He says: "The possession of the prophetic spirit, which makes a true prophet, shows itself in a life of witness to Jesus, which perpetuates his witness to the Father and to himself" A prophet's message lies in the personal witness of his life, even more than in the spoken witness of his words. corrupted and destroyed them in soul, body, and estate. Now the scene totally changes to heaven. After that we have the admonitions to the end of this book. 14:1-3; 1 Thess. . But we can understand that the Lord could and did make that little go far, and do no little good. Let us rise up to serve The King of kings. Further, after this Jesus introduces Himself, as well as sends His angel. II. In as many things as she glorified herself, and lived luxuriously, so much torment and sorrow give to her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am not a widow, and I shall in no wise see sorrow.". It was, as H. B. Swete puts it, like "the din of a vast concourse, the roar of a cataract, the roll of thunder.". The two of them were cast alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone; and the rest were slain with the sword of him who rides the horse, with the sword which comes out of his mouth; and all the birds were glutted with their flesh. 12:10; All who have looked back on the history know, that when the ten kings appeared, there was no beast or imperial power. That is, the sixth head (reigning then in John's day) was the imperial form of government. I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God ( Revelation 19:1 ): The judgment of the earth, as far as God's wrath being poured out, has been completed on Babylon. If they have only heard His voice, this after all is the incalculable boon; yea, it is the turning-point of all blessing. In the Ascension of Isaiah ( Isaiah 9:5) there is a saying: "Thou canst not bear his name until thou shalt have ascended out of the body." Gen. 1; Isaiah 55:11; John 1:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:8) not a literal description. It cannot be done till the moment comes. servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for Bear this in mind: to leave the last part out is fatal to any accurate understanding of the Revelation. (19:6-9), are evidence of the Church being in heaven prior to the return of They feel Revelation relates to the battle between God and evil and between the church and the world at all times in church history. THE TE DEUM OF THE REDEEMED ( Revelation 19:6-8 ). I say "righteousnesses," not "righteousness." The same imagery of a wedding picture's the Lord's relationship with His Church. Of course they will be preserved through that crisis in some sort of way suitable to divine wisdom. Then follows a description of the wall, gates, foundations, and general position. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. Thus the difference is complete between past history (if we look at the extinction of the empire and the rise of the ten kingdoms) and the certain fulfilment of the prophecy in the future, when we look at what God has really told us. 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. And the LAST WORDS (22:6-21). And there will the second Psalm come into play. For there follows another company of martyrs who suffered when the beast set up his worst and final pretensions. The political side of this is described here with surprising brightness and brevity. And on his robe, and on his thigh, he has a name written--King of kings and Lord of lords. The word "rule" is "to shepherd" them, and the rod of iron is the club the shepherd used to fend off the wolves, bears, lions, etc. (iv) There is fidelity. "And hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand": And by these judicial "He has a name inscribed which no one knows but Himself." Then the word is, "Award her even as she awarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she mixed, mix to her double. A loveless marriage is a contradiction in terms. Christ is the Bridegroom at the marriage and his Church is the The word is pantokrator ( G3841) , literally the one who controls all things. It will be remembered that it was said to them that they must wait. That an openly heathen metropolis, devoted to the worship of Mars, and Jupiter, and Venus, and other wicked monstrosities of pagan mythology should be irritated with the gospel which exposes it all, and should consequently seek to injure the faithful, was to be expected, and a necessary result, directly that the uncompromising spirit of Christ was known. It should be, "and shall be present. I think that religion is a tremendous curse upon the earth. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. As any dream or vision has to be interpreted, so does Revelation. . No one really knows what the vowels in Y-H-W-H were. 