EPISODE 268 REVELATION CHAPTER 19 "Finally"

Welcome back to Share the Word. We continue with the book of Revelation, and today, in chapter 19, we hear heavenly praises at the second coming of Christ. So, does this signify the end of the tribulation and the definite triumph of good over evil? Well, keep listening. Revelation chapter 19. Finally.

When I was a small boy in Sunday school, one of our favorite songs was called Hallelu, Hallelu, and the leaders usually pitted the boys against the girls. The lyrics are simple. One side sings, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah, and the other side answers back, Praise ye the Lord, and then it flipped. The object then wasn't so much to praise God, honestly, for us anyway, but to see which side could yell their part the loudest. I bet that sounds familiar to some of you. I don't think this only happened in my Sunday school.

You might assume that the exclamation Hallelujah is a common one in the Bible, but in reality, it's only found here in the opening verses of Revelation 19, as far as the New Testament goes. It's a Hebrew word that means praise Yah, as in Yahweh, the personal name of God. Where it appears in the Old Testament and the Psalms in English Bibles, it's translated, Praise ye the Lord. Revelation 19 opens with all these voices in heaven calling out a fourfold Hallelujah on the heels of what John saw happen in chapters 17 and 18. And for good reason, great reason. This huge throng calls out, Hallelujah!

Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, because His judgments are true and righteous. Hallelujah! For the great harlot who deceived the whole earth has been judged; He has avenged the blood of His servants. Hallelujah! Because the Antichrist regime is finished, the smoke of Babylon will rise up forever and ever. Hallelujah!

The Lord God Almighty reigns. There is a massively exultant mood in heaven as the awful tribulation era finally comes to an end. What a contrast to the dark, devastating years of Antichrist reign of terror. This heavenly chorus John hears is made up of all the believers of all the ages, all the angelicos, probably with the loudest voices being the great multitude of martyrs, victims of the Antichrist regime whose souls are now in heaven. Remember, in an earlier chapter, John heard them calling out, How long, O Lord, holy and true, will you not judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? They were told then, Be patient, for it will only be a little while now.

Well, when we come to chapter 19, their wait is over. This makes me think of old photographs I've seen taken on VE Day, World War II's Victory Day in Europe, when Hitler's Nazi regime, which had terrorized and dominated France, Poland, the Netherlands, and other countries in Europe, was finally defeated. When Hitler himself, another demonically controlled wannabe world emperor, was finally dead and Berlin, the center of his power, was in ruins, the unbelievable nightmare was finally over for millions of people. This future Victory Day John is now shown will be even far beyond that because, in 1945, many were completely unsure what would come next. When the Antichrist is finally defeated, though, and his Babylon regime is destroyed, it will be by the return of Jesus Christ. And what will come next is his righteous reign, the long-promised kingdom of God on earth.

The angel that's been explaining all this to John, what he's been seeing, then says at verse 7 and following, Let us rejoice and be glad and give God glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Right. Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. These are the true words of God. Then John says, I fell at his feet to worship him.

But he said, Don't do that. I'm a fellow servant with you and your brethren who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God. The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. In case you're at all still confused about that, and that all biblical prophecy ultimately points to him and his reign that is now coming. But what John heard before that, it's an also very interesting interjection to me.

I hope I can explain it adequately. Stick with me here for a couple of moments. In the New Testament scripture, the church, the whole body of those who throughout this age, those who have believed into Jesus and become his followers, are called in places the bride of Christ. There is this running analogy in the New Testament in which Jesus Christ is in the role of the bridegroom, and those who accept him in this age we're now in become his bride. In keeping with that, in the Gospels, remember, the prophet John the Baptist, Jesus' forerunner, referred to himself as the friend of the bridegroom, like our best man. And Jesus himself once referred to his twelve disciples as the attendants of the bridegroom, like our groomsmen.

As you probably remember, he likened himself to a bridegroom in more than one of his parables. When we get into the epistles in the New Testament, the apostle Paul wrote, for example, to early Christians in Corinth, I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy, for I have betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. And of course, there's the well-known passage in Ephesians 5, where he plays out this analogy further by writing things like, Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, so that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of the water of the word, that he might present to himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and blameless before him. Now here in Revelation 19, we see the church all dressed in beautiful white linen, ready for her wedding.

Again, this is the church with a capital C, the whole body of believers in Jesus who will be saved between Pentecost 33 A.D. and the rapture, whenever that happens. I trust you're a member of that body through your personal faith in Jesus. If so, you're a part of the bride visualized here in this analogy, and one day you will be in this heavenly scene. So currently, the church is, as Paul said, betrothed to Christ. That's our status right now. In the customs of the culture in which the Bible was written, a man and a woman were contracted in marriage by their parents, normally.

