But in this is shown what it is of importance to see the true nature of the kingdom or millennial reign. That city will be a constant remembrancer of those who went before restored Israel here below, as undoubtedly it will be used for their blessing during the millennium, but not for theirs only. We say that he is great! The marriage Verse 12 . Our own righteousness had been as filthy rags, but Then we have a description of Babylon given. So, darkness covered the face of the deep and God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 13:20), and will be presented to Him at the Rapture (John She will despise everything really divine; she will only use whatever of God's word she can pervert for increasing her own importance, and gaining a greater ascendancy over the consciences of men, and enjoying herself more luxuriously in this world; for she will go far to obliterate all remembrance of heaven, and to make this world a kind of paradise which she embellishes, not with pure and undefiled religion, but with the arts of men and the idolatries of the world. ( Rev 19:1) - 19:1 After these things I heard as it were a great voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, Hallelujah; Salvation, and glory, and power, belong to our God: This is obviously a great celebration in Heaven about a major event that took place on earth. This verse reports that the heavenly multitude shouted another "hallelujah," which translates to "praise the Lord!" The residents of heaven declare that Babylon's smoke ascends "forever and ever." We should not interpret this declaration to mean the physical smoke from God's judgment on Babylon is eternal. Whether it were the Old Testament saints and the church, or the Apocalyptic saints, if I may so distinguish them, it was in an instant that each were raised, but there was some space between them. . Besides the bride thus arrayed, "He saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage-supper of the Lamb." It also means genuine, as opposed to that which is unreal. remnant, a small company, when compared with the world and carnal professors; This is what drove men to the idea of making the pope to be the beast. They are all to reign concurrently with the beast. Accordingly these are the two main objects of judgment brought before us in the chapter. It will be a state of nature unexampled for the fruits of the earth and the enjoyment of all that God has made here below. First, there are his servants. That is good. Do it not (compare 22:8-9). Every strange coded word and phrase is meant for this generation. Now the scene totally changes to heaven. And of course, this proselytizing law was prompted by the Greek Orthodox Church, and he has been sentenced to spend three and a half years in jail in Greece. May our hearts answer freely to His word of love and truth with our "Amen." And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword - See the notes on Revelation 1:16. And there will the second Psalm come into play. "On his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. . So, it is the righteousness of Jesus Christ that is imparted to me through my faith in Jesus Christ. (Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:15-16; sharp . i. It is the active word which carried out the commandment of God. Death and hades, which had so long been executioners in a world where sin reigned, and were still doing their occasional office where righteousness is to reign, themselves disappear where all traces of sin are consigned for ever. In short, no testimony can avail, no work, power, or glory without the word of God applied by the Spirit of God. Yet one allows freely a partial application already. All believers in "Let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to him: for the ___________ of the _______ is come". Isa_1.20; Isaiah 49:2; Isaiah 66:16; This is the weapon God uses to conquor the nations! And He Himself treads . The victory gained by the great and glorious head of the church: The beast and the false prophet, the leaders of the army, are taken prisoners, both he who led them by power and he who led them by policy and falsehood; these are taken and cast into the burning lake, made incapable of molesting the church of God any more; and their followers, whether officers or common soldiers, are given up to military execution, and made a feast for the fowls of heaven. The judgment of the dead is strictly individual, judgments in this world are not. Believers long for a world of justice and it will "righteousness" was not ours until we received the Lord Jesus into our lives and servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for Christs Coming Kingdom). 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. Here we see the chaste virgin This being so, it adds immense clearness in the understanding of the book. It was, as H. B. Swete puts it, like "the din of a vast concourse, the roar of a cataract, the roll of thunder.". Next they will seize her resources. This is saying that this judgment is permanent and is like the language that God (i) John sees Christ as the conqueror. Thus nothing can be simpler or more beautiful than the way in which this verse sums up the Revelation as a whole. There are thrones filled with certain persons, who reign along with Him. So, I will be clothed in linen, pure and white and clean. Old Testament prophecy and New Testament preaching is the gospel of the Lord "The Lord God is the temple of it, and the Lamb as far as we can speak of any. 19:9-10a And he said to me: "Write! 244.]. "Praise our God," it said, "all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great.". "I Jesus sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. 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. He spoke it into existence. When the hour comes that is spoken of here, it is not for us, but for those who will be found after we are gone. 