1 ¶ And after these things I
heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and
glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: 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. 3 And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke
rose up for ever and ever. 4 And the
four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that
sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.
These are clearly the resurrected
and translated/raptured saints in Heaven glorifying God.
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. 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.
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. 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. 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.
10 And I fell at his feet to worship
him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of
thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony
of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
We now know that waters, in a
specific context, can stand for the mass of people.
Revelation 17:15 And he saith
unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples,
and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
In verse 6, in context with great multitude it is the voices of many
people.
The marriage of the Lamb has come.
For this marriage to occur the bride must be in heaven.
The Song of Solomon is a classic
metaphor of the relationship between Christ and the church, using Solomon and
his bride. If you think that book is merely a love poem between a husband and a
wife notice these two verses.
Song of Solomon 6:4 Thou art
beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with
banners….10 Who is she that looketh
forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an
army with banners?
Notice how Jesus spoke of Himself.
Matthew 9:15 And Jesus said unto
them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is
with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from
them, and then shall they fast.
Notice how Paul talks about the
church.
2Corinthians 11:2 For I am
jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband,
that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
With the heavenly city, the New
Jerusalem, likened to a bride using the simile with as it would be easy to think that it is where Christians will live.
Revelation 21:2 And I John saw
the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a
bride adorned for her husband.
…the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy links back to the
first two verses of chapter one.
Revelation 1:1 ¶ The Revelation
of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things
which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto
his servant John: 2 Who bare record of
the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that
he saw.
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. 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. 13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in
blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
This is the Lord Jesus Christ
returning to earth, not as the suffering Saviour but as the Creator of the
universe preparing to take vengeance on a wicked world ruled by Satan. This
links Him with the first 18 verses of John’s gospel and the description of Him
in chapter one of Revelation.
14 And the armies which were in
heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
The armies which were in heaven are those who belong to Him who have
either been translated or martyred or died otherwise. They return triumphantly
with Christ. It is clear here, as elsewhere, that there are animal creatures in
the spiritual world. We can see this by the living creatures in Ezekiel 1 and
10 and in those around the throne in chapter 4. We see this by other statements.
2King 6:17 And Elisha prayed,
and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD
opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was
full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
There is important symbolism here
as you can see by verse 8 in comparison, linking this army with Christ’s bride.
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. 16 And he hath on his vesture and
on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God
is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to
the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a
discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
This is clearly Christ.
Revelation 1:16 And he had in
his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword:
and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
Isaiah 11:4 But with
righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of
the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the
breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
Psalm 2:9 Thou shalt break them
with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.
Revelation 2:27 And he shall
rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken
to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
Revelation 12:5 And she brought
forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her
child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
So, clearly, this is not a
reference to the United States of America, or any nation, for that matter.
Isaiah 63:1 ¶ Who is this that
cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his
apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in
righteousness, mighty to save. 2
Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that
treadeth in the winefat? 3 I have
trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I
will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood
shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. 4 For the day of vengeance is in mine heart,
and the year of my redeemed is come. 5
And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was
none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury,
it upheld me. 6 And I will tread down
the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down
their strength to the earth.
His title is referenced
previously.
Revelation 17:14 ¶ These shall
make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of
lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen,
and faithful.
As understood by Paul;
1Timothy 6:15 Which in his times
he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the 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. 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. 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. 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.
Isaiah 34:1 ¶ Come near, ye
nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is
therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it. 2 For the indignation of the LORD is upon all
nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he
hath delivered them to the slaughter. 3
Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of
their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood. 4 And all the host of heaven shall be
dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their
host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling
fig from the fig tree. 5 For my sword
shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the
people of my curse, to judgment. 6 The
sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with
the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the LORD
hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea. 7 And the unicorns shall come down with them,
and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and
their dust made fat with fatness. 8 For
it is the day of the LORD’S vengeance, and the year of recompences for the
controversy of Zion.
Verse 17 and 18 have a similarity
to the verses in Ezekiel referencing the destruction of Gog and Magog at the
end of the Millennial reign of Christ. First, for the reference in Revelation
to events at the end of the Millennial reign of Christ.
Revelation 20:7 And when the
thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which
are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together
to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth,
and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came
down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
You can start reading in Ezekiel
38 about this and here are some important cross-references.
Ezekiel 39:17 And, thou son of
man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every
beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every
side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon
the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood. 18 Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and
drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats,
of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan. 19
And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be
drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. 20 Thus ye shall be filled at my table with
horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord
GOD.
But, these passages in Revelation
19 that we are looking at happen before the Millennial reign of Christ begins.
This is Armageddon referenced in chapter 16. The beast and his false prophet
are thrown into the Lake of Fire bodily and alive. The rest of the Beast’s army
is killed.
2Thessalonians 2:8 And then
shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of
his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 9 Even him, whose coming is after the working
of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness
in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they
might be saved. 11 And for this cause
God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12 That they all might be damned who believed
not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
So, the Great Tribulation is a
period of 3 ½ years. In it and before it, there are seven seals and seven
trumpets. After the seventh trumpet there are seven vials of unimaginable
judgment. During this period the Jews flee to the wilderness, the Beast reigns,
millions are martyred, and then, upon the sounding of the seventh trumpet the
Jewish and Gentile church is raptured to prevent it from having to endure the
final wrath to come with the dead in Christ preceding them in a flash of time
like the twinkling of an eye or lightning flashing across the sky. Then, there
is a marriage supper in heaven and Christ returns to rule the earth with the
believers after one final battle on earth in which Christ is victorious.
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