Revelations - Second Advent

¹¹ 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.

¹² 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.

¹³ And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

¹⁴ And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

¹⁵ 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.

¹⁶ And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King Of Kings, And Lord Of Lords.
Revelation 19:11-16

What all happens at this point? We know from Daniel this is the defeat of the Antichrist. We know from Matthew 24 (which is a quotation from Daniel 7) that Jesus return in the clouds. We know from earlier in Revelation that there is an earthquake, hail, thunder, and violent storms. But there are also some very peculiar verses speaking about the Day of the Lord.

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.

⁵ And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.

⁶ And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:

⁷ But it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.

⁸ And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.

⁹ And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one.
Zechariah 14:3-9

Here we have the reference to the earthquake that we’ve seen in both chapters 11 and 16 of Revelation. But we have an extra detail given to it. This earthquake was said in Revelation 11 to split the city into 3 parts. Here in Zechariah we’re given details about this earthquake opening up the ground and causing the north and south parts of the city to slide away from one another. The valley that has now been made shall be filled in with water that will stem from the Dead Sea to the Mediterranean Sea.

We know that it will go through Jerusalem. Jerusalem is the city that is broken into 3 parts. It is also the city that has the Mount of Olives on the east side. Now, what is the reference to living water? The only references to living water that we find in the Old Testament would be in Zechariah and Jeremiah. There is a strange passage in the Song of Solomon 4, but we’re going to ignore that passage. Jeremiah speaks of the Lord being the living water:

¹² A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary.

¹³ O Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters.

¹⁴ Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.
Jeremiah 17:12-14

This Scripture is hinted at in John chapter 7. Few people understand this passage in John. During the time of the feast of tabernacles, on the last day of the feast, the custom was to watch as the high priest took a pitcher for water out of the Temple and down to the pool of Shilom. He would dip the pitcher into the pool and carry it back into the Temple. He would then start to pour the water out of the pitcher and it would run out of the Temple and down the stairs. All of the people who have gathered would have been chanting quietly “Hoshana,” which means, “God save us.”

When the high priest gets the water and starts coming back to the Temple, they start chanting louder and louder. They crescendo until the high priest is pouring out the water. By this time they are shouting at the top of their lungs, “HOSHANA!” It is at this time, when the priest is pouring out the water, and all the people are shouting, “Hoshana!” that Jesus stands up, and with a loud voice proclaims:

If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.

³⁸ He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

³⁹ (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
John 7:37b-39

Actually, during the feast of tabernacles, one of the Scriptures that the teachers would have taught all the people is from Jeremiah 17:13. When the Messiah comes, He shall write the names of those who depart from the Lord in the sand (or earth). This last day is the dramatic play to help bring this Scripture to life. God is our living waters. It flows from the Temple.

What is it that Jesus just did? He declared Himself to be the Messiah, but at the same time called Himself God. He equated the living water flowing from the Temple as the rivers of living water coming out of the belly of His Body. You and I are the Temple. Out from us, the living water is to flow to the world. And John adds the detail that the living water is the Holy Spirit.

So what about this living water that flows from the Temple in Jerusalem out to the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean? Is it really water? It might be literal water. But that literal water is a type and symbol of another reality. The Living Water (which is the Holy Spirit) is being taken from the Temple of God out to the rest of the world to water and nourish the hearts of men. That is the purpose of the Millennial Kingdom.

¹⁵ And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.

¹⁶ And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the Lord, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the Lord: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more.

¹⁷ At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.

¹⁸ In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers.
Jeremiah 3:15-18

Now lets break down the text of Revelation 19:11-16. We know that this is Jesus. His robe is dipped in blood. This is probably reminiscent of Isaiah 63:

¹Who 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.
Isaiah 63:1-4

His name is the word of God. We know that this has to be Jesus because of John 1:1 – “In the beginning was the word…” We see Him in verse 14 with the armies of heaven all dressed in fine linen. We just read back in verse 8 with the marriage of the Lamb that fine linen refers to the righteous acts of the saints. This must be His Bride. Out of His mouth comes a sharp sword.

¹² For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12

Once again, we see in verse 15 that He treads the winepress of God’s wrath. This is another reference to Isaiah 63.

¹⁷ And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;

¹⁸ That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.

¹⁹ And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.

²⁰ And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

²¹ And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
Revelation 19:17-21

Here I want to make a comment out of Matthew. In Matthew 24, it talks about the coming of Jesus:

²⁷ For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

²⁸ For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
Matthew 24:27-28

The empire of Rome was symbolized by an eagle. So, there are some who have speculated that this is some sort of proverb dealing with Rome. However, I would like to point something out. People believe that the final kingdom would be the Roman Empire reborn. The Greek simply means birds of prey. Most other translations translate it as vultures. I don’t know that it can be distinct.

At the end of Revelation 19, we find that the birds of the air are gathering around and feasting upon the flesh of the Antichrist and his army. The Antichrist and the false prophet are both thrown alive into the lake of fire, so at least they must not have been killed this way. What if Matthew 24:27-28 is in reference to the armies being devoured by birds? It would make sense to me that this is so.

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.

¹⁴ And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem.
Zechariah 14:12-14a

This is the final battle of Armageddon. Zechariah records vividly that there will be absolutely no fight against the Lord. The language seems to indicate much similarity to what probably happened to Sodom and Gomorrah. It almost sounds like nuclear warfare. But notice this last sentence: And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem. How is it that some of Judah will fight alongside the Antichrist?

Remember the possibility that there will be a month long time period where the Antichrist will try to persuade Israel to reject their God and follow him? I think he persuades some people. The evidence that the Antichrist causes some to fall away is in this very verse. He deceives even the elect – if that were possible. Here some of Judah fights against their Messiah, and ultimately against their own people.

Jesus hinted at this. He said that in the last days there would actually be brother that betrays brother. Son would betray father, father betray son, mother betray daughter, and daughter betray mother. I don’t know all of the details. This is just what it seems like the text indicates to me.