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[0:00] I'd like us to think this evening about these verses 11 to 16 in chapter 19 of Revelation. I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse, and he that sat upon him was called faithful and true, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war, and so on to the verse 16.

[0:21] He hath on his vesture, and on his thigh a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. We could sum these verses up in two words.

[0:32] We might use the term Christ triumphant. This is the Lord being seen to come in his omnipotent, conquering power. And there is a sense in which even that which John has seen up until now has not yet fully revealed the glory and power and dreadfulness, in the true sense of the word, of Christ in his all-conquering power.

[1:00] When he comes as the King of kings, as the Lord of lords, when he comes as a conquering hero, there is no standing against him. He is irresistible in that sense.

[1:12] Now, of course, John has seen many wonderful things, but the very fact that it says at verse 11, I saw heaven opened. We can only take this to mean that despite all that he has seen of the heavenly realms, there is, as it were, a further curtain drawn back, an even greater glory, a deeper splendor and wonder that is now revealed to him, which was not revealed before.

[1:38] In a sense, we might say, well, this is kind of what's reflected in the tabernacle, and also in the temple where there were the respective courts, you know, there was the outer court, and then there was the holy place, and then there was the holy of holies, you know, the most sacred place of all.

[1:53] And as though our curtain in heaven has been drawn back, and suddenly even greater glory has been revealed than what John has seen up until now.

[2:04] Now, as we will see in the course of this evening's brief, look at these verses, much of what appears here is a reiteration, a fulfilment of what appears in various other places of Scripture already.

[2:20] The Word of God, it's almost like an ocean, not only in its depths and in its variety, whether calms or storms or whatever, but also in terms of like the waves coming up on a shore.

[2:31] You know, where does one wave end and another begin? And you'll see in a sense, it's not straight repetition, but almost a revisiting of the same theme, and then a wave goes back, and then maybe hundreds of years later, another expression of the same thing through a different prophet, or through a different apostle or whatever, but the same themes, the same things being reiterated again and again.

[2:54] The Lord does not leave himself without a witness, because time and time again, he is wanting us to know this is what God is like. Now, of course, when the Lord Jesus says, to his apostles, he that had seen me had seen the Father.

[3:10] And how sayest thou then, show us the Father? Now, what is he saying? This is what God is like. And, of course, we think of him in his humility, in the days of his flesh, in his ministry, and we think of him being kind and gentle with little children, as we saw on the Lord's Day evening, and taking them up in his arms and blessing him.

[3:26] We see him being merciful to lepers, and to the fallen, and to those who are outcast by society. But there is also a sense in which we see him, particularly towards the end of Scripture, in its fulfillment, and also in some of the prophets, as the all-conquering God, before whom there is no rising up.

[3:49] He is the one who will ultimately defeat and destroy all his enemies. And I would suggest to you that there's a significance in the context here, again, of chapter 19.

[4:02] What do we have in the early part of chapter 19? We have this suggestion of coming to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to him, verse 7, for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

[4:20] And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. Now, of course, what righteousness do saints have?

[4:31] They don't have any, except what Christ gives them, that they are clothed in his righteousness. They are, as Jeremiah says, chapter 23, verse 6, He is the Lord, our righteousness. And as he comes in this dreadful power and glory, there's no suggestion that his bride is afraid of him.

[4:50] There's no suggestion that she has anything to dread. She loves him with a love that is now perfected. And as we read in 1 John, your perfect love casteth out fear.

[5:01] And, of course, our love is not perfect, feet upon earth, but it will be perfected hereafter in glory. Who is the lamb's wife, as we are taught here?

[5:12] Well, she has made herself ready. She has come. She is prepared. And we see, for example, who she is, if we go a little bit further back.

[5:23] Because we read about the four and twenty elders, we read those who worshipped him that sat upon the throne. And then we see at verse 6, I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings.

[5:40] Now, the voice of the great multitude is almost certainly that which we have referred to previously in chapter 7. If you turn back, we need to chapter 7, you will see that you've got the ceilings of all the twelve tribes, or a different expression of all the twelve tribes.

[5:57] Dan is conspicuously missing. Joseph is, in fact, translated into three tribes. Joseph himself, and Ephraim, and so on. But twelve tribes are expressed. And all the twelve tribes are given there.

[6:09] And we read it, verse 9, Here we have the white robes again, as we have here at verse 8, chapter 19.

