Useful Bible Studies > Revelation Commentary > chapter 19
John does not tell us who the ruler of heaven’s armies is. However, there is never really any uncertainty. God’s people know who leads them (John 10:1-10). They know that Christ alone can save them.
So John continues his special description of Christ as the judge and the leader of heaven’s armies. The description of Christ’s eyes is the same as in the earlier description (1:14). They burn like fire; he sees everything, he knows everything. Nobody can stand against him.
Christ wears many diadems. The diadem was a band that went round a king’s hat. So, Christ’s diadems show his royal rank and his great authority.
Christ has a name that nobody knows except himself. Perhaps that is evidence of his greatness. In Genesis 32:29 and Judges 13:17-18, angels (special servants of God) refused to tell people their names. If the name of angels is too wonderful to speak, the name of Christ must be even more wonderful (Hebrews 1:4).
The blood on his clothes could be his own blood, or his enemies’ blood. Hebrews 9:11-24 shows the importance of his own blood. It is because of Christ’s death that he will completely defeat his enemies (Hebrews 2:14). However, the reference could be to the blood of his enemies, as in Isaiah 63:2-3. Then the blood shows how completely he defeats those enemies.
The Word (of God) is the name that John used for Christ in John 1:1-14 and 1 John 1:1. It reminds us that Christ was present in the beginning. In Genesis chapter 1, God spoke his Word, and so he created everything. Christ already existed then; he has always been God. There is one God; Father, Son and Spirit.
Next part: The armies of heaven (Revelation 19:14)
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© 2016, Keith Simons.