And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, “Alleluia; salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God:” (verse 1).

     This resounding chorus of praise originates from “much people;” the souls of everyone of God’s chosen that have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. As we have observed in the previous chapter, the remaining Christians that were surviving in the beast’s domain were called out in verse four, “Come out of her My people.”
     While this is a call to separate from all those things that God hates and it is meant for every generation, we are also witnessing here the fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy in Matthew 24:31, when He sends His angels to gather His elect out of the world prior to His visible return.

     The worship we are beholding in verse one of chapter nineteen, is the prelude to the marriage supper of the Lamb in verses seven through nine. We need to understand the timing of this event as it relates to the prophecies in Matthew twenty-four.

     Jesus’ call to His people to come out of Babylon, occurs just before His second coming. This is the only time in the church’s history that there will be no Christians left on the earth. The multitudes we see in heaven celebrating Babylon’s demise, represents the entire church from her inception, and all those Jesus’ has redeemed from the beginning of creation when He went in victory after His crucifixion to proclaim the gospel to all those in hell and paradise (I Peter 3:18-20).

     When Jesus returns “Immediately after the tribulation of those days,” (Matthew 24: 29) - He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other (Matthew 24:31).

     It is here that the elect are literally removed from Babylon.

     The Apostle Paul is describing the events that precede the second coming in I Thessalonians 4:16, 17, which correlates to these verses in Matthew twenty-four. Paul was shown that at this time, “the dead in Christ will rise first.” - Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

     Many Christians have assumed this event is the rapture, but what we are seeing here is actually the first resurrection (Rev. 20:5), which precedes Jesus’ second coming.
     It is God’s desire that every Christian be seated with Him at the marriage supper of the Lamb, thus those who have died prior to the second coming, will not be excluded from this grand event, which is a crowning reward of our faith.
     The timing of the first resurrection is sandwiched between the appearing of the sign of the Son of man and His actual visible descent.

     And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn … (Matthew 24:30).

     The appearing of this sign in the sky precedes the resurrection of the dead in Jesus, and the removal of the church from Babylon and the world. The earthquake that initiates Babylon’s destruction strikes after the church is removed. While Babylon is writhing in chaos, the marriage supper of the lamb commences. So while the sign of the cross is hovering in the sky above Babylon’s agony, and the prophesied war in Israel is taking place, (Zechariah 14:1, Ezekiel 39:23, Ezekiel 38:14-18), all of God’s people are safely residing with the Lord in heaven.
     Therefore, in this space of time between the appearing of Jesus’ cross in the heavens and His actual visible descent to the world, the marriage supper of the Lamb is being joyfully celebrated.
     The praise and worship continues. –

     For true and righteous are His judgments: for He has judged the great whore which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and has avenged the blood of His servants at her hand” (verse 2).

     The spirit of whoredoms that has infected the entire earth with her rebellion against God and His word, is trampled beneath the praise of those she has persecuted on earth. The promised avenging of God’s people has finally arrived, and it has been worth all the trials and suffering His people have had to endure to come to this moment of resounding victory and gratitude.

     And again they said, “Alleluia,” (Praise the Lord) and her smoke rose up forever and ever (verse 3).

     Here it is declared by the perpetual rising of Babylon’s smoke, that her destruction is permanent and she will never be permitted to rise again. This spirit’s reign of persecution of the Lord’s people has ceased for eternity.

     And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, “Amen, Alleluia” (verse 4).

     The worship service continues as the smoke of Babylon’s destruction continues to rise.
     The elders and the four beasts that represent all of creation, are now fallen prostrate in worship before the just and righteous God that is now cumulating all of human history for the benefit of His saints. In response to the worship, a voice calls from the throne. –

     And a voice came out of the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all you His servants, and you that fear Him both small and great” (verse 5).

     The saints are already worshipping God for the destruction of Babylon and the vindication of His people. The direction of the worship is about to change. The Voice that calls from the throne, instigates a fresh surge of adoration. This second wave of praise is inspired by the greatly anticipated marriage supper of the Lamb.

