Revelation Chapter 19‏‏

Hello Friends!

Welcome back! During this week’s fellowship time, we’ll continue our study of Revelation.

Revelation Chapter 19
 
This week we will investigate chapter 19 in our journey of the end times.

As we come to this chapter of Revelation, we see what I refer to as the "Hallelujah Chorus" – Heaven’s long awaited rejoicing is finally celebrated as the judgment and downfall of “Babylon the Great” meets her final and complete destruction. This awesome chapter represents a Scriptural “bridge” between the Seven Year Tribulation Period detailed in the previous chapters and the literal and physical Second Coming of Jesus Christ to earth detailed later in chapter 20.

A total of one thousand five hundred and twenty-seven Old Testament passages alone refer to the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. There are also three hundred and thirty New Testament passages  – about one out of every twenty-five verses – that directly refer to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. In fact, next to the subject of faith, no subject is more often mentioned than the Second Coming of Jesus Christ! For every time the first coming of Christ is mentioned, the Second Coming is mentioned eight times. And the Lord Himself refers to His return twenty-one times and over fifty times we are exhorted to be ready for that Great event.

 

Needless to say, the Second Coming of Jesus Christ is a major theme throughout the pages of Scripture! This chapter provides the vivid presentation of the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

This is the fulfillment of the long awaited time in human history when the scepter is granted to the true King! Here are just a few examples of this greatly anticipated event prophesied thousands of years ago in the Old Testament:

2 Samuel chapter 7 David is told that there is going to come a King – greater than any other – who will be a son of David and will establish a Kingdom that will last forever. It will be a kingdom that will never end.

Isaiah chapter 9 he said, "The government will be upon His shoulders" speaking about a Child who would come to rule and reign on the earth. As well as chapters 11 and 42 when he prophesied that there was going to come a great servant King – a Great One who would establish a Throne and a Kingdom.

Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39

Joel chapter 3

Zechariah chapter 14

    These Scriptures are anticipating the very event described for us here in Revelation chapter 19!

    Remember… At this point in human history the world is in horrendous disarray:

• Babylon the great capital city of the Antichrist’s empire has been destroyed.
• The world economic and religious system has been devastated
• The entire empire of the Antichrist is in shambles.
• The Seven Seal Judgments have been opened by Jesus Christ and fulfilled
• The Seven Trumpets Judgments have been blown and their fury unleashed.
• The Seven Bowl Judgments of God’s Wrath have been poured out upon the earth.

Man's day is about to end! The “Great Tribulation” will soon be over and Satan's time will end as Jesus Christ comes in His glorious triumph! This is that awesome event which has been anticipated since the very beginning when the serpent's head is crushed as promised in the book of Genesis:

And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel – Genesis 3:15

Notice how the Apostle John has come full circle in the visions where he was first invited to enter the open door of Heaven first revealed in chapter four:

After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God!  For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.” Again they said, “Alleluia! Her smoke rises up forever and ever!” And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, “Amen! Alleluia!” Then a voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!” – Revelation 19:1-6

He is again – in the Spirit of Revelation – finding himself present once more at the heavenly scene of the Throne of God, the Four Beasts and the Twenty-Four Elders reminiscent of chapter 4:

…the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne – Revelation 4:10

Alleluia! Truly “Babylon the Great” will one day be no more! God will avenge the blood of His saints which has flowed from the hands of this great Jezebel:

You shall strike down the house of Ahab your master, that I may avenge the blood of My servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord, at the hand of Jezebel – 2 Kings 9:7

Next we learn of an announcement that the “Marriage Supper of the Lamb” will soon take place:

Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God” – Revelation 19:7-9

The Wedding Ceremony in Biblical times normally lasted for several days. During the marriage celebration held at the Bride's home, there would be much gaiety with feasting and dancing. But the marriage celebration, which would culminate with the “Marriage Supper” – the most important event – would be held at the home of the groom's father. The groom would take the bride home after he was satisfied that she had fulfilled her requirements of a wife.

Who are the “called” of the “Marriage Supper of the Lamb?” They are not the bride (the Church) but the guests. The bride doesn’t get invited – she invites! These “called” are those who are:

• All faithful believers saved by grace through faith up to the birth of the church – Pentecost at Acts chapter 2.
• All martyred tribulation saints – refused the Antichrist.
• All believers alive in their earthly bodies – going into the Millennial Kingdom.