Once the contract was made and dowry price paid, legally that couple were married, although they didn't live together yet. The bridegroom often needed to make arrangements for a home for them and get established as a provider in his own right before the final marriage ceremony was held and they commenced life together as a married couple. And that could take a long time. But when the time came that he was ready, the bridegroom would come to where the bride was and take her to their new home, and then would commence a wedding feast like the one Jesus attended with some of his disciples at the beginning of his public ministry. So applying all this analogy to the church as the bride and Jesus as the bridegroom, we are now, right now, currently, still in the period where we are legally contracted to Christ in marriage, but our wedding celebration has not yet come.

As Jesus told his disciples in John 14, just before his death on the cross, I am going away to prepare a place for you, but I will come again so that we can be together for eternity. When Jesus comes back for his bride, that will be the event we call the rapture of the church. That is the main purpose of the rapture, Jesus taking his bride, believers, to our new home in heaven. So what John sees at this point in Revelation 19 is the bride of Christ, now in heaven, dressed in beautiful white linen, ready for the wedding feast, ready for the grand celebration, the consummation of their marriage. By the way, this means at this point the groom has already come for his bride, right? The church is already in heaven waiting the wedding supper of the Lamb, as it's called here.

That fits with a pre-tribulation rapture theory and is one of the many reasons I accept that interpretation. I wanted to take a couple moments to explain this imagery here, these terms, in case we haven't adequately before. Oh, and one more thing about this before we leave it. As verse 9, John is told to write, Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. In the analogy, if Jesus is the bridegroom and the church age believers are the bride, then who are the invited guests? Interesting question.

I can only surmise that they are all of God's people other than the Church of Jesus Christ, all the Old Testament era believers, those who became believers during the Tribulation era like the 144,000 Jewish witnesses, and the large number of martyrs now in heaven that came out of the Tribulation. But the fact there are guests at this wedding feast, since they are also redeemed people in heaven, is another indicator that the church is a distinct entity in God's plans. Okay, now let's get to the main thing John is shown in chapter 19, which will certainly be the most dramatic event in all history. And it starts at verse 11. He writes there, And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and Him who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.

His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems, and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He's clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called the Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. 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 winepress of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of Kings, Lord of Lords.

The visions in Revelation are not always chronological, as we've seen, but this is clearly at the very end of the seven years because it is describing the second coming of Christ. He's on a white horse as a conquering king surrounded by heaven's armies. I have sometimes used the descriptive phrase in our studies, behind the curtain, as I'm describing things that are happening in the spiritual dimension, which we're not always privy to. In fact, normally we are not. They are unseen by us, but they are very real. When John says, And I saw heaven open, it's that curtain that normally prevents us from seeing the spiritual dimension that is then fully drawn back.

And suddenly, not only he, but all the people on the earth will see this incredible sign in the heavens: Christ and the vast armies of God descending. Jesus himself described in his second coming in the Olivet Discourse, But immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. These are the effects of the bowl judgments, remember? And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. What amazing descriptions of Jesus' dramatic and powerful second coming.

This sounds nothing like the rapture, by the way. Jesus is returning as a warrior king, and believers who have already been in heaven are coming with him. His robe appears drenched in blood. His eyes are like a burning fire. There's a sword coming out of his mouth to strike down the incorrigible enemies of his still on earth: Antichrist, the false prophet, the old dragon, Satan, as well as all that have taken their mark. John sees several names for Jesus here.

He is coming both to destroy his enemies and to rescue his people who have survived the tribulation, and is called first Faithful and True. What a contrast to the worldly Antichrist and his regime created, a world built on nothing but lies and deceptions. Jesus is nothing if not faithful and true. He always does what he says. It's always what he says that's real. John also calls Jesus the Word of God.

Remember, that's how he first introduced him in his gospel. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory. But what a contrast now. At that coming, his first coming, the one described in the Gospels, Jesus came humbly and gently, veiled in human weakness of the flesh. But now he's a conquering king and determined avenger. The name on his sash reads King of Kings, Lord of Lords.

And, and I find this so interesting, John says there is another name no one knows except Christ himself. What will that be, and what will it mean? Another obvious contrast jumps out at me from John's description of Christ's second coming here. One of the last times he had seen Jesus, he was beaten and bloodied by men and was wearing a crown of thorns on his head. He was dying for our sins. But now, as the triumphant returning King, John sees that Jesus is wearing many diadems.

