No.26.
We have already mentioned the first few verses, but let us read them again, and you will notice why there is much rejoicing.
“And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:
For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.
And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia. And the voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.
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 thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.” Revelation 19:1-6.
Another reason for the rejoicing is because Christ is now able to return to this earth, for His “wife hath made herself ready.” Revelation 19:7. She is “without spot, and blameless”, ready to receive her Husband. 2 Peter 3:14.
“And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.” Revelation 19:8.
In verse 7 it says, “the marriage of the Lamb is come”, however, this actually refers to the “marriage supper” as shown in verse 9.
When Christ returns, the wedding is over, that is, the legal reception of the Groom to His bride, for He will “return from the wedding…” Luke 12:36.
In the Bible, the betrothal (or engagement) is agreed upon between the man and the woman; it is a legal contract and binding. The groom goes away for twelve months to his father’s house to wait the word of his father. When the father states the day, the son returns to claim His bride. He then takes her to his father’s home for the wedding reception (called the nuptials), during which the marriage is consummated.
So with Christ and His church, the decision to unite with Christ is made when we give our lives to Jesus, making it official in the baptismal service. While the Groom is away, the bride prepares her wedding garment by receiving Christ’s unblemished character.
In the meantime, the Groom is going through the records of those who have claimed to belong to Him, and with the acceptance of each name, that person legally becomes part of His kingdom. In this way, Christ is receiving “dominion, and glory, and a kingdom”. Daniel 7:14.
It is in this sense that the marriage is taking place.
Each day the bride of Christ must prepare herself in heart and mind to receive the garment “woven in the loom of heaven”, so that when her Spouse returns she will be arrayed as a bride adorned for her Husband. Christ’s Object Lessons p311.
When the Bridegroom returns to receive His bride, He takes her to His father’s house, where everyone rejoices in partaking of the marriage supper.
It is during this time that the great consummation of all things takes place -- the final coronation of the Son of God in the presence of His glorious bride, the angelic host, and the sons of the unfallen worlds.
As we submit to Jesus and study His Word, we become closer and closer to Him. With every passing day our desire to see Him increases more and more.
Christ’s bride is faithful to her Spouse. She is arrayed in His righteousness, and is ready to meet Him in peace. “And he saith unto me write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.” Revelation 19:9.
(In the parable of the ten virgins, the bride is not the focus. Instead, the church is represented by the guests, who are virgins. A number of wedding parables reveal the same picture. In Revelation 21:2, the apostle equates the New Jerusalem with the bride. Different parables, different lessons)
John then sees the “heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.” Revelation 19:11.
A verse further on gives a similar picture.
“And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.” Revelation 19:19.
Will the nations of the world marshal their forces to attack Jesus and His angelic army as He returns?
Of course not.
The ‘weakest’ angel could wipe out earth’s military with one blow.
When Christ returns, it will be as a Judge against His enemies, for “in righteousness he doth judge and make war.” Revelation 19:11.
“His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called the Word of God.
And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
And out of his mouth goeth 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 and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords.” Revelation 19:12-16. (Remember, everything is symbolic)
An earlier chapter tells us the lost will cry out in fear to the rocks and mountains. “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.” Revelation 6:16.
All thought of destroying the remnant is gone.
Lamentation over the loss of the Papacy is forgotten.
Their one thought is to hide, for “it is the day of the Lord’s vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion.” Isaiah 34:8.
“Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty. The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day…
And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold… to the moles and to the bats…” Isaiah 2:10.11.19.20.
Can you imagine men and women casting their gold and silver, their wallets and money on the street? In that day, no one will fight over this scattered wealth.
“A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about. His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled.
The hills melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his glory.” Psalm 97:3-6.
The Old Testament prophets give a clear picture of the coming of the Lord. Initially, the prophecies referred to the destruction of the enemies of Israel, and at times Israel itself, but in the broad picture, they refer to the end of the world.
“And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down…
For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down…. to judgment…. The sword of the Lord is filled with blood…. For it is the day of the Lord’s vengeance…” Isaiah 34:4.5.6.8.
Never forget that God is righteous and His judgment is just.
“Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof… The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the Lord hath spoken his word.
And it shall come to pass, that he that fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit: and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open and the foundations of the earth do shake.
The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.” Isaiah 24:1.3.18-20.
Isaiah also warns, “Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt: And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them…
Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it…. Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.” Isaiah 13:6.7.8.9.13.
And from the psalmist. “Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people.” Psalm 50:3.4.
Finally from Isaiah, “For behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire, For by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many.” Isaiah 66:15.16.
You will notice some of the verses say -- the Lord will ‘judge’, and the Lord will ‘plead’ with all flesh. Many think mankind will be given another opportunity to make a decision for Jesus. But this is not the meaning of the Hebrew words.
Other verses seem to imply the same.
“I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people… Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.
Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord in near in the valley of decision.” Joel 3:2.12.14.
