Revelation 19:1-10

Revelation 19:1-10 - Ding Dong the Witch is Dead; I’m Getting Married in the Morning

Revelation 18:20; 19:1-10 - Ding Dong the Witch is Dead – Ding Dong the Bells are Gonna Ring

As I was preparing for the sermon this morning from Revelation 19 two songs just kept coming to mind. We are going to look at two celebrations. The first is the celebration of the destruction of the Harlot; Babylon the Great and the other celebration is the Wedding Feast of the Lamb. If you have not figured out what the two songs are from that hint then I guess I’ll have to sing them. Ding dong the witch is dead the mean old witch the wicked witch. Ding dong the wicked witch is dead. And: I’m getting married in the morning, ding dong the bells are gonna ring. Now since I have sang the two songs now they are out of my head and into yours. Just for the record I titled this message; “Ding Dong”. We had better pray.

We are going to begin our reading this morning in chapter 18 with just one verse, verse 20 and then go on and read Revelation 19:1-10. Revelation 18:20; 19:1-10 20 “Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets, for God has avenged you on her!”[1]…1After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God! 2 For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.” 3 Again they said, “Alleluia! Her smoke rises up forever and ever!” 4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, “Amen! Alleluia!” 5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!” 6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! 7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” 8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 9 Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed arethose who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.” 10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that!I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

In verse 20 of chapter 18 a voice from heaven (whom I believe to be God the Father) commands the heaven (all the angels and the redeemed of God in heaven), the holy apostles and the prophets to rejoice. The rejoicing is over the destruction of Babylon, the harlot, who led the people of the earth away from God. Those who would not be led away, the prophets and saints, she killed. To that command to rejoice we see the celebration found in verses 1-6 that we just read.

In this passage we find 4 Hallelujahs. This is the only place in all of the New Testament that you find that word. It is a Hebrew word that is un-translated and is used in almost every human language. It is a contraction of two Hebrew words. “Hallelu” which means “to praise” and a shortened version of Yahweh, “Yah”, which is the Hebrew covenant name of the one true God. But it is not just a form of praise, it is in the imperative mood so, it is a command to praise the LORD. In the Old Testament we find the word used often and it is often found along with a reminder of just exactly who God is and what He has done and we find that also here in chapter 19 of Revelation.

In verse 1 and 2 we find our first Hallelujah or Alleluia (they mean the same thing). In that hallelujah we see that salvation, glory, honor and power all belong to the Lord our God. We have seen similar statements made throughout Revelation about Jesus but this time salvation, glory, honor and power are attributed to God the Father. When we praise and honor Jesus we are also praising and honoring God the Father and the same is true in reverse. In the triune God alone is all salvation, all glory, all honor, and all power. But we also see in this hallelujah that His judgments are true and righteous. When God’s judgment is meted out on the harlot, Babylon the great, all of God’s creation is in agreement because it is the right judgment for those who oppose God and seek to supplant Him. We also see in this praise of God that He is the avenger of His people. All the way through the Old Testament we see God avenging His people. We saw it in the Exodus, we also saw it when God judged Moab for their leading the children of Israel into idolatry through Balaam, we have seen it in the stories of God’s deliverance in the Judges and with the defeat of the Philistines when the shepherd David killed Goliath. David spoke of God avenging His people all through the Psalms. When the sins of the harlot piled up to heaven God remembered and He avenged His people. She corrupted the earth with her adulteries, leading others into sin and she is guilty of the blood of God’s servants. God has now avenged the blood of His people.

In verse 3 we find the second hallelujah and the reason for it. Not only has evil been judged, but the sentence is without possibility of reversal. The Harlot Babylon is pictured as an everlasting ruin: the smoke of her burning goes up for ever and ever. Because God lives “for ever and ever”, his righteous condemnation also endures forever. In the Book of Revelation, three times he measures out eternal punishment: to the followers of the beast in chapter 14:11, then to the great prostitute here in chapter 19:11 that we just read and to the “unholy trinity” of dragon (Satan), beast (Antichrist), and false prophet when we get to chapter 20:10. Wicked humans, wicked world systems, and wicked spirits alike will one day go into eternal destruction.[2]

