The nineteenth chapter of Revelation speaks about the great fight between the armies of heaven and of earth, which culminates in the defeat of all of Satan’s hosts. Preceding this battle, a total dedication takes place among God’s people, followed by the marriage supper of the Lamb: “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” Revelation 19:7. First there is the beautiful involvement and preparation of the Bride for her relationship to the Bridegroom. Verses 11 through 16 start the honeymoon excursion. The honeymoon of the Bridegroom and the Bride is that of Christ and His Church.
In the beginning of verse 11 the apostle John said, And I saw heaven opened… This phrase is worthy of study because the book of Revelation frequently speaks of the heavens being opened. I wonder how much we could see taking place, if God opened heaven to us and gave us the vision and capacity to sense what is really happening now. It appears that although we are involved, we do not always perceive clearly what is happening. We are in it, we experience it, and yet the full consciousness of how deeply we are involved escapes us because we still live with a relatively closed heaven.
Oh, that God would open up the heavens to us! The heaven is there, but for the heaven to be opened to us requires more than an act of God. It requires an act on our part, too. We must prepare our hearts for it. We must develop a sensitivity to walk in that realm. The Lord keeps blessing the eyes that see and the ears that hear. He could give everyone eyes to see and ears to hear, if only they would pursue after this and prepare their hearts for it. The Bride made herself ready, and that preceded the heavens being opened. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:8. They shall have an open heaven. We will perceive a great many things as we prepare our hearts.
The apostle John wrote, And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war. Revelation 19:11. If you have a real revelation of the Lord, you stop wondering if He is indifferent to you. The first thing you learn about Him is that His name is Faithful and True, even though your cause seems to have escaped Him. You must realize that He is faithful and true, but also you must take the initiative to be aggressive; and this emphasis is very scriptural.
He is faithful and true, and so the performance of a great deal that happens is not really up to God; it is up to us. God already has provided things for us, and He has given us “all things that pertain to life and godliness” (II Peter 1:3). This is already our preparation; He has done this for us. But it is up to us to use it.
We must have something ready, and this is exactly what God has provided for us. He has given us the ammunition, the weapons of war, and He has thrust us into the situation. Still, nothing will happen until we focus in, knowing what God wants, and pull the trigger. Faith detonates all of God’s preparation for us. Faith explodes it into reality. That which is only a potential becomes an active energy which changes the universe when we focus in with faith. We make the application, and we dare to believe God. We do this! We do this by believing God.
It may appear as if little is happening, yet God is saying, “Just believe Me. Believe Me!” When we think there is not enough of God committed to us in our circumstances, we should know that more is available from God today than any previous generation has ever seen. Potentially there is enough of God in all that He has set before us, but it is still up to us to enter into the dedication of heart, into the focus of our spirit, into the faith that releases His full potential for us.
How much of the full potential in you is being actively used? You may have learned lessons which you are not applying. You may know truths that you are not using. You may have gifts that you are not exercising fully. First you must realize that He is “Faithful and True.” He did all that He said He would do. He made it possible. But He will not be glorified apart from you—He is coming to be glorified in you (II Thessalonians 1:10).
Every one of us should strive more and more to glorify the Lord. Let us apply everything He has done for us and give Him lavish praise—lavish praise! Our emphasis must be the Lordship of Jesus Christ—glorifying Him, but not glorifying man. We must be careful in all of our words, in every way, so that always the Lord Jesus Christ is the focal point, so that He is glorified. Let us be very zealous for His glory. Instead of praising any man, praise only what Christ is in that man, because outside of that there is nothing to praise anyway. There is no good thing in any of us, no sufficiency apart from the Christ coming forth.
Christ is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war. And His eyes are a flame of fire, and upon His head are many diadems (many crowns, because He is King over every realm); and He has a name written upon Him which no one knows except Himself. And He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of God. Revelation 19:11b–13. It is interesting to see that this revelation follows in close sequence to the statement that occurs in verses 9b and 10: And he said to me, “These are true words of God.” And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said to me, “Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
The testimony of Jesus is what He is specifying. What Jesus is specifically stating, what He is testifying, is what we want to say. The testimony of Jesus does not mean the testimony about Jesus. It means His testimony in us. This is the true spirit of prophecy that must come forth.
The spirit of prophecy is so amazing that even John the Beloved was ready to fall at his fellow servant’s feet and worship him. But he said, “Don’t do it. I am one of your brethren, one of your fellow servants who have the testimony of Jesus.” We do not know exactly who this servant was, other than that he was one of the brethren, and Jesus was speaking through him, saying, “These are true words of God.” The apostle John did not recognize the man, but he did recognize that Jesus was speaking, and so he knelt down to worship the man who was doing the speaking.
This is a good lesson for us. When we come into such an anointed flow of prophecy that people cannot hear the difference between our speaking and Christ speaking through us—because we are that much the oracles of God—still we are not to draw worship. Only He is to draw worship. Probably there will be a tendency for people to magnify the vessels when they hear this living testimony of Christ coming forth in the earth again. We can understand this happening in our time, if John had the same problem.
