Revelation 19

14 The armies of heaven were following Christ. These armies were made up of both angels (Matthew 26:53) and resurrected believers (Revelation 2:26-27; 17:14). The armies in John’s vision were dressed in fine linen, white and clean (see Revelation 7:9,14; 19:8 and comments). These armies evidently were doing no fighting themselves: there was no blood on their clothes.

15-16 Only Christ strikes down the nations—His enemies. The sword that comes out of His mouth is the sword of judgment (see Isaiah 11:4; 2 Thessalonians 2:8; Revelation 1:16 and comments). He (Christ) will rule them with an iron scepter; that is, He will strike His enemies and destroy them with a rod of iron (Psalm 2:9). Christ treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God (see Revelation 14:19-20 and comment). This, then, is our victorious Savior Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords (Deuteronomy 10:17; 1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14).

17-18 Those who today do not accept Christ the Lamb will, on the day of the final battle, have to face Christ the King. Those who today do not accept Christ the Savior will on that last day have to face Christ the Judge. He will have the sword of judgment in His mouth and a rod of iron in His hand (verse 15). On that day, those who have not believed in Christ will become food for vultures and other birds (Ezekiel 39:17-21). And they will have no one but themselves to blame. God had offered them forgiveness and salvation, but they rejected it. Those who reject God’s mercy and grace will surely receive His judgment.

19 Then John watched as the enemies of the rider on the horse (Christ) gathered for the battle on the great day of God Almighty (Revelation 16:14). The chief enemies of Christ at the battle were the beast and his ten kings (see Revelation 13:1-2; 17:7-8,12-14 and comments). The battle that John saw in this vision will one day be fought at a place called Armageddon (Revelation 16:16).

20 In the battle, Christ was victorious over his enemies. The beast, together with the false prophet (Revelation 13:11; 16:13), were captured, and they were both thrown into a fiery lake of burning sulfur. The beast, also known as the antichrist, represents all worldly power and authority. The beast’s colleague, the false prophet, represents all false religion. The false prophet’s work was to deceive people and entice them to follow the beast and to receive the beast’s mark ⁴⁴ (see Revelation 13:11-16 and comment).

The fiery lake of burning sulfur represents the fire of hell, where the spirits of evil men will remain forever (Matthew 5:22; Mark 9:43).

21 In John’s vision, all those who followed the beast and the false prophet were killed by the sword which came from Christ’s mouth. Christ thus rendered final judgment upon them (see Revelation 14:14-16). The sword from His mouth represents the word of judgment. The judgment given to those who follow the beast is this: their bodies will be killed, and their spirits will be thrown into hell.

One of the most important teachings of the book of Revelation is that Christ has won the final victory over Satan and his two chief helpers, the beast and the false prophet. The actual battle has not yet taken place, but God has already assigned the victory to Christ. That Christ will be victorious in the final battle is absolutely certain. In this world, we believers are pressed down and severely tested by Satan’s attacks. We see evil men rise to power and persecute the church. However, let us never forget John’s vision of this battle on the great day of God Almighty. Jesus has won! Jesus said: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).