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And I saw HEAVEN OPENED;
This may also explain why the New Jerusalem (heaven) has gates (Revelation 21:12).
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and BEHOLD, a WHITE HORSE, and HE who sat upon it
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(1) is CALLED FAITHFUL and TRUE;
In human terms, we never can be FAITHFUL and TRUE because of the sin curse placed upon us. So we hear phrases like "fair" or "impartial" used; but even these are hard to confirm. Comparing among earthlings always leaves room for untruth. Not so with Jesus Christ; He is CALLED (by God, we assume) FAITHFUL and TRUE;
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(2) and in RIGHTEOUSNESS HE JUDGES and
WAGES WAR.
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And (3) HIS EYES are a flame of fire,
and
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(4) upon HIS HEAD are many diadems; and
There is an account in the Old Testament of the conquering king removing the crown from the conquered king and placing it upon his own head (2 Samuel 12:26-30-31). In a spiritual sense, this finalizes the fall of the kings of the earth who committed acts of immorality and lived sensuously with her (the harlot - global economic materialism, Revelation 18:9). Perhaps these diadems symbolize Jesus' final conquest over the kings of the earth.
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(5) HE has a NAME written upon HIM which no one
knows except HIMSELF.
The name is written upon Jesus presumably by God the Father. Its meaning is hidden from us. Some scholars believe that at some time, we believers will know what that name is, just as mysteries of God had been revealed to some of the apostles (Ephesians 3:1-4-13). However, it really is immaterial whether we will get to know that name. What is important is that we now know "JESUS" and accept him as our Lord and Savior here and now.
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And (6) He is clothed with a ROBE
dipped in BLOOD;
Symbolically, we are seeing salvation portrayed. It gives us our white robes (Revelation 7:14 and Revelation 22:14) when we ride into 'battle' (next verse). We are seeing the pure revelation of Jesus Christ. That is, righteousness expunging evil (Hebrews 9:11-22).
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and (7) HIS NAME is called THE WORD
OF GOD.
During our present period of grace, we most often take 'THE WORD OF GOD' to mean the Gospel or Good News, and that meaning still is included here. However, a broader meaning is implied. As commander-in-chief (verse 11), the WORD OF GOD is now mostly judgments or vengeance as requested (Revelation 6:9-11 (5th seal)). Words come from the mouth .... recall what comes from Jesus' mouth (Revelation 1:16 and Revelation 19:21). Again, we see righteousness supplanting evil using military imagery.
Placing these two phrases together in this verse reinforces the idea that the BLOOD on the ROBE is CHRIST'S own BLOOD. NO enemy (evil) can come close to Christ as long as that sword (WORD OF GOD) of pure truth (verse 11) comes from His mouth. The devil introduced Adam and Eve (and the whole world) to evil (Genesis 3:1-5-7); now Christ is restoring the world to its pristine nonevil state prior to the millennial reign (Revelation 20:4-6).
Taking a composite look at the 7 spiritual items in verses 11-13, we realize that we have just been given the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
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And the ARMIES which are in HEAVEN,
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clothed in fine linen, white and clean,
Interestingly, this army is not camouflaged to avoid detection as modern earth militia are. Rather this is the TRUTH coming forth boldly like a light set upon a hill (Matthew 5:13-16). There is no doubt that evil and those committed to evil (who took the mark of the beast and worshiped the image of the beast) can fully see Christ and His ARMIES coming. The conflict soon will be engaged (verses 17-21).
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were following HIM on white HORSES.
We are not told what color the colt was, but it, too, was used in a triumphal entry (Luke 19:28-40). This is not a coincidence but rather a foretelling of this spiritual entry from HEAVEN into battle just as Christ went to battle to conquer death at Calvary.
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And from HIS mouth comes a SHARP SWORD, so that with
it (1) He may SMITE THE NATIONS;
Since the SHARP SWORD comes from HIS mouth, it is clear that we are talking about spiritual matters here. If they were physical, they probably could be taken care of by a physician. If they are spiritual, then the defeat of spiritual wrongdoing and evil can only be done by God's Word (Luke 4:1-12-13).
In this verse, we see three throwbacks to the Old Testament. To SMITE the NATIONS, sounds very much like Isaiah 11:1-5. However, since this is spiritual in nature, the phrase, THE NATIONS (plural), has the flavor of religious denominations who have played footsie with the harlot. The harlotry or prideful materialism has made it's way into many if not all religious denominations. Just as each political nation has its own cultural mix, various denominations have their own cultures. Hence, we find here that no religious denomination will be spared from the SWORD.
