Old Testament prophecy and New Testament preaching is the gospel of the Lord "And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and encompassed the camp of the saints, and the beloved city." And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb." We can easily understand that the overthrow of the ecclesiastical power is necessary to leave a full field unimpeded for the imperial power to develop itself in its final form of violence and rebellion and apostacy against the Lord. This is a metaphor of the power of the gospel or of Gods spoken word (cf. There are always those that say, "What about the people that haven't heard? "This is the first resurrection. We have already seen that God will cause a third part of the sea to turn to Imagine when all living creatures in the seas die. See bibliographic information; Read aloud; Stop reading aloud Hide links to Bible word meanings But he ought to have withstood it I do not mean in vengeance (for that belongs to the Lord), but as holily hating the sin itself, yet withal in the deepest compassion for his parent. Even so, come, Lord Jesus." What was easier than to turn the demons into angels and to worship them? "And he that spoke with me had a golden reed as a measure, that he might measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. He was a medical doctor there. It has been remarked by another, and justly, that the expression "they shall be priests of God and of Christ" summarily puts out of court the interpretation that supposes a figurative resurrection. The prophecy centers around the person of Jesus Christ. The Gothic hordes were not yet incorporated with the empire, still less were they horns of the beast, nor did they give their power to it, but destroyed it rather. We have one final little battle here to take place in chapter nineteen. He saw their condition: it was part of the vision. He is in charge of the Anastausus Ship, but he is facing a jail sentence of three and a half years in Greece because He gave a Bible to a sixteen-year old Greek boy and the boy accepted Jesus Christ as His Savior. "Why are you red in your apparel, and your garments like the ones that have been treading in the wine vat?" With a rod of iron He shall execute the severest judgment on the opposers of his truth. The church goes on according to the will of the Lord, who might according to His own purpose lengthen or abridge the space. 3:12-15: 2 Cor. They are all to reign concurrently with the beast. Let others speculate, if they will: I am persuaded that he who essays to conceive the details is merely striving to draw a bow beyond the power of man. Then the book concludes after a solemn warning against either adding to or taking from its contents. The fine linen the bride is clothed in represents the righteous acts of the This is the second death." are the ones who are praising. Stephen Armstrong. This, was no lack. On the other, it is the first of seven final things that John saw and recorded. Yet to this heavenly city, after Christ comes, the kings of the earth bring their offerings and their homage; but there is no excitement of the nations, no filthiness of fornication, no abominations, no blood-guiltiness. [Note: Thomas, Revelation 8-22, p. 381, 567-85.] For that which comes distinctly before us in this one verse is the twofold fact, that the ten horns here contemplated receive their kingly power for the same hour or time as the beast, and not subsequently, when his rule was extinguished. worship before the angel (compare 1:17; 22:8). Go to Next Section (John 5:24 compared with Romans 14:1-23 and 2 Corinthians 5:1-21.). This is in total contrast to the harlot Babylon. After so long a tarrying how blessed! There is a distinct contrast between the city John describes and the ancient Babylon, in that the latter was built on the plain of Shinar, while the former is expressly said to have seven heads, and these explained to mean seven mountains. And He is called the True witness. And there shall in nowise enter into it anything that defileth, nor making abomination and a lie: but only those written in the book of life of the Lamb." He will destroy His enemies with inflexible righteousness that the iron shepherds rod that will serve as His scepter pictures (cf. The rebellion that had begun in the Garden of Eden is finally ended. All the dead are there who had not part in the first resurrection. It is all plain and simple "the beast that was, and is not, and shall be present.". Even when God was judging providentially in the beginning of the Apocalyptic visions (Revelation 4:1-11), associated thrones were seen. He is "true," for He is the answer to all our hopes. The twelve apostles of the Lamb will accordingly have their own special place. millennial kingdom and last throughout that 1000 year period (compare 21:2). understand the testimony of Jesus, then you must preach and prophesy so that white, represents the righteousness of the church, which has now been judged and You can't start with a finite base and reach to infinity. And if you try to worship God in an unprescribed way, setting up little idols or whatever, which God has forbidden, that is spiritual fornication. 