THE FINAL TRIUMPHAL ENTRY (Revelation 19:11-16)
INTRODUCTION:
In life we see contrasts displayed in many ways, one of those ways is seen in opposites. For example: light compared to darkness; love compared to hate; sweet compared to sour; man compared to woman. When we compare things to one another we find the differences or the contrasts between them.
This morning we remember Palm Sunday, or the Triumphal Entry, the day Jesus rode into the city of Jerusalem on the back of a donkey’s colt. The people hailed Him as a king and the religious leaders thought they had lost their chance to arrest Him quietly and get rid of Him. Our Scripture reading this morning by Timothy was the apostle John’s account of that memorable day. This is one of the events in Jesus’ life that all four Gospels record for us. Each one gives some added details. John’s Gospel is the only one that tells us that after Jesus had risen from the dead and was glorified that the disciples remembered the words written by Zechariah the prophet and realized that this event was the fulfillment of his prophecy. Like Zechariah prophesied of the Triumphal Entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem, we have another prophecy about a final Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. This final one will turn out much differently than it did the first time.
This morning I want to compare the final Triumphal Entry with the first one and discover the contrasts between the two. Then I will draw a conclusion from the differences that we find. Before we turn to the Scriptures let’s pray and ask God to open our eyes and hearts to His Word and to teach us and then help us to apply what we learn.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
The apostle John recorded for us that after Jesus Christ was glorified the disciples realized that His ride into Jerusalem was the fulfillment of prophecy written by Zechariah. This same apostle went on to write one of the most well-known of the prophetic books and it is within the pages of Revelation that we find the prophecy of the final Triumphal Entry that is yet future. So, turn in your Bibles this morning to Revelation 19:11-16. Please stand, if you are able, in honor of the reading of God’s Word and follow along as I read.
Revelation 19:11-16,
“And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down 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 19:11–16, NASB95)[1]
CONTRASTS BETWEEN PLACE AND PURPOSE OF THE TWO TRIUMPHAL ENTRIES (John 12:12-16; Revelation 19:11)
John describes a much different scene for us for the final triumphal entry then the first one recorded in the Gospel of John. Let’s look at the place where each of these triumphal entries originates. We learn in John 12:1-11 that the evening before Jesus made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem that He ate with His friends Lazarus, Martha, and Mary in the town of Bethany. We know from the other Gospels that the first triumphal entry originated near Bethany and Bethphage, two villages approaching the Mount of Olives. Jesus first triumphal entry was a public declaration of who He was. He was fulfilling Old Testament prophecy about the Messiah. This was His most outspoken public declaration to the people of Israel that He was their long-awaited Messiah, born in the lineage of David as to His humanity.
In Revelation, John prophesies that he saw heaven opened, the final triumphal entry originates in heaven. From this entry point we quickly understand that the One who is coming is Deity. This is the Son of God.
In the first triumphal entry John records for us that Jesus rode on a young donkey. You and I think of a donkey as a lowly beast of burden, we would never make someone of importance ride on a donkey, but in Jesus’ day this was the mount of choice for a king who came in peace. As Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a young donkey it should have been clear to the people of Israel that He was not riding into Jerusalem as a conquering king, but as a king offering peace. We understand that the peace Jesus was offering was peace with God. Jesus was offering the people of Israel and ultimately every person a chance to restore their relationship with God that they were originally created to have before sin entered the world. Jesus Christ came to be the Savior of the world; He came to offer Himself on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin. He became our substitute so that we could have our sins forgiven and have peace with God, in other words have our relationship with God restored to what it was originally to be. Jesus paid the full price for our sins, all that is required of us is agreement with God that we are sinners and belief that Jesus died for our sins and that He was buried and on the third day rose from the dead.
In Revelation we find a huge difference between the first triumphal entry and the final one. John tells us that he saw a white horse and the One who sat on the horse was call Faithful and True. When Jesus rides into Jerusalem the next time it will not be on a beast of peace, but on a beast of war. He will ride in as the conqueror. The first triumphal entry was to offer peace with God, the final triumphal entry will be to mete out God’s judgment on those who rejected His offer of peace. Notice how verse 11 ends, “…and in righteousness He judges and wages war.” (Revelation 19:11b, NASB95)[2] God’s offer of salvation and peace will not last forever, a day is coming when God will say, “Enough” and the offer of peace will be withdrawn from those who rejected Him, and Jesus will return as He promised and will judge and wage war on those who rejected Him. He is called Faithful because He keeps all of His promises. He was faithful to fulfill the prophecies concerning Him during His first advent and He will fulfill the rest of the prophecies and promises when He returns in His second advent. He is called True because all genuine truth comes from Him. Jesus is the true One, there is no other. Jesus Himself said in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6, NASB95)[3] If you trust in anything else, if you seek salvation by any other means than the One who is True, in the end you are deceived. There is only one who is True and that is the Lord Jesus Christ.
