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The enemies of the Christians have refused to repent. The
whole purpose of God's retribution was to try and bring the Roman
Empire to repentance. They have refused to leave their
idolatrous and lascivious lifestyle. History records that the
Roman Empire was one of the most decadent societies ever to inhabit
a place on the earth. Homosexuality, fornication and adultery
were the earmarks of their society. And to cap that off they
worshipped every manmade God imaginable including men on earth as
Gods. In an effort to foster public approval for the emperors,
the Roman Empire forced the populace to worship them as Gods on
earth. The nations making up the empire were eager for the
money and support of Rome and gladly went along with it.
From the viewpoint of the Romans this seemed like quite a tidy
little arrangement and it was successful for a great many years.
However the fly in the ointment for them was that the Christians refused
to have anything to do with worshipping their emperors and for good
reason. The Christians serve a jealous God who demands He be
the only object of worship. So offended by idolatry is our God
that He compares it to fornication. Christians are regarded by
inspiration as the bride of Christ. An idolatrous Christian is
no different in the eyes of God than an unfaithful spouse and this
is well known to all Christians. Therefore worshipping a false
God is absolutely forbidden and carries with it the consequence of
spiritual separation from God. The Christian is expected to
die if necessary to keep from bowing down and worshipping an idol
and the Revelation makes this crystal clear.
Of course the Roman Empire cared little for this. To them
the God of the Christians was nothing more than a silly
superstition. After all, they were well practiced in inventing
Gods, why would they think the God of the Christians was any
different than the manmade Gods they invented and pushed down the
people's throats? All they knew was that the majority of the
Roman citizenry went along with it and the Christians who were by
far the minority refused at all cost. Christianity was
outlawed. It was considered treason against the empire if one
refused to bow down to the emperor. The ability to buy food,
work and live within the empire was made next to impossible for
anyone refusing to worship the emperor.
Unfortunately for the empire, the enigmatic, invisible God of the
Christians was a lot different than all of the many pagan Gods they
served. The God of the Christians was the one true and living
God out of all of them. None of the God's of the Romans
existed. They were figments of the imagination oftentimes
contrived for the purpose of controlling the population or bleeding
money out of them. The
God of the Christians does exist and He is absolutely holy, just,
loving and all powerful just to name a few of His attributes.
He gave mankind freewill in the Garden of Eden and not once has He
ever revoked that privilege. He gave the Roman Empire and its
citizens every chance in the world to repent of all the time suffering
the persecution and death of His faithful children. One can
only imagine the wrath of a Father who for the sake of His righteous
nature watched the suffering of His children in order to maintain
all of mankind's freewill and give every lost soul the chance to
repent and come to the truth.
Chapter 18 saw the point at which God has declared enough is
enough. Rome has not fallen yet but it is so sure to fall that
it's destruction is mentioned in the past tense. The actual
destruction of the empire begins later on in chapter 19 when we see
the battle of Armageddon fought. But before we see the final
destruction of Rome we will see a picture of the champion of the
Christians as He prepares for the judgment.
Revelation 19:1
"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 multitude envisioned here is the collective souls of those
we saw beneath the alter in Revelation 6:9-10 who were asking God
how long it would be before their blood was avenged against their
oppressors, mentioned again later in Revelation 7:9 worshipping God
on His throne.
Revelation 19:2
"for true and righteous are his judgments; for he
hath judged the great harlot, her that corrupted the earth with her
fornication, and he hath avenged the blood of his servants at her
hand."
Once again we see the judgment of the Empire spoken of in the
past tense. Their judgment had been ongoing for some time now
pictured in the bowls of wrath but the final judgment was yet to
come. The final judgment would see the Empire destroyed from
the earth for all time.
Revelation 19:3
"And a second time they say, Hallelujah. And her
smoke goeth up for ever and ever."
The saved dead in Christ are rejoicing now that God's righteous
judgment has come. The imagery leading up to this supports
that these rejoicing are the souls of the slain who overcame to the
end. They were stedfast till their death and now their
murderers are going to get their just rewards. Those who died
for Christ have every right to expect the judgment of their
oppressors. They gave their lives so that their enemies could
have a chance to repent and be saved. They loved their enemies
to their own graves. And for those who refused to repent, they
got what they had coming to them.
