In our study of Revelation chapter nineteen, we look at the marriage between Yeshua Messiah and his church. We will also look at the roots of many of the wedding customs of today as well as the battle that is to come and establish the Millennial Reign.
** Note ** In this study, we will be using the Complete Jewish Bible (CJB) translation which was translated directly from Hebrew into English. You can get your own hardback or paperback copy on Amazon where we will earn a small commission.
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After these things, I heard what sounded like the roar of a huge crowd in heaven, shouting, "Halleluyah! The victory, the glory, the power of our God! For his judgments are true and just. He has judged the great whore who corrupted the earth with her whoring. He has taken vengeance on her who has the blood of his servants on her hands." And a second time they said, "Halleluyah! Her smoke goes up forever and ever!"
In chapter 18, we saw God's judgment and now the scene shifts to heaven and the celebration there. The word "Hallelujah" means "praise the Lord" and it is used two times during this passage. We remember that the number two is the number of legal witnesses and what we are witnessing here is real worship of God. We were told in, Romans 12:19, not to avenge ourselves and it was promised that God would handle those who persecuted us as believers. That has now taken place and God's people are now celebrating.
The twenty-four elders and the four living beings fell down and worshipped God, sitting on the throne, and said, "Amen! Halleluyah!" A voice went out from the throne, saying, "Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great!"
The third "Hallelujah" is spoken and we remember that the number three is a representation of God's will. We see, in this, that it is and always has been the will of God that all of creation praise his name. It seems that, today, if you praise God in your daily walk, many will look at you as if you are crazy but that is over and all of heaven is in perfect agreement about the need to praise him. Those that praised themselves, earthly wealth, and all other things are not a part of this celebration.
Then I heard what sounded like the roar of a huge crowd, like the sound of rushing waters, like loud peals of thunder, saying, "Halleluyah! ADONAI, God of heaven's armies, has begun his reign! "Let us rejoice and be glad! Let us give him the glory! For the time has come for the wedding of the Lamb, and his Bride has prepared herself -
God's people are praising him together and it is a beautiful sound. The fourth "Hallelujah" is for the end of the trials and tribulations as there is complete unity centered around God. Those trials are over and the wedding day (unity) has come! The believers (bride) have made themselves ready by taking off the old things of the flesh and putting on the things of Christ just as the apostle Paul described in Colossians 3.
fine linen, bright and clean has been given her to wear." ("Fine linen" means the righteous deeds of God's people.)
Have you ever wondered where the modern tradition of the bride wearing a white gown came from? In a traditional Jewish wedding, the day is like a personal Yom Kippur (day of atonement) in which all mistakes are forgiven as the couple merges into a new complete soul. When the sins are forgiven they become white as snow (see Isaiah 1:18).
The angel said to me, "Write: 'How blessed are those who have been invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb!'" Then he added, "These are God's very words."
The word "blessed" means happy or blissful and we see, now, that those who have trusted in Jesus Christ are invited to the wedding supper. In our culture today this has been shortened to a dinner and dance celebration for an evening but, in Jewish tradition, this supper lasted seven days. We remember that the number seven is associated with completion and this is a complete celebration of the start of our new life with the groom (Jesus). According to Jewish tradition, it was not until after this supper that the groom was allowed to take the bride to live with him. This new life would be started in the home that was made by the groom. Our new home is with Jesus on the new earth as we shall see.
I fell at his feet to worship him; but he said, "Don't do that! I'm only a fellow-servant with you and your brothers who have the testimony of Yeshua. Worship God! For the testimony of Yeshua is the Spirit of prophecy."
As mere men, it is easy to get caught up in the moment and that is what happened to John as he fell down to worship the messenger. The angel stopped him and reminded him that it is all about Jesus and that God is the only one to be worshiped. He also reminds John that all of what he has seen has been about Jesus. We all have to be reminded that its all about Jesus and not the messengers. This struggle with the flesh has been going on since the earliest days of the church (see 1 Corinthians 3) and is even greater today. This verse shows the connection between prophecy and testimony which is the fact that Yeshua acts to bring about the fulfillment of all that is contained in the writings of the prophets. If we truly know Yeshua, we will want to learn about the prophecies of God.