     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 reigns (verse 6).

     This unimaginable chorus is coming from the mouths of every soul that belongs to God from the foundation of the earth. If you are a faithful believer, your voice is included in this praise. You are witnessing here a picture of yourself within the masses that are assembled around God’s throne. Every time you sing praise with your brethren you are rehearsing for this event. Now let’s sing this next verse together.

     Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready” (verse 7).

     As was the custom in the Hebrew marriage celebrations, the invited guests were given special wedding garments by the host of the wedding banquet. This ancient custom is a parallel to the giving of God’s grace to His people. Jesus’ bride has received the gift of salvation through faith in the Lord’s death for her sins and His resurrection from the dead. Her acceptance of this great gift adorns her with His righteousness and has made her complete and accepted. She has made herself ready by accepting the gift, and retaining it through her persecutions.

     And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints (verse 8).

     Her adornment with salvation has transformed her out of her previous sin soiled existence into the beautiful bride that is the collective representative of all the redeemed.
     She stands beautified and glorified in the presence of her Bridegroom that she has served so faithfully in her earth life. She has retained her faith through much hardship and persecution. In this moment, all the pain she has endured to overcome, has been removed from her memory. All that matters now is that she is beholding the face of her Beloved.
     Is the marriage supper a literal feast, or symbolic of ultimate spiritual fulfillment? How can the bride’s gaze be directed to food, when she is face to face with the center of her adoration? This moment of divine union with the Bridegroom is the only nourishment she desires.

     The next two verses serve to transition us from the worship service and the marriage feast/communion with the Messiah, to the actual, literal second coming.
     The Apostle John must have been totally overwhelmed by everything he has witnessed so far, including the grandeur of the celebration. His attention is suddenly diverted from the spectacle as he is reminded of his duty to record the events he is beholding.

   :  And he said to me, “Write, Blessed are they which are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God” (verse 9).

     The Lord wants us to know that our faithfulness will be rewarded, no matter what our circumstances may look like at the moment. These magnificent visions are our future. We are assured that the promise God has made to His people will be fulfilled, and this is the truth. This is written for you to hold onto through your trials and the persecution of your faith. Keep the celebration you have witnessed with John, safe in your hearts.
     John is not receiving these instructions from an angel, but from one of the redeemed. Because the resurrection has taken place, this person is in his glorified body. His appearance is so overwhelming, John is propelled into worship.

     And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said to me, “See that you do it not. I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (verse 10).

     This is the voice of one who has been redeemed and joined to God through Jesus. The Holy Spirit of the Father that is given to the saved, operates through the believer to testify of Jesus. This spirit of prophecy, which the Holy Spirit is, directs us to Jesus, who in turn directs us to the totality of God and we worship the Giver of our salvation, the One who gave His beloved Son for our lives.
     The Holy Spirit of prophecy that reveals the Lord Jesus to humanity through the testimony of the saints, now reveals another vision to the stunned apostle.

     And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon Him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He does judge and make war (verse 11).

     “And in righteousness He does judge and make war.” The Lord judges and makes war with the wicked. Those who have instigated wars on this planet to achieve power and control over the nations, and as a result have killed multitudes to achieve their evil goals, are about to reap the devastation they have earned.
     This vision correlates to Matthew 24:30. In the first part of this verse we saw “The sign of the Son of man in heaven.” A cross is visible in the sky prior to or during Babylon’s destruction. a supernatural darkening of the sky in verse twenty-nine. This darkness further enables the shining illumination of the cross, which is a representative of the truth of the gospel, to stand out even more brilliantly.
     As of this writing so many nations and entities are trying to remove all visible images of the cross from buildings and organizations, including some churches, because they are offended by this “religious” symbol of the Lord’s suffering. Now this enormous cross in the sky that is visible to the entire world, is far beyond any man’s ability to remove.

     The reference to the stars falling in verse twenty-nine, does not mean literal stars are going to fall. Stars can symbolize fallen angels in this context and we are being shown here that the demonic powers are being brought down. …and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers (demonic forces or strongholds) shall be shaken.
     As we have been shown, the gathering of the elect and the resurrection of the dead occurs in the space of time between the sign of the cross appearing in the sky, and the actual visible appearing of the Lord Jesus to the world that John is witnessing in Rev. 19:11.

