Revelation 19:12-13
There was a time when a bunch of my high school friends and I pooled our money together to purchase a Pay-Per-View boxing match. We had a bunch of people over, ordered pizza, and were ready for a fun evening together. Several undercard fights were great, but the main card was unspectacular to say the least. The fight was over within a few seconds. One punch was all it took. That’s similar to the way the “great battle” in Revelation plays out.
If you look for the fight in Revelation, you’ll be hard-pressed to find it. When Jesus returns, we hear far more about him than we do about any sort of actual battle. There’s one unexpected detail about the way he’s described when he returns that is worth noting. You’d think the King of kings returning to defeat evil once and for all would come dressed in spotless white, ready for battle. But instead, he rides in already covered in blood.
That detail stops me every time I read it. Before a single sword is swung, before any enemy is defeated, the robe of Christ is already stained red. Which begs the question, whose blood is on his robe? He has not appeared on earth in the book of Revelation at this point. This is his only return; so, where did the blood come from, and whose blood is it?
I’d propose to you that his robe is covered in his own blood. The victory he brings isn’t won by military power or brute force. It’s a victory that’s already been secured through the sacrifice of the cross. His robe is dipped in blood because the battle was fought and won on Calvary. The Lamb who was slain is also the Warrior who triumphs. His blood isn’t a mark of defeat or of a bloody war he wages when he returns; it’s remnants of the victory of the cross.
Paul said it beautifully in Colossians 2 when he wrote,
13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. (Colossians 2:13-15)
When Jesus was nailed to the cross, he didn’t just die for sin; he disarmed spiritual powers. He exposed evil for what it is and stripped it of its claim over us. Sin’s record of debt was canceled. Death’s hold was broken. Satan’s threats were silenced. All of it, finished.
That means the “final war” in Revelation isn’t much of a war at all. It’s the public unveiling of what was already accomplished at Calvary. Jesus isn’t fighting to win the battle; he’s coming to enforce the victory he already won. So when life feels like a fight, and let’s be honest, sometimes it really does, remember this: you’re not fighting for victory, you’re fighting from it. The robe has already been dipped in blood. The cross has already conquered.
Whatever evil you’re up against today, guilt that haunts you, temptation that won’t quit, fear that paralyzes you, Christ’s blood speaks a better word. He’s already spoken the final word.
The battle might still rage, but the outcome isn’t in question. Jesus wins. And because you belong to him, so do you. Amen and amen!
Ryan Paulson
Lead Pastor