First, he came from a world in which there were many gods--Zeus, Hera, Apollo, Aphrodite and the rest, What was easier than to keep the old gods in the form of angels? A New Translation from a Revised Text of the Greek Original. Leaving behind the subject of the power of evil in the world, the visions now move on to their climax. A loveless marriage is a contradiction in terms. It is interesting to me how that God took such pains to protect the innocency of Jesus Christ at the crucifixion. 1. We begin the description of the conquering Christ. Rabbi, Jehudah, actually gave the odd instruction that men ought not to pray in Aramaic because the angels did not understand Aramaic! And then those men who have chosen to cast their lot with Satan in rebellion against God. Bhagavad Gita - Wikipedia Lord. Seven Spirits of God - Wikipedia To us, as His soldiers, Christ says "As My Father has sent Me so send I you." So, I will be clothed in linen, pure and white and clean. 12:10; - Hebrews 4:12; a sharp sword . engagement. the wilderness, the High Priest wore a very ornamented robe with a breastplate But no believer comes into judgment. But it is what each saint has, though the blessed thought here is that the church has it not merely in the way of each person possessing his own; the bride has the whole of it (that is, the church in glory). 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. 5:10). And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for night shall not be there. . It is to Jesus. Out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword Revelation 1:16; Revelation 1:16. They were in three distinct stages which first involved the betrothal or 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). Not only are they supposed to be coexistent, but united in their change of feeling against Babylon. When the second beast appeared, he even strove to put to death those who would not worship the beast, nor pay homage to his image, nor receive his mark. The death and decay of billions of sea creatures will only add to the misery of this judgment. because of the number of people speaking. 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. God is praised because he has exercised his just and true judgment on the great harlot. This scene 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. Why is the word "Lamb" used here to speak of Jesus? And a voice came forth from the throne. It is well to remember that the whole background of this picture lies in Jewish expectations of the future and has little to do with the Christ of the Gospels who was meek and lowly in heart. After the destruction of Babylon at May our hearts answer freely to His word of love and truth with our "Amen." . * It is to Him that God has given all judgment not necessarily to us. He remains in that condition of readiness from the time when He sat at God's right hand till the present. That picture stands for the final union between Jesus Christ and his Church. 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.". 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and, behold, a white horse, and he who is mounted on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. "[48] No "battle" of any kind takes place here. The betrothal takes place on earth during the church age; (2) The 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. ", This chapter is one of the most dramatic in all the Bible. This web site explains the Book of Revelation, each individual scripture. Why then is the book of life mentioned? THE KING rides at the head of His armies. The guests also will include tribulation saints Revelation 19 - Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary - StudyLight.org The word is pantokrator ( G3841) , literally the one who controls all things. That pagan Rome, therefore, should set itself against Christianity was to be expected, and so the fact proved. THE CONQUERING CHRIST ( Revelation 19:11 ). "Owr hayah owr hayah", "Light be and light was". He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God Norris' Commentary on the Book of Revelation. In presence of grace I do not think this is for His glory, any more than for their own blessing. After these things: This is a time key. pl.") To be crowned with more than one crown may seem strange, but in the time of John it was quite natural. However, Satan is not yet destroyed. I don't know exactly what He will say. II. It may well be from that old Jewish idea that there came the idea of the marriage feast of the Lamb, for that indeed would be the true Messianic Banquet. Since then the world has not seen the imperial power to which all bow. It is remarkable, that all along this book, idolatry and It is not what Christ puts on them, but a recognition even at this time of whatever has been of God the working I do not deny of the Spirit of Christ. For who knows not the horrors of Mariolatry? God accounts my faith for righteousness. (John 12:48). "And the woman whom thou sawest is the great city, that hath kingship over the kings of the earth." 