Reading: Revelation 19:11-21

Our text starts with: all of heaven being opened. Previously John’s only got a door open. Here at the end, he’s seeing the entire picture. He’s getting the forest and the trees. And the preeminent picture in all of heaven is that of a rider on a white horse. A rider who’s called Faithful and True. Capitalized. Proper nouns. For a proper King. So. One of the questions you must answer for yourself is: Is Jesus that? Faithful and True. Like. Did He do what He said He would do? No one can answer that for you, but I think there’s a lot of resources that can confirm the answer is (in fact) yes.

Now. All of this is trying to communicate Jesus’ authority. It’s why He can judge and wage war. Because He’s in charge. Also, verse 16 says, He has a tattoo on His thigh that says, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. See. Jesus is the Supreme Authority because only He has the Preeminence to name Himself. What’s kind of cool is He gave us this same authority—to name things. Way back in the beginning, God creates Man in His image, and as an image bearer Scripture says we have dominion over the earth. God even brings the animals to Adam. Why? For the purpose of naming them.

Same thing happens in your life. If you’re a parent, God gives you authority over your child, and that’s expressed by naming them. The reason I named Leyton after a tennis player and Launa after Superman’s high school girlfriend is because I’m in charge of them. The reason I named Lynnie after a Stevie Ray Vaughan song is because Laura couldn’t pronounce Lenny. See. The song is for Stevie’s wife Lenora. And it’s pronounced Lenny, but Laura kept saying Lynnie, so we compromised. And did what Laura could say.

But. Again. By creating us in His image, and giving us this authority, the tradeoff is: we have the potential to misuse it. And it’s been happening for thousands of years. Which. I’m sorry I can’t explain to you why God chose to do it that way. I can just point to the fact that I’m glad He did. Because here we are. Nonetheless. The reason Jesus can name Himself is because He’s God. And the reason no one can know the name that’s written on Him, is because of how Holy He is.

And what makes me so nervous for today’s culture is how trivially they treat Jesus. They like purple robed Jesus. With feathered hair. And European features. They like 8 pound 6 ounce Jesus and forget about blazing (fire-eyes) Jesus. And clothes covered in blood Jesus. They forget about judgment and waging war Jesus. It’s why they’re so comfortable with making Jesus fit their lifestyle.

So. Here’s what I need you to understand: the essence of sin is autonomy. The word is: auto, yourself, nomous law. So. You want to be a law unto yourself. Like. You’re the king of your kingdom. Except. That makes you God. And that’s a problem. Because you’re a crummy god. Which is why it’s good news that there’s a King of Kings. And He’s already won the war! However, your battles still must be fought. So fight the good fight! And Trust in Him!

With Gratitude,

pLJ