Revelation 19:16 - Printer Friendly

ESV: On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

NIV: On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: king of kings and lord of lords.

NASB: And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written: 'KING OF KINGS, AND Lord OF LordS.'

CSB: And he has a name written on his robe and on his thigh: King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

NLT: On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords.

KJV: And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

NKJV: And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND Lord OF LordS.

When Jesus first came to earth, He arrived in humble circumstances and was given humble clothes (Luke 2:7). In His earthly return, His second coming, Jesus wears an exclusive title on His robe: "King of kings and Lord of lords." Rulers sometimes had inscriptions on their vestments that revealed their prestigious rank, but none of them ever rightfully carried an inscription as prestigious as the one on Jesus' robe. Someday, He will be king over all the earth, the long-awaited ruler of an earthly millennial kingdom.

King David anticipated the universal reign of Jesus. He wrote in Psalm 24:7: "Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in." Then he identified the king. He asked, "Who is this King of glory?" and answered, "the LORD strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle!" (Psalm 24:8). Again, he identified the King of glory in verse 10: He is "the LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory." When God humbled King Nebuchadnezzar in the time of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar rightfully proclaimed that God's dominion "is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation" (Daniel 4:34).

When Jesus rules the earth, peace and prosperity will finally be realized worldwide (Isaiah 9:7; 11:5–9; Joel 2:21–27; Amos 9:13–15).

Revelation 19:11–21 presents one of Scripture's most spectacular moments of victory: the second coming of Jesus Christ. In this event, Christ returns to earth at the close of the tribulation. At His first coming to earth, Jesus appeared as a baby and sacrificial Savior. This time, He arrives as King of kings and Lord of lords. Many prior Scriptures prophesied this epic day of victory (Matthew 25; Zechariah 14:1–4; 2 Thessalonians 2:7–12; Hebrews 9:27–28; Jude 1:14–15). Christ arrives in a blaze of glory, obliterating His enemies single-handedly, at the head of the armies of heaven. The Antichrist and False Prophet become the first two cast into the lake of fire, ushering in the beginning of Christ's millennial reign on earth.

Revelation 19 begins with a multitude in heaven singing a doxology to God. He is praised for judging religious Babylon and avenging the martyrs. They are joined by the twenty-four elders (Revelation 4). Voices cry out joyfully that the Lord reigns and the marriage supper of the Lamb is ready. Then, John sees heaven open and observes Jesus—now coming as the glorious and invincible King of kings and Lord of lords—as He descends from heaven to execute judgment. The armies of earth gather to battle the Lord. The battle concludes with the Antichrist and False Prophet being thrown into the lake of fire and the graphic slaughter of their followers.

This chapter describes the victorious second coming of Christ, His victory over the Antichrist and the False Prophet after the fall of Babylon (Revelation 17—18). Christ's first arrival on earth was to redeem (Matthew 2; Luke 2:1–21; John 1:1–14; Galatians 4:1–5). The purpose of His second coming is judgment and the establishment of His reign on earth (Psalm 2). This is separate from the rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:13–17), the event in which Jesus returns in the air to take Christians from earth to be with Him. Jesus' second coming begins the millennial kingdom, leading up to the final judgments and the appearance of the New Jerusalem.

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''