In verses 4-5 we see the third Hallelujah and its reason. In verse four the 24 elders and the four living creatures that we met the first time back in chapter 4 and have not seen again since chapter 14 fall down and worship before the throne of God. Their exclamation; “Amen! Hallelujah” which literally means “truly it is so! Praise Yahweh!” With this hallelujah we see the proclamation that God alone is worthy of all worship; there is no other. Not only is it the guardians of the throne room that worship Him. A voice booms from the throne with a command to “Praise our God” written in the Greek version of hallelujah and it includes all of His servants who fear Him with a holy reverence, the powerless and the powerful, all of creation will bow down and worship Him because He alone is worthy of worship.

Then in verse 6 we see the final Hallelujah. This time the praise crescendos to an almost defining level as all the citizenry of heaven cries out together “Hallelujah! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Was there ever any doubt that the Lord God Omnipotent reigned? Let’s face it, many of those who are in the presence of God suffered not just petty trials like we do, they faced true persecution, beheadings, hangings, burnings, crucifixions, being torn apart by wild animals in the Roman arenas or being hacked to death by gladiators and even being forced to fight one another to the death. Did they ever doubt that the Lord God omnipotent reigns? A moment ago I called our trials petty; please don’t think that I am ridiculing your personal struggles. But for the most part our trials and tribulations are not life and death unless it is our health. We are not faced with “choose Christ and die” situations. That does occur in many places today in the world but not here not now. We face struggles with our health, finances, moral disintegration in our culture, out of control government and the likes and they are real struggles but we might as well admit that in those struggles we often wonder if the omnipotent God really does reign. But here the redeemed of God worshiping before Him recognize His judgment on the world system that had so diligently sought to draw them away from God or kill them, demonstrates that indeed He reigns. Hallelujah the Lord God Omnipotent reigns.

We began our look this morning at our passage with a call to celebrate; to rejoice over God avenging His people on the Harlot that sought to supplant God and destroy His people. In verses 7- 10 we again see a call to celebrate. Let’s read again Revelation 19:7-10 7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” 8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 9 Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed arethose who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.” 10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that!I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

In Matthew 5:11-12 we are told to be glad and rejoice when we are persecuted and abused because of Christ. Peter tells us in 1 Peter 4:12-13 to be glad that we participated in the suffering of Christ so that we can rejoice when His glory is revealed. But here in Revelation we see that is all over. The harlot, the world system that has sought to destroy the people of God has herself been destroyed. In coming weeks we will see the destruction of those who worshiped the Beast, we will see the Beast, the False Prophet and the Dragon thrown into the pit of fire that burns forever. We were told to rejoice over that earlier. Now we are told that the consummation of our betrothal has arrived, we will be glad and rejoice and give our beloved glory. The marriage of the Lamb has arrived.

To understand the significance of this marriage feast let’s look at the ancient marriage practices of the Hebrew people. To begin with the parents would choose the bride for the groom. Then the groom would pay the bride price. After that the groom would go away and prepare a place for his bride to live. From this point on they were considered husband and wife and were to remain faithful as husband and wife anticipating the day of consummation. When the grooms father determined that the place for his bride was prepared the groom would return for his bride and take her to the wedding feast and the marriage would be consummated. How that relates to us and the marriage feast of the Lamb is this: According to Ephesians 1:3-6 God chose us (believers) before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before Him in love to be a part of His church the bride. On the cross the bride price was paid to purchase us from our sin and rebellion against God. In John 14 Jesus told His disciples and us that He was going to prepare a place for them and that He would return to get them and bring them to Himself. That is the point in history we are in today. In Revelation 14:14-16 we get a description of Christ coming to get His own as He harvests His people. In Matthew 22, the parable of the 10 virgins we get the description of Revelation 19:7, the wedding feast of the Lamb. All of Revelation speaks of the consummation of the marriage of Christ and His bride the church.

