REVELATION
Chapter
19
With
Chapter 19 begins the conclusion of this extraordinary vision that was given to
John. A vision that foretells the
end of Satan and the minions he controls.
At
this point in the narration by John, the great prostitute of religion and
idolatry has been destroyed never to rise again, and we are now, in the next few
chapters, told how that old dragon, the instigator of all the havoc brought on
mankind, is done away with also.
However,
even thought Satan is still functioning at this point in the explanation by God,
of His plan concerning mankind in the stream of Biblical time, it is also a
period of great rejoicing in the spiritual realm of God.
Again
let us remind all that Revelation is symbolic.
The symbolism represents events predicted in the past, most of which have
already occurred; even so, we are now in this chapter into prophecy that is yet
to unfold. Perhaps it would be
easier to understand the symbolism of Revelation with the memorial of the last
supper. When you eat the bread and
drink the wine, the bread and wine do not actually turn into flesh and blood;
however, they do represent or symbolize the literal actual flesh and blood that
was sacrificed by the only begotten Son of God here on earth.
In other words, the symbolism relates to an actual event, which is not
only spiritual but physical as well.
Chapter
eighteen has just told us of the time still to come when Babylon the great is to
be destroyed, and chapter nineteen carries on from there.
It should be noted that what is about to be explained is happening at the
same time Babylon the Great is being destroyed.
But for the sake of clarity each is spoken of separately.
After
this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting:
"Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
NIV
This is the same great multitude that no one can number in heaven. They
are not strangers to us, for we have heard from them twice before in chapters 7
and 14 of Revelation.
9 After
this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count,
from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in
front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches
in their hands.
10 And
they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation
belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." NIV
But
this time the great heavenly multitude are singing out praises for a different
reason:
For true and just are his judgments. He has condemned the
great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on
her the blood of his servants." NIV
The saints that were beheaded
for the word of God they preached when on the earth, had been told to wait a bit
longer for the vengeance or vindication of the word of God.
It has been all along the vindication of God’s word, which was the
vengeance they have been seeking. But
now with the destruction of Babylon the Great, they do not have to wait any
longer. For God “…has avenged
on her the blood of his servants." Now
the saints that died for the word of God have been avenged, because that word has
been proven to be the word of the Almighty, and it is that word that causes the
destruction of Satan.
And again they shouted: "Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever." NIV
The
twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God,
who was seated on the throne. And they cried: "Amen, Hallelujah!"
NIV
Notice that the four beasts or angels are now referred to as four
living creatures. This is because
they have been clearly identified as angels of God (see Ezekiel) and they
represent the wind or actions of the Almighty on the earth concerning all its
inhabitants. The Almighty, upon all
who exist on the earth, is now bestowing life liberally. Also notice that they, the four living creatures, along with
the 24 elders worship God, “Who was seated on the throne.”
Then I heard another voice from heaven say: "Come
out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will
not receive any of her plagues; NIV
We learned then
that this is the voice of the Son who sits on the right hand of the Almighty and
who directs this wrath of God. So this voice that we have already shown as
Christ is now saying
Then a voice came from the throne, saying: "Praise
our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both small and great!" NIV
If it seems strange to you that Christ is referring to His Father as "His God" as He sits at the right hand of His Father, then take notice that He does this throughout Revelation. In fact, He spoke of His Father as "His God" four times in one verse in an earlier chapter of Revelation.
Rev
3:12
Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my
God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God
and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming
down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name.
NIV
From
slave to king, that voice of Christ is telling us to worship His father… His
and our God!
Rev
19:6
Then
I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and
like loud peals of thunder, shouting: "Hallelujah!
For our Lord God Almighty reigns! NIV
Again we hear from the great multitude that uncountable number of faithful and true Christians praising in loud shouts that herald… Hallelujah, God Almighty reigns.
Why
are they saying that God Almighty reigns when Christ was given that authority as
Lord of Lords and King of Kings?
And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church,
23 which is his body,
the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
NIV
Why did God place all things under the reign of His only begotten Son? The answer to that is in the next verse and the key to that verse is “to reconcile to himself all things”
19 For
God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,
20 and
through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or
things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
NIV
When
you accept the Son and the sacrifice He made for us, you accept the Father, and,
through the acceptance of the Father and the Son, you gain a spiritual peace even
now today in this world that at present is still controlled by Satan.
