Okay, we're in chapter 19 of Revelation, so if everyone could turn back there. Last week we went through verse 10, so we're going to be starting in verse 11, and there's a shift here, a new vision that John receives. So as you turn there, I wanted to ask the question, how many of you enjoy a good story? Anybody? Anybody story lovers? You know, I love adventure stories. I love stories of good and evil fighting one another in these climactic battles. It seems like in the best of stories many times that good can appear to be on the losing side. Darkness is all around. And the forces of evil have grown great and the enemy appears on the verge of destroying those last survivors who remain. But there's always a turning point. There's always a turning point in the best of stories where when all hope is lost, there's a glimmer and a light on the horizon. There's a dawning, a sound of a trumpet, and foe and friend alike, they all turn to see, and out of darkness, a ray of hope appears, and a hero appears on the horizon. He stands. On his appearing, the enemy quakes. A faithful rejoice, and this hero, he swoops down on his enemies in a great battle, and victory is won. I love those stories. I love reading them. I love hearing them. I love watching them on the screen. And I love them because they remind me of something that is true. They remind me of a story that is beyond the story that we see. See, all these good stories, they point beyond themselves to the great story, the greatest story. It's to that great story, that true story that we turn today. In our passage today, we have just such an appearing. and appearing on the horizon. Every eye turns as our hero steps forward and his appearance is glorious. His enemies tremble and his people rejoice. And he swoops down in this climactic battle, the most climactic and greatest battle that creation has ever seen. Victory is at hand. That's what we get to look at today. So previously, In our text, we saw last week that John, he nearly bowed down in worship to this angel who had brought the Word of God to him. But now John gets a vision of Him to whom all worship is due, the Word of God Himself. Today, we get to see with John Jesus Christ, our Savior. Now, I'll admit that when I saw that I got to preach this text, I was a little bit excited. It is a joy to preach the Word of God and the people of God, but texts like this are what preachers long for, because it is my privilege and honor today, it's my duty to point each of us to our Savior, to hold Him up on high and declare to you to His church that this is our Christ, this is our Savior. So let's look at Him today. In Revelation 19, we're going to start in verse 11. Then I saw heaven opened. And behold, a white horse. The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True. And in righteousness, he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire. And on his head are many diadems. And he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood. And the name by which he is called is the Word of God. And the armies of heaven arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On His robe and on His thigh, He has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. As we gaze on our Savior today, I want to point out, I want to look at four wonders that Jesus reveals about Himself. I want you to first see that Jesus Christ is the righteous judge. Secondly, I want you to see that Jesus Christ is the King above all kings. Third, we're going to look at Jesus Christ, who is the Word of God. And then finally, I want us to look at Jesus Christ and see that He is the great leader of His people. So first, we're going to turn and see that Jesus Christ is the righteous judge. In verse 11, it starts off, Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True. And in righteousness, He judges and makes war. One of the often overlooked roles of Jesus Christ is that of judge. You know, we think of Him as Savior. We'll think of Him as friend for sinners, but we don't often think of Him as judge. You know, for many of us, that idea can be rather foreign. Now, I hope that as we walk through Revelation, you've come to think more and more in terms of Jesus Christ and His identity as judge. We've seen it time and time again, and again, one of the first things that strikes us in this vision today of Jesus Christ is that He is a judge. He is the judge. And as we look at this idea of judge, I want to highlight three things that are pointed out about his identity as a righteous judge. The first one is that he does give true verdicts. That what he decides is true. I want to look at his authority to judge, and then I want to see that he is the executor of those verdicts that he pronounces. So first, this identity of Jesus as a righteous judge. Jesus has the ability to give true verdicts, to judge rightly. To see the importance of this, think about what we know about human judges. They have an inability to judge rightly. We know this. We've always known this. Judges can be corrupt, and they are men. They are fallible. They can make decisions that are wrong. This is something we've known for a long time, but it is something that has come to us even more poignantly recently. Think about things like the Justice Project, where people will now with our technologies of DNA, people will go back and start