Revelation 19:11-16 - The Second Coming of Jesus Christ

“Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns." Yesterday in Revelation 19:7-10, we talked about the biggest wedding that will ever take place in human history. It is called “the marriage of the Lamb”!  Today, we want to start talking about one of the most awesome and glorious events that will ever take place on planet Earth, and that is the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to the earth. Five minutes is not enough time to even begin to describe the greatness and impact of this coming event. Actually, five hours, five days, five weeks, months or years would not be enough time. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament are full of hundreds of verses, references and prophesies of this one event. In Revelation 19 and 20, John describes five events that he sees in this vision at the end of the Tribulation. The first was the rejoicing in heaven (19:1-11). Now, the second is the event that is commonly called, “The Second Coming of Jesus Christ.” The first thing John sees is “heaven opened”. Remember back in Revelation 4:1, after John had been told to write seven letters to the seven churches in Asia, he said, “After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, "Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this."  There he saw a “door open in heaven”, and he is invited to enter and see the future events of the Tribulation. But now here in Rev. 19:11, at the end of the Tribulation, John sees “heaven open”, and no doubt his heart must miss a few beats as he sees a white horse and its rider and the host of angels and saints on their way back to the earth! Remember back in Revelation 6:2, when the first seal was opened, John also saw a white horse. “And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.”  We believe the rider on this horse is the false Christ, the Antichrist, who comes with deceit, speaking lies to conquer the hearts and minds of those left behind and set up his false temporary kingdom. Now in Rev. 19, John sees the Lord Jesus Christ also coming on a white horse. He is not coming in the air to take His people home (1 Thes. 4:13-18), but to the earth with His people, to conquer His enemies and establish His kingdom. Jesus here is called, "Faithful and True" (see also Rev. 3:14), in contrast to "the beast" who was unfaithful (he broke the covenant with Israel) and false (he ruled by means of deception and idolatry). The suffering saints of John’s day needed to be reminded that God is faithful and will not desert them, because His promises are true. As we look at the messed up, confused and broken world around us, we also can be encouraged and strengthened because our Savior is still faithful and true and will fulfill every promise He has made to us in His Word. As we begin to look at the “Second Coming of Jesus”, we should be reminded that His coming is in what we call two stages. The first stage is when Jesus comes in the air for His bride, the church, before the Antichrist can be revealed and the Seven-year Tribulation begins. (1 Thes. 4:13-18; 1 Cor. 15:51-58). The second stage is at the end of the Tribulation, when Jesus comes to earth with His bride to the earth, conquers His enemies and sets up His kingdom for His thousand-year reign. For the next several days we will be looking at this exciting event in more detail. In the meantime, we should be looking up because Jesus could come at any moment for us, His bride! God Bless!