It
speaks of the Almighty reigning in verse 6 of this chapter in Revelation because
of our old friend time. For the
Bible here, is speaking of things that God said, at the beginning of Revelation
that must take place, which includes the battle of Armageddon at the end of the
thousand-year reign of Christ. After that final testing time, the Son will return
to His father what His Father has given to His Son, so that God Almighty can be
all things to all men.
24 Then
the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has
destroyed all dominion, authority and power.
25 For
he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
26
The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
27 For
he "has put everything under his feet." (Now when it says that
"everything" has been put under him, it is clear that this does not
include God himself, who put everything under Christ.)
28 When
he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put
everything under him, so that God may be all in all.
But most of all you should ask yourself… Did God have to alter His plans and destroy the universe because of something man did? If that were so, that would make man so powerful that God Almighty had to give up something He was very pleased with because of an act of two people and an a fallen angel. It would also mean that God's original plan was faulty to begin with, which is exactly the reason Satan wants you to believe this. None of which is true, and in spite of that kind of foolishness, God's plan was, like everything else He does, perfect from the start and needed no alteration because of anything either man or angel did or could do.
The universe had a distinct purpose to begin with, and will continue to serve that purpose as long as God exists. The reason this earth was placed in the universe was to supply a home for mankind to perpetuate their species for the sole purpose of supplying spiritual sons that would be adopted by God from that earth. Now because of this we are taken back, in the next verse, to the beginning of that all-inclusive powerful reign of the Son.
Let
us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come and his bride has made herself
ready. NIV
The
bride, spoken of here, represents the true faithful followers of Christ down
through the ages. We know this
because the next verse tells us so.
Fine
linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear." (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)
NIV
Notice
they are referred to as saints (all true Christians are referred to as saints in
the Bible) and the fine linen given to them means they are recognized as having
performed righteous acts. At this
point it should be noted that there is a difference between people or beings
without sin and people or beings that are righteous.
We are without sin by the action of Christ, not by the actions of
ourselves. On the other hand, those
that have proven themselves righteous do so because they followed the teachings
of Christ to the letter. To
understand what is being said here, think of Abraham who was considered righteous
because of his perfect faith. Abraham’s
righteousness had nothing to do with sin, but had all to do with pure faith.
If our faith is pure, then it is righteous, and we cannot sin anymore.
No
one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him;
he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. NIV
In fact why don’t we look at this scripture within the context of the whole statement being made about righteousness?
7 Dear
children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is
righteous, just as he is righteous.
8 He
who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from
the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's
work.
9 No
one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him;
he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.
10 This
is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil
are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone
who does not love his brother NIV
Now it is common for people to say we cannot be perfect because we weren’t born perfect. Well we weren’t born doctors either, does that mean we can’t learn to be doctors? We weren’t born with a love for our brothers either; does that mean we cannot learn to love our brothers?
Concerning
this love of ones brother Christ said…
Be
perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
NIV
If it
were true, that because we were born imperfect in an imperfect world, we
couldn’t be spiritually perfect, would Christ have told us to be so?
It is for this reason that the messenger of God says, in the next
verse…
Then the angel said to me, "Write: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!'" And he added, "These are the true words of God." NIV
“These are the true words
of God." The
whole Bible is the true words of God. Why
then is this angel saying this at this time?
He is focusing on the true words of God because he is pointedly telling
us that no one can crash this wedding! You
cannot get in to this wedding unless you have an invitation.
You cannot get in unless you have oil in your lamp, which we will shortly
read of in Matthew chapter 25. It
is because that John realizes what he is being told by this messenger from God
that he does the following.
At
this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, "Do not do it! I
am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of
Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
NIV
Let
us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come and his bride has made herself
ready. NIV
And
now let us couple that with Rev 21:2
2
I saw the Holy City,
the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride
beautifully dressed for her husband.
NIV
It is clear that these two
scriptures are speaking of the same thing… the bride of Christ.
Now let us look at the parable of the ten virgins.
This parable from Christ, concerns the prophesy of who will be the ones
that make up that bride.
Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten
virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. KJV
Matt
25:2
And
five of them were wise, and five were foolish. KJV
Becoming
a Christian does not stop one from being foolish.
