Good Friday

Yesterday, I read this about Jesus, the rider (Revelation 19:11 – 20:2):

¹¹I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. ¹²His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. ¹³He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. ¹⁴The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. ¹⁵Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.”  He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. ¹⁶On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:
       KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

 ¹⁷And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God, ¹⁸so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and mighty men, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, small and great.”

 ¹⁹Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army. ²⁰But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. ²¹The rest of them were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.

Revelation 20

The Thousand Years

 ¹And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. ²He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years…

When I read this, I thought back to the great epic movies such as the Lord of the Rings series where in every war scene, there is a great battle with the good guys advancing, then with ominous music, the bad guys start to gain ground and maybe one or two of the main characters are injured or killed and then with great effort, the good guys win in the end.  This battle described in Revelation will be nothing like that.  Do you see verses 19-21?  It just says that the beast will be captured and then in Rev 20, it says that an angel binds Satan with a chain.  There will be no battle like we are used to seeing – just victory.

Reading this passage so close to celebrating Easter really demonstrated to me that Jesus died on a cross completely voluntarily.  He didn’t die with eyes blazing like fire or ready for battle like He will appear whenever the events described in Revelation 19 happen.  He simply gave His life over for us as if He had no power.  For the purpose of creating a path for us to be in communication with the Father.  Because that was the only way.  I don’t fully understand why it had to be that way but I don’t have to.

Now, a song by Todd Agnew again demonstrating God’s power: