Why We Rejoice

We rejoice because of God’s judgments.

When we are introduced to the redeemed in chapter 7, they are described as “a great multitude” (v.9) that cries out “with a loud voice” (v.10). There, they praise God and the Lamb for “salvation,” which here is expanded to include judgments of the great prostitute which avenges the blood of God’s servants.

In verse 3, we get the first of four hallelujahs…means “praise YHWH!” This is theologically significant. This great multitude consists of people from every tribe, nation, language and tongue, and they all proclaim the phrase of worship unique to Israel’s God.

God’s actions are again called true and just. Remember, this means what He does is in accordance with reality and it is fitting to that reality.

Why is Babylon judged? She corrupted the earth with her immorality and shed the blood of God’s people. This judgment is just, and God’s saints are avenged (punished according to what is due on another’s behalf.)

The forever nature of Babylon’s judgment is underscored by the fact that the smoke from her goes up forever and ever. This could harken back to Sodom and Gomorrah who was judged and “the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace” (Gen.19:28) and the pronouncement of on Edom in Isaiah 34:10 “Night and day it shall not be quenched; its smoke shall go up forever. From generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it forever and ever.”

Seeing all that has unfolded, the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures now worship God. Before (Rev.5:8-10), they fell down because the Lamb was worthy to break the seal and unroll the scroll. Now, they proclaim amen, confidently agreeing and affirming God’s actions, expressing trust. In response, a voice from the throne exhorts all of God’s servants, both small and great, to give Him praise. To offer praise is to “extol the greatness of a deity or the deity’s work as an act of worship.”

We often confine our response to God to what individually happens in our personal lives, but this passage invites us to look beyond just self, into the nature of God and how He works in salvation history. Yes, we enter His courts with thanksgiving, even mindful of how He has worked in our individual lives, but we also enter with praise for who He is. Consider even the first two lines of how Jesus teaches us to pray… “Our Father” — drawing near in this intimate reverence because that is WHO He is, and “Hallowed be Your name” or we worship You for who You are. A.W. Tozer noted that the most important thing about us is what comes to mind when we think about God. He’s making a point that God is God, we are not, and even in the divine name YHWH, there is the teaching that God is who He has determined He will be, and He always will be who he has declared Himself to be, and the only person who gets to determine that is God Himself. So it would behoove us to understand Him rightly and respond accordingly! This is to worship God in truth.

We rejoice because we are clothed in righteousness.

Hallelujah is heard again, and this time the praise centers around the fact that the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi all use “Lord God the Almighty” to refer to God as He sovereignly directs His people’s history. Here, the point is underscored, leaving no doubt. God exercises sovereign control over the events of mankind. As has been proven, His reign is unrivaled and cannot be thwarted. Zech.14:9 foresees the Lord’s reign over all the earth in view of a final eschatological rule, defeating all of His enemies.

The reason for rejoicing is the marriage of…the Lamb has come. His Bride is ready and she is clothed with fine linen…the righteous deeds of the saints. Noted in vs.7 is the comparison between the faithful and their juxtaposition with the harlot and those who pursue her. Consider also that the great harlot Babylon refused to marry (Rev.18:7) while Christ is seen as the One forever pledging Himself to His people.

Let’s camp out here for just a moment, because this wedding picture is beautiful. Consider the typical marriage customs of John’s day. First, there is a period of betrothal where the bride is promised to the groom. So binding is the betrothal that the man is called husband (2 Cor. 11:2) and the woman wife (Luke 2:5). The betrothal period allows the dowry price to be paid and gives time for home addition to be made to the father of the groom’s house. When all is requirements are met, the groom comes to the wife’s father’s home with an entourage of friends to bring back his bride. A wedding supper would be held, and the marriage would be consummated and sealed. Hendricksen draws out the wedding picture in relation to the church, culminating here. The entire OT period announced the wedding was coming, and with Christ’s first advent, the betrothal took place. The dowry price was paid on the cross, and he returned to the Father to add on to the Father’s house. Now, the Bridegroom returns for His bride and the marriage of the Lamb has come!

