INTRODUCTION
I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh, he has this name written:
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. (Revelation 19:11-21)
I remember seeing a bumper sticker years ago on the back bumper of a car that said,
“Jesus is coming again and this time, He’s MAD.”
At the time, this section of scripture in Revelation raced through my mind. Not that Jesus is mad, but that He is determined to win a timeless victory over sin and death that began in the Garden of Eden at the dawn of humanity. Yeshua Messiah, Jesus Christ the King of Kings and Lord of Lords will at this time rule and reign over all His kingdom here on earth for a thousand years and then the end will come. This is the grace of God personified. Jesus is not only the Author of grace, He is not only the Giver of the grace freely to those who would believe in Him, he is Grace itself. Jesus is the embodiment of Grace.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John (the Baptist) testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.'" From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known (John 1:14-18).
A contrast is drawn between what was "given" by Moses, and what "came" by Jesus Christ; for "grace and truth" were not merely "given," they "came by Jesus Christ," came in all their fullness, came in their glorious perfections. The Law was "given" to Moses, for it was not his own; but "grace and truth" were not "given" to Christ, for these were His own essential perfections. On looking into this contrast, we must bear in mind that the great point here is the manifestation of God: God as He was manifested through the Law, and God as He was made known by the Only Begotten Son.[1] – A. W. Pink
Jesus pictured here in Revelation 19:11-20:3, is given the position that He earned; the position that He deserves. Jesus made the sacrifice, the shedding of His blood on the cross, the redemptive act that freed us from sin and death to grant us eternal life. The Kingdom He was promised before the foundation of the universe will now be His. The people who accepted the sacrifice, both before and after the act of persecution and the unjust penalty of death, will now worship Him as Lord and Savior. They will worship Him not only in Spirit and in Truth, but face to face.
[1] A. W. Pink, A. W. Pink’s Commentary on John and Hebrews, studylight.org/commentaries/awp/john-1.html#14-18.
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