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Sermon preached on Revelation 19:11-21 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Worship Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 05/25/2025 in Petaluma, CA.
Sermon Manuscript
Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.
We are really at a climactic moment in the book of Revelation! Last time we concluded that extended section about the fall of Babylon. Babylon’s fall was the beginning of the end, when the dragon-inspired beast and false prophet conspire with the kings of the earth to turn against Babylon to her astonishing destruction. We learned that was all part of God’s plan as a way to begin to destroy his and our enemies. But now, at last, we see Jesus as the divine warrior king coming to complete the conquest of all remaining enemies. Here we see him conquer the beast and the false prophet and all the many non-Christians in league with them. The final enemies of Satan, Death, and Hades will be finished off next chapter.
Today’s passage is cleanly divided up into two main parts. Verses 11-16 describe the coming of the rider on the white horse. Verses 17-21 describe an angel announcing what is described as the great supper of God which occurs at the climactic last battle that we’ve been hearing about. We’ll work through both of these as our two main points for today. All of this chapter should warn the non-Christian of the coming day of judgment and simultaneously encourage the Christian that we will be victorious with Jesus.
We begin to consider this rider on the white horse starting in verse 11. He is none other than Jesus, but let us work through the verses to see how we see that. So, we see heaven opened and the exclamation of “behold”, to draw our attention to this white horsed rider. He comes here from heaven to earth for this climactic last battle. Let me begin considering his wondrous description with the most mysterious feature which is that in verse 12 were are told that he has a name on his forehead that no one knows but himself. Some take this unknown name to mean that there is something about Jesus in his divine nature that is beyond our finite comprehension. While that is a plausible interpretation, the context may suggest something else. Names on foreheads have been common in these apocalyptic visions and let us remember that the name of the forehead of Babylon was described as a “mystery” just before we were told her name and explained what it meant. Likely there is something similar going on here, that this unrevealed name is not going to stay a mystery either. Remember, a biblical mystery is only a mystery until it is revealed. Once it is revealed, it no longer is something unknown. The later scene in this passage with the birds being called to eat up the flesh of the conquered humans hints at thinking this way. That imagery of birds eating up the slain alludes to an Old Testament prophecy in Ezekiel 39 which is one of the last battle prophecies, specifically one described as against Gog and Magog, which gets referenced by that name even in next chapter. But what is interesting about that battle in Ezekiel is that the passage starts and ends by saying that God will make his name known, revealed, in how he conquers Gog and Magog (Ezekiel 38:23; 39:6-7). That is likely how we are to understand this apocalyptic detail that this rider has a name on his head that only he knows. It will be a mystery only until he makes it known by his glorious victory in this last battle. In other words, it’s not so much about some secret but that it implies that his victory in this battle will make a new name for himself, so to speak. The fact that the name in itself is not the point is only further brought out by the fact that this passage has a number of names told to us of who this rider is. So, this unknown name surely represents the victory Jesus will have and how he’ll be known by that once it happens. This likely explains how in Revelation 3:12 he promised those who overcome with him that he will write his new name on them. That new name probably refers to this same unknown name here. Like how a new song is sung after a military victory, so Jesus will also then have a new name, a named made and revealed through his victory.
So then, I’ve begun thinking about Jesus as this rider on the white horse by considering that this unrevealed name for himself, a name he knows, will be made known to all in his victory of these enemies. But let us then further recognize the identity of this rider of the white horse by all the other names and description that he is given here. What we find is that this vision of the rider helps us to connect all the book of Revelation and find all earlier different descriptions of Jesus coming together in this one glorious rider.
Start with how verse 15 describes the rider as the one who will rule the nation with a rod of iron. This identifies the rider with the male child born to the woman back in chapter 12. Chapter 12 started off the whole extended story of the dragon and his beasts, which comes to a full conclusion next chapter. Remember, the child of chapter 12 was who the dragon tried to devour right when he was born, and the child was described with those messianic words from Psalm 2 as the one who would rule the nations with a rod of iron. Before, Satan the dragon tried to destroy Jesus when he was just a seemingly helpless baby. Now this same child returns full grown in great power to conquer Satan and all his allies.