They
that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
KJV
In
other words, they did not store up for themselves treasures in heaven, which is
another parable from Christ that has bearing on this parable.
But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
The
wise took extra oil with them and were prepared for a wait or delay.
Listen to what our Lord has told us concerning this.
20
But
store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy,
and where thieves do not break in and steal.
21
For
where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22
"The
eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full
of light.
23 But
if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the
light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
NIV
Or as
Paul said…keep your eye on the prize. But
let us return to the parable of the 10 virgins.
While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and
slept. KJV
There
is of course a very good reason that the time for this wedding appears to be
delayed, for we see time far differently then God does. However, it is mainly
because The Almighty wants everyone to come under his wing.
8
But do
not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand
years, and a thousand years are like a day.
9
The Lord
is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient
with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. KJV
Notice God wants everyone to be given a chance “to come to repentance” He has commanded us to forgive 7 times 70, why would He do less?
But why, one might ask, would this wedding be in the middle of
the night, so that there would be those that fall asleep or slumber while
waiting for the groom? The reason
has been declared by the word of God, for it clearly tells us… “…The
day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night;” KJV (2 Peter 3:10) Does this mean that Christ will literally come
at night? No, and remember the
parable of the ten virgins is just that a parable. A parable is a story with a moral behind it. Parables
are not to be taken literally. Understanding
this let us continue with this parable concerning the bride of Christ.
6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
7
Then all
those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
8
And the
foolish said unto the wise, give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
9
But the
wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go
ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
This
is why Christ said at this time there would be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Those that were waiting for this day find they are not prepared for it,
for they have ignored the warnings given. Their hearts were not on the treasure
they had.
10 And
while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in
with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
11
Afterward
came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
12
But he
answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
13
Watch
therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man
cometh.
And
while we are waiting, we must do so as true Christians following the commands of
Christ and doing our best to be perfect in spiritual righteousness like His
father. Only then can we be sure of
the oil in our lamps. Only then can
we be sure the door will not be closed to us.
These
are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he
opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.
NIV
Can
we be sure of this? Yes we can,
because we have been told so. Christ states, in the letter the above scripture
is from, that for those that follow his commands he has placed an open door.
Not only that, he goes on to say…
Since
you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour
of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on
the earth.
NIV
He does this by resurrecting them to heaven, which would mean they would be exempt from the consequences of the battle of Armageddon, the battle that represents the final test of mankind on earth.
Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and will reign with Christ for a thousand years. NIV
One might take note here that being a holy nation of priests is the promise that was given to Israel by God to begin with.
Ex 19:5-6
5 Now if you obey me fully
and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured
possession. Although the whole earth is mine,
6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' these are the words you are to speak to the Israelites." NIV
Well, it is argued, that was a promise to Israel under the old covenant. What makes anyone think it applies to Christians under a new covenant? Peter answers that:
1 Peter 2:9-10
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. NIV
That mercy is the promise of eternal life, even though as a sinner, you were condemned to death under the curse applied to the earth when Adam and Eve rebelled against God.
So here again the family of God in Rev 20:6 are being told the same thing, that they…
“Will be priests of God…” not only that but they “Reign with Christ for a thousand years.” Well, the question that arises with that statement is, reign with Christ over what? Where!
This is explained in the next verse of Revelation 19:
I 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. NIV
“With justice he judges and makes war.” Obviously
Christ is not going to make war against the righteous in heaven, so it has to
apply to those on the earth. Since
the first resurrection refers to those that are resurrected directly to heaven
as spiritual brothers of Christ, then Rev 3:10 would clearly be so, for they
would have already passed the test.
Rev
3:10
Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I
will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole
world to test those who live on the earth. NIV
Who is going to be tested?
The scripture above tell us…“The whole world to test those who
live on the earth.”
This
first resurrection by the way began right after Christ was resurrected.
Matt
27:50-53
50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split.
52 The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life.
53 They came out of
the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and
appeared to many people. NIV
Notice verse 52 above.
This is Matthew telling us the events at the moment of death of Christ.
Christ had told us all along that the kingdom of heaven was near.
He instructed His apostles to preach, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven
is near”. It surely was…
and the saints began to rise to eternal life at the moment assigned, which was
right after the resurrection of Christ just as was promised by our Lord. At the
moment that Christ was resurrected, the New Heaven began.
