He is beyond what you could ever be. And name, as you've heard me say many times, reflects nature. And the depth of God's nature is beyond created beings. The depth of it. A lot of it is available for us, of course.
The grace, the love, the sovereignty, but there's so much more to God. And throughout eternity, he unfolds. Glorious and exciting things about himself to us, to our awe and our applause. This is Cross Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher, Rick Gaston. Rick is the senior pastor of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville.
Rick is currently teaching through the book of Revelation. Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about cross-reference radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching. But for now, let's join Pastor Rick in Revelation chapter 19 with today's edition of Cross-Reference Radio. Yeah, I like this section that we're going to cover. And I'm feeling pretty good right now.
And that's when you fall. That's when you mess up.
So I gotta walk it back a little bit. Anyway. Revelation chapter 19. Verses 19 and 20 for our reading. The title.
is Christ kills the Antichrist. And that's why I'm feeling so good about this section. Revelation 19. And I saw the beast. The kings of the earth And their armies gathered together to make war against him who sat on the horse.
and against his army. Then the beast was captured. and with him the false prophet. who worked signs in his presence. by which he deceived those Who received the mark of the beast, and those who worship his image, these two.
were cast alive into the lake of fire, burning with brimstone. There are some very serious things about God that we must not lose sight of, and they're. Illustrated for us throughout Scripture. One reason why we love the Old Testament so much is because it tells the story. of things through the lives of our heroes.
You're not going to find a better Old Testament hero in the faith than Samuel. You'll find as good, but he's top tier. And Agag, the king of Amalekites, you know, they were vicious to the people of God.
Well the day came when they caught King Agag, And Samuel The great man of God faced off with him, face to face, And Samuel said. As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women. and Samuel hacked Agag in pieces before Yahweh. There comes a time when evil just has gotta get dealt with. And this Future event is God saying, I got this, I'm going to deal with all of it.
All of my promises are going to come true. The promises about bringing you into glory for loving me back. And my promise is about stopping sickness and disease and sorrow and heartbreak. I'm going to stop it all. And so we come to a book like Samuel and we read that.
The believer is inspired. Understanding the God of the universe has published this, has kept it in print, in circulation. For the righteous. and for us to warn the unrighteous. John here in chapter 19 has been Has spread out the information about Armageddon in that final battle, which won't be much of a battle at all.
But it is presented that way. And he spread out the information about this throughout Revelation, beginning in chapter 6 and then in 14 and other places it pops up. But now this is the grand finale. to the world armies coming against Jesus Christ In Isaiah, we get a glimpse at what God is shooting for. with humanity.
He shall judge between the nations and rebuke many people. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
Well, that's future, because that has not happened. And the nations are in mind. whole governments of people, whole collections of populations. There can be no love or peace so long as free willed beings use their free will voluntarily Against the will of God, there can be no peace. And one thing that separates one who claims to be saved by Jesus Christ.
Is that their will is to do everything he wants, but their flesh hinders them. And we get that. That allows us to be merciful with each other. To appreciate grace, that's undeserved kindness not only received from God, but how about some of it flowing through us to others?
Well, that is the story. Chapters 19 and 20 tell the end of evil, the final judgment of God. once Jesus returns prior to his new heavens and new earth.
So now we look at Verse 11. nineteen eleven. Of the revelation.
Now I saw heaven open, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on him was called faithful and true, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. Heaven opened, not as an entrance at this point. Other points in Revelation, John sees the door of heaven open as an entrance, but here, These are gates to let these are floodgates, well, not for water, but for the armies of heaven to come out. It is an exit. This is the second coming of Christ that is about to take place.
In Corinthians, Paul said, Then comes the end when he delivers the kingdom of God to the Father, when he puts an end to all rule. and all authority. and power.
Well, this is it. This is the kickoff.
Now in John's day a victorious Roman general coming into Rome to celebrate his victories, would ride a white horse. The Lord entered Jerusalem on a donkey, because he came as the Prince of Peace, dealing with sin. dealing with the sin in sinners, he returns as a conqueror. With those who are his, of course, to conquer, to rule the world. And it says here, and he who sat on him was called faithful and true.
