Revelation 19
CHAPTER 19
Praise to God!
After these things I heard what seemed to be a great voice of a great crowd in heaven, saying: Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power, belong to our God. 2 For true and righteous are His judgments. For He has judged the great prostitute, she that corrupted the earth with her fornication, and He has avenged the blood of His servants shed by her.
3 And a second time they said: Hallelujah! And her smoke goes up for ever and ever.
4 And the twenty four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God that sits on the throne, saying: Amen. Hallelujah!
5 And a voice came from the throne, saying: Give praise to our God all you His servants, you that fear Him, the small and the great.
6 And I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great crowd, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunders, saying: Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. 7 Let us rejoice and be exceedingly glad, and let us give the glory to Him. For the marriage of the Lamb comes, and his wife has made herself ready. 8 And it was given to her that she should dress herself in fine linen, bright and pure. For the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
9 And he said to me: Write, Blessed are they that are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said to me: These are the true words of God. 10 And I fell down before his feet to worship him, and he said to me: You must not do that! I am a fellow-servant with you, and with your brothers that hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
The victorious Jesus
11 And I saw the heaven open; and beheld a white horse, and he that sat thereon was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 And his eyes are a flame of fire, and upon his head are many diadems, and he has a name written which no one knows but him. 13 And he is dressed in a garment sprinkled with blood, and his name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which are in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and pure. 15 And out of his mouth proceeds a sharp sword, that with it he should strike down the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, and he treads the winepress of the fierceness of the anger of God the Almighty. 16 And he has on his garment 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 birds that fly in mid heaven, come, be gathered together to the great supper of God. 18 Eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and of those that sit thereon, and the flesh of all men, both free and bondservant and 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 upon the horse, and against his army. 20 And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet, who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur. 21 And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse; and all the birds were filled with their flesh.
Commentary
19:3 For ever and ever- Babylon herself will be totally destroyed by fire, not eternally subject to conscious torture (18:8). But the smoke, the reminder of the eternal consequence of her destruction and the eternal future she missed, will be with God’s people for ever throughout the ages of eternity.
19:7 We are the betrothed wife of Christ, the lamb. We should be preparing ourselves in this life for the great day of marriage. There’s no uncertainty about it- He loves us and is eager to marry us!
19:19 When Christ returns there will be organized mass opposition to Him- because people simply prefer their lives and world to carry on as it is, for all their complaints about it and apparent desire for something better. The same mentality is at work today when people refuse the Lordship of Jesus in their lives.
19:21 The word of Jesus is so powerful. Yet we read that same word in the New Testament today, and should allow it to have its power in our lives.
