Rev 19:16  "And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." As we have previously shown, the Lord's vesture is a vesture of righteousness and his thigh signifies his strength.

The phrase, KING OF KINGS, indicates that the Lord is King over other kings. According to Rev. 1:5 "And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, 6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen." The same ones that Jesus washed from their sins, he made kings and priests. According to the covenant of redemption, this would include all that God foreknew before the foundation of the world.

Rev. 5:10, "And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth." This verse, along with many others indicates that there is a kingdom of God upon the earth and that there are people reigning as kings in that kingdom. This is consistent with Rev. 20:4 "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." People sitting on thrones indicates that they reign as kings and that they reign with Christ in his kingdom and that he is King over them. Therefore, he is King of Kings.

The Lord is spoken of as being Lord of Lords in four other verses:

1. Deu. 10:17 "For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward."

2. Ps. 136:3 "O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever."

3. 1 Tim. 6:15 "Which in his times he shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords."

4. Rev. 17:14 "These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful."

The term, Lord, means "master, one who has authority." The Lord has given us in his word our authority by which we are to govern ourselves, and by which we are to keep the government and service of the Church. Thus, he has made us masters, yet he has reserved to himself to be the master of masters.

 

Rev 19:17-21  "And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; 18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. 19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. 20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh."

"And I saw an angel standing in the sun." The sun is a symbol of God law and the strength of God's law and the glory of God's law. The angel standing in the sun is the Lord Jesus Christ. He alone stood under the law of God and fulfilled it to a jot and a tittle. The sun (God's law) had slain all of man kind. Now there was gathered together in opposition to the Lord and to his army a great host including the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies to make war.

"And he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; 18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great." The fowls are often depicted in the scriptures as a sign that one army had gained a victory over their enemy:

1. 1 Sam. 17:44 "And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field."

2. 1 Sam. 17:46 "This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel."

3. Ps. 79:1 "A Psalm of Asaph. O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps. 2 The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be meat unto the fowls of the heaven, the flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth. 3 Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem; and there was none to bury them."

4. Is. 18:6 "They shall be left together unto the fowls of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth: and the fowls shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them."

5. Jere. 7:33 "And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall fray them away."

6. Jere. 15:3 "And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the LORD: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy."

7. Jere. 16:4 "They shall die of grievous deaths; they shall not be lamented; neither shall they be buried; but they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth: and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth."

8. Jere. 19:7 "And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place; and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hands of them that seek their lives: and their carcases will I give to be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth."

9. Jere. 34:20 "I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life: and their dead bodies shall be for meat unto the fowls of the heaven, and to the beasts of the earth."

10. Ezek. 29:5 "And I will leave thee thrown into the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy rivers: thou shalt fall upon the open fields; thou shalt not be brought together, nor gathered: I have given thee for meat to the beasts of the field and to the fowls of the heaven."

Thus, the Lord was showing the ultimate victory that he and the army that followed him would have. This manifestation of the ultimate victory continues to be shown into chapter 20.

The army of the Lord (his faithful disciples and servants) may be victorious in some battles and lose some battles in this life, yet the ultimate victory is theirs and is given to them by their captain. It did not matter as to the size of the opposing army or their status (kings, captains, mighty men, great men, free or bond, both small and great, ultimately the victory is the Lord's and his army.

"And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone." Here we see the beast and the false prophet being cast into God's eternal judgment against sin. In the 20th chapter of Revelation we will the Devil and his angels, followed by the non-elect cast into this same lake of fire. While these enemies may cause us much trouble here in this life, ultimately "thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Fire and brimstone are signs of God's judgment of sin:

1. Gen. 19:24 "Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven."

2. Ps. 11:6 "Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup."

3. Is. 30:33 "For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large: the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it."

4. Ezek. 38:22 "And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone."

5. Lk. 17:29 "But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all."

6. Rev. 9:17 "And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. 18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths."

7. Rev. 14:10 "The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb."

8. Rev. 20:10 "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."

9. Rev. 21:8 "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."

"And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh." Once again, we see the ultimate victory that the Lord has given us over all of our enemies.