We are starting to see now the picture of the final judgment yet
to come. The enemies of the Christians died physical deaths to
be sure but that is not the end of their suffering by any means.
It was only the beginning. In the account of the rich man and
Lazarus we learn that the rich man went straight to a place called
Tartarus in the Hadean realm which is the abode of the dead.
Tartarus is a place of torment for the lost when they die.
There they await the day of the Lord where they will receive their
final sentencing and be cast into the lake of eternal fire and
darkness. The rich man cried out to Abraham that he was
tormented in flame. When the enemies of the Christians died,
they went to the same place the rich man went and are suffering in
the same fire he is suffering in. Truly it can be said that
their smoke goeth up for ever and ever.
The words "smoke goeth up for ever and ever" are
reminiscent of the fate of those who worshipped the beast in
Revelation 14:9-11.
Revelation 19:4 "And the four and twenty elders and the four living
creatures fell down and worshipped God that sitteth on the throne,
saying, Amen; Hallelujah."
The vision here switches back to the beginning of the throne
scene in Revelation 4. We see here the same twenty four elders
and the same living creatures around the same throne. This
serves to tie both series of visions in Revelation to a common
event. Keeping in mind that the visions John is recounting now
are the contents of the little book given to him in Revelation 10.
We now see here and in the following elements of the vision things
which tie everything together into one grand vision with one grand
purpose.
Revelation 19:5
"And a voice came forth from the throne, saying, Give
praise to our God, all ye his servants, ye that fear him, the small
and the great."
To try and assign this voice coming from the throne to a
particular source is fraught with frustration and difficulties.
The fact that it comes from the throne indicates that it is a
directive from God. It is easier to think of this as a
singular voice of authority coming from the throne of God.
This directive from the throne is applicable to those on the earth
in particular. The saved who died in Christ are represented in
the next verse making the picture complete.
Revelation 19:6
"And I heard as it were the voice of a great
multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of
mighty thunders, saying, Hallelujah: for the Lord our God, the
Almighty reigneth."
And here we have a picture of the whole of righteous creation
praising God who reigns perpetually.
Revelation 19:7
"Let us rejoice and be exceeding glad, and let us
give the glory unto him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and
his wife hath made herself ready."
The redeemed have every reason to be glad and to rejoice.
If not for the sacrifice made on our behalf our fate would be
eternal destruction. For that we should all be grateful,
giving all the glory to God who had no obligation whatsoever to save
us. The saved here are pictured as the bride of Christ,
chaste, pure and Holy. The relationship between Christ and the
saved is comparable to the relationship between a husband and a
wife. This is certainly a picture seen elsewhere in scripture
and there is not a better commentary on this than what is written in
Ephesians 5:22-32.
Worth mentioning here is that the bride has made herself ready.
This means that the redeemed have taken those steps and done the
things necessary in order to prepare themselves for this
relationship. The words of Peter speak succinctly to this
fact, "Seeing ye have purified your souls in your obedience to
the truth..." (1 Peter 1:22). The redeemed prepare
themselves as brides by being obedient to the word of truth.
Revelation 19:8
"And it was given unto her that she should array
herself in fine linen, bright (and) pure: for the fine linen is the
righteous acts of the saints."
The words of John in 1 John 3:7 come to mine when reading this
verse. "Little children, let no man deceive you: he that
doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous."
The bride of Christ adorns herself in fine linen and John goes on to
explain exactly what the fine linen is. It is the righteous
acts of the saints. Those who act righteously adorn themselves
in white linen which is the same thing as righteousness.
Revelation 19:9
"And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they that are bidden to
the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me,
These are true words of God."
This is one of seven beatitudes found in Revelation.
1.Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words
of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein:
for the time is at hand (Revelation1:3).
2.Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea,
saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their
works do follow them (Revelation 14:13).
3.Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he
walk naked, and they see his shame (Revelation 16:15).
4.Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the
Lamb (Revelation 19:9).
5.Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection:
on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of
God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years
(Revelation 20:6).
6.Blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this
book (Revelation 22:7).
7.Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have
right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into
the city (Revelation 22:14).
It is quite obvious from a reading of these seven beatitudes that
those who are bidden to the marriage supper of the lamb are only
blessed if they
1. Heed and keep the commandments written within
Revelation.