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. Only God is "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." Scholz's note ("rec. The Book of Revelation: Verse by Verse Commentary 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 marriage feast will take place on earth following Christ's return with the Then go into each of the twenty two chapters of the Book of Revelation one by one. This it is precisely which will bring out the indignant judgment of God upon the last phase of Babylon, so that the guilt of all the blood shed on the earth shall be imputed to her, and she may be judged accordingly. Godly people love righteousness and hate sin, for righteousness If there was any Gentile power since John's day, which did not sustain but persecute and suppress Jerusalem, it was Rome, instead of being a gaudy harlot mounted on that vast empire. It is impossible to refer it to the past with any show even of reasonable probability, I will not say of reality or truth. It may well be that John intended the double meaning; and that we are meant not to choose between the meanings, but to accept both of them. to Top, Other Books of the Bible All this description closes in verse 5. A mysterious lawlessness inherits the well-known name of Babylon when Rome is brought forward; and it does not merely embrace Christian times, but the end of the age after the church has gone, when the course of divine judgment comes. I. Her part in the corruption of the high and the intoxication of the low her idolatrous character has come before us. The judgment on Rome is the guarantee that God never in the end abandons his own. The "word" that comes from Gods mouth is to be used to conquor! Thus the difference is complete between past history (if we look at the extinction of the empire and the rise of the ten kingdoms) and the certain fulfilment of the prophecy in the future, when we look at what God has really told us. What is the "righteousness of the saints" that they are clothed with? "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." believers at salvation, but the practical results of that righteousness in But that idea is wholly insufficient to cover or meet the word of God, which gives clear and strong reasons that prove the mistake of applying this to the pope as its complete fulfilment. You can't start with a finite base and reach to infinity. bring the climax of the Book of Revelation: the return of Christ to establish He spoke these things into existence; the power of the Word of God.If we would only realize the power of the Word of God. Though the divine vengeance will chiefly fall upon the beast, and the false prophet, yet it will be no excuse to those who fight under their banner that they only followed their leaders and obeyed their command; since they would fight for them, they must fall and perish with them. But the church consists of souls called out from the earth, and is not of the world: consequently to the church the time is always at hand. I speak not of anything that might be deemed exceptional or peculiar, but of two acts of raising saints. That is what history is about. the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath Then the word is, "Award her even as she awarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she mixed, mix to her double. (iii) There is joy. Just like, as many other places They were caught in flagrant treason and rebellion: what further need of any process of judgment whatsoever? But "out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron." It begins with the shout of a vast multitude in heaven. 16:16. And again they said, Alleluia. It is a wholly unwarranted interpolation. Every day you should be spending twenty minutes on your knees in prayer. How this precisely fits in, let me say, with the state of feeling in these modern times; for "constitutionalism," as men call it, is the fruit of the Teutonic system supervening on that of the broken up Roman empire. Revelation Commentaries | Precept Austin servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for He will execute the fierce wrath of God Almighty that these enemies must drink (cf. I have a hard time stomaching religious people. almighty: having unlimited power. (v) It may be that we shall never know the symbolism of the unknown name but H. B. Swete has the very fine idea that in the essence of the being of Christ there must always remain something beyond man's understanding. 2. It is the divine judgment of man eternal judgment. My righteousness is not on such a tenuous thing as my faithfulness to devotions or works or whatever. Then comes not the destruction only of these rebels by divine judgment, but the dissolution of heaven and earth. Man has always sinned in one or other of these two ways, looking now at sin in its broadest forms. But it is for the last time, not of the age only but of the various dispensations of God. It is of the seven in that point of view, because it is imperialism; but it is an eighth, because it has a diabolical source when raised up again. The angels are never "called," although they may be "chosen;" and though termed holy, I do not recollect that they are ever spoken of as "faithful." I think that it might be just, "hey, you've had it." Jude 1. But the day is coming when Satan will be allowed to have things his own way. We have one final little battle here to take place in chapter nineteen. Chapter 19 of Revelation is the only place in the Bible that this name describing God is used. . I do know that whatever He does will be absolutely fair. Apart from his return to purge his creation of evil, redemption remains forever incomplete." church (compare Matt. We know that sometimes there were nine, sometimes eleven or more; but supposing this all perfectly certain, I affirm that, according to history, they did not receive their power as kings for one and the same time with the beast. The only right principle in everything is to go to the source of divine truth, and to seek there refreshment and strength and fitness for whatever our God calls us to. Revelation Commentary : Chapter Nineteen We find, accordingly, the four and twenty elders and four living creatures here brought before us for the last time. Like Hosanna ( H3467 + H4994 and G5614) it is one of the few Hebrew words which have established themselves in ordinary religious language. Salvation is simple. The view that they are non-sequential rests on similarities between Ezekiel 38-39 and Revelation 19-22. Now manifestly, if the Lord does not come before this, there is no world to come to; for the earth and heavens are fled. "These shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire." Each page of scripture is from the King James Bible, and is immediately followed by . It is the fault, however, of the bad Greek text of Erasmus, Stephens, etc. 