who He is as the Son of God. And if we're not careful, we will simply reduce Jesus to His love, His mercy, His forgiveness, and to the things about Him that we find to be pleasant. And we think about His love for us on the cross. And how He humbled Himself to the death of the cross. But the Bible makes it clear that there's another side of Jesus. It doesn't mean He's got a split personality. It just means that all of His attributes make up who He is. And just as he's loving and forgiving and gracious and mercifully, He is also holy and filled with wrath and vengeance, on those who blaspheme Him and the name of His Father. He's also very jealously concerned over the welfare of His followers. And He takes it personally when those who don't know the true and living God, mistreat the followers of God and believers in Jesus Christ. And what we're going to see tonight, as we look into this 19th chapter, is we're going to see the transition from crucifixion. When He humbled Himself and submitted to death to conquest. When He comes back to the earth to execute His wrath on those who have blasphemed Him and rejected Him. And that's the title of the message tonight. From Crucifixion to Conquest. And it's really the summary of the return of Christ to the earth. It is really the climax of what the book of Revelation is all about. And after plowing through all of the details about the seals and the trumpets and the bowls and the images and all of the symbols, we've come to the moment that this book is really devoted to. The title of the book is the revealing, the Revelation of Jesus Christ. And tonight we're looking at that very moment. When Christ is revealed as He comes back to the earth. So we're going to pick up in verse one, the 19th chapter. Where John says, after these things, I heard a loud voice, of a great multitude in heaven saying Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor, and power belong to the Lord our God. For true and righteous are His judgments. Because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication. And He has avenged on her the blood of his servant shed by her. Again, they said Alleluia! Her smoke rises up forever and ever. And the 24 elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne saying, "Amen! Alleluia!" Then a voice from the throne saying, "Praise our God, all you, His servants. And those who fear Him both small and great." So in these first five verses we have a description of what John heard coming from heaven. And he describes it as the loud voice of a great multitude. So there are many people who are exclaiming, and proclaiming these expressions of worship to the Lord. And their shout was Alleluia. And just to give you a little background on that. The word Alleluia, and I'll put this on the screen. It is the Greek version of the Hebrew word Hallelujah spelled with an H. And it simply means praise the Lord. And typically we will say, hallelujah, the Hebrew version rather than Alleluia but both are accurate, in that they mean praise the Lord. One is Hebrew and the other is a Greek transliteration from Hebrew, but it always means praise ye the Lord. it's command praise God. So when we say hallelujah, we're saying praise the Lord. And so it's a very sacred word. Would you believe that this word, as it appears here in chapter 19, Alleluia. It is only found four times in the whole New Testament and all four of those times are in this chapter. Verses 1, 3, 4 and 6 of chapter 19 are the only places in our New Testament where you'll find that word. And in verse two, we read that they're glorifying God because He has judged and condemned the harlot. And you remember we talked about the harlot which was the Babylonian system of deception. That was perched on the back of the Antichrist or the beast in chapter 17. And God is worshiped by this host of heaven that John hears and He's worshiped because they're saying true and righteous are all His judgments. And what a wonderful expression of worship. Which is the people gathered around God's throne in heaven. It's their way of saying God's judgments are never to be second guessed. God does all things right and in a just way. And unlike fallen human beings who often question God's decision making abilities who often questioned God's judgment. I know I have. And I'm sure most of you watching have. Those who are praising Him in heaven, have removed all of their doubts. They have refused to question Him. And they are saying here that in the acts of judgment, which God executes and in particular in judging the religious system of deception of the Antichrist. True and righteous are God's judgments. His judgments are perfect and they are deserved by those who receive them. They're praising God for punishing the system of the Antichrist. And they're praising Him because He has avenged the blood of those who were murdered, by this system of the Antichrist. So those who are in heaven, many of them having been murdered by the system of the antichrist, they're now worshiping God because finally He has executed judgment, and the worst is yet to come. Verse three as we read, another hallelujah is voiced. And that is because the smoke of the harlots torment rises forever and ever. And this is an indication that those who are in heaven worshiping God, whom John is hearing here in the 19 chapter. Through their expression of worship about the judgment of the harlot. Her smoke rising forever and ever. This is their acknowledgement of the reality, of the eternal punishment of those who have blasphemed God. It is the doctrine of hell that is voiced in their expression of worship. I don't know of any song I've ever sung in church where