looking at these cases that have been judged. Surely these men are guilty, and then finding out that many of them were not. We see that men are weak, and their judgments are never sure. But it's not so with Jesus Christ. He is the righteous judge and His judgments are always sure. What is the first name that is applied to Jesus as He appears on this white horse? He is called faithful and true. And this brings to mind the picture that Jesus Christ has already given of Himself in Revelation. Back when He spoke to the seventh church, He said, and to the angel of the church in Laodicea, write the words of the Amen. The faithful and true witness. The beginning of God's creation. He is the faithful witness. He is the true witness. He is the witness whose testimony is always true. It is always sure. And He witnesses to many things. We think of His witness to the nature and character of God. The person of God. Hebrews speaks of this and says, long ago at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets. But in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world. He is the radiance, the glory of God, and the exact imprint of His nature. Jesus Christ as the faithful and true witness reveals who God is to us. But more to the point of our passage today, he also, in the passage to the Laodiceans, Jesus Christ also reveals his faithful and true witness to declare the truth about men. You know, what is in a man? When he was speaking to the Laodicean church, he describes himself as the faithful and true witness because he's about to give this crushing verdict on the church, saying that this church that this church has compromised to the world to such an extent that He's about to spew them out of His mouth. And it's not just that church. It's not just that church that He pronounces these faithful and true judgments, these faithful witnesses of who men are. Repeatedly throughout the seven letters to the seven churches, He declares, I know your works. Jesus Christ knows our every work, our every thought, our every deed. When He pronounces judgment, His witness against us is sure and true. This picture of the truth, the true witness of Christ Jesus is expanded in our passage today when He says His eyes are like a flame of fire. His eyes are burning. They're piercing. Seeing right through any outer veneer that we might have. To what we might hide on the inside. Jesus used this picture before as well when He spoke to the church of Thyatira. And with the picture of eyes that burn with fire. And there He specifically connects it with this declaration, I am He who searches mind and heart. Jesus Christ searches our minds and hearts. Is that an unsettling idea? You know, it means He's not fooled. He's not fooled by the airs we put on. He's not fooled by the show that I might put on for others. I might convince myself. I might convince my neighbors, my coworkers, my church. You know, with my plays, outer plays of religious devotion, but Jesus Christ sees my heart. He sees your hearts. It is unsettling, but you know what? It's also a necessary, very necessary, and even comforting idea. You know what this means for us who are saved, who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus? It means that when He died on the cross, He chose of His own free will to save sinners like you and me. And it wasn't that He was fooled. It wasn't that He did not see the depths of our sins. He saw every part of it. He saw every sin, everything that was in me and you twisted with lust and rebellion. He knew and yet he chose to die. So he's not going to turn around on that day and be surprised and say, you know, that wasn't, that wasn't, I, I, I, I was going to die for that, for that man or that woman. I was going to die for him, but, but boy, I didn't know how bad he was. No, he knew the depths of our sin. Christ's church, none of us was ever worth saving. Yet, He knows that. He knows our hearts. And He chose to save us. Out of His love for us and His devotion to His Father, He chose to save us. And more than that, when He now declares His people as righteous, He's taken that judgment for our sins on Himself. And so when He declares us as righteous, when He counts us to be righteous, when He appears as our advocate before the Father saying my bride is holy and righteous and blameless, His verdict about us is true. It's true. He is the faithful and true witness. When we look at Jesus' identity as a righteous judge, I also want us to see that He has been given authority to judge. Those things that He sees about the world, about the church, and about our hearts, those are His to act on and His alone. Where does Jesus Christ obtain this authority? How does He have authority to be a judge? To be the judge? It's given to Him by His Father. Because of who He is. Jesus speaks of His authority to judge in John 5.27 when He says of Himself, the Father has given Him authority to execute judgment because He is the Son of Man. Jesus is the Son of Man. That apocalyptic figure we saw in Daniel 7. To whom God will give all authority to rule and all authority to judge. The reason Jesus can fulfill this role is because He is the God-Man. He is God who has wrapped Himself in flesh, and as God, He has authority to judge His creation. He's the second Person of the Trinity, and He's unified with His Father in this role as judge. Earlier in chapter 5 of John, it said, the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Jesus has authority to judge because God the Father has given Him that authority. He's the Son of Man. He is the God-Man. And you know what that means, church? He is the only one. He's the only one with authority to judge. There is no one else. Romans 12.19 makes this clear. It says, "...Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." Vengeance is His. Judgment is His. It is not ours. We are not to seek vengeance or judgment on others. We don't have the right. Jesus Christ has that right. So the third aspect of Jesus' role as judge that I want us to grasp here is that He is the executor of those verdicts that He pronounces. When we think of a judge, what do we think of usually? We think of an old man, right? An old man sitting behind a desk with a robe on. He sits behind that desk and he pronounces verdicts. He pronounces judgments. Yet he himself doesn't carry those out. Somebody else carries those out. It's not so with the judge of all the world. He is both the one who renders judgment. He declares the truth about the world's rebellion against God. He declares the truth about the rebellion within each one of us. And He doesn't stop there. He doesn't sit behind a desk, aloof and abstract. This judge both renders verdicts and he executes them. He brings vengeance on God's enemies. That's why he's described here as a warrior judge riding on a white horse in righteousness. He judges and makes war. Now, in our society, we tend to talk about Jesus as loving, as meek, as mild. That judgment and wrath stuff, we like to throw back on the Old Testament, on that Old Testament God who's angry and vengeful. But Jesus isn't like that, we like to say. Our culture likes to say. He protects us from that evil and angry God. Revelation knows no such absurdity. Jesus Christ is that avenging judge Himself. From His mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations and He will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. Jesus Christ is unified with the Father in the judgment of the world. He treads the winepress. You know, that awful picture we saw is given to us that just as grapes are crushed and their juices flow forth, so the enemies of God are crushed beneath the feet of Christ and their blood flows forth. This carnage is seen as well in the description of his garments. He's clothed in a robe, drenched in the blood of his enemies. He brings the wrath of God to bear on the sinfulness of man. There's no hint here of the modern attempts to separate the Old Testament God from the new, or the person of Jesus Christ from the holy God who judges sinners. Jesus is the avenging angel who deals death and judgment on rebellious sinners even as He slaughtered the firstborn of Egypt. He is Yahweh who rains down wrath from God on the world even as He stood long before and rained down fire from God out of heaven on Sodom and Gomorrah. Jesus is the rider on a white horse. A sword of judgment proceeds from His mouth and in righteousness He judges and makes war. That is our Christ Church. He is the judge of all the earth. We've seen Him here as the righteous judge. Let's turn and look at Him as the King of kings. The imagery of kingship is pervasive throughout this vision John relates to us here. In His appearing, Jesus rides astride a white horse. What does the white horse mean? You see, white horses in the time of John symbolized something. They symbolized honor, victory, conquest. When Caesar returned to Rome upon his victory, it's recorded that he was given a chariot drawn by four white horses. So when Christ appears astride a white horse, He comes on the scene as a conquering king. On His head we read, there are many diadems. So He's crowned with regal authority. His rule is established. A rule described by an unyielding rod of iron. And finally, the name we are left with. The name written on His robe and thigh declare who Jesus Christ is. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. Church, Jesus Christ is your King and Lord. In seeking to understand Jesus' identification as King, I want to point first to His identity as Creator. So just as we talked about last week, when we looked at the glorious reign of Christ, Jesus created all things and therefore they are under His control, under His kingship. Colossians 1, by Him all things are created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authority. All things were created through Him and for Him. Jesus' royal authority is the authority of the Creator over the creature. And not only is Jesus the Creator though, He's also the Anointed One. The Anointed One. He's anointed by the Father. Remember what His name means, Christ. Do you remember what that means? Christ. Christos. It's the same word, it's a Greek word and it's a rendering of that same word in Hebrew which we call Messiah. Christ. Messiah. They mean the same thing and they both mean anointed one. What does that have to do with kingship? Think about who was anointed in the Old Testament. Remember Samuel, he came to the house of Jesse and he was directed by God to choose the least of the sons of Jesse, David. And then he anointed him. He poured oil on his head and he anointed him to be the next king of Israel. That anointing was a sign of God's choosing of