1After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation, power, and glory belong to our God; 2for his judgments are true and righteous. For he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality, and he has avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.”
3A second said, “Hallelujah! Her smoke goes up forever and ever.” 4The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne, saying, “Amen! Hallelujah!”
5A voice came from the throne, saying, “Give praise to our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, the small and the great!”
6I heard something like the voice of a great multitude, and like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of mighty thunders, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns! 7Let’s rejoice and be exceedingly glad, and let’s give the glory to him. For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his wife has made herself ready.” 8It was given to her that she would array herself in bright, pure, fine linen, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
9He said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb.’” He said to me, “These are true words of God.”
10I fell down before his feet to worship him. He said to me, “Look! Don’t do it! I am a fellow bondservant with you and with your brothers who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God, for the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy.”
11I saw the heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it is called Faithful and True. In righteousness he judges and makes war. 12His eyes are a flame of fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has names written and a name written which no one knows but he himself. 13He is clothed in a garment sprinkled with blood. His name is called “The Word of God.” 14The armies which are in heaven, clothed in white, pure, fine linen, followed him on white horses. 15Out of his mouth proceeds a sharp, double-edged sword that with it he should strike the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He treads the wine press of the fierceness of the wrath of God, the Almighty. 16He has on his garment and on his thigh a name written, “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”
17I saw an angel standing in the sun. He cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the sky, “Come! Be gathered together to the great supper of God, 18that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, small and great.” 19I 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. 20The beast was taken, and with him the false prophet who worked the signs in his sight, with which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. 21The rest were killed with the sword of him who sat on the horse, the sword which came out of his mouth. So all the birds were filled with their flesh.
Christ appeared in heaven with His army behind Him. The first thing John notices is the white horse Jesus is riding. Riding a white horse symbolized victory and conquest in the ancient world. A king rode a dark horse into battle. White horses drew the attention, especially of archers. When a king approached a city offering peace, he rode a donkey; thus, Jesus rode a donkey’s colt when offering peace to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. A conqueror rode a white horse into the capital city after he had conquered it. So, when coming to set up His kingdom, Jesus comes as the world’s conqueror.
John now describes Jesus. Calling Him “faithful” and “true” looks at Jesus’ character. A third character trait, “righteousness,” describes how Jesus does two things, which, in a sense, are the same activity. He judges and makes war. His burning eyes take the reader back to John’s vision of Jesus in Chapter 1. The presence of “many crowns” indicates the significance of His coming. The Greek term used for “crown” here is the diadem, the ruler’s crown, rather than a stephanos, the victor’s wreath.
Jesus’ secret name is not explained. Normally, one’s name indicates one’s character. Here, it may indicate His infinitude. Jesus’ robe is described as “dipped in blood,” most likely a reference to His crucifixion, not the blood of His opponents, since He is just now arriving and has not yet begun to judge. He is then named “the Word of God,” which takes us back to John 1 and Jesus’ role as Revealer of the Father (John 1:18).
John pauses to mention the army following Jesus. They are wearing white, clean, fine linen, which is symbolic of purity. These would be robes offered to the saints in Sardis (Rev 3:5) who were promised white garments for overcoming and being faithful to Christ. The white horses this army rides indicate that they are victorious as well. They are sharing in Christ’s victory. This indicates that Jesus is bringing back with Him those who have earned the right to rule with Him in His kingdom, those who have been faithful to the end. It is very likely that this army accompanying Jesus will not include all believers, especially within the church, since not all will have been faithful. This can be seen from such parables as the Parable of the Talents, in which one servant loses reward for faithlessness while others are assigned cities to rule for being faithful and productive, while their master, symbolic of Jesus, was away receiving His kingdom.
Next, John turns back to describing Jesus, and reflects again on the picture of Him from Chapter 1. The sharp sword with which Jesus smites the nations is either an executioner’s sword or a military weapon, or both. The sword is symbolic of Jesus speaking judgment and destruction upon His enemies. Jesus is then described, not as a Lamb or as a Savior, but as the ruler who “rules with a rod of iron” (Psalm 2:8-9). Jesus’ reign will be strict and powerful, even destructive for those who would rebel. Jesus is then identified as the one treading the winepress of God’s wrath. This indicates that judgment upon rebellious mankind and Satan will not be through intermediaries, like angels. Jesus will do the judging Himself.
John ends this description with the “name,” which describes Jesus’ sovereign rule over the whole earth, in fulfillment of numerous Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah’s reign.