you worship God and give Him glory because of the reality of hell, and His judgment on those who blaspheme Him being sentenced to eternal torment. I've never heard a song that featured a lyric like that. But this is a lyric of praise from a worship service in heaven. That God is to be praised just as much as He is praised for the glories of heaven. He is to be praised for the torments of hell. For those who have blasphemed and rejected Him. That's difficult for our limited understanding to comprehend. But they're praising Him in heaven because the smoke of her torment, the system that's been judged. Her judgment rises forever and ever, and ever. In verse four, did you notice where it says the four living creatures and the 24 elders fall down, and they're worshiping God. And these four living creatures, before the throne of God. And the 24 elders they were introduced earlier in the book of Revelation. In particular, when we got a glimpse of the throne of God. We saw those four living creatures, and the 24 elders around His throne. And so back and forth when there is something climactic that happens in Revelation. John will revert back to heaven and he will see the 4 living creatures, and the 24 elders giving praise to God. Symbolizing that God is worshiped 24/7 around His throne in heaven. And then the command comes in verse number five as we read it. He said I heard a voice from the throne, giving this command, praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him both small and great. So it is a universal call and command to praise God. And I want to encourage all of you to realize that we're included in that command. We are to praise God. When you're thankful for blessings, praise God when you're upset with what's happening in the world. Praise God. When you have more questions than answers, praise God. In all of life's circumstances, praise God. Now I want us to look into verse six. In verse six, John says, I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude. And it sounded like raging waterfalls. The sound of many waters. And as the sound of mighty claps of thunder. And they were saying, "Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory for the marriage of the Lamb has come. And His wife, some translations say His bride has made herself ready. And to her, it was granted to be a raid in fine linen, clean and bright. For the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!" And he said to me, "These are the true sayings of God." Now what is this event? If you've been a Christian for any length of time you've probably heard references to the marriage of the Lamb or to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Well, the marriage that is mentioned in verse seven is a union between the Lamb who is Jesus. And His bride who are His people. But it's not just the marriage that's being referred to here. It's actually the wedding feast that's being described here. And you have to look into the New American Standard version. Which is really one of the most literal translations from the original language to see this referred to. In verse nine, the New American translates it. Then he said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who were invited to... And notice how it's translated, not just the marriage, or the wedding, but the wedding feast of the Lamb.'" So this is an event that is a party, a celebration, a feast of sorts. Now to appreciate the imagery of a wedding feast. You have to go back in history and do a little bit of research. And just so you know, in studying the book of Revelation I would be lost without the help of commentaries. The books that have been written to help us understand the book of Revelation. I'm always reading those kinds of scholarly resources to help me. Because I would not be able to understand it, without the help of scholars and those who are much wiser than I am, and much more educated in the biblical languages and in the history of the ancient times. So I'm very indebted to these who've written. But historians and Bible scholars tell us that there were really three facets to an ancient wedding. Which the readers of Revelation, in the first century would be familiar with. And so the three components of a marriage would be the period of time when the parents of the bride and groom would enact a contract with each other as parents, before their children were of age. You say is this an arranged marriage? That's exactly right. It was very common in the time of antiquity. And it's still practiced in some parts of the world today. But the parents would have an agreement. And it would sometimes even include the exchanging of money called a dowry. And the exchanging of money between these parents would guarantee the terms of this marital contract between the families. Well, the second step would be that when the children came of age there would be a ceremony. In which the groom would get his friends together. And they would have a procession to the front door of the bride's home. And there, they would retrieve the bride, and she would process with the groom back to the groom's home. And then shortly after that the marriage union would be consummated. So that was the second step. And then the third step would be that after the consummation, there would be a scheduled festivity. There'd be a big party where family members and friends from the community would gather together. And if you remember the miracle in John 2, at the wedding of Cana, where the water was turned into wine by Jesus. This was step number three. This was a typical wedding feast. It was a party that would fit into this three step model of marriages from ancient times. This reference in Revelation 19 to the marriage feast of the Lamb. That's referring to this third final component of an ancient marriage. So the question then is who is the bride? We know that the bride groom or the Lamb is Jesus, but who is the bride? It said there in verse seven, that His wife has made herself ready. Well, if you've ever studied Ephesians 5, you know that Paul uses the imagery. When he's talking about the relationship between a husband and his wife. He compares it to the relationship between Christ and the church. And in chapter 5 of the Ephesians letter. In verse 25, he says, husbands love your wives just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her. 