Revelation 19:15

And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(15) And out of his mouth . . .—Translate, And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with (literally, in) it He may smite the nations: and He (Himself) shall shepherd them with (literally, in) a rod of iron: and He (Himself) treadeth the winepress of the wine of the wrath of the anger of God the All ruler. The sharp sword is the same that we have read of before (Revelation 1:16); there it was called the two-edged sword. The omission of the epithet in this passage, which describes the Word of God as the conqueror and the judge, is not without significance. The sword is now wielded for but one work—the word that Christ spoke will judge men at the last day (John 12:48). The power of this word found an illustration in the falling back of the hostile band which came to take Him in the day of His humiliation (John 18:5); yet more gloriously will the power of His word be felt (comp. Isaiah 11:4; Jeremiah 23:29; 2Thessalonians 2:8) when He will slay the wicked with the word of His mouth. The passage in Psalm 2:9 must be borne in mind. Christ comes as King; His is a rule in righteousness; those who oppose this kingdom of righteousness find the shepherd’s staff as a rod of iron; the stone rejected falls upon the builders, and grinds them to powder. It is thus that the winepress of God’s wrath is set up, and the righteous King appears as one who treads it out. (Comp. Isaiah 63:1-3.) He Himself (the emphasis lies here) treads it. We have again the figure of the vintage made use of. (Comp. Revelation 14:20.) It is the harvest of retribution; the wicked are filled with the fruit of their own doings; so is the work seen to be the work of the All-Ruler.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

19:11-21 Christ, the glorious Head of the church, is described as on a white horse, the emblem of justice and holiness. He has many crowns, for he is King of kings, and Lord of lords. He is arrayed in a vesture dipped in his own blood, by which he purchased his power as Mediator; and in the blood of his enemies, over whom he always prevails. His name is The Word of God; a name none fully knows but himself; only this we know, that this Word was God manifest in the flesh; but his perfections cannot be fully understood by any creature. Angels and saints follow, and are like Christ in their armour of purity and righteousness. The threatenings of the written word he is going to execute on his enemies. The ensigns of his authority are his name; asserting his authority and power, warning the most powerful princes to submit, or they must fall before him. The powers of earth and hell make their utmost effort. These verses declare important events, foretold by the prophets. These persons were not excused because they did what their leaders bade them. How vain will be the plea of many sinners at the great day! We followed our guides; we did as we saw others do! God has given a rule to walk by, in his word; neither the example of the most, nor of the chief, must influence us contrary thereto: if we do as the most do, we must go where the most go, even into the burning lake.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword - See the notes on Revelation 1:16. In that place the sword seems to be an emblem of his words or doctrines, as penetrating the hearts of people; here it is the emblem of a work of destruction worked on his foes.

That with it he should smite the nations - The nations that were opposed to him; to wit, those especially who were represented by the beast and the false prophet, Revelation 19:18-20.

And he shall rule them with a rod of iron - See the notes on Revelation 2:27; Revelation 12:5.

And he treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God - This language is probably derived from Isaiah 63:1-4. See it explained in the notes on that place, and on Revelation 14:19-20. It means here that his enemies would be certainly crushed before him - as grapes are crushed under the feet of him that treads in the winevat.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

15. out of his mouth … sword—(Re 1:16; 2:12, 16). Here in its avenging power, 2Th 2:8, "consume with the Spirit of His mouth" (Isa 11:4, to which there is allusion here); not in its convicting and converting efficacy (Eph 6:17; Heb 4:12, 13, where also the judicial keenness of the sword-like word is included). The Father commits the judgment to the Son.

he shall rule—The HE is emphatic, He and none other, in contrast to the usurpers who have misruled on earth. "Rule," literally, "tend as a shepherd"; but here in a punitive sense. He, who would have shepherded them with pastoral rod and with the golden scepter of His love, shall dash them in pieces, as refractory rebels, with "a rod of iron."

treadeth … wine-press—(Isa 63:3).

of the fierceness and wrath—So Andreas reads. But A, B, Vulgate, Coptic, and Origen read, "of the fierceness (or boiling indignation) of the wrath," omitting "and."

Almighty—The fierceness of Christ's wrath against His foes will be executed with the resources of omnipotence.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword: I can easily agree that this two-edged sword is the word of Christ coming out of his mouth, but not the gospel, (the time was past for that, it was the time of the sacrifice in Bozrah), but his word of command, calling out his people to take vengeance upon the remainder of his enemies. The sword was both the sword of the Lord, commanding it to be drawn, and the sword of his people, whose hands were to wield it.

That with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: with this he now smites the remainder of his enemies, and breaks them to pieces.