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. ", And the twenty-four elders, and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped the God who is seated upon the throne. We do not have to pretend to be something we are This verse reports that the heavenly multitude shouted another "hallelujah," which translates to "praise the Lord!" The residents of heaven declare that Babylon's smoke ascends "forever and ever." We should not interpret this declaration to mean the physical smoke from God's judgment on Babylon is eternal. We have seen her connection with the beast; but there is a conflict coming. . Let us bear this in mind. The angel implies nothing of the sort. Little do they know, because they believe not what is here written, that it is about to come out of the abyss or bottomless pit. "I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God" (alluding to this very city) "[is] with men." And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS ( Revelation 19:15-16 ). Now we find the symbol of the bride brought before us, and the elders and the living creatures disappear. He has saved us! There was the sad register of undeniable sin on the one side; there was no writing of the name on the other side. ", If we had to find another title for the Book of Revelation to describe its message--then it would bear the title-- "King of kings and Lord of lords.". Blessed are those who are invited to the feast of the marriage of the Lamb!" And so this is the hang-up of man as Paul said in Romans one, "They worshipped and served the creature more than the creator." email us at: For the fine linen is the righteous deeds of God's dedicated people. First, "I saw thrones, and they sat upon them." (iii) It may be that the name is one which can be revealed only at the final union of Christ and the Church. 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. of all sorts of jewels when he represented God to the people; but when he went In her own course, and in the matters of her portion, the church does not know time at all. After so many sorrows, trials, difficulties, dangers, how sweet to have such a word, and to know that He who speaks is the holy and the true, and surely about to come in the faithfulness of His love! At his rebuke nations shall flee before him, And he shall reprove sinners for the thoughts of their hearts, There is a Rabbinic picture of the Messiah: "How beauteous is the king Messiah, who is about to rise from the house of Judah. After "the nations" in verse 24 omit the words "of them which are saved." Whoever this angel is, he too had the testimony of Jesus. 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). cum cdd. In our day men prophecy "the end of Christs church", but Christs Word is mightier than any word that men can utter. Then, as we have seen, comes the final test of the nations of the earth after that kingdom has run its course, and the devil let loose once more deceives flesh and blood after the analogy of all other dispensations. The glory of the kingdom does not preserve when men in their natural state are exposed to the adversary. 244.]. Jude 1. As King of kings and Lord of lords he exercises Gods rule over all humankind, and in divine wrath punishes the wicked (13-16).An angel calls flesh-eating birds to prepare for a feast such as they have never had before, for the corpses on the battlefield will be beyond number (17-18). They had cried to the Sovereign ruler to avenge their blood on their foes, but they were told they must wait a little for some others, their fellow-servants and their brethren, to die as they had. The picture is of all men sitting down at the Messianic Banquet of God. It is not the magnitude of each voice. Like Hosanna ( H3467 + H4994 and G5614) it is one of the few Hebrew words which have established themselves in ordinary religious language. And he says to him not to do that because he is a fellowservant, but to worship God.You see it is a apart of man to need and want to worship something, and man seems to find it easier to worship an object that he can see rather than an object that he cannot see. the sea of glass, who had got the victory over the beast (Revelation 15:2), and [Note: See David J. MacLeod, The Seven Last Things.] He knows So, he is one of our pastors here, but that is what religion does. 12 It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. 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. are no other than God's covenant people, who are given to Christ, and made Such is the meaning of the verse "The rest of the dead lived not again till the thousand years were finished. Thus there is a completeness and perfection about it suited to its present character. And God said, "Let the water bring forth and let the earth bring forth." Revelation 19:13; Revelation 14:8; Revelation 14:10; Revelation 14:19-20; Revelation 16:19; Isaiah 63:1-6). Another warlike expedition of the glorious head and husband of the church, with the success of it, ver 10, etc. Religion is threatened by life, by spiritual life.So, God has judged that religious system and has avenged the blood of His servants at her hands. Revelation. It is said that the judgments of God are true and just. 21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. Isaiah 63:3. God said, "Light be," and light was. Christianity tells you that your righteousness is as filthy rags. In that place the sword seems to be an emblem of his words or doctrines, as penetrating the hearts of people; here it is the emblem of a work of destruction worked on his foes. To report dead links, typos, or html errors or suggestions about making these resources more useful use the convenient, Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament, Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. They will then treat her with contempt and shameful exposure. What empire has existed, then sunk, and finally reappeared, with higher pretensions and power, only to perish horribly? This brings in idolatry, real shameless idolatry too, not merely that subtle working of the idolatrous spirit that every Christian has to guard against. But the prophecy shows us the beast revived and the separate kings reigning for the same time, before divine judgment destroys them at the coming of Christ and His saints. How this precisely fits in, let me say, with the state of feeling in these modern times; for "constitutionalism," as men call it, is the fruit of the Teutonic system supervening on that of the broken up Roman empire. But this is not to emerge from the bottomless pit. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright the morning star. At the same time the attempt to apply Babylon to ancient Rome is almost as unhappy; and for a plain reason. The outer court represents the control of Jerusalem and Israel by Gentiles during the last half of the Tribulation period. Verse 6 commends these sayings afresh. Babylon must hear, I do not doubt, the final testimony of God the gospel of the kingdom that is to go forth in the last days; but she loves her pleasure and power, and refuses truth. VERSE BY VERSE MINISTRY . Centuries after came in, not only the division into east and west, but the broken up state of the west, when there ceased to be an imperial chief. "Notwithstanding the dogmatic helps which the Church offers, the mind fails to grasp the inmost significance of the Person of Christ, which eludes all efforts to bring it within the terms of human knowledge. 5:25-32). On His robe where it spreads out at His waist HIS TITLE is inscribed. And the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints. As far as the display of government goes, it is according to God morally, and for His glory, though I deny not for a moment that there are elements of evil which are never allowed, but kept under if not expelled. Then go into each of the twenty two chapters of the Book of Revelation one by one. [Note: Ladd, pp. 25:1-13; Luke 14:15-24). Verse by Verse Ministry International is a non-profit, non-denominational, unaffiliated Christian ministry that is dedicated to promoting the preaching and teaching of God's Word clearly and boldly. I do not suppose that many words are required by the present audience to show that we are not to understand the scene as a mere figure of Christianity. Some ancient authorities insert two-edged, from the parallel passage in Revelation 1:16. There is a reassuring tone here telling the Lord that He was justified in His The account given of Babylon inRevelation 17:1-18; Revelation 17:1-18 does not follow Revelation 14:1-20 or Revelation 16:1-21 in point of prophetic time, but differs from them in structure. 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 ( Revelation 19:10 ): Now, John like so many people, we want to worship the instrument that God uses to bring His knowledge or love or grace to us. Indeed it must be so, because, as we read in the end of the last chapter, there the lost were cast. Here we have the purely Jewish idea of the Word of God. THE ALMIGHTY AND HIS KINGDOM ( Revelation 19:6-8 continued). But now He is ready to return and establish His kingdom and take us unto Himself and the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife, or bride, has made herself ready. Preparations and celebrations were much more Revelation 20. It was important, just because it is the bride, the Lamb's wife, to show that angels are there, and further, that Israel is not forgotten. Second, there are the small and the great. saints. And the beast was taken" (taken alive), "and with him the false prophet that wrought signs in his presence, with which he deceived those that received the mark of the beast, and those that worshipped his image." I. took on His righteousness. Polyglot, and all editions of the least critical value. supreme in authority, and "God", which means supreme deity; you have an But he tells us further that the Spirit of prophecy, who prophesies in this book, is the testimony of Jesus. Observe another very important fact. Even the worst of governments is better than none. A mystery clearly points to something undiscoverable by the natural mind of man a secret that requires the distinct and fresh light of God to unravel, but which when revealed thus is plain enough. . But it is what each saint has, though the blessed thought here is that the church has it not merely in the way of each person possessing his own; the bride has the whole of it (that is, the church in glory). the church is the bride during the presentation feast in heaven, then comes to This would not be fitting for the church nor the Christian. The friendships of the evil are not lasting. 19:14-16 The armies which are in heaven followed him, on white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and pure. They will probably number into the hundreds of millions. The horns and the beast join in hating the whore. With this agrees His coming out of heaven in judgment of the earth, described inRevelation 19:1-21; Revelation 19:1-21. Gods communion with His people (verse 7). and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. What's amazing is that the Father never calls His Son "My God," though there are at least 7 times in the NT where Jesus called the Father "My God." twice on the cross, once on resurrection morning with Mary, and 4 times in Revelation 3.12. (i) In certain circles of Judaism the angels had a very large place. Nothing of the sort can be plainer. There was never a time when the Christian was called upon to undergo such suffering and to accept so continually the prospect of a cruel death. giving God glory for a fifth reason, the marriage of the Lamb has come. 