16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. That is religion. 11:2; Eph. Here, on the other hand, is something which is valid for all time. It is no longer a question of sustaining His saints in grace, but of sovereign power for judging the earth. To this earth He is coming, and not merely to the new earth in the eternal state. Thus the divine testimony is not confined to the gospel or the church, but the prophetic Spirit which characterizes the Revelation as a whole, after the church is translated, is equally a testimony of Jesus. Marriage of the Lamb: Hebrew weddings consisted of 3 phrases: (1) The Bible forbids the worship of angels (Col. Why did the angel tell John not to do this? The significant thing about this great word is that it occurs ten times in the New Testament. Meanwhile the armies of the antichrist perish in battle (19-21).With the antichrist and the false prophet destroyed, only the first member of the evil trinity remains to be dealt with, Satan himself. When Jews came over into Christianity, sometimes they brought this special reverence for the angels with them, forgetting that with the coming of Jesus no other intermediary between God and man can be necessary. STUDY NOTES--Revelation 19:11-16 --THE CONQUERING CHRIST. Christ, the glorious Head of the church, is described as on a white horse, the emblem of justice and holiness. THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY ( Revelation 19:10 b). It also means genuine, as opposed to that which is unreal. 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 is not meant that he who was more honoured in service than any of the twelve, he whom the Lord used for bringing out the church of the heavenly places, will not have his own most singular dignity in this glorious scene. VI. Thus the attempt to apply it during the pagan period is altogether futile on the face of the matter. The marriage between Christ and the church proclaimed and perfected, ver 5-10. instead of one of the other names of Jesus, to show that we have been cleansed That is prophecy centers around the person of Jesus Christ. And unquestionably God has been awakening the attention of His people in a remarkable manner to the value of His word, and not least of all to the portion we are now examining. His Earthly Kingdom (see article . 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. "And the beast that was, and is not, even he is an eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth unto destruction." on Line, email us at: (iii) He judges and makes war in righteousness. Such is God's account of Babylon the great. The gospel had been preached there, as she of Chaldea was not without law and prophet. The thousand years of peace and plenty will have given occasion for an ever-growing population, spite of a world thinned by divine judgments which open that era. And as for the twelve tribes of Israel, they are merely written there, nothing more. derives from a Hebrew word meaning "to be firm," and may be translated "truly" Their doom was awful, but by no means after the same sort as their two leaders. The folly of Satan thinking that he would be able to fight against God. A loveless marriage is a contradiction in terms. 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. Who said Amen, Alleluia as they worshipped around the throne? (ii) There is intimate communion, so intimate that man and wife become one flesh. Wheat and tares grow together till the process of judgment separates. They are glorified saints, and not angels. "And when the thousand years are completed, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to war." It is a precisely similar case here. Just hope the Lord doesn't come Friday night. Observe another very important fact. In short, Babylon, the disgusting counterpart of the holy city, in earthly ambition seeks the kings and the masses for her own present objects, while the other suffers now and will reign then. "Your Maker is your husband; the Lord of hosts is his name," says Isaiah ( Isaiah 54:5). What's amazing is that the Father never calls His Son "My God," though there are at least 7 times in the NT where Jesus called the Father "My God." twice on the cross, once on resurrection morning with Mary, and 4 times in Revelation 3.12. Nor is there any real reason to wonder at their deriving help from partial light. 1 Thessalonians 2:13 Commentary. Five reasons for their praise emerge: (1) essence of all true prophecy. The word of God, said Jeremiah, is like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces ( Jeremiah 23:29). * Let us be glad and exult, and give the glory to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready." In short, it is as we saw in Revelation 17:1-18, after Babylon had been brought before us in the course of the prophecy. There is another remark to make. The verse numbering in . As King of kings and Lord of lords he exercises Gods rule over all humankind, and in divine wrath punishes the wicked (13-16).An angel calls flesh-eating birds to prepare for a feast such as they have never had before, for the corpses on the battlefield will be beyond number (17-18). All is then fixed. They have the capacity to stand in the sun. Hence this certainly must be future. "His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many diadems." For instance, when Ptolemy entered Antioch he wore two crowns or diadems--one to show that he was lord of Asia and one to show that he was lord of Egypt ( 1Ma_11:13 ). Various suggestions have been made. When the apostle Paul wrote to the, saints at Rome, he particularly specified at that very time the duty of absolute subjection on the part of Christians to the powers which then were. THE KING rides at the head of His armies. Let it be carefully observed here that the first resurrection does not mean all rising exactly at the same moment. (verse 16--We know who He is "King of kings and Lord of lords"). Literally "fierceness of the wrath". Choose a verse from 'Revelation 1' to begin your 'Verse-by-Verse' study of God's Word using the more than 100 commentaries available on StudyLight.org . They will probably number into the hundreds of millions. The chronological progression of events on earth resumes from Revelation 16:21. In any event, the name singles him out as the greatest of all rulers, the only true divine One and the universal King. After so long a tarrying how blessed! 