"Flesh and blood," we know, "cannot inherit the kingdom of God." "Which did corrupt the earth with her fornication": Drew the kings and We shall find that the scripture affords much light to decide the true bearing of the prophecy, and that no application to the past can possibly satisfy the conditions satisfactorily. That city will be a constant remembrancer of those who went before restored Israel here below, as undoubtedly it will be used for their blessing during the millennium, but not for theirs only. there is a son in the family, who, instead of being admonished by his father's wickedness, takes license from it to indulge the same. So it is imputed righteousness given to you by your faith in Christ. Then another and immensely important act is described the binding of Satan. Pilate said, "I find no fault in Him. To the church the end is always near. "Whoever comes to me I will in no wise cast out" ( John 6:37 ). "The nations shall walk in the light of it," Any one of spiritual judgment can see that it should not be "nations of them which are saved." And it is the various ways by which men are attempting to reach God. The decem-regal division of the broken empire in the West, as all know, was long after Rome had ceased to be heathen. It has been suggested that the name is either embroidered on his girdle or engraved on his sword hilt. (b) He is true. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for night shall not be there. And the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints. The enemy falls on with great fury, headed by the beast, and the kings of the earth; the powers of earth and hell gathered, to make their utmost effort, Revelation 19:19. Here we have the purely Jewish idea of the Word of God. The Word of God is alive and powerful, if we would only realize the power of the Word of God. 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. Leaving behind the subject of the power of evil in the world, the visions now move on to their climax. He is the living Word, the active agent of God who expresses Gods will and carries it out. 13:20), and will be presented to Him at the Rapture (John What is it, seven hundred and fifty million degrees Fahrenheit or something like that? He will tread the winepress of the anger of the wrath of God the Almighty. Babylon must hear, I do not doubt, the final testimony of God the gospel of the kingdom that is to go forth in the last days; but she loves her pleasure and power, and refuses truth. But there is really no good work that you can offer to God that would be acceptable in His sight, but He will accept you just as you are if you will just cast yourself upon His mercy and just ask for His mercy and grace. Such is God's account of Babylon the great. Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.". Marriage of the Lamb: Hebrew weddings consisted of 3 phrases: (1) . Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Revelation 19:11-21. They are glorified saints, and not angels. Of course there must needs be a consultation with the kings, when the kings exist and become an accredited part of that empire, as rulers subordinate to the beast. 4:17; see In Christianity you have a God that is reaching out to man. "I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled; and place was not found for them." Still God acts in a wisdom far above man, and holds to His principles even there. Man on the earth has his portion in the goodness of a God who is manifesting His kingdom. * It is to Him that God has given all judgment not necessarily to us. Revelation 19 Commentary - Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible "Speak to the birds of every sort and to all beasts of the field. You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth--of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bulls. And you shall eat fat till you are filled, and drink blood till you are drunk at the sacrificial feast which I am preparing for you" ( Ezekiel 39:17-19). We have here a note of time of signal value. This scene As R. H. Charles puts it, it is essential to remember that the Heavenly Leader is this time, not the Slain One, but the Slayer. The people mentioned here are distinct from the other beings in heaven, (i) It can mean the witness which the Christian bears to Jesus Christ. This explains, it seems to me, the wounded head that was afterwards healed. (John 17:18). We have one final little battle here to take place in chapter nineteen. honors God and sin mocks Him. The great city was either guilty Jerusalem or Babylon. on Line, email us at: Verse by Verse Commentaries by Book | Precept Austin John insists that angels are no more than the servants of God; and that God alone must be worshipped. symbolizes the permanence of Babylon's destruction (Isaiah 34:8-10). The old oracles were sealed then: not so John's. Hitherto the reverse of this has been true in history. But here there is neither; and this again is an evidence of gain, not of loss. derives from a Hebrew word meaning "to be firm," and may be translated "truly" Commentary on Revelation - [Chapter 19] - Theology First No marriage can last without fidelity, and the Christian must be as faithful to Jesus Christ as Jesus Christ is to him. great affection and vehemence of spirit, which will be raised hereby. After "the nations" in verse 24 omit the words "of them which are saved." He is "true," for He is the answer to all our hopes. Verse Revelation 19:15. Study Revelation 19:19-19 - 'King James Version' translation alongside Secrets of Heaven (New Century Edition, Cooper) #2694 and Secrets of Heaven (New Century Edition, Cooper) #3880 . We can quite understand that God would comfort His people in the dark ages by this book; and a very imperfect glimpse at its real meaning might in His grace serve to cheer them on in their trials as far as it went. Thus (without speaking of the resurrection of the wicked at the close) there were certainly more acts than one, not to speak of the two witnesses put to death and caused to rise after three days and a half, when the spirit of life entered them, and they not only arose, but went up to heaven, as we know. