Sunday School Notes: Revelation 19:14-18
14 And the armies in heaven followed him on white horses, clothed in fine, clean white linen. 15 And from his mouth came a sharp sword so that with it he may strike the nations, and he himself will rule them with a rod of iron, and he will trample the wine press of the wine of the anger of the wrath of God, the Almighty. 16 And he has upon [his] garment and upon his thigh a name written: “King of kings and Lord of lords.” 17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun and crying out with a loud voice saying to all the birds flying high in the sky, “Come gather together to the great supper of God 18 so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of tribunes and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and those who sit upon them, and the flesh of all the free and the slaves and the small and the great.
Continuing with the rider on the white horse, who we identified as Jesus. Last time we started going through the 12 attributes of this rider listed by John and we’ve reached number 8: He has heavenly armies following him on white horses dressed in white linen. When we think of heavenly armies or hosts we usually think of angels. Are these angelic beings gathered with Jesus to do battle against God’s earthly enemies? Consider what these armies are wearing: clean, fine, white linen. God’s people wear white robes in 3:5, 6:11, 7:9, and by implication in 14:4. Also, Jesus promised those who overcome that they will rule over nations and have authority as Jesus does (2:26-27). Lastly, the armies wearing white and riding white horses show an affinity with Jesus who is also in white and riding a white horse. All of this points to these armies being the church, God’s people, who are clothed in Jesus’s righteousness and will share in Jesus’s rule.
We’ve already established that Jesus will return to bring judgment and vindicate God’s name. It’s also important to remember that the Lord will bring judgment against the nations for the martyred saints and all those persecuted by God’s enemies. Once more we go back to the cry of the saints under the altar in 6:10 crying out for God to judge and to avenge their blood. Jesus loves his Bride and he will not let the world’s treatment of her go unpunished.
9. He has a sharp sword coming out of his mouth to strike the nations. This takes us back to 1:16 and 2:16 where the sword is clearly a symbol of verbal judgment. In 2:16 particularly Jesus will wage war against false teachers with the sword of his mouth. The imagery here is in line with Messianic prophecy such as Isaiah 49:2. Jesus as judge is the fulfillment of such prophecies, and the Old Testament promises that judgment will strike the nations.
10. He will rule the nations with an iron rod. Here we have more fulfillment of Messianic prophecy. Isaiah 11:4 says that the branch of Jesse (i.e., the Messiah) will strike the earth with “the rod of his mouth.” More pointedly, Psalm 2:9, long regarded as a Messianic psalm, says that the Lord says to his Son, “You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel” (ESV). In the Greek Old Testament (LXX), the verb used instead of “break” is poimainō, which more commonly means “to shepherd.” The context indicates something much stronger than “shepherding” is in mind, so it is appropriate to translate it with a more appropriate verb (e.g., “rule”). Of interest is the fact that “rule” here in Revelation 19:15 is that same verb, poimainō. This tells us that the picture of Jesus John sees here is intended to be a fulfillment of the Messianic promise in Psalm 2.
The “rod of iron” may sound like a harsh kind of rule. In the hands of a godless dictator that would certainly be the case. We must remember, though, that the iron rod is wielded by the one who is the shepherd of our souls, and the righteous judge. He is not taking his iron rod to innocent people who were led astray but didn’t mean any harm. Jesus takes his iron-rod rule to godless nations who, time and again, have demonstrated that they are worthy of God’s judgment. And in his judgment there is no sin. He is perfectly just.
11. He will trample the wine press of the wine of the fury of God’s wrath. John has already see this wine press in 14:17-20. This is where those harvested for destruction, the earth-dwellers, end up. The symbolism comes from Isaiah 63:2-3, and is a fulfillment of that promised day of vengeance upon the nations. The fact we see this same phrase used here as was in 14:17-20 indicates that these passages are connected. In other words, 14:17-20 and this passage are speaking of the same event, only here we’re getting the expanded version.
12. He wears a name written on his outer garment and thigh: King of kings and Lord of lords. We’ve already discussed the “hidden” names of Jesus (see last time). Of particular interest are the locations of this name: the outer garment and the thigh. The name on the outer garment would be obvious to everyone, and that’s probably the intention with that location. It is declaring the fact that Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords. As for the thigh, there are two possible reasons and, given this is a vision, the intended symbolism could be a combination of them both. First, the thigh was where soldiers would carry their swords, which is fitting for the Lord of lords marching out to make his Lordship known. Second, the thigh was also used in the Old Testament for making solemn oaths. In Genesis 24:2, Abraham made an oath with his servant by having him place his hand under Abraham’s thigh. The name on the thigh, therefore, reminds us that Jesus has promised to vindicate his people that we might reign with him, and he will keep that promise. As well as these, there is also congruence between the name on the outside and the name on the inside. That name is part of Jesus’s identity. It’s part of his character that cannot help but show.
“Lord of lords and King of kings” is a reminder of the Lamb’s authority. The reason the Lamb conquers the kings in 17:13-14 is because he is Lord of lord and King of kings, and those with him are chosen and faithful. Take note of that parallel in chapter 17 as it also speaks to the arrangement of these events. As well as expanding on chapter 14, this passage is also an elaboration of what was touched on in chapter 17.
John then sees a single angel “standing in the sun.” This is an unusual image. Why is this angel standing in the sun? Without trying to over-think it, the picture is one of radiance. Extreme radiance, almost like the angel in 18:1 who made the earth bright from his glory. We suggested that the angel in 18:1 is, in fact, an appearance of Jesus. That could be true of this angel too, especially since John describes Jesus’s face in 1:16 as shining “like the sun at full power.” We can debate whether or not this is actually an appearance of the Lord. What’s more important is that this angel speaks for God, which might be all that the radiant appearance means.
The angel addresses the birds flying “high in the sky”–literally in “mid-heaven.” This is the same location as the eagle that spoke on behalf of God in 8:13 announcing woes on the earth-dwellers. This was just before the last three trumpets. Here, the angel invites the birds to gather for the “great supper of God.” The word for supper, deipnon, is the same word used in the marriage supper of the Lamb. But this supper is quite different, and not at all pleasant.
On the menu for the birds’ supper are the flesh of kings, of tributes or military commanders, mighty men, horses, those riding in the horses, and all kinds of men whether slave or free, great or small. There’s a parallel here with the judgment God pronounced against Gog in Ezekiel 39:17-24. Not only do we have similarities between the feast in Ezekiel and the supper here, but there are some other interesting comparisons. The last few verses in Ezekiel speak prophetically of the restoration of Israel. This certainly didn’t happen anytime soon, and in fact won’t happen until the End when all God’s people are finally gathered in. In Ezekiel 39:7, God says He will make his holy name known in the midst of His people, and the nations will know that He is the Lord. As we’ve seen, Jesus wears the name “Lord of lords” on his outer garment and thigh. Lastly, chapters 40 and following of Ezekiel (i.e., the chapters directly after Ezekiel 39) speak of the new temple. In Revelation 21 we will see the new heavens, the new earth, and the new Jerusalem.
As to the identity of Gog, according to 1 Chronicles 5:4, Gog is descended from the prophet Joel. Ezekiel says he is the chief of the tribes of Meshech and Tubal in the land of Magog. Aside from that, not much else seems to be known. It’s possible that the sole purpose of the prophecy about the conquest of Gog and Magog is to look forward to a day when God will gather His enemies and defeat them in battle. And that victory will come through Jesus. More of that when we get to chapter 20.
We’ll continue at verse 19 next time…
