This is another in a series of excerpts from “What Every Christian Should Know About the Return of Jesus,” released by High Street Press and available at Amazon.com. Read about the new audio version of the book here.
There is general agreement among Bible commentators that the rider on a white horse in Revelation 19:11-16 is Jesus. The majority view is that John sees the return of Christ, in which he judges the earth and sets things right.
The white horse is a sign of Jesus coming in triumph. On Palm Sunday, Jesus rides a donkey into Jerusalem, fulfilling Old Testament prophecy. Historically, for a king to enter a city on a donkey signifies peace rather than conquest. But now, Jesus returns as King of kings.
It was customary for a triumphant Roman general to parade on the Via Sacra, a main thoroughfare of Rome, followed by evidence of his victory in loot and captives. So, the white horse is a symbol of Christ’s triumph over the forces of wickedness in the world. John is describing Jesus’ coming as the Jews expected him the first time – a powerful military leader.
John describes this rider in at least 12 ways.
1. “Faithful and True” (v. 11). These titles stand in contrast to the rider in Revelation 6:2, who later speaks “boasts and blasphemies” and who blasphemes God’s “name and his dwelling” (Rev. 13:5-6). As Matthew Henry notes, “He is faithful and true to his covenant and promise, he is righteous in all his judicial and military proceedings … he has a large and extensive dominion, many crowns, for he is King of kings, and Lord of lords.”
2. “With justice, he judges and makes war” (v. 11). The Son of God is neither weak nor aloof. His holiness demands justice, and his sovereignty demands warfare against the ungodly who seek to usurp his throne.
3. “His eyes were like a fiery flame” (v. 12). This describes Jesus’ piercing holiness and his searching judgment that sees all. In John’s earlier vision of the risen Lord, he sees “one like the Son of Man” with “eyes like a fiery flame” (Rev. 1:13-14). And in the opening lines of the letter to the church at Thyatira, Jesus describes himself as “the one whose eyes are like a fiery flame” (Rev. 2:18).
4. “Many crowns were on his head” (v. 12). Monarchs who claim authority over more than one country often wear more than a single crown. Thus, here we see a beautiful portrayal of Christ’s universal dominion.
5. “He had a name written that no one knows except himself” (v. 12). This reminds us that the Lord has not revealed everything about himself and his plan. Yet he keeps his promises. He is working through human history to bring his people to repentance so they may enjoy unending fellowship with him.
6. “He wore a robe dipped in blood” (v. 13). The blood on Jesus’ robe could be his redemptive blood shed on the cross, or the blood of his enemies. Possibly, it’s both. The passage may refer to his sacrificial death, by which the multitudes in heaven have made their robes white (Rev. 7:14). It also may look forward to his treading the winepress of God’s wrath (Rev. 19:15).
7. “His name is called the Word of God” (v. 13). The Word of God indicates Jesus’ deity joined to his humanity (see John 1:1-14). Just as our words reveal our thoughts and intentions to others, so the Father reveals himself to us through his Son, the incarnate Word.
8. “The armies in heaven followed him on white horses, wearing pure white linen” (v. 14). Note that John sees more than one army, indicating that both angels and saints accompany Jesus. The white robes signify both the righteousness of Christ and the believers’ good deeds (Rev. 6:11; 7:13-14; 19:8; cf. Phil. 3:9).
9. “A sharp sword came from his mouth, so that he might strike the nations with it” (v. 15). This is figurative language describing the powerful spoken word of our Savior. The word translated “sword” is “rhomphaia” and is used of an unusually long sword, or even a spear, indicating a piercing action. John may be referring to Isaiah 11:4, in which a future Davidic king will “strike the land with a scepter from his mouth, and he will kill the wicked with a command from his lips.”
10. “He will rule them with an iron rod” (v. 15). In Revelation 2:27, John quotes a messianic prophecy from Psalm 2:9: “and he will rule them with an iron scepter; he will shatter them like pottery.” And Revelation 12:5 tells us the woman’s Son – that is, Israel’s Son – is going to “rule all nations with an iron rod.” This symbolizes Christ’s justice as he rules the earth.
11. “He will also trample the winepress of the fierce anger of God” (v. 15). This reference is rooted deeply in Old Testament imagery (Isa. 63:2-3; Jer. 51:33; Joel 3:13). We also see the imagery in Revelation 14:14-20, where Christ, or an angel, harvests the earth’s wicked. The color of crushed grapes vividly depicts the blood shed when Christ comes in power to take vengeance on those who reject him and revile his people.
12. “He has a name written on his robe and on his thigh: King of Kings and Lord of Lords” (v. 16). This is Christ’s exalted and victorious name. In Revelation 17:13-14, this name is meant to contrast that of the beast, who receives power and authority from the kings of the earth – to no avail: “the Lamb will conquer them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings.”
Next: The testimony of angels