The true reading here is neither hard nor doubtful save to unbelief. "And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords.". 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; 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. It means It was a unit of energy charged with power. Verse 1. The horns have constantly opposed each other, and even sometimes the pope. VI. "I Jesus sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. Tribulation saints. As R. H. Charles puts it, it is essential to remember that the Heavenly Leader is this time, not the Slain One, but the Slayer. It will be interesting to find out. "The second coming of Christ is an absolutely essential theme in New Testament theology. Who was it; Marx, that said, "Religion is the opium of the people?" I am your fellow-servant and the fellow-servant of your brothers who possess the testimony which Jesus gave. Ruling includes destroying as well as reigning over (Psalms 2:9). His blows on this world come more nationally as on Israel; incomparably more severe, as in possession of greater privileges, is the judgment of corrupt Christendom, or Babylon as it is called here. 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. Bride. *It now appears that the Cod. 12:10; But it fails to account for the differences. | The twenty-four elders were prominent in the early visions ( Revelation 4:4; Revelation 4:10; Revelation 5:6; Revelation 5:11; Revelation 5:14; Revelation 7:11; Revelation 11:16; Revelation 14:3) as were the four living creatures ( Revelation 4:6-9; Revelation 5:6-14; Revelation 6:1-7; Revelation 7:11; Revelation 14:3; Revelation 15:7). Unlike the kings of the earth who wage war in selfishness, "in righteousness He judges and makes war.". Revelation 19 In this chapter we have, I. But when Christ and the church peacefully reign, such is the imagery that suits "a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. The things in the present and in the future are all designed to help God's children. The Bible with its 66 books can be compared to a novel having 66 chapters. And so the first two inhabitants of Gehenna will be the antichrist and his prophet and they will be the soul inhabitants, it would seem, for a thousand years. The final verse in this chapter introduces a new thought. The speaker isn't identified but is probably an angel and refers to God as our These are the martyrs of Revelation 6:1-17, those long since seen under the altar, poured out like burnt-offerings to God. We begin the description of the conquering Christ. The marriage feast will take place on earth following Christ's return with the 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. Here we find the term "Alleluia" used really for the first in the New Testament and it is used four times here. The tree of life: The Bible begins with a tree of life ( Genesis 3:22-24) which man was not allowed to eat from after the sin at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. It isn't that you have been faithful in your devotions, and you have witnessed to so many people, and read so many chapters of the Bible, and spent so many hours in prayer, and you have done all of the religious devotional things, not that at all. It was, as H. B. Swete puts it, like "the din of a vast concourse, the roar of a cataract, the roll of thunder.". John insists that angels are no more than the servants of God; and that God alone must be worshipped. "Behold I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the words of the prophecy of this book." We read of the marriage feast ( Matthew 22:2); of the bridechamber and the wedding garment ( Matthew 22:10-11); of the sons of the bridechamber ( Mark 2:19); of the bridegroom ( Mark 2:19; Matthew 25:1); of the friends of the bridegroom ( John 3:29). "His eyes are like a flame of fire" seeing all the secrets of our lives. Amen. Not because any of their names were written therein, but in proof that they were not. continually reigns. church (Acts 2:1ff). Old Testament prophecy and New Testament preaching is the gospel of the Lord They "lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.". Revelation 18. And God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more, nor sorrow, nor crying nor shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. On the contrary, it proved the immediateness of communion. here. And who would defraud either the soul of salvation, or the Lord of showing it? They are joined by the twenty-four elders (Revelation 4). I do not, of course, complain of particular persons, but of the general vagueness in which the passage has been taken unless, indeed, the more common course be not to ignore it. Moral unfitness has its just censure; but sovereign grace must be asserted also. the sea of glass, who had got the victory over the beast (Revelation 15:2), and Then we look at "reigneth". Marriage of the Lamb: Hebrew weddings consisted of 3 phrases: (1) See [thou do it] not: I am thy fellow We must face difficulties; we must bow to the word; we must seek to learn through all. He is crowned as conqueror. On the other, it is the first of seven final things that John saw and recorded. It is the divine judgment of man eternal judgment. What I judge, then, is that the guests, or those that were called to the marriage-supper of the Lamb, refer clearly to the Old Testament saints. * Even the Complutensian editors give the right text here; and it would seem that Erasmus failed to use his MS. aright. Wars were matters of ambition and tyranny and oppression rather than of justice. See it explained in the notes on that place, and on Revelation 14:19-20. because of the number of people speaking. It is all centered around Him. What confusion! When John here called the warrior Christ "The Word of God", he means that here in action is all the power of God's word; everything that God has said, and threatened, and promised is embodied in Christ. to be worshiped (22:8-9; Acts 10:25-26). The Word of God is alive and powerful, if we would only realize the power of the Word of God. There will be no time for seeking mercy, as it were: whatever the state in which the Lord at His coming will find us, all is closed up and fixed. After "the nations" in verse 24 omit the words "of them which are saved." This is clearly of moral importance. We shall find that the scripture affords much light to decide the true bearing of the prophecy, and that no application to the past can possibly satisfy the conditions satisfactorily. