Thru the Bible

Steve Schwetz: King of kings, Lord of lords, faithful and true, Word of God. Of course, we're talking about Jesus. Welcome to Thru the Bible. In this study of Revelation 19:11 to 21, our teacher Dr. J. Vernon McGee tells us more about the time when Jesus will return and put down all unrighteousness.

I'm Steve Schwetz, inviting you to open your Bible to Revelation 19 and find your seat on the Bible Bus. While you do that, our president, Greg Harris, is here, and we've got some time to talk a bit about one of Thru the Bible's core values, and that's our investment in trusted partnerships.

Greg Harris: Yes, many people find out that we only have about 20 full-time staff running a truly global ministry, one of the largest domestic broadcasters, and they say, "How in the world can you do that?" And the answer is trusted partnerships. It allows us to leverage the skills, the knowledge, the reach of other ministries.

So we want to tell you a story this morning of how God is always doing amazing things, and they're always really fun stories to tell. This story involves two of our partners. The first one is Indure International, and they produce seven different language television programs for satellite TV and YouTube. We received a newsletter that told us that they're working in Pakistan and started seven listening groups. I wonder, Steve, if you could just start with this from a recent report that we have.

Steve Schwetz: Okay, so to recap, you've got seven groups right now in Pakistan that are an offshoot of this particular ministry. And then any good ministry that we have has a follow-up team. So I pick it up from there.

It says, "Our follow-up leader in Pakistan, Pastor Ahmed, has been instrumental in developing this opportunity to expand our discipleship ministry through TTB videos to the Marwari people. Once we were approached with the possibility, we encouraged him to build a relationship with Pastor Nikhil, who then began sharing the Urdu videos through his phone and translating the content into Marwari."

Greg Harris: And so, Steve, even before we introduced the Marwari radio programs that we had custom-made for that language, they had gone out among these believers who had listened and watched on the phone while a guy translates on the fly into Marwari. This is amazing.

They baptized two new believers during that trip. And we just want to emphasize in a place like Pakistan, that is a life and death kind of situation. It's not in a safe church behind the podium up at the top. It's typically in an open river or stream, and the whole community sees that baptism. It's definitely planting your flag on the side of Christianity.

After all of these wonderful things happened, then we said, "Hey, we can give you the Marwari radio programs so this gentleman doesn't have to keep translating on the fly." And here's what they wrote: "When Greg mentioned that TTB already had programs in Marwari, we were overjoyed by the prospect of sharing this material with Pastor Nikhil." And Pastor Nikhil was the guy that was translating from his phone.

"When we told him and his community, they received the news with great excitement. This is why we are now seeking access to the Marwari programs to strengthen discipleship, help these believers grow in their faith, and extend the reach of the Gospel among this unreached group. Currently, Pastor Nikhil leads a village church of 18 families, and he's under the supervision of Indure's regional national leader in Pakistan. They are committed to walking alongside him, helping him grow the ministry, and supporting his discipleship efforts."

Steve Schwetz: The encouraging thing is the number they give here. He's got a church of 18 families. I mean, that means families, so if you figure average family size, let's just go with four, you've got a pretty substantial church in Pakistan. That's an amazing testimony of God's faithfulness in what is a very, very dark and hard-to-reach place.

Greg Harris: Well, and it's also a testimony. God led us to develop Marwari, a language that many people have never heard of, and then he connected the dots from India to Pakistan. Father, our hearts are overjoyed. When we see you work in these amazing ways that only you could do, we just fall on our knees and worship you and thank you.

Thank you for letting us have a part in what you're already doing around the world. We pray that as we open our Bibles now, you would teach us and transform our lives, in Jesus' name, amen.

Steve Schwetz: Let's open to Revelation 19 on Thru the Bible with Dr. J. Vernon McGee.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Now I want to come to verses 11 and 12 of the 19th chapter of the book of Revelation. I'm reading them today, and I shall read in my translation. I hope you'll follow in the Authorized Version. That's the one I recommend and not my own for sure.

I'm reading: "And I saw the heaven opened and behold, a white horse. And he that sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness doth he judge and make war. Now his eyes a flame of fire, and upon his head many diadems, having a name written which none knew but himself."

Now, friends, it's well for us to understand where this fits in. This is the parousia, that is, the return of Christ to the earth. This very thrilling, climactic event toward which all things are moving today. We had in this book the history of the church from the day of Pentecost to the parousia.

When he takes the church out of the world, and from chapter 4 on through chapter 18, we were in the midst of the great tribulation period, that frightful period. And it is ended by the coming of Christ here to the earth to establish his kingdom. Now there has been in the past a very naive notion relative to the future.

One of these days that Jesus is going to come and all the dead will be raised, and the good guys, they are on this side, and the bad guys, they're on the other side. And that he makes the division and one enters heaven, the other hell, and eternity begins. May I say again, that's a very naive notion.

You can't read the word of God without being conscious of the fact that he has a plan and a program for this earth that he is following, and he's following it very definitely. And the program is as we've outlined it, and now this takes place at the end of the great tribulation and right before the establishment of the kingdom.