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. And he treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God - This language is probably derived from Isaiah 63:1-4. He is arrayed in a vesture dipped in his own blood, by which he purchased his power as Mediator; and in the blood of his enemies, over . Moral unfitness has its just censure; but sovereign grace must be asserted also. "And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is near." (1-5) Praise for the judgment of Babylon. In general this has been either passed over in the chapter, or some unsatisfactory inference has been flung out, which can only embroil the prophecy. Pilate said, "I find no fault in Him. ( John 1:14 ) And now again He comes as the Word of God. Jer. He has a name known to no one but himself. "Called" is most evidently inapplicable, because calling supposes that the person is brought out of one condition and raised into another and a better one. His attributes: he is faithful and true to his covenant and promise, he is righteous in all his judicial and military proceedings, he has a penetrating insight into all the strength and stratagems of his enemies, he has a large and extensive dominion, many crowns, for he is King of kings, and Lord of lords. The multitude in heaven praises God for judging the great whore (Babylon, the "And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have not yet received a kingdom; but they receive authority as kings (not at but for) one hour with the beast." The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. But it fails to account for the differences. Why then is the book of life mentioned? 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 wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. ", All things are thus made new; and, further, "these words are faithful." He shall destroy the pride of the sinner as a potter's vessel. It is not meant that he who was more honoured in service than any of the twelve, he whom the Lord used for bringing out the church of the heavenly places, will not have his own most singular dignity in this glorious scene. On the one hand, the return of Jesus Christ to the earth is the climax of all that has gone before in Revelation. It is no longer a question of sustaining His saints in grace, but of sovereign power for judging the earth. It is reigning. Let it be carefully observed here that the first resurrection does not mean all rising exactly at the same moment. Go To Previous Section | All this gives us a true and just view of the various parties that have a share in the resurrection. Then entire sorry results of human depravity will finally be vanquished. Accordingly the resuscitated Roman empire will carry men away by a storm of wonder at its revival. Verse 11 . Revelation 19:1. But it is for the last time, not of the age only but of the various dispensations of God. - Hebrews 4:12; a sharp sword . Thus was concluded all dealing on the Lord's part with both soul and body, and all that pertains to either. there is no sword proceeding out of our mouth; nor are the saints or heavenly hosts said to be arrayed in such a sort as the Lord. Lord our God:". See [thou do it] not: I am thy fellow Revelation 6 Verse By Verse Bible Study Guide With Discussion Questions Revelation 6 Bible study guide with verse by verse teaching, applications, and discussion questions to supercharge your study of the Word. The ensigns of his authority, his coat of arms--a name written on his vesture and thigh, King of kings, and Lord of lords, asserting his authority and power, and the cause of the quarrel, Revelation 19:16; Revelation 19:16. And the marriage is the eternal It is suggested that it is on the skirt of his general's cloak, for that is where it would be easiest to read on a horseman. In the Testament of Levi (5:5) Michael is said to be the angel who intercedes for Israel. "Amen," they said, "Hallelujah!" Verse 7. I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb." Hence. faith during the Tribulation (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Zech. On the contrary, it proved the immediateness of communion. There is no lack of precision, but the very reverse. It appears that those who were redeemed were looking on from heaven and First, he came from a world in which there were many gods--Zeus, Hera, Apollo, Aphrodite and the rest, What was easier than to keep the old gods in the form of angels? I will be a part of that army, as will you, because we are clothed in the fine linen white and clean, which is the righteousness of the saints. "Crowns and thrones may perish Kingdoms rise and wane But the Church of Jesus Constant will remain. Our own righteousness had been as filthy rags, but It is a simple picture, not to be taken with crude literalness, but simply saying very beautifully that in his kingdom all men will enjoy the bounty of God. He will tread the winepress of the anger of the wrath of God the Almighty. It is the active word which carried out the commandment of God. For everything in this book begins and ends in Christ. There was never a time in history in which such forces were drawn up against the Church as when the Revelation was written. Revelation 19:10 "And I fell at his feet to worship him.
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