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for night shall not be there. 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." And thus it was but a little glimpse they had of prophecy. The "testimony of Jesus" is what the whole Bible is about. There are always those who are ready to challenge the fairness of it. And out of his mouth proceeded a sharp sword Again, all voices agree as one in seeing this as a symbol of the word of God (Hebrews 4:12,13; Ephesians 6:17f). Even the worst of governments is better than none. Matches the description of Christ in Revelation 1:16 . I do not doubt that there was a corrupt form in connection with Israel in times past. You must with the best authorities leave out this addition, if you would have the true force of the verse. The white horse is the symbol of the conqueror, because it was on a white horse that a Roman general rode when he celebrated a triumph. "And if any one was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire." If Christianity does not bring joy, it does not bring anything. Like a novel, the storyline builds from front to back, with the characters, themes and plot elements introduced early and developed across many chapters. The beast is the expression of the will of man setting itself up in direct antagonism to God. overwhelming understanding of Who this is. In Daniel's time, and even to Daniel himself, the book was sealed. The letters Y-H-W-H (Yahweh) are called the sacred tetragrammaton, the sacred four letters. God is sovereign. (iii) There is joy. 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. Exactly the same thing is repeated here, and what makes it more apparent is the similarity of the introduction on each occasion. 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. This rider is called "FAITHFUL AND TRUE"--"faithful" because we can depend on His promises. What did the "avenging the blood" probably mean? The book of life will confirm what is gathered from the books. The Bible forbids the worship of angels (Col. 4. 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. Those that do rise at the same time rise, no doubt, in a moment; but that there are to be various acts of resurrection is not only not contrary to scripture, but required by its own descriptions. 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). The betrothal takes place on earth during the church age; The presentation will take place in heaven following the Rapture (verse 7); and. Still God acts in a wisdom far above man, and holds to His principles even there. You can believe this. took on His righteousness. The battle is through. And then comes the gathering and the battle. Then and thus is aggravated guilt in the case of this wicked son. Thus the attempt to apply it during the pagan period is altogether futile on the face of the matter. His instructions are to praise God. Man gets hung up and he stops short. Scripture records no name whatever among those judged written there. They begin to worship, in a sense, the instrument that God has used. And their voice on this The word used here for crown is diadema ( G1238) , which is the royal crown, as opposed to stephanos ( G4735) which is the crown of victory. Thus there is no question that some of the actors in the final scenes of the great drama were already there, as the reigning city, and the Roman empire. Revelation 19:6 "And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as All is then fixed. There are always those that say, "What about the people that haven't heard? 1. [Note: Ladd, pp. 16:16. ( 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. Figuratively, with reference to the church. But no believer comes into judgment. Their doom was awful, but by no means after the same sort as their two leaders. But he tells us further that the Spirit of prophecy, who prophesies in this book, is the testimony of Jesus. shall be their shepherd, as in Revelation 2:27, Revelation 12:5 Of course in all three places the reference is to Psalms 2:9. But now, when those symbols disappear, because of a new action of God (namely, the consummation of the church's joy), the elders and the living creatures disappear, and we have not the bride alone, but another class of saints, who at once come forward. The principle is very clear. Accordingly it is another figure. (Eph. 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. This is a mistake. The Old Testament points forward to Jesus, beginning in the 144,000 seen with the Lamb on Mount Zion (Revelation 14:1), and with those on God accounts my faith for righteousness. harlot), and avenging the blood of the martyrs (7:9-17). 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." Both small and great: All distinctions and ranks are to be transcended. saints. It is the "Word of God" that will conquor nations, not physical armies using force. It furnishes material for a contrast between the earthly Jerusalem and the heavenly city, because if there be one thing more remarkable than another in Ezekiel's description, it is the temple. This is known so well, and on such decided grounds, that it would be unbecoming to withhold the fact. 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. And he shall rule them with a rod of iron - See the notes on Revelation 2:27; Revelation 12:5. of the world mean nothing to God. The church goes on according to the will of the Lord, who might according to His own purpose lengthen or abridge the space. We know that if He tarries, it is not that He is "slack concerning His promise," but that "His long-suffering brings salvation to many." 11:2; Eph. 