See on John 1:1. In executing divine justice on those who persist in rebellion against the government of heaven, Christ is as truly the “Word of God” as when, at His first advent, He came to earth with the gracious offer of divine mercy. His coming on both occasions is an expression of the divine will.
Figuratively, of course. The question arises as to whose blood stains the cloak of the rider. Some have suggested that it is a symbol of Christ’s own blood shed on the cross, on the assumption that it cannot be that of the wicked, who, at this point in the narrative, have not yet been slain. However, Christ here appears, not in the role of “a Lamb as it had been slain” (ch. 5:6), but of a conquering warrior. The striking similarity between this passage and that of Isaiah (ch. 63:1-6) suggests that this passage is a fulfillment of the words of Isaiah.
Vesture.
Gr. himation (see on Matt. 5:40), here perhaps a rider’s coat, or the cloak of a military commander.