This ministry was given in Richmond, Virginia, on November 26, 1978, Sunday morning, by Brother Stephen Kong.
Please turn to the Book of Revelation, Chapter 19. We will begin with verse 11.
And I saw the heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He that sat thereon, called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He doth judge and make war.
And His eyes are a flame of fire, and upon His head are many diadems; and He hath a name written, which no one knoweth but He Himself.
And He is arrayed in a garment sprinkled with blood: and His name is called The Word of God.
And the armies which are in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and pure.
And out of His mouth proceedeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God, the Almighty.
And He hath on His garment and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in mid-heaven, Come and be gathered together unto the great supper of God;
that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and of them that sit thereon, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, and small and great.
And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him that sat upon the horse, and against His army.
And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought the signs in his sight, wherewith he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image: they two were cast alive into the lake of fire that burneth with brimstone.
And the rest were killed with the sword of Him that sat upon the horse, even the sword which came forth out of His mouth: and all the birds were filled with their flesh.
And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.
And he laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years,
and cast him into the abyss, and shut it, and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years should be finished: after this he must be loosed for a little time.
May we look to the Lord in prayer.
Lord, how we praise and thank Thee that we are so privileged to gather around Thyself, to remember Thee and to worship Thee. Oh, how we praise and thank Thee for the privilege that, through Thy Word, we may see Thee afresh.
We do ask that at this moment the anointing of the Lord may be upon all of us, that we may truly see Thee as we together consider Thy Word. We want Thee to be exalted. We want Thee to fill our hearts. We want Thee to draw us out of ourselves and unto Thyself. In the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
This last book of the Bible is called Revelation. It is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him to show unto us. So, in this book of Revelation, we are to see the Lord Jesus. We are to see Him in relation to our days.
Being the last book of the Bible, it deals with the end times; and we are living in the end times. So it is imperative that we see our Lord Jesus in relation to our time, in relation to the days in which we are living. What kind of a Lord is He to us?
And I believe that if we see this, it will strengthen our faith, encourage us with hope, and increase our love for Him.
During the past few times, we have covered four visions of our Lord Jesus as revealed in this book of Revelation. We see our Lord Jesus as the glorious Head in relation to His church, the Body: One like unto the Son of Man in the midst of the seven lampstands. We see Him as the great High Priest ministering in the true sanctuary—that is, the church, the reality.
Whatever He is, is meant for us to be; and He Himself is the supplier of all that He requires of us.
When we see the second vision of our Lord Jesus, we see, in His ascension, how He receives from the Father the earth as His inheritance, because He is worthy. He is a Lamb in the midst of the throne. He came into authority by way of the cross, through His humility.
Then we see Him as the strong Angel, putting His feet upon the earth and the sea, declaring that there is no more delay. The kingdom of this world shall become the kingdom of our God and of His Christ.
Then we see the fourth picture. We see the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred forty-four thousand, singing a new song. Then we see Him sitting upon the cloud as the Son of Man, casting a golden sickle, for the harvest is ready.
This morning we would like to come to the fifth vision of our Lord Jesus, as we find it in this book of Revelation.
John said, “I saw the heaven opened.”
In this book of Revelation, we find that this is not the first time it is said that heaven opened. But we know there is a difference here. So far as the Scripture is concerned, we find that there are at least three heavens. Of course, we hear people talk about seven heavens, or even more; but so far as the Scripture is concerned, we find three heavens mentioned.
The third heaven is where the throne of God is. The second heaven is where the celestial stars are. And the first heaven is the air above us, where the clouds are.
The heaven John saw opened here is not the third heaven. Why? Because in Revelation 4, he said, “The heaven opened,” and he was taken up into heaven. He saw the throne and One sitting upon the throne. In other words, in Revelation 4, it is the third heaven that is opened to John, and he was taken right to the presence of God—He who sits upon the throne.
But when John saw the heaven opened here, and behold, a white horse, this is the first heaven.
As we read the Book of Revelation, we find, for instance, in Revelation 14, the one hundred forty-four thousand standing with the Lamb on Mount Zion. We know that Mount Zion there is not Mount Zion on earth; it is Mount Zion in heaven.
But after that scene, we see the Son of Man sitting on a cloud. In other words, first we find Him in the third heaven, there upon the throne; but He has descended from the throne to the cloud. That is the first phase of His return.
While He is sitting on the cloud, we find in 1 Thessalonians 4 that the harvest is ready. All those who are dead in Christ, and those who are alive and remain at that moment, will all be taken up into the air to meet the Lord in the air.
