Last
time we saw the destruction of Babylon.
Now John is hearing a great multitude in heaven shouting their praises
to God. “Hallelujah! Salvation
and glory and power belong to our God, for true and just are his judgments.”
– Rev. 19:1. God destroyed Babylon punishing her with the
punishment she deserved. Babylon’s
destruction was final and will never be built again. (Rev.
19:1-3) This is heaven’s response to
the judgment of the great harlot, Babylon.
The multitude is praising God for the judgment. These are probably angels, because the saints
are not told to praise God until verse 5.
God’s
judgments are always absolutely fair. He
is to be worshipped because He is just and He will judge every evil empire and
avenge the blood of the martyrs. He will
do this through Jesus. Jesus will return
as King of kings and Lord of lords.
Those who believe in Jesus will judgment because of what Jesus did for
us on the cross.
The 24
elders and the 4 living creatures fell down and worshiped and called for all
the believers including Old Testament saints, the church age saints and the
Tribulation saints to give praise to God. (Rev.
19:4-5)
The
praise continues and calls for the marriage of the Lamb. “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him
glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has
come, and his bride has made herself ready.
Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” – Rev. 19:6-8
The group praising God is so loud that it sounds like rushing waters
and thunder. They continue rejoicing and
praising God for the marriage of the Lamb has come. The fine clean white linen represents the
righteous acts of the saints.
The
marriage is the eternal union of the church with Christ. The bride is the church universal. She has made herself ready for her
wedding. Jesus loved the church and gave
Himself for her by His death on the cross.
The marriage of Jesus and His church will be complete and there will be
a great wedding meal. She is given the
dress to wear, salvation. She has not
earned it, but she has obeyed the Lord and done what is right.
The
angel told John, “Write: Blessed are those who are
invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb… These are the true words of God.”
– Rev. 19:9 No one can earn the right to go the wedding
meal - only those whom God invites. Some
believe those invited are Israel who will turn to Christ during the
Tribulation. (Rom. 11:25-27)
How does
your praise anticipate Jesus’ return?
Are you
prepared for the wedding supper of the Lamb?
John
was so impressed with the angel that the fell to his feet to worship him, but
the angel told him not to. Angels are
servants of God and so are Christians. He
should only worship God. (Rev. 19:10)
John
saw heaven open. He saw a white horse
whose rider is called Faithful and True and with justice he judges and makes
war. The rider is God the Son, Jesus. He is always faithful to His promises and
always speaks the truth. He comes to
make war with Satan and his armies and judge all on the earth. This is the Battle of Armageddon. Jesus will come for all to see and with a
large group. His eyes were like fire and
he had many crowns with a name on Him that no one knows but He himself. He’s dressed in a bloody robe and His name is
the Word of God. Some believe the bloody
robe is Jesus’ blood He shed on the cross.
Others believe this blood is the picture of judgment - the blood of the
slaughtered enemies. (Isaiah 63:1-6) Armies of heaven followed Him on white
horses. This army is the redeemed
saints. They were dressed in fine,
white, and clean linen because they have overcome the devil. His mouth had a sharp sword to strike the
nations. He will rule with an iron
scepter – meaning His law is absolute and unwavering and He will never
change. He will tread the winepress of
God’s wrath. On His robe and on His
thigh is written “King of Kings and Lord of Lords”. (Rev. 19:11-16)
Is
Jesus your King of kings and Lord of lords?
If not,
will you surrender to Him now before it’s too late?
How do
you see Jesus as Faithful and True?
Notice
that Jesus will return in a very public way.
The fact that “Faithful and True” are capitalized lets us know that this
is the Lord Jesus Christ who has been made Lord of Lords and King of
kings. He is the Judge and is always
faithful to His promises and He always speaks the truth. His every word is true and without
error. He said, “I
am the way and the truth and the life” in John 14:6.
Details
of His coming are found in Matt. 24. He will come as fast as lightning and He will
come immediately after the Great Tribulation.
The sun is darkened and moon will not give light, stars will fall, and
the powers of heaven will be shaken. He
will coming on the clouds with great power and glory. A great trumpet will sound announcing His
coming.
The
armies are probably the raptured church, angels, the church, Old Testament
saints, and the Tribulation saints. All
will share in the victory. This war is
the Battle of Armageddon John described in Rev.
16.
Then
John saw an angel standing in the sun calling to the birds in the air, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God, so that
you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and mighty men, of horses and their
riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, small and great.” –
Rev. 19:17-18. The angel is inviting the birds to feed on
the results of what will shortly take place.
Christ’s victory is declared before it ever begins. When this battle is over, the great supper
will take place. Actually there won’t be
a war at all as we think of war. It will
be over immediately.
Then he
saw the beast (the Antichrist), the kings and their armies gathered together to
make war against the God and His armies.
But the beast and the false prophet were captured. They were thrown into the fiery lake of
burning sulfur. The rest were killed by
the rider (Jesus) and the birds ate their flesh. (Rev. 19:19-21)
The
beast and the false prophet were used by Satan to perform his evil deeds. They were vile and evil and they will get
what they deserve by being sent to the Lake of Fire or Hell. Satan will join them, but only for 1,000
years. Then Satan will be released for a
short while. Then he will join the beast,
the false prophet and all unbelievers for all eternity. We will see this described in Rev. 20.
Hallelujah! What an exciting chapter. All corrupt religious and political systems
that are controlled by Satan’s power will not last. They will come to an end. Until then God’s people will continue to give
Him praises, because governs destiny.
The Lamb will be triumphant!
Next
week we will study Revelation 20. Hope
to see you here.
__________________________________________
If you
have enjoyed my post and have found if helpful, please leave a comment or share
this post with the buttons below.
You can also join this site by clicking on the blue button at the top left "Join this site" or you can "Subscribe by Email". If you follow by email, you will receive an email every time there is a new post.