Well, this identifies the writer as the Christ, our Jesus. Revelation 3. To the angel of the church of the Laodiceans. It's still called a church by Christ, incidentally, and that was a lousy church. That was a church you don't want to go to.
Spend the money, take the time, travel to Philadelphia, the Philadelphian church, go there. But anyway, Christ and His mercy still reaching out to them. These things say the amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. faithful and true. as in trustworthy and accurate.
Not only do we trust Christ, But we trust the accuracy. of what he says. There are people that are trustworthy, but they get things wrong. I hear. Never happened to me.
And in righteousness he judges and makes war. Against those who wore against him. They're not random. This will be over in a flash. The world cries, excessive force.
It is the battle cry of the impenitent, guilty who want to remain in control. and not give any of it to God. to them. To those types, God has no right to be God without their approval. Which is wickedness.
That defines wickedness to God. We tend to define wickedness by behavior. God defines it by position. Where are you in position to Him? Are you against him, or are you with him?
In verse 12, his eyes were like a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except himself. His eyes were a flame of fire. Looks will kill in this case. By his foot is an empty can of tolerance.
There's no more. Time has run out. for the wicked. And there are other earthlings that have not bought into Antichrist. Vast multitudes.
Or else he'd come back to an empty planet. There's Israel that's going to be converted at this time. All Israel will be saved. A literal nation of Israel, ethnic Jews. Not some concoction of Christians who somehow just moved, you know, replaced them.
That's replacement theology, and it's terrible. It sounds convincing until you. Really pay attention to what the scripture is saying. Anyway, this matches his description in chapter one and in chapter two: the eyes that flame with fire. He sees All the corruption.
But he also sees all the potential. and thus the opportunity, thus go into the world and preach the gospel. Making disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, because God sees. what we can be if we would come to him. And when we do finally leave this life, we will become what he saw.
We will be free of sin. We're coming to that. And on his head were many crowns.
Well, he's returning as absolute ruler. He's not going to the cross this time. Paul writes, He who is the blessed only potentate, the King of kings, the Lord of Lords, that word potentate is where we get our English word in the Greek that it was written in, despot. And we think of a despot as a tyrant. But that's not the idea behind the Greek use of the word.
He is total, he is absolute roar. He had a name written that no one knew except himself. This is divine inscrutability. We only understand our God, but so much. If you can completely understand your God, you've got a fake God.
If he is divine, He is beyond what you could ever be. And name, as you've heard me say many times, reflects nature. And the depth of God's nature is beyond created beings. The depth of it, a lot of it is available for us, of course. The grace, the love, the sovereignty, but there's so much more to God.
And throughout eternity, he unfolds glorious and exciting things about himself to us. to our awe and our applause. Where do you get that from, Pastor?
Well, it sounded good. No. Ephesians, I get it from a couple of places.
Well, let's just take Ephesians 2:7. That in the ages to come, he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Throughout eternity, God is going to be unfolding things about himself. that will create awe and excitement. Jesus said to his disciples, I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them.
There's so much more to Jesus Christ. than what we see in the Gospels. And throughout the New Testament, He is every bit eternal God. In verse 13, he continues, he was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God.
Now, John sees him in red, but the followers are in white. The context is war. Verse 19, it makes that clear. The world is gathered against him for war.
So he is returning for war. And he's dressed in blood red. Dipped in blood, symbolically stained with the blood of his enemies. Who shed the blood of his beloved people?
So we tend to think: oh, this must be the blood from Calvary. That's not the context. That's true. It's true the blood of Calvary He owns it. But the context here is war.
And to have a text without context leads you to pretext. You get it wrong. It is a graphic image of Isaiah sixty three. Who is this who comes up from Edom with his garments stained with blood? It is a prophetic precursor to what's coming under the seventh bowl of judgment, under the seventh seal that we read in the book of Revelation.
The heinous crimes this generation that he is confronting. have committed against his people the wickedness of these people. They love their Antichrist. They embrace him. They worship him.
They eagerly go to the battlefield to destroy Israel because they love him and they hate Christ. And all the time it's for for it's for Satan. We catch glimpses of this today. They're religions, they are the Thugis of India. They just killed, killed, killed.