20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. "These have one mind, and give their own power and authority to the beast," or their imperial leader. On the contrary, it proved the immediateness of communion. Together they join this great chorus proclaiming "Alleluia!". For the fine linen is the righteous deeds of God's dedicated people. In the Testament of Levi (5:5) Michael is said to be the angel who intercedes for Israel. 14:1-3; 1 Thess. There are thrones filled with certain persons, who reign along with Him. Revelation 18. This is clearly of moral importance. distinctions. The wine vat actually with your feet pressing down all of these grapes, you can imagine what your clothes would look like. That picture stands for the final union between Jesus Christ and his Church. So He sent this revelation by the angel to John. THE ALMIGHTY AND HIS KINGDOM ( Revelation 19:6-8 continued). Smoke rose: This is because of the fire (compare 17:16, 18; 18:8-9, 18; The Of course they will be preserved through that crisis in some sort of way suitable to divine wisdom. "Hallelujah!" great affection and vehemence of spirit, which will be raised hereby. And who would defraud either the soul of salvation, or the Lord of showing it? Again, death and hades are said to come to their end, personified as enemies. There was never a time when the Christian was called upon to undergo such suffering and to accept so continually the prospect of a cruel death. They were caught in flagrant treason and rebellion: what further need of any process of judgment whatsoever? He uses a "staff" to gently nudge or guide his sheep. In his cross and resurrection, Christ won a great victory over the powers of evil; by his second coming, he will execute that victory. 12:10; 13:9; and Roman And there is probably an area right in the center of the earth that is hollow and because of the rotation of the earth and gravitation and all you would be constantly falling. 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. This being so, it adds immense clearness in the understanding of the book. An allusion to Psalms 2:9 ; shall rule them . And the Spirit and the bride say, Come: and let him that heareth say, Come: and let him that is athirst come: let him that will take the water of life freely." 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. When a person dies, it will be a positive curse from God; if he die even a hundred years old, it will be like a baby dying now. It is interesting to me how that God took such pains to protect the innocency of Jesus Christ at the crucifixion. 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. We may have a special task in it, but this is not the work for us, as it seems to me. This remains true also in its own place, as we shall find; and when it is a question of reward, this is precisely the grand point; but when it is a question of the bride above, that is the way in which it is presented here, as we may see clearly from verse 8. It is as if the multitude of the redeemed sent up their shout of praise because the promise of Christ to his persecuted ones had come abundantly true. To report dead links, typos, or html errors or suggestions about making these resources more useful use the convenient, Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament, Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Verse 1 of the Revelation already shows God's intention: ".to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass". Idealists feel that Revelation relates primarily to the church between the first and second coming of Christ. She is, the mother of the harlots, but also (and with still deeper guilt) of the abominations of the earth. The folly of Satan thinking that he would be able to fight against God. Jesus at the Last Supper said that he would not again drink of the cup until he drank it new in his Father's kingdom ( Matthew 26:29). On the head of the victor Christ there are many crowns to show that he is lord of all the kingdoms of the earth. I do not, of course, complain of particular persons, but of the general vagueness in which the passage has been taken unless, indeed, the more common course be not to ignore it. And I heard as it were a voice of a great multitude, and as a voice of many waters, and as a voice of mighty thunders, saying, Alleluia, for the Lord God the Almighty reigneth. Verse 4. It will be a state of nature unexampled for the fruits of the earth and the enjoyment of all that God has made here below. 