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and (2) He will RULE THEM with a rod
of iron;
It may have a broader meaning, in that, it may give a glimpse at how Christ will rule during the millennial period (Revelation 20:4-6). From a spiritual viewpoint, this indicates there is NO COMPROMISE with evil when Christ reigns. Yet evil, apparently, has not been completely suppressed, for after the millennial period, the devil is loosed for a short time to see whom he may deceive. He's able to convince many that evil still is glamorous and is the "good life" since as many as the sand on the seashore are enticed (Revelation 20:7-8-10). Sadly, this fits with Jesus' comment about even 'the elect' may be deceived during the tribulation (Mark 13:14-22-23).
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and (3) He treads the wine press of
the fierce WRATH OF GOD, THE ALMIGHTY.
This is a visual interpretation of evil being squeezed from the earth and, in particular, from the various religious denominations. We live with evil so close by everyday that it has become second nature to us. So much so that we can't even discern evil when we are confronted by it. This leads to the same state that the Laodicean church found/finds itself in (Revelation 3:14-22). It isn't a coincidence that the 'lukewarm' are spit out of His mouth .... it is the same process of the SWORD SMITING the NATIONS.
To indicate the overwhelming, overcoming power of God, both the WRATH of GOD and the highest name of GOD, the ALMIGHTY (Revelation 4:8 and Revelation 19:6), are commingled here in this verse. Every bit of EVIL will be squeezed out from the earth, and the earth will be returned to its original created state which God saw that it was VERY GOOD (Genesis 1:24-31). Interestingly, one could ask the question why restore the earth to its original state only to have it "pass away" (Revelation 21:1)?
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And on HIS ROBE and on HIS THIGH He has a NAME written,
This is the same bloodied ROBE in verse 13. Since ROBES represent righteousness, only Christ using His pure RIGHTEOUSNESS could even assume this NAME. Furthermore, since the NAME is across the THIGH part of the ROBE, we can understand that this is part of His role or position as Son of Man. Placing the NAME on the THIGH part of the ROBE makes it very visible as He is riding the white horse. There is no doubt what Christ's name is. And one could assume that this is the same name that is written on the outside of the scroll (Revelation 5:1). We see here that Christ is the rightful owner of the earth and in quasi-military fashion is reclaiming it. This also allows Christ to establish His thousand year reign (Revelation 20:4-6).
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"KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."
I wondered why both "KING OF KINGS" and "LORD OF LORDS" were used. Either one would be sufficient one would think. But then I recalled how corporations are structured and realized that this is a direct answer to the corporate materialism of Babylon. That is,
| Christ's NAME |
Corporate NAME |
Representation |
| KING of KINGS |
Chairman of the
Board: Legitimizes the corporation. Board members
typically are Chairmen or "kings" of other
corporations. Denomination leadership from a
religious organization viewpoint. Interestingly,
denominations don't usually have leaders from other
denominations within their top structures. |
Authorization |
| LORD of LORDS |
Corporate
organization with layers of management up through
Officers of the corporation. In the religious
viewpoint, districts or dioceses or missions boards
or orders or equivalents. (1
Timothy 3) |
Administration |
Having both names then says that Christ is both the Authority and Administration during the millennial reign.
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And I saw an ANGEL standing in the sun;
During the tribulation while the fourth trumpet judgment (Revelation 8:12) was taking place, the sun was darkened. Perhaps the darkened sun erupts with one massive solar flare that looks like an ANGEL.
Most importantly, this ANGEL's appearance shouts to the reader that what is happening next is VERY IMPORTANT.
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and he cried out with a LOUD VOICE,
When a LOUD VOICE is used (Revelation 6:10; Revelation 7:2; Revelation 7:10; Revelation 10:3; Revelation 14:15; and Revelation 18:2), something IMPORTANT follows. So too, here, watch for the IMPORTANT EVENT.
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saying to all the BIRDS which fly in mid heaven,
Some expositors tie this verse to Ezekiel 39:17-24 for the language is very similar. There are enough dissimilarities to also say these are not the same. However, one thing is clear from Ezekiel, it is iniquity which is the problem (or bird feed). In Ezekiel, it was iniquity within Israel, in particular, that was the problem; here in Revelation, it is the iniquity or evil of the whole earth. Look at how Jesus referred to this in Matthew 24:15-28.
