And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

The Hero of Heaven

On these verses One of the authors I was reading as I prepared for this sermon said, “This paragraph has always seemed to me almost too overwhelmingly glorious for exposition.” – Wycliffe Bible Commentary. How do you do anything but just sit back, watch, listen and try not to miss any detail of what is taking place before the eyes of John?

After the emotional events of John seeing and hearing the hallelujah chorus in the opening of the chapter, after seeing the wedding feast of the Lamb, with the Bride arraigned in white made ready to stand with Jesus. After his emotional collapse before the angel, he is given no time to recover but suddenly “I saw heaven opened and behold a white horse and the rider was called Faithful and True.”
Then John begins to list the name and description of the rider of the white horse. This is the rightful and true rider of white horse, Revelation 6 opens with a rider on a white horse, but he is anything but Faithful and True. That was the Anti-Christ, the false messiah and the world welcomed him, but now comes the rightful rider, now come Jesus, the faithful and true and he comes in righteousness to make war upon the armies of the Beast as they storm Jerusalem.

His Description

His eyes were as a flame of fire. There is fire in his eyes showing wrath and purpose.

On his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.

W A Criswell said of this phrase, “That refers to His essential deity, the incommunicable, unpronounceable, unknowable name of God. No man can know God. Finite as we are, restricted as we are, the essential deity of God is something a man cannot enter into, but (only) the Lord God who is coming!”

And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: This signifies the terrible battle that is about to take place, the slaughter, the carnage and the righteous rage of the one who rides the white horse.

His name is called The Word of God. ὁ Λόγος τοῦ Θεοῦ. Seven times in the Bible the word Logos is used to describe Jesus. It is John’s particular name for Jesus. It describes him as the direct and divine expression of truth and God the father.

His Armies

John sees the armies which were in heaven, all the armies, the army of angels, the host of heaven with Michael and Gabriel their captains. The armies of Israel with Joshua and David their great and fearless captain, and the armies of the Bride, led perhaps by Peter, the fisherman but now rightfully taking up a sword of the Lord.
The armies followed after Jesus, also riding white horses, and their uniform is fine linen, white and clean.

His Slaughter

And though the armies of heaven ride with Jesus, it is Jesus who leads and it is Jesus who destroys the armies gathered against Jerusalem and in the valley of Armageddon. John sees that “out of his mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron. He destroys the might of the armies of the world and then like the ancient kings that took possession of Israel in the Old Testament. He now takes possession of the nations of the world. He has defeated them with the sword of his mouth, with a single spoken word coming from the Rider on the white horse and all the power of all the worlds mightiest armies, all the destruction of their most terrible weapons are crushed. Just one word.

Remember it was the spoken word, the brought the universe into existence and that same unfathomable, inexhaustible, all-consuming power will be turned on this army of over 200 million. No wonder earlier in Revelation we read that the blood would run as deep as a horse’s bridle. That broad valley will be filled by the blood as He treads the enemy down like a winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

The Prophets of God have long before seen the visions of this day.

Isaiah 11:4–5 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

Isaiah 63:1–6 1 Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. 2 Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? 3 I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. 4 For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. 5 And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me. 6 And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth.

Joel 3:9–17 9 Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: 10 Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. 11 Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD. 12 Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. 13 Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. 14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
Zechariah 14:1–5 1 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. 2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. 4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

Zechariah 14:12–13 12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. 13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.
His Eternal Title

And as John watches, perhaps as the Lord Jesus ride past him to fight the last battle of the Tribulation, he sees a name written on His clothes and running down the legs of that vesture, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

As if to remove any doubt, to lift any confusion, to show the foolish, sinful, hateful, rebellious world who it truly is that is coming with all the armies of glory. This is Jesus of Nazareth, this is the lowly Jew you rejected. This is the one who treated as an lunatic and mocked, this is the one you saw as a fool and walked away, this is the one you told yourself was only a myth, this is the one you branded an outlaw and crucified. This is the One who now returns in all His glory and power, all his brightness and authority. This is God the Son, this the King of Kings, this is the Lord of Lords.

You’ll never see him as anything else after this day!