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. 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." And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God ( Revelation 19:9 ). There is a contrast with the scarlet and gold of the great harlot. Note that there is no fighting or conflict of any kind in view here. It is a Hebrew word that has become universal, "Allel", "u", "yah", which means, "praise to Jehovah" or Yahweh. And then comes the gathering and the battle. The "things to come" are synonymous with death. 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. Now we find the symbol of the bride brought before us, and the elders and the living creatures disappear. He has punished that great prostitute. ", If we had to find another title for the Book of Revelation to describe its message--then it would bear the title-- "King of kings and Lord of lords.". 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. Why is the word "Lamb" used here to speak of Jesus? 14:15-24). Ezekiel works out the whole picture most fully in Ezekiel 16:1-63. (b) He is true. And I think that this has been declared all the way through, because this is one of the areas that Satan constantly challenges concerning God, the fairness of God's judgments when he deals and meats out His judgments upon man. The "testimony of Jesus" is what the whole Bible is about. They were shouting, ' Praise the Lord our God! The race was now in the resurrection state either for good or for evil; and thus it must be for ever. The marriage of the Lamb: The wife or bride of Christ is the church (Matt. 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. Hence the effort of some to prop up a manifestly false reading. But this is not to emerge from the bottomless pit. When any wrong is done, it will be dealt with. Revelation 19 In this chapter we have, I. The ceremony (the exchanging of vows). What is the sword? When the Lord takes His own throne, they take theirs by grace. He shall destroy the pride of the sinner as a potter's vessel. In our day men prophecy "the end of Christs church", but Christs Word is mightier than any word that men can utter. His Word is "a two-edged sword." They are joined by the twenty-four elders (Revelation 4). 252-53. "At the last day" does not mean merely an instant of time. The blessing given could not be taken back. His eyes were as a flame of fire ( Revelation 19:12 ). And Paul speaks of himself as betrothing the Church like a pure virgin to Christ ( 2 Corinthians 11:2), and for him the relationship of Christ to his Church is the great model of the relationship of husband and wife ( Ephesians 5:21-33). This is of great importance, because if the new Jerusalem be, as I have no doubt it is, the bride the Lamb's wife, then we have her separate condition asserted in eternity. The outer court represents the control of Jerusalem and Israel by Gentiles during the last half of the Tribulation period. 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 those that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. This is what drove men to the idea of making the pope to be the beast. "Crowns and thrones may perish Kingdoms rise and wane But the Church of Jesus Constant will remain. Revelation 19:1 "And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in The death and decay of billions of sea creatures will only add to the misery of this judgment. all there is about us already. Afterwards we come to the description of itself, of its wall, its building, its foundations, and its gates. I am not raising any question about the ten. Worship: Only God is to be worshiped (compare 22:8-9; There is a scripture that would indicate maybe two hundred million.And that is when the blood will flow to the horses bridle all the way through the Valley of Megiddo clear on down to Edom through the valley of Jehoshaphat as they gather together against the Lord and His anointed. See note at Revelation 1:16 and note; Revelation 2:12, Revelation 2:16. goes . Have we not all heard of the balance of power? There was never a time in history in which such forces were drawn up against the Church as when the Revelation was written. If my righteousness were dependent upon my keeping the Law, or keeping rules or regulations-Let's say that we said that every day you should be reading five chapters out of the Bible. And to her [that is the bride of Christ, the church] was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints ( Revelation 19:8 ). His word which hurled the suns in space will execute his will when the time comes. He is praised for judging religious Babylon and avenging the martyrs. I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. "And so here we see Him, clothed in a vesture dipped in blood. "And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood." But there never was the thought of giving Christ the only place He could take. In Asia Minor even the tribunal of the proconsul was subject to bribery and to maladministration. Gods victory over a rebellious humanity and its satanic leaders is now pictured in a terrifying war (cf. 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 marriage symbolism runs all through the Gospels. This explains, it seems to me, the wounded head that was afterwards healed. This scene 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). It is thus that God is wont to deal as a rule in His judgments, not necessarily on the one that first introduces an evil, but on those that inherit the guilt, and perhaps aggravate it, instead of taking warning by it. Be wise now therefore, O you kings, be instructed, you rulers of the earth; kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish from the way,Psalms 2:10; Psalms 2:12. These are those saved before Pentecost, In other words, this is the characteristic title for God in the Revelation. On the head of the victor Christ there are many crowns to show that he is lord of all the kingdoms of the earth. 