"Surely I come quickly." The strange thing to me, is that Jesus Biblical references. THE TE DEUM OF THE ANGELS ( Revelation 19:1-2 ), 19:1-2 After these things I heard what sounded like a great voice of a vast multitude in heaven. My righteousness is not on such a tenuous thing as my faithfulness to devotions or works or whatever. Then another and immensely important act is described the binding of Satan. In Christianity you have a God that is reaching out to man. But now, when those symbols disappear, because of a new action of God (namely, the consummation of the church's joy), the elders and the living creatures disappear, and we have not the bride alone, but another class of saints, who at once come forward. 16:17+).Even though judgment is said to be complete at the pouring of the final bowl, we saw that several more chapters were still ahead before the kingdom of God . So, the great religious system, spiritual fornication is that endeavor to worship God in an unprescribed way. Revelation 19 Commentary - Geneva Study Bible Now, this law that has the backing of the Greek Orthodox Church, or it was instituted because of the Greek Orthodox Church against proselytization, is the law that they used to charge him.In Egypt it is a capital offense to lead a Muslim to a faith in Jesus Christ. Rev. He has a name known to no one but himself. shall be their shepherd, as in Revelation 2:27, Revelation 12:5 Of course in all three places the reference is to Psalms 2:9. Do not wonder at the vast numbers, or at their defection. Just as I said, these robes have been made white by the blood of the Lamb. This remains true. That is letting religion enter in. What's amazing is that the Father never calls His Son "My God," though there are at least 7 times in the NT where Jesus called the Father "My God." twice on the cross, once on resurrection morning with Mary, and 4 times in Revelation 3.12. His equipage: he is again described as sitting on a white horse, to show the equity of the cause, and certainty of success. John's age knew all about the perversion of justice; no one could expect justice from a capricious heathen tyrant. That religious system has an incomparably nearer connection with this mysterious harlot than anything we have yet spoken of. One of our pastors, Imad, spent some time in the Egyptian jail. And there (or they) are seven kings." It is not meant that he who was more honoured in service than any of the twelve, he whom the Lord used for bringing out the church of the heavenly places, will not have his own most singular dignity in this glorious scene. The white linen represents the good deeds of God's dedicated people; that is to say, it is character which forms the robe which arrays the Bride of Christ. He is urged to take up the same cry. A further account of the triumphant song of angels and saints for the fall of Babylon, ver 1-4. 19:13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is the Word of God. To whom else could they say it? Now that time had come. It was important, just because it is the bride, the Lamb's wife, to show that angels are there, and further, that Israel is not forgotten. The armies of heaven are the hosts of the angels. linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.". You can trust in this. It stands for the consuming power of the victorious Christ. heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto the It calls God the Almighty. 18:20. Pilate said, "I find no fault in Him. Then follows the proclamation of the angel, and the invitation to the supper of the great God, to eat the flesh of all the great ones of the earth. Thank God. Hence a song of praise from the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures is a Te Deum from the whole of the Church and the whole of nature. This chapter explains how it was that Babylon was so offensive to God, and wherefore He judged her thus sternly. revelation-19:21 - 16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. The heavenly praise continues, this time for a call for gladness, rejoicing and They were judged every man according to their works. The two of them were cast alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone; and the rest were slain with the sword of him who rides the horse, with the sword which comes out of his mouth; and all the birds were glutted with their flesh. Various suggestions have been made. Lit. But a very different point of interest is to be observed. The surest way to have our deliverances continued and completed is to give God the glory of what he has done for us. Second was the presentation which was a time of festivities just before the "He that testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. (5) But that idea is wholly insufficient to cover or meet the word of God, which gives clear and strong reasons that prove the mistake of applying this to the pope as its complete fulfilment. It was not uncommon for a monarch to wear more than one crown in order to show that he was the king of more than one country. When the Lord takes His own throne, they take theirs by grace. For remark, the beast or Roman empire is described here as that which once existed, which then ceased to exist, and which assumes a final shape when it reappears from the bottomless pit. Moral elements too were not wanting: the mystery of lawlessness had long been at work, though the enemy had not yet brought in the apostacy, and still less the manifestation of the lawless one. God will judge Israel, namely, Jews living when He returns (Ezekiel 20:33-38), and the Gentiles living then (Matthew 25:31-46). There is no doubt that THE RIDER ON THE WHITE HORSE In 19:11 IS CHRIST. - CBSC, the winepress . 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. - Utley, Isaiah 63:1-3; (Source of imagery for the Battle Hymn of the Republic.). union of the church with Christ following the Rapture (see 1 Thess. These are representative of marriage is the eternal union of the church with Christ following the Rapture Gods meting out of justice (verse 2); (3) Here we have the purely Jewish idea of the Word of God. He has with him the armies of heaven. Be wise now therefore, O you kings, be instructed, you rulers of the earth; kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish from the way,Psalms 2:10; Psalms 2:12. Revelation 19:4 "And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down discover_revelation@charter.net, Revelation chapter 19 and 20 His secret name indicates his unique authority (11-12). God has not told us how, nor is it our business. Christ is the Bridegroom at the marriage and his Church is the which sword proceeds out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh ( Revelation 19:21 ). 