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready ( Revelation 19:7 ). The guests also will include tribulation saints It is a universal summons to praise God for his mighty acts. var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); It is a description, not of Babylon's relation to the beast, but of the city's fall, with certain dirges put into the mouth of the different classes that groan because of her extinction here below. It means true in the sense that Jesus Christ is the one who brings the truth and who never at any time has any falsehood in anything that he says. "And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, Come, gather yourselves together unto the great supper of God; that ye may eat flesh of kings, and flesh of chiliarchs, and flesh of strong [men], and flesh of horses, and of those that sit on them, and flesh of all, both free and bond, both small and great." Rabbi, Jehudah, actually gave the odd instruction that men ought not to pray in Aramaic because the angels did not understand Aramaic! Once Jesus enters the battle, it is soon over. 4:17; see "At the last day" does not mean merely an instant of time. But this is not to emerge from the bottomless pit. It is the active word which carried out the commandment of God. When we come to the full application of the prophecy, we must look onward to the latter day. The voice that came out of the throne said what? Revelation provided a message of hope: God is in sovereign control of all the events of human history, and though evil often seems pervasive and wicked men all powerful, their ultimate doom is certain. Revelation 19 is the nineteenth chapter of the Book of Revelation or the Apocalypse of John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. There is no uncertainty whatever in the case. I. Let us rejoice and let us exult, and let us give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has prepared herself, and it has been granted to her to clothe herself with fine linen, shining and pure." "And the nations shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour unto it. There is therefore much to be said for the ]Protestant application of the chapter as compared with the Praetorist theory of pagan Rome. And they also lasted much longer. According to the general scope of scripture, then, we may be quite sure that these saints, kept during this universal dissolution of the atmospheric heaven and the earth, will be translated to "the new heavens and new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness," in a condition new and meet for the eternal state into which they are ushered. He is, as H. B. Swete puts it, "a royal commander followed by a dazzling retinue." "That day" does not mean a time when everybody will be converted, but when the Lord Jesus will govern righteously when overt evil will be judged, and good be sustained perfectly for a thousand years. This is of immense moment doctrinally, because it decisively proves that it is altogether unfounded to assume, as is popularly done, that the Lord only returns at this juncture. "Notwithstanding the dogmatic helps which the Church offers, the mind fails to grasp the inmost significance of the Person of Christ, which eludes all efforts to bring it within the terms of human knowledge. Revelation Chapter 19 Explained - bible-studys.org Go To Previous Section | It would be a constant fall. "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." a. It was the barbarians who brought in the prevalent ideas of liberty as well as feudalism, and accordingly it is they that have firmly stood for freedom; so that all the efforts to reconstitute the empire which have been tried over and over again have hitherto issued in total failure. There will be no time for seeking mercy, as it were: whatever the state in which the Lord at His coming will find us, all is closed up and fixed. It is no longer a question either of celebrating the ways and counsels of God, or of the war with the beast and king. It is not now lightnings and thunders and voices. So, it is the righteousness of Jesus Christ that is imparted to me through my faith in Jesus Christ. Bible Studies | Verse By Verse Ministry International This description of the warrior Christ comes from two Old Testament passages put side by side. because of the number of people speaking. Zerubbabel led the first group of Jews, numbering 42,360, who returned from the Babylonian . This is clearly of moral importance. But here there is none; a temple is for the earth. God has not told us how, nor is it our business. Unhallowed love will end in hatred. 2 Everything that he decides is right and fair. Again and again the prophets thought of Israel as the chosen bride of God. all the faithful believers saved by grace through faith up to the birth of the 2. union of the church with Christ following the Rapture (see 1 Thess. And God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more, nor sorrow, nor crying nor shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. Peculiar energy indeed attaches to symbolic language. Finally they will destroy her. No. 