Revelation 19:15

15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron; he will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God 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 is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called The Word of God.

14 And the armies of heaven, wearing fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses.

15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron; he will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.

16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, "King of kings and Lord of lords."

17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly in midheaven, "Come, gather for the great supper of God,

Footnotes

• [a]. Or [will shepherd]