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. So we see from that comparison, that Paul was describing the church as the bride of the Lord Jesus Christ. So if that be the case, it's possible here that the reference to the marriage feast of the Lamb and his wife refers to a celebration acknowledging the glorious union of Jesus the bride groom with the church who is the bride. So if you wanna just apply that three step marriage process that I just outlined to those of us who are Christians. Let's break it down. Step number one, when the contract would be initiated, with the dowel repayment. This happens when we are saved. And there is a down payment that is made to us that guarantees us that what God began in us in salvation will be brought to full completion as we become one with the bride groom. And this is talked about by Paul in Ephesians 1, when he talked about the gift of the Holy Spirit. And he said, in verse 13, you were sealed in Christ with the Holy Spirit of promise. And verse 14 speaks of the Holy Spirit as a first installment of our inheritance. Another translation calls the gift of the Holy Spirit, the down payment or the earnest. So think about that for a moment. When you and I become Christians. We are betrothed to Christ. It's a contractual agreement in which Christ deposits the Holy Spirit into us, as a down payment that although we are not with Him now, He is coming back to get us. So step number one is that betrothal period. Then step number two of that ancient marriage process is when the groom comes to get the bride. Beyond the contractual phase, the groom makes his way to the bride to claim her. Jesus talked about this in John 14 in verse two, He said in My Father's house are many rooms, if that were not so I would have told you. Because I'm going there to prepare a place for you. And look what he says. If I go and prepare a place for you, I am coming again. And we'll take you to Myself. So that where I am there, you also will be. Do you see that? Jesus is referring in John 14 to the second step of the ancient marriage process? The contractual part is when our faith is put in Him and He deposits the down payment into our heart through His Holy Spirit. Which is the promise that He will come back and get us. The second step is when He comes to get us. And we believe that it's talked about John 14, but we refer to this as the rapture of the church. When Jesus appears in the clouds and He calls the church into the clouds to be united with Him. Never to be separated from Him. The bride groom comes to get His bride. That's the rapture. And then step number three is that time of celebration. It's the feast. It's the big party when people are invited to celebrate the union of the groom and His bride. And so we believe that it is that marriage feast of the Lamb in chapter 19, that completes the third step, of the marriage process in our union as the church with our Groom, who is the Lord Jesus Christ. So here are a few things to keep in mind as you consider the relationship between the church and the Lord Jesus. There's reason to believe from this passage and others. That those of us who have come to faith in the Church Age. Remember what the Church Age is. The Church Age is that time, which began in Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was given. It will end with the rapture. So, so far we are 2000 years into the Church Age. We're living in the Church Age now. Now we've talked about that. But we have reason to believe that those of us who are believers in the Church Age that we are distinguished from the believers of the age before Christ. And we are also to be distinguished from those who come to faith in Christ, after the rapture, which we refer to as the Tribulation saints or the Tribulation believers. So God's purpose is different in how He reveals Himself to those whom He makes righteous prior to Christ. Than His purpose for us who are the church, those of us who are made righteous through Christ by our faith during the Church Age, versus those for whom God's purpose is different in saving them after the church has taken away and they are saved during the Tribulation. All of them are made righteous by the grace of God. Through the provision of the cross. But we are in different categories as saints. In verse seven, it said His wife has made herself ready. So we have the Lamb who is Jesus. And we have the reference there to His wife, which we can assume could be the church. But it also tells us that there are those who are going to be invited. All right? So you have the groom, you have the bride and you have the attendees at their reception or the feast or the party. And this is mentioned in verse nine, as I showed you from the New American. It says, he said to me, "Write: 'Blessed it are those... And look at what's underlined. who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.'" And the reason I'm calling this to your attention is because you know how a moment ago I was saying