So, brothers and sisters, let us remember this: the one hundred forty-four thousand, who represent the overcomers of the church, come with the Lord from the throne to the air. Then those who are alive and remain on earth—that is, the rest of the church—and those who are dead in Christ, will be raised from the dead. Those who are alive and remain will be changed, and they will all be caught up to the air to meet the Lord.
In other words, there in the air will be the great gathering of the saints.
While the saints are gathered together with the Lord in the air, this is the time that we find in Scripture when the judgment seat of Christ is set. Judgment must begin with the house of God.
There in the air, when all the saints are gathered together before the Lord, they will be standing before the judgment seat of Christ. Now, for the sake of some who do not know the difference, perhaps I shall explain a little bit.
We who believe in the Lord Jesus will never stand before the great white throne judgment. Why? Because Christ was judged for us on Calvary’s cross. Because He was judged for us on the cross, we are delivered from the eternal judgment of the great white throne.
But that does not mean that we, as children of God, will not be judged. We, as children of God, will still be judged, but judged in a different way. We will be judged before the judgment seat of Christ.
There is a difference between a seat and a throne. A throne is judicial; a seat is family. So here you find that, as the children of God, one day we will all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, as Paul says. There we will be judged according to what we do on earth—whether we build with gold, silver, and precious stones, or whether we build with wood, hay, and stubble.
At the judgment seat, we shall all be judged and receive our reward, or suffer loss—not eternally.
While the judgment seat of Christ is going on in the air, this is the time we find in the Book of Revelation the outpouring of the wrath of God upon the earth, as seen in the seven bowls. At the end of the seven bowls, then the heaven opens.
That is to say, the Lord will appear upon this earth. It is the time of the appearing of His coming—apokalupsis, the appearing of His coming. He will break through the clouds, and He will come down upon this earth.
The way in which He is coming is that He will come riding on a white horse.
An ass in Scripture signifies peace; a horse signifies war. You remember Zechariah 9:9:
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion;
shout, O daughter of Jerusalem:
behold, thy King cometh unto thee:
He is just, and having salvation;
lowly, and riding upon an ass,
even upon a colt the foal of an ass.
In the first coming of our Lord Jesus, He came as King, and yet He rode upon an ass, even a colt. That was literally fulfilled when our Lord Jesus entered Jerusalem for the last time. You remember how the people gathered around Him, how He sat upon the colt of an ass, and how the people shouted, “Hosanna.”
But He came as the King of peace. He came to offer peace to Jerusalem. He came to offer peace to this world. But one day, when He comes again, He will ride upon a horse. In other words, He will come back to war against this rebellious world.
A white horse. White in Scripture always speaks of purity. So here you find that when our Lord Jesus returns to wage war upon this world, it will be a war of righteousness.
We often hear people say, “This is a righteous war. We fight a righteous war.” But in the strictest sense, dear brothers and sisters, there is no war on earth that is righteous. There is so much selfishness involved in any and every war. There is no such thing as a righteous war.
But thank God, one day there will be a war that is a righteous war. It is a war of righteousness. This is the war that our Lord Jesus will come with His followers to fight against Satan and his followers: the last war, the war of Armageddon.
Upon this white horse, One is sitting. His name is called Faithful and True.
Now, we have seen this before. In Revelation 1, we find that He is the faithful witness. In Revelation 3:14, He is called the Amen, the faithful and true Witness. These are the names of our Lord Jesus. These qualities are His character.
Our Lord Jesus is characterized by being faithful. In what sense is He faithful? He is faithful to the Father. He is faithful to do the will of the Father. He is faithful to do all the will of the Father. He does not come to do anything of His own will: “Not My will, but Thy will be done.” That is His faithfulness, and that is His character.
He is true in the sense that He is true to Himself. Or we may use another word: He is real to Himself. There is no pretense in Him. Everything of Him is real; it is true. Even His enemies had to acknowledge that He is true. There is no falsehood in Him. There is no pretense in Him.
He is the truth. He is the reality. These are the characteristics of our Lord Jesus.
And He judges and makes war in righteousness. How does He judge? In John 5, the Lord said that He does not judge by Himself; He judges according to the Father’s will. Because He judges according to the Father’s will, His judgment is true.
Whatever He sees that is not according to His Father’s will, He judges. Because of that, His war is the war of righteousness.
His eyes are a flame of fire. We have seen that before. But in Revelation 1 through 3, where it is said that His eyes are a flame of fire, that is in relation to His church.
Brothers and sisters, so far as the church is concerned, the eyes of our Lord Jesus are as a flame of fire. He sees us through. He sees everything. There is nothing that He does not see. He has such discernment. He sees so sharply and clearly.
