Revelation 19, "Suddenly the Lord Descending"

Revelation 19 is the final act of the gospel. It is the main event our whole world is waiting for. For those who believe in Jesus, it is our great hope. For those who reject Jesus, it is a fearful day of judgment. For those who aren’t sure where they stand, hear John’s testimony and consider your response.

When All the Work is Done, Worship

The message of our passage is that Jesus is coming back. Followers of Jesus have been given work to do to prepare for Jesus’ return. But the real focus of verses 6-10 is not on our work, per se, but our worship.

Verses 6-8 is a song of praise to God.

Revelation 19:6 (ESV)

Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,

“Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.

God reigns. He is Almighty. He is Lord. So, sing His praises! In His sovereignty, He is accomplishing a plan. He is recreating the world, bringing His kingdom in Christ. And the climax of that plan is a union of God with His people forever. He has been preparing an eternal kingdom in which He will dwell with His people in perfect peace.

As we read the final chapters of Revelation, we begin to anticipate this end day, when the plan will reach its completion. The first event is a wedding feast, celebrating the union of Christ with His people. The church is pictured as a bride prepared for her wedding day.

In the Hebrew Bible, Israel is the bride of Yahweh.

Isaiah 54:5 (ESV)

For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called.

And in the New Testament, the church is the bride of Christ. Jesus referred to Himself as the bridegroom,

Mark 2:19–20 (ESV)

And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.

Paul talks about his ministry as preparing the church to meet Christ as a pure, radiant bride,

2 Corinthians 11:2 (ESV)

For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.

Ephesians 5:25–27 (ESV)

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,

so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

In Revelation 19:6-10, the focus is on being ready.

Revelation 19:6–8 (ESV)

Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,

“Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.

Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready;

it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

What does a bride who is making herself ready for her husband do? She tells all her friends about him. She remains faithful to him. She prepares to spend the rest of her life with him. She works toward that life. In this case, with the bride of Christ, she works out her salvation.

Philippians 2:12–13 (ESV)

… work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

There are good works God has prepared for us to carry out as His saved people on earth.

Ephesians 2:10 (ESV)

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Good works are the clothes God has granted the bride of Christ to wear. They are like a fine, bright, and pure garment.

1 Timothy 2:9–10 (ESV)

likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works.

This is the contrast of the church as the bride of Christ with the prostitute of chapters 17-18. Babylon the Great was adorned with scarlet and purple and gold, but these signs of wealth had come through works of evil and bloodshed. The Church is adorned with the fruit of the Spirit and the acts of kindness, love, and service.

While there is plenty of application for us here, this song is really a song of praise to God. He has done the work. He has saved us.

Revelation 19:7 (ESV)

Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready;

Why should we rejoice and exult and give God glory? Because He has brought the consummation day of all His plans. And, He has prepared the righteous deeds for us to do.

Revelation 19:8 (ESV)

it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

This is so true. When you find any opportunity to serve someone in Jesus’ name, you find this reality. God set the whole thing up. He prepared you with the resources, the energy, the time, the attention, the love, whatever. He brought your path across the path of the person in need. The Holy Spirit gives you the words to speak, the peace of mind to be present to that person, and the patience to endure difficulties with love. It is as Jesus said,

Luke 17:10 (ESV)

So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’ ”

It is clear in Revelation 19 that all the attention should be paid to God. John even includes an embarrassing detail. An angel has come to bring the invitation for the faithful to join the wedding feast,

Revelation 19:9 (ESV)

And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

And John is so caught up in the glory of the moment, he bows to worship this angel.

Revelation 19:10 (ESV)

Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Until the day of this wedding supper, we have one task, to bear witness to Jesus. It is a glorious calling. We share in the calling of prophets and angels who have spoken on God’s behalf for all of human history. But when it comes down to it, we are all just servants. God gets the praise. It is His plan to recreate the world into the garden of Eden and to end all evil, and to do all of that through the work of Jesus. It is His message, the gospel of God. That message is our work.

Until the Work is Done, Bear Witness

This whole year we have been looking at this gospel through the scriptures. Here we are at the end of the gospel. God made the world as the place in which humans would partner with Him in His kingdom over creation. We sinned and rebelled against God, and it is Jesus who makes us a new creation in His death and resurrection. The kingdom of God is coming in its fullness when Jesus returns and is united with His faithful followers forever. It is all God, beginning to end.