We must interpret these verses according to the meaning of the words in Hebrew, as the English is not clear. The word for ‘plead’ and ‘judge’ is shaphat (8199), which means ‘to pronounce sentence (by implication): vindicate or punish, avenge, execute judgment’. The word for ‘decision’ is charuts (2742 from charats 2782), which means something pointed or sharp like a threshing instrument; ‘to point sharply, to wound’.
The verses themselves show that Christ is not coming to allow people to make a decision, or even to decide Himself. The verdict has already been given, “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still, and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still…” Revelation 22:11.
As with Armageddon, the experience is the reason for the mention of the “valley of Jehoshophat”, not that anyone will be taken to this area to fight. King Jehoshaphat feared a great multitude that had come to do battle, but he took it to the Lord.
In reply God said, “Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.
Tomorrow go ye down against them… Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourself, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you.” 2 Chronicles 20:15-17.
Jehoshaphat bowed his head and worshipped. Then he appointed a choir to go before the army singing praises to God.
“And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.” 2 Chronicles 20:22.23.
We have read about this before – every man against his neighbour. (We will speak of this in another chapter)
“And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.” 2 Chronicles 20:24.
During the seventh plague, and when Christ actually returns, the enemy will be destroyed by various means, while the remnant trust in their God – the battle is the Lord’s.
But the coming of Christ is not the execution of the living wicked; that will not take place until a full investigation of their lives is completed.
Jesus is coming back for His people.
The fact that the lost suffer and die in the havoc all over the world is in consequence of their rejection of Christ.
Jeremiah wrote. “The Lord shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation… A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the Lord hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead (shaphat) with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the Lord.
And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried, they shall be dung upon the ground.” Jeremiah 25:30.31.33.
Isaiah speaks of this as well.
“For the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter.
Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with blood.” Isaiah 34:2.3.
Not only will men and women die all over the earth, but the dead recently buried will be exposed. Remember, the earth is convulsing – earthquakes, volcanos, fires, floods, tsunamis. Much will be buried; other things will be unearthed. It will be a dreadful time.
Jeremiah says, “… and their carcases will I give to be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.” Jeremiah 19:7.
This is also mentioned in Revelation. “And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God.
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 on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.” Revelation 19:17.18.
The lost will be at the mercy of the birds of prey.
Ezekiel wrote. “Thus saith the Lord God; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice (slaughter) … for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood. Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth…” Ezekiel 39:17.18.
The first application of these texts relates to Israel. If they had accepted Yeshua as the Messiah, the armies of the world would have surrounded them and attacked. They would have “come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days…” Ezekiel 38:16. Gog and Magog would be defeated, for God fights for Israel. (These names are used symbolically in another chapter)
However, in the second application, at the end of the world, the nations will seek to destroy spiritual Israel, those who “keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” Revelation 14:12. (This has two applications as you will see further on in Revelation)
Notice how Ezekiel’s words go beyond the local scene. “For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath… all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down… and… an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire and brimstone.” Ezekiel 38:19.20.22.
In the first application, Israel would not need to fight, for “every man’s sword shall be against his brother.” Ezekiel 38:21. It will be the same in the second application. God’s remnant will not need to fight, for as Jehoshaphat said to Israel, “the battle is not yours, but God’s.” 2 Chronicles 20:15.
If the Jews had accepted Jesus as the Messiah, they would have been spared, and the dead would lie scattered over the mountains of Israel.
Then would begin a seven-month clean up to bury the dead, but it would only be the bones, as the birds would have stripped the flesh from the carcases. In burying the bones, Israel would “cleanse the land.” Ezekiel 39:12.
However, in the antitype (the future application), the bones of the dead will lie on the ground unburied. No one will be alive to bury them. After the feast of the birds, the bones will remain unattended for one thousand years. Eventually, they will turn to dust.
Where will spiritual Israel be at this time?
They will have winged their way to paradise with Jesus, and be safely in the New Jerusalem.
Revelation 19 concludes with the death of all who refuse to accept the will of God. “And the beast was taken and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped the image.” Revelation 19:20.
The seventh plague and the return of Christ are not to be taken lightly, for “the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” 2 Peter 3:10.
Unless we are Christ’s in mind and body, we will be “cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.” Revelation 19:20. (This has two applications, one at the return of Christ and again later) As we have said, this is not the final judgment of the lost.
The last verse of Revelation 19 says, “the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth.” Revelation 19:21. This does not mean God’s beloved remnant will be slain, but those who have not died from the upheaval upon the earth -- the “heavens being on fire” (2 Peter 3:12); or the “brightness of His coming”. (2 Thessalonians 2:8)
Those remaining will be destroyed by the word of the Judge of all flesh. Remember an earlier description of Jesus on the white horse? “Out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations.” Revelation 19:15.
“He shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.” Isaiah 11:4.
The apostle Peter asks his readers, “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness…”? 2 Peter 3:11.
It is a good question, an ‘either / or’ question. It should not be a difficult choice, but it depends on where our hearts and minds are focused – on the glitter of the world, or on the eternal glory.
The things we can see are temporal, but “the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18.
Once again dear Reader, you have been presented with the evidence. The choice remains with you.
What will it be?
Do You Want to Know the Future?
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