Revelation Chapter 19

Rev. 19:1-4.

1 After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, "Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God!

2 "For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her."

3 Again they said, "Alleluia! Her smoke rises up forever and ever!"

4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, "Amen! Alleluia!"

After these things refers to the things that happened in the preceding chapter. John hears the voice of a great multitude in heaven giving praises unto God. The whole of heaven thunders out praises to God when they behold the complete destruction of the system of great Babylon, which is opposition to God and His true worship.

"Her smoke rises up for ever and ever", this phrase is stated fourteen times in the book of Revelation. This relates to other pronouncements of the eternal destruction on literal Babylon (Isa. 13:19:22; Jer. 50:13,23,39,40; 51:26,37,62). This may also have reference to the eternal lake of fire with its ascending smoke. It appears that it may be visible to those on earth during the Millennium, see (Isa.66:24). The carcasses here are the indestructible bodies of men in eternal hell. These bodies will be immortal, for it speaks of going forth to see them and to look upon them. If this is so, this will be on of the greatest deterrents to people rising up against God in rebellion during the Millennium.

We also see that this great event (the destruction of Babylon) is a cause for the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures to worship God.

Rev. 19:5-10.

5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying, "Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!"

6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, "Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!

7 "Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready."

8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

9 Then he said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!'" And he said to me, "These are the true sayings of God."

10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, "See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."

There is a voice from heaven that tells God's servants to praise God. The reason for this command to praise is that the marriage of the Lamb has come and His wife has made herself ready. Now remember that this is taking place after the seventh bowl but before the battle of Armageddon. So in between the seventh bowl and the battle of Armageddon we have the marriage of the Lamb to the Bride. Eph. 5:23-25, clearly states that the Church is a part of the Bride of Christ. But if you go to Hosea 2:19,20; 54:5,8, you also see that Israel's relationship with God is also portrayed as that of a wife with a husband.

Who is the Bride? It is the elect of God from all ages. There is not going to be two different groups with the Jews on one side and the Church on the other side. The heavenly city that God has prepared for Abraham and his descendants can be none other than the same heavenly city He has prepared for the true Church--that is the New Jerusalem--because like all other believers, the true Church is among the spiritual descendants of Abraham. When the holy city, the New Jerusalem, [comes] down out of heaven from God, then, as before, all believers of all ages past, will comprise that glorified "bride adorned for her husband" (Rev. 21:2).

Verses 8,9, How has the bride made herself ready? What did she do that she was granted (given to her by Christ) to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright (the brilliant glory of a spotless purity from sin)? The righteous acts that the saints did were the reason for her fine apparel. The scriptures command us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Works do not save us but righteous acts are a normal output of true born again believer.

What will this celebration be like? Although we can hardly begin to imagine, we are given a small glimpse of it in Isa. 25:6-8. "The Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain, a banquet of aged wine.... He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples, even the veil which is stretched over all nations. He will swallow up death for all time, and the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces, and He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken."

This will indeed be a magnificent scene; rivaled only by the actual marriage of the Lamb that will take place previously in the heavenlies.

Who will come to the marriage supper? The angel said to John, "Write, 'Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." The bride of Christ will, of course, be there, "adorned for her husband" (Rev. 21:2) --that is the raptured and resurrected saints from all ages. But there will also be invited guests in addition to the bride. They will include those who survive the great tribulation by Antichrist, the day of the Lord's wrath, and the Sheep and Goats Judgment. These too will be invited to the marriage supper; but more then this, they will be invited to spend eternity with the One who has become their Savior and King, Jesus Christ. Indeed, "Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.

And so in celebrating the marriage supper of the Lamb, we have come full circle. Satan who corrupted the earth to begin with, has been defeated, and all who gave their allegiance to him have been destroyed; God has reclaimed His eternal rule over the earth, and Christ in return has received the kingdom from the Father establishing the kingdom of God upon the earth; the survivors of the nation of Israel have been saved and have become the inhabitants of God's kingdom; and the heavens and the earth will be rid of the rulers of darkness because the devil will be bound for one thousand years unable to tempt man.

Verse 10, John's temptation to worship the angel, warns that idolatry may arise within the Church when the messenger, or even the message, is idolized.

"The spirit of prophecy",What the angel is saying is, "you and I and all our brothers and sisters in Christ are all witnesses of Jesus, we bare testimony respecting Jesus, and this is the spirit of prophecy working in us. True prophecy relates to Jesus and exalts Him.

Rev. 19:11-16.

11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.

12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself.

13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.

14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.