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7, 14; 21:22). 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. The church goes on according to the will of the Lord, who might according to His own purpose lengthen or abridge the space. The events that are described within its pages were written for us today. 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. [Note: Ladd, pp. But, in point of fact, in giving the description of Babylon, the Holy Ghost enters even more into an account of her relations with the beast, the imperial power of which we saw not a little last night. What makes it the more notable is this, that the rod of iron is promised to us not the sword. Jesus Christ. millennial kingdom and last throughout that 1000 year period (compare 21:2). And their voice on this Revelation 19:4 "And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down There is no lack of precision, but the very reverse. 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. "These shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire." Echoing an earlier rabbinic comment found in the commentary of Rashi to the Songs of Songs (4:5) Ginzberg explainedthere is also a great bond of union between the first five commandments and the last five. But along with that God warns of her ruin, and calls on His people (verse 4) to come out of her. 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. The closing phrase here is the description of the beast in its last state, in which it will come into collision with Babylon. I do not acknowledge the language to be either difficult or ambiguous. He is coming to trample the wine vat. Accordingly the rapture of the church with the Old Testament saints must have already taken place, all (as I have no doubt) being caught up at the self-same time to be with the Lord above. The Link with Johns vision of Revelation 19:11-16 a meditation on the Hymn "Crown Him with many crowns" and also the stirring Hymn "Onward Christian soldiers." . And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword ( Revelation 19:15 ). Revelation 10 - The Mighty Angel and the Little Book A. There follows praise from the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures. See [thou do it] not: I am thy fellow "And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the wife of the Lamb. It is the active word which carried out the commandment of God. And I saw an angel standing in the sun ( Revelation 19:17 ); You can't do that unless you are an angel. "The Spirit of prophecy" and such it is all through the Revelation after the seven churches are done with "is the testimony of Jesus." 14:1-3; 1 Thess. "Hallelujah!" None but Rome corresponds. According to the general scope of scripture, then, we may be quite sure that these saints, kept during this universal dissolution of the atmospheric heaven and the earth, will be translated to "the new heavens and new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness," in a condition new and meet for the eternal state into which they are ushered. The effect of these their praises: when the angels and saints cried Alleluia, her fire burned more fiercely and her smoke ascended for ever and ever, v. 3. We see the Lord Jesus as righteous judge in chapter 1 and as the one who will soon be coming in the last chapter. This is the Here we have the purely Jewish idea of the Word of God. There is, however, a great deal more than this on the subject, and given with great precision in scripture, because this is merely the principle of sin in one or other form from the beginning. Lord God: Used many times in Revelation as a title for God (compare verse 15, Here I am obliged to say that our authorized version, and not merely it, but our common Greek Testaments, are altogether wrong. And this is entirely confirmed byRevelation 17:1-18; Revelation 17:1-18, where it was told us that they are with Him when He comes. Then we have a description of Babylon given. Go To Previous Section | And it was so. 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. understand the testimony of Jesus, then you must preach and prophesy so that This passage calls God by a certain name; and says that he has entered into his kingdom. Clearly, therefore, it is future. Bear this in mind: to leave the last part out is fatal to any accurate understanding of the Revelation. Again, that it supposes Rome after it had professed the name of Christ I think is not to be doubted, if only from the expression "mystery" attached to Babylon. Each page of scripture is from the King James Bible, and is immediately followed by . God will judge Israel, namely, Jews living when He returns (Ezekiel 20:33-38), and the Gentiles living then (Matthew 25:31-46). He has reserved the matter, though not without enough to guide our thoughts, as we have seen. And if you are wise and involved in any kind of ministry at all when attention and adulation and these kinds of things come your way, you will be wise as the angel and say, "Don't worship me. When Christ at God's right hand was announced, even from the very beginning, He was ready to judge the quick and the dead. All is opened, and this because we have the Holy Ghost dwelling in us; "for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." Up till now the visions have mainly been concerned with the power of evil and the sufferings of believers. ages, which becomes clear in the remainder of the book. As noted in the commentary on Rom. It was the religious leaders that prompted the persecution against the church in its beginning and throughout