3:12-15: 2 Cor. This testimony here is not Jesus giving it, but we believers who testify of the That with it he should smite the nations - The nations that were opposed to him; to wit, those especially who were represented by the beast and the false prophet, Revelation 19:18-20. "Yet is" is a most unfortunate expression. The Sword--The Word of His mouth--is now wielded in judgment. Christ will strike down His enemies with a word that His long, tongue-shaped sword (Gr. In one sense it would be an eighth, and in another sense it would be of the seven; the eighth perhaps because of its extraordinary resurrection character, yet one of the seven because it is outwardly old imperialism again. Idealists feel that Revelation relates primarily to the church between the first and second coming of Christ. This I take it, therefore, that God intended this analogy to be noted by us; that it is not a pursuance of the prophecy, but a description of the holy city previously named, just as the other was a description of the corrupt city, whose judgment had been announced. a. Spirit of prophecy: The person and message of Jesus is the THE KING rides at the head of His armies. It begins with the shout of a vast multitude in heaven. (ii) His name is the Word of God. This is the Messiah of Jewish apocalyptic expectation far more than the Messiah whom Jesus claimed to be. The political side of this is described here with surprising brightness and brevity. giving God glory for a fifth reason, the marriage of the Lamb has come. To a Jew a word was not merely a sound; it did things. 22:2-14; John 3:29; 2 Cor. So here is the praise being given to God and now the encouragement for that praise coming from the throne of God. This tells us something about our approach to Verse 1. Again John finds his picture in the prophetic words of the Old Testament, where it is said of the chosen king of God: "With righteousness he shall judge the poor" ( Isaiah 11:4). receive our inheritance, we must read the will. Thus the name of Christ, not merely as the root and the offspring of David, but as the bright morning star, calls out responsively the heart of the church, and this too under the guiding activity of the Holy Ghost. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. The Bible forbids the worship of angels (Col. See it explained in the notes on that place, and on Revelation 14:19-20. No marriage can last without fidelity, and the Christian must be as faithful to Jesus Christ as Jesus Christ is to him. Betrothal (often when the couple were children); (2) At the moment of this vision, the conflict is already over; only the judgment remains to be executed; the issues which were long ago determined are here to be revealed and executed in the final judgment of all people. "They have one mind, and give their own power and authority to the beast." and in righteousness he doth judge and make war ( Revelation 19:11 ). 244.]. saints. This is the second death." It is not now the temple opened there, and the ark of the covenant seen when Israel's security is seen, as the object of God's counsels; nor is it a door opened above, as we saw it when the prophet was giving his introduction to the prophecy of God's dealings with the world as a whole, though in both cases all manifestly clusters round the Lord Jesus. We have here a note of time of signal value. The mighty angel. Click here to download Revelation 19 Keynote presentation: https://www.icloud.com/keynote/0QVjw78Q9AXs9vyAJw9plQoww#Revelation_19Click here to download Revel. But it is what each saint has, though the blessed thought here is that the church has it not merely in the way of each person possessing his own; the bride has the whole of it (that is, the church in glory). Hence we have to own the divine source of government even when its holders abandon all such thoughts themselves, and maintain their rule in the world as a thing flowing from the people irrespective of God. "After these things I heard as it were a great voice of a great crowd in heaven, saying, Alleluia, the salvation, and the glory, and the power of our God: for true and righteous [are] his judgments: because he judged the great harlot, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. universe. The word of God, said Jeremiah, is like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces ( Jeremiah 23:29). (John 5:24 compared with Romans 14:1-23 and 2 Corinthians 5:1-21.). discover_revelation@charter.net 227-28.] "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." the holy city Jerusalem. Figuratively, with reference to the church. It will be remembered that it was said to them that they must wait. The marriage symbolism runs all through the Gospels. No. Godly people love righteousness and hate sin, for righteousness rule . Babylon was the spurious church as long as it was a question of the church, and the final corrupter when it could be no question of this longer, and there went forth the closing testimony of God. Like Hosanna ( H3467 + H4994 and G5614) it is one of the few Hebrew words which have established themselves in ordinary religious language. and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God; the fierce wrath of God against sinners is compared to a winepress; and the wicked antichristian party are likened to clusters of grapes; who being ripe for destruction, are cast into it, and pressed, squeezed, and trodden down by the mighty power of Christ, the Word of God, whose vesture is therefore before said to be dipped in blood; the same metaphor is used in Revelation 14:19 the allusion seems to be to Isaiah 63:3. For I am not aware that any scripture treats of the subject, beyond laying down principles such as we have sought to apply to the case. What did the "avenging the blood" probably mean? It is not his own blood, but the blood of his enemies that he tramples as he tramples out the rebellious. . And then those men who have chosen to cast their lot with Satan in rebellion against God. He is, as H. B. Swete puts it, "a royal commander followed by a dazzling retinue." the 144,000 seen with the Lamb on Mount Zion (Revelation 14:1), and with those on I do not acknowledge the language to be either difficult or ambiguous. . place on earth following the return of Christ (20:4; compare Matt. At the end of the millennium the righteous and the wicked form two distinct arrays, though even then there would appear to be a line drawn between the surrounding camp, and the beloved city Jerusalem on earth, where the Jews were. We find that Jesus is called the faithful witness. 