This may well describe in physical terms a spiritual cleansing or removal of evil from the earth. Evil resides within living beings or in "water". Evil is real, and must be "eaten" by these BIRDS, to remove it from mankind. Much, if not all, evil is based in demons, and demons must go somewhere when they are excised (Mark 5:1-20). The BIRDS will take care of that.
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"Come, ASSEMBLE for the GREAT SUPPER of God;
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in order that you may eat
- THE FLESH OF kings and
- THE FLESH OF commanders and
- THE FLESH OF mighty men and
- THE FLESH OF horses and of those who sit on them and
- THE FLESH OF all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great."
Including horses doesn't seem to fit. Probably these are the EVIL counterpart to what believers ride upon (verse 14). Also, we had locusts (Revelation 9:7) that looked like horses prepared for battle, and these were EVIL influences. Horses may denote how EVIL is transported. We don't understand this phenomenon, i.e. how does EVIL enter a man (Luke 22:1-3-6)?
Lastly, lest we think this is all spiritual, the literal consumption of ALL MEN remaining by these birds will take place. This leaves the interesting question: who will populate the earth during the millennial reign (Revelation 20:4-6)?
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And I saw (1)
THE BEAST and
(2) the KINGS of the earth and their ARMIES,
This is prophesied in Daniel 11:29-45, and as the last verse in Daniel says, "and no one will help him".
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ASSEMBLED to MAKE WAR against
- HIM who sat upon the horse, and against
- His ARMY.
Note that THE BEAST has to have ARMIES, while the Lord only has an ARMY. And even with ARMIES, the Lord single-handedly kills the ARMIES with the sword (THE TRUTH) in His mouth (Revelation 19:21). If we are chosen to serve in the Lord's ARMY for this campaign, then we won't have to fight but just witness the defeat of evil,
PRAISE HIS HOLY NAME!
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And
- THE BEAST was SEIZED, and with him
- the FALSE PROPHET who performed the SIGNS in his presence,
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by which he DECEIVED
- those who had RECEIVED the MARK OF THE BEAST and
- those who WORSHIPED his image;
1. Christ's gift of salvation is free. Contrast that with those who received the MARK of the BEAST. They took the MARK in order to eat and to do business (Revelation 13:17).
2. The act of worship is a (holy) spirit thing. God is a SPIRIT, and we must WORSHIP Him in Spirit and Truth (John 4:7-24-38). Contrast that with those who WORSHIP the beast's image in direct violation of God's commandment (Deuteronomy 5:6-9-21).
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these two were thrown ALIVE into the LAKE OF FIRE which
burns with brimstone.
This is the fulfillment of Daniel's vision, Daniel 7:9-11-12, albeit Daniel sees their bodies destroyed (but not the EVIL?). Isaiah 66:22-24 talks about the same thing. The BEAST and the FALSE PROPHET remain ALIVE in the LAKE OF FIRE because they are not consumed or annihilated. They are there 1000 years later (Revelation 20:10). At that time, they are tormented day and night forever.........and there is no reason to torment something that is dead or totally consumed.
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And THE REST WERE KILLED with the SWORD which came from
the mouth of him who sat upon the horse,
If these are spiritual armies, then we can assume that this refers to the rest of evil or the demonic world. This may be what the odd statement Jesus used in Luke 21:25-26-28, 'the powers of the heavens' refers to. Most of us have so little experience in this realm. In the Old Testament, Jeremiah uses the phrase 'inhabitants of the earth' (Jeremiah 25:29-33) in his prophesy. The 'inhabitants of the earth' may well include these evil entities (Revelation 12:9).
It shouldn't surprise anyone that just the SWORD or a word of TRUTH from the mouth of him who sat upon the horse can kill 'THE REST'. That is it's intended purpose (Revelation 19:15). Even while Jesus was on this earth, it only took a word:
- Fig tree withered (Matthew 21:18-22)
- Wind and waves calmed (Luke 8:22-25)
- Centurion's servant healed (Matthew 8:5-8-13)
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and all the birds were filled with their flesh.
Symbolically, the birds are a kind of cleansing force which will remove (or become filled with) evil (flesh). We don't understand this process very well for it implies that these birds ultimately are 'sacrificed' into the lake of fire. That there is a correlation is supported by the prominent use of birds in the purification ritual for leprosy (Leviticus 14:1-4-9). The result, however, is to return the earth to its pre-evil state (Genesis 2:4-14) such that the rightful owner may inhabit it (Revelation 20:4-6).
References to the Revelation of Jesus Christ are in bold italics. All other references are in bold only