CONTRASTS IN THE PERSON OF THE TWO TRIUMPHAL ENTRIES (Philippians 2:5-8; Revelation 19:12-13)
In the first triumphal entry Jesus Christ rode into Jerusalem meek and humble. He presented Himself to the world as a servant. This is exactly as Paul describes Him in Philippians 2:5-8 when he wrote, “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:5–8, NASB95)[4] When Jesus returns in the final triumphal entry John presents Him in a much different light. John describes Him like this in Revelation 19:12-13, “His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.” (Revelation 19:12–13, NASB95)[5]
In the first triumphal entry of Jesus Christ, He came offering salvation and the forgiveness of sins through His death on the cross. In the final triumphal entry, His eyes that are a flame of fire speaks of His righteous judgment upon sin, nothing escapes His gaze, the time of grace will be past, and it will be the time of judgment. Next John describes Jesus Christ as a king, not just any king, but the Supreme King. On His head John says are many diadems or crowns. A diadem was usually a simple gold circle that was worn by kings. If they ruled more than one nation, they would wear a hat or a turban that could display the number of diadems that correspond to the number of nations they ruled. John says that Jesus Christ has many diadems on His head, the diadems of all the nations of the earth. John also says that He has a name written on Him which no one knows, but Himself. What this name is we do not know, when He appeared to the parents of Samson and they asked His name He answered, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?” (Judges 13:18, NASB95)[6] This word translated wonderful is a word as I told you last week that means “fantastic, beyond understanding, it pertains to that which is impossible to understand, with a focus on what it is describing as something that is a marvelous, positive mystery.” We do not know this name, no one does but Himself, but in John saying this it speaks of Him as the indefinable, indescribable One. John does his best to assign titles to Him, but we cannot know Him fully until we are like Him. Next John tells us that the Rider of the white horse is clothed with a robe dipped in blood. This is not His blood, but the blood of His enemies and symbolizes the great battle He has already fought against sin, Satan, and death. As He goes out to judge and make war with those still living on the earth who oppose Him, their own blood will be required for their rejection of His blood shed for them. John then leaves us no doubt about whom this Rider on the white horse is, this person that he has been describing for us. John does this by telling us that the name of this person is called the Word of God. We know from John’s Gospel that Jesus Christ is the Word of God. John opens His Gospel with these words, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.” (John 1:1–3, NASB95)[7] The author of Hebrews also describes Him as the Word of God when he writes in Hebrews 1:1-4, “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.” (Hebrews 1:1–4, NASB95)[8] Jesus Christ as the Word of God is the Sovereign over all that He created. There is no one greater than the Word of God who is the heir of all things because He is the only begotten Son of God. When the Lord Jesus Christ comes in the final triumphal entry He will come as the conquering King bent on judging those who rejected Him. The offer of salvation and forgiveness and peace with God is still available today, God’s grace is still extended to mankind, but it will not be available forever.
CONTRAST OF THE PEOPLE OF THE TWO TRIUMPHAL ENTRIES (John 12:13-19; Revelation 19:14)
In both the first and the final triumphal entries we have recorded for us the people who took part in it. In John 12 we read that a large crowd who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover went out to meet Jesus when they heard He was coming and when they met Him, they were waving palm branches and shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD, even the King of Israel.” (John 12:13b, NASB95)[9] Many in this crowd were from Galilee and had seen Jesus perform miracles, some had eaten the bread and fish multiplied by Him when he fed the 5000. At that time, they had wanted to make Him their king by force, not because they loved Him, but because He could provide for their physical needs. As they led Him into Jerusalem, I am sure this thought was in their minds. He would overthrow the Romans, become their king, and provide for them. The disciples were also with Him, but John tells us that they did not understand what they were doing until after Jesus was glorified. Then there were those who had seen Him raise Lazarus from the dead, who continued tell others about this man who could make the dead come to life again, and the people of Jerusalem went out to see the One who had performed this miracle. Then finally we are told that the Pharisees were there berating themselves for not getting rid of Him before this time. Of these four groups that went out to meet Him as He rode into Jerusalem, not one of them understood the symbolism of riding a young donkey into the city. Not one of them recognized that He was offering them peace with God. Not one of them recognized their spiritual need and that Jesus was offering to meet that need and raise them spiritually from the dead to new life in the Spirit.