The diadem was the imperial crown, the crown of an emperor. And John sees many diadems, meaning he's returning as the rightful King over everything. He has dominion over everything. As he told his enemies on the high council when challenged at that mockery of a trial, I am the Son of God and the Messiah, and you will see me coming on the clouds of heaven. This final book in our Bibles is, by the way, remember, the Revelation of Jesus Christ. It discloses, it shows Jesus in all his actual power and glory.

And when he comes that second time, everyone on earth will see it. Putting the different visions in Revelation together, along with other passages in the Bible that describe aspects of what will happen then, there's a lot that will be happening on that day of days. Earlier in Revelation, if you remember, John was shown the armies of the east and then the armies of the rest of the world being drawn to Israel, to the Valley of Megiddo, to the place called Armageddon. I speculated then that the massive army John was shown crossing the dried-up Euphrates and coming toward Israel may be coming in revolt against the Antichrist because his rule has been an unmitigated disaster for the world. But whatever brings them all to Armageddon, once the armies of the world are arrayed there, that will be when they see the sky open and the armies of heaven led by Christ coming down on them.

Can you even imagine that? Another pertinent message says that when Jesus comes, he will send his holy angels to gather his elect from all over the globe. Those who have not submitted to the Antichrist threats and persecution, both Jews and Gentiles, will be gathered out of the way before the final destruction of God's enemies is undertaken. And once they are safely out of the way, what happens is described in one figure here as treading the winepress of the fierce wrath of God. A winepress was a vat that you stomped grapes in. Armageddon will not be a battle as we might imagine it.

God's enemies will simply be stomped. Who knows what those armies gathered there will think when they see the forces of heaven descending on them? I imagine they'll train their weapons on heaven's armies, fearing they are under attack by aliens of some kind. But if they imagine they can fight against heaven, they will find out how completely futile that is. Paul, in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, writes that then the Lord Jesus will slay the man of lawlessness, meaning the Antichrist, with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the splendor of his coming. That same breath that in the beginning blew worlds into existence will finally, literally, blow away God's enemies at the end of time.

The armies of the world will stagger and fall. The word of God alone will slay them. Here's how John sees the end of God's enemies. Then I saw the beast and the kings of the world and their armies gathered together to fight against the one sitting on the white horse and his armies. And the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who did mighty miracles on his behalf, miracles that had deceived those who had accepted the mark of the beast and worshipped him. Then both the beast and the false prophet were thrown alive into the lake of fire and brimstone, and their entire army was killed by the sharp sword that came out of the mouth of him riding the white horse.

And the vultures God summoned for this purpose gorged themselves on their dead bodies. Chapter 14, which also describes this, says the dead bodies then will be strewn for 200 miles throughout Israel. My word, what a graphic image. This is the final reaping of the earth. Those who would not repent, those who spurned the witnesses and chose to follow the beast, will experience then his judgment without mercy. And the Antichrist and his pseudo-religious partner, the false prophet, will be the first to taste the lake of fire, which the Bible says God created for the devil and his angels.

The nightmare then will finally be over. Finally. I've talked about a number of contrasts in this episode, if you've been paying attention. There's one more I need to point up, and that is between the day of grace and the time of judgment. The apostle Peter once wrote that with the Lord, one day is like a thousand years, and one thousand years like one day. God is patient, not desiring anyone to perish.

The invitation has been going out for a long, long time. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. He who has the Son has life, but he who does not have the Son of God has not life, but the wrath of God abiding on him. Revelation is not a horror story to try and scare people. It's the actual story of what's ahead, and so a sincere warning to the world. Those who spurn God's mercy and grace would find themselves beyond the day of grace, beyond the time when it's extended, and then there will be only left terrifying expectations of judgment.

That's why the New Testament writers tell us one way and another, over and over, while it is still called today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts. Things do not go on and on and on indefinitely. A day of reckoning, a final resolution of all things is coming. It will be the saddest day imaginable for those who have spurned God's grace, but it will also be the day when the throngs of the redeemed in heaven will be calling out, Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God because His judgments are true and righteous. Hallelujah!

For the great harlot who deceived the whole world has been judged. God has finally avenged the blood of His servants. Hallelujah! Babylon has fallen, and the smoke of its destruction will rise forever. Hallelujah! The Lord God Almighty reigns.

Finally. Thanks, Paul. You know, it's no wonder that the Book of Revelation has been in the forefront of searches on the internet. If you haven't accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior at this point, I implore you to make that decision. Whatever your hesitation, please email me at tony@sharetheword.org, and we can set up a time to speak over the phone. Don't let it go another minute.

Because we don't know how many we've got left. We're here. Please, let us help.