Revelation 19:15

15 From His mouth came a sharp^[a] sword, so that with it He might strike the nations.^[b] He will shepherd^[c] them with an iron scepter.^[d] He will also trample the winepress of the fierce anger of God,^[e] the Almighty.

Revelation 19:15 Meaning and Commentary

Revelation 19:15

And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword
The Complutensian edition, and all the Oriental versions, with the Vulture Latin, read, "a sharp twoedged sword". The word of God, or the judiciary sentence of Christ according to it, and which he will fully execute, to the utter destruction of all his enemies; (See Gill on Revelation 1:16) that with it he should smite the nations; the Gentiles, the Papists, the antichristian states, those that have adhered to Babylon, and have drunk of the wine of her fornication. This is predicted in ( Numbers 24:17-19 ) and on account of this the nations will be angry under the sounding of the seventh trumpet, with which this vision is contemporary, ( Revelation 11:18 ) .

And he shall rule them with a rod of iron;
use them with the utmost severity; the phrase is taken out of ( Psalms 2:9 ) a prophecy of Christ, and mentioned twice before in this book, (See Gill on Revelation 2:27), (See Gill on Revelation 12:5):

and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of
Almighty God;
the fierce wrath of God against sinners is compared to a winepress; and the wicked antichristian party are likened to clusters of grapes; who being ripe for destruction, are cast into it, and pressed, squeezed, and trodden down by the mighty power of Christ, the Word of God, whose vesture is therefore before said to be dipped in blood; the same metaphor is used in ( Revelation 14:19 Revelation 14:20 ) the allusion seems to be to ( Isaiah 63:3 Isaiah 63:6 ) .

Revelation 19:15 In-Context

13 He wore a robe stained with blood, and His name is called the Word of God.

14 The armies that were in heaven followed Him on white horses, wearing pure white linen.

15 From His mouth came a sharp sword, so that with it He might strike the nations. He will shepherd them with an iron scepter. He will also trample the winepress of the fierce anger of God, the Almighty.

16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS

17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out in a loud voice, saying to all the birds flying in mid-heaven, "Come, gather together for the great supper of God,

Footnotes

• [a]. Other mss add double-edged
• [b]. Isaiah 11:4; Rv 1:16; 2:12; 2 Th 2:8
• [c]. Or rule
• [d]. Ps 2:9; Rv 12:5
• [e]. Rv 16:19; 14:19