[6:30] Arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, and palms in their hands, who cried in a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God, which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the land.

[6:41] These are the redeemed. Excuse me. The redeemed of all nations, who have been sort of bought with his blood out of all the nations under heaven, because we are told explicitly, they are from all these nations, this multitude, which no matter the number of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne.

[7:02] Now that would suggest to us that whatever native language may be spoken in the depths of the jungles of Borneo, or the Amazon jungles of South America, or Native American Indians in North America, or African tribes, or whatever, or indeed our own Gaelic language, or English, or French, or all these tribes and tongues all over the world, there will be some redeemed from every single one of these nations and peoples.

[7:29] And there will not be a single racial or tribal grouping on the face of the earth who do not have at least some representation amongst all these nations, tribes and tongues, because it says in God's infallible word that in that vast, innumerable crowd, which is known to God in its fixed number of perfection, but no man could number, the earth of all nations and tribes and tongues and so on.

[7:56] These are collectively the church triumphant. These are those who, whatever their domestic situation upon earth, where of course our Lord in the days of his humility was a single man, unmarried, giving himself only to his mission and to his work and calling, in heaven, he is gloriously married to his bride, where as far as human beings who are redeemed are concerned, there is neither marrying nor giving in marriage to each other, but there is this one final spectacular marriage of the Lord's people as the bride of Christ to himself, the marriage supper of the Lamb.

[8:38] This is who the bride is, the bride of Christ, the bride of the Lamb, who made herself ready, she's clothed in his perfect righteousness. What has been happening to the bride during her time upon earth?

[8:53] What has happened to the Christian church? Well, we know for that fact, of course, in our present day, Christians are the most persecuted people group on the face of the earth, and that they are the most ignored, they are the most discriminated against, they are the most often slaughtered and nobody takes any notice, but God takes notice and God sees.

[9:15] Now, if you consider it, think in terms of an earthly situation, an earthly parable. Suppose you have some poor, wretched young woman who is battered and abused and ill-treated by everyone around her and then all these people are gathering at a big event and they realize suddenly to their amazement and dread that this person that they have so abused and vilified is there in the position of honor about to be married to the most powerful, let's use the word, say, tyrant, if it were to make men fear, but God is not a tyrant in that sense, he is absolutely powerful, completely omnipotent against whom there is no rising up and here is she, the centen of the day, the centre of the celebration being brought to her husband of whom she doesn't stand in fear, but now that he is entering into the fullness of his joy, of his glory, you know, like it says in the song of Solomon, go forth,

[10:16] O ye daughters of Zion, and behold King Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, in the day of the gladness of his heart. This is the day of Christ's gladness of his heart, the marriage of the Lamb, where having not been married upon her, he is gloriously married in heaven to his bride, the redeemed of every nation, tribe, and tongue.

[10:42] And now, having entered into the fullness of becoming not only God the Son, but the Son of Man, and of course, this is one of what we might say at rites of passage, how do we define a boy becoming a man?

[10:54] Well, one of the things is when he takes on the responsibility of such marriage. Now, that's not to speak disrespectably of Christ beforehand, but he becomes truly the Son of Man as well as the Son of God, partly with this glorious marriage.

[11:08] But now, what is part of the honour? What is part of the power and the protectiveness of such a new husband?

[11:18] What is he going to do in respect of the honour of his new wife as he looks with all-seeing gaze upon those who have ill-treated her in the past?

[11:32] This is the love of his life. This is the one who has plighted her troth to him and he to her. She is the centre and joy of his marriage supper and before him he sees those who have reviled her and abused her and slaughtered her members and adherents and followers all over the world.

[11:57] What do you think he is going to do? Here is the context in which the curtain of heaven is drawn back and to the terror of the nations of the world but to the joy of those who are redeemed out of those nations of the world comes forth Christ.

[12:21] I saw heaven opened and behold a white horse and he that sat upon him was called faithful and true and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

[12:37] Now the horse was the instrument of war in the same way as the donkey or the ass is the expression of peace. When Christ comes into Jerusalem on what some would refer to as Palm Sunday he comes in humility.

[12:53] He comes riding on a donkey and ass is called that nobody previously has yet ridden but he comes above all in peace. He comes in humility.

[13:04] He comes in a way in which anybody who wants to rise against him with violence will be able to overcome him. They can't do it until the pronounced time, until the time that he is appointed of course but they are able to overcome him physically because he comes in peace.