that perhaps the believers in the Church Age are distinct from those who are made righteous prior to Christ. And those who are made righteous and are saved after the rapture, is that it is very clear that there are attendees who are not part of the bride. So some scholars have suggested that those who are invited to the wedding celebration of the Lamb and His wife. That this could possibly mean that the attendees are those who were saved prior to Christ. And those who have been saved and martyred into heaven from the persecution from the Antichrist, during the Tribulation. That the church is the bride who is being honored in her union with Christ at the marriage feats of the Lamb and the saints from those other periods of time are those who've been invited to attend. So what this does is it makes the allowance for the church, receiving a special time of honor in celebrating her union, our union with Christ as having been saved during the Church Age. Okay, if you didn't follow all of that here's another interpretation. That's very succinctly offered in the MacArthur Study Bible. And he says here in his notes on this verse. While the term bride often refers to the church, as we've seen. It ultimately expands to include all the redeemed of all ages, which becomes clear in the remainder of the book. So the wife of the Lamb for whom there is a marriage feast could be just believers from the Church Age. What MacArthur believes and others believe that it includes all of the saints. Who've been saved by the grace of God, regardless of what age or dispensation in which they were saved. So there are some who dismiss this whole idea of the marriage supper, marriage feast of the Lamb as just being symbolic with no literal fulfillment. Others believe this is going to take place in heaven just before Christ returns to the earth at the end of the Tribulation. And there are others who believe that this reference to the marriage feast of the Lamb, that this is God's way of describing the entire millennial reign of Christ, which will be initiated when Christ returns. Because those 1000 years will be a visible acknowledgement of the irreversible union between Jesus Christ and God's people. For whom He shed His blood and died on the cross. So that's a lot of information about ways that the marriage supper of the Lamb could be interpreted. But in any case, whoever the bride is. And I lean towards the interpretation that it is the church. It says that she has made herself ready, and her white linens are symbolic, in verse eight of her righteous acts. So understand it doesn't mean that she has saved herself through good words. This is distinguishing between those who are saved by the grace of God, versus those who have been saved as well as choosing to live holy and godly lives. Not everyone who is saved chooses to live a godly life. So this is referring to the bride, who has made herself ready through a deliberate decision to live a godly life. All right, so let's move forward in verse number 10. He says, after he heard all of this, John says I fell down at the feet of this angel to worship him. But he said to me, "See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." Okay, so just think about everything that he's heard in the first nine verses of this chapter. This worship service in heaven. This four-fold hallelujah. Verse one, verse three, verse four, verse six. The destruction of the harlot. And the wrath of God going to be poured out. The blood of those who've died for Christ has been avenged. And now there's a marriage phase that's being celebrated. And this angel who's conveying all of this. John misidentifies this angel as a manifestation of God. And John just bows down being overwhelmed and starts to worship this angel. And immediately this angel rebukes him. And says, "Oh, no, no no, don't worship me. Only God is to be worshiped." And I think this is... We cannot overlook the significance of this verse because there are religious systems, there's even a humongous Christian religious system. So-called Christian, that encourages and cultivates and even includes as part of its dogma a veneration or worship of intermediaries other than the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And this angel gives John a wonderful word of rebuke, that all of us would do well to heed. And that is we are not to worship or pray to anyone other than God. And that's what this angel is saying. But I want us to focus on the last sentence of verse 10. Where it says for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. The Angel is right there making a salient point. And I want all of you listening to me to bear with me as I try to explain that last sentence of verse 10. Because I've heard from some of you through the Daniel study and some of you through the Revelation study. "Oh, Anthony, this is so overwhelming to me. I get so lost in all these details, and this is just too much for me to comprehend." And it discourages me instead of encourages me and I feel more confused than resolved in how to understand this. And I want you to know, please, don't take that out on the book of Revelation or the book of Daniel. Whichever it is, where you got confused. It may be both. Don't take that out on the content of the Bible. Take it out on me. Because if you are confused, it means I've not done as good a job as I should have done. So I'm gonna take the blame for that. But what I want you to focus on, underline that last sentence in verse 10. Because what the angel is saying here is don't get distracted by the images, or even by the divine messengers who have communicated these things to John. You see John fell into this