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? They were caught in flagrant treason and rebellion: what further need of any process of judgment whatsoever? God alone is perfect in judgment for three reasons. Sometimes, again, they have sought to turn it aside toward Jerusalem in her corrupt state. receive our inheritance, we must read the will. I am the, Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. The account given of Babylon inRevelation 17:1-18; Revelation 17:1-18 does not follow Revelation 14:1-20 or Revelation 16:1-21 in point of prophetic time, but differs from them in structure. Here were thrones, and people sat upon them, changed 'before this into the image of Christ's glory. Once again John finds his model in the words of the Old Testament, for that is a quotation from Psalms 135:1; Psalms 135:20. Man on the earth has his portion in the goodness of a God who is manifesting His kingdom. Justly does she gather her title from the old fountain of idols and of combined power without God: confusion being here the characteristic element, the designation is taken from the renowned city of the Chaldeans, the first spot notorious in both respects. 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. This destruction of the last, most powerful empire in history marks the end of Moral elements too were not wanting: the mystery of lawlessness had long been at work, though the enemy had not yet brought in the apostacy, and still less the manifestation of the lawless one. 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. Not because any of their names were written therein, but in proof that they were not. (Hebrews 4:13). "And he had a name written, that no man knew but he himself." Lit. When the thousand years expire, Satan reappears on the scene to the sorrow and ruin of the Gentiles who were not born of God. All this gives us a true and just view of the various parties that have a share in the resurrection. the sea of glass, who had got the victory over the beast (Revelation 15:2), and 5:25-32), and the corrupted and destroyed them in soul, body, and estate. approving of the destruction of Babel, because the Messiah was bringing justice They lived, and were put therefore into a place and condition suitable for reigning with Christ, no less than the Old Testament saints and the church itself. 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. Their praise is that the smoke of Babylon rises for ever and ever. Jesus Christ was a threat to the religious leaders as He would be to all religious leaders. (iii) There is joy. "Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!". It is entirely in His hand, and in none other's. History is actually "His story." Only the Son of God can understand the mystery of his own being. to say enough about what Jesus has purchased for us all. I expect to be there in that heavenly scene declaring, "Alleluia, salvation and glory and honor and power unto the Lord our God.". If not blessing it judges. This too must not be viewed as if it were a loss. From generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever" ( Isaiah 34:9-10). "And he that sat upon him called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war." In as many things as she glorified herself, and lived luxuriously, so much torment and sorrow give to her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am not a widow, and I shall in no wise see sorrow.". The application to old pagan Rome is harsh and purposeless enough; but the attempt to refer it to Jerusalem is of all schemes the most absurd; for, far from being borne up by the imperial power, Jerusalem was trodden down by it. 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. 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. 4-18). Revelation chapter 19 and 20 "And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood." Religions tell you that you have to do certain things in order to please God. 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. Capnionis, which was used by Erasmus, and lately discovered after a long obscurity by Dr. Delitzsch, reads (not ) . The word is pantokrator ( G3841) , literally the one who controls all things. Here we have the purely Jewish idea of the Word of God. 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. 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. A mighty angel takes a stone and says, when he cast it into the sea, "Thus with violence shall be thrown down Babylon the great city, and shall be found no more at all." "I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God" (alluding to this very city) "[is] with men." "His eyes are like a flame of fire" seeing all the secrets of our lives. It is not therefore a question of virtual idols suitable to ensnare the children of God, but of that which is adapted to the earth itself, thorough-going palpable idolatry. Yet to this heavenly city, after Christ comes, the kings of the earth bring their offerings and their homage; but there is no excitement of the nations, no filthiness of fornication, no abominations, no blood-guiltiness. "On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. They themselves were to judge. Here is a picture which is essentially Jewish. We desire that He should come quickly, but we leave this to Him, because we know His love, and can trust Him. First, he is remembering Psalms 97:1: "The Lord reigns; let the earth rejoice." *It is the aorist in Greek, which in such a case as this it is difficult correctly to represent in English; for neither "reigned" nor "hath reigned" could convey that God had entered on His kingdom, but rather that it was past. It is a wholly unwarranted interpolation. In presence of grace I do not think this is for His glory, any more than for their own blessing. 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. Therefore be zealous and repent. 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. [Note: Ladd, pp. What did the "avenging the blood" probably mean? Here is faith and confidence; and the whole point of this passage is that that faith and confidence are vindicated. Once Jesus enters the battle, it is soon over. Nor is there any real reason to wonder at their deriving help from partial light. We see the Lord Jesus as righteous judge in chapter 1 and as the one who will soon be coming in the last chapter. ( John 1:14 ) And now again He comes as the Word of God. There was judicial discernment with the distinct possession of all titles to sovereignty. Lord our God:". being addressed here to add to the other 3 mentioned groups. (5) And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS ( Revelation 19:15-16 ). And yet in such times John calls God pantokrator ( G3841) . But a grave consideration soon disposes of both views by the relation to the beast, and more particularly by what will be shown a little farther on. This