The Victorious Word Of God
THE VICTORIOUS WORD OF GOD
REVELATION 19:11-21
The picture we are shown here of Christ is one of radiant purity, divine power and unrivaled sovereignty.
The Word of God, a title hinted at in 1:2,16 and given in John 1:1, comes victoriously (19:13). Jesus Christ has been the perfect expression and performer of God’s will from beginning to end. The only weapon mentioned is his sword (19:21), which is his words; a similar concept is found in 2 Thessalonians 2:8. If there is war at all in this passage, it is spiritual and not physical. In fact it is questionable whether there is war at all. How can any stand against the unveiled glory of Christ?
“A white horse” (19:11): the sign of the conqueror (see also 6:2). “Faithful and True,” ie trustworthy and dependable. “Like a flame of fire” (19:12; see also 1:14). “Many diadems,” in contrast to the seven (12:3) and ten (13:1); all authority is Christ’s. The name known only to himself (19:12) probably refers to the widespread superstition in antiquity that knowledge of a person’s or god’s name can give power over them; no one can control the Lord, and there is no formula of words that can force him to do our bidding. “Dipped in blood” (19:13): not “sprinkled with” as in the margin. Sprinkling was for cleansing from sin; here it is his own blood and replaces “as though he had been slain” in the description of the Lamb (5:6). “The armies of heaven” (19:14): this is a victory parade. “Winepress” (19:15): see 14:19. “His thigh” (19:16): this probably means his girdle.
The call of the angel (19:17) does not invalidate the earlier comment about the absence of fighting. The symbolism of war is carried on throughout. The enemies of Christ are destroyed that they may await the general resurrection. If the beast and the false prophet are treated differently, it is because they are systems and not merely people (see also 20:14, where death and Hades are also so treated). This should warn us against dogmatism in our understanding of “the lake of fire” (19:20). The picture is symbolic, but that does not entitle us to strip it of meaning. Symbolism always expresses less than the whole truth. The modern reaction against the crudities of the medieval concept of hell should merely be a challenge to us to envisage something worse and more tragic for those who find their eternal destiny there.