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. avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.". and so forth. The great harlot is judged because she corrupted the world. Have we not all heard of the balance of power? It is to Jesus. Christ is the Bridegroom at the marriage and his Church is the The closing phrase here is the description of the beast in its last state, in which it will come into collision with Babylon. But in this is shown what it is of importance to see the true nature of the kingdom or millennial reign. Verse 8. The fine linen, clean and white, represents the He came to the world, and avenged His people on the beast and the false prophet with the kings and their armies; and after that the risen saints reign with Him over it a thousand years. . Verse 10. Every day-and we set up these rules for righteousness. - Utley, Isaiah 63:1-3; (Source of imagery for the Battle Hymn of the Republic.). 19:6-8 And I heard a voice which sounded like the voice of a vast multitude, and like the sound of many waters, and like the sound of mighty crashes of thunder. is a myth. That is something that God will never have to do, apologize. And I fell down before his feet to worship him; and he said to me: "See that you do not do this. 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 a question here of distinctive character, apart from that of time, for which we must search other scriptures. And God said, "Let the waters above the firmament be separated from the waters below the firmament." God doesn't want you taking credit for the work that He does, receiving glory for His work. Of course the application to the Roman empire would be immediately in the mind of any Christian at Rome. 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. others may live (see article . "Your Maker is your husband; the Lord of hosts is his name," says Isaiah ( Isaiah 54:5). The scene now shifts from the earth where it has been (since chapter 6), to This verse declares it, and there is no other interpretation that can stand even a moment's fair discussion. Religions tell you that you have to do certain things in order to please God. The unrenewed of the nations are now compassing them with their countless hosts, as if to eat them up like grasshoppers. This exclamation, meaning Praise the Lord, occurs frequently in the Old (1-5) Praise for the judgment of Babylon. He accepts us plain and simple. This is in total contrast to the harlot Babylon. But it really is. 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. You can believe this. believers lives, i.e., the outward manifestation of inward virtue. As Dr. John Paterson puts it in The Book that is Alive: "The spoken word in Hebrew was fearfully alive. This So, it is the righteousness of Jesus Christ that is imparted to me through my faith in Jesus Christ. In this way there never has been anything of the kind before. Afterwards we come to the description of itself, of its wall, its building, its foundations, and its gates. Some evade the difficulty by referring the desolation to the Gothic powers; and these Protestants, as if they were mere Praeterists! To this the vision now proceeds at verse 17. twelve disciples and twelve Old Testament prophets. There. 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. The seven Spirits of God (Greek: , ta hepta pneumata tou theou) are mentioned four times in the Book of Revelation, and in the Book of Isaiah it names each Spirit.Revelation 1:4: John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven . It is for your sin that He is dying. With a rod of iron he shall break in pieces all their substance, He shall destroy the godless nations with the word of his. THE DOOM OF THE ENEMIES OF CHRIST ( Revelation 19:17-21 ), 19:17-21 And I saw one angel standing in the sun, and he cried with a great voice to all the birds who fly in midheaven. 10:13; Jude 9). Afrikaans; Alemannisch; ; ; ; Azrbaycanca; ; Bn-lm-g; ; Bikol Central Next they will seize her resources. corrupted and destroyed them in soul, body, and estate. 5:25-32). We do not have to pretend to be something we are And because of this there is great rejoicing in heaven. 227-28.] and believers alive in earthly bodies in the kingdom. In the Psalms of Solomon we have that picture: Behold, O Lord, and raise up unto them their king the Son of, At the time in which thou seest, O God, that he may reign, And gird him with strength that he may shatter unrighteous, And that he may purge Jerusalem from nations that trample, Wisely, righteously, he shall thrust out sinners from the. 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. It also means genuine, as opposed to that which is unreal. Even when God was judging providentially in the beginning of the Apocalyptic visions (Revelation 4:1-11), associated thrones were seen. 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. 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. May our hearts answer freely to His word of love and truth with our "Amen." They received their power as kings when the beast ceased to exist. But there is a time coming when power will cease to be ordained of God; and this is the point to which the last condition of the beast refers. Revelation 19:9 "And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed [are] they which are It is said that the judgments of God are true and just. The Spirit of God implies that it is decidedly not the righteousness here which is by another, and we thereby imputed righteous, but righteousnesses personal and actual. And he said to me: "These are the true words of God." The folly of Satan thinking that he would be able to fight against God. It is simply said that the glorified are to follow the Lord in victorious power, and nothing more, "clothed in fine linen, white, pure." Verse 12 . he will rule them with a rod of iron . The strange thing to me, is that Jesus There we interpreted as "CHRIST EVANGELISING". The political side of this is described here with surprising brightness and brevity. The "word" that comes from Gods mouth is to be used to conquor! They themselves were to judge. Their praise is that the smoke of Babylon rises for ever and ever. See bibliographic information; Read aloud; Stop reading aloud Hide links to Bible word meanings Nothing more is to be done. 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). And I saw heaven open, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True ( Revelation 19:11 ). These words of praise here are focused on the Lord Jesus Christ. It will be understood when one says "spiritual" that none is meant save of a wicked kind. In it, the Church, 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.
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