[13:20] But when he comes now he comes for war and he comes to conquer and there is no standing against him. He has not only the vindication of his father's honour at stake but the honour and vindication of his beloved spouse.

[13:39] Now just as we mentioned a minute ago how out of all the nations and tribes and tongues under heaven there will be some dawn I would suggest to you for every single nation every single people group every single language under heaven there will be souls there belonging to those groupings from all but they are whilst then every tribe every nation every country in the world will be represented there along with the tribes of Israel those who are redeemed from the tribes of Israel it is likewise the case that his people are redeemed out of those nations and whilst undoubtedly there will be Scottish people and there will be English and Irish and French and so on amongst the redeemed the majority I would suggest to you in all the nations under heaven will not have been redeemed and all the nations under heaven all the nations that are left will have left themselves as the enemies of the conquered king what is going to happen to them well we know what is going to happen to them these are they who have reviled his pride these are they who have attacked and turned themselves against his people because they belonged to him his people were the soft target ultimately they were shaking their fist at heaven ultimately God was their target what is going to happen we know what is going to happen now there is no against such a conquering king he has come to vindicate and avenge his beloved son the white horse is the symbol not only as we say of war and of conquering but also if you think about it of speed he is not coming on foot he is coming with a horse until comparatively recently until the 20th century anyway the horse was the fastest means of military movement and so it indicates partly the speed and the power with which he comes if you have ever sort of stood on the ground when an equestrian event is going on and people are jumping over obstacles or whatever and then you see several horses maybe galloping together the ground shudders underneath you if you were ever standing in front of an actual cavalry charge and it's coming against you it must have been absolutely terrifying because the whole ground would be shaking when a set number of horses and their riders are coming against you now this is heaven opened and he that sat upon the white horses called faithful and true his eyes were as a flame of fire the armies which were in heaven followed him up with white horses clothed in fine linen white and cream there is no standing against this army this is an army which is going to sweep all before it and when it does so it will do so justly and righteously why because he that sat upon him was called faithful and true the enmity which the world has against he who is called faithful and true as referred to various times throughout evolution if we see for example if we look at verses 14 not verse 14 in bigger part we see verse 19 saw the beast the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse and against his army there is still continuing in their enmity against him we turn back to chapter 16 we see verse 16 there that we gathered them together into a place that is called in the

[17:25] Hebrew tongue Armageddon this is the same battle that is envisaged the spirits of devils which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world to gather them to battle of that great day of God almighty behold I come as a thief blessed is he that watch and keep of his lest he walk naked and they see his shame he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon likewise in chapter 20 verse 9 they went up on the breadth of the earth and come past the camp of the saints of art and the beloved city and fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them there is this final last battle in which there is no standing against this conquering God he that sat upon him upon the horse was called faithful and true now this is an aspect of God and his truth which is repeated again and again chapter 21 verse 5 he that sat upon the throne said behold I make all things new he said unto him write for these words are true and faithful and true and true and the

[18:36] Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to show up the things which must shortly be done likewise if we think of what Jesus says to his disciples in John 17 and verse 17 he's praying to his father he says sanctify them through thy truth thy word is truth and again he says in chapter 14 of John at verse 16 I am the way the truth and the life we go back to Isaiah we see chapter 25 at verse 1 O Lord thou art my God I will exalt thee I will praise thy name for thou hast done wonderful things thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth this is the characteristic of God faithfulness and truth he that sat upon the horse is called faithful and true he will be faithful to his people faithful to his promises faithful to what he has said true to his word the world by contrast deals in infidelity deals in lies we can make a solemn promise we can take vows to

[19:41] God we can make promises to other people and we just break them or the world just likes to break them because it's no longer convenient well you contrast between what God is like and what the world is like remember how we said on the Lord's day how the Lord seeks people not their possessions he is not impressed with wealth with silver or gold or other things of his world he seeks the souls the people that are his and likewise he encourages his people to make him their greatest treasure the lamb is all the glory of Emmanuel will slant and remember how Paul wrote to the Corinthians I seek not yours but you he wants them this is what the Lord desires love to people value to people the desire that he has to individual souls to people the world by contrast seeks not you but yours if you think about it the thief pays you the compliment of saying the things that you possessed are actually pretty good you know they're quite desirable that's why you've got it and I want it and I'm going to take it and you know this can leak to all manner of pride and stupidity and so on