And again I say this is the great climactic event toward which all things are moving today. And the contrast to his first coming is something that is stupendous. It is absolutely most remarkable. You see, when he came the first time, as George MacDonald put it, they were looking for a king to lift them high.

He came a little baby thing that made a woman cry. And that's the way he entered the world before. He was meek and lowly. He was the Savior who died for sinners. Now he's coming in great glory, public manifestation, putting down unrighteousness. And this is the final manifestation of the wrath of God upon a sinful world.

The rebellion of Satan and demons and of mankind is contained now and put down and judged. He puts down all unrighteousness before he establishes his kingdom in righteousness. Heaven is opened in Revelation 4:1 to let John, as a representative of the church, enter heaven where he sees the elders, that is the church, already there.

And here heaven opens to let Christ exit. The white horse on which he rides is the animal of warfare. When Jesus was on earth, he rode into Jerusalem upon a little donkey. And that was the animal of kings, but it always denoted peace and not war. He's coming now and he's riding a white horse which speaks of warfare.

Now he's called Faithful because he's come to execute the long-time program of God, all that was predicted. The scoffers say, "Where's the sign of his coming?" No sign now; he's here and he's made good. He's faithful, and he's the only one you and I today can trust and rest upon.

And he's true, for he is inherently true. He says, "I am the truth." He's not one who just tells the truth; he does that, but he's the bureau of standards for truth. He is the yardstick of truth, and he today is the truth. Oh, to have one that you can believe in this day when everything is slanted, everything is propaganda.

Someone said when you're little you're given Mother Goose, and when you get older you're given propaganda. Well, believe me, that's the way it works out. And we find now that he has come to judge and make war. He's not come to die on a cross. And now his eyes are a flame. Not as a flame now.

Back in chapter 1, verse 14—and I'm not splitting hairs—his eyes were as a flame as he walked among the churches judging them. But now it is a flame because he's come to judge this earth and put down its unrighteousness. Now the many diadems indicate that he will be the sole ruler of this earth.

His rulership is going to be a dictatorship; I can assure you that. My friend, if you don't love Jesus and he's not your Savior and you enter this period, I want to tell you this: It's going to be the most uncomfortable period you've ever entered, because he's a dictator and he's going to rule this earth.

A bird won't cheep and a rooster won't crow and no man will move without his permission. He's King of kings and he's Lord of lords. Now what is the name here at the end of verse 12 written which none but himself knew? Well, he's given four names which correspond to the gospel.

First of all, he's called King of kings, and that corresponds to the gospel of Matthew, for Matthew presents him as the King. And he's called Faithful and True. In the gospel of Mark, he's presented as the servant of God. And the important thing about a servant is not his genealogy, but can you trust him? And is he truthful?

Those are the two things that are important. And then he's called the Word of God here. And in the gospel of John, he's called that: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was made flesh." Now what is this name that no one knows? Well, I have a suggestion to make. That corresponds to Luke.

And in the gospel of Luke, he's presented as Jesus, the Son of Man. And that's the name here, Jesus. Today there's great familiarity with that name, both in swearing and blaspheming and in those that are trying to get familiar with him. But that's a name that you and I are going to probe throughout eternity.

He's Jesus, the Son of Man. Do you really know Jesus? Well, no man knoweth the Son but the Father. And here when he comes, he has a name that no man knows but he himself. And that's the reason Paul could say, not at the beginning of his ministry, but at the end of the ministry before he was executed, he says in Philippians, "That I might know him and the power of his resurrection."

No one knows the Son but the Father. And I think that that's going to be one of the things that's going to make heaven heaven: to come to know Jesus Christ. How wonderful it's going to be to know him. And friends, when I say that, it's going to take us the rest of eternity really to know him. He's so wonderful.

You know, there are many people that when you get to know them, they're not very exciting folk, are they? But the more you know Jesus, the more exciting that he gets. And he says in John 14:7, "If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also; and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him," that is, in the person of the Son.

And then in verse 9, "Jesus saith unto him, 'Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?'" And then again in that great high priestly prayer that he prayed in John 17, he says, "This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent."

Well, we've started the school when you come to him and find him that he's your Savior from sin; you're in the kindergarten and then you begin to know him. And I want to say to you that since I've retired, I have set before me a goal: I want to know Jesus better than I do.

I get up every morning—I did this morning—I went to the window, I looked out. It was a foggy morning here in Southern California, but I said, "Lord, thank you for bringing me to another day. I love you. I love you, Lord Jesus. But oh, my, you seem so far away at times. I want to know you. May the spirit of God make you real to me."

The name Jesus. Oh, what it means and what a person that he is. Now, friends, there's something else and I can't develop it, I don't have time, but I suggest it. We're going to know one another there. Really, I don't think we know each other as we should. I find I'm greatly misunderstood.