Back in that same chapter 12 after describing the child it turned to talk about the Lamb and its victory over Satan. We already connected the dots to understand that the child and the Lamb referred to the same person. But this passage further connect the dots. In verse 16, this rider has the name on his robe and thigh of King of kings and Lord of lords. That is the same name given to the Lamb back in 17:14 when also describing how the kings of the earth try futilely to conquer the Lamb in the last battle. That name of King of kings complements how this rider has many diadems on his head, his many royal crowns.
This rider is also identified as the son of man who comes in the clouds that we saw back in chapter 14. We see that identification through the shared imagery of treading the winepress referenced in verse 15. Back in chapter 14, Jesus as the son of man was described as pouring out God’s wrath on the wicked which was likened to a winepress. Remember, that winepress had a river of blood coming from it of almost 200 miles.
The imagery here also connects us back with the beginning of Revelation. Remember how Jesus opened the book up by calling himself both a faithful witness in chapter 1, and then a faithful and true witness in 3:14. We remember these things when we see verse 11 calls the rider Faithful and True. Indeed, Jesus is faithful to keep all his promises to us. And Jesus is true and not a lying deceiver like Satan. Indeed, as the revelation of God to us, he is literally the Faithful and True one, even as the words in this prophecy will be twice called faithful and true in the last two chapters.
So then, remember, how chapter 1 began with that first apocalyptic vision of one like a son of man walking among the lampstands. That glorious being in the vision was clearly Jesus, and he was described in several ways including having eyes like a flame of fire and having a sword from his mouth. The rider’s eyes here are described the same way in verse 12 and his mouth has the same sword in verse 15. This rider is the same glorious son of man figure from the beginning of the book that walked among his lampstands.
This rider is also named in verse 13 as the Word of God. The phrase “word of God” is found exactly four other times in this book, and all are connected with the testimony of Jesus. There is a close connection between the testimony of Jesus and the word of God. They both repeatedly are described as something that can result in someone getting persecuted by the evil world. If we bear witness to Jesus, we could get persecuted. If we speak of the word of God, we could get persecuted. Here, to call Jesus the word of God is to say that he is the very embodiment of God’s revelation to us. John’s gospel literally says in the opening prologue, that the Word was with God and was God and that this Word became flesh and dwelt amongst us, so that we could behold the glory of God. This Word of God will come again as this rider on the white horse.
So then, we see how this description at this climactic moment in Revelation ties together all the ways we’ve seen Jesus described already in the book. The rider on the white horse is Jesus, the Word of God, the Faithful and True Witness, the child born into this world to rule the nations with a rod of iron, the Lord’s anointed Christ Messiah, the Lamb who was slain but is now alive, The King of kings and the Lord of Lords, the Son of Man who walks among his lampstands, who will also come in the clouds, the one will who pour out God’s wrath at the end, and the conqueror of all God’s enemies. Behold, our passage displays such a mighty savior. What a climactic moment. Imagine any great movie scene where the hero arrives at just the right time to save the day. That is what is presented here.
For it says three things that this Jesus will do when he returns in such glory. He will judge. He will make war. He will rule the nations. As verse 11 asserts, he will do such things in righteousness. He won’t do them out of envy or sinful pride or any evil motivation. These enemies will get what justice and righteousness says they deserve. His own clothes are dipped in blood, likely to present him as a mighty warrior while foreshadowing the blood he will spill on these enemies when he judges them in conquering them in battle. And we note that he comes with an army. The army is clothed in fine linen, white and pure, also on white horses. While other times we know Jesus is foretold to return with his angels, here this is surely a reference to him coming with his church, because the language is how they are described as clothed back in verse 8 as the Bride of the Lamb. If we are in Christ, we will be with him and on his side in the great last battle. That’s the side you want to be on.
Let us then turn to this other half of this passage to consider verses 17-21 and how this angel announces a great supper of God. The description of this angel is somewhat similar to the one at the start of chapter 18 that was described as bright with great glory. This one is described as standing in the sun. The one from chapter 18 described Babylon’s downfall. This one describes the downfall of the beast and the false prophet.
I already mentioned the imagery of the birds and how it alluded to the prophecy about the battle against Gog and Magog from Ezekiel 39. But let us appreciate further the imagery being presented here. In anticipation of this last battle, the angel gives an invitation to all the birds to come and gather so they can eat on all the people that will die here. I think of, for example, how God prophesied in the Old Testament that wicked Jezebel would be eaten by dogs instead of buried as part of God’s judgment against her. So too, in this apocalyptic vision, God enemies would be eaten by birds in divine judgment.