trap of being so fixated on the angel. He started worshiping the angel, which says he got his eyes off of what the focus should be on. And what am I saying about you, if you're overwhelmed by some of this, or you don't understand all of this. Listen to what I mean as I expound on that last sentence of verse 10. The purpose of this prophetic Revelation, according to that last sentence. Is not for angels to be glorified or focused on. It is not to create a fixation on the symbols and the images. Whether it's the trumpets and the seals and the bowls and the angels and the beast and the harlot. And all of the other things that we've talked about. It's not to confuse us with all the different interpretive details, like whether the bride of Christ is Israel, the church or the Tribulation saints or all of the above, or if it's just the church. All of these things, because I'm just trying to share possible explanations with you. They can bring us to a point of saturation and disengagement. Don't lose sight of the fact that the purpose of this prophetic Revelation. And I'm speaking right now just about the book of Revelation is for our focus to be drawn to Jesus. So my mother was talking to me a few days ago. And she was saying how her mother when my mom was a little girl, when they would leave the church services and be driving home. My Grandmother used to ask my mom, "Linda, what was the service about today? What was the sermon about today?" And my mom said, "I just would always say Jesus. Because somewhere He got mentioned in the sermon." And you know what, we laugh together about that. But that is so true. Because the truth is whether you understand the breakdown of Revelation and all the images and the symbols and the different beasts with the horns and the heads and the seals, trumpets, bowls. Whether you get all of that. What I want you to understand is this is about Jesus. It is about the fact that He died on the cross, was raised from the dead, ascended back to heaven. He's been seated at the right hand of God for 2000 years. And this book tells us about the events that are going to unfold in the seven years prior to His return. In what we're about to plunge into tonight in this 19th chapter is that long awaited predestined moment when He does return to the earth. When this angel is saying, "Don't worship me." he's saying John, don't get distracted by the angel, giving you the Revelation and don't get distracted by all the intricacies and details of the Revelation. The purpose of prophesy is to reveal the Lord Jesus Christ. So when someone asks you, "Well, what is the book of Revelation all about?" You tell them it's about Jesus. You tell them what my mom says the sermon was about. It's about Jesus. And in the New Living Translation. It translates that last sentence of verse 10. The essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus. This is true, by the way of all Bible prophecy. Bible prophecy is not to confuse us or to overwhelm us or to make our head feel like it's spinning. The purpose of Bible prophecy is for the glory of God. The purpose of Bible prophecy is for the exultation of the Lord, Jesus Christ. And the purpose of Bible prophecy is that it is one of the Holy Spirit's ministries to the mind and heart of the believer. You see, when you study Bible prophecy we are engaging the Holy Spirit. Remember I told you, He's the down-payment. He's the dowry on the contract. That Christ is coming back to get us one day. But He's more than a down-payment. He's the indwelling presence of God in our hearts. And one of His ministries is to illumination, which means to shine the light on the mysteries of the Word of God. And those who never studied Bible prophecy, they are limiting the release of the Holy Spirit's ministry in their life. You say, where does this come from? Jesus talked about it in John 16. This is what He said about the Holy Spirit. He said, when He, the Spirit of truth and the Spirit of truth is the Holy Spirit. When He has come, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears, He will speak. And look at what Jesus says. The Holy Spirit will tell you three words, right there Things to come. Would you say that with me? Things to come. And you know what you could do, in parentheses you could write prophecy. Verse 14 says the Holy Spirit. This is Jesus talking. He says, the Holy Spirit will glorify Me for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. So think about this. Jesus said the ministry of the Holy Spirit is going to be to reveal Jesus to those who've put their faith in Jesus. And the Holy Spirit is going to help us understand the role of Jesus in fulfilling things to come. Bible prophecy. So the person of Jesus and the fulfillment of prophecy related to Jesus, the Holy Spirit's ministry in our hearts is to help us comprehend these things. And I just want you to let that sink in. Because if you haven't gotten a lot of this, guess what? I've been studying this for years, and I'm still learning about it. So don't get exasperated. If you're not grasping it. We've got all this in our archives. You can go back and watch and review. And there'll be times we'll circle back and review some of it again. There'll be times in the future when we'll go through it again. But I just wanted you to understand this, that that last part of... That last sentence in verse 10. The testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy. Or as the New Living says, the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness to the Lord Jesus Christ. If you don't get all of these details we've talked about. What you need to know is that Jesus is coming back. He's coming back. Let's