Jesus’ return is the closing event of the gospel.

Revelation 19:11 (ESV)

Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.

Here comes Jesus, in all His heavenly glory, to complete what He has started. All the armies of heaven are with Him, verse 14,

Revelation 19:14 (ESV)

And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses.

But they are only attending as witnesses. Their clothes remain clean. The final battle belongs to Jesus alone.

Revelation 19:12–13 (ESV)

His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.

This is imagery from Daniel and Ezekiel to describe the divine Messiah coming in the final judgment. His victory is won in a rather unusual way.

Revelation 19:15 (ESV)

From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.

His word is a word of judgment. Jesus speaks the truth and it puts an end to all evil. His word calls true justice into being. This is a contrast to the beast and the false prophets. Their mouths have poured out evil spirits and their words deceived people into worshiping the beast and receiving its mark.

Revelation 19:20 (ESV)

And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.

Jesus will have the final word, and in that final word, evil, injustice, and lies will be punished.

Think about the titles of Jesus in this passage:

Faithful and True (19:11)

The Word of God (19:13)

King of kings and Lord of lords (19:16)

and there is one name “no one knows but himself (19:12).”

Jesus is God the Son who took on human nature. Everything God wanted to reveal about Himself, He revealed in Jesus. There are things He has not revealed, thus the name no one knows but himself. But everything we need to know is summarized in these three titles.

He is Truth incarnate. He is faithful to God the Father and He is faithful to keep God’s promises to us. He is the Word of God to us. And because of His perfect obedience as a human, God has granted Him authority to judge all humans. His word will be like a sword that cuts through all the lies people live opposed to God and His kingdom. He will reveal the truth about all of us.

Many people choose to live by lies and deception because it is safer than turning your life over to God. We like the thought that we can control things, that we don’t need a king to rule us. But in the end, when the King of kings comes, there will be no argument. He will claim His rightful place as the King over all. For those that harden their hearts and take the side of the beast, even in the face of someone so pure, perfect, and powerful as Jesus Christ.

As we have seen all through Revelation, this passage is filled with contrasts. The reader is supposed to consider… Which side am I on, the side of the saints and angels who dwell in heaven or the earth-dwellers who worship the beast? Which kind of person am I, a follower of the Lamb bearing faithful witness and doing righteous deeds or a worshipper of the beast participating in evil and prostituting myself to the comforts of this world? Where is my allegiance, to God and to the Lamb and their eternal kingdom, or to the dragon and the beast whose kingdom will be destroyed? Am I in the armies of heaven who will conquer the earth with the returning King of kings or in the army of the beast who will be judged with him?

The big contrast here is the invitation to join the marriage supper of the Lamb as part of His bride, feasted in His presence

Revelation 19:9 (ESV)

And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

versus becoming the great supper of God, struck down by the word of Jesus the returning King and feasted on by the birds of the air.

Revelation 19:21 (ESV)

And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.

Choose your king, choose your judgment. John is bearing witness to the reader. This is our future. Jesus will return. That is the hope of the believer that one day will be realized. That is the judgment on the one who joins the army of the beast, stubbornly opposing God and actively fighting Jesus.

And here is the gospel. We all hear the words of Jesus calling us to repent and believe and live in the kingdom of God. If you have responded in obedience, you are united by faith to Jesus in His death on the cross and you have died to sin, and in His resurrection and you are a new creation in Christ. If you have responded to the gospel of Jesus with a hard heart and chosen the world and the kingdom of man, ruled by self will, your punishment is assured when you see Jesus face to face. There is a third group, not discussed in chapter 19. We will meet them next week. They are those who remain uncommitted. John’s letter is another opportunity to consider the gospel before the final day when Jesus Christ returns in His glory to judge all people. Consider what God has done to provide your salvation in Christ and trust the One who is the Faithful and True Word of God.

Communion

Questions for Discussion

What is your favorite story about a hero who rides into some place in trouble to save the day? Why do we love those stories?

Why does the imagery of a marriage supper describe the return of Christ so well?

What do we learn about God in this passage?

Who is Jesus, according to our passage?

What do we learn about ourselves? What is our identity? What is our calling?

When you share the gospel, where does the return of Jesus fit? How often do you share that part of the gospel message, and in what context?

How does the return of Jesus affect the way you live now?

How will you respond to this passage?

Who is someone you can share this passage with this week?