Thank God for that flame of fire. Why? It purifies us. Sometimes we are afraid of those eyes.
I remember once reading of one who was in prison. He said that the thing he feared most, or suffered most from while he was in prison, was the eyes of the guards. Even with a door, there was a hole there; whenever he looked up, he would see eyes peeping through that hole at him. He said that was the thing he feared most.
But, brothers and sisters, the eyes of the Lord are like a flame of fire. He looks at us. He sees us through. But we do not need to be afraid, because His look recovers us. You remember: He looked at Peter when Peter denied the Lord three times. The Lord just looked at him—looked into him. Peter went out and wept, and he was recovered.
Thank God for the piercing eyes of our Lord Jesus. But here, His eyes as a flame of fire are in relation to the world. It is different. He sees what the world is so clearly; He sees through the world. But it is not for recovery. It is for war, judgment, and punishment.
Upon His head are many diadems. A diadem is a crown without a top. If you wear a crown with a top, you can only wear one; but if you wear a diadem, you can wear many, because there is no top there.
Every diadem, every crown, represents His kingship in a certain territory. Here you find that our Lord Jesus is King over so many territories. There are so many areas over which He reigns—realms and realms and realms. He wears many diadems.
He has a name written which no one knows but He Himself. Thank God, there are some names of our Lord Jesus that are revealed. Because they are revealed, we know what His names are. We know His name is Jesus, who saves us from our sins. We know His name is Emmanuel—God with us. We know His name is Faithful and True.
Thank God for all the revelations of His names, because a name represents the person. You know the person by his name. God has revealed many names of our Lord Jesus to us, that we may know Him in His many aspects.
But in spite of all that has been revealed, there is a name that is never revealed. There is a name of our Lord Jesus that is unknown. No one knows but He Himself. It is a name that is never revealed; and because it has never been revealed, no one knows what that name is.
Brothers and sisters, there is always something in our Lord Jesus that we do not know, that is beyond our knowledge. We only know what is revealed, but what is hidden belongs to God.
There is always something hidden in the Godhead for the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit to enjoy. It is too sacred for us to know. We should be contented. We should be like weaned children leaning upon the breast of their mother. High and lofty things we should not try to probe, but be contented with whatever is revealed to us.
Even with what is revealed to us, and what is going to be revealed to us, dear brothers and sisters, it takes eternity to know the Lord. Yet, even with eternity, He is still unknown. There is a name that no one knows but He Himself.
Oh, how I thank God that He is God. He is God. Sometimes we think that, because of such mercy and grace showered upon us, because we receive the life of Christ in us, somehow people begin to feel that they are deified—as if they are God now, and there is no more of God that they do not know.
But, dear brothers and sisters, we are not God. God is God. There is always something in Him that we do not know, and that something is too deep for us to know.
He is clothed with a garment dipped in blood. Now, why is He clothed with a garment dipped in blood?
If you refer to Isaiah 63, you find there is a prophecy concerning this very event.
Who is this that cometh from Edom,
with dyed garments from Bozrah?
this that is glorious in His apparel,
marching in the greatness of His strength?
I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save.
Wherefore art Thou red in Thine apparel,
and Thy garments like him that treadeth in the winevat?
I have trodden the winepress alone;
and of the peoples there was no man with Me:
yea, I trod them in Mine anger,
and trampled them in My wrath;
and their lifeblood is sprinkled upon My garments,
and I have stained all My raiment.
In other words, His garment is dipped in blood because, when He comes back to take vengeance upon His enemies, the blood of His enemies shall be sprinkled upon His garments and stain His garment with blood. That is the result of that war.
Oh, brothers and sisters, once upon a time, about two thousand years ago, when He first came into this world to offer peace to this world, the world rejected the Prince of Peace. The world murdered Him. His blood was shed on Calvary’s cross. His body was covered with His own blood.
But the day will come when He shall return, and He will shed the blood of the enemies that rejected Him and refused to accept Him, because judgment has finally come into this world.
His name is called the Word of God. We are familiar with that name.
In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
The One who sits upon the white horse is none other than the Word of God. From eternity to eternity, He is God. He is the very expression of God. He is the One who reveals and declares the Father. He is the living Word, and He still is. His name is called the Word of God.
Out of His mouth goes a sharp two-edged sword, that with it He might smite the nations. When He returns, He will war against Satan and his followers. But the weapon of His war is that sharp two-edged sword proceeding out from His mouth.
You remember 2 Thessalonians 2:8:
And then shall be revealed the lawless one,
whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of His mouth,
and bring to nought by the manifestation of His coming.
