The church goes on according to the will of the Lord, who might according to His own purpose lengthen or abridge the space. Verse by Verse Ministry International is a non-profit, non-denominational, unaffiliated Christian ministry that is dedicated to promoting the preaching and teaching of God's Word clearly and boldly. (a) He is faithful. Therefore be zealous and repent. Let us rise up to serve The King of kings. Acts 10:25-26). That was Jesus looking forward to the great Messianic Banquet. Revelation chapter 19, beginning in verse number 1, the Bible reads "And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God". At a marriage, (i) It has been suggested that the name is kurios ( G2962) , Lord. 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 must therefore look a little into the two objects Babylon and the beast. Exactly the same thing is repeated here, and what makes it more apparent is the similarity of the introduction on each occasion. The pronoun he is emphaticHe Himself, by Himself, as is there expressed. And yet in such times John calls God pantokrator ( G3841) . He knows But He "treadeth the winepress of the fury of the wrath of the Almighty God" another character of judgment never attributed to the saints, that I know of. Called: Those who are invited to the marriage supper are Israel, who will turn They are all to reign concurrently with the beast. They picture the final triumph of God over all enemies and his complete conquest of evil. Rev. And he said unto me, What is it? But you can go ahead and do these things without pangs of conscience trying to destroy God out of our society, out of our lives. Unhallowed love will end in hatred. I agree with the majority. Any other intermediary than Jesus Christ between God and man must be utterly opposed. Jesus descends majestically to judge in righteousness and rule in power. This does not intimate we have seen that there is only one act of raising, but that all who share that resurrection, whenever raised, are raised before the millennium begins; so that when the reign of Christ takes place, all such have part in the first resurrection, including Christ Himself, raised at least 1800 years before the church; then the church, with the Old Testament saints; then these Apocalyptic saints at any rate some years after. First, he is remembering Psalms 97:1: "The Lord reigns; let the earth rejoice." 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. It was not merely a vocable or sound dropped heedlessly from unthinking lips. "They have one mind, and give their own power and authority to the beast." Then there was a time of preparation as the 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. And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: By and by, after our translation to heaven, He will work, and as vitally in those who bow to God, when it will be the reception of the prophetic testimony which is here owned to be none the less the testimony of Jesus. He wants you to have a relationship with Him, a loving relationship, not a legal relationship. The letters Y-H-W-H (Yahweh) are called the sacred tetragrammaton, the sacred four letters. Here it would seem we have just what answers to that: this name none knew but He Himself. Revelation 18:1-24 need not delay us long. Still God acts in a wisdom far above man, and holds to His principles even there. as the Complut. 3. So we are obliged to translate the single word, e.g. Fell at his feet: Overwhelmed by the grandeur of the vision, John collapsed in That an openly heathen metropolis, devoted to the worship of Mars, and Jupiter, and Venus, and other wicked monstrosities of pagan mythology should be irritated with the gospel which exposes it all, and should consequently seek to injure the faithful, was to be expected, and a necessary result, directly that the uncompromising spirit of Christ was known. Take notice of this (which confirms the application just now contended for), that when John saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus, he wondered with great wonder. There are those who have set themselves deliberately and conscientiously to fight against God.The humanists in their Humanist Manifesto have declared their intention of destroying God out of the minds and conscientiousness of men. Judgment is the inescapable consequence of sin. The "saved" is a term which, so far from belonging to the nations, is expressly applied to the Jewish remnant when it is a technical term. 13:20), and will be presented to Him at the Rapture (John Again this is a picture taken directly from the Old Testament, from Ezekiel's picture of the slaughter of the forces of Gog and Magog. But it fails to account for the differences. But in this is shown what it is of importance to see the true nature of the kingdom or millennial reign. The prophet asks, "Why are you red in your apparel, and your garments like those that have been treading in the wine vat? Here you may see the reason for saying that the four and twenty elders and the four living creatures are not absolutely the church, because when that symbol applies, and the one of the bride comes forward, we have got others too. 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. 16:12-16). But for the eternal judgment heaven and earth are fled away; and then we see the new and eternal universe. No marriage can last without fidelity, and the Christian must be as faithful to Jesus Christ as Jesus Christ is to him. The death and decay of billions of sea creatures will only add to the misery of this judgment. So here He is sitting upon a white horse. 