Before this, the completion of earthly history had been revealed to John as those living on earth would see it, for whom it...
Before this, the completion of earthly history had been revealed to John as those living on earth would see it, for whom it turns above all into a catastrophe, a cosmic cataclysm destroying the order of things familiar to them. Of course, the spiritual meaning of the events taking place should be clear to some even when viewed from earth, but judging by the Book of Revelation, there will be few such people. Now, however, the situation is revealed to the apostle as those who dwell at the Throne see it. Viewed from here, the spiritual meaning of what is happening no longer has to be guessed at; it becomes visible directly. And then John is shown the majestic picture of that final great spiritual battle which the prophets had foreseen. The Church in this battle is headed by the Savior Himself, which is no surprise: after all, the triumph of the Kingdom He brought into the world depends on its outcome (vv. 11-16). He is the incarnate Word, the image of the "living Torah"; His sword is not on His thigh, where earthly warriors who rely on earthly strength carry a sword, but in His mouth, which is the chief weapon of God's witness.
Such a sword becomes the symbol of a spiritual power which now, at the end of time, proves more effective than any power of our world: for nature itself is changing; it becomes fully and completely obedient to every spiritual influence, so that now spiritual action becomes just as effective a way of influencing natural processes as physical action once was. It is no surprise that this change also alters the very structure of the universe. Before this, our world was the place where the Kingdom stood against the forces of darkness. It, of course, was not evil in itself, just as nothing created by God was or could be evil in itself. But, in the Gospel's expression, it "lay in evil"; evil and sin, like poison, permeated all its pores, and the Kingdom, entering the world, had to oppose this evil, neutralizing the poison. The forces of darkness, by contrast, tried to preserve the existing order of things, which benefited them: for a world permeated by evil "worked" for them, its very existence in that condition was their victory, and the transformation of the world became their defeat.
Now, after the transformation, no place for evil remains in the world; the world has become part of the Kingdom, and outside it there remains only that "outer darkness" which the Savior mentions in His parables (Matt 8:12, Matt 22:13, Matt 25:30). It is revealed to John as the "lake of fire burning with sulfur" (v. 20), into which, after the final battle (vv. 17-19), the "beast from the earth" and the false prophet fall (v. 20). The fate of its ordinary participants, those "killed by the sword of the One sitting on the horse" (v. 21), has evidently not yet been determined; it will be decided later. As for the chief actors, they have made their final choice, and now they are reaping its fruits.
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19:11 And I saw the heaven opened - This is a new and peculiar opening of it, in order to show the magnificent expedition of Christ and his attendants, against his great adversary. And behold a white horse - Many little regarded Christ, when he came meek, "riding upon an ass;" but what will they say, when he goes forth upon his white horse, with the sword of his mouth? White - Such as generals use in solemn triumph. And he that sitteth on him, called Faithful - In performing all his promises. And True - In executing all his threatenings. And in righteousness - With the utmost justice. He judgeth and maketh war - Often the sentence and execution go together.
19:12 And his eyes are a flame of fire - They were said to be as or like a flame of fire, before, Rev 1:14; an emblem of his omniscience. And upon his head are many diadems - For he is king of all nations. And he hath a name written, which none knoweth but himself - As God he is incomprehensible to every creature.
19:13 And he is clothed in a vesture dipped in blood - The blood of the enemies he hath already conquered. Isa 63:1, etc
19:15 And he shall rule them - Who are not slain by his sword. With a rod of iron - That is, if they will not submit to his golden sceptre. And he treadeth the wine press of the wrath of God - That is, he executes his judgments on the ungodly. This ruler of the nations was born (or appeared as such) immediately after the seventh angel began to sound. He now appears, not as a child, but as a victorious warrior. The nations have long ago felt his "iron rod," partly while the heathen Romans, after their savage persecution of the Christians, themselves groaned under numberless plagues and calamities, by his righteous vengeance; partly, while other heathens have been broken in pieces by those who bore the Christian name. For although the cruelty, for example, of the Spaniards in America, was unrighteous and detestable, yet did God therein execute his righteous judgment on the unbelieving nations; but they shall experience his iron rod as they never did yet, and then will they all return to their rightful Lord.
19:16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh - That is, on the part of his vesture which is upon his thigh. A name written - It was usual of old, for great personages in the eastern countries, to have magnificent titles affixed to their garments.
19:17 Gather yourselves together to the great supper of God - As to a great feast, which the vengeance of God will soon provide; a strongly figurative expression, (taken from Eze 39:17), denoting the vastness of the ensuing
slaughter.
19:19 And I saw the kings of the earth - The ten kings mentioned Rev 17:12; who had now drawn the other kings of the earth to them, whether Popish, Mahometan, or pagan. Gathered together to make war with him that sat upon the horse - All beings, good and evil, visible and invisible, will be concerned in this grand contest. See Zec 14:1, etc
19:20 The false prophet, who had wrought the miracles before him - And therefore shared in his punishment; these two ungodly men were cast alive - Without undergoing bodily death. Into the lake of fire - And that before the devil himself, Rev 20:10. Here is the last of the beast. After several repeated strokes of omnipotence, he is gone alive into hell. There were two that went alive into heaven; perhaps there are two that go alive into hell. It may be, Enoch and Elijah entered at once into glory, without first waiting in paradise; the beast and the false prophet plunge at once into the extremest degree of torment, without being reserved in chains of darkness till the judgment of the great day. Surely, none but the beast of Rome would have hardened himself thus against the God he pretended to adore, or refused to have repented under such dreadful, repeated visitations! Well is he styled a beast, from his carnal and vile affections; a wild beast, from his savage and cruel spirit!The rest were slain - A like difference is afterwards made between the devil, and Gog and Magog, Rev 20:9-10.
19:21 Here is a most magnificent description of the overthrow of the beast and his adherents. It has, in particular, one exquisite beauty; that, after exhibiting the two opposite armies, and all the apparatus for a battle, Rev 19:11-19; then follows immediately, Rev 19:20 the account of the victory, without one word of an engagement or fighting. Here is the most exact propriety; for what struggle can there be between omnipotence, and the power of all the creation united against it! Every description must have fallen short of this admirable silence.