David. It was a sign of him being set apart for a holy and divine purpose to be king of God's people. Other kings after David were anointed. And they were anointed to be king over the nation. But remember, there was a promise given. There was a promise given in the Old Testament. A promise of a greater king to come. A king who would come from David's line whose kingdom would never end. Jesus was this Messiah. This Christ. This anointed One. This promised anointed One. That's why the New Testament writers, when they look at the Messianic Psalms, these Psalms that picture or that look forward to this anointed one, they say they spoke about Jesus. Psalms like Psalm 45, which reads, Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of Your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore, Your God has anointed You with the oil of gladness beyond Your companions. God has anointed Jesus Christ. And He set Him apart for a holy purpose. King of kings. More than oil that's poured from the prophet's hand. God the Father has poured upon Jesus Christ His own Holy Spirit, declaring from heaven, this is My Son with whom I am well pleased. Jesus is King of kings. King because He is the Creator of all things. King because He is the Anointed One. Christ is our King. This kingship of Christ is not something that's been without dispute. In fact, it's been disputed from the beginning. From the time of the fall. From that moment when Adam and Eve chose to believe the lies of the serpent, when they took the forbidden fruit and they declared their freedom from God's rule. We are our own kings, they said. And since that time, every one of us has been born into that rebellion. That rebellion from God, the rebellion from His kingship. We're all our own kings, we like to say. You know, that's the cry of modernity, of the modern man. We like to talk about words like autonomy and freedom. They're rallying points in our society. But rather than seeing freedom as something that's found in submission to Christ, Freedom from sin. Freedom from Satan. Freedom from the snares of the world. Modern man wants to have freedom from God. Freedom from his Christ. He wants to be autonomous, to make his own laws, not to follow the laws of his Creator. Modern man denounces the kingship of Jesus Christ. But, if there is to be any true freedom, Can it be had apart from the kingship of Jesus Christ? If we refuse to bow to the knee to Christ, what we refuse to understand is that we're always going to be bowing the knee to someone or something. Jesus talked about this when He told the Jews. He said, truly, truly I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. A slave to sin. People might want freedom from Christ, but they are left slaves to sin. That's what all of us have been born into. Rebellion against God. We don't submit to Jesus Christ. We're slaves to our sin. We can't stop sinning. It's out of our control. That sin that we have actually controls us. It's like an addict. What does he always do? He's craving the next drink. Craving the next puff or shot or whatever it is. The lusts of his flesh control him. That is us with our sin. Our sin controls us. Do we have hope? Is there any hope of freedom from our sin? Well, it's only in the kingship of Jesus Christ. Jesus declares that the Son sets you free. You will be free indeed. We have to turn to Jesus Christ in faith. We have to turn and submit to His kingship, His lordship. Bow the knee to Him and then you will have freedom. True freedom. Freedom from sin. Freedom from death. Freedom from Satan. So would you be free? Turn to Him. Believe on Him. Become a slave of Jesus Christ and you will be free. He rides on a white horse, there's many crowns upon his head, a rod of iron in his hand, and a name on his thigh. Church, this is our Christ. This is our King. So we've seen that Jesus Christ is the righteous judge. We've seen Him as the King of kings. I want us to turn now and see that Jesus Christ is the Word of God. In verse 13 of our passage today, John declares of the glorious writer, this judge and king, the name by which he is called is the Word of God. The Word of God. What does that mean to you? When you hear that name, the Word of God, it must have been odd for the Jews to hear that name. What did it bring to mind? Bring to mind God's creation of the world, how He spoke His Word and all things came into existence. The power and authority of the Creator are wrapped up in that name, the Word of God. For the Jew, this name might also bring to mind God's revelation to His people. The Word of God came to Moses, to the prophets. God revealed Himself by His Word. Creation and Revelation then are wrapped up in this name, the Word of God. But is there more? What does it mean that this rider on the white horse bears this name? You know, we need to go beyond just speculation because of associations with the Word of God in the Old Testament. For God has told us what this name means. He has told us who the Word of God is. In the prologue of the Gospel of John, there's an extended declaration of this name. John starts off with an amazing, amazing phrase. He says, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word was with God and the Word was God. With those few words, John gives us a clarity about the person of Jesus Christ that is undeniable and