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. So far they were right. church. purified at the judgment seat of Christ (1 Cor. The principle upon which this verse-by-verse study of Revelation proceeds, is that the contents of the book are, in the main, yet future and that the fulfillment of the greater part of Revelation cannot take place as long as the Church remains here on earth. Then come others in the condition of separate spirits or souls, whom the prophet saw two different classes of them those beheaded for the witness of Jesus and the word of God, and those who refused the beast in every form, The proof of the third class should have been given a little more distinctly than in our version. And then we come to a most cheering disclosure: "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and [I saw] the souls of those beheaded on account of the witness of Jesus, and on account of the word of God: and those who had not worshipped the beast, nor his image, and had not received his mark upon their forehead, and on their hand; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." instead of one of the other names of Jesus, to show that we have been cleansed On these I may say but a very few words. Nothing of the sort can be plainer. The voice that comes from the throne is most likely to be understood as the voice of one of the cherubim. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. It is an evident contrast with the state supposed in the wheat-and-tare field of Christendom which is found at the end of the age. Verse 12 . Again and again the prophets thought of Israel as the chosen bride of God. Once again we must remember that this picture is demonstrably painted in Jewish terms. If so, they are there in the quality not of the bride, but of those invited to the marriage of the Lamb; but I do not think them the Apocalyptic saints for the simple reason that, as shown in the next chapter, the Apocalyptic saints are not raised from the dead yet. Patience or endurance of hope is what becomes us. into the Holy of Holies, he wore pure white linen. The Psalmist says of the Messianic king: "You shall break them with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel" ( Psalms 2:9). Four beasts: The four beasts are the cherubim as described (in Rev. The old oracles were sealed then: not so John's. of the world mean nothing to God. He has punished that great prostitute. Afterwards we come to the description of itself, of its wall, its building, its foundations, and its gates. So here is the praise being given to God and now the encouragement for that praise coming from the throne of God. "True and righteous are thy judgments, O Lord." Two sets of people are called on to praise God. Jesus Christ was a threat to the religious leaders as He would be to all religious leaders. THE TE DEUM OF NATURE AND THE CHURCH ( Revelation 19:3-5 ), 19:3-5 And a second time they said: "Hallelujah! Otherwise, it is called in the scriptures, Gehenna, which is the final abode for the unrighteous dead. Accordingly these are the two main objects of judgment brought before us in the chapter. From the beginning, the church of God has been blessed with prophecy. But for the eternal judgment heaven and earth are fled away; and then we see the new and eternal universe. If you'd like to financially support VBVMI, please do so here. This is saying that this judgment is permanent and is like the language that God ", GOD'S WORD IN ACTION ( Revelation 19:13 ). In short, it would seem that God has hedged round His own draft of Babylon so as to make it quite plain that Rome, city and system, figures in the scene; and this too necessarily involving a medieval description, though the full result will not be till the end of the age; for she rides the beast or empire characterized so as naturally to involve the past barbarian irruption and the resulting ten-kingdomed state. He sees the glorious creation of God and he worships the creation, rather than the creator.And so John is making the same mistake and the angel corrects him and says don't do that. email us at: And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations unto it. But first, the first five verses show heaven's response to the judgment of the A seventh should follow; and what is more, the seventh was in one aspect to be an eighth. they said, "because the Lord our God, the Almighty, has entered into his kingdom. The woman the strange woman sets forth corruption, human nature indulging itself in its own evil desires, irrespective of God's will. 22:2-14; John 3:29; 2 Cor. After that we have the admonitions to the end of this book. 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 . 19:9-10a And he said to me: "Write! He with the glorified saints will have their home on high, but none the less shall they reign over this very world for the allotted time. Unhallowed love will end in hatred. So, Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Gods victory over a rebellious humanity and its satanic leaders is now pictured in a terrifying war (cf. They were judged every man according to their works. To a Jew a word was not merely a sound; it did things. bring the climax of the Book of Revelation: the return of Christ to establish sound like "mighty thunderings". at Revelation 14:19; while here we have the fuller phrase, the winepress of the wine of - CBSC, he will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty . He was a divine person, whatever new position He assumes for the world. I will tell thee the mystery of the woman." In Php_2:9-11 we read of the name above every name which God has given to Jesus Christ because of his complete obedience; and there the name is almost certainly Lord. They have long waited for the time when God's justice would triumph. In other words, this is the characteristic title for God in the Revelation. worship before the angel (compare 1:17; 22:8). That is to say, never again will she rise from her ruins. 