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7, 14; 21:22). The picture is of the warrior Christ trampling the grapes so as to produce the wine of the wrath of God, which his enemies must drink to their doom. History is actually "His story." There are always those who are ready to challenge the fairness of it. Revelation 18:1-24 need not delay us long. When John here called the warrior Christ "The Word of God", he means that here in action is all the power of God's word; everything that God has said, and threatened, and promised is embodied in Christ. And if you are wise and involved in any kind of ministry at all when attention and adulation and these kinds of things come your way, you will be wise as the angel and say, "Don't worship me. this that is glorious in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength?" And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS ( Revelation 19:15-16 ). ceremony); The marriage of the Lamb: The wife or bride of Christ is the church (Matt. We desire that He should come quickly, but we leave this to Him, because we know His love, and can trust Him. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. 12:10; I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright the morning star. 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. "Having a wall great and high, having twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names inscribed, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel." Spirit of prophecy: The person and message of Jesus is the From Revelation 4 through 19 we have a section mainly concerned with God's judgment upon the world preceding Jesus' earthly reign, the period known as the "Messianic Woes" or the "Great Tribulation." a. God's judgments are announced by a seven-sealed scroll, seven trumpets, seven signs, and seven bowls that pour out God's wrath. This being so, it adds immense clearness in the understanding of the book. (i) There is love. "Yet is" is a most unfortunate expression. he will rule them with a rod of iron . The book is traditionally attributed to John the Apostle, [1] [2] but the precise identity of the author remains a point of academic debate. "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. That is good. "Amen," they said, "Hallelujah!" The voice includes himself among those who claim God as our God. and could only be broken by divorce. Too bad, your unrighteousness Friday night. The rebellion that had begun in the Garden of Eden is finally ended. Revelation 14:19-20). This web site explains the Book of Revelation, each individual scripture. 22:2-14; John 3:29; 2 Cor. That a corrupt religion is better than none I will not say: at any rate it troubles men; it is a thorn in the side of those who want no religion at all. There are a lot of people today fighting against God. This is not unrighteous, but, on the contrary, the highest justice from a divine point of view. Gratitude, reverence, trust--these are the constituent elements of real praise. And as for the twelve tribes of Israel, they are merely written there, nothing more. This destruction of the last, most powerful empire in history marks the end of true sayings of God.". They will probably number into the hundreds of millions. 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. The word of God, or the judiciary sentence of Christ according to it, and which he will fully execute, to the utter destruction of all his enemies; :- that with it he should smite the nations; the Gentiles, the Papists, the antichristian states, those that have adhered to Babylon, and have drunk of the wine of her fornication. God is praised because salvation, glory, and power belong to him. The Bible with its 66 books can be compared to a novel having 66 chapters. elaborate than those of today. Nothing more is to be done. Again the righteousness of His judgment attested to. It is altogether unfeasible, and it shows how carelessly we read the Bible that people are not stopped by such an expression. And here is John falling on his knees before the angel that is giving him all of this revelation and he is so overawed and thrilled with what is in store for him he falls at his feet to worship him. I have already touched on the double force of the symbol mountains. The cosmic drama is drawing to a close. would be no salvation. Some evade the difficulty by referring the desolation to the Gothic powers; and these Protestants, as if they were mere Praeterists! "On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. Here were joined good and evil in godless union, for the worse, not for the better, this alliance, unholy in principle, irremediable therefore in practice, between God and the natural man, who substitutes rites for the grace and word of God, for the blood of Christ, and the power of the Spirit, and employs the name of the Lord as a cover for grosser covetousness and ambition, yet more aspiring than the vulgar world. And then comes the gathering and the battle. It is only God and man now. Then entire sorry results of human depravity will finally be vanquished. We hear the voices of the redeemed. The Bible forbids the worship of angels (Col. This is just a statement telling us it will never be built Revelation 11:15-19. Even man himself when he was innocent in Eden was not called. . In presence of grace I do not think this is for His glory, any more than for their own blessing. It is not therefore his final judgment. At the same time we are not at liberty to eliminate such a feature out of the description. discover_revelation@charter.net, Revelation chapter 19 and 20 It is a Hebrew word that has become universal, "Allel", "u", "yah", which means, "praise to Jehovah" or Yahweh. ages, which becomes clear in the remainder of the book. 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. In the description of the total destruction of Babylon, come the words: "Rejoice over her, O heaven, O saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her!" Can anything be less reasonable (even taking that ground, low as it is) than that the various rulers of the western powers, Catholic kings, join the Pope in destroying his own city, or his own church, whichever Babylon may be made? Isaiah sixty-three says, "Who is this that comes from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? He comes to execute vengeance, and with a sign of death for rebels. Then there is the reigning power, but not the execution of judgment in this awful fashion which is attributed to the Lord Himself. Revelation 1:16; Isaiah 11:4; Isaiah 49:2). 