The heavenly armies following the Lord will fight against Antichrist and the false prophet and their armies and will destroy them (vv. 19-21). Verse 19 speaks of Christ’s enemies: “I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war with Him who sits on the horse and with His army.” Christ’s enemies are the beast, Antichrist (undoubtedly including his associate, the false prophet), and the kings of the earth and their armies. In particular, the kings of the earth include the ten kings under Antichrist (17:12-14), and the armies include the two hundred million horsemen from the rising of the sun (9:14-16; 16:12). The beast and the kings of the earth and their armies will gather together to make war with Him who sits on the horse and with His army (19:19).
Christ and His armies will defeat Antichrist and his armies. The beast will be seized, and with him the false prophet, who in his presence did signs by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshipped his image. These two will be cast alive into the lake of fire, which burns with brimstone (v. 20). Antichrist and the false prophet will be the first to be cast into the lake of fire. The rest will be “killed with the sword which proceeds out of the mouth of Him who sits on the horse” (v. 21). This is Christ as the King of kings and Lord of lords with His armies defeating Antichrist, the false prophet, and their armies.
Antichrist and the false prophet with their armies will form the strongest force against God, fighting directly with God. God in Christ as His embodiment will come with all His chosen and faithful ones to fight physically against Antichrist, the false prophet, and their armies. This will take place at Armageddon.
At the end of the great tribulation three unclean spirits like frogs will come out of the mouths of the dragon, Antichrist, and the false prophet (16:13). These unclean spirits “are spirits of demons doing signs, which go forth to the kings of the whole inhabited earth to gather them to the war of the great day of God the Almighty” (v. 14), stirring them up to send forth their forces to persecute God’s people. The unclean spirits who stir up this rebellion should be in the heavenlies, but having become frogs, they can move about only on the earth. This indicates that Satan and his power to act will be limited to the earth. The kings on earth will be gathered to the place which in Hebrew is called Armageddon (v. 16). All the kings and their forces, including the two hundred million horsemen spoken of in 9:14-16, will come forward to participate in the war at Armageddon.
The war at Armageddon will be the last war among mankind before the millennium. In that war Satan’s intention will be to destroy Israel (Zech. 14:2) and to fight against Christ and His army. For this he will use all of rebellious mankind (Rev. 17:12-14; 19:11-19). As revealed in Zechariah 13 and 14, in the great tribulation Antichrist and his armies will slaughter two-thirds of the people of Israel. Of the one-third remaining in the land, most will probably be in the area of Jerusalem. Out of this one-third, half the city will be captured by Antichrist. In His mercy God will preserve the remaining half (13:7—14:2). Antichrist will attempt to destroy them also; however, Jehovah as Christ will come with His saints (14:3, 5) and go forth to fight against and defeat Antichrist and his followers, the nations (Joel 3:11; Rev. 17:14; 19:11-21). Christ and His chosen overcomers will defeat and destroy them all at Armageddon (vv. 20-21; Micah 4:11-13; Zeph. 3:8; Zech. 14:3, 12-15; 12:4, 9) and will save the nation of Israel (vv. 3-8; 14:4-5; Joel 3:14-17). This is the treading of the winepress of the fury of God recorded in Revelation 14:17-20, Isaiah 63:1-6, and Joel 3:9-13.
In the completing stage of God’s full salvation the overcoming believers will be called to the marriage dinner to be the bride, and after the marriage, they will become the heavenly armies following Christ to destroy Antichrist and his followers. May we be encouraged to become the called, chosen, and faithful ones who in that day will be approved by the Lord to participate in His glorious army, following Him to defeat God’s enemies and bring in God’s kingdom.
In the completing stage of God’s full salvation, the overcoming believers will be the heavenly armies following Christ. Christ is called Faithful and True. He is faithful to destroy Antichrist and true in carrying out God’s economy. Christ is called the Word of God. The Word of God is the definition, explanation, and expression of God. As the Word of God, Christ speaks for God not only by imparting life as grace into God’s chosen people but also by executing God’s judgment upon Antichrist and his followers. Christ is also called King of kings and Lord of lords. The fact that this name will be written upon Christ’s garment and His thigh indicates that it will be openly revealed and known to all and is exhibited in His righteousness and stability.
The heavenly armies following Christ are His called, chosen, and faithful ones and His bride called to His marriage dinner. To be called is to be saved, but to be chosen is to be approved by the Lord on the basis of an overcoming life. Many are called today, but few will be chosen in the future. We all have been called, but in order to be among the chosen in the future, we need to live an overcoming life today. Only those who are chosen will be His armies to fight against Antichrist. The armies consist of those who are both the bride and the guests called, invited to the marriage dinner of the Lamb. Hence, the guests and the bride are the same. The bride consists of the called guests, and the called guests make up the bride. After the wedding all the guests will become the army. The Lord’s armies will be dressed in fine linen. This fine linen qualifies them both to attend the wedding dinner and to fight with Christ against His enemies. Christ’s enemies are the beast, Antichrist (undoubtedly including his associate, the false prophet), and the kings of the earth and their armies. God Himself in Christ as His embodiment will come with all His chosen and faithful ones to fight against Antichrist, the false prophet, and their armies, and He will defeat them at Armageddon. The beast and the false prophet will be seized, and they will be cast alive into the lake of fire, which burns with brimstone.
The war at Armageddon will be the last war among mankind before the millennium. In that war Satan’s intention will be to destroy Israel and to fight against Christ and His army. For this, in the great tribulation Satan will use all of rebellious mankind to attempt to slaughter the nation of Israel and even to destroy them. However, Christ and His chosen overcomers will defeat and destroy them at Armageddon and will save Israel. May we be encouraged to become the called, chosen, and faithful ones, who in that day will be approved by the Lord to participate in His glorious army, following Him to defeat God’s enemies and bring in God’s kingdom.