It's no secret that the book of Revelation uses a lot of symbols; dragons, horsemen, bowls, trumpets, stinging locusts, burning mountains, and so on.
It's also an open question which of these are "for real," in the sense that if you looked at them as they occur, you'd see them as John did in the first century. I think we'll be surprised to find how many of the symbols are actually John telling us not only what he saw, but also what we'll see.
The next image of Jesus we see in Revelation, after the Risen Lord, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah (the coming ruler), the Lamb of God (slain for the sins we've committed, called "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world by an earlier John), is The Warrior in Revelation 19.
In Revelation 19, He arrives to take control of the earth, and to end the war that is going on at Armageddon (a place as well as an event) with His own might.
As the story goes, the Antichrist has gathered all the nations of the earth together to fight against Christ (and the Jewish people, See Zechariah 12 and its context)--the ultimate in arrogance and foolishness, because the Lord appears, riding on His white horse, with the armies in heaven following him (unlike generals today, he appears at the head of His armies), and simply speaks. That's the end for the Antichrist, his armies, the dragon, and all who oppose God. They are finished with a word. Lots of symbolism here as well. Jesus is presented as the Warrior with a sharp sword proceeding from His mouth, which is the Word of God, and time stops for a moment, while all the armies of the Dragon / Antichrist are destroyed. It's the same as a "nuclear moment." Nothing stands in His way, nothing stops Him, nothing even opposes Him. The entire army opposing Him disappears in a disastrous event of fire and blood. The Antichrist is taken captive, and the False Prophet, and they are cast alive into the lake of fire.
The next event (Revelation 20) is the binding of the Dragon, Satan, who is confined for 1,000 years.
So Jesus' appearance in Revelation 19 conforms with the promise in Revelation 1:7: "Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, and they also who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth shall wail because of Him..." That is, all the people of the earth who reject Him.
He's coming. Get ready. He'll arrive whether you're ready or not, in His own time, and it is a good idea to be ready for Him. Otherwise, you'll wail over the lost opportunity, rather than welcome Him as your Lord and King.
It's also an open question which of these are "for real," in the sense that if you looked at them as they occur, you'd see them as John did in the first century. I think we'll be surprised to find how many of the symbols are actually John telling us not only what he saw, but also what we'll see.
The next image of Jesus we see in Revelation, after the Risen Lord, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah (the coming ruler), the Lamb of God (slain for the sins we've committed, called "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world by an earlier John), is The Warrior in Revelation 19.
In Revelation 19, He arrives to take control of the earth, and to end the war that is going on at Armageddon (a place as well as an event) with His own might.
As the story goes, the Antichrist has gathered all the nations of the earth together to fight against Christ (and the Jewish people, See Zechariah 12 and its context)--the ultimate in arrogance and foolishness, because the Lord appears, riding on His white horse, with the armies in heaven following him (unlike generals today, he appears at the head of His armies), and simply speaks. That's the end for the Antichrist, his armies, the dragon, and all who oppose God. They are finished with a word. Lots of symbolism here as well. Jesus is presented as the Warrior with a sharp sword proceeding from His mouth, which is the Word of God, and time stops for a moment, while all the armies of the Dragon / Antichrist are destroyed. It's the same as a "nuclear moment." Nothing stands in His way, nothing stops Him, nothing even opposes Him. The entire army opposing Him disappears in a disastrous event of fire and blood. The Antichrist is taken captive, and the False Prophet, and they are cast alive into the lake of fire.
The next event (Revelation 20) is the binding of the Dragon, Satan, who is confined for 1,000 years.
So Jesus' appearance in Revelation 19 conforms with the promise in Revelation 1:7: "Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, and they also who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth shall wail because of Him..." That is, all the people of the earth who reject Him.
He's coming. Get ready. He'll arrive whether you're ready or not, in His own time, and it is a good idea to be ready for Him. Otherwise, you'll wail over the lost opportunity, rather than welcome Him as your Lord and King.