     The white horse that Jesus is riding as He descends to earth, is the second appearance in Revelation of a white horse and rider. The first white horse that we saw revealed in Revelation 6:2, represents apostate Christianity and possibly the antichrist who initially operates with a Christian façade. This grand deceiver is about to be dethroned by the Truth.
     Jesus is identified as the rider in this vision of Revelation nineteen, and He is called Faithful and True, the exact opposite of the antichrist’s unfaithfulness and falsehood.
     John’s description of the Lord continues.

     His eyes were as a flame of fire, …

     His fiery eyes can symbolize the passion of His love, and in this case, His anger against the wicked.

     …and on His head were many crowns; …

     The multiple crowns symbolize His authority over all the supposed kings of the earth.

     …and He had a name written, that no man knew, but He Himself (verse 12).

     Apparently John was allowed to see this name in a figure. This new name is also written upon the faithful ones who have not denied the name of Jesus in their earth lives (Rev. 3:12), and also symbolizes their oneness with Jesus and the Father. The new individual names that believer’s receive (Rev. 2:17) along with Jesus’ new name, also designates them as the ruling elite with the Lord in the New World Order He is descending to establish.

     And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood,…

     Jesus’ clothing is dipped in blood, symbolizing His sacrifice that established the New Covenant.

     …and His name is called the Word of God (verse 13).

     The Word of God is descending to bring creation back under God’s dominion and authority: to establish a new government that will operate according to God’s word.

     And the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean (verse 14).

     The armies are comprised of God’s people, as the white linen designates them as the redeemed. These are the robes that are symbolic of the righteousness that is imparted to them by their Lord’s sacrifice.
     The Lord’s redeemed are also possibly surrounded by the angels. It will be a massive army that no earthly power or demon, has the ability to overcome. The martyrs of the entire church age must also be included in this force. Every time a soul is slaughtered for the sake of the gospel, another soldier is added to the Lord’s troops.

     And out of His mouth goes a sharp sword,…

     The sword represents the Word of God, which is the weapon of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 6:17).

     …that with it He should smite the nations:…

     This powerful sword of God’s Word is the standard by which the world is judged. When it descends upon those who God knows through His foreknowledge are not His and will never willingly desire His salvation, then these souls are removed by the supernatural descent of Truth upon their lives.

     We return briefly here to Matthew chapter twenty-four. We saw that the elect have been gathered out of the world prior to Jesus’ descent with His army that now consists of the previously persecuted elect that were suffering under the beast’s reign. After the elect are removed, the evil ones who Jesus compares to those who were drowned by the flood in Noah’s day, are destroyed by the massive wave of the Lord’s power as His truth descends upon the unrighteous.

     Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left (Matt. 24:40).

     These ones that are left most likely are those who have escaped the beast’s mark; people living in remote mountain villages, people who live off the land, and others who live in places that the beast’s expanding empire had not yet reached. This marking will begin in the industrialized nations first and gradually spread to the other parts of the world. The Biblical precedent is that God will not allow this system to reach its desired fulfillment. Just as the Lord destroyed the original tower of Babylon before it was completed, so He will do the same with its latter day counterpart.

     …and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God (verse 15).

     The wicked are trampled and destroyed. Those who the Lord knows will receive Him when He returns will be spared.
     It’s quite possible that these ones are among those the Lord classifies as “The Least of These” that appear with the sheep and the goats at His judgment seat when He returns and gathers those who remain of the nations (Matt. 25:31-46).

     The Lord judges fairly and rewards accordingly. The rod of iron that He shares with His saints that rule with Him (Rev. 2:27), is administered with love, and compassion along with His justice.
     “Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4). The discipline and law of His rod is for the benefit of the people. This divine and perfect justice is fair, protective and always operates for the welfare of everyone.
     To the evil that has held the world captive, Jesus’ descent is a terror. Those who are allowed to remain are being set free and are about to enter a period in earth’s history when, for the first time righteousness will reign.