When the Lord returns, He shall consume the lawless one—that is, the Antichrist—with the breath of His mouth. The breath of His mouth is the sharp two-edged sword. In other words, with His breath, with His Word, He destroys His enemies.
There is such power in His Word. May we say that it is like an ideological war? It is a war of ideas. Here you find Faithful and True prevailing against unfaithfulness and falsehood.
Throughout the ages, faithfulness and unfaithfulness, truth and falsehood, have fought against each other. Oftentimes, we think as if unfaithfulness, disobedience, rebellion, falsehood, and lies prevail. But that only appears to be so. In the end, we will find that faithfulness and truth shall prevail.
The Lord will use His breath, His Word, like a sharp two-edged sword, to cut down all His enemies.
He shall shepherd them with an iron rod. Of course, this refers to the millennium. Those who are not killed by the sharp two-edged sword that comes out of His mouth—the nations that will be brought into the kingdom—will be ruled with an iron rod. I will not go into details, because that would take too much time to explain.
He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God, the Almighty. There our Lord Jesus treads the winepress.
If you refer back to Revelation 14, you find that after the harvest, another angel comes out of the temple in heaven, having a sharp sickle. He gathers the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe. The vine is cast into the great winepress of the wrath of God, and the winepress is trodden outside the city.
Here you find the same thing. Our Lord Jesus, in His return, will tread the winepress. The grapes gathered represent the world. He will judge the world, and the blood will come up to the horses’ bridles for one thousand six hundred stadia. That is the last battle, the battle of Armageddon.
He has upon His garment and upon His thigh a name written: King of kings and Lord of lords. Another name: King of kings and Lord of lords.
He is King of kings. Now, who are these kings? He is Lord of lords. Who are these lords? But anyway, you find that our Lord Jesus is supreme. He is supreme.
Even though today He is rejected, one day He who has been rejected shall reign and rule as King of kings and Lord of lords.
All these things refer to the appearing of His coming. He shall appear upon this earth. He shall return, destroy His enemies, and rule and reign as the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
But here you find another thing. Verse 14: “And the armies which are in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and pure.”
When our Lord Jesus came to earth, when the Word became flesh, He was alone. When He went to the cross, He was alone. But here you find that when He shall appear upon this earth, He will come as the Victor of Calvary, the Conqueror. When He returns as the Conqueror of the world, He will have His armies with Him.
Who are these armies? They ride upon white horses, and they are clad in white, pure, fine linen.
When He returns, He will not return alone. He will bring with Him His armies—heavenly armies. But the army here cannot refer to the angelic host. It is true that He shall return with myriads of angels; that is true. But aside from these heavenly hosts, He will return with a heavenly army composed of men and women such as we are.
How do we know? In Revelation 17:14:
These shall war against the Lamb,
and the Lamb shall overcome them,
for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings;
and they also shall overcome that are with Him,
called and chosen and faithful.
There you find His army. The army that is with Him in the triumphant battle consists of those who are called, chosen, and faithful.
We are all called saints—not called to be saints, but called saints. He has called us. He has called us by His love. He has called us by His glory. We who are the Lord’s are the called. We did not volunteer to come to Him; He called us. Thank God that He has called us.
But the thing is, many are called, but few are chosen. Why? Because those who are called do not all respond to the grace He has given to us.
In other words, we are called, but we are chosen when we yield ourselves to His love and grace and let His love and grace do its perfect work in us. Many are called, but few are chosen; and fewer are faithful.
Are we faithful to the very end? Paul said that God had called him and set him apart from his mother’s womb. Then, in 1 Timothy, he said that God counted him faithful and appointed him to service.
Are we the called? Are we the chosen? Are we the faithful?
These are people who are clothed in white, pure, shining linen. We see that also in Revelation 19:8: the bride has made herself ready, and it was given to her that she should be clothed in fine linen, bright and pure. The fine linen is the righteousness of the saints—practical righteousness.
The overcomers are these people. They are not perfect, but they allow the Holy Spirit to work the righteousness that is of Christ into their very being.
These are the people who are cleansed by the precious blood of the Lamb. These are the people who have the word of their testimony. These are the people who love not their lives even unto death. In other words, the armies that come with the Lord at His appearing are the overcomers of the church.
The reason why they are privileged to follow the Lord in this last battle is because they have overcome while they are on earth, just as the Lord won His battle while He was on earth.
When our Lord Jesus was on earth, how fierce was the conflict and the battle. The battle began even when He was born. As a baby, He had to flee to Egypt. The battle continued all through His life.
When He first began His ministry in Nazareth, they took Him out to the cliff, wanting to push Him down. But our Lord Jesus walked right through their midst. Again and again, in the records of the Gospels, you find how the enemy tried to murder Him, to cut Him off before His time.