Though these guests are not the bride, they posses their glorified bodies and reign with Jesus Christ in the Millennial Kingdom. So, the Raptured church is the bride during the “Marriage Supper of the Lamb” in heaven. It then comes to earth for the celebration of the final meal – the Millennium. After that 1000 years, the eternal order comes and the marriage is consummated:

Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband – Revelation 21:1-2

The climactic “bringing home of the bride” was a special event that no one who was associated with the groom's father would want to miss! Similarly, being related to the Heavenly Father, we certainly do not want to miss this “Marriage Supper of the Lamb.” This grand event will take place in Heaven after the saints, who are made ready, are caught up to meet our Lord Jesus Christ in the air and judged at the Judgment Seat (Greek: bema) of Christ:

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad – 2 Corinthians 5:10

During the “Marriage Supper of the Lamb” the unbelieving world will suffer for the seven years of Daniel's “Seventy Weeks” prophecy which will now be fulfilled on earth.

The central theme of both Old Testament prophecy and New Testament preaching is the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Being enthralled by all the events in this climactic moment, John is overwhelmed by both the message and the messenger that he kneeled to worship the angelic being:

And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” – Revelation 19:10

However, John was promptly rebuked by the angel! As an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, he should have known better! The Scriptures are clear – we are not worship or venerate angels:

Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God – Colossians 2:18-19

Then a drama began to unfold as John continued his rapturous gaze through the open door in the Heaven. King Jesus goes to battle one final time. And it is at this time that the greatest amassing of enemies comes against the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember, at this point in the Tribulation period there are:

• Two hundred million demons who have been held captive for a long period of time and are now released.
• The pit of hell is opened up and demons who have been incarcerated in chains until the hour of the time of Tribulation are loosed.
  
• The remaining humanity of the earth which has not yet been destroyed under the power of Antichrist or destroyed by the furious judgments of God.

The hosts of hell are more formidable now than they have ever been! They gather together in great armies and are led into the fields of Megiddo stretching all the way into the south past the city of Jerusalem, having become fuel for the fires of the returning King. This greatest of all human holocausts is commonly known as – and rightfully so – the great holocaust of Armageddon. King Jesus now makes His final triumph. The daring challenge of the Antichrist is accepted by heaven itself – by the warrior King and His holy angels. He comes in flaming fire to take His vengeance! This represents the end of the Great Tribulation period of 3½ years which is the second half of the Tribulation period known as Daniel's 70th Week – the time of Jacob’s trouble – which will usher in the Great Day of the Lord.

 

When Jesus Christ came the first time, He was despised and rejected, spit upon, mocked and ridiculed. But when He comes the second time, it's going to be just the opposite! Jesus Christ alone “fights” this war because as we read, the “the armies in heaven” are clearly unarmed. This event is very sudden and very quick. It's not a prolonged engagement. It's not a siege. It is an instantaneous execution that is wrought with one weapon – a “sharp sword” coming from the mouth of Jesus Christ – and with it He smites the nations. He then immediately establishes His rule with a “rod of iron” in hand.

The sun became dark. The moon became red and refused to give its light. The stars began to fall as Heaven was shaken and smoke fills the entire universe – the whole earth is completely devastated! Then Heaven suddenly opens up and recedes like a scroll as it was rolled up. Lightning and blinding glory introduce the appearance of the King Rider on a white horse. It must have been a glorious sight for John as all the light in the universe was “cut off” and the only light he could see was that which surrounded Jesus Christ and His armies on white horses departing from Heaven for the final “Battle of Armageddon” on the earth:

 

Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:

KING OF KINGS AND
LORD OF LORDS

  

He is called “Faithful and True” – He is Faithful to His promises and He speaks only the Truth. The “horses” are symbolic. The “sword” out of His mouth is symbolic. 

The “rod of iron” is symbolic. The “crowns” are symbolic…

But His Second Coming is a promised reality! 

 

This is the awesome event which will fulfill the “smiting-stone” prophecy of Daniel, in which a “stone cut without hands” will destroy the Gentile world-powers of the Beast:

You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth – Daniel 2:34-35

The events surrounding the Lord's return actually begin in the book of Zechariah where we see "the armies of the world" gathering at Jerusalem. This is the reason for the term "Campaign of Armageddon" whereas this final battle ends in the Jezreel Valley – starting in Jerusalem. When the Lord Jesus returns, He will descend upon the Mount of Olives, causing a great earthquake which creates a “very great valley” through the middle of the mountain:

And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south – Zechariah 14:4

The "armies of the world" gather in Jerusalem where Satan, the Antichrist and the False Prophet brought them to the city through the means of "signs, wonders and miracles” described earlier in chapter 16. These armies flee to the north of Jerusalem, the Jezreel Valley for the final phase of the "mother of all battles" – the “Battle of Armageddon”

Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.” And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army – Revelation 19:17-19

Just as He has invited the saints to the “Marriage Supper of the Lamb” in Heaven, God will prepare a “great supper” and invite the birds of the air to come together for a big feast.
A “great supper” indeed!