In verse 11 we read that Christ comes forth on a white horse, and He is called “Faithful and True.” In verse 13 we read that He is called “The Word of God.” The Word of God is the expression of what God would speak. Whenever God had anything to say, it was in Christ. Hebrews 1:12 says, God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son… Christ is the expression of everything that God has to say to the world. But what Christ has to say, the living Word, is being diversified and is coming through the lips and lives of many people, through many voices with the testimony of Jesus.
After reading in Revelation 19:13 that Christ is called The Word of God, we read immediately, And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. Notice the “armies,” not one, but many. They are clothed in fine linen, just as the Bride in verse 8 is clothed in fine linen, clean and white. The fine linen is the righteousness of the saints that has been attained. And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may smite the nations; and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” Revelation 19:14–16.
In verse 9 John wrote about the marriage supper of the Lamb: “ ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’ ” This is one of two suppers. In verse 17 John spoke of the great supper. And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, “Come, assemble for the great supper of God; in order that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great.” Revelation 19:17–18. This is the second supper. A king may be a choice delicacy to eat, but who wants an invitation to this supper? Let us see that we have an invitation to the marriage supper only.
The “birds in midheaven” symbolize a certain realm that is turned loose for the destruction of the world. They are as necessary as the buzzards which eat dead carcasses to the bone, so that no meat is left to rot. Buzzards could be called the “garbage detail” of the earth. They are specially equipped to sense death miles away, to sense the cry of blood even before there is ever a wound.
What happened after Cain slew Abel? God said to Cain, “Your brother’s blood cries to Me from the ground” (Genesis 4:10). The New Testament says that the shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ “speaks better than the blood of Abel” (Hebrews 12:24). The blood of Abel cried out from the ground for revenge, but the blood of Jesus Christ calls for redemption, not revenge. Therefore, every time we partake of Holy Communion, eating His flesh and drinking His blood, we appropriate His living intercession for us. His blood is crying for our cleansing, for our forgiveness, for our redemption to be completed.
The day will come when the vultures of the spirit realm will clean up this universe where God has brought great destruction through the armies of heaven that have followed Christ Jesus, The Word of God, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. We are into this time now. Our desire is to be led by the Spirit of the Lord. It will always be so. We are following Him on white horses as He goes forth on a white horse to slay the wicked. We follow Christ as He reaches out to bring down an old age. The systems of this world are dying. It seems as if a spirit world of vultures even now are preying upon the religious world of Babylon.
We may all be surprised to discover the many good people who do not know God. Though their hearts are not open to Him, they are not bad people. Their philosophy is to do good, to pay their debts, to live and let live. Often their standards are better than some of the religious people. In fact, it is easier to talk with them than with someone who is very religious. All they need is for God to open up their eyes to see Him and the vision of the Kingdom. Actually, they are close to the Kingdom, not because they are good people, but because something has already been worked in their hearts. All they need is a living Word to bring them forth. For people such as these we should prepare for the great Kingdom evangelism.
Kingdom evangelism will never be called proselyting, because religious people will not be open to Kingdom teaching anyway. You would be in double jeopardy trying to get the religiosity out of them and something spiritual into them. You might as well start believing for someone who knows nothing, because it is much more difficult to get a pharisee to walk with God than a publican.
Jesus said the publicans and harlots would go into the Kingdom ahead of the pharisees (Matthew 21:31). Because the pharisees think they already have something, God first must convince them that they have nothing before He can give them something. This is not so with the publican. The publican knows he has nothing. He does not need to be convinced. He just needs to be given something.
Do you feel like getting on one of those white horses and galloping after the Lamb wherever He goes? Are you crying, “Whatever You are doing, Lord Jesus, I want to be following You closely, right with You”? How good it is to be led by the Spirit all day long! In every activity of each day, ask the Lord, “Should I? or shouldn’t I?” Look to the Lord for a witness in your spirit before doing anything. Then as you go through the day, you will do some things that you would not otherwise do, or never thought you could do.
Usually we choose jobs that we enjoy doing. We may not want to follow the leading of the Lord to do certain tasks because we do not like them. Maybe the Lord wants us to do them as a discipline. If we do the things the Lord wants, rather than skirting around them to do something more pleasant, we will have a sense of well-being at the end of the day. Otherwise, by not carefully following the leading of the Lord, we will move on a lesser level. We may want the leading of the Lord, but still not consciously seek it as much as we should. We should drive ourselves to really know His leading and to ascertain what He wants and then do it.
Jesus said, “I do always those things which please the Father” (John 8:29). This same dedication must be in us. If we are zealous to do exactly what God wants, all day long, we will position ourselves on a higher level where we are not as exposed or as vulnerable to spiritual warfare as we would be usually.
Let us seek to rise above satanic warfare. Let us move into levels where we can be as immune as possible. Let us be led by the Spirit of the Lord.
Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice and they follow Me. A stranger they will not follow” (John 10:27, 5). God wants us to learn to hear His voice. We must have an encounter with God, so that we will not go in any other direction than to follow His voice.