look at verse 11. He says, "I saw heaven open and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on the white horse was called Faithful and True. And in righteousness, He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire. And on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. And He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood. And His name is called The Word of God." Okay, so there you have it just in those three verses. This is the return of Jesus to the earth. It's right there. It's what we have spent 18 chapters getting to, right here. And the title of the book is the unveiling, the Revelation of Jesus. This is the moment for which the book was named. This is the Revelation of Jesus. Now, if you'll remember back in the... At the beginning of the Tribulation in chapter 6, when the seals were being broken. Do you remember the first four seals. Where the four horsemen of the apocalypse. And the first of those seals revealed a rider on a white horse who was coming to conquer. Isn't it interesting that we identified him, the first seal, the first judgment of the tribulation was someone riding on a white horse. Remember everything real that God has. Satan wants to counterfeit. The rider on the white horse at the beginning of the Tribulation. Breaking of the first seal was the Antichrist. But the rider on this white horse, at the very end of the Tribulation is the true Christ. So the Tribulation starts with someone riding on a white horse to conquer, and it ends with someone else riding on a different white horse to conquer. The Tribulation is sandwiched between Antichrist and his appearance and the true Christ and His coming to the earth. Fascinating, isn't it? And the significance of this is that when... In Roman times, when a general would win great exploits on the battlefield, he and his warriors would parade through the streets of Rome. And the lead general would be on the back of a white horse. And that was the symbol of his conquest. And he would ride through to the thunderous applause and cheers of Roman citizens. And God uses that imagery to reveal to a first century audience that the One Who's coming on this white horse is worthy of all accolades and praise. Because He has truly won the final conquest. He's identified there. If you'll look back in verse 11, underline it. He's called Faithful and True. Who else could that be but Jesus Christ. He's coming to judge in righteousness. Jesus is coming as judge, and then He's coming to make war. Did you see in verse 12, where John says this rider on the white horse Who is none other than Christ coming in conquest. His eyes were like a flame of fire there in verse 12. That takes us back to John's first vision of Jesus in chapter 1 and verse 14, where John described Jesus there. His eyes like a flame of fire. We know this as Jesus from the first chapter. And then He said to have many crowns on His head. That's a symbol of His power to rule upon His return. And He's got a name written that no one knew but Him and that has been the subject of much speculation. What could His mysterious name be of all the names we know that Jesus has? What could that name be? Which only He knew, I suppose, we'll have to wait to see. Verse 13 says, He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood. And this is the hallmark of His work of redemption on the cross. That even when He comes to conquer, there is still the the appearance of a blood-stained robe with which He is clothed. A forever reminder that He is the Lamb who was slain for the sins of the world. And then verse 13 says His name is called The Word of God. And this takes us back to another book written by John. The same, John who wrote the Revelation, years earlier penned the gospel of John. Where he wrote in the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God. And the Word was, God Jesus Christ is called the Word of God. This is Jesus. Let there be no doubt. Let's look in verse 14. It says along with Jesus, it says, the armies in heaven clothed in fine linen, white and clean. They followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword. That with that He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule the nations with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the wine press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh, a name written and this is what is inscribed on His robe and on His thigh. King of Kings and Lord of Lords. So when you look into verse 14 and it says the armies of heaven clothed in white, bright linen. They're accompanying Him on their own white horses. Some believe that these are all the saints from the Old Testament and the New Testament and the martyrs of the Tribulation. Who've all assembled at the throne of God. And now they are coming back behind their conqueror on white horses. And of course, this is all revealed in imagery that John's first century readers would be able to understand. Some have suggested that in addition to it being Christ with all of His redeemed saints of the ages, coming down. That along with them, there could even be angels. A host of heavenly angels accompanying Him. And the reason this has been suggested is from 2 Thessalonians 1. Where it says in verse seven, Paul wrote when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven. Look what Paul says, with His mighty angels. He's coming in flaming fire, taking vengeance on those who do not know God. So Paul made a reference there that when Jesus is revealed from heaven, which is fulfilled in Revelation 19 He'll be accompanied by His angels. So these could be redeemed saints, depicted symbolically on white horses behind Jesus. These