2. Die in Christ
3. Keep their garments clean.
4. Participate in the first resurrection. (Baptism)
5. Keep God's commandments.
Jesus taught, "Many are called, few are chosen" (Matthew
22:14). All people are called by the gospel to Christ.
But in comparison of all who are called, only a few will be bidden
to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Only a few will become the
bride of Christ. Only those who adorn themselves in righteous
acts of obedience to the will of God will be bidden. Righteous
acts being represented as fine linen in verse 8.
Revelation 19:10
"And I fell down before his feet to worship him. And
he saith unto me, See thou do it not: I am a fellow-servant with
thee and with thy brethren that hold the testimony of Jesus: worship
God; for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
There is some discussion about who this is who told John not to
worship Him. This individual is a servant with John and his
brethren. Jesus is mentioned in the third person. If
this person were Jesus, he would have said "my testimony" instead of
"testimony of Jesus". This could only be an angel speaking to
John in His vision. And this is consistent with the rest of
the visions. Angels were doing most of the communicating with
John.
Revelation 19:11
"And I saw the heaven opened; and behold, a white
horse, and he that sat thereon called Faithful and True; and in
righteousness he doth judge and make war."
White is the color of purity. A horse is figurative for war
or for riding out to battle. Notice the words "and make war"
at the end of the verse. In John 5:27 we see that God the
Father has given Jesus the authority to "execute judgment".
The war that Jesus makes is described later on in this vision.
It is a war against the beast and the false prophet.
Identified in chapter 13 as the Roman empire personified in the
emperors and the religious cult known as the Concilia who enforced
the worship of the emperors.
The time for the judgment of Rome is at hand. The champion
of the Christians is mounted on His war horse and is about to carry
out God's righteous judgment on the enemies of the Christians.
Following is a vision of Jesus Christ which only those familiar with
scriptures would be able to understand. Identifying the
following characteristics of the Son of God is easy for someone
familiar with scripture.
Revelation 19:12
"And his eyes (are) a flame of fire, and upon his
head (are) many diadems; and he hath a name written which no one
knoweth but he himself."
In Daniel's vision of of the pre-incarnate form of Jesus Christ
we see these familiar words, "His body also was like the beryl, and
his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of
fire , and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass,
and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude" (Daniel
10:6). And then again in Revelation 1:14-15, we previously saw
these words, "His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white
as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like
unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as
the sound of many waters.
The name that no man knoweth is the name of God. The
tetragrammaton YHWH is unpronounceable. Man has given the
pronunciation "Jehovah" to this but no one knows for sure this is
correct. The pronunciation of "Jehovah" is at best the
educated guess of scholars. By inspiration John writes that
His name is unknown. The status of Christ as God in the New
Testament makes it altogether reasonable and logical that His name
is "YHWH" however it is pronounced in our language.
Two things of significance come to mind First, we must
recognize the unity and oneness of the Godhead. Jesus as the
word of God shares the name of the Father. It can be
reasonably inferred that all three persons of the Godhead share the
same name. We have God the Father as the head, we have God the
Son, the Word, and we have God the Holy Spirit. All three
sharing the same name.
God has purposefully been enigmatic when the topic of His name
arises, choosing language such as "I AM" or "YHWH". God's name
is most holy. worldly mankind has a tendency to profane the
name of God to the ability they can. All kinds of slanderous
profane expletives have been contrived and applied to "God" through
the centuries. It is little wonder that our most Holy Creator
would not want His name associated with such things. We have
been given enough of Him to know that He exists. We do not
need to know exactly what His name is in order to follow Him.
Some day when the saved come into His presence, His true name will
doubtless be then revealed. Until then, we serve God, the
great "I Am".
Notice in the language that the angels are excluded from knowing
the true name of God as well.
Revelation 19:13
"And he (is) arrayed in a garment sprinkled with
blood: and his name is called The Word of God."
Blood is the sign of the covenant. The blood on the garment
in this vision is Christ's own. Jesus Christ is known in
scripture by a number of different names. In John's gospel
account, Jesus Christ was introduced as God and as the word of God.
Revelation 19:14
"And the armies which are in heaven followed him
upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white (and) pure."
The armies in heaven is figurative for all the saved who follow
and serve Jesus Christ. They are described in the vision as
being clothes in fine line, white and pure, which means without spot
and without sin.
Revelation 19:15
"And out of his mouth proceedeth a sharp sword, that
with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a
rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of the
wrath of God, the Almighty."