amazing. First, we see that Jesus Christ is God. He is Yahweh. And there's many people over the centuries who have denied this from starting early on. There was a man named Arius. And he declared that Jesus was merely an exalted creature, the first of God's creation, the greatest of God's creatures maybe, but a creature all the same. You know, people have followed in this heresy from the beginning. We see that in the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Mormons. We see that in Islam. We see that in other false religions. They all claim that Jesus was created, that He is not God. But from the earliest days, the Gospel of John, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, recorded by John, declares and defies these heresies, declares that in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. The Word was God. Jesus is no creature. The other heresy that's spoken against by this name, the Word of God, is that of modalism or Unitarianism. This teaching that acknowledges that Jesus is God, but that's because He is the Father. They put an equal sign. They say Jesus equals the Father. They said the Father was in heaven, but then the Father came down, turned into the Son, and then the Son went back up in heaven and turned into the Spirit, and then lived among us. That's called modalism. It's a heresy. It denies the realities of this name, the Word of God. Because what does John say? Before saying the Word was God, he says something equally amazing. The Word was with God. With God. If He's with God, then He can't be the same Person. There's a distinction as well as the unity there. A distinction between the Father and the Son and the Spirit. So that in the beginning, they all existed with one another. They're not the same Person. That's the wonder of the doctrine of what we call the Trinity. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Three distinct Persons all share in the divine nature of the Godhead. So we look today at this vision of Jesus Christ, and we read that the name by which He is called is the Word of God. And then we see that Jesus Christ, for who He is, He is God. He is the Son of God. And as God, and as the Son of God, He deserves our love and our worship. No one deserves worship except for God. Just prior to this, last week we read that John tried to bow down to an angel. He tried to worship the angel who came with the Word of God. This angel was awe-inspiring. And he brought to John the very words of God. And what did the angel do? He stopped him. He stopped the apostle and he declared, you must not do that. I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God. Church, God alone is to be worshiped. But so John looks again and he sees a heavenly vision on a white horse's seat of the rider who is judge and king. And this person is glorious and terrifying. Does John hesitate to worship this one? Ought we hesitate to worship this one? No. For His name is known. He is Jesus Christ, the Word of God. And it is right that we give Him all worship. That's why we're gathered here today is to worship Jesus Christ. to worship the Word of God. To exalt Him. So in identifying Jesus as the Word of God, John is calling to mind His divinity. He is God. He's calling to mind His Sonship. He is the Son of God. Second Person of the Trinity. But there's even more to this name, the Word of God. For in the prologue to the Gospel of John, we find another amazing statement. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The eternal Word. The second person of the Trinity. God Himself became flesh. He became a man. It's an amazing thing. A wonderful truth. Can God become a man? Can He who is immortal put on mortality? Can He who has no beginning be born as a baby? Can He to whom all worship and honors do put on weakness and humility? Paul speaks of Christ's incarnation this way. Though He was in the form of God, He did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself. By taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men, and being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. He who was God humbled Himself. He became a man and then He died a sinner's death. That is what Jesus Christ has done. You know, even to speak of God dying seems like foolishness. Foolishness to the world. It doesn't make sense. That's why 1 Corinthians 2 says plainly, none of the rulers of this age understood this. They didn't understand it. For if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. They did not understand. They did not believe Jesus Christ was who He claimed to be. And in their ignorance and unbelief, it says they crucified the Lord of glory. They crucified God. But as the Lord of glory, the grave could not hold Him. On the third day, He rose from the dead. He took up that eternal life which is His by right. It's to that risen One we look today. whom John sees in this glorious vision. The name by which He is called is the Word of God. He is God. He is the Son of God. He is the God-Man. He is the crucified and risen Savior. Church, this is your Christ. We've seen Jesus Christ as the righteous judge. We've seen Him as the King of kings. We've seen Him as the Word of God. Finally, I want us to turn and see Jesus Christ as the great leader of His people. Look to the vision of John and who it is that follows Jesus. In verse 14, and the armies of