15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

Verse 11, This verse sets forth the beginning of the second coming of Jesus Christ to earth as King of kings and Lord of lords. He comes from heaven as a Warrior- Messiah to establish truth and justice, to judge the nations, and to make war against evil. This is the event for which the faithful of all generations have waited.

At the end of the thirty-day reclamation period, after the marriage of the Lamb, Christ will come back to earth with His armies to defeat the remainder of the ungodly forces on earth, thereby reclaiming physical possession of the earth. This momentous event will occur after the seventh bowl judgment and will conclude the day of the Lord.

The rider on the white horse, (symbolizing victory) is Faithful and True, (Jesus) whose final victory in the war to come serves only to make clear to those "who dwell on the earth" what has been seen by the eyes of faith in His cross and resurrection.

Verse 12, His eyes symbolize eternity, wisdom and omniscience, nothing escapes Him. Many crowns represent unlimited diadems of sovereign authority, far surpassing the limited number usurped by the dragon (Rev. 12:3) and the beast (Rev. 13:1). The fullness of the Person of Jesus is beyond human comprehension, therefore, no one knew the name, (completely understood all that name implies) but Himself.

Verse 13, Christ's robe is dipped in His atoning blood, not that of His enemies, since the battle has not yet taken place. His name is the Word of God because Jesus reveals the character and purpose of God.

Verse 14, Who are these armies in heaven clothed in fine linen, white and clean? The identity of these armies is not made explicit in the text, but when this is examined in light of other scriptures, it seems there can be no question as to their identity.

First, we have already seen in the parable of the wheat and tares, Christ Himself states that "the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels (Matt. 13:39). Christ explains, " Just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks [the tares], and those who commit lawlessness [the unrighteous world], and will cast them into a furnace of fire... then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father" (Matt, 13:40-43a). In addition, Christ specifically taught His disciples that, "the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and will then [with His angels] recompense every man according to his deeds (Matt. 16:27).

The sequence of what will happen seems very clear: the Son of Man will come with His angels; He will send forth His angels to harvest the wicked; the "stumbling blocks" (the tares) will include the counterfeit Christians who have infiltrated the church in general, and will have been noticeably absent in the general multitude around the throne after the rapture of the true Church; and all those who commit "lawlessness" (i.e. the unrighteous world, in particular "the man of lawlessness" [2 Thess. 2:3]; both groups will be utterly destroyed and cast into eternal fire, whereupon the Millennium will begin and the "righteous [citizens of the kingdom of God] will shine forth...in the kingdom of their Father.

This of course, is in perfect harmony with Rev. 15:6, where the seven angels are identified as the ones who will mete out the final wrath of God. It is consistent as well with Paul's description of Christ during the Day of the Lord, when He "shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God" (2 Thess. 1:7,8)

When all this is taken together, the most logical conclusion is that "the armies in heaven" who accompany Christ at the battle of Armageddon are in fact the angels of Matt. 13:37-43 and of Rev. 15:6 and that these angels, as Christ explains in His own words, will be the reapers at the end of the age.

The bride of Christ is spoken of as being clothed "in fine linen bright and clean" (Rev. 19:8), this is clearly a reference to believers. It is interesting that when the final wrath of God is poured out (in the bowl judgments) on the nation by the angelic reapers of God, they too will be dressed in "bright" linen (Rev. 15:6). The Greek word LAMPROS, can be legitimately translated either "bright" or "white," as illustrated by the fact that it is rendered as "bright" in the New American Standard texts of 15:6 and 19:8 and as "white" in the King James texts of those same verses.

An additional passage in the book of Joshua also gives general support to the idea of the armies of heaven being the angels--when Joshua sees the "captain of the host of the Lord." Most commentators take this to be the preincarnate appearance of Christ and that the "host of the Lord" are His heavenly angels, prepared for battle (see Josh. 5:13-15).

Verse 15, The sword coming out of His mouth is the Word of God in its judging and avenging power. The Word of God is sharper than any two edged sword. He will rule with a rod of iron (firmness but not tyranny). He treadeth the winepress indicates the awfulness of His judgment. The fierceness and wrath of almighty God is a stern reminder that God hates sin.

Verse 16, This awesome title earned by Christ's complete work and victory on the cross, is the basis for His consummating the victory over the dragon and his allies.

Rev. 19:17-21.

17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, "Come and gather together for the supper of the great God,

18 "that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great."

19 And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.

20 Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.

21 And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.

Notice that the victory is announced before the battle is fought. The supper of the great God refers to the battle of Armageddon. The destruction of God's enemies will be so great that it will require a multitude of birds to clean up the battlefield. It is called the supper of the great God because God will provide it for the birds of prey. The scene is one of judgment against the terrible cruelty and evil of this world.