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). II. "Owr hayah owr hayah", "Light be and light was". For there follows another company of martyrs who suffered when the beast set up his worst and final pretensions. ( 7) Namely, to that holy marriage, both herself in person in this verse, and also provided by her spouse with marriage gifts princely and divine, is adorned and prepared in the next verse. These are representative of God is praised because he has exercised his just and true judgment on the great harlot. for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy ( Revelation 19:10 ). They which are called: This is not the bride (the church), but the guests. "Let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to him: for the ___________ of the _______ is come". I agree one hundred percent. The same imagery of a wedding picture's the Lord's relationship with His Church. We can see that, for instance, in the old story in which Jacob filched Esau's blessing from Isaac ( Genesis 27:1-46). Then He is called the "True and faithful witness" in the third chapter of Revelation. _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-10273872-1']); for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication ( Revelation 19:2 ). There are always those who are ready to challenge the fairness of it. They will then treat her with contempt and shameful exposure. remnant, a small company, when compared with the world and carnal professors; We do know some of His names "Jesus, the Christ, The Son of God, Shepherd, Redeemer, Saviour, Prince of Peace, King of Kings and Lord of lords"----but the fullness of His love and power none of us has yet realized. The final verse in this chapter introduces a new thought. Just as the city of man's confusion was seen in her vile, degraded, and degrading relations with the beast, this city is seen in her pure and glorious relations with the Lamb. . 14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. In that place the sword seems to be an emblem of his words or doctrines, as penetrating the hearts of people; here it is the emblem of a work of destruction worked on his foes. So, Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. [Note: Thomas, Revelation 8-22, p. 381, 567-85.] It is a time of strong delusion, be it remembered. But there is a message also for others. The eternal smoke So, darkness covered the face of the deep and God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. "And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have not yet received a kingdom; but they receive authority as kings (not at but for) one hour with the beast." God uses them for this object,-the setting aside of her, the great religious corruptress, whose centre is found at Rome. Two sets of people are called on to praise God. It was a unit of energy charged with power. Jude 1. Her part in the corruption of the high and the intoxication of the low her idolatrous character has come before us. [shepherd] . But now heaven is opened for yet graver facts, and of incalculable moment for man and the universe and the enemy. smite the nations . And so the first two inhabitants of Gehenna will be the antichrist and his prophet and they will be the soul inhabitants, it would seem, for a thousand years. ceremony); The marriage of the Lamb: The wife or bride of Christ is the church (Matt. For the fine linen is the righteous deeds of God's dedicated people. This is a passage whose meaning is obscure. Are we then to understand that the elders and the living creatures are together taken absolutely as the bride now? And it was so. (ii) There is intimate communion, so intimate that man and wife become one flesh. "And if any one was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire." Revelation. 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath 7 made herself ready. It means 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. overwhelming understanding of Who this is. "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." 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. He saw their condition: it was part of the vision. As man does not believe in the resurrection of man, it is no wonder that he does not believe in the resurrection of an empire. 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. The fall of Babylon being fixed, finished, and declared to be irrecoverable in the foregoing chapter, this begins with a holy triumph over her, in pursuance of the order given forth: Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets,Rev. So, He is coming to bring an end of man's rebellion. How does God tell us to worship Him? Directly he had sinned, the word of God came, and he was called. [Note: See David J. MacLeod, The Seven Last Things.] The son is doubly guilty, because he saw his father's nakedness and felt it enough to hide. For a short time (what a mercy that it must be only for a short time!) Observe another very important fact. Thank God. In short, it is not tropical language, as when it is said of the prodigal son "This my son was dead, and is alive again;" or of the restoration of Israel, which is compared to a resurrection from the dead for the rest of the world. It wouldn't have to be more than ten miles in diameter to hold all of the unrighteous from Adam until now. So it is imputed righteousness given to you by your faith in Christ. In the former verse God invited all the ravenous fowls to a supper, he here showeth their cheer. The return of Christ to earth 19:11-16. When any wrong is done, it will be dealt with. The glory of the kingdom does not preserve when men in their natural state are exposed to the adversary. 1 Thessalonians 2:13 Commentary. It will never happen. "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." There was no doubt at all of the character of the emperor; there never had been a worse than he; yet God took that very opportunity to lay this on the Christians as their duty to the worldly authority outside and over them. 