4:6). But the most ordinary knowledge suffices; for who does not know from the Bible that there was a Roman empire when Christ was born, one emperor, and no such state as that empire divided into ten kingdoms? All the sufferers, either in the early persecutions of Revelation 6:1-17, or in the later persecutions (see Revelation 15:1-8) up to Babylon's extinction, were now raised from the dead. It is plain that what the verse contemplates is neither the Roman power when there was one head of the empire, nor the eastern or Byzantine part of it after that partition, nor the western state of division under the kings who succeeded the deposition of Augustulus; for in the medieval state there may have been ten kings (in contrast with the ancient state of the beast without them but no beast or imperial system with its chiefs. Second, he alone has that purity which can judge without prejudice. God alone is perfect in judgment for three reasons. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. The blessing given could not be taken back. III. Yet grace despised necessarily ends in judgment. Not only are they supposed to be coexistent, but united in their change of feeling against Babylon. Revelation 14:19-20). in the Bible, "her" does not mean just women, it is the bride. The antichrist and the false prophet are thrown into the lake of fire, signifying punishment from which there is no escape. . 4-18). supreme in authority, and "God", which means supreme deity; you have an This is the meaning of "one hour with the beast.". 11:2; Eph. all the faithful believers saved by grace through faith up to the birth of the Five reasons for their praise emerge: (1) But is there any reason why we should content ourselves with the measure enjoyed of old? This is most important, because it might be (as it has been) forgotten by some who make the gospel and the corresponding presence of the Spirit to be the same at all times; as others have thought, because Revelation 4:1-11 and sequel treat of Jew and Gentile, and the state of the world under God's judgments, that this cannot be a testimony of Jesus at all. Jesus speaks of many coming from the east and the west and sitting down with the patriarchs in the kingdom of heaven ( Matthew 8:11). The salvation of God should awaken the gratitude of man; the glory of God should awaken the reverence of man; the power of God is always exercised in the love of God and should, therefore, awaken the trust of man. Accordingly, "Behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me." ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.". Many suggestions have been made. Amen That is religion. He was filled with astonishment that this mysterious form of evil, this counter-testimony of the enemy (not antichrist, but antichurch), should seem and be largely accepted as the holy catholic church of God, that Christendom, if not Christianity, should at the same time become the bitterest of persecutors, more murderously incensed against the witnesses of Jesus and the saints of God than ever paganism had been in any country or all ages. At this point the evil world system has been destroyed and God's kingdom has Thus, whether the books or the book be examined, all conspire to declare the justice, the solemn but most affecting righteousness, of God's final irrevocable sentence. In Asia Minor even the tribunal of the proconsul was subject to bribery and to maladministration. This is what nations have been constantly occupied with, lest any one power should become the beast. Armies of angels are with him, but his conquest is not by armies or weapons. But this is not to emerge from the bottomless pit. A mysterious lawlessness inherits the well-known name of Babylon when Rome is brought forward; and it does not merely embrace Christian times, but the end of the age after the church has gone, when the course of divine judgment comes. He spoke it into existence. Here accordingly we have them all. Revelation 19 In this chapter we have, I. This description of the warrior Christ comes from two Old Testament passages put side by side. John was forbidding angel worship; and that was a very necessary prohibition, for in the early church there was a well-nigh inevitable tendency to worship angels, a tendency which has never wholly disappeared. "And if any one was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire." event, the new order comes and the marriage is consummated (see notes on "Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book." If a person drew from this, for instance, that the boast was to carry the woman, Babylon, when it had as a fact all that is meant by the seven heads and the ten horns, it would be an error. Therefore says the angel, "I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, that hath* the seven heads and the ten horns. So for the most part in the book of Revelation, there will be the angel speaking to John and revealing to him the things that were being revealed to him by Jesus Christ. * Even the Complutensian editors give the right text here; and it would seem that Erasmus failed to use his MS. aright. This tells what Christ is depicted as doing in this scene. Revelation 18. And here observe. because of the number of people speaking. I think that religion is a tremendous curse upon the earth. "And no curse shall be any more: and the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him." They were shouting, ' Praise the Lord our God! God is praised because salvation, glory, and power belong to him. . And I saw an angel standing in the sun ( Revelation 19:17 ); You can't do that unless you are an angel. As any dream or vision has to be interpreted, so does Revelation. Old Testament prophecy and New Testament preaching is the gospel of the Lord Clearly the same saints whom we have seen first set forth by the elders in heaven, subsequently by the elders and the living creatures, next, by the bride and the living creatures at the marriage-supper, and finally by the armies that followed the Lord out of heaven. On him the blow comes, not on the wretched parent.