The Calvary Has Arrived! - Revelation 19:11-21

Look up in the sky!  It’s a bird!  It’s a plane!  It’s Superman!  This famous phrase came out of the 1950’s Adventures of Superman, as folks pointed up to the sky, seeing an unfamiliar form, trying to figure out exactly what it was…only recognizing the form as it grew closer.  It was their hero, their rescuer, their savior…

Imagine the folks reading or hearing John’s vision for the first time:  “Then I saw heaven opened and there was a white horse!”  Many early Christians on their first take balked at that sentence, they had encountered a white horse before.  It was the one that had come conquering and to conquer, and led the riders of the red, black, and greenish-grey horses back in a different visionary unit, in chapter six with the opening of the seven seals.  That white horse rider had not been a Lone Ranger kind of hero…it had represented the conquering forces of the Roman Empire…because in apocalyptic literature white does not necessarily mean the good guy…white is the color of….victory…and the horse of chapter six, it was the victorious bad guy.

The white horse gets closer, and it’s rider comes into view, along with the riders following him…and those riders were not on red, black, or green-grey horses…they all ride white horses, and wear white linen.  There was no question about who this rider was…”It’s rider is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.  His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems; and he has a name inscribed that no one knows but himself.  He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called The Word of God...From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron; he will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God.  On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, “King of kings and Lord of lords.”

If there was any doubt as to who this horseman was, John’s description gives leaves no room for questions…for John’s vision connects us all the way back to chapter one, and pulls us forward through each of the visionary units we have considered.

“Faithful and True” carries us back to the letter to the Church in Laodicia which was in danger of being spit out of the mouth of God.  Here Jesus was described as “the faithful and true witness.”

“His eyes like a flame of fire” harkens us back to the opening description of Jesus as He first appears to John in chapter one, where “His head and his hair were as white as wool, white as snow; his eyes were like flame of fire…the same description given to the church in Thyatira, as they struggled with having become complacent in their service of God.

“From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations.”  That same sharp two-edged sword appears in chapter one, “from his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword.”  That sword appears in Pergamum, as Jesus is critical of those who have strayed from the teachings of God and turned toward false teachers.

“…he will rule them with a rod of iron.”  The rod of iron first appeared in the letter to Thyatira, and then again in the description of the child of the woman that the dragon was pursing in chapter 12: “And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron.”

And as “he will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty,” we are called to remember the grapes cast into the wine press in chapter 14’s description of the coming harvest and judgment.

The “name inscribed” on his thigh, “King of kings and Lord of lords,” calls us back to the opening of Chapter one where Jesus is described as the ruler over the kings of the earth and to chapter seventeen where “the Lamb will conquer them, for he is the Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.

So we know that this One who has ridden in on the white horse, is the savior, redeemer, sustainer…it is none other than Jesus Christ.  He comes with the martyrs and saints behind him.  He comes, as is the case of every one of those connections to earlier visions, he comes in judgment, and it is in this judgment that the close of this visionary unit that began in chapter 17 with Babylon the harlot, and her destruction…and if we read carefully in chapter 17, Babylon is judged and destroyed, but the beast and false prophet escape.  That comes to an end with the end of this unit and in this judgment.

“Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly in midheaven, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of the might, the flesh of the horses and their riders—flesh of all, both free and slave, both small and great.  Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against the rider on the horse and his army.  And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet.  These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.  And the rest were killed by the sword of the rider, the sword that came from his mouth; and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.”

Isn’t this about the most gruesome description we have had so far in Revelation…the birds gorging themselves on the flesh of those who had oppressed the faithful people of God.  Yet it is here, in the midst of this gruesomeness, that the hope of this passage is found…it is hope that the judgment will be complete, for the destruction is complete, with the birds eating the flesh of the enemies of God.  The hope is also seen, as it is reiterated from before…that though the enemies of God, the beast and the false prophet, have gathered those who are struggling along with their faith, and they gather for war against the People of God.  And once again, as was seen in chapter 16, they gather for war, but there is no war, Christ intervenes.  It is the hope that we shared before, that though the enemy encamps against us…God will intervene and before the war even breaks out, showing His authority over the beast and the false prophet, by slinging them into the pit of eternal fire.

Not only does the hope erupt from the fact that those who had campaigned against the people of God, the beast and false prophet, are removed from our presence.  But the big hope comes in verse 17:  “Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called together all the birds that fly in midheaven, “Come, gather for the great supper of God…”.  Where’s the hope in that?  It is found in the fact that this angel has issued an invitation to the birds that fly in midheaven.  The biggest hope is found in the fact that in this:  Jesus has appeared, but not acted…yet the angel calls the birds to gather.

The angel’s invitation is that, not of simple hope of something unsure, but the declaration of what will happen.  It has already been decided, Christ is already victorious…that is why the angel invites those birds to come…there is no doubt in his mind, Jesus will win…the cavalry of Calvary has arrived….and they are wearing white…the vision already gives Christ the victory before He acts.

That was the hope that the people struggling under persecution needed to hear…that is the hope that many of us need to hear.

Where do you need to hear that hope…the hope that Christ has already claimed the victory?  Where do you need to know that Jesus has already won?

Where are we struggling and suffering because of our faith?  Where do we need to hear that Christ has already won the victory?

Maybe it is the workplace?  Maybe we have a supervisor that asks us to compromise our faith and lie to cover something unethical that he or she is doing?  Maybe it is a co-worker who constantly ridicules you and calls you a “goody two shoes,” because you won’t go out after work with them to get wasted?  Maybe it is learning that your company is invested in some practices that you feel put you at a risk of compromising your faith, because they appear to be unethical?  You need hope, because you know that acting on any of these, would place you on the unemployment line.

Maybe it is in the home?  Maybe you are struggling with a spouse that doesn’t share your faith.  Maybe you are made fun of by other family members because of the amount of time you spend seeking to do God’s work, when you could be spending that time on yourself.  You need hope, because you know that if you act, you may be disowned by your family, or at least not welcomed at family gatherings.

Maybe the conflict is in the community?  Maybe there are individuals or groups who put up billboards and have gatherings declaring what a better place this world would be without people of faith.  Maybe it is a group that pressures to remove any declaration of faith from memorials, cemeteries, courthouses, and front yards. Maybe it is someone coming and inviting you to speak, as long as you don’t mention the “J” word.  You need hope, because you know that if you take a stand, you may be standing alone.

Maybe you feel threatened by the prospects of disease or death?  Maybe there are not conflicts of faith, but simply conflicts, heated battles with family or neighbors or nations?   Maybe it is a battle with addiction?  What crisis of life are you struggling with that needs some type of hope that you can win?

The truth of the matter is, my friends, we have the hope, we have the promise.  We know that no matter what we face, God is in control.  We know that nothing that those still following the dragon can do to us will hurt us.  God’s People, God’s Church, will not be destroyed.  We know that nothing, can separate us from the love of God found in Christ Jesus our Lord…the one riding on the white horse, the one called Faithful and True, the one with eyes like flames of fire…the one who has a name no one knows but himself…the one who wears the robes dipped in blood…the one called the called The Word of God”  The Lamb that was slain, yet lives…for it is not if “He” wins the Victory, it is not “can” he win the victory, it is “when” He wins the victory…for the birds are lining up…

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.