We have new testament scripture which speaks to the word of God
being like a sword,
Hebrews 4:12-13
12 For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any
two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and
spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts
and intents of the heart.
13 And there is no creature that is not manifest in his sight: but
all things are naked and laid open before the eyes of him with whom
we have to do.
Earlier in the introduction of Jesus in the Revelation, we see
these words describing John's vision, "And he had in his right
hand seven stars: and out of his mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged
sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength"
(Revelation 1:16).
Jesus rules the nations with the word of God. It is
unchangeable, it is eternal and it will not fail. This is the
rod of iron. The worldly people of the nations may not submit
to His authority but they are governed by it and will be judged by
it nonetheless. In this context it is the immediate enemies of
the Christians which are about to be treaded out in the winepress of
God's wrath. But the application is for all living past,
present and future.
Revelation 19:16
"And he hath on his garment and on his thigh a name
written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."
To the first readers of John's Revelation, the mighty Roman
emperors looked like the most powerful kings on earth. But
unknowingly, they were living under the rule of a king far more
powerful than they ever imagined. They demanded the worship of
the nations as gods on earth while in their ignorance they were but
vassals to the King of Kings themselves.
God gave mankind freewill in the Garden of Eden. This
freedom has never been revoked. All mankind is given freewill
to choose whether or not they will follow righteousness. In
the execution of this freedom, it is often perceived that our King
of Kings is not in charge and is not ruling. However this is
not the case. In the course of mankind's freewill, God will
not interfere. Our King of King and Lord of Lords is indeed
ruling and His rule is a reign of iron. One of the most
significant lessons we can take from the Revelation is that God will
not usurp man's free will choice. It is so important to God
and so much a part of His rule that even when His saints are being
slain for their righteousness, He will not violate man's free will
choice.
But those who choose to reject God will be judged in the end.
And this is what the Christians living under the great persecution
needed to know and this is what they were told. Yes, they were
going to suffer, yes many of them would be slain. Yes there
will be great tribulation, pain and suffering. But God is in
charge and He will not violate the gift of free will to man.
In the end, all will be judged in righteousness and receive their
just rewards. The people of the first century and beyond in
the Roman Empire had a horrible cross to bear and God insisted they
bear it. The application for us today is that there is no
cross given to us that we are not expected to bear. God has
not changed and neither have the terms of the new covenant. We
today are as bound to the terms of righteousness as the Christians
who lived through the great Roman persecution were.
Revelation 19:17-18
"And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he
cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in mid
heaven, Come (and) be gathered together unto the great supper of
God; that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh
of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses
and of them that sit thereon, and the flesh of all men, both free
and bond, and small and great."
An angel sends forth an invitation for all the birds of prey to
come and eat of the carnage and destruction of the kings, military
captains, mighty men, horses, and of all men both free and slaves.
The devastation is going to be absolute. Nothing will remain
but vultures and buzzards eating what is left. The vision is
one of grim imagery. One can almost picture the smoking
battlefield littered with the bodies of horses and men with nothing
left alive except the scavengers eating the flesh of the dead.
Revelation 19:19
"And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth,
and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat
upon the horse, and against his army."
In Revelation 16:16 John left the vision of the evil allies about
to do battle with God's forces at Har-Magedon. Recall to mind
that the ensuing war was not between the Christians and the Romans,
rather contextually, the actual battle was going to be between the
enemies of the Christians and their external enemies from without
the empire.
Revelation 19:20-21
"And the beast was taken, and with him the false
prophet that wrought the signs in his sight, wherewith he deceived
them that had received the mark of the beast and them that
worshipped his image: they two were cast alive into the lake of fire
that burneth with brimstone: and the rest were killed with the sword of him that
sat upon the horse, (even the sword) which came forth out of his
mouth: and all the birds were filled with their flesh."
And here is the battle of Armageddon fought. The sea beast,
which was the Roman Empire, and the false prophet which was the land
beast in Revelation 13, identified as the Roman Concilia are
defeated and thrown into the lake of Fire. History records
that the Roman Empire was attacked and defeated from a number of
external forces. They were weakened from within by natural
disasters and the consequences of their decadent lifestyle.
This left them a vulnerable target for the Parthians from the east
and Germanic Goths from the North. The Roman Empire was broken
and destroyed from within and from without by numerous forces over a
period of time, all of which were used by God to achieve His
purpose.