could also be an angelic host. The army of angels. We sing a song about the God of angel armies is always by my side. By the way, I love that song. But think about Christ coming back with all of His redeemed ones, plus the angel armies who serve at his beckon call. And John described Jesus as having a sword. A sharp sword coming out of His mouth. We know that's a symbol. And He says He uses the sword. And that symbol is for the words that He will speak. The cutting and killing power of the spoken words, of the returning Christ. That He will strike the nations who've rebelled against Him with the power of His Word. And just to let you know, this ain't gonna be some kind of contest. This is gonna be a one sided massacre. Not only that, but He says He's going to rule the nations with a rod of iron. And this has been referred to in Psalm 2, in Psalm 50 messianic Psalms that refer to the dominion and the rule that Christ will exert when He establishes his kingdom. He's not coming to hold elections. He's not coming to take a poll and see what people think He ought to do. He is coming to rule with a rod of iron and to crush all opposition. And it says there that He's going to tread His enemies like grapes in a wine press. And we already got a foretaste of that in the 14th chapter of Revelation. And then of course, you've heard Him called King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and it is sung in repetition in Handel's Messiah that is taken here from the Revelation in verse 16. Now in verses 17, 18, we're not gonna display those on the screen. But John hears and sees an angel calling out for all of the flesh eating scavenger birds to gather into the Holy Land, to feast on the corpses of all of the armies of the global alliance of the Antichrist who are going to be smitten and massacred upon the return of Christ, just by His spoken words. And not only that, but many of the inhabitants of the earth who will be gathered in that area. And this angel is symbolically calling all of the buzzards and vultures to come... To come to the Armageddon buffet. No other way to put it. In verse 19 of chapter 19 says, "And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against Christ who sat on the horse and even against His army." And just so you know this is the battle of Armageddon that's being talked about here in the 19th verse. And it's already been forecasted in the book of Revelation. Now for a moment, I just want you to... If you're tracking we've talked about the worship service in heaven. God is being praised by those around His throne. Because He is true and righteous in His judgments. The harlot has been judged. She's been sentenced to eternal torment. And then the marriage feast of the Lamb and His wife. And now Christ is returned with His armies. And there are armies that are gathered together. As if it were possible to contend with Christ and His heavenly armies who have returned. And this will take place there in the Holy Land. And just by way of review, if you'll remember. Remember how there are seal judgments, trumpet judgments and bowl judgments. When the sixth bowl judgment, towards the very end of the Tribulation was described in Revelation 16. Let's read it in verse 12, I'll put it on the screen. The sixth angel poured out his bowl, on the great River Euphrates. Its water was dried up. So that the way of the kings from the East might be prepared. And John says, I then saw three unclean spirits. Like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, out of the mouth of false prophet. And these spirits are spirits of demons. And they go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Now, why am I going back to the sixth bowl judgment? Because it is fulfilled here in Revelation 19. Everything that was described in that sixth bowl is now taking place with all the armies of the global alliance, having gathered in the Holy land. We believe to obliterate Israel. And just in time, this is when Christ comes back. And to remove all doubt as to the location of this. Verse, 16 of Revelation 16 says they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew Armageddon. All right, this very moment, the battle of Armageddon referred to in the 16th chapter fulfilled in the 19th. This was prophesied by Zachariah, in the sixth century before the time of Jesus. And this is what he said in Zechariah 14. "Watch for the day of the Lord is coming. When your possessions will be plundered right in front of you, this is God speaking. I will gather all the nations to fight against Jerusalem. The city will be taken. The houses will be looted. The women will be raped. Half the population will be taken into captivity and the rest will be left among the ruins of the city. Then the Lord will go out to fight against those nations as He has fought in times past." So right there from Zechariah 14 in the 6th century before Jesus, this battle of Armageddon was prophesied. Even though Armageddon isn't used, God is speaking of Himself as having drawn the nations of the world into a military conflict against Jerusalem. And this is nothing but the stage being set, for the rider on the white horse,. The Lord Jesus Christ and His heavenly armies to come back and demonstrate His sovereign power over all blasphemers. And you see Jesus Himself talk to His followers about this. In Matthew 24 in verse 30, He said, "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven." And look at this. "All the tribes of the earth will mourn. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." What Jesus was talking about here in Matthew 24 and verse 30 is fulfilled right here in Revelation 19:11. So, just to clarify, the return of Christ to the earth to conquer is not the rapture. We believe that the rapture takes place at the beginning of the Tribulation, when Christ simply appears in the clouds, never comes to the earth. He appears in the clouds. We are raptured up to heaven. The rapture is what commences the Tribulation but this is the return of Christ. When He literally comes to the earth and His feet touch earthly soil. And He remains here through a 1000 year period. Which we will talk about in a later passage. Now let's look at verse 20. The beast was captured, who is the beast? That's the Antichrist. And with him the False Prophet. That's the guy who was working the religious system of the harlot. The Babylonian false religion. The beast was captured. The False Prophet was captured. He's the one who worked signs on behalf of the beast. And by which he deceived those who receive the mark of the beast, who worshiped the image. And those two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Christ who sat on the horse. And all those birds that had been called were filled with the flesh of the corpses. So realize here that the Antichrist and his False Prophet are put into the lake of fire. Do you know what the lake of fire is? The lake of fire is the term used in Revelation to describe hell. So they're both sent a hell. Judged forever by God. Now, when Paul was talking about the Antichrist in II Thessalonians 2:8. He said the lawless one is going to be revealed. That's the Antichrist, but look at his fate. Whom The Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. Whether it is the sword coming out of the mouth of Christ that strikes the nations when Christ returns. All of that is figurative. Or as Paul said the fierceness of the consuming breadth of Christ as though He's fire-breathing. And will execute judgment against the Antichrist. What we see in these final verses of the 19th chapter, is that these two leaders. Remember the unholy trinity, Satan is the spiritual power. The Antichrist is the human political leader. The False Prophet is the third member of the unholy trinity. He's the religious leader. Those two human agents of Satan are going to be thrown into the lake of fire, which is hell itself. So all the birds are feasting. Christ has returned, and it's time for the millennial reign of Jesus Christ to begin. Which we're going to talk about. Now, I've got a little bonus section I wanna throw in here and I'll be done. And I'm going a little bit over my time tonight, but I want you to... I want you just to see this. Because in the prophetic fulfillment of Jesus Christ the Mount of Olives is a very strategic location. And if you've ever been to the Holy Land, and I hope you'll be able to go one day. And if we can see the light of day past COVID, one of my first goals as Pastor here is to get a group up, to go to the Holy Land. But there is no better vista from which to view the city of Jerusalem than the heights of the Mount of Olives. Which is the peak of the eastern side of the city. And Jesus preached His most famous prophetic message on the Mount of Olives. In Matthew 24:3, it says, as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately saying, "Tell us when will these things be. And what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?" And so in response to their question on the Mount of Olives, as you saw He preached what we now call the Olivet Discourse. Which is His lengthiest sermon on prophecy. The 24th and 25th chapters of Matthew. So Jesus identified the Mount of Olives with prophecy and the fulfillment of God's plan. But guess what? 40 days after He was raised from the dead the Bible says He took His disciples back to the Mount of Olives. And while they were on the Mount of Olives Acts 1:9 says when He had spoken these things while they watched, He was taken up and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And you go on and it tells you, this was on the Mount of Olives. So His lengthy prophetic sermon, Matthew 24 and 25 it's called the Olivet Discourse on the Mount of Olives. His feet left planet earth for the last time, after His resurrection from the Mount of Olives. But guess what? When He returns to the earth do you know where His feet are going to touch down? Zachariah 14:4 it says on that day, His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. And the Mount of Olives are going to split apart. It's going to split apart making a wide valley running from east to west. Half the mountain will move toward the north and half toward the south. And on that day, look at this, life-giving waters will flow out from Jerusalem and half of this gushing spring will flow toward the Dead Sea and half toward the Mediterranean, flowing continuously in both summer and winter, which will be throughout the millennium. And the Lord will be King over all the earth. And on that day, there will be one Lord and His name alone will be worshiped. I hope you appreciate why I wanted to extend this a little bit more. Because we're talking about Christ returning in conquest. To vanquish the enemy. To confine the False Prophet, the Antichrist to eternal hell. And to raise the flag of His kingdom up in Jerusalem. But the Mount of Olives is the most strategic spot. Because it is the place from which He left the earth. And it is the place to which He will return. Father, thank you for allowing us to study together tonight. Thank you for making this real in our hearts. Help us not to get overwhelmed by details, but simply to know You're on your throne and Jesus is coming back. And we're here to praise You and give You glory for redeeming us by His blood in Whose precious name we pray. Amen.