The Lamb’s bride wears their righteous deeds. There is the completed and transacted righteousness that all believers possess. This is contextually evident in that whenever the saints wear white in Revelation, it is because they’ve have been given this gift from God (see Rev.3:5-6, 18; 6:11; 7:13-14; even in 3:18, the church is encouraged to obtain these clothes from Christ in order to have matching apparel). Believers also have the responsibility to clothe ourselves with righteousness (see Eph.4:22-24). All of the works the Father has prepared for His people to do (Eph.2:10), which they have faithful done, clothe the church…the Bride…in fine linen, bright and pure. In Isa.61:10 God clothes His people with “a robe of righteousness,” an OT backdrop for this passage.

Isaiah prophesied about a “feast of rich food” that the LORD makes “for all peoples” in Isa.25:6-8. The Lord Himself used similar language in Matt.22:1-14; 25:10; 26:29. It is symbolic for the forever unification of God Christ with His people. Those who are invited are the ones who have been called by the gospel of grace. The word is stronger than simply receiving an invitation to an event one may or may not be able to attend. This is not an “I hope you can make it” situation. The word used is keklemenoi, the root of which is kaleo, and it means “to be summoned or become subject to an authoritative demand for one’s presence and participation.”

The message of grace sparked worship from John as he attempts to fall down and worship the angel. He is reprimanded, for the angel is only a fellow servant. With this rebuke, we are reminded that all of salvation history comes to a head in Jesus because the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Even though we hate the persecution of Babylon, we are reminded that with difficulty comes refinement. Remember the encouragement a few weeks back…don’t despise the desert. These trials…the persecution we face at the hands of Babylon, they only serve the purpose of further forming our faith in Christ. 1 Peter 1:7–9 “so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

We rejoice because Christ fights for us.

Christ came first on a beast of burden, second on a horse for war. However, as the passage unfolds, the reader finds that Jesus is victorious before the battle begins. That truth is hinted at here as white is the color of peace and victory.

His names are Faithful and True.He was faithful to the will of the Father, and will prove faithful still through His victory over His enemies and the vindication of His saints. Also, He is True. That is, His actions and deeds are the standard for reality. This is significant when weighed against the false prophet who sought to deceive.

Jesus has eyes…like…fire, indicating divine insight and fierce judgment, drawing from Dan.10:6 and remembering Jesus’ initial description in Rev.1:14-16, creating this single narrative through Revelation.

He wears many diadems, a reflection of the fact that He is the Lord of lords and King of kings (Rev.17:14). And, He has a name…no one knows by Himself. Even with all of the revelation John has received, there are still mysteries to the divine Son which He cannot yet know. The mystery of this name of the Son of God stands as a reminder that God is above and beyond His creation. The finite mind is unable to fully comprehend the Infinite.

When Jesus shows up to the battle, already victorious, He has blood on His robe, even though there has not yet been a battle. It seems quite clear this is a reference to Isaiah 63:1–3 “Who is this who comes from Edom, in crimsoned garments from Bozrah, he who is splendid in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength? “It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.” Why is your apparel red, and your garments like his who treads in the winepress? “I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with me; I trod them in my anger and trampled them in my wrath; their lifeblood spattered on my garments, and stained all my apparel.” The fact that the battle has not yet happened, yet Jesus is covered in blood, could be two-fold:

His blood was evidence that He is the Lamb standing as though slain, absorbing God’s wrath for the saints.

Jesus is the One who will execute the wrath of God on those who hard-heartedly refuse God’s good rule.

He is called the Word of God, the final and full testimony of the Father. Indeed, as the Word of God, which even carries OT overtones of a “promise” or “prophetic word” (see 1 Kgs.8:56), Jesus is the culmination of all that God has said and promised through the ages. The OT looks forward in hopeful anticipation, while the NT looks backward in confident fulfillment, and all of it comes to fruition in Jesus the Messiah.

The Lamb’s armies are dressed in fine linen, white and pure. This is the Bride of the Lamb, clothed in righteousness. They, too, ride white horses, showing that they share in His victory.

Rev.19:15 is ripe with OT imagery.