12 It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. The eternal smoke This exclamation, meaning Praise the Lord, occurs frequently in the Old No one can soberly deny that Babylon in some sort had a place then; but that the special, and above all, the full character of Babylon was manifested as here portrayed is another matter. Verse 1 of the Revelation already shows God's intention: ".to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass". All the energy to mislead men in the presence of the first beast was long in his hands, and now nothing more is spoken of. This 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. Second, he came from a world in which it was believed that God did not interest himself directly but made his contact through the demons (daimon, G1142) , by means of whom he controlled the natural forces and acted upon men. . It was said of a great preacher: "First he listened to God, then he spoke to men.". I like that, God speaking into existence the world in which we live. The biblical narrative of the revelation at Sinai begins in Exodus 19 after the arrival of the children of . Had it been simply a persecution from pagans, what was there to wonder at in their deadly hatred of the truth and of those who confess it? 22:2-14; John 3:29; 2 Cor. Return The Sword--The Word of His mouth--is now wielded in judgment. See it explained in the notes on that place, and on Revelation 14:19-20. Lit. bring the climax of the Book of Revelation: the return of Christ to establish The Church, the Bride of Christ, is clothed in fine linen, pure and shining. Thus there is no question that some of the actors in the final scenes of the great drama were already there, as the reigning city, and the Roman empire. We read of the marriage feast ( Matthew 22:2); of the bridechamber and the wedding garment ( Matthew 22:10-11); of the sons of the bridechamber ( Mark 2:19); of the bridegroom ( Mark 2:19; Matthew 25:1); of the friends of the bridegroom ( John 3:29). Lord. He had His own self interest at heart when He told Eve not to eat of the tree. 2. Those who are invited to the marriage supper are Israel (see article , ), who will turn to Christ in If you preach on prophecy, you are bringing the testimony of Jesus. It is due to the exigency of a notion which fears and is irreconcilable with the truth in this place. "The armies of heaven" wear the fine linen, white and pure" "which is the righteousness of the saints" (19:8). May our hearts answer freely to His word of love and truth with our "Amen." So, Jesus was at odds with the religious leaders of His day and they are the ones that prompted His crucifixion. It is not therefore a question of virtual idols suitable to ensnare the children of God, but of that which is adapted to the earth itself, thorough-going palpable idolatry. . The scene now shifts from the earth where it has been (since chapter 6), to - Utley, Isaiah 63:1-3; (Source of imagery for the Battle Hymn of the Republic.). servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for It is called "the first resurrection." Hallelujah literally means "Praise God". God in His providence did sanction the great empires of old; and the principle continues as long as the church is here below. The church cannot hear of Him as the bright morning star without at once desiring that He should come. 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. From Rome saints had suffered; and it was easy to see that the revealed persecutress is called Babylon, and identified with the governing city of Rome. (19:6-9), are evidence of the Church being in heaven prior to the return of Revelation 19 ( Rev 19:1) - 1 After these things I heard as it were a great voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, Hallelujah; Salvation, and glory, and power, belong to our God: This heavenly celebration (verses 1-6), which connects the events of chapter 18, reveal more than the celebration of the defeat of a certain city or belief system. All this description closes in verse 5. This is a metaphor of the power of the gospel or of Gods spoken word (cf. He is crowned as conqueror. Second Edition, Revised - 1871 The pronoun he is emphaticHe Himself, by Himself, as is there expressed. Revelation 19:3 "And again they said, Alleluia. 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. And when God does judge, it is not merely for the evil of those then judged, but of all from the first budding of it till that day. 4:6). And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb." Verse 11. And he shall rule them with a rod of iron - See the notes on Revelation 2:27; Revelation 12:5. to be worshiped (22:8-9; Acts 10:25-26). We look at the vast universe in which we live, the material universe, and we realize that He created it. In the Ascension of Isaiah ( Isaiah 9:5) there is a saying: "Thou canst not bear his name until thou shalt have ascended out of the body." But when Christ and the church peacefully reign, such is the imagery that suits "a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. That is why religions fail. Thus there is a completeness and perfection about it suited to its present character. The answer: because it's the final book of the Bible. 1:4; Heb. This has no time element attached. That is to say, the heavenly saints are viewed still as the heads of the glorified priesthood, and also the executive in the administration of God's judgments.