     And He had on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS (verse 16).

     Jesus’ new hidden name represents His holiness and union with God the Father. His name, the Word of God illustrates who He is; the expression of God, the perfect representative of who God is. And His designation, “King of Kings” reveals His complete authority over all of mankind and its leadership on every level. Those who thought they were the kings and rulers of earth, were always themselves under the authority of Jesus, the true King of Kings and Lord of Lords. This banner that adorns Him as He descends, is the reminder to those who have abused their leadership powers on earth, that they are about to be submitted to the real power and the true King.
     As the Apostle John witnesses the Lord descending with His army to invade the prevailing evil with His righteous justice, He also sees an angel suddenly standing in the sun. –

     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;…(verse 17).

     The church celebrated the glorious marriage supper of the Lamb while Babylon was being destroyed and the prophesied invasion of Israel was taking place. This second feast announced by the angel in the sun, is reserved for scavengers. As the wicked have persecuted and slaughtered God’s people and have been scavengers of the Lord’s remnant, these evil predators are about to reap what they have sown, and will become the banquet of scavenger birds.

     That you 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” (verse 18).

     The prophecies concerning this time that are contained within the writings of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel are about to be fulfilled. Jesus’ prophecy of Jerusalem’s destruction in 70AD is a duel prophecy of this season that occurs just before His second coming. The great appearance of the Lord’s cross in the sky and Babylon’s destruction, have alerted those who have been waging war on Jerusalem, to now turn their attention toward their real enemy.

     And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth (These are the horns of the beast who are the toes in Daniel’s vision) and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him that sat on the horse and His army (verse 19).

     This is referring to the battle of Armageddon (Rev.16:16). These entities are gathered by the Lord into one place specifically for their destruction. This represents the final battle in the war of good and evil.
     God will permit Israel’s invasion as a chastening for her refusal to accept the Messiah Jesus and their acceptance of sins that God’s word has condemned. These ones who were named “Sodom and Egypt” as a reproach (Rev. 11:8), also includes apostate Christians who have taken the mark and sided with the beast system.

     And the beast was taken, (The leaders that constitute the world empire) and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, (promoted the worship of technology) with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone (verse 20).

     The beast, which is the demonically controlled empire, is destroyed with one blow at the Lord’s second coming, along with all the demons and the antichrist. This false prophet who was inhabited by Satan himself and has been prejudged for his union with the devil is disposed without trial. The technology that was worshipped in the place of God is likewise destroyed to make way for the worship of the one true God of Israel.

     And the remnant were slain with the sword of Him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of His mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh (verse 21).

     This event coincides with the removal of the wicked in Matthew 24:38-41.
     God only removes the wicked. Those who are allowed to remain are the ones who have resisted the mark of the beast and those He knows through His foreknowledge will be faithful to Him.
     Jesus descends to set the captives free from a world system that is steeped in evil and Satan worship. At the Lord’s return, all the vile practices that are associated with this system are eliminated with one massive wave of God’s powerful truth. Evil cannot exist in the Lord’s presence. Therefore, I believe that the descent of the Lord’s righteousness upon the evil is so intense it literally removes the life from those who have chosen to serve the devil.

     Right now the world is being given one last chance to choose who they will serve, the devil or God. Those who are worshipping Satan are obviously working for a loser whose doom is sealed, along with all those who are foolish enough to follow him. The devil promises a momentary lustful indulgence in all things that are temporal and will be destroyed. The eternal treasures that accompany obedience to God’s plan of salvation through Jesus, offers a peaceful eternity, the permanent security of everlasting life.
     The choice is yours, dear reader. Don’t be a fool.

     “… I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both you and your seed may live (Deuteronomy 30:19).
     The word is near you, even in your mouth, and in your heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.
     For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation
     For the scripture says, (Isaiah 28:16) “Whosoever believes on Him shall not be ashamed” (Romans 10:8-11).

Copyright 2018 by H.D. Shively

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