11I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. 12His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter."a]">[a] He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. 16On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
17And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, "Come, gather together for the great supper of God, 18so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and mighty men, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, small and great."
Just the imagery of this passage puts me in awe. I came to this passage while watching a 30 Seconds to Mars video. I know, very random. I actually think they intended to do that. The song is Kings and Queens. I had listened to the lyrics of this song, but I had never put it together what they were talking about. After I watched the video, it totally hit me when they a random white horse is galloping in the frame. I immediately thought of Revelation 19.
We ('we' meaning believers) are the "armies of heaven". The video reminded me that anybody can be in this army because Jesus saved us all. We make the decision to be in this army. But I really love how 30STM depicts the army (even if that's not what they intended). We are all in a modern world and choosing to live the way we want. We can live for ourselves or something greater than what we can imagine. We can choose to go to the motions of a God that isn't visible to the human eye and have faith. Believing in something more than this life isn't crazy to me. It gives me hope that I can look forward to a richer life. "We are the kings and queens of promise" and we are to stand up to the throne and claim what we know in our hearts. Passivity is not in our nature.
Try watching the Kings and Queens video on YouTube by 30 Seconds to Mars. I would like to hear if you see the relation between the video and the passage.
Merry Christmas!
Love, Emily
