01.19. CHAPTER 19.
CHAPTER 19.
Revelation 19:1-3. “And after these things I heard a great voice of much people [a great multitude] in heaven, saying, ‘Alleluia; salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto Jehovah our God: for true and righteous are His judgments: for He hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt [was corrupting] the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of His servants at her hand.’ And again they said, ‘Alleluia.’ And her smoke rose up [riseth up] for ever and ever.” This outburst of praise evidently comes from the unnumbered multitude before the throne who have come out of the great tribulation. They ascribe deliverance and the glory to Jehovah, extolling Him by His name Jah, the title expressive of His eternal being (Psalms 68:4); for Hallelujah in the Hebrew signifies “Praise ye Jah.” They had witnessed the corruptions of the apostate ecclesiastical system, and probably experienced her persecuting power. The judgment executed upon Babylon by the instrumentality of the ten kings had not exhausted the wrath of God towards her: there remains the undying worm, and the fire that never shall be quenched.
Revelation 19:4. “And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts [living ones] fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, ‘Amen; Alleluia.’” The saints of the former dispensation represented by the four and twenty elders, and those composing the church of the firstborn symbolised by the four living ones, in the spirit of adoring worship and in the recognition of the sovereignty of Him who sat on the throne, join their assent, and unite with the innumerable multitude in giving the glory and praise to Jehovah.
Revelation 19:5. “And a voice came [came forth] out of the throne, saying, ‘Praise our God, all ye His servants, and ye that fear Him, both small and great.’” This voice evidently comes forth from the Lamb of God, the heavenly Bridegroom, calling for a burst of universal praise to God, on behalf of Himself and of His blood-bought bride. In Revelation 5:6 John writes: “And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four living ones, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes.”
“Praise our God.” This reminds us of the language of Christ when about to enter the holiest of all, recorded in John 20:17 : “Touch Me not; for I am not [have not] yet ascended to My Father: but go to My brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto My Father, and your Father; and to My God, and your God.” For the Church is one with Himself, being members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones, and therefore in closest relationship with His Father and His God. Hence, in Revelation 4:6, the Church is emblematically represented by the four living ones “in the midst of the throne” as well as “round about the throne, “being one Spirit with their risen Lord.
“All ye His servants”—the innumerable company of angels; as in Psalms 103:20 : “Bless Jehovah, ye His angels, that excel in strength, that do His commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His word.”
“And ye that fear Him, both small and great”—that is—every creature of God “in all places of His dominion;” corresponding with Psalms 103:21 : “Bless ye Jehovah, all ye His hosts; ye ministers of His, that do His pleasure.”
Revelation 19:6-7. “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 Jehovah God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour [glory] to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready.’”
There are here three distinct companies—First, the white-robed, palm-bearing multitude before the throne, who have come out of the great tribulation, who commence the theme; secondly, the innumerable company of angels in general assembly, who swell the strain, as the voice of many waters; and thirdly, from the other inhabitants of the universe the echo comes back as mighty thunderings pealing from the illimitable regions of space. This is the grand hallelujah chorus of the skies, and the occasion is the marriage of the Lamb. But before the joy accompanying the marriage, the highest glory is to be given to God— “Jehovah God omnipotent”—with whose kingdom and glory this event is intimately connected. God hath made known to us the mystery of His will, “that in the dispensation of the fulness of times He might head up all things in Christ, the second Adam, the Lord from heaven (Ephesians 1:10). But He who raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, gave Him to be the head over all things to the Church, which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all” (Ephesians 1:22-23). This is the great mystery of Christ and the Church, the second Adam associated with the second Eve (Ephesians 5:30-32).
We are here come to the period symbolised by the opening of the seventh seal. The sixth seal had brought us to the signs immediately preceding the manifestation of the Son of Man. In the interval between the destruction of Babylon by the ten kings, and the manifestation of the Son of Man as the rider on the white horse to take His kingdom and to reign, comes in the marriage of the Lamb, so that when He appears it is as the “Bridegroom coming out of His chamber” (Psalms 19:5), and “out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made Him glad” (Psalms 45:8), in that day of His espousals or marriage, and in the day of the gladness of His heart, spoken of in Song of Solomon 3:11. We have no description given of what the seventh seal unfolded, probably because the scene presented was such as no symbols could portray; but the seventh seal being opened, we read, “there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour” (Revelation 8:1), as though all heaven were taken by surprise, and in solemn silence wonder and adore. Revelation 19:1-21 supplies us with the information of what the seventh seal presented. It is the marriage of the Lamb, and the subsequent appearing of Messiah in glory.
“Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him.” This is the response to the call from Him who is in the midst of the throne for universal praise—from all, “both small and great.” But why this universal joy? Because all creation is interested in the event celebrated. Through the blood of the Lamb all creation has been reconciled (Colossians 1:20), and in the second Adam all things, not only on earth, but in heaven, have been headed up (Ephesians 1:10), and thus secured from failure and from fall. In incarnation the Creator stooped to the creature—God was manifest in flesh; but in life Immanuel abode alone: “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone” (John 12:24). Then, having made peace through the blood of His cross, God raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand on high. In resurrection the man Christ Jesus is taken up into glory. By the Holy Ghost sent down at Pentecost the link is formed between the ascended, glorified Christ and His body the Church, and thus the Church becomes “the fulness [the filling up or complement] of Him that filleth all in all” (Ephesians 1:23). Thus link by link—by incarnation, atonement, resurrection, and the Pentecostal Spirit—the union is effected between the Creator and the creature, and at the marriage of the Lamb the union will be consummated and perfected for ever.
Thus, in the dispensation of the fulness of times, when the history of this present world is finished, God, having headed up all creation in the second Adam, associated with His bride, all things will become new: “There shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away” (Revelation 21:4); and God will have all the glory. He laid the plan deep in the counsels of eternity; He sent His only begotten Son into the world, a sacrifice for sin; He raised Him from the dead, and gave Him glory; He sent down the Comforter; and the Church, the bride of the Lamb, is the Father’s gift to His beloved Son, and He it is who heads up all in Christ, and thus secures the universe from failure, and for Himself the everlasting praise.
“THE MARRIAGE OF THE LAMB IS COME.”
Beautiful and striking are the foreshadowings of this great event. To begin with, Adam and Eve in Paradise, which we know is a figure of the great mystery, Christ and the Church (Ephesians 5:32). Adam, placed at the head of this lower creation, has a helpmeet provided for him by God: after his deep sleep (emblematic of the death of Christ), the rib taken from his side and woman formed; so, after Calvary, comes Pentecost, when, by the indwelling Spirit, the Church is formed as the body and the bride of Christ. A second foreshadowing of the bride is to be found in Genesis 24:1-67 in Rebekah. Isaac, the obedient son, having been offered up, and received back in figure from the dead, Eliezer (typical of the Holy Ghost) is sent to provide for him a bride, and, having won the heart of Rebekah, brings her to Isaac.
Third, Joseph, having been sold by his brethren into the hands of the Gentiles and imprisoned, is exalted to the right hand of glory and of power, and the king gives him Asenath as his bride.
Fourth, Moses, having been rejected by the people of Israel—who failed to recognise in him God’s deliverer—whilst in the far-off land, receives Zipporah for a wife. The fifth type we find in Boaz and Ruth. Ruth, the Moabitess, becomes the wife of Boaz, the mighty man of wealth, the kinsman redeemer.
Sixth, Solomon takes to wife the king of Egypt’s daughter, and, having built a house for his God and a house for the kingdom, builds also a house for her. This Gentile wife associated with Solomon in his kingdom is a beautiful foreshadowing of the Church as connected with a risen and glorified Christ; and this furnishes the theme for that most exquisite portion of Scripture, the Song of Songs.
“THE MARRIAGE OF THE LAMB IS COME.”
Christ loved the Church, and gave Himself for it. He is now sanctifying and cleansing it by the washing of water by the word, in order that He might present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy, and without blemish (Ephesians 5:25-27). This is the scene which is now before us; the marriage of the Lamb is come. He now presents her before the presence of the glory with exceeding joy, henceforth and for ever to be recognised by the whole universe as the bride, the Lamb’s wife. Now will come the answer to His prayer in John 17:24 : “Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am; that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me: for Thou lovedst Me before the foundation of the world.”