[21:01] I'm sure I remember telling you in the past on the one occasion when our family home in Aberdeen was actually burgled and the team that did it did three houses in different parts of Aberdeen and it was reported then in the papers a few days later how in one house you know goods to the value of say you know 1500 pounds or whatever to take in another house 700 and something pounds worth of goods to take in and in our house like 326 pounds of goods and I thought oh you know makes us look pretty poor pretty bad I had this stupid sense of pride at wishing more had been taken from our house to make us look better to make us look kind of as if we were worth a bit more the thief pays you the compliment at least of saying that what you have is desirable you've got I want it thanks I'll take it I don't care about you but I want your stuff the adulterer pays you the compliment of saying your wife's actually pretty decidable I'll have her thank you very much don't care about you don't care about your holy solemn vows don't care about your marriage

[22:01] I want what you've got the world the world focuses on what is yours not on what is you it doesn't care about you as a person it wants your stuff it wants your goods it wants your riches it wants your wealth it wants your fame it wants what you've got and in some ways one of the compliments the world pays is to say I wish I was like that person I wish I had what he's got what she's got I wish I was more like them so that I would have the adulation the wealth the power the celebrity status that they've got I don't want them but I want what they've got and this is the opposite of God he is not interested in possessions he is not interested in heaping up the dust of this world and calling it wealth or power he is interested in the souls he is interested in the people the individuals behind it he is faithful he is true in righteousness he doth judge and make war now we think oh war is not a nice thing war is a bad thing it's not a good thing to do but there comes a stage sometimes where warfare is the only way to secure the safety and protection of both the vulnerable and the innocent eventually we must go to war with evil that is what

[23:23] God is doing here that is what Christ is doing here he judges he goes to war and he does so righteously now of course one of the most famous passages about judging is in the sermon on the mount where we are told not to judge judge not that ye be not judged for with what judgment ye judge ye shall be judged and with what measure ye meet it shall be measured to you again but of course John likewise says in chapter 7 verse 24 4 where he says you know judge not according to the appearance but judge righteous judgment James of course says likewise in James in chapter 4 and verses verse 10 to 12 he says humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and he shall lift you up speak not evil one of another brother he did speak of evil his brother and judgeth his brother speak of evil of the law and judgeth the law but if thou judge the law thou art not a doer of the law but a judge there's one lawgiver who is able to save and to destroy who art thou that judgest another now the sense here is not the sense of oh judge not so you know don't care about anything don't bother about anything don't worry about how anything goes you know it doesn't really matter but rather it's in the sense of what we find in Romans you know chapter 14 verse 4 who art thou that judgest another man's servant to his own master he standeth or falleth yea he shall be holding up for God is able to make him stand it's not in the sense of judgment is wrong it's in the sense of you and I we're not really competent to judge and we you and I have to be careful the kind of judgment we meet out is the kind of judgment that we are saying this is okay judging people like this this is okay to treat people like this and then we're saying so this is how

[25:15] I want to be treated do unto others as you have them do to you if you're content to judge others you're content that kind of judgment returns in your own head so he's saying don't you judge don't you judge others don't you judge another man's servant leave that judgment to God leave that to God to implement his truth his law excuse me his commands because he will fulfill his commands his law is truth his commandments are true he is faithful and true in righteousness he that judge and make war we shall all appear before the judgment seat of Christ his eyes was a flame of fire and on his head were many crowns now remember how Revelation chapter 1 of course at verse 14 it makes this same description his head and his hairs were white like wool it was white as snow his eyes was a flame of fire what do we understand by these flaming eyes we understand by these flaming eyes eyes that see right through here eyes that see all your hidden thoughts all your hidden desires all your secret hatreds all your secret sins as we mentioned again on the Lord's day do you know chapter 4 of Hebrews it says verse 13 neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight that all things are naked and open unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do there is no hiding from his eyes there is a flame of fire he sees all things on his head were many crowns and he had a name written that no man knew but he himself this name is secret chapter 3 of course we read in the letter to the seven churches there verse 12 him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God he shall go no more out and I will write upon him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God which is New Jerusalem which cometh down out of heaven from my God and I will write upon him my new name it's not stated it's a secret but a name that no man knew but he himself this is distinct from the name that is given king of kings and lord of lords that's a sort of title but the name is secret no man knew but he himself he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood and his name is called the word of God now is this this vesture dipped in blood if something is not just spattered or sprinkled with blood it's actually dipped into it and that would apply that it is soaked in it and has become reflective of that colour of whatever it's dipped into it's dipped in blood that it is soaked in blood it is effectively a red garment altogether now again this is that which has been hinted at before in the prophets

