Revelation Chapter 19

The Restrainer may be "restraining" far more than we have any idea!

Rev 19:1 And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God:
Rev 19:2 For true and righteous [are] his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.
Rev 19:3 And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.
Rev 19:4 And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.
Rev 19:5 And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.

Praise in heaven. Praise for the judgment of Babylon. This section is really the climax of chapter 18 - there, Babylon's friends mourned her fall; here, God's people celebrate it. "Hallelujah" (or, Alleluia) occurs four times here, and not again the New Testament. Hallelujah is Hebrew for "Praise the Lord," in the imperative (do it!) sense. Some seem afraid of saying Hallelujah, but we'll all be saying it in heaven; but we should never use such a glorious word without thinking.

A great multitude (similar to the tribulation martyrs described in 7:9,14), the twenty-four elders, and the cherubim all join in praise. Here, the focus of worship is on the great works of God, specifically, His work of righteous judgment. The voice from the throne (saying, Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great) might be Jesus, but more likely it is from one of the angels who attends the throne of God.

Rev 19:6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
Rev 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
Rev 19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
Rev 19:9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed [are] they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

Praise for the marriage of the Lamb. The height of praise on earth is only a dim shadow of what is described in these verses; this approaches the consummation of God's plan through history, so we also come to a summit of praise. The marriage of the Lamb, who is the Messiah, is a frequently used picture throughout the Scriptures. In the Old Testament, Israel is presented as God's wife, who is often unfaithful (Hosea 2:19-20; Isaiah 54:5; Ezekiel 16). In the New Testament, the church is presented as the fiance' of Jesus, awaiting the day of marriage (2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:25-32).   "In Biblical times a marriage involved two major events, the betrothal and the wedding. These were normally separated by a period of time during which the two individuals were considered husband and wife and as such were under the obligations of faithfulness. The wedding began with a procession to the bride's house, which was followed by a return to the house of the groom for the marriage feast. By analogy, the church, espoused to Christ by faith, now awaits the parousia when the heavenly groom will come for his bride and return to heaven for the marriage feast which lasts throughout eternity."

The idea of marriage is also the most powerful analogy of intimacy among God's pictures of our relation to Him (creator-creature; shepherd-sheep; master-slave; father-child; husband-wife). What do we do to make ourselves ready for this wedding? There is much for us to do, but it is ultimately a work God does in us (Ephesians 5:25-27) - to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright. "Clean (katharos) reflects purity, loyalty and faithfulness, the character of the New Jerusalem". "Bright (lampros) is the color of radiant whiteness that depicts glorification." Believers are created for divinely prepared good works; these "righteousnesses" (righteous acts) are what fill the "hope chest" of the bride of Jesus.

Jesus Himself eagerly anticipates this marriage supper; He spoke longingly of the day when He will drink of the fruit of the vine again, with His disciples in the kingdom (Matthew 26:29). The thought is of a banquet or party; of tremendous joy. In Jewish culture, there was no more joyful occasion than a wedding. In fact, according to Rabbinic teaching, obedience to the commandments was suspended during a wedding celebration if obeying a commandment might lessen the joy of the occasion. These are the true sayings of God is a necessary note of assurance for us; this anticipated consummation will take place, and though it seems too good to be true, it will happen.

Rev 19:10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See [thou do it] not: I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

John worships an angel, and is corrected. Why would such a godly man like John make such a blunder as this? "John either felt that the angel represented God or he was beside himself with excitement over the glorious consummation". No created being is to be worshipped; this is in contrast with Jesus, who receives the worship of angels (Hebrews 1:6) and of men (Matthew 8:2; 14:33; John 9:38). I am your fellow servant: there are important differences between humans and angels, but both are servants of the same Lord. The true spirit of prophecy always shows itself in bearing witness to Jesus: "any teaching of prophecy that takes our minds and hearts away from Him is not being properly communicated".

Rev 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him [was] called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
Rev 19:12 His eyes [were] as a flame of fire, and on his head [were] many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
Rev 19:13 And he [was] clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
Rev 19:14 And the armies [which were] in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
Rev 19:15 And 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 treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
Rev 19:16 And he hath on [his] vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

War on earth. Jesus comes from the heavens. There is a sense in which all previous in Revelation has been an introduction to this revelation (unveiling) of Jesus Christ. Faithful and True represents Jesus as the keeper of promises, even promises of judgment. Jesus comes as a judge and a general, to make war. "The world likes a complacent, reasonable religion, and so it is always ready to revere some pale Galilean image of Jesus, some meagre anaemic Messiah, and to give Him a moderate rational homage" (Torrance). "Any view of God which eliminates judgment and his hatred of sin in the interest of an emasculated doctrine of sentimental affection finds no support in the strong and virile realism of the Apocalypse". This is a Jesus we can't control; one who demands not only our attention, but our submission as well.  The last time this earth saw Jesus He wore a crown of thorns; not anymore! Now, He wears many crowns; this is the diadema, the crown of royalty and authority, not the stephanos, the crown of achievement.

The fact that there are many crowns means that Jesus is the ultimate in royal authority and power; it is a visible manifestation of what we mean when we say King of kings; it is an expression of unlimited sovereignty. The name is on His thigh for prominence (riding on horseback); yet no one knew [the name] except Himself - that is, no one can comprehend Him perfectly. His robe is dipped (or, sprinkled) in blood; whether it is His blood (reminding us of the cross) or the blood of His enemies is a matter of vigorous debate; either scenario is quite possible.

The armies in heaven are God's people  (Revelation 17:14; Jude 14-15); but angels will undoubtedly be present also. Five times in Revelation, John emphasizes that Jesus' sword comes out of His mouth; this is a dramatic way of referring to the power of His Word: "Christ conquers by the power of His Word" (Johnson). He comes to rule and to reign in triumph; to rule the nations with a rod of iron as predicted in Psalm 2.

Rev 19:17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
Rev 19:18 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 of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all [men, both] free and bond, both small and great.

Invitation to the great supper. This is a preparation for a great slaughter, "presented in a picture of almost repellent realism" (Erdman). The repetition of flesh (5 times) in verse 18 is revealing. "The race has walked in carnal enmity against God, living after the flesh, and now the day of His patience is at an end."  Newell points to four different suppers described in the Bible: (1) The supper of salvation, alluded to in Jesus' parable (Luke 14:16-24); (2) The Lord's supper, a commemoration of Christ's sacrifice; (3) The marriage supper of the Lamb; (4) The supper of the great God. If you reject the first, the second will mean nothing; you will not be present at the third, but will be there at the fourth supper. Everybody gets to go to at least one of these suppers; but some will eat and others are eaten at the suppers!

Rev 19:19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
Rev 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
Rev 19:21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which [sword] proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

War and the victory of Jesus Christ. These armies are gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the throne; many find it hard to understand and say these armies initially gather to battle each other, and then turn their fury on the returning Jesus; but we should never underestimate man's folly and hatred of God. "This is the incurable insanity of sin, which wars away in spite of defeat after defeat, against a holy God." This is just the logical extension of man's constant war against God since the fall; it is no more unbelievable than the idea that God came to earth and man murdered Him. John says nothing about a battle; it is an entirely one-sided affair; this is more a simple act of judgment than a war.

"The battle of Armageddon is the laughter of God against the climax of man's arrogance." The beast and the false prophet receive special treatment; they are cast alive into the lake of fire before the Great White Throne of judgment holds court (Revelation 20:11-15). "A lake of burning brimstone would not only be intensely hot, but malodorous and fetid (stinky and nauseating!) as well". The lake of fire is what we normally consider Hell; it is real, and there is nothing more important than avoiding it.