heaven arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following Him on white horses. Who are these? Who are these white-robed riders? Who are these armies that follow Christ as He rides to war? These are the saints. The saints of God. They are all those who have followed Him in faith. They've washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb. Now there are times in the Bible when we see God's armies and they're portrayed as a host of angels. That's why He's called the Lord of hosts. So might it not be the case here? Could these be angelic writers? Well, I think not. For a couple of reasons. Primarily the context. and the specific descriptions that are used. Just prior to this in chapter 17, when we get a description of the battle to come between the lamb and the followers of the beast, John says, they will make war on the lamb and the lamb will conquer them for He is Lord of lords and King of kings. And those with Him are called and chosen and faithful. They're called and chosen and faithful because they are the saints. They did not accept the mark of the beast They join Jesus Christ in His triumphant battle. So that's the same group that's pictured here today. In addition to this, look at how they're clothed. How does John describe them? Well, it's the same words that are used of the bride of Christ in the passage before. How is she clothed? Fine linen, bright and pure. These saints are clothed in fine linen, white and pure, and they follow their king and captain into battle. He is their leader. He is our leader. But having identified these writers, I want you to look now and see how these saints share in the identity of their captain. They share in his identity. Look at the color of their horses. Just as Jesus rides upon a white horse, so His people themselves are seated on white horses. They share in His identity. They share in who He is. Do you share in the identity of Jesus Christ? Do those things that mark Him mark you as well? Are you marked by His character? His holiness? His love? Jesus has a zeal for the name of God, for His worship, for His glory. Do you have such a zeal? Are you marked? Jesus has a love for the people of God, a self-sacrificing love, a love that brought Him to the cross. Do you have such love? Love for God's people, for His church? Are we marked by our identity with Jesus Christ? In John's vision, the saints are riding on white horses. The white horse of Jesus represents honor and victory. That of a conquering king. So the white horses of the saints show that they share in His honor and they share in His victory. Did you know, church, that we who know Christ share in His victory? Victory over sin. Victory over this world. Victory over Satan. How do we gain this victory? How do we share in the triumph of Christ? Well, look and see. How are the saints armed? How do they go to war? With what weapons do these riders avail themselves? I don't think it will take long to notice that there's no mention of weapons in the hands of the saints. There's only one weapon mentioned in this passage today. And only one who is said to wield it. In verse 14 it states, from His mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations and He will rule them with a rod of iron. The sword of judgment, the sword with which the nations will be conquered, it proceeds only from the mouth of Jesus Christ. We're going to see this sword at work next week and turn our attention to the battle between Jesus Christ and the beast. But I want to note today that the people of Jesus Christ, that the people of His church do not have to fight for themselves. Jesus is our champion. Jesus is the one who will fight our battles on our behalf. Is that not a great and glorious truth? If we were left to defend ourselves with weapons of our own devising, we would be lost. We were all helpless. We were in need of a Savior. Blessed be to God that He sent us that Savior. He sent His Son to battle on our behalf, and He joined the war first, not like we see here. Not a climactic battle with grand armies, but in weakness, He took on flesh that He might show Himself victorious over sin. As we heard a little bit about this morning, though He was tempted in the flesh as we are, He did not sin, and thus He conquered sin on our behalf. In weakness, He died on the cross. He died a sinner's death. And yet the weakness of Christ proved to be the death blow to our enemies. In dying, He once for all paid the ransom for our sins, for us. He died and paid the price for our sins that we might have victory. He dealt a blow to Satan and sin. A mortal blow. You know, Satan still gnashes and he still fights. But he has already been defeated. Not long from now, the risen Christ will return with a sword proceeding from his mouth. Church, that is our Christ. That is our King. He is our captain, our champion, and He will fight for us and gain the victory for us. So we've seen our identification with Jesus Christ and His victory. We ride white horses following behind our great leader who wields the sword against our enemies. There's two other connections in this passage I want you to see in terms of this identification of the saints with Jesus Christ. First, note that Jesus is said to rule the world with a rod of iron. And that's a picture we've seen before. Early in Revelation, in the letter to the