[27:59] Isaiah 63 you know who is this that cometh from Edom with dyed garments from Boswell this that is glorious in his apparel travelling in the greatness of his strength I that speak in righteousness mighty to say wherefore art thou red in thine apparel and thy garments like him that treadeth in the wine fire I have trodden the wine press alone and of the people there was none with me but I will tread them in my anger and trample them in my fury and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments and I will stain all my limit for the day of vengeance is in my heart and the year of my redeemed is come and I looked and there was none to help and I wondered that there was none to uphold therefore my own arm brought salvation unto me and my fury it upheld me likewise at chapter 59 verse 16 he saw that there was no man wondered that there was no intercessor therefore his arm brought salvation unto his righteousness it sustained you see this vesture that is dipped in blood you might say well is it the blood of his enemies or is it his own blood there is a sense in which it is at different stages both and because the scripture ultimately refers to Christ in his different appearances to begin with as we said he comes in a donkey rather than a horse to begin with he comes and he delivers redeemed mankind alone he comes with the the outpouring of his own blood which alone delivers his garments are stained with the sweat blood and tears that he has shed in Kethseman he is literally sweated blood when his garment was put back on him after he had been scourged it would have become stained in his blood it is that blood which alone delivers and there is none else to deliver save them but as he comes now in glory this dipping in the blood this is like the one press of God's wrath against unrepentant sin and the price of that unrepentant sin is death the blood that he shed is the blood of his enemies he comes and he completely destroys them there is no standing against them so likewise his name is called the word of God now we know of course what it says in John's account of the gospel the word was made flesh and dwelt among us we beheld his glory the glory as of the only big offer the father full of grace and truth now notice if you look at

[30:43] John 1 14 you'll see that we beheld his glory the glory as of the only world of the father is in brackets now a sentence has to make sense without brackets so the full of grace and truth doesn't refer to his glory it refers to the word that was made flesh the word that was made flesh and dwelt among us full of grace and truth if you take away the brackets so it is Christ coming in his flesh the word that was made flesh Jesus is the word of God our creator as well as our redeemer it is the word that brings everything into being in the beginning was the word the word was with God and the word was God you know God said let there be light and there was light in the beginning the earth was without form and void darkness was on face of the beast the spirit of God moved upon the face of the water and God said let there be light until God said there was nothing in the beginning was the word it is by his word that all things are created it is by the word made flesh that men and women are redeemed it is by the sword that proceedeth out of his mouth that the nations are judged and overcome the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses clothed and fine under white and clean out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword sword of the spirit which is the word of God again Hebrews 4 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 and of the joints and mannel and is discerned of the thoughts and intents of the heart you know

[32:22] Christ could easily use physical weapons physical steel and iron but all these things are just symbolic expressions of his power all he has to do to judge the nations all he has to do to make them completely defeated is to speak is to say the word the sword that gave it out of his mouth that with it he should smite the nations he shall rule them with a rod of iron it doesn't bend it doesn't just give way he treadeth the wine press of the fierceness and wrath of almighty God this word this word is that against which there is no standing this word is that which rules Psalm 33 verse 6 by the word of the Lord will the heavens make and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth he gathereth the waters of the sea together as a heap he layeth up the depth in storehouses let all the earth fear the Lord let all the inhabitants of the world stand on him for he spake and it was done he commanded and it stood fast this is the strength of the word of God and he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written

[33:42] King of Kings and Lord of Lords now you see it's true as Paul says we shall all stand before the judgment seeking Christ there's no escaping him and you know as Paul writes to the Thessalonians likewise you know he shall destroy his enemies consume them with the spirit of his mouth the spirit of God and the word of God speak with the same voice how can anyone say as many do you know oh well you know that's what the word says written now we've got a new word from the spirit God is doing a new thing he's saying something new to us he may say new things to us but it will always be consistent with his revealed and written word the spirit of God cannot will not and does not ever contradict the word of God and that is where so many branches of the church fall down in this day and age he is King of Kings and Lord of Lords and we will all meet him all of us whether we believe in him and acknowledge him or not we will meet him either as this conqueror against whom there is no standing or prior to that we will have been shown him on the cross and before that he comes to us in his cradle it is because men have rejected the Christ of the cradle the Christ child oh yes they like to celebrate his birth and say oh isn't it great to have a celebration of Jesus birth and so on if they even remember Jesus birth but again we are back to this we like your party

