Heavenly Army

The main purposes of the book of Revelation is to help Christians see their situation from the spiritual purpose. We often become so absorbed by what we see, we forget that situation is quite different when seen from the spiritual perspective.

All Christians are seated with Jesus in the heavenly realms. We are not just sitting there passively, but doing the stuff that God wants done to bring in the Kingdom. In Rev-elation 19:11-18, John describes an army of people dressed in white robes riding to victory on white horses.

I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His 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. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Rev 19:11-16).

This was not a description of the second coming. John was describing a spiritual reality, outside the scope of human seeing. He was explaining to the church how it appears during times of trial and trouble.

The golden crown and the white horses remind us that Jesus is a king above all other kings. He does not fight with physical weapons, but bring justice through the proclamation of the gospel. His robe is dipped in blood to remind us of his suffering. The armies following are dressed in white robes to indicate their suffering for the sake of righteousness.

A church that is being severely persecuted and is being decimated by political powers looks very different in the spiritual dimension. To Christians involved in the struggle, the suffering feels intolerable and the gospel seems to be going backwards. In the spiritual realm, these Christians are a mighty army following Jesus to build his Kingdom. Pushing this marvellous passage to the end of the age robs those who suffer for Jesus and his Kingdom of a great promise of hope.