Finally, in the Garden of Gethsemane, how He prayed, how He was weakened, how His sweat became as drops of blood falling down upon the ground. He had to be strengthened by an angel. Otherwise, He would have died in the Garden of Gethsemane.
And on Calvary’s cross: “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” The battle was fierce. But our Lord Jesus fought that battle alone, all by Himself. He trod the winepress alone.
Before He died, He said, “It is finished.” The shout of victory: “It is finished.” The battle is won.
In Colossians 2, we find how He spoiled the principalities and powers, led them captive, displayed them as His captives, made a public show of them, and triumphed over them by the cross. Our Lord Jesus won the battle while He was on earth.
Now, when He comes back in that last battle, how will it be fought? The battle has already been won. He just speaks a word, by the breath of His mouth, and the enemies are all destroyed.
In other words, it is based on the victory of Calvary that He needs only to speak the word, and the enemy is finished.
Brothers and sisters, today, while we are on earth, there is a fierce battle going on so far as our spiritual life is concerned. If we follow the Lord today, you will find that you are in a battle. It is an endless battle, and the battle is fierce.
Paul said, “I have fought the good fight.” Oh, how we need to fight the good fight. How the enemy tries to destroy us, to wear us out, to entice us, to trip us—trying every way to destroy us. There is a battle going on all the time.
Of course, even though we are fighting that fight, at the same time the battle is the Lord’s. The Lord has won the victory. We are only fighting from victory unto victory.
It is just a matter of standing in the victory of the Lord, declaring His victory, claiming His victory, applying His victory over all the fiery darts of the enemy. If we know how to stand in the victory of Christ, if we know how to claim the victory of Christ over all the assaults of the enemy, then we fight the good fight.
Our Lord Jesus had to fight alone. But with us, we are actually standing to see the victory of Christ applied.
Those who have experienced such victory will be privileged to follow the Lord to that last battle—not to fight it, but to witness the victory of the Lord. You find that they do not fight at all. They just follow. They just follow.
In other words, dear brothers and sisters, the pattern is set today. How do we fight the good fight? You just follow the Lamb. That is all. You do not fight; you just follow.
If you learn the pattern, then the day will come when our Lord shall return, and you will return with Him. You will just follow, and you will witness His great victory over His enemies.
What will be the result of that battle? You find the Antichrist and the false prophet, the two beasts, will be seized and cast into the lake of fire, the second death.
You will find that the dragon, the serpent, Satan, will be seized and chained, put into the bottomless pit, and sealed there for one thousand years. Those who follow the beast to fight against our Lord Jesus will be killed, and there will be a great supper prepared for all the birds of prey.
Those nations that do not follow the beast into that battle are the sheep nations. When the kingdom is established, they will be brought into the kingdom as nations, and the Lord shall rule over them with an iron rod.
If you follow Revelation 20, you find that there will be thrones there. In other words, that will be the time when the saints shall be rewarded, and they shall reign with Christ for one thousand years.
Here, brothers and sisters, is a revelation of our Lord Jesus in relation to the appearing of His coming.
Thank God. In spite of the fact that falsehood, unfaithfulness, rebellion, disobedience, the spirit of the world, and the ruler of this world seem to prevail today, we know that a battle is going on.
It is very serious. It is a battle between faithfulness and unfaithfulness, truth and falsehood, obedience and rebellion, between Christ and Satan. The battle is going on between the followers of the Lord and the followers of the world.
We know the result. We know who will come out ahead. Why? Because, as we look at Calvary, we know the battle is already won. It is just a matter of time.
Because of this, dear brothers and sisters, let our hearts be encouraged. As long as we live on earth, let us learn to follow the Lamb whithersoever He goes.
Even though, as you follow the Lamb, you will be drawn into the fierce battle of the ages, there is no need to fear. Why? Because He has already overcome. All you need to do is stand and see the victory of the Lord.
So may this be our encouragement. Shall we pray?
Oh, our heavenly Father, how we praise and thank Thee. Even though at times, when we look around, we may wonder, yet, Lord, we praise and thank Thee because Thou hast told us so clearly that Thou hast already won the battle, and Thou art coming to conclude everything and to bring in Thy kingdom.
So, Lord, we pray that during this short time, we may be kept faithful to the very end. We ask Thee, O Lord, that Thy grace will complete and perfect His work in each and every one of us.
Oh, that we may be numbered among those who are counted as the called, the chosen, and the faithful. We pray that we may today experience the victory of the Lord, that one day we may witness that great victory which shall come upon this earth.
We give Thee all the praise and glory. In the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.