remains true also in its own place, as we shall find; and when it is a question of reward, this is precisely the grand point; but when it is a question of the bride above, that is the way in which it is presented here, as we may see clearly from verse 8. The actual picture comes from Isaiah: "The streams of Edom shall be turned into pitch, and her soil into brimstone; her land shall become burning pitch. I sometimes make snap judgments. The reason is manifest there is a hinderer "one that letteth." When the beast dares to fight with the Lamb He shall overcome the beast; and they that are with Him, "called and chosen and faithful" terms, as a whole, entirely inapplicable to the angels. We can easily understand that the overthrow of the ecclesiastical power is necessary to leave a full field unimpeded for the imperial power to develop itself in its final form of violence and rebellion and apostacy against the Lord. These were simply the characters of provisional judgment that filled the interval after the church was gone, and before the reign with Christ. After the destruction of Babylon religious and commercial, chapter seventeen and eighteen. ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.". We must face difficulties; we must bow to the word; we must seek to learn through all. This is the meaning of "one hour with the beast.". After that we have the admonitions to the end of this book. It will be understood when one says "spiritual" that none is meant save of a wicked kind. There are probably but few, if any, here who do not understand it as the fore-shadow of a real resurrection. God. According to the biblical narrative, Zerubbabel [a] was a governor of the Achaemenid Empire 's province of Yehud [3] and the grandson of Jeconiah, [4] penultimate king of Judah. Leaving behind the subject of the power of evil in the world, the visions now move on to their climax. Blessed are those that are called to be a part in this. And he says to him not to do that because he is a fellowservant, but to worship God.You see it is a apart of man to need and want to worship something, and man seems to find it easier to worship an object that he can see rather than an object that he cannot see. And it is pretty well ascertained that there was a discussion among them, even to the suggestion by one of the most wicked of their emperors, whether Christ should not be owned and worshipped in the Pantheon, hundreds of years before Constantine, indeed from the earliest epoch of the gospel. purified at the judgment seat of Christ (1 Cor. Therefore says the angel, "I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, that hath* the seven heads and the ten horns. That is, the tabernacle of God is regarded as a separate object, no doubt associated with men, but not confounded with them. The angel least him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal over him, that he should no more deceive the nations, till the thousand years should be completed: after these things he must be loosed a little time.". 12:10; 13:9; and Roman In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, the Word was God. 11-21). "Why are you red in your apparel, and your garments like the ones that have been treading in the wine vat?" This is just a statement telling us it will never be built Finally they will destroy her. What is the sword? "Notwithstanding the dogmatic helps which the Church offers, the mind fails to grasp the inmost significance of the Person of Christ, which eludes all efforts to bring it within the terms of human knowledge. So it is imputed righteousness given to you by your faith in Christ. Verse 5. With this we may compare Jesus' words at his arrest, when he said he could have had twelve legions of angels to fight for him ( Matthew 26:53). It is a Hebrew word that has become universal, "Allel", "u", "yah", which means, "praise to Jehovah" or Yahweh. That is, the sixth head (reigning then in John's day) was the imperial form of government. 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. He is thrown into the abyss (see 9:1; 11:7; 17:8) where he is imprisoned for a long period, symbolized by a thousand years, so that he is no longer able to tempt the human race to rebel against God. I believe the word "Lamb" is used here, This testimony here is not Jesus giving it, but we believers who testify of the Unlike the kings of the earth who wage war in selfishness, "in righteousness He judges and makes war.". God is praised because salvation, glory, and power belong to him. 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. righteousness of the church, which has now been judged and purified at the It means Never again will there be more false religions, worldly philosophy, injustice or Zerubbabel displays a plan of Jerusalem to Cyrus the Great by Jacob van Loo. That kings had dallied with her, that the beast had once borne her up, will only turn to gall the more bitter to her, who, faithless to God, had staked the usurped and abused name of Christ to win what was now lost for ever. 4:17). Bad as pagan Rome was, it would be false to affirm that it ever had come out of the bottomless pit. 1 Thessalonians 3:1-3 Commentary. The glory of the kingdom does not preserve when men in their natural state are exposed to the adversary. Revelation 19 ( Rev 19:1) - 1 After these things I heard as it were a great voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, Hallelujah; Salvation, and glory, and power, belong to our God: This heavenly celebration (verses 1-6), which connects the events of chapter 18, reveal more than the celebration of the defeat of a certain city or belief system. We may surely say her cup was not yet full. This is clearly of moral importance. 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. It is not for His crime or guilt. In her own course, and in the matters of her portion, the church does not know time at all. Man gets hung up and he stops short. I believe that religion is vastly different from Christianity. Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary Revelation 19:15 Revelation 19:14 Revelation 19 Revelation 19:16 From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. Then heaven is opened, and for a sight most solemn. Verse Revelation 19:15. It is a simple picture, not to be taken with crude literalness, but simply saying very beautifully that in his kingdom all men will enjoy the bounty of God. Rev. And Jesus sits on the great white throne. It is known as a divine feat in the theological term, which means the capacity of speaking things into existence. But it conserves certain great truths. On the contrary, it proved the immediateness of communion. We have just seen that it is the eternal state. And I have to apologize sometimes for my judgments. By the seat of his empire; and that is heaven; his throne is there, and his power and authority are heavenly and divine. Four beasts: The four beasts are the cherubim as described (in Rev. The old oracles were sealed then: not so John's. But to the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part [is] in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.". Exactly the same thing is repeated here, and what makes it more apparent is the similarity of the introduction on each occasion. And the twenty-four elders [representing the church] and the four beasts [cherubim] fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia ( Revelation 19:4 ). John's age knew all about the perversion of justice; no one could expect justice from a capricious heathen tyrant. It is written to be believed, not to be ignored or explained away. None but Rome corresponds. They were shouting, ' Praise the Lord our God! "The second coming of Christ is an absolutely essential theme in New Testament theology. 5:10). 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." The friendships of the evil are not lasting. The marriage of the Lamb: The wife or bride of Christ is the church (Matt. And again they said, Alleluia. Holding on to what others knew before them, or little more, they reduce themselves to a minimum of the truth. Nothing is hidden from Him. That is religion. Figuratively, with reference to the church. Then follows another scene still more solemn the most awe-inspiring of all we can contemplate, at the same time full of blessing for the Christian to look onward to as that which will for ever put aside every trace of evil, and vindicate good where man must altogether fail. Here is a grim picture of birds of prey being invited to come from all over the sky to glut themselves on the corpses of the slain. And then comes the gathering and the battle. Verse 3. In this way there never has been anything of the kind before. Return Out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword Revelation 1:16; Revelation 1:16. for the smoke from her rises for ever and ever. bride doesnt get invited, she invites. There is nothing more to hear of nations; nothing more to do with separate countries, kindreds, or tongues. His instructions are to praise God. I say "righteousnesses," not "righteousness." Revelation 19:7 "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the 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. As when they are the enemies of the Lords flock, for his "club" that He uses to protect them is a "rod of iron", one that will not break, and will devestate the enemy attacking His flock. 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. He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God Norris' Commentary on the Book of Revelation. And it was so. It is not complicated, just bare all to God. But this passage confronts us with something which became of very great importance in the worship of the Church. For who knows not the horrors of Mariolatry? All the energy to mislead men in the presence of the first beast was long in his hands, and now nothing more is spoken of. "And he saith to me, The waters which thou sawest, where the harlot sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues." "The kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour unto it" not into but unto. One of our pastors, Imad, spent some time in the Egyptian jail. understood literally. "And fire came down out of heaven from God, and devoured them. Here is most likely the multitude of the angels, first in the Te Deum of praise. It is Christ Himself about to be displayed in His rights as King of kings, and Lord of lords; and this in the face of the world. *It now appears that the Cod. We hear the voices of the redeemed. The beast is Nero redivivus; the false prophet is the provincial organization which administered Caesar worship; those who have the mark of the beast are they who have worshipped at the shrine of Caesar; the kings of the earth and their armies are the Parthian hosts, which Nero was to lead again against Rome and against the world. The return of Christ to earth 19:11-16. "At the last day" does not mean merely an instant of time. 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." He is, as H. B. Swete puts it, "a royal commander followed by a dazzling retinue." ( 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. avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.". These are the faithful. and in righteousness he doth judge and make war ( Revelation 19:11 ). One of the great dangers of being in any kind of ministry where God is using you, one of the great dangers of exercising any spiritual gift, is that people so often look at the instrument that God uses. He has, I think, exactly that class in view when He sanctions the calling him who hears to say "Come." Zerubbabel led the first group of Jews, numbering 42,360, who returned from the Babylonian . This verse declares it, and there is no other interpretation that can stand even a moment's fair discussion. Jesus speaks of many coming from the east and the west and sitting down with the patriarchs in the kingdom of heaven ( Matthew 8:11). 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. It will never happen. Night and day it shall not be quenched; its smoke shall go up for ever and ever. It will be remembered that it was said to them that they must wait. In the Testament of Levi (5:5) Michael is said to be the angel who intercedes for Israel. universe. Verse 10. "I will betroth you to me for ever," Hosea hears God say, "I will betroth you to me in righteousness" ( Hosea 2:19-20). All the sufferers, either in the early persecutions of Revelation 6:1-17, or in the later persecutions (see Revelation 15:1-8) up to Babylon's extinction, were now raised from the dead. This is the The true reading here is neither hard nor doubtful save to unbelief. If you understand the testimony of Jesus, what must you do.

Raleigh And Fayette County Obituary, Articles R