After the Lord has defeated and judged all His enemies, He will capture the two menaces who have been the main instigators against the Words and Works of God. He will take hold of the “beast” – Antichrist – who had began his peaceful conquest as a “little horn” (see Daniel7:24-26). Then Jesus Christ will take hold of the “false prophet” whom is the Second Beast bringing forth his false prophecies, deceits and lies. He will then cast them both alive into the Lake of Fire – the Second Death – which was specially “prepared for the devil and his angels” (see Matthew 25:41).

Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone – Revelation 19:20

“These two“ menaces will no longer be allowed to deceive the world!

The remainder of the armies of the nations which gathered against Jerusalem will be slain by the Sword of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Their flesh will be food to all the preying fowls which will gather there as these birds feast upon the bloody mess of the war:

And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh – Revelation 19:21

Final thoughts:

Today, post-millennialists (millennium being the Thousand Year Kingdom of Jesus Christ) believe that things in the world will get better and better. They believe there will be a sort of spiritual movement and the church somehow will capture some of the human institutions and a gradual merging into the setting up of the kingdom will occur.

They could also be classified under the term reconstructionists who believe that we as a church will reconstruct society around a framework of spirituality and therefore usher in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.

 

Some of them are called theonomists who believe that somehow we can merge the economics of our time, the economy of our time, the social structure of our time with a theological premise of creating a theonomic sort of kingdom.

 

Some of them are also called kingdom theologians also known as “Kingdom Now” theology. These folks believe that somehow the church is going to gain great miracle-working power. This is known as the "signs and wonders" movement. The belief is that by this great miracle-working power we're going to totally overcome demons, fully conquer the forces of darkness and we're going to rest them from the powers of Satan. Therefore, we're going to establish the kingdom with some kind of human “process” or effort. It is similar to the spiritual warfare mentality of praying against great cities where demons supposedly hold these cities captive. We then must wrestle these human establishments away from the powers of darkness or away from the social engineering architects of our time. We must then, by the power of the church – either supernaturally against demonic forces or naturally against political and social forces – gain the kingdom, establish the kingdom, and offer this man-made “kingdom” to Jesus Christ. Nonsense! This “theology” is utterly foreign to the Word of God! The establishing of the kingdom in which Jesus Christ rules with a rod of iron is a sudden, immediately cataclysmic event and cannot be described in any other way in Scripture.

 

Then there are the amillennialists who don't believe there is any kind of physical kingdom coming at all.

 

Finally, there are the pan-millennialists who believe it will all somehow “pan out” in the end!

 

Seriously though… The end will not come because things get better. The end will come because things get worse! The church will never conquer the kingdoms of this world. The church will never take dominion over the social institutions of this age. There are not going to be better and better days ahead because of Christian influence in the world. Nor will we by some exercise of imaginary spiritual power conquer the kingdom of darkness and usher in the kingdom on earth. We will not do this! Although the Raptured Church will accompany Jesus Christ at His Second Coming, the conquering and establishing of His Kingdom and Temple will be accomplished by Jesus Christ alone!

 

Again, the world is not going to get better, it's going to get worse – a lot worse. And it's very clear throughout the Scriptures that things in the world will get worse and worse and worse and worse until King Jesus intervenes…

The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved; He uttered His voice, the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah Come, behold the works of the Lord, Who has made desolations in the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariot in the fire. Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! – Psalm 46:6-10

The wonderful fact is that Jesus Christ is finally going to be exalted. All the defamation, all the slander, all the dishonor that's been against His name is going to be over forever – He will be vindicated and glorified!

With this information as a foundation for your studies, please read through Chapter 19 of Revelation.

Thank you for reading! Don’t miss next week’s edition as we investigate chapter 20 of Revelation…

Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!

We are not guaranteed tomorrow – tomorrow may be too late! If you haven't yet made that most important decision of your life, won't you make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior today - before it's too late? Today is the day of Salvation!

If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com

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Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><

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