The Christians never fought against their enemies directly.
They never picked up physical weapons as an organized force and
engaged in any holy war or battle against the forces of evil.
God used the enemies of the Roman empire to exact His judgment on it
and bring it to destruction in a similar way that He brought Babylon
down by the Persians under the rule of Cyrus.
When the battle of Armageddon was over, the enemies of the
Christians were defeated. Christianity prevailed in the end.
And it will continue to prevail until the end of time on earth.
For as long as earth stands, there will be Christians and the
weapons of their warfare will always be the word of God.
2 Corinthians 10:3-4
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the
flesh
4(for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty
before God to the casting down of strongholds),
Revelation 19 Paraphrase
And after these things I heard what sounded like a mighty shout
of a great crowd in heaven, exclaiming, Hallelujah, praise the Lord!
Salvation and splendor and majesty and dominion and authority belong
to our God! Because His condemnation and sentences of destruction
are true and sound and just. He has convicted and pronounced
sentence on the great idolatress nation who corrupted and poisoned
the earth with her lewdness and fornication. And He has avenged on
her the penalty for the blood of His servants at her hand. And
again they shouted, Hallelujah and praised the Lord. The smoke
of her burning torment shall continue to ascend forever and ever
throughout all eternity.
Then the twenty-four elders of the Israelites and the Christians
and all the creation from the four corners of the earth fell
prostrate and worshiped God who sits on the throne, proclaiming,
"Amen, Let it be so! Hallelujah, praise the Lord our God!" Then from
the throne there came a voice, saying, "Praise our God, all you
servants of His, you who reverence Him, both small and great"! And
after that I heard what sounded like the shout of a vast multitude
that sounded like the roar of many pounding waves and like the sound
of thunder, praising God saying, "Hallelujah, For the Lord our
almighty and all powerful God reigns now! Let us rejoice and shout
for joy! Let us celebrate and credit to Him glory and honor, for the
marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has prepared herself.
She has been granted that she may dress in fine linen, for the fine
linen signifies the righteousness of God's holy people." Then the
angel said to me, "Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage
supper of the Lamb". And then he said to me, "These are the true
words of God".
Then I fell prostrate at his feet to worship he who spoke to me,
but he restrained me and said, "Stop! You must not do that for I am
only another servant with you and your brethren who follow the
testimony borne by Jesus. Worship only God! For the truth revealed
by Jesus is the breath of all prophecy".
After that I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse
appeared. And the One who was riding on it is called faithful,
trustworthy, loyal, incorruptible, steady and true. And He
executes judgment and wages war in righteousness, holiness, justice,
and uprightness. His eyes blaze like a flame of fire, and on His
head are many kingly crowns and He has a name which He alone knows
or can understand.
He is dressed in a robe sprinkled with the blood of His
sacrifice. And one of the names by which He is called is written on
His robes and on His thigh. This name by which He is called is
the Word of God. And the armies of the saints, clothed in fine
linen, dazzling and clean, followed Him on white horses. From
His mouth goes forth the will of God as sharp as a sword with which
He can strike the nations. And He will reign over them with a
scepter of iron. He is all powerful and will tread the winepress of
the fierceness of the wrath in His indignation. And on His
robe and on His thigh He has a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD
OF LORDS.
Then I saw an angel stationed in the light of the sun, and with a
mighty voice he shouted to all the birds that fly across the sky,
Come, gather yourselves together for the great supper of God.
That you may feast on the flesh of the slain rulers, the flesh of
dead generals and captains, the flesh of powerful and mighty men
fallen, the flesh of horses and their riders killed in the
destruction, and the flesh of all humanity, both free and slave,
both small and great!
Then I saw the beast and the rulers and leaders of the earth with
their troops assembled to go into battle and make war against Him
Who is mounted on the horse and against His troops. And the
beast was defeated and captured, and with him the false prophet who
by his authority had worked lying wonders and performed fake
miracles by which he led astray those who wore the mark of the beast
and by those who paid homage and gave divine honors to his statue.
Both of them were defeated and thrown alive into the fiery lake that
burns and blazes with brimstone. And the rest were killed with
the sword that issues from the mouth of Him Who is mounted on the
white horse, and all the birds filled themselves with their dead
flesh on the battlefield. |