“And His wife hath made herself ready.” A threefold work was necessary to prepare the Church for the marriage of the Lamb as His bride, and for her eternal relationship to Him as His wife. First, she had been redeemed unto God by His blood; secondly, sanctified by the Spirit; but thirdly, there was needed also that she should make herself ready.
She had already been raised and conformed to the image of her Lord in the glory, and seen Him as He is at the first resurrection. She had stood at His judgment seat, where everything had been tested in the light of God and the secrets of all hearts made manifest. And, since then, having been seven years in the presence of God in the full light of His countenance, and in the fellowship of the Lamb as one with Him who is in the midst of the throne, and in the communion of the Holy Ghost, symbolised by the seven lamps of fire that burn before the throne. Seven years in the company of the saints of the former dispensation, typified by the four and twenty elders, and in mutual intercourse together as the members of the body of Christ, as shown by the symbol of the four living ones. Seven years with the innumerable company of angels which surround the throne, and a portion of that time with the great multitude who come out of the great tribulation, conversant with the scenes that have been taking place on earth during the interval between her Lord coming to receive her unto Himself and her manifestation with Him;—profiting by all, she has made herself ready; she is now prepared as she never was before, or could have been, to enter into the thoughts, the feelings, and the actions of her heavenly Bridegroom.
Revelation 19:8. “And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white [bright]: for the fine linen is the righteousness [righteousnesses] of saints.” Their robes have been washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb, and not only is every iniquity forgiven, and every sin purged, but every service rendered, every sacrifice made, every victory gained, is kept in everlasting remembrance; for the bride is given to appear in that pure and bright raiment which is emblematic of the righteousnesses of the saints—not righteousness in the singular, as characteristic of the whole, but righteousnesses in the plural, as indicating the recognition of each and every particular.
Revelation 19:9. “And he saith unto me, ‘Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.’”
Compare with Psalms 45:13-15 : “The king’s daughter is all glorious within; her clothing is of wrought gold. She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework; the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee. With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter into the king’s palace.” In Psalms 45:1-17 Solomon the bridegroom king is typical of Christ; and by the queen we may understand the earthly Jerusalem, or Israel under the new covenant. The daughter of Pharaoh whom Solomon had taken as his wife, the subject of the Song of Solomon, is typical of the Church described as “the king’s daughter, all glorious within, “internally and externally beautified. The virgins her companions who follow her, and who enter into the king’s palace, correspond with the blessed ones who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. The Church as the bride is there by her own right. May we not understand by these called ones the saints of the former dispensation? John the Baptist, who was one of the last of these, styles himself “the friend of the bridegroom, “and our Lord says concerning him, though one of the greatest of prophets, the “least in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he:” for to be a member of Christ’s mystic body, and to belong to the bride, is a far higher honour. The redeemed of every age will share the blessedness and the joy of this great event.
“And he saith unto me, ‘These are the true sayings of God.’” So transcendently great and glorious are these revelations of the Church’s associations and prospects, faith requires an especial confirmation to enable it to grasp and realise them; hence the assurance here given, “These are the true sayings of God.” Seeing that we look for such things, what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness?
Revelation 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.’” The Lord Jesus had sent His angel to show these things to His servant John, and Jesus speaks by him, and through him claims Divine honours. But when John would offer worship to the angel personally, this the angel refuses. He was but a fellow-servant with John and his brethren, who were witnesses for Christ. Divine worship must only be rendered to God, and to His Divine Son, to whom give all the prophets witness, and to the Eternal Spirit.
Revelation 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.” In Revelation 6:2 John saw a white horse with his rider, the emblem of Antichrist, the people’s king, going forth for the establishment of his kingdom. Here we have the true Christ coming forth for the overthrow of His enemies, and for the commencement of His Millennial reign.
White is the emblem of strict, impartial justice — “judgment without mercy;” the white horse is emblematic of progressive judgment. The day of salvation has lasted nearly two thousand years; similarly the day of judgment will not be confined to a brief period (2 Peter 3:8), but during the Millennium, judgment on open sin will be immediately executed (Isaiah 65:20). The judgment of the great white throne closes the scene, and will be final and for ever. The name of the rider, “Faithful and True, “reminds us that He is not only faithful to His promises to His saints, but true to His threatenings to His enemies; and when He comes it will not only be for the execution of righteous judgment, but to make war against all who oppose His rightful reign.
Revelation 19:12. “His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns [diadems, or regal crowns]; and He had a name written, that no man [no one] knew, but He Himself.” The judgment which He executes is not only characterised by strict justice, but is the result of an infinite knowledge; nothing can escape Him. He would not let His servants separate the tares from the wheat (Matthew 13:1-58), but He comes with that eye which discovers the secrets of all hearts. As the Overcomer, we now see Him crowned with the stephanos or victor’s crown (Hebrews 2:9). In this vision He appears with the diadem or regal crown, the mark of universal empire—His many diadems significant of universal dominion and empire—the King of kings and Lord of lords.
He has promised to the overcomer (Revelation 2:17) the white stone and the new name which no one knows but the receiver—the token of secret and confidential approval, a joy which the stranger intermeddleth not with. In like manner He Himself, the faithful Servant, has received from His Father the secret expression of a Divine estimate, which none beside can know.
Revelation 19:13. “And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood; and His name is called ‘The Word of God.’”
Compare Isaiah 63:1-6 and Revelation 14:17-20. Although the judgment on Babylon was executed by the instrumentality of the ten kings, yet it was in reality the judgment of the Son of Man, for He it is who treads “the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God” (Revelation 19:15).
He is the Word of God, not only as the One who reveals God in creation, providence, and redemption, but also in the manifestation of His righteous judgment.
Revelation 19:14. “And the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.” This is the manifestation of the Son of Man, when every eye shall see Him; not “the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together unto Him” (2 Thessalonians 2:1); not His coming to receive His saints to Himself (John 14:3), but His manifestation with them, for “when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory” (Colossians 3:4). For “the Lord Jesus shall te revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power; when He shall come to be glorified in His saints, and to be admired in all them that believe” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10). “The Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints” (Jude 1:14); or, as saith the Prophet Zechariah, “And Jehovah my God shall come, and all the saints with thee” (Zechariah 14:5). When the Lord Jesus is thus revealed, the angels of His power accompany Him; and the redeemed of every age, who being conformed to Him in glory, will unite in the manifestation of the splendour of His coming. As the armies of the heavens, they will also be associated with Him in the execution of those righteous judgments, whereby His kingdom will be established upon the earth.
“Upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.” Whether the saints in resurrection glory or His holy angels, those who accompany Him are all holy, and take part with Him in the execution of His righteous judgment.
Revelation 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 |pe treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.” By the word of His power the judgment is executed (Psalms 2:9; Isaiah 11:4; 2 Thessalonians 2:8). It is not now the gentle rod, which comforts as well as supports the sheep of His pasture, but the iron rod of irresistible might.
Though judgment upon apostate Babylon has been executed, “His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still” against the culmination of evil.
Revelation 19:16. “And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, ‘King of kings and Lord of lords.”
See 1 Timothy 6:14-15. “The appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: which in His own times He shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords.” Conspicuous on His vesture, and inscribed on His thigh, is His name. Thus He appears as invested with universal dominion and lordship.
Revelation 19:17-18. “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; 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.’” This is emblematic of a preparation for world-wide destruction, for “the slain of Jehovah shall be many” (Isaiah 66:16); and provision is hereby made for the removal of the carcases from the scene of slaughter. “For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.”
Revelation 19:19. “And I saw the beast [wild 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.”
Here we have Psalms 2:1-4 finally fulfilled. It is the great confederacy of the nations against Jehovah, and against His Christ. They have already put down apostate Christianity, with all its corruptions; they now conspire against the true Christ and His faithful followers. We learn from Zechariah 14:1-3 that the gathering place is around Jerusalem, and at first they appear on the highroad to success: they begin to say, “Peace and safety;” then sudden destruction comes upon them from which there is no escape.
Revelation 19:20. “And the beast [wild 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.” The wild beast and the false prophet are taken, and are cast alive, having their bodies “salted with fire” (Mark 9:49), into the lake of fire burning with brimstone (Isaiah 30:33; Daniel 7:11).
Revelation 19:21. “And the remnant [rest] 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.”
Those enemies that would not have Messiah to reign over them are slain before Him (Luke 19:27), and thus the Son of Man prepares, by the execution of righteous judgment, for the establishment of His kingdom in prosperity and peace.