All the while the church, the bride of Christ, awaits for our Groom, the Lamb, to come and take us to the wedding feast we have struggles, trials, sometimes persecutions. But all of this is intended to prepare us for the consummation of the union, it is what is meant by “His wife has made herself ready.” But let’s face it, the bride is not worthy to be wed to the Lamb who is worthy of all worship and honor and glory and power. That is why it is significant that John is told in verse 8: “8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.” Let’s just go ahead and acknowledge the fact that none of us are worthy of wearing white as it relate to being a bride. We have all prostituted ourselves to the world. But He has given us the righteousness required to be wed to the Lamb of God. That is why we are told that we are given the fine linen garment which represents the righteous acts (better translated as righteousness) of the saints. The righteousness of the saints is not their own righteousness it is the righteousness of Christ. Ephesians 5:25-27 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. [3] It is the work of Christ that washed us, made us spotless and ready for the wedding feast. Throughout Christian history, every holy attitude and good deed prompted by God’s grace have been woven into the tapestry of the bride’s attire.[4] Our righteousness is truly His righteousness.

Verse 9 can be somewhat confusing. We know there is the Lamb/Groom, and we know that there is the bride/church but who are the ones who are blessed to be called to the wedding feast of the Lamb? Some have tried to designate those called to the wedding supper as the Old Testament Saints but the church is defined as every believer of every age from every tribe, tongue, people and nation. So I think a better way of understanding this statement is that the body of Christ, the church as a whole is brought into the wedding feast but the body of Christ is made up of individual people, you and me so the Bride is brought in by the calling of individual believers. This to me makes it clear that being a part of an organization, the church, is not sufficient for salvation, it is instead as Paul described it in Romans 8:30 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.[5] God through Christ redeems individual souls to make usp His Bride the church. Then the angel made it clear that the everything he had told to John were the true words of God just like us reading our Bibles today must understand that this is God’s true word, it is just as if God were standing before us speaking. Just as an aside that puts a whole new slant on what it means to disobey the holy Scriptures. The word of God is literally God’s speaking to you.

John has been hearing some marvelous things, the four hallelujahs, the rejoicing over the destruction of the Harlot that had killed the saint, apostles and prophets. Then came the announcement of the Lamb of God taking for Himself His bride that He prepared for Himself. And John is overcome with joy and probably relief knowing that in the end he will be a part of that wedding feast and this causes him to just bow down before the messenger of God, the servant angel. The angel gently reminds John that God alone is worthy of worship, that he is only a servant like John and the other believers. This is how he said it; “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! But then he adds this; For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” I believe in this sense the word “prophecy” is the heart of proclaiming the words of God. That is what the martyrs were killed for after all. What the angel is saying is that only when Jesus’ human servants proclaim the same message that Jesus taught and attested do they truly prophesy.[6]The words of Jesus lived out in the lives and words of His servants is the proclamation of God, that is the spirit of prophecy.

We began this passage with a celebration that the wicked witch is dead. With that celebration came the proclamation of Hallelujah declaring who God is and what He has done. It was a celebration because the harlot was dead but the harlot was destroyed because of Who God is and what He has done in avenging His people. But the next celebration was one of pure joy; the consummation of all the believer has been waiting for has arrived. All trials and tribulations are gone and we are united with the One we have loved by faith and longed for in person. The Lamb of God has taken His bride the church as a whole made up of individual believers who have been changed by the work of their beloved in their lives. None of us in the body of Christ deserve the invitation outside of the work of Christ and the grace of God. To that we can all say hallelujah! We who are believers must be proclaiming the true words of God declaring hallelujah, praise the LORD to a world that has nothing to celebrate because all they are attracted to will be gone. The testimony of Christ, living our lives in word and deed as true believers is the spirit of prophecy.

But I cannot leave this morning without asking; have you anything to celebrate? Are you a part of the world system that seeks to supplant God? Have you been called to the wedding feast of the Lamb? If not today that can change. Let’s pray.

[1] The New King James Version. (1982). (Re 18:20). Nashville: Thomas Nelson. [2]Easley, K. H. (1998). Revelation(Vol. 12, p. 347). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers. [3] The New King James Version. (1982). (Eph 5:25–27). Nashville: Thomas Nelson. [4]Easley, K. H. (1998). Revelation(Vol. 12, p. 350). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers. [5] The New King James Version. (1982). (Ro 8:30). Nashville: Thomas Nelson. [6]Easley, K. H. (1998). Revelation(Vol. 12, p. 352). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.