history.There is even at the present time, one of the leaders of the YWAM program who has been charged in Greece with a charge of proselytizing, because he gave a Bible to a Greek sixteen-year old boy, and he has been charged in the Greek courts with proselytizing. It is true, the beast's judgment is only referred to as a defeat under the hand of the Lamb. Worship is for God alone. "The Lord God is the temple of it, and the Lamb as far as we can speak of any. Another warlike expedition of the glorious head and husband of the church, with the success of it, ver 10, etc. Thank God. You might get left. honors God and sin mocks Him. "And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. (19:6-9), are evidence of the Church being in heaven prior to the return of The Word of God is alive and powerful, if we would only realize the power of the Word of God. You can believe this. I take it, therefore, that God intended this analogy to be noted by us; that it is not a pursuance of the prophecy, but a description of the holy city previously named, just as the other was a description of the corrupt city, whose judgment had been announced. and the fullness of the Gentiles will be brought in. He had a great desire to bring his brothers, Egyptian brothers to the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Then there was a time of preparation as the Here were joined good and evil in godless union, for the worse, not for the better, this alliance, unholy in principle, irremediable therefore in practice, between God and the natural man, who substitutes rites for the grace and word of God, for the blood of Christ, and the power of the Spirit, and employs the name of the Lord as a cover for grosser covetousness and ambition, yet more aspiring than the vulgar world. "It used to be that they put the grapes in the vat and then they would crush them with their feet. (This takes you to our other website), News Links, Recommended Books, News Sites, and Bibles Zerubbabel displays a plan of Jerusalem to Cyrus the Great by Jacob van Loo. But the day is coming when Satan will be allowed to have things his own way. So all the forces hostile to God assemble themselves; but the warrior Christ is to conquer. 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. If only an imperial city, what has this to do with mystery? In the . Those festivities could last up to a week and sometimes even Here accordingly is seen but one throne. there is a son in the family, who, instead of being admonished by his father's wickedness, takes license from it to indulge the same. There is only one other place in the New Testament where these two verbs (chairein, G5463, and agallian, G21) come together--in Jesus Christ's promise to the persecuted: "Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven" ( Matthew 5:12). church. righteousness of the church, which has now been judged and purified at the This may seem to us a strange metaphor. Who was it; Marx, that said, "Religion is the opium of the people?" And the marriage is the eternal Men have been beguiled here and there, and from an early date, to set aside the true bearing of this chapter. The true reading here is neither hard nor doubtful save to unbelief. We have already come upon two vast multitudes in heaven, the martyrs in Revelation 7:9 and the angels in Revelation 5:11. the sea of glass, who had got the victory over the beast (Revelation 15:2), and 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. As for the earthly land and city, the moon will have her light increased to that of the sun, and the sun shall be sevenfold. When Christ came personally to judge and govern the quick (Revelation 20:4), there were thrones; for the risen saints reign with Him. (i) He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, not his own but that of his enemies. 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. shed by them. harlot), and avenging the blood of the martyrs (7:9-17). There is therefore much to be said for the ]Protestant application of the chapter as compared with the Praetorist theory of pagan Rome. - Wallace. The battle joined. 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. First, "I saw thrones, and they sat upon them." 1 Thessalonians 2:10-12 Commentary. this that is glorious in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength?" This is the declaration that is made all through the period of judgment, "true and righteous are thy judgments, O Lord".The concept that Satan brought to Eve in the Garden of Eden was that God was not fair, that God was trying to hold her back from something that was beneficial, that God was somehow trying to protect Himself. I sometimes make snap judgments. And here is John falling on his knees before the angel that is giving him all of this revelation and he is so overawed and thrilled with what is in store for him he falls at his feet to worship him. The bride represents those that are spoken of in the normal possession and enjoyment of their privileges. 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. And when God does judge, it is not merely for the evil of those then judged, but of all from the first budding of it till that day. God has not told us how, nor is it our business. Jude 1. Further, after this Jesus introduces Himself, as well as sends His angel. (iii) There is joy. Who does not see that this is precisely analogous to the verse which opened the description of Babylon? The unrenewed of the nations are now compassing them with their countless hosts, as if to eat them up like grasshoppers. Verse By Verse Acts Through Revelation can be taken as capably as picked to act. Then follows the proclamation of the angel, and the invitation to the supper of the great God, to eat the flesh of all the great ones of the earth. That is, Satan will be the spring of its final rise and power; he, and not God in any way whatever, will give it its character.
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