Revelation 19

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Revelation 19:1–21 ESV
1 After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, 2 for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.” 3 Once more they cried out, “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.” 4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” 5 And from the throne came a voice saying, “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great.” 6 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. 7 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; 8 it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. 9 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.” 10 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. 11 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. 12 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. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 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. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. 17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, 18 to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.” 19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. 20 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. 21 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.
Who could rejoice after destruction?
Last week we were able to see the pronouncement of the destruction of the antichrist, the false prophet, and Babylon. The false prophet had manipulated this world into thinking the antichrist could bring peace, which he did but only for a short period of time. After the short lived peace, turmoil and calamities struck the earth causing leaders to look to the antichrist for deliverance. Now, they too were seeing their hopes and dreams go up in smoke, literally. Because of the grievous sin of Babylon, her fall and destruction will be swift. Her plagues will come in a single day. Literally, plagues of death will fall one minute, and fire will destroy it the next. The destruction is swift, violent, and the city will be reduced to ashes. Total, complete, and final destruction will come to Babylon, simply because they rejected God and their evil and sinful influence corrupted the whole world as a result. During a time like this, who could rejoice? Who could sing praises during destruction? The righteous, and that’s exactly what we see done.

Rejoicing in Heaven

Revelation 19:1–5 ESV
1 After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, 2 for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.” 3 Once more they cried out, “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.” 4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” 5 And from the throne came a voice saying, “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great.”
What has happened now that changes the judgments to rejoicing?
After this - we have been looking at the time of the Great Tribulation for the past 14 chapters. Now we see a change - the Tribulation is coming to an end and now the focus is placed on heaven and Christ’s second coming. It is a time of rejoicing and victory. After Babylon was destroyed, a great roar from heaven could be heard. This is the same phrase used in 7:9 where the “great multitude” refers to the martyred dead of the Great Tribulation. To them, Babylon’s defeat would be a great victory!
Hallelujah - literally translated “Praise the Lord” is found four times in the New Testament, and all here in the next few verses. This is literally a heavenly “hallelujah chorus”.
There is a statement of fact - salvation and glory and power belong to our God
Salvation - delivery, preservation
Glory - highest esteem, honor
Power - influence on earthly activities with supernatural ability
Judgments - a passing of decision upon a person or thing through a process of investigation and determination
God is the only one who possesses the traits and qualities to truly judge others based on their actions and deeds. Though in a position of glory, having power and might, He still offers salvation so judgment of sin can be avoided.
How many years has God extended us grace and mercy?
How many years had God stood in disappointment over His creation?
How many years will it be until the world will return like the time of Noah and God will pass judgment that no one else will turn from their reprobate mind and accept salvation?
How many years, months, days, hours, minutes, or seconds are left before you face Jesus Christ face to face?
The 24 elders and 4 living creatures are mentioned again as they sing a hallelujah chorus, along with another voice (assuming this is an angel) saying Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great.

Wedding of the Lamb

Revelation 19:6–9 ESV
6 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. 7 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; 8 it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. 9 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.”
Who is the bride of Christ?
The church (all saved)!
We see the fourth “Hallelujah” in verse 6, which sounded like a great roar of people - all those who were in heaven, crying out so loud it roared like a great waterfall or thunder. There is a reverential acknowledgment that it is God who controls all of heaven and earth. We hear a warning in the Gospels:
Matthew 25:1-13
Matthew 25:1–13 ESV
1 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12 But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
But in Revelation, we see a great picture being painted before us - the marriage of the Lamb (groom) and his Bride (believers) has come. All the excitement, the anticipation, the preparation - it is all really happening! The bride is dressed in fine linen - believers are justified (made pure) by their faith - and stand before their groom based on their salvation.
Description of preparation for our wedding. Nervousness, excitement, happiness.
Who is invited to this joyous union?
Notice the differentiation among the attendees. Jewish believers (Messianic Jews), Gentile believers, martyred believers, all believers will be gathered together in the great banquet hall, for the very first time and for one purpose - to worship God.

Worship

Revelation 19:10 ESV
10 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.
What correction do we see repeated to John?
John was not yet in a glorified body, and this scene was so impressive, he fell down to worship at the angels feet. Again, the angel urged him to get up and worship only God since he (the angel) was only a fellow servant with John. In other words, he had not seen anything yet.

Second Coming

Revelation 19:11–21 ESV
11 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. 12 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. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 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. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. 17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, 18 to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.” 19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. 20 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. 21 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.
What is John witnessing?
As John saw heaven open, he saw prophetically Christ’s second coming and the events which will follow it. The prophecy of the second coming is found all throughout scripture.
Where else in scripture do we see this prophecy?
Jeremiah 23:1–8 ESV
1 “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. 2 Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people: “You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the Lord. 3 Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. 4 I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord. 5 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’ 7 “Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when they shall no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ 8 but ‘As the Lord lives who brought up and led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.’ Then they shall dwell in their own land.”
Daniel 7:13–14 ESV
13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
Zechariah 14:1–9 ESV
1 Behold, a day is coming for the Lord, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. 2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. 5 And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. 6 On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost. 7 And there shall be a unique day, which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light. 8 On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter. 9 And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one.
Mark 13:24–27 ESV
24 “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.
Acts 1:10–11 ESV
10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
I can with all certainty tell you, scripture confirms a second return of Christ. As John gazed into heaven, he saw Christ on a white horse. Though some have identified this rider with the rider in 6:2, the context is entirely different. In 6:2 the rider is the world ruler of the Great Tribulation, while here the rider is a ruler who obviously comes from heaven itself. The white horse is a sign of His coming triumph.
Who is described as returning on the white horse?
The white horse is a symbol of Christ’s triumph over the forces of wickedness in the world. The horse’s rider is called Faithful and True for, as John declared, With justice He judges and makes war. The rider obviously is Jesus Christ, returning to the earth in glory. That He is coming as Judge is further supported by the fact that He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood.
Isaiah 63:2–3 ESV
2 Why is your apparel red, and your garments like his who treads in the winepress? 3 “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 drama of the scene is further enhanced by the multitude of the armies of heaven described as riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. In Christ’s mouth was a sharp sword which He would use to strike down the nations. The scene on earth is the final stage of the great world war that will be under way for many weeks. With armies battling up and down the Holy Land for victory, on the very day of the return of Christ there will be house-to-house fighting in Jerusalem itself. The armies of earth are no match for the armies from heaven.The beast and his armies will gather to fight against Christ and His army. The outcome of this battle—referred to in 16:14 as “the battle on the great day of God Almighty”—is summarized in 19:19–21. The world rulers—the beast and the false prophet—will both be captured. Their former miraculous demonic power will no longer be sufficient to save them. Both of them will be thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
The Bible is clear that judgment awaits the wicked, and the second coming of Christ is the occasion for a worldwide judgment unparalleled in Scripture since the time of Noah’s flood.
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