And he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God: his enemies were the grapes, that now were put into the winepress of God’s watchful providence; Christ trod them there: see Isaiah 63:3.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword,.... The Complutensian edition, and all the Oriental versions, with the Vulture Latin, read, "a sharp twoedged sword". The word of God, or the judiciary sentence of Christ according to it, and which he will fully execute, to the utter destruction of all his enemies; See Gill on Revelation 1:16 that with it he should smite the nations; the Gentiles, the Papists, the antichristian states, those that have adhered to Babylon, and have drunk of the wine of her fornication. This is predicted in Numbers 24:17 and on account of this the nations will be angry under the sounding of the seventh trumpet, with which this vision is contemporary, Revelation 11:18.

And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; use them with the utmost severity; the phrase is taken out of Psalm 2:9 a prophecy of Christ, and mentioned twice before in this book; see Gill on Revelation 2:27, Revelation 12:5,

and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God; the fierce wrath of God against sinners is compared to a winepress; and the wicked antichristian party are likened to clusters of grapes; who being ripe for destruction, are cast into it, and pressed, squeezed, and trodden down by the mighty power of Christ, the Word of God, whose vesture is therefore before said to be dipped in blood; the same metaphor is used in Revelation 14:19 the allusion seems to be to Isaiah 63:3.

Geneva Study Bible

{15} And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

(15) The effects of Christ prepared to fight, that with his mouth he strikes the Gentiles, rules and destroys.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Expositor's Greek Testament

Revelation 19:15. αὐτός—The victory of the messiah is single-handed (“I have trodden the wine-press alone”); cf. on Revelation 19:13, and Sap. 18:22, Ps. Sol. 17:24–27, where the word of messiah’s mouth is the sole weapon of his victory (an Iranian touch as in S. B. E. iv. p. lxxvii. f., the distinguishing excellence of Zoroaster is that his chief weapon is spiritual, i.e., the word or prayer). This fine idea, taken originally from Isaiah, was reproduced, naturally in a more or less realistic shape, by the rabbis who applied it to Moses at Exodus 2:11 (Clem. Alex. Stron. i. 23), and by apocalyptists (2 Thessalonians 2:8; Ap. Bar. xxxvi. f., liii. f.; 4 Esd. 10:60 f., and here) who assigned an active rôle to the messiah in the latter days. The meaning of the sword-symbol is that “the whole counsel of God is accomplished by Jesus as a stern judgment with resistless power” (Baur). Thus the final rout of the devil, anticipated in Revelation 12:12, is carried out (1.) by the overthrow of his subordinates (mentioned in ch. 13) here, and then (2) by his own defeat (Revelation 20:10), although in finishing the torso of ch. 12. (Bousset) the prophet characteristically has recourse to materials drawn from very different cycles of current messianic tradition.

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

15. out of his mouth] Song of Solomon 1:16, proving, if proof were needed, the identity of the “Son of Man” of that passage with “the Word of God” of this. For the meaning, see the notes there.

sharp] Some ancient authorities insert “two-edged,” from the parallel passage in ch. 1.

smite the nations] God is said to smite men with plagues, e.g. Zechariah 14:18, but nowhere else with a sword. Are we to infer from 1 Chronicles 21:12 what this sword will be? Certainly the ascription to the Lord of the fierce struggles of a human warrior is markedly avoided.

shall rule them] Lit. shall be their shepherd, as in Revelation 2:27, Revelation 12:5 Of course in all three places the reference is to Psalm 2:9.

and he treadeth] Isaiah 63:3. The pronoun “he” is emphatic—He Himself, by Himself, as is there expressed.

the winepress] So we are obliged to translate the single word, e.g. at Revelation 14:19; while here we have the fuller phrase, “the winepress of the wine of”, &c.

fierceness and wrath] Read, fierceness of the wrath.

Bengel's Gnomen

Revelation 19:15. Ῥομφαία, romphæa [a javelin or sword]) for slaughter.—ῥάβδῳ, with a rod) for subduing.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 15. - And out of his month goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a red of iron. The description is still similar to that given in Revelation 1. (see Revelation 1:16; Revelation 2:12, 16). (For the last clause, see Revelation 2:27; Revelation 12:5; and cf. Isaiah 63:3.) The symbolism is descriptive of warfare, victory, and judgment. "He" is emphatic: "he shall rule" - no longer the kings of the earth. The nations; in the sense of the ungodly (cf. Revelation 16:19, etc.). And he treadeth the wine press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God; the wine press of the wine of the fierceness of the wrath, etc. In Revelation 14:10 we have the figure of "the wine of the wrath" of God, and in Revelation 14:19 that of the "wine press of the wrath;" here the two are combined (cf. also Isaiah 63:3, quoted on ver. 13). Revelation 19:15

Vincent's Word Studies

Sword

See on Revelation 1:16.

Smite (πατάσσῃ)

See on Revelation 11:6.

Shall rule (ποιμανεῖ)

See on Revelation 2:27.

Wine-press

See on Revelation 14:19.

Of the fierceness and wrath (τοῦ θυμοῦ καὶ τῆς ὀργῆς)

Omit and, and render, as Rev., the fierceness of the wrath. See on John 3:36.

Of Almighty God (τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ παντοκράτορος)

Lit., of God the all-ruler. See on Revelation 1:8.