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. We shall find, on the contrary, its aspect is toward the universe, yet is there the special place of Israel; and quite right it is that it should be so. Second, there are the small and the great. And John heard it as the voice of many waters or rushing waters and the voice of mighty thunderings.Glory. The word is alethinos ( G228) and has two meanings. A mighty angel takes a stone and says, when he cast it into the sea, "Thus with violence shall be thrown down Babylon the great city, and shall be found no more at all." "On his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come." Every day-and we set up these rules for righteousness. ", This chapter is one of the most dramatic in all the Bible. Sometimes they have contended for its application to pagan Rome. "Faithful" is what belongs to a man. church (compare Matt. The armies of heaven are the hosts of the angels. He accepts us plain and simple. the end of the Great Tribulation, just before the kingdom is established Oh, the power of the word of Jesus, the sword that goes forth out of His mouth. It is not therefore his final judgment. After the destruction of Babylon at supreme in authority, and "God", which means supreme deity; you have an (b) He is true. After "the nations" in verse 24 omit the words "of them which are saved." There was judicial discernment with the distinct possession of all titles to sovereignty. He had a great desire to bring his brothers, Egyptian brothers to the knowledge of Jesus Christ. The four living creatures, respectively like a lion, an ox, a man and an eagle, stand for two things, for all that is bravest, strongest, wisest and swiftest in nature--and for the cherubim. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as a voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth ( Revelation 19:6 ). 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. Isa_1.20; Isaiah 49:2; Isaiah 66:16; This is the weapon God uses to conquor the nations! Two sets of people are called on to praise God. Revelation 19 The people in heaven praise God 1 After these things, I heard a sound like the voices of a great crowd of people in heaven. The voice includes himself among those who claim God as our God. Bride. So the marriage feast of the Lamb will take place here on the earth. "And he showed me a pure river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb." But he tells us further that the Spirit of prophecy, who prophesies in this book, is the testimony of Jesus. And the [antichrist] the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and those that worshipped his image. He will not fail to take up the gage He has given our hearts. This is just a statement telling us it will never be built harlot), and avenging the blood of the martyrs (7:9-17). [Note: E.g., M. Eugene Boring, Revelation, p. 195; and Wall, pp. But this passage confronts us with something which became of very great importance in the worship of the Church. "Let him that heareth," then, "say, Come." That God is holding back something good and He really isn't fair to you was the insinuation behind Satan's remarks. The fact is, in the very best authorities it does not exist at all. He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God Norris' Commentary on the Book of Revelation. THE KING rides at the head of His armies. The thought of the relationship between God and his people as a marriage goes far back into the Old Testament. At his rebuke nations shall flee before him, And he shall reprove sinners for the thoughts of their hearts, There is a Rabbinic picture of the Messiah: "How beauteous is the king Messiah, who is about to rise from the house of Judah. The spiritual power is wholly in the hands of the false prophet. God will judge Israel, namely, Jews living when He returns (Ezekiel 20:33-38), and the Gentiles living then (Matthew 25:31-46). The Spirit of God contrasts with the fall of Babylon the marriage. Ephesians 6:17; smite the nations . And the LAST WORDS (22:6-21). "And he had a name written, that no man knew but he himself." Thus was concluded all dealing on the Lord's part with both soul and body, and all that pertains to either. The fine linen, clean and Here accordingly is seen but one throne. giving God glory for a fifth reason, the marriage of the Lamb has come. Rev. From generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever" ( Isaiah 34:9-10). Revelation 14:19-20). 19:12 His eyes are a flame of fire, and on his head are many royal crowns, and he has a name written which no one knows except himself. But for the eternal judgment heaven and earth are fled away; and then we see the new and eternal universe. The actual picture comes from Isaiah: "The streams of Edom shall be turned into pitch, and her soil into brimstone; her land shall become burning pitch. The victory gained by the great and glorious head of the church: The beast and the false prophet, the leaders of the army, are taken prisoners, both he who led them by power and he who led them by policy and falsehood; these are taken and cast into the burning lake, made incapable of molesting the church of God any more; and their followers, whether officers or common soldiers, are given up to military execution, and made a feast for the fowls of heaven. [Note: Ladd, pp. God doesn't want you taking credit for the work that He does, receiving glory for His work. "And the city has no need of the sun, nor of the moon, that they should shine for it." And they also lasted much longer. In presence of grace I do not think this is for His glory, any more than for their own blessing. It begins with the shout of a vast multitude in heaven. Every strange coded word and phrase is meant for this generation. First, he is remembering Psalms 97:1: "The Lord reigns; let the earth rejoice." "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. But no believer comes into judgment. The bride breathes out this word to the bridegroom; and the Holy Ghost it is that gives strength to her desire that He should come. The word of God, Hebrews 4:12, Ephesians 6:17 Indicates the power of Gods words, cf. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations unto it. Man alone is to blame who has misapplied it. It is "His story". It is suggested that it is actually written on his thigh, because it was sometimes the custom to engrave the titles of statues on the thigh. Jeremiah hears God say and appeal: "Return, O faithless children, for I am your master" ( Jeremiah 3:14). The picture is of all men sitting down at the Messianic Banquet of God. It was but an imperfect view they got even of justification; a far scantier perception, if they could be said to have had any, about Christ's Headship of the church, His priesthood, or almost anything else. "And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast." 5:10). He will tread the winepress of the anger of the wrath of God the Almighty. Revelation 19:4 "And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down It will help to show us that, whatever may have been the past conditions of Babylon, there is a future one; and it is in that future one that Babylon is to perish. (This takes you to our other website) These both [the two of them, the antichrist and his false prophet] were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone ( Revelation 19:20 ). This is saying that this judgment is permanent and is like the language that God Religions tell you that you have to do certain things in order to please God. This may seem to us a strange metaphor. 13 And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heavens fled away." I believe the word "Lamb" is used here, How did He create it? 11:2; Eph. It does not mean persons merely, but the souls of beheaded persons. The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy: The central theme of both He wants you to have a relationship with Him, a loving relationship, not a legal relationship. In short, one may be described as corruption, and the other as violence. If you We do not mend matters by hasty conclusions, we only complicate the truth. ). 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. Such is the hard bondage which mere historical tradition imposes on its votaries. It is not the gospel, nor the Holy Spirit, but the lawless revived Latin empire with its vassal kingdoms of the west, that combine and destroy Babylon. Here we have described to us the visions of The Conquering Christ (19:11-16), the judgments of the beast and of the false prophet and of Satan (19:17-20:10), the judgment of the wicked (20:11-15), the visions of the New heaven, the New earth and the New Jerusalem (20:16-22;5). The glorified saints are to administer power in a way far beyond angels. I will tell thee the mystery of the woman." "Yet is" is a most unfortunate expression. Well, the folly of men today that think that they are able to fight against God and to come out victorious. In the Revelation two kinds of people are specially called the servants of God; the prophets ( Revelation 10:7; Revelation 11:18; Revelation 22:6), and the martyrs ( Revelation 7:3; Revelation 19:2). God uses them for this object,-the setting aside of her, the great religious corruptress, whose centre is found at Rome. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword ( Revelation 19:15 ). Return Christ needs no armies, whether of angels, or anyone else. It will be understood when one says "spiritual" that none is meant save of a wicked kind. 19:13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is the Word of God. It is for your sin that He is dying. There are times when John sees the Lord himself. 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? God alone is perfect in judgment for three reasons. The answer: because it's the final book of the Bible. If the books proclaim the evil works of the dead that stand before the throne, the book of life offers no defence on the score of God's grace. It should not be "and which had not," but rather, "and those who had not worshipped the beast, nor his image, neither had received his mark upon their forehead, and on their hand; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." The individual has his own fruit too. reign with Christ in the millennial kingdom. The marriage of the Lamb: The wife or bride of Christ is the But the graphic account does not end until the Spirit of God shows us another view of Babylon altogether. * Idolatry is the awful stamp that she bears, and this too both in what she gives to man, and in what is written on her forehead before God. The judgment on Rome is the guarantee that God never in the end abandons his own. and others give , "of her." The word "rule" is "to shepherd" them, and the rod of iron is the club the shepherd used to fend off the wolves, bears, lions, etc. But what I particularly call your attention to is the exceeding importance of heeding the retrospect at the bride, or new Jerusalem here, and the consequent removal of the difficulty caused by taking the last vision of this book as part of the prophetic series which begins in Revelation 19:1-21. believers at salvation, but the practical results of that righteousness in Do not wonder at the vast numbers, or at their defection. Had he really penetrated under the surface, and seen that beneath the fair guise of Christendom the woman was, of all things under the sun, the most corrupt and hateful to God, it would not be so much to be surprised at. Pilate said, "I find no fault in Him. In the tabernacle in The iron rod is showing his ability to protect them. Who does not see that this is precisely analogous to the verse which opened the description of Babylon? 