Are You Prepared for the Return of the King?

Posted on Apr 06, 2022 Topic : Prophecy
Posted by : Amir Tsarfati

The Return of the King

In the first ten verses of chapter 19, John“heard”(verse1)the statements of a great multitude, then the twenty‑four elders and the four creatures. Then a voice came from the throne, followed by are turn of the multitude, then the voice of a fellow servant who stood next to him. Now there is a shift from what John“heard” to what he“saw.”

Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and unrighteousness 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. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He, Him‑ self-treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:

KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS (Revelation 19:11‑16).

This is not the first time that we’ve seen a rider on a white horse. If you’ll recall, when the Lamb opened the first seal, a white horse came forward. The rider who sat on it “had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer” (6:2). What was he conquering? The hearts and minds of the people, because eventually, he would be calling for them to worship him. This new rider also comes forward as a conqueror. But this time when people fall to worship Him, it will be because He is worthy. It will not be because they’ve been forced or coerced.

The description that John gives of the rider is one of the greatest depictions of a warrior hero ever written. It is nearly impossible to read the words without feeling awe, fear, and overwhelming gratitude that He is on your side.

Who is this rider? There can be no doubt that it is Jesus Christ returning to usher in His kingdom. In fact, every one of John’s descriptions can be found elsewhere in Scripture referring to the conquering Savior. He is called Faithful and True (Revelation 3:14); His eyes are like a flame of fire (Revelation 1:14); His robe has been dipped in blood (Isaiah 63:2); His name is the Word of God (John 1:1); a sharp sword proceeds from His mouth (Revelation 1:16; 2:12); He will rule the nations with a rod of iron (Psalm 2:8‑9; Revelation 12:5); and He is called the King of kings and Lord of lords (1 Timothy 6:15).

I love that last title—King of kings and Lord of lords. It brings to my mind Handel’s Messiah, when the singers call out those titles and echo “Hallelujah! Hallelujah!” in praise. When Paul wrote to his protégé Timothy, he used this same majestic moniker in his good confession:

I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen (1 Timothy 6:13‑16).

What a glorious event! What a grandiose celebration! Jesus Christ is returning to rule over all the kingdoms of the world. As He returns to earth, He will come not as He first did when He was weak, humble, helpless. This time as He rides in, He will do so as God in all His glory—all‑powerful deity, general of righteous armies, leader of angelic forces, the one true ruler over all things. For centuries, the promise of Jesus’ return has been preached throughout the world. Nations, tribes, families, and individuals have anticipated the day. It is coming!

Who will return with Him? Who are the “armies of heaven” that ride at His back? Are they angelic beings like the ones Elisha saw during the siege of Dothan (2 Kings 6)? The context makes clear their identity. Looking at their description, we read that they are “clothed in fine linen, white and clean” (verse 14). Six verses earlier, the description John gave of the bride said that she was “arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints” (verse 8). Not only are we returning as the bride; we are coming back as the army of God.

“But Amir, I don’t want to be part of an army! I don’t even kill spiders when they come into my house!” Fear not, there is only one righteousWarriorwhowillfightinthisbattle, and it is not you. our jobwilltobetoridebehindyourKing, which is exactly where you will want to be. In fact, there will be only two options on the day of Christ’s return—you will either see Jesus’ face or His back. On that day of His judgment, it will be much better to be riding behind Him than fleeing in front of Him.

The Army of the Bad Guys

If the Warrior Jesus is riding forth to battle with a sword to strike the nations, who are the armies that have gathered to fight Him? These are the kings of the earth who were enticed by the frog‑like demons who went forth with the beguiling words of the devil, the Antichrist, and the false prophet.

I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.” And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. Then the beast was captured, and with him, the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These 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 Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh (Revelation 19:17‑21).

These verses pick up where Revelation 16:16 left off: “And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.” We are at the end of the tribulation. The Jews have now come to realize that the one they thought was their Messiah is actually an anti‑Messiah, demanding worship from all the nations of the world. Under devilish deception, these nations have gathered to destroy Jerusalem, but before they can do so, there is a loud noise and a bright light. They look up toward the heavens and realize that this is not going to go well for them.

The prophet Zechariah describes the scene:

Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, and your spoil will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; the city shall be taken, the houses rifled, and the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, but the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle. And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley; half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south (Zechariah 14:1‑4).

The armies will immediately be put to death by Christ, and the beast and the false prophet will be thrown into the lake of fire. That is the last we will ever see of them. I believe that one of the reasons the devil does not want people reading the book of Revelation is because he wants them to think he has greater power than he actually does. He talks a big game, and he has power here on the earth. But when Jesus joins in the fight, Satan is shown to be just another created being, who is no match for his Creator.