[35:24] Jesus we like to celebrate your birthday we want to gate crash this party but we don't actually want you we don't really want baby Jesus or even if we want baby Jesus we don't want the Jesus that grows up to be the man of Calvary we don't want really to look at the cross but even if we do we certainly don't want to believe in this conqueror but as surely as Christ from all eternity has been looks God the son who would come as the conqueror as surely as he was the word made flesh as surely as he was the lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world and the cross would be a reality so likewise his coming first in the cradle is his coming in humanity his coming in weakness his self revealing of his grace and mercy and his invitation to men and women to receive him in that humility in that weakness in that grace which is so non-threatening that he invites us to receive him in that way he invites us likewise to look to the cross and be moved with pity and compassion and sorrow for what our sins have done but if we continue unmoved by the gentleness of his cradle unmoved by the suffering and agony of his cause there is nothing left to us but the conqueror who comes with his eyes as a flame of fire and on his head many cries and out of his mouth going a sharp two-edged sword that with it he should smite the nations and it will be no use them saying ah yes but Lord you can't smite us look at all the churches in our land look at all the people in our country who are Christians and the Lord would say yes it's okay

[37:25] I've got them here don't worry but what about all the churches that were did you ever go into them what about all the Bibles we had did you ever read them what about all the ways in which Christianity was part of our life did you ever bother me to Christ no all these opportunities spurned rejected mocked the abused future bride kicked about in the gutter before she is set up on the throne next to her beloved she is not afraid she has been redeemed out of all the nations under heaven and those nations condemned will see the saved there beside their Lord and shall all the tribes of the earth mourn if they would not have Christ in the cradle and if they would turn away from Christ on the cross there is nothing left but Christ the conqueror and it is they who will be conquered and in terror and dread they will flee to the only other place they can go which is the beast and his army but they will not stand a chance there either the ramdod were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse which sword proceeded out of his mouth and all the fowls were filled with their flesh but before he comes in that way although it is revealed to us although we are taught it although it is spoken in his word although it is written for all time before it is fulfilled in eternity we are given the opportunity we are given the chance to be part of the bride of Christ rather than the rebellion against him there will be those from our nation from our peoples who will be seated at his right hand as part of his glorious holy bride there will be those from our nation who will be reviling him to the last and who will be destroyed as part of that godless rebellion every nation under heaven every tribe every town will have people on both sides of that divide and the flags of our nations and this language we speak and the culture we inherit and the heritage that we share will not be that which binds us down we will have shared it upon earth but only one thing will unite the Lord's people in heaven and that is who so just as it is that which unites them more strongly upon earth so it shall be in heaven this is a dandia if we speak not inherently this is that which is prophesied and which shall infallibly come to pass when all that John has seen up until now is surpassed even by this as the curtain of heaven is drawn back

[40:27] I saw heaven opened and behold a white horse and he that sat upon him was called faithful and true and in righteousness feedeth judge and make war he is coming to make war at last upon evil coming to make war at last upon unbelief against abuse against violence against tyranny and corruption and sin and all that has denied him and all that has set itself against his beloved bride whom he has himself raised up from the gutter of abuse where she has been left as it were for dead he has bathed her in his own tears washed her in his blood clothed her in his righteousness set the crown of gold upon her head and seated her at his own right hand as he views now through those eyes of flame of fire all those who have made themselves her enemy and have made thereby a terrible enemy of her husband and the lover of her soul

[41:45]  I saw heaven opened and behold the white horse this is our one source of hope that before he comes as the conqueror he first goes to the cross and before even the cross he is first laid as an infant in the cradle this is something worth celebrating provided we lose not sight of what and who we are to focus on because if we desire only the wrappings and not the gift we will be left at the end of the day with a pile of rubbish and have missed the greatest gift of all focus upon him because having been presented with him in his cradle having been faced with him upon the cross we shall behold him either from the throne or from the field of rebellion as the conquering king of kings and lord of lords people as the rose men as50