I make statements here on the radio, and I get letters that I'm almost shocked how I've been misunderstood. And I say something and I'm misunderstood. But there we're going to be known as we are known. And I think that'll be good. And then we're going to know ourselves. That's going to be a great thing in heaven.

And I think another thing, we're going to know our wives. I've already said this before, but when I sat on my patio trying to rest up all summer to recover from hepatitis, which I didn't even have, but it did accomplish something: it enabled me to rest and begin to do some thinking.

I sat there with my wife and got acquainted with her, and it was quite wonderful. And you know when I discovered the sacrifice that she's made and how faithful she's been down through the years, well, I think that I'm going to get acquainted with her in heaven. And that's going to be wonderful. I wish I could talk to you about that, but I've got to move on.

Now verses 13 through 16. Notice it says: "And he's 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 All-Ruler. And he hath on his garment and on his thigh a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords." Now his garment is sprinkled with blood. And we're told here he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God.

That takes us back to Isaiah, you remember, the 63rd chapter. I wonder if I dare take time to just turn there and for a moment read: "Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah and that is glorious in his apparel, traveling 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 people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments and I will stain all my raiment."

That refers to the second coming, not the first coming of Christ. And then we're told he'll rule them with a rod of iron. That takes us back to Psalm 2. And he will be, as we've said, a world dictator. And he is the one that God says, "I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion."

"I will declare the decree, the Lord hath said unto me, thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee," that is, from the dead. "Ask of me and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." How will he get them? Didn't get them at the first coming.

"Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." That's what John's talking about here: his coming to this earth. The fury of his wrath at his second coming is in sharp contrast to his gentleness at his first coming. However, both reveal the wrath of the Lamb.

The armies of heaven are evidently the legions of angels that do his bidding. And now we come to the war of Armageddon, and this is the final battle. Verses 17 and 18: "And I saw an angel standing in the sun. He cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven..."

"'Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God, that ye may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.'" Now if there is one passage of scripture which is revolting to read, this is it.

And you'll notice that God concluded it at the end of his word to remind us how revolting and nauseating to him are the deeds of the flesh. Men who live in the flesh will have their flesh destroyed. And this is an invitation at the end of the battle of Armageddon to the carrion-eating fowl to come to a banquet on earth.

They're going to have blue-ribbon flesh and A-1 grade to eat—kings and the mighty men of the earth. It is frightful, friends, to rebel against God because he is going to judge you someday. And this reveals the heart of man and how dreadful that heart really is. Now for the first time hell is opened up.

Now will you listen? "And I saw the beast," I'm reading verse 19, "and the kings of the earth and the armies gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet," the Antichrist, "that wrought the signs in his sight wherewith he deceived them that received the mark of the beast and them that worshiped his image."

"They two were cast alive into the lake of fire that burneth with brimstone." Now the beast is the Antichrist, the political ruler and the religious ruler, both taken. 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.

What a frightful picture this is. Now the beast and the false prophet defy God right up to the very last. They dare to make war with the Son of God. And he that sitteth in the heaven shall laugh at the utter futility of their effort. It's preposterous, but such is the rebellion of man against God, and the outcome was inevitable.

And the two arch rebels and tyrants, the Antichrist and the false prophet, have the questionable distinction of being the first who are cast into hell. The devil hasn't even been put there yet, friends. And the question arises, is the lake of fire literal? Well, let me give you something to think about, because I'm going to come back to this when we get over to chapter 20.

If it's not literal, it depicts that which is worse than a literal fire of brimstone. Think over that until we get to chapter 20. Now will you notice, the other thing is, what is the sword that goes out of his mouth? Amillennial friend of mine—he and I are very good friends—he asked me laughing, he said, "You don't mean to tell me there's going to be a literal sword come out of the mouth of Jesus?"

Well, I said it would be if it wasn't that it's made clear in the word of God what it is. And it's the word of God. It's his word. "For the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

And Paul says in Ephesians 6:17, "And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. But with righteousness shall he judge the poor and reprove with equity the meek of the earth; and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked." That's Isaiah 11:4.

Now do you notice that it's made clear that it's the word of God? It was the word of God that created this universe. It's the word of God that will save you. It's not by corruptible seed, but incorruptible, by the word of God which liveth and abideth forever. That's the way you're born again.

And it will be the word of God that will destroy the wicked at the end of this age. Did you notice up to this time, Satan's not in hell? We're going to see that next time. And so until then, may God richly bless you, my beloved.

Steve Schwetz: You can learn more about what God's unfolding plans are for this world and for your life when you click on "How Can I Know God?" in our app or at TTB.org or call 1-800-65-BIBLE if you'd like some information sent to you by mail. And then join me this weekend for Dr. McGee's Sunday Sermon, "What and Where Is Heaven?" It's from Revelation 21.

I'm Steve Schwetz, and as always, I'll meet you back here next time as we make our way thru the Bible. Today's study is always available, free to stream or download, thanks to the generous and faithful investments from your fellow Bible Bus travelers. Just go to TTB.org or download our app to listen again anytime. As always, we'd love to know what's God teaching you?