What was new about it? What
was new was that it had a new ruler assigned by the Almighty who we know is the
Son of God.
This is why we, that are alive today, have such a special opportunity in that we can become spiritual brothers of this ruler whom the Almighty has deemed worthy to perform that function as king and eternal high priest.
His
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.
NIV
If you recall, we are again seeing the rider who was sent forth with a crown conquering and to conquer. He is that conquerer, He is the eternal High Priest, He is the one that brought salvation, He is the one that brought the final law of grace along with the new covenant, He is the king of the kingdom of God, all these and more are the crowns he wears.
We
are now taken into the final battle of all this, which is known in the Bible as
Armageddon. More will be explained
about this battle in Revelation, but this chapter is summarizing it for us and
showing who will lead this battle for the creator.
He
is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. NIV
“He is dressed in a robe dipped in
blood…” because His blood represents or symbolizes the purification
that his blood brought to those that believe in and follow him.
The
armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine
linen, white and clean.
NIV
When Peter attacked the servant that was sent to arrest Christ and cut off his ear, Christ stopped Peter and healed the ear of that servant. He said to Peter:
52 "Put
your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw
the sword will die by the sword.
53 Do
you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal
more than twelve legions of angels? NIV
Twelve legions are 60 thousand angels, folks. That is far more than enough, considering that a single angel would have been quite sufficient to do the job. However, the point here is that Christ is telling Peter and all other Christians that battle as we see warfare is not what is intended by the Almighty. We see this verified by the next verse.
Out
of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He
will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury
of the wrath of God Almighty.
NIV
Again this is not something new, but something we have been told in the Bible would take place. We were told this way back in Daniel.
Dan 2:44-45
44 "In
the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never
be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those
kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.
45 This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands- a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.
"The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and the interpretation is trustworthy." NIV
The iron scepter in Rev 19:15 represents the commands of God, and we are being told he will enforce this for all mankind. That, “He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty” is reiterating the fact that Christ is the one that carries out this wrath.
And
said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him
that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17 For the great day
of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand
On
his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF
LORDS. NIV
This verse is to make sure that everyone knows it is the
“Only
begotten Son of God” that is leading this final battle against Satan
and all he has established. For the
system Satan has so carefully put together over the ages, is about to be
completely destroyed.
And
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,
NIV
That this angel is standing in the sun means he is about to carry out an
order from God concerning the earth and its inhabitants.
We should be used to this association in Revelation, for when angels are
about to do something on the earth they are related to the earth in some way
such as…
Then
I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud,
with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like
fiery pillars. NIV
Now
this angel in Rev 19:17 is calling out to all the birds of the earth to gather
together for a great feast. Since
verse 17 ends in a comma, lets put it together with verse 18, because they both
are the same thought.
so
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." NIV
The
birds represent nature, the glory of the created earth swallowing up the last
remnants of Satan’s system or world. For
we are being told here of the end of Satan and his world and all that he has put
together.
Then
I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to
make war against the rider on the horse and his army.
NIV
Who
is this beast?
The
great dragon was hurled down-that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan,
who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels
with him. NIV
So we
can see it is Satan and all the forces on earth that he controls, the kings
their armies, and all the supposed mighty men of the earth.
Everyone in Satan’s camp, both great and small are part of the beast
spoken of in the Bible.
But
the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the
miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had
received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were
thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
NIV
The
false prophet spoken of above is the great harlot Babylon the Great, which we
have seen in a previous chapter, was destroyed.
Do
not be confused with time here for all these events are actually happening in
the same space of time, but they are being related separately so we can be aware
of the fate of each.
The
rest of them were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the rider
on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.
NIV
It can be pointed
out here that “The sword that came out of the
mouth of the rider on the horse,” is the
sword of truth we learned of in previous chapters.
It is the sword that cuts to the heart of any matter.
Who are “The rest of
them” that are cut down with this sword?
They are the kings, the armies, the mighty men etc.
But they also include another group not mentioned.
That group is those that thought they could sit on the fence and not
commit themselves one way or the other. The
point here is… there is no fence. You
are either in the camp of the Almighty, as part of his family, or you are in
Satan’s camp. Let us repeat what
was just said…
"He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters." NIV
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