What does Revelation 19:12-16 mean?
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Starting with v11, this is the rider on the White Horse of Revelation 19. This is clearly Jesus, in His glorified state, doing warfare on the Earth.
A primary breakdown of the basic level of symbolism could be expressed as follows:
The rider is clearly Jesus.
His White Horse would symbolize victory and triumph, as well as purity and righteousness (based on the color white--you can research Biblical meanings of colors, as well as the Biblical meaning of horses).
The eyes burning with fire could be interpreted as judgment, fury, wrath, holiness (in terms of an all-consuming fire), as well as other takes. The general sense is that what He look at, He burns with the fire of His gaze. Consider the Proverbs, which says that the King winnows evil with his eyes. He actually divides good and evil as one separates wheat and chaff. For further analysis, you could study 'fire' throughout the Scriptures with a concordance.
The NIV says "many crowns". He is the King of Kings, the King of all Kings, and Ephesians says He has greater dominion than anyone else, both now and forever, and hence, the crowns symbolize his royalty and rule, just as any crown would any king. He has 'many', because He is ruler of all.
He has a name written that no one knows but Himself. This speaks of His authority, and also parallels to the Ephesians 1 name, better than any that can be given in this age and the next. Names speak of authority, which is why people pray "in Jesus' name".
He is in a white robe, which elsewhere in Revelation symbolizes righteous deeds or acts. All the Lord's dealings are righteous. Garments speak of acts, and the whiteness, cleanness, and unspottedness speaks of sinlessness, in general.
It is dipped in blood. This is the blood of His enemies which He is slaying. This, on His white robe here, symbolizes His righteousness in executing His wrath. This does not take away from their sinlessness.
His Name is the Word of God. He is the Logos of John 1:1. Again, clearly Jesus.
The armies of heaven also follow Him on similar white horses and white robes, with the same general meaning.
The sword coming out of His mouth would be the Word of God, as the Ephesians 6 calls the Sword of the Spirit the Word of God. This is a metaphor throughout the New Testament (Hebrews 4:12, for example).
He is there ruling.
He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God, again, the reason for the blood on His robes. Winepresses usually left people with very purple or red feet and clothes. This "wine", however, is the blood of his enemies, as before. Searching Biblical encyclopedias on winepresses could be beneficial, as well as End Times commentaries on the winepress of God's wrath.
These are all the basic symbolisms, although they may vary from tradition to tradition. Most, if not all, are based within somewhere from the Word, and most, but not all, would have similar interpretations, without getting into any of the deeper meaning of the actually events taking place here.
Upvote:0
From the note below, it is the depiction of Christ as the glorious victor.
The Navarre Bible New Testament Compact Edition note on Rev 19:11-21 has:
The prophetical account of the fall of Rome, given in the form of a proclamation, is followed by a description of Christ endowed with power (vv. 11-16) to conquer permanently and decisively the forces of evil which have sustained the great city. Their defeat is narrated in reverse order to that in which they appear later in the book: the first to be conquered are the kings of the earth (vv. 17-18), then the beast and false prophet (vv. 20-21; cf. 17:16-17); finally, in a second eschatological battle Christ defeats the ancient enemy, Satan (cf. 20:1-10; 13:2). Not until this happens will the General Judgment take place (20:11-15). The depiction of Christ as the glorious victor (vv. 15-16) is similar to that at the start of the book: attention is focussed on different parts of the body (though not in any systematic way: cf. 1:5, 12-16); he seems to be the same person as the rider on the white horse mentioned when the first of the seven seals was about to be opened (cf. 6:2). "The whole of man's history has been the story of dour combat with the powers of evil, stretching, so our Lord tells us, from the very dawn of history until the last day. Finding himself in the midst of the battlefield, man has to struggle to do what is right, and it is at great cost to himself, and aided by God's grace, that he succeeds in achieving his own inner integrity"(Vatican II, GS, 37).
Upvote:3
Can anyone interpret Revelation 19:12-16 for me?
Revelation 19:11-16 And 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. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth 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 and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
If you take a look at the book of Revelation you find that the first three chapters are comments to seven churches. The rest of the book is a description of;
4-5 Jesus as the lamb of God found worthy to open a scroll that is sealed. 6-18 As the scroll is opened different seals are broken which allow various things to happen on earth. 19 The return of Jesus and his victory. 20 The 1,000 year reign of Jesus and the first and second resurrection and final judgment. 21-22 New heaven and new earth, city of God, eternal state.
The opening of the scroll allows various judgments to come on the earth. At the end of this time many left on earth are so angry with Jesus that they want to make war with him. Those who were Christians and died return with him.
The illustration of the sword is reflective of the the power of the word of God.
The world was created by this power.
Genesis 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
Jesus used this power to defeat Satan.
Luke 4:4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
In the armament for Christians to use in spiritual warfare, the only offensive weapon is the word of God.
Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
The picture we have from Revelation is of a 200,000,000 man army ready to fight Jesus. They are not defeated by anything other than his word.
The fire in the eyes may be a figurative description of the set purpose Jesus has to reclaim the earth and put an end to the debauchery, the vile rebellion of the people, and the persecution of the saints. Especially as this directly follows the description to "judge and make war".
The crowns may be real crowns that are given to Jesus and may represent his faithfulness.
Revelation 5:12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.
The passages present us with a clear picture of Jesus as King and Conqueror.
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