Revelation 19

1. After these things I heard as it were tude in heaven, saying, Hallelujah; Salvation, and glory, and power, belong to our God:

2 for true and righteous are his judgments; for he hath judged the great harlot, her that corrupted the earth with her fornication, and he hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.

3 And a second time they say, Hallelujah. And her smoke goeth up for ever and ever.

4 And the four and twenty elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped God that sitteth on the throne, saying, Amen; Hallelujah.

The people of God have good reason to rejoice. They know that God is the victor in all their difficulties. They know that God has redeemed them and will bring his work of redemption to completion very soon.

God’s wrath against sin remains as real now as it was then.

5. And a voice came forth from the throne, saying, Give praise to our God, all ye his servants, ye that fear him, the small and the great.

We celebrate God when we recognize the greatness of His honor and the glory of his grace.

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 thunders, saying, Hallelujah: for the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigneth.

It is made evident, and well known, that the righteous judgement of God is active and that those who have received Jesus will act obediently and in accordance with God’s desires.

7 Let us rejoice and be exceeding glad, and let us give the glory unto him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

8 And it was given unto her that she should array herself in fine linen, bright and pure: for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they that are bidden to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are true words of God.

We can trust God and what He says! Because we can trust Him we can obey him. Even if it costs us our lives. We are His special guests. We are invited to a great celebration. What an honor!

10 And I fell down before his feet to worship him. And he saith unto me, See thou do it not: I am a fellow-servant with thee and with thy brethren that hold the testimony of Jesus: worship God; for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

The modern fascination with angels and the adoration attached to them is utterly unbiblical. Here we have evidence that the angels themselves are not interested in this kind of adoration and instead point people to God.

11. And I saw the heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and he that sat thereon called Faithful and True; and in righteous he doth judge and make war.

12 And his eyes are a flame of fire, and upon his head are many diadems; and he hath a name written which no one knoweth but he himself.

13 And he is arrayed in a garment sprinkled with blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

The folly of opposition to God is here made manifest. He knows all, he is all powerful, and he cannot be defeated.

He is drenched in blood because the battle has been fierce -- but note that the next verse says his followers are quite clean; that is, he has battled alone and won the victory without any assistance.

14 And the armies which are in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and pure.

They are nice and clean and this is so because they are passive recipients of the victory of Jesus.

They follow their king with joy.

15 And out of his mouth proceedeth 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 of the wrath of God, the Almighty.

His weapon iis done. Why fear Domitian, or for that matter anyone else? When He appears there is no doubt at all as to who is really Lord!

16 And he hath on his garment and on his thigh a name written, KINGS OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

And this Domitian cannot say of himself or claim for himself!

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 and be gathered together unto the great supper of 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 thereon, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, and small and great.

The doom of those who rebel against God is so certain that the fowl of the air are called to the feast -- even though God’s enemies are still alive!

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 taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought the signs in his sight, wherewith he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast and them that worshipped his image: they two were cast alive into the lake of fire that burneth with brimstone:

21 and the rest were killed with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, even the sword which came forth out of his mouth: and all the birds were filled with their flesh.

The people of God should hear and believe that the struggle against the world has been concluded -- and Jesus has won! This awareness is liberating! It means that Christians need not fear anything. It means we simply collect the spoils of the war and do not have to fight it ourselves. Jesus has already spoken and the victory is already won.

Their love for God should not grow cold!