Psalm 2:9 promised a king who would rule with a rod of iron.

The Isa.63 passages comes into focus again. He will tread the winepress, perhaps drawing from Isa.63:1-6 where the grapes of wrath are tread by God alone.

There is a sharp sword reminiscent of Isa.49:2. God’s servant has a mouth like a sharp sword, and this has the dual benefit of identifying Jesus with the servant of Isaiah’s narrative.

His sword will allow Him to strike down the nations, alluding to Isa.11:4 where the Messiah is said to “strike the earth with the rod of His mouth.” See above for further implications from Isa.11.

The rider will rule…with a rod of iron. Again, this picks up on Ps.2:9 where the Messiah breaks the nations with His iron rod. This speaks of God’s word that condemns the ungodly.

The names tattooed on His thigh match the many crowns that He wears upon His head and matches His mighty rule.

When we think of Jesus, we can be tempted to only think of the meek and mild, gather the children around Him, tame Sunday school picture of Christ. Here, He shown to be the “not tame but safe lion” that He is, a divine warrior executing judgment and ruling sovereignly over His creation. He’s crushing His enemies as He treads the winepress of God’s wrath. He has an army gathered about Him that is fiercely loyal. This is part of the beauty and the mystery of the God we serve…a King who not only suffered and died to secure our certainty in eternity, but who also conquers our enemies and fights for us in the meantime and in the end. We rejoice because the Greatest Warrior is on our side!

We rejoice because the enemy is utterly defeated.

There is an invitation for the birds to come and feast on the flesh of kings…,and the flesh of all men. This remembers God’s prophetic word spoken against Gog and Magog (Ezk.39:17-20) and foreshadows their naming in Rev.20:8. The inclusion of people, from kings to small and great, is a way of saying everyone who has bowed the knee to the beast will be judged. God making His name as holy to all through the defeat of God and Magog. There has been a dual purpose in chapter 19 to reveal Christ’s name and show Him as a judge over His enemies, very similar to Ezk.39.

In the context of Ezekiel 39:7 ““And my holy name I will make known in the midst of my people Israel, and I will not let my holy name be profaned anymore. And the nations shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.” and Ezekiel 39:25 ““Therefore thus says the Lord God: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for my holy name.”, we see God’s concern for holiness of His own name. While we can tend toward turning inward to find ourselves at the center of this narrative, the Ezekiel context helps us remember that this is God’s story for the sake of His name, and all that He is and does is a reflection of His character that He might be worshiped in truth. It’s our unity with His name that invites persecution, and it’s only because of our association with His Name that our vindication is certain.

The beast, along with his minion kings gather for war against Jesus. This looks back to Rev.16:14. The word for gathered is passive and would perhaps be better understood as “were gathered.” They themselves did not assemble, but were assembled together. This is likely under the influence of the enemy, but also points to God’s sovereignty in the matter.

While all of their forces have gathered for battle (v.19), the beast…, and…the false prophet are captured. In judgment, they are thrown into the lake of fire. Then, their followers are slain by the sword. Ultimately, the only ones to escape the battle are the Lamb and His army. It is an utter victory for God and His people.

Consider what the beast and the false prophet represent. The beast exercised the ability to persecute the people of God and do them harm, even killing them. The false prophet was symbolic of the enemy’s ability to deceive. As they are cast into the lake of fire, the church will nevermore fear the enemy’s persecution and deceptive lies!

Make no mistake, lest we buy the enemy’s lie, we are in a war. But, that battle is not against earthly powers but spiritual ones (see Eph.6:10-17). Spiritual warfare is not a matter we can take a “head-in-the-sand” approach to. Prayer matters, for it surrenders to God’s good rule and trusts Him to fight our battles. Scripture intake matters, for it’s the only rule we have for life and thought…it’s the only weapon that is true that helps us fight off the enemies attacks. And we continue to fight, because our Savior is a Warrior, and this battle that began in the beginning, that escalated with His first coming, He will finish it, brining our vindication as well, as He wins the final and forever victory for the sake of His own glory! So fight hard and finish the race. Daily dig into your disciplines. Hold the line. Christ the King is coming!