The brief account of this final battle sees the beast and the false prophet cast alive into the lake of fire, these two are probably the first two candidates for the lake of fire. This is different from hell for death and hell are going to be cast into the lake of fire. Those in hell will come out but once cast into the lake of fire, there is no coming out, it is forever. Their allies are slain by the Word of the Lord, which has power to overcome all evil.

With this we see the close of the thirty days because the final wrath of God is poured out and the battle of Armageddon has ended.

Before we get in the next chapter let's briefly look at a few things. The time line for the book of Revelation is taken from the book of Daniel and we have found out that it is a seven-year period known as the seventieth week of Daniel. Daniel teaches that there will be a 30-day period immediately following the seventieth week (Dan. 12:11), which speaks of a 1,290-day period from the time the "abomination of desolation is set up until a complete destruction...is poured out on the one who makes desolate" (Dan. 9:27), when Antichrist is destroyed at Armageddon. These 1,290 days break down as follows: the first 1,260 days correspond to the last half of the seventieth week, to these 1,260 days a 30-day period must be added, bringing the total to 1,290 days between the time that Antichrist desecrates the Temple and his defeat at Armageddon.

The next verse (v.12) reads: "How blessed is he who keeps waiting and attains to the 1,355 days!" In other words there is an additional 45 day period immediately after the 30 day period and immediately before the Millennium begins (1,260 + 30 + 45 = 1,335). thus we see that the 1,335 days is achieved by adding together the 1,260 days (the last half of the seventieth week) plus the 30-day reclamation period plus an additional 45-day restoration period extending right up to the first day of the Millennium.

For some reason the book of Revelation does not discuss this 45-day period. But Daniel tells us that there is a 45-day period after Antichrist is defeated. This 45-day period is very Jewish because the Church has been removed and taken up into heaven and has become the bride if Christ. So if you want to know what happens during these 45 days you have to go back to the OT

Four things will happen during this 45-day period:

(1) The restoration of Mt. Zion which was "split into three parts" (Rev. 16:9) at the final bowl judgment.

(2) The restoration of Israel back to her own land, the land promised Abraham more than 4000 years ago. With the restoration of Mt. Zion now complete, Israel will be restored back to her holy land, to God's holy mountain, Zion, now elevated above all the surrounding land. During this time Israel will return to her land--not in unbelief, not in self-reliance, not in defiance, not shaking her fist at God--but this time in belief. This is the time that Israel has waited for and that God has longed for--when Israel will come to her land and her holy city in the name of her Messiah, redeemed by Him, saved by His grace, in believing faith! See (Jer. 31:10-12a).

(3) the third event will come at the end of the 45-day restoration period, when Christ will receive the reign over earth from God the Father Almighty.

(4) The return of the surviving Gentiles to Jerusalem in preparation for the Sheep and Goats Judgment, and at that time Christ rebuilds the temple on the summit of the new Mt. Zion.

The sequence of events that we see in the book of Revelation fit right over the time line that is given in the book of Daniel. The reason we know that this is correct is not only the similarity of the 42 months, 1,260 days and time and times and half a time and other terminology that is identical, but the key thing is that Christ when giving His Olivet Discourse, not only refers to the events that you see in the book of Revelation, but He also says, "when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place." So by virtue of Christ speaking he took the OT and joined it to the NT and said, listen, here is a key, you need the book of Daniel and Revelation in order to understand end time events. When you study it that way you realize that it was Christ that brought the two together.

Understand that Revelation is basically sequentially, primarily as it pertains to the Church. If you want to see primarily what happens to Israel you have to go to the OT, because it was written primarily for the nation of Israel. The NT was written basically for the Church which may be Jew and Gentile alike. But its talking about the same thing, so we use structure given to Israel (OT), we use structure given to the Church (NT), we put the two together in order to understand the whole picture. That is why you cannot understand prophecy unless you are well versed in the OT. People who try to just deal with the NT in proving prophecy get a lot of things messed up. You will see in Chapter 20, that there are events spoken of in the NT and if we took the events and studied it only by the NT we would come to one conclusion, but when you compare scripture with scripture and go back to the OT speaking of the same event, harmonizing the passages you are apt to come to a more correct conclusion because of the style of writing. So you cannot come to the right conclusion on any issue until you have looked at all scriptures pertaining to that issue and then try to harmonize all the passages. If you pick and choose verses because they agree with your philosophy and disregard others because it goes against what you believe or your church believes you will end up in confusion.

What we have worked through and it is literal, is that there is going to be a seven year period in which all the events of the last days will culminate. Tacked on to that seven-year period is going to be a 30-day period and then there is another 45-day period and then there is the 1000 year Millennium over which Christ will rule.