They they worship the God of Death. Blowing up buses with children on them and flying into buildings and killing everybody without indiscriminately doing it so. Who would want that kind of God? It delights in the death and destruction of others. God doesn't delight in what He is doing.
But the alternative. Would make him criminal. At some point, it has to be dealt with. Crimes that go unpunished are crimes that get repeated. Parents should learn that, right?
Learn that about your children.
Well, teach them that. If you don't correct them, it's going to get worse. But now God will have no more of this. It's reached that time. It's not here today.
We covered the population, God populating eternity in other studies where we are right now. But that time will end.
Well, it really won't end. It will just change phases because it's a thousand-year reign where people will be getting saved then, too. and lost incidentally. Without Satan. on the loose.
There will be those that will Still be unsure, then Satan is turned loose again on those born during the millennial reign, and some of them, many of them. will side against Christ again. That will end very quickly. And his name is called the Word of God.
Now, this is not the name that no one knows that we read in verse 12. We do know him as the expression of God. Jesus is the image of the invisible God. Colossians 1 chapter 15. He is the fact of God's person.
If God said, I'm going to materialize it would be Jesus Christ, Old or New Testament. The final full revelation of God. is who he is. the will, the mind, the personality, everything. Hebrews chapter one, the first three verses are astounding.
Paul could have stopped right there.
Now, if you're a Bible student, you'd hold it. It doesn't say it's Paul. Yes, it does. You just can't see it. But anyway, back to this.
Does that sound arrogant? It shouldn't sound. It should sound a little fun, of course. It is the mockery of arrogance. God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in times past to the fathers through the prophets, as in these last days.
Spoken to us by his Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, through whom he It's made the worlds.
Well, that could be God's God. Who, being the brightness of his glory, the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins. Catch that when he by himself purged our sins. It's no Auxiliary Savior. He continues.
He sat down at the right hand. The majesty on high. And there's only one seat there, and that's for him. And so we come back to this, understanding and his name is called the word of God. And what that means to us.
In verse 14, and the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed him on white horses. We are pouring Out of the spiritual realm into visible creation. Finally, That day is going to happen. Old Testament, New Testament, Great Tribulation, believers. And the angels.
are in that number. They are We are unarmed. We're not coming to fight. We're coming to rule. and to serve.
2 Timothy 2. If we endure, we shall also reign with him. We shall rule with him. Revelation 5.10. And have made us kings and priests to our God, and we shall reign on.
The Earth. Because you see pl well, what's the largest desert? in the world is the Siberian desert. Larger than Antarctica. The Bible says when Christ returns that the desert will bloom again.
There will be places for people to live that are inhabitable now because there's no Wi-Fi there. That's what makes it a desert. If you buy a house for first question, can you get a signal here? Anyway. There's going to be a population explosion because death will be almost non-existent during the millennial age.
Who is going to teach these people about Jesus Christ? Osmosis is not going to do it, it's not going to be imparted. Who's gonna rule these new cities in Siberia, Antarctica, Brooklyn? It's going to be us. That's what's happening here.
A priest in the scripture, now, forget about all the other religions, forget about Roman Catholicism's definition of priest, the biblical priest. is an intercessor. That goes between man and God. You would go to the temple, you'd bring your sacrifice. The priest would present it to the priest.
to God on your behalf. Jesus is our high priest. And when you brought your animal, you were saying, This animal has not committed sin. I have. I should be the one slain, not the animal.
But the mercy of God has made a way for me to approach Him as a sinner. with blood on my hands. When Christ came, of course, He is the perfect offering. He too committed no sin. He dies in my place, He takes my punishment.
And all those who bow down to him, for he is worthy. are saved from the judgment to come. He is the one between the Father and me. He is the intercessor.
Now, the Holy Spirit intercedes in prayer, but Christ has intercede my presence before God the Father. through his sacrifice.
So a priest in the Old Testament was the one. That made communication with God from earth to heaven, whereas the prophet makes the communication from heaven to earth. Thus says the Lord. They can be the same. They can overlap for sure.
Christ, of course, was both.
Well, back to this.
So, when he says he was made us kings and priests, that's the idea. We will be ruling and we will be assisting people in learning about God, which Zechariah talks about with the Jews. But we're not going to go there yet.
