CHRIST THE CONQUEROR
By Karl J. Forehand
(Rev. 19:11-16)

The tribulation is over…Babylon has been destroyed…the wedding feast has been promised. The time has come for the 1000 year reign with Christ; but one more thing has to be done – some foes have to be vanquished, namely the beast and the false prophet and al their armies. It isn’t really much of a fight (vv.19-21) It seems that they “go down” as fast as they rose to make war against Christ. But in order that they be totally defeated, Christ the Conqueror will come to do battle for us.

1. The character of the conqueror.

and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war. (Rev. 19:11)

Don’t miss this part of the Scripture, for it is foundational. The conqueror is “faithful, true and righteous.” This makes him capable of waging war.

What makes war valid or acceptable? Many times we rationalize war based on the character of the leaders. We would say Sadaam Hussan has no right to wage war on anyone. Why? It is because of his character. In the United States, we rationalized war against the Indians by devaluing their character. We called them “savages.” The time for war is not when we are angry. The time for war is not when our commerce is threatened. There is a time for war, but why be so concerned about it? Because:

War takes us outside the boundaries or everyday law. When militia groups disagree with a government and wage war against it, they are taking themselves outside the boundaries of the law. When some anti-abortion groups decide to go outside the law and kill doctors they are in a very serious predicament.

In some 6000 years, God has waged very few wars. The flood to destroy the world and the battles for the Promised Land are examples of when God said “something must be done.” I would suggest that many of the wars fought around the world were not fought because God said so, but to protect commerce and because of the pride of the leaders. My grandpa and my uncle both fought in major wars, and I would fight for my country, but I would suggest that many have died in vain because we have often fought wars for the wrong reason. Listen, very carefully:

Only God has the right to say “enough!”

Because of His character, He is the one that can say (as He did in this passage), “I’m through with you – it’s over – no more chances.” We have no right to wage war, even in our personal life, unless God says so. We fight too many wars and too many personal battles over petty things. We don’t have the strength of character to righteously judge; therefore our character is best when we let God do the conquering.

What battles are you currently fighting that you need to let go of?

2. The Clothes of the Conqueror

on his head are many crowns…He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood… and his name is the Word of God….And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. (Rev. 19:12-16)

Many crowns

It was customary for a king that ruled more than one nation to wear multiple crowns. I can’t imagine that he could do anything useful while balancing those crowns. Jesus wears many crowns because He is coming back to rule everyone. He is not just going to rule the Israelites, as He did before. The conquering Christ is coming back to destroy His enemies and rule for the rest of eternity.

The big question is: “Doe He rule in your life?” When He comes back to conquer, you will be subject to Him. Why not submit to His Kingship now? As a pastor, I know whether or not my members are submitted to the Lord. I don’t find out in church. I find out the level of my members submission from people outside the church. They are glad to tell me. They say, “So and so is a member of your church – let me tell you about them…” You may fool a few people at church, but you’re not fooling the people you are trying to witness to. They know if you truly worship the King you talk about.

Cloak dipped in blood

Notice a couple of things about this cloak. It is not splattered or stained with blood. It is not stained from the battle. We see the blood before the battle. And, it is dipped in blood, meaning it was made that way willingly. Christ willingly gave His blood for you. The simple question is: “Are you washed in the blood of the lamb?”

Name Tag

Word of God – This is the conqueror’s identity. John, chapter 1, and other passages speak of Jesus being the Word, the logos, that came to dwell with us. He IS God’s Word that dwelt with us and spoke to us straight from the Father. Notice also that there is a name that “no one knows except himself.” (v.12) There is still some mystery to our God. We can’t boil Him down to a formula. He is still God and we are not. Praise the Lord that we have a God that is still beyond our understanding.

King of Kings / Lord of Lords

This is His position. He is not just the commander of your local church. He is not just the commander of your denomination. He is not even just the commander of conservative Christians. He is the supreme commander – the Lord of all.

His name and his clothing should teach us about His attributes. How does that help us? It helps us worship. The book of Revelation is sometimes confusing and we often get lost in the interpretation. But, verse 10 tells us that “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” The main function of prophecy is to say “Thus saith the Lord” and help us worship and lift up Jesus Christ. This book is not about the Beast or the False prophet – it is primarily about Jesus Christ.

He is our ruler, our Savior, our Lord and He is clothed to conquer.

3. The Weapons of the Conqueror

…And His eyes are a flame of fire….Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." (Rev. 19:12-16)

Flaming Eyes

The nearest to flaming eyes that I have ever seen is when I made my wife mad. Christ’s flaming eyes are symbolic of how His glance can penetrate and pierce even into the hearts of men. This is one of the reasons people avoid church. Youth have told me, “We like come to church; but we get convicted there…” I tell them, “That is what is supposed to happen.” God knows you deeper than anyone else. He looks into the hearts of men and see His enemies and His friends.

We avoid this because it is painful. We don’t even want to look in there, much less let someone else expose those things.

Sword

Of course the Sword of the Lord is the Word of God. This is how God wins His battles – by His Word. It is how Jesus defeated Satan when He was tempted. He spoke the Word of God. The only offensive weapon listed in the Armor of God (Eph. 6) is the Word of God.

Jesus’ conquering power will be overwhelming when He puts an end to the old order of things; but I want you to understand something very powerful:

This same conquering power is available to you.

If Jesus can conquer death, He can certainly help you with your problems. His power is available to you. You may say, “But, I don’t feel the power.” Actually, it has little to do with feeling. Many times we are at the end of our rope and we trust God because we have run out of options. We can't feel His power in those times. We trust Him, by faith, and He is able to work – not by feeling but by faith. It is often looking back that we understand and see the demonstration of God’s conquering power. We say, looking back, “Wow, look what God did!”

We may say, “But, I have never experienced the conquering power…” It may be because we haven’t let go and let God work. If we stay in control and trust in our own power, God’s supernatural power can’t be demonstrated. I’m not saying that life is going to be easy because of the power. After all, we are in a war and you con’t go through a war without getting some blood and dirt on your shoes. You will cry, you will struggle, you will anguish – with God’s help you will also WIN!

Karl J. Forehand, 2001