Let us also appreciate how this invitation to the birds contrasts the words back in last week’s passage in verse 8. There, an angel said how blessed it would be for anyone to be invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Christians are invited to that great supper. But here, the wicked are not invited to that supper. Instead, they are the main course for this great supper of God that he is giving to the birds. This great supper of God clearly parodies the marriage supper of the Lamb. The saints have blessing and joy in store, the wicked do not.
The battle itself is briefly described in verses 19-21. Notice that it’s the beast along with the kings of the earth and their armies that face off against Jesus and his Christian soldiers. Next chapter in verses 8-10 the final battle will yet again be described. There it will be called Gog and Magog. But since today’s chapter alludes to the Ezekiel passage about the battle with Gog and Magog, it clearly reinforces this idea that Revelation is repeatedly recapitulating about this last battle. We either have like at least six different climactic battles described in Revelation, or they all are complementary accounts of the same final battle before the end of this age. Surely they all describe one final last battle, like we see here.
Jesus is again presented victorious here. In this case, we see that he captures both the beast and the false prophet alive and then captures them into the lake of fire. Let us appreciate the apocalyptic imagery here by remembering that we’ve seen the beast represent something more than just a single individual, but a powerful dominant kingdom along with its state-sponsored false religion, all influenced by Satan. All such will be ultimately subdued by Christ and thrown into the lake of fire.
We will talk more about the lake of fire next chapter, but here it is first introduced to us. We will see it is a place of eternal and everlasting torment. The beast and the false prophet are the first to be said to be thrown into it. Next chapter the dragon will be the next. Then Death and Hades. Then all the wicked humans. The idea of the lake of fire tells us that the bible distinguishes between an initial state of punishment for the wicked and the final state of punishment. When the wicked first dies they go spiritually to a place of initial punishment in Hades. But after Christ’s return at the end, everyone will be raised from the dead and face judgment. Those who have not been saved by Jesus will be cast into the lake of fire, which we can call Hell. To be more literal to the New Testament Greek, Jesus speaks of Gehenna which is basically another description for the lake of fire, otherwise known as hell. More on that next chapter.
But for now may we appreciate that the scope of victory here is not just over the beast and the false prophet. This rider on the white horse also conquers the kings and their armies. In fact, they are the ones that are described as slain which the birds then east. While the beast and the false prophet surely represent something more than just single individuals, it is individuals we should think about when it comes to the kings and their armies who are slain. Look at verse 18. There the angel describes all the flesh that will be consumed by the birds. The list might sound at first like how the Bible speaks of how God’s salvation will come to all his chosen people from the least to the greatest. But this list doesn’t describe who is saved but who is judged and condemned. When Jesus finally returns, all non-Christians will face God’s wrath in Christ. It doesn’t matter if you are rich and famous or you are some poor homeless nobody.
Trinity Presbyterian Church, today’s passage contains a very important revelation. What you think about this passage will depend on whose side you are on. If you belong to Christ, if you are one of his saved people, then this is a picture of that climactic moment when he comes to save the day. It’s like in the Lord of the Rings final book when the king returns to conquer the armies of Mordor. This picture is something we celebrate that no matter how bleak things look here and now, that the King will return and we will be victorious in him.
But if you are not on the Lord’s side, this passage probably makes you angry. You might think this confirms that Christians are evil and hateful. Who are they to think Jesus is going to come and conquer the world with them? You might think such a wrathful God is not your God. You would be right that he is not your God. But you would be wrong to think he is in the wrong. You are in the wrong if you reject the one true God. Jesus brings us the truth about sin and God’s coming judgment. If you are not on the Lord’s side, you might be tempted today to be angry to hear of such a divine warrior king threatening to hold you accountable for your sin. But the right response is to repent. The right response is to recognize that you cannot win against Jesus. That you are guilty and it is not worth spending an eternity in hell to keep up your rebellion against Jesus. If you have not repented of your sin, been baptized into Christ, and begun to follow him, then you are in rebellion against him. I urge you to not delay any longer but be saved before it is too late. The good news is that today you can begin a new life in Christ. Believe on Jesus and be saved.
This then is my simple but significant application today. Become a Christian before it is too late. Christians, take heart at the coming victory of Jesus, the great rider on the white horse.
Amen.
Copyright © 2025 Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.
All Rights Reserved.
