Heaven and Hell Are Real:
The Second Coming of Jesus Christ
Revelation 19:11–21 (ESV)
11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 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 winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, 18 to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.”
19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. 20 And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. 21 And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.
1) Read the story until it resonates with your soul and you can see yourself in the story
2)Understand the historical context
This letter of Revelation was written to the early Christians in the late first century around the year 96, approximately 60 years after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. It was written to the early churches in Asia in the area of modern day Turkey. It was written by John, one of Jesus’s disciples, the one he loved, and was written to Christians who were experiencing great persecution. The times were traumatic and death and destruction was everywhere around them. There were famines in the early 90’s and earthquakes had devastated the area 30 years earlier. The world seemed to be living in a very unstable time. Christians were seen as others to be unpatriotic and part of a cult because they met privately in homes having love feasts and talked of eating the flesh and blood of Jesus. The Christians seemed to come from the lower socio-economic classes. The Christians of the day were often harassed with violence and their property destroyed. They were discriminated against socially and economically. The Christians were living in the midst of a pagan culture worshipping Roman gods and did not understand the practices of the Christians. Christians we killed for their faith if they did not renounce the Lordship of Jesus Christ in their lives and curse Christ. John wrote this letter to console the Christians and give them hope.
3)Identify and exegete all the important images
•White Horse - often ridden by a triumphant military king, thewhite horse symbolizes certain victory
•Faithful and True - these are characteristics of Jesus Christ the victor here, who is God himself, final judgement will be done because God is faithful and justice is demanded, God is true and right in all the things God does, Jesus knows all things that have happened and knows the truth of all things, see also Revelation 3:14
•Eyes like a flame of fire - Jesus’s eye are bright and can see everything, see Revelation 1:14
•Head with many diadems - a diadem is a jeweled crown or headband worn as a symbol of sovereignty, meaning that Jesus Christ is King and Lord over all things
•Name written that no one knows but himself - there are things about Jesus that we can’t know yet but only Jesus knows them himself, this signifies that we will never know or understand fully everything there is to know about Jesus, Jesus will always be greater than we
•Robe dipped in blood - Jesus’s robe has his own blood on it, the blood of his sacrifice reminding us that the victory was won through his death on the cross, now is being completed,
•The Word of God - This is a term used to describe Jesus who is God, see John 1:1-14; Jesus always has been and always will be. Words are used to communicate and here Jesus is being called the Word that communicates everything about God. When we look at Jesus we are looking at God and everything about Jesus communicates to us everything about God.
•Armies of Heaven - the armies of heaven are God’s angels, we see in scripture elsewhere that tell us about God’s mighty angels fighting against Stan and his demons, see Daniel 10:13 and 12:1, Jude 1:9, and Revelation 12:7; some believe that heaven’s armies include those saints who have gone before us
•Sharp Sword comes from his mouth - the Word of God is powerful and sharper than a two-edged sword, God spoke the world into existence when it was created and God can speak to destroy also, see 2 Thessalonians 2:8,Revelation 1:16, and Hebrews 4:12
•Rod of iron - the rod of iron represents power and destruction, see Psalm 2:9
•Winepress of the fury of the wrath of God - the winepress is where grapes were trod and crushed and the juice from the grapes ran out, this is to tell us that those who have rebelled against God will trod upon and crushed and their blood will flow as the juice freely did from the winepress
•King of kings and Lord of lords on his thigh - Jesus is King over all earthy kings and he is Lord or Master over all earthly lords or masters,
•Birds to eat the flesh of kings, captains, mighty men, horses and their riders, all men both free and slave and small and great - birds that eat flesh are scavengers and this seems to be a horrible way to get rid of the dead, but those who have rebelled against God aren’t even worthy of a dignified burial, God is not only opposed by the beast and false prophet but also by humans, and all of these will receive the just penalty for their rebellion
•Beast - the beast is a world ruler who opposes and persecutes the people of God and desires to lead people unknowingly to Satan, the beast has power given to him by Satan, see Rev 13 & 17
•False prophet - the also prophet is someone who lies about the truth and twists the truth to make it sound plausible of believable, Satan is the father of all lies and the false prophet is works to lead people away from God and trick them into following Satan unknowingly
•Lake of fire that burns with sulfur - a place of torment and pain that is putrid smelling
4)Identify the metaphor that helps in telling the whole story & where this metaphor appears elsewhere
What is in a name? A name tells us a lot about someone. In scripture there are 103 names that are used for Jesus Christ that reveals something about the character of Jesus Christ.
5)Identify various meanings and connections for the metaphor and new windows of thought the metaphor opens
A name is a very important thing to God; here are a few scriptures that point to the importance of a name:
•Exodus 20:7 (ESV)7“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
•2 Chronicles 7:14 (ESV)14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
•Psalm 147:4 (ESV)4 He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names.
•Proverbs 22:1 (ESV)1 A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.
•Matthew 6:9 (ESV) 9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
•John 10:3 (ESV)3To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
•John 16:23 (ESV)23In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.
•Acts 4:12 (ESV) 12And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
•Philippians 2:9 (ESV) 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
•Revelation 20:15 (ESV) 15And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
6)Identify the “slant”on the scriptural text that emerges through exegesis of metaphor
Throughout the whole bible there are 103 different names used to refer to Jesus; each one of those names has a special significance. By looking at this scripture today, there are four names
that are given to Jesus in these short verses. The four names here for Jesus and the significance of those names are:
•Faithful and True - Jesus is faithful and told us he would come back and take us to be with him (John 14:1-6). Jesus is faithful and will judge all unrighteousness and make things right when he returns. All things have been created through Jesus so Jesus is also the author of all truth and knows all. Jesus sees things for what they really are and all of his judgements are true and right.
•Name Written that No One Knows but Himself - There are characteristics that we will never fully know about Jesus, but as time goes on to infinity we will understand more and more about the character of Jesus.
•The Word of God - Jesus is the very essence of God and when we look at Jesus we are seeing God. What Jesus speaks are the very words of God. It says that a two edged sword comes out of his mouth with which to strike down the nations. The spoken word of God spoke everything into existence and the spoken word of Jesus who is God can bring things and people under judgement and destruction.
•King of kings and Lord of Lords - Jesus is greater and mightier than all other kings or lords and will overcome all. He is sovereign overall and all authority in heaven and on earth have been given to him. Jesus will defeat those opposed to him who includes, Satan, the beast, the false prophet, and the rest of earth’s armies.
7)Capture the congregation’s attention with the metaphor in the first 30 seconds
Talk with people about the importance of names by highlighting the names we give to our children and the meaning or connection behind those names. Ask the people if there is anyone in the congregation whose name has a special connection or meaning.
8)Hope - What is the promise I want them to leave with?
When Jesus comes again, evil, death, and sin will all be defeated once and for all. All things will be right finally and this whole earth, all of creation, and all those believers of Jesus Christ will be resurrected and restored onto this new heaven and new earth.
9)Head - What do I want them to learn?
That there is a second coming and through that second coming, what Jesus started on the cross and through his resurrection will be completed in his second coming.
10)Heart - What do I want them to feel?
No matter what people are facing today, in light of Jesus’s second coming, life’s circumstances are only temporary compared to all the rest of time. I want people to feel hope and receive a measure of peace knowing what is coming.
11)Hands - What do I want them to do?
The second coming can happen at any time; Jesus tells us in Luke 12:40 that “You must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”
12)Prayer