So this is God's word. And it's not going anywhere. This is what's going to happen. Nobody's going to push this away or alter it. This is exactly how it's going to happen.
Unlike. The underworld Ideas Of Muhammad, Confucius, and Joseph Smith, and Charles Russell, and Mary Baker Eddy, and Darwin. Those are underworld ideas. When I say underworld, I don't mean in some mine or cave. I mean they come out of hell, they don't come from heaven.
And we're not ashamed of that. They have their views. This is our view. This is the biblical view. If you're offended by that, then convert to Christ.
Change teams. Clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
Now the Aaronic Aaron His, the priesthood, this was their attire: linen. I'm wearing linen now. It's not white, it's clean. But I still have got some of things to do.
So the other drivers tell me. But Revelation 1: He has made us kings and priests to his God and Father. That's why the church is a royal priesthood. Minus the stains on the soul by the time this takes place. When we are in heaven and we are returning with Christ, we won't have the stain of sin, Jude 24, to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.
2 Corinthians 11:2. Paul speaking, for I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin. To Christ. Blameless. Revelation 3:4, they shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy.
How did that happen? Through him. Followed him on white horses, destination earth. In John's day, again, the conquering kings or generals made their entrance on white horses. Each a conqueror of the ones that come back under the authority.
Each one of us will be a conqueror. with authority because we are under his authority.
Now symbolism is what counts.
Now what I'm about to say, some of you may consider Almost blasphemous, but they might not be literal horses. I mean, not gonna be chickens. Could be motorcycles. snowmobiles or jet skis. It's the symbolism that counts.
It's the point that's being made.
Now, if it is horses, I'm not going to complain when that day comes. But if it's not, I sure am going to rub it in your face if you didn't agree with me. You can bet that. We get here somehow. How was John supposed to communicate this?
Well, it wasn't up to John, it was up to what he was being shown. And somebody says horses, it must be horses.
Well, then you missed the point of Revelation chapter 1, which is the symbolisms. I'm speaking to you in symbols. You know what they mean. You know what they symbolize. Apply that part.
So Don't be all upset if if you if you know, I was really hoping to really ride in on a horse. There are logistical issues with that. Where's everybody going to stage, for instance, when you finally get here, and there's millions of us, you know, where, how's it? There's a lot of stuff. to think about.
I'm being a little lighthearted on that, of course. If you insist that they're horses, fine, but I'm not horsing around with you, it might not be. Verse 15.
Now out of his mouth goes a sharp sword with... That with it So, when God called me to the pastor, I have one question. I said, Lord, I'll answer the call on one condition. I can tell dad jokes from the pulpit.
Okay, that didn't happen.
Now, back to verse 15.
Now, out of his mouth goes a sharp sword that. With it he should strike the nations. And he himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. Yeah, because he is.
So now out of his mouth goes a sharp sword. Again, this imagery is not really a sword going to come shooting out and wipe out all just giant swords just going like a chainsaw through the armies. It's the point that is being made. And a sword always means business, and it always means bad things for the receiving end. This sword is unsheathed.
The killers. That's what God has said. Revelation 11. Verse 18. The nations were angry.
And your wrath has come. Remember, I said at the beginning, John has rolled out Armageddon in various chapters, little bits here and there, and this is the finale in chapter 19. The nations were angry, and your wrath has come, and the time of the dead. That they should be judged, and that you should reward your servants, the prophets, and the saints. That's us.
And those who fear your name, small and great, and should destroy those who destroy the earth. This has been Cross Reference Radio with Pastor Rick Gaston. This program is a radio outreach of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville, in Mechanicsville, Virginia. Pastor Rick has been teaching through the book of Revelation, but if you're interested in learning about a different book of the Bible, we have hundreds of past episodes available to listen to on demand. Just visit us online at crossreference radio.com and you'll find an archive of Pastor Rick's past teachings.
While you're there, you can also find links to follow our program on your favorite podcast app, as well as links to get connected with us on Facebook and YouTube. There's also an interviews tab where you can learn more about Pastor Rick's heart for ministry.
Well, we hope you'll join us next time here on Cross Reference Radio. Hello. I didn't run up to the bottom of the city.