Next I saw heaven opened, and there before me was a white horse. Sitting on it was the one called Faithful and True, and it is in righteousness that he passes judgment and goes to battle.
Now, John begins to describe the groom and we see a white horse but, unlike the white horse in chapter six, its rider is Yeshua Messiah. Jesus promised that he was coming back for his people (which has already happened at this point in Revelation) and he also promised that he was coming back to judge which is what is happening in this verse.
His eyes were like a fiery flame, and on his head were many royal crowns. And he had a name written which no one knew but himself.
This groom (Jesus) has authority over all and his eyes see the things of our hearts. He knows all about us but we will continue to learn about him for eternity.
He was wearing a robe that had been soaked in blood, and the name by which he is called is, "THE WORD OF GOD."
The shedding of blood (life) was the payment for sin from the earliest of Old Testament sacrifices to the sacrifice of Yeshua on the cross. We see, here, that the groom is dressed in a robe that has been dipped into blood and one might ask the question: Why would Jesus need a robe dipped in blood? The simple fact of the matter is that he took all sin upon himself and paid for it by his very own blood. He did this so that we might be presented to the Father as spotless and pure. That is a picture of what men of today are called to do for their wives (see Ephesians 5). We also see that another name for Jesus is the "Word of God" as the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
The armies of heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses.
Most people do not think of heaven having an army or preparing for any battle but, as we see here, there is. They are now coming back with Yeshua to establish his kingdom. The white horses and garments are a symbol of purity. The time of engagement in a Jewish marriage is a time in which the groom prepares a place for the bride to live with him. As we shall see, that is what Yeshua is doing here.
And out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down nations - "He will rule them with a staff of iron."c It is he who treads the winepress from which flows the wine of the furious rage of ADONAI, God of heaven's armies.
To prepare a place for his bride (here on earth), the governments of the earth must be dealt with and here we see how Yeshua is going to do so. The sword coming out of his mouth is the very Word of God and earthly standards and laws will be struck down and replaced by God's standards.
And on his robe and on his thigh he has a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
We may think that it is odd that Yeshua has his name written on his thigh but, at the time of the writing of this book, men did not shake hands but they grabbed the thigh. Yeshua is coming back, here, as the conqueror and ruler of all the earth. For most of man's time here on earth, there has been a struggle to find out who is in charge and all of the wars that have been fought have been caused by that. That is ending with his return as all that are in the earth and the heavens will know that Yeshua is in charge! This will be the start of what is known as the Millennial Reign.
Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out in a loud voice to all the birds that fly about in mid-heaven, "Come, gather together for the great feast God is giving, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of generals, the flesh of important men, the flesh of horses and their riders and the flesh of all kinds of people, free and slave, small and great!"
The phrase "standing in the sun" is there to remind us that all of this is truly supernatural as it is impossible for anyone to stand in the sun without being burned up. Although this passage may turn our stomachs when we think about it, God is calling in the cleanup crew even before the battle has begun. It reminds us that the result is not in doubt and the only question is when these events are going to happen.
I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to do battle with the rider of the horse and his army.
John is now introduced to the opposing forces in the battle that is to come. We see that the beast is leading them and the kings of the earth are with him. That reminds us that we are not to put our faith in earthly leaders but in Yeshua Messiah. There are many who say that we have to respect and follow the leaders that are over us because God has placed them there. God may have placed them there but it could be that he placed them in control to fulfill his purpose of getting to the point described in this passage.
But the beast was taken captive, and with it the false prophet who, in its presence, had done the miracles which he had used to deceive those who had received the mark of the beast and those who had worshipped his image. The beast and the false prophet were both thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.
The beast (the political head of the unholy trinity) and the false prophet (the religious head) are seized and cast into hell. There are those who want to spiritualize this and say that hell doesn't really exist. There are others who want to take this "lake of fire" literally and say that is it. But, the fact of the matter is that the lake of fire (hell) has fire and the smell of burning sulfur but it is much worse than that. These two are removed because they are not invited to the wedding.
The rest were killed with the sword that goes out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.
Those who followed the beast cannot stand against the Word of God. They will be slain by that Word and the birds will clean up the mess. In Matthew 22, Yeshua told the parable of the wedding banquet and we see what he meant here. These people showed up to the wedding without the proper clothes (the robe of righteousness) that was bought for them by his blood.
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