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. The marriage All who have looked back on the history know, that when the ten kings appeared, there was no beast or imperial power. First, he alone can see the inmost thoughts and desires of any man. Hence He must have come back previously to both. Accordingly, "Behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me." This is just a statement telling us it will never be built Here occurs a remarkable change in the sequence of the visions, though easily understood; for it must be evident that there is nothing to follow this in point of time. Worship God." Verse 9. church. Verse 1 of the Revelation already shows God's intention: ".to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass". Tribulation saints. And I have to apologize sometimes for my judgments. Only the Son of God can understand the mystery of his own being. In Judaism there was increasingly stressed the transcendence of God, because of that it was increasingly felt that man needed some intermediary. . Note that there is no fighting or conflict of any kind in view here. That righteousness that God puts on my account because I believe in Jesus Christ. If not blessing it judges. But still it is a very solemn fact to read, and that which we are bound to preach that even in the perfect state of eternity, while there is the brightness of the heaven and of the earth into which no evil can enter, you have all the evil that ever has been all the wicked of every clime and of every age cast into the fixed condition of eternal judgment in the lake of fire. Jesus found Himself at opposition with the religious forces of His day and it was the religious people who prompted the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Night and day it shall not be quenched; its smoke shall go up for ever and ever. You just have to come on the basis of God's grace and love for you and cast yourself upon His mercy, but that God is merciful. But that the heart of man even so is not renewed becomes manifest, when Satan at the close deceives all that are not converted; and these, as we are told, are countless "as the sand of the sea.". 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. How did He create it? . The ceremony (the exchanging of vows). servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for There. Revelation 19:1-3. And it appears to me that here we are bound to account for the presence of these others that are at the marriage-supper of the Lamb, but appear as guests, and not at all in the quality of the bride. 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. It would have been incongruous to bring in that long description before, because this must have interrupted the flow of the prophetic stream. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. His instructions are to praise God. The battle is through. This tells us something about our approach to They are glorified saints, and not angels. frequently (4:8, 11; 5:9-12, 14; 11:16-18). "And he that sat upon him called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war." ). Some evade the difficulty by referring the desolation to the Gothic powers; and these Protestants, as if they were mere Praeterists! I sometimes judge without having all the facts in hand, and so my judgments are often wrong. Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, 2 for true and just are his judgments. "On his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. It is a picture of final judgment. "The kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour unto it" not into but unto. 12:10; 13:9; and Roman It seems clear that the name is visible to all, and, therefore, probably the likeliest solution is that it was written on the skirt of the warrior Christ's robe, lying over his thigh, as he rode upon the white horse. *The description here is simply character, not dates. And it is the various ways by which men are attempting to reach God. For certain there are two great acts of resurrection, one when the Old Testament saints and the church are caught up to heaven, the other when Satan was bound after the beast and false prophet were thrown into the lake of fire, as well as Babylon judged. His word which hurled the suns in space will execute his will when the time comes. It is partly because of this that many excellent men have endeavoured to apply the vision to Romanism; and I admit that there is found a measure of analogy. are no other than God's covenant people, who are given to Christ, and made Presentation (the festivities, often lasting several days, that preceded the he will rule them with a rod of iron . These remain as yet in the condition of separate spirits. The person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Redeemer, is in the centre of these future events. 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. 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. Now there was nothing more repulsive and fatal to paganism in every form than the truth revealed in Christ, which exposed every thing that was not itself not the truth, definite and exclusive. Verse 7. So He sent this revelation by the angel to John. the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16 Commentary. 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. But here there is none; a temple is for the earth. No doubt all this may seem to some a little difficult, but it is no use evading what is hard. The Old Testament points forward to Jesus, beginning in First, then, this is the praise of the prophets and the martyrs who have witnessed for God with their voices and with their lives.