church of Thyatira, Jesus promised the One who conquers and who keeps My works to the end, to Him I will give authority over the nations and He will rule them with a rod of iron as when earthen pots are broken in pieces. See, the saints Those who conquer and persevere in their faith will be united with Christ in His rule and in His kingdom. So we are sharing in that identity. But there's a final identification here that I want us to see that's a little more obscure. You may not have seen it. But I don't want us to miss this. Back in verse 12, John says of Jesus, He has a name written that no one knows but Himself. A name that no one knows but Himself. There's been a lot of speculation about that name. What does that mean? Does it mean that Christ has a name written that no one knows but Himself? I would say that part of the meaning has to do with this understanding of what names meant in ancient times. What does it mean that someone would know someone else's name? It has to do with to know someone's name is to have power over them. To know their strengths and weaknesses. You know, when Christ, this victorious writer, appears and is declared to have a name that no one knows but Himself, we ought rightfully to understand that His enemies cannot touch Him. They do not know Him. They don't know who He is. They don't know His power. He will crush them in his wrath. John 1 5 says the light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it. You know, that word overcome could also be translated understand. The darkness has not understood the light. The darkness has no power over Jesus Christ. You know, we even saw that earlier. Remember, the rulers had no idea who he was. They crucified the Lord of glory because they did not know him. They did not understand who he was. So there is a declaration here that Christ is out of reach of his enemies. They do not know his name, but I think this speaks to more than just Christ's victory over his foes. There's something hinted at here that I don't want us to miss. Because when Jesus says he has a name that no one knows but himself, it's a declaration that might seem on the surface to set him apart and distance untouchable. And it does to his enemies. But he says no such thing to his people. Rather, he reminds us of our own intimate fellowship with him. Has anyone ever noticed with couples who've been married a long time that they seem to have this sort of code? And they'll be talking. You'll be in a room full of people and conversation and talking. And they'll make what seems to be an innocuous statement. Yet, you can tell from a slight smile that they share that the way they catch each other's eyes, there's something that's much deeper that was just communicated. So it is with what Christ says here. He's catching the eyes of His bride. A smile on His lips. He says, I have a name that no one knows but Myself. But that name, this precious name, He has not kept it from His bride. To her He has revealed it. Call to mind the ending of the letter of the church of Pergamum when Jesus says, to the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna. And I will give him a white stone with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it. What name is that? A new name is given to His people. A name that no one knows except the one who receives it. Church, Jesus speaks of His own name. That's the name He gives us. That's the name He promises to write upon us. His name is the mark that we bear when all the rest of the world bears the mark of the beast. We have His name. Because He knows us. He loves us. And we know Him. He leads us and we follow Him. Jesus Christ is the great leader of His people. And if you don't know that name, if you don't have that name written, if you look at this picture Because we've looked at a number of pictures of Christ our Savior as He appeared. As a righteous judge. King of kings. Word of God. As a leader of His people. What if you don't know that name? What if that name isn't your name? Hasn't been given to you? You see a righteous judge, but that judgment is upon you. You see the King of kings, But that rod of iron falls heavy on you. You see Him as the Word of God who's been rejected by you. You see Him as leader of a great host of people, and yet you do not know His name. You can know His name. His name is made known to those who repent of their sins and believe in Him as the righteous judge. Who believe in Him as the King. The One to whom we must submit. If you believe in Him, if you trust Him, Then he will write that name upon you. He will give you that name, but no one knows. It will be yours. You will identify with him. All those who turn to him in faith need not fear his judgment or his rod. He is our king. He rules over us and defends us. He's given us his very name. Let's go ahead and pray. Our holy and righteous God, our Father God, we can call You Father. We thank You for this glorious vision that You have given to Your church of Your Son. Your glorious Son. Father, I pray that You would do a work in Your people today to turn our gaze back to Jesus Christ. to lift Him up, to exalt Him, to submit our lives to Him. And I pray, Father God, for those who do not know You, that they would hear this call today and believe by the power of Your Spirit. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.