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. What is it? (i) In certain circles of Judaism the angels had a very large place. "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. 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. 13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. bride doesnt get invited, she invites. ceremony. harlot), and avenging the blood of the martyrs (7:9-17). The political side of this is described here with surprising brightness and brevity. Further, a negative point of great importance is presented by the seer, "And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God the Almighty is the temple of it, and the Lamb. - CBSC, the winepress . And though they are but a seed, a The woman was allowed to ride the beast to influence and govern the empire first, but at last to be the object of hatred to the ten horns and the beast, who expose, rob, and destroy her. These words of praise here are focused on the Lord Jesus Christ. 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." (1) A mighty angel comes down from heaven. Now we find the symbol of the bride brought before us, and the elders and the living creatures disappear. He that overcometh shall inherit these things; and I will be to him God, and he shall be son to me. This also is a no less important element for understanding the chapter. 22:2-14; John 3:29; 2 Cor. After that When the Lord takes His own throne, they take theirs by grace. He wrote several tracts and was instrumental in leading several Muslims from their religion to a real relationship with God in Jesus Christ. "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heavens fled away." An allusion to Psalms 2:9 ; shall rule them . Revelation Chapter 16 Explained - bible-studys.org for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication ( Revelation 19:2 ). The particulars are reserved for a later point in this prophecy. Now that time had come. The, nature of the case exempts of course the saints of the millennium;* and this very simply, because they are never said to die at all. This rider is called "FAITHFUL AND TRUE"--"faithful" because we can depend on His promises. Imagine the millions upon millions of Christians that will be gathered in that glorious assembly and when the voice of the Lord comes exhorting us to praise God and give glory to Him, and in our response to it that tremendous praise, crescendo of praise that will arise. Here is one of the most dramatic moments in the Revelation, the emergence of the conquering Christ. It is written to be believed, not to be ignored or explained away. This was an arrangement by both sets of parents, was legally binding On His robe where it spreads out at His waist HIS TITLE is inscribed. 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. All the way along the fairness of God's judgment has been challenged.I don't know what God is going to do in a lot of cases. What is this name? "Alive the two were cast into the lake of fire burning with brimstone." I say not on but over the earth. It is to be supposed that it will far exceed anything yet seen on the face of the earth. Another warlike expedition of the glorious head and husband of the church, with the success of it, ver 10, etc. 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. What does Revelation chapter 13 mean? | BibleRef.com 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. We must therefore look a little into the two objects Babylon and the beast. Finally they will destroy her. Voices cry out joyfully that the Lord reigns and the marriage supper of the Lamb is ready. . Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Revelation 19:11-21. We saw that the twenty-four elders represent the twelve patriarchs and the twelve apostles, and, therefore, stand for the totality of the Church. Are we then to understand that the elders and the living creatures are together taken absolutely as the bride now? Indeed it must be so, because, as we read in the end of the last chapter, there the lost were cast. 4:6). But no; it was an absolute decree that went forth, and this indisputably, from a single head of the undivided empire. We have seen that these follow the Lord out of heaven, and are next seen enthroned. But now He is ready to return and establish His kingdom and take us unto Himself and the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife, or bride, has made herself ready. The one therefore throws much light upon the other. and in righteousness he doth judge and make war ( Revelation 19:11 ). I would like to say a few words about this "fine linen". Even so, come, Lord Jesus." Never worry about the righteousness of God's judgments. Gods deliverance of His people from their enemies (verse 1); Gods permanent crushing of mans rebellion (verse 3); Gods communion with His people (verse 7). 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. "True and righteous are thy judgments, O Lord.". This is predicted in Numbers 24:17 and on account of this the nations will be angry under the sounding of the seventh trumpet, with which this vision is contemporary, Revelation 11:18.