In Revelation we have a quite different picture of the people who participate in this final triumphal entry. John first tells us that he saw the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, following Jesus on white horses. Who are these armies in heaven? Some are possibly angels, but because they are described as being clothed in fine linen it is most certainly the church. Remember the church had been raptured before the 7 years of tribulation took place. If you look up just a few verses in Revelation 19:7-8 we read, “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. It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.” (Revelation 19:7–8, NASB95)[10] Here we are told that the church, the bride of Christ was clothed in fine linen. We will then follow our groom, the Lord Jesus Christ, on His final triumphal entry. The second group of people will be the nations, waiting to oppose Christ’s return. We will not have to fight, because the Lord Jesus will lead the fight and not one will be able to stand before Him. The nations who are waiting for Him, those who have rejected His offer of peace will try and stand in His way and not allow Him to enter Jerusalem, but they will fall before Him. John describes this in verse 15, “From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations…” (Revelation 19:15a, NASB95)[11] Just as Jesus created the world by speaking it into being, in the same way, by the word of His mouth, He will destroy the nations before Him that are opposing Him. His word will be like a sharp sword destroying His enemies, He will rule the nations with a rod of iron which speaks of His strength, His power, His swift justice, and His absolute sovereignty over the earth as her King. His judgment will be quick and decisive as described by His treading the wine press of the fierce wrath of God. Jesus Christ’s final triumphal entry will be an outpouring of God’s wrath on the earth on those who chose to follow the Antichrist instead of putting their faith in the One who is called Faithful and True. John ends this section on the final Triumphal entry of Jesus Christ by telling us another name that is written on the robe and thigh of Jesus Christ, it is King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. This is the earthly title of Him who will ride triumphantly into Jerusalem at His return to set up His millennial kingdom on the earth.
CONCLUSION:
In these two passages, both penned by the apostle John we see many contrasts between these two triumphal entries. One of the greatest contrasts is the contrast between the two natures which make up the God-Man, Jesus Christ. In the first triumphal entry we see the nature of Jesus Christ’s humanity; in the final triumphal entry we see the nature of His Deity. Paul sought to grasp the two natures of Jesus Christ in his salutation to the church in Rome in Romans 1:1-4 were he wrote, “Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,” (Romans 1:1–4, NASB95)[12] Paul says that Jesus Christ is according to the flesh a descendant of David describing His humanity. Then he goes on to says that Jesus Christ was declared to be the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, not because of the resurrection, but with power by the resurrection, in other words the resurrection was the proof of Jesus Christ’s Deity. It is when we understand these two natures that make up the one Man, Jesus Christ, then and only then can we understand the contrast of purpose that exists between the two triumphal entries. In the first, Jesus was fulfilling prophecy made concerning the Messiah, but in fulfilling the prophecy He was offering the world peace with God. This offer made at the first triumphal entry is still available today. What you must wrestle with today is what you are going to do with this offer? There are only two choices: either you embrace this offer by faith believing that Jesus Christ died for you and rose from the dead on the third day after His death; or you reject the offer. If you decide to reject the offer, then you will be subject to God’s judgment. In the final triumphal entry, which is still future, Jesus Christ will come as the Son of God and then the offer of peace with God will be gone, it will be the time of God’s judgment on those living on the earth who rejected God’s Son and the offer of salvation. Jesus Christ will ride into Jerusalem as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, and His judgment will be swift and final. He will then sit on David’s throne and reign over this earth for a thousand years. For those of us who have put our faith in Jesus Christ this will be a glorious time for us as we reign with Him as His bride, and He will be faithful to His promise that we will be with Him forever. The future for the Christian is full of hope and promise. The future of the one who rejects Christ is full of judgment and destruction which will ultimately end in the Lake of Fire where there will be torment forever and ever completely and permanently separated from God and His grace and mercy. Again, we see a contrast, but this contrast makes it clear as to which future is worth living for.
[1]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[2]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[3]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995. (Emphasis mine)
[4]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995. (Emphasis mine)
[5]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[6]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[7]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[8]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995. (Emphasis mine)
[9]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[10]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[11]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[12]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995. (Emphasis mine)