227-28.] Let us look at the different groups that are seen to have part in the first resurrection. No sooner was the marriage solemnized between Christ and his church by the conversion of the Jews than the glorious head and husband of the church is called out to a new expedition, which seems to be the great battle that was to be fought at Armageddon, foretold Rev. He is, as H. B. Swete puts it, "a royal commander followed by a dazzling retinue." (compare 1 Thess. Night and day it shall not be quenched; its smoke shall go up for ever and ever. It is not now lightnings and thunders and voices. There is going to be another supper, a supper prepared by God for all the birds. Marriage of the Lamb: Hebrew weddings consisted of 3 phrases: (1) No one really knows what the vowels in Y-H-W-H were. You see, the Father has no God-He is "the only true God" according to Jesus in John 17:3. This is never the case with an angel. On his head he has many crowns. The word used here for crown is diadema ( G1238) , which is the royal crown, as opposed to stephanos ( G4735) which is the crown of victory. This testimony here is not Jesus giving it, but we believers who testify of the Do it not (compare 22:8-9). He is coming, and coming soon for us. One of our pastors, Imad, spent some time in the Egyptian jail. So we find the Lord has room for all that is the fruit of His own grace only, for the appeal of grace, even when there is not the answer to it. Another warlike expedition of the glorious head and husband of the church, with the success of it, ver 10, etc. Other Books of the Bible That is letting religion enter in. That is why religions fail. This testimony here is not Jesus giving it, but we believers who testify of the The redeemed being addressed here to add to the other 3 mentioned groups. Now manifestly, if the Lord does not come before this, there is no world to come to; for the earth and heavens are fled. This chapter explains how it was that Babylon was so offensive to God, and wherefore He judged her thus sternly. He is the living Word, the active agent of God who expresses Gods will and carries it out. He that overcometh shall inherit these things; and I will be to him God, and he shall be son to me. Tribulation saints. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever ( Revelation 19:3 ). and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.". But this is not to emerge from the bottomless pit. Now, as the Lord closes out His revelation to man, and as He begins to talk to us about the glories of this coming age, the marriage supper of the lamb. As usual John takes his picture from the Old Testament and is thinking of the terrible picture in Isaiah 63:1-3, where the prophet pictures God returning from the destruction of Edom; "I trod them in my anger, and trampled them in my wrath; their life blood is sprinkled upon my garments, and I have stained all my raiment." The visions of this prophetic book open, not with the rapture of saints to heaven, but the sight of saints already raptured, often before the seer in the visions, but seen always in a complete condition without addition to their number. Next comes the marriage of the Lamb to his bride. would even have us. It is a precisely similar case here. And it was so. Second Edition, Revised - 1871 He doesn't want you to be religious. The name was in fact so holy that it was never pronounced. Clearly, therefore, it is future. . That is religion. The weapons of his warfare--A sharp sword proceeding from his mouth (Revelation 19:15; Revelation 19:15), with which he smites the nations, either the threatenings of the written word, which now he is going to execute, or rather his word of command calling on his followers to take a just revenge on his and their enemies, who are now put into the wine-press of the wrath of God, to be trodden under foot by him. There are probably but few, if any, here who do not understand it as the fore-shadow of a real resurrection. Consequently, here we must most unquestionably go back to be shown an important object in the prophecy which could not, without interrupting its course, have been described before. And they said Alleluia a second time; and her smoke goeth up unto the ages of the ages." But then while there is such a call to Christ, while the believer is not to be afraid, but to call on the Lord to come, the church does not forget those that are poor sinners, let them be deeply conscious of it, or let them be those that are only made willing by the grace of God (which is the feeblest expression of the sinner's need, just as you have the feeblest expression of the saint in the previous call).
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