January 26

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Revelation 19:11-16 (selected)

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 makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns…

On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:

KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

I don’t have a good history with horses. They are beautiful and powerful creatures, of course, but I just like them more from a distance! When I was about 8 years old or so my father had a friend at church who had a small farm or ranch in Ohio. One Sunday this friend invited our whole family over for the afternoon. After dinner he offered to take us boys for a ride on one of his horses. That sounded like great fun so off we went. But when my turn came, because I was the oldest boy I guess, he put me on the horse by myself. So there I was, perched precariously on the saddle, and the horse just started trotting off on his own. I had no idea how to steer the animal, so I just held on for dear life. That worked out for about 10 seconds. Then the saddle I was sitting on began to slip. Somehow it had come loose and as the horse bounced me along, the saddle was slipping and I was sliding over sideways until – plop – I dropped right out of the now upside-down saddle onto the ground.

So I have always been very aware of the strength and power of horses. Interestingly, a horse, of all things, is a powerful symbolic element of Biblical teaching on the second coming of Christ.

In the great book of Revelation, the Apostle John is given a vision into heaven itself. 

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 makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns…

On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:

KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

What is John saying? Who is the rider on the white horse and what does it mean?

Historians tell us that, in the ancient world, when a king or emperor came into a city riding on a donkey, he was coming in peace.

But if that same king or emperor came riding on a white horse, it meant he was coming to conquer, to destroy and to lay waste!

The first time Jesus came, he came riding on a donkey. 

The prophet Zechariah said,

See, your king comes to you, humble and riding on a donkey... Zechariah 9:9

The prophet was talking about what we refer to as “Palm Sunday” – when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey as children lined the way singing “Hosanna! Hosanna!” And Jesus rode on a donkey because he was coming as the one who would bring peace through his sacrificial death on the cross!

But the next time we see him, the Bible says, Jesus will not be riding on a donkey, but, symbolically speaking, on a white horse, because he will be coming to conquer and to judge!

On that day Jesus will come with unimaginable power, authority and glory. He will come to judge all sin and wickedness; every wrong will be made right and his enemies will be completely destroyed. The Bible indicates that on that day, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord, because there will no longer be any doubt; there will no longer be any choice about who he is!

C.S. Lewis said it this way:

“God is going to invade…something so overwhelming that will strike either irresistible love or irresistible horror into every creature. It will be too late to choose your side…Now, today, this moment, is our chance to choose the right side…”

From “Mere Christianity” – courtesy of Pastor Jeff Frazier

But, notice, that day does not have to be met with fear and trepidation! Those who have freely chosen Christ as savior and king will face that day with great comfort, peace and celebration! But those who have rejected him, who have refused his offer of forgiveness and grace, they will face that day with fear and regret, for they will face the judgment of the one who is KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS.

Are you spiritually prepared for that day? As C.S. Lewis so eloquently put it, “Now, today, this moment, is our chance to choose the right side.”

I pray that you have chosen, perhaps even today, to receive Jesus into your heart as savior and king!

Pastor Brian Coffey