Revelation 19
Victory!!!!!!!!

Finally…..the Christians have something to celebrate! The cries have been answered, and all of the promises have been fulfilled! The Victory of the Lord is at hand!

This chapter can be broken into 3 sections:
1- Continued rejoicing of the saints
2- The marriage feast of Jesus and His church
3- Jesus, the victorious warrior, leads the battle
The rejoicing goes back to last chapter, when the martyred saints saw their questions answered, and God vindicated his own! The marriage feast will stand in direct contrast to the picture of the harlot. All she represented in evil, the bride represents in righteousness! And the warrior scene goes back to the battle scene that was readied in Ch. 16.
So, let’s get into it and read the word:

Rejoicings of Victory

V1-3- What a song of joy! They rejoice over the triumph of good over evil. It stands in extreme contrast to the painful cries of the 3 groups we last studied in Ch. 18.
Rome is pictured as burning…..for ever! What do you think this means? Did it mean Rome will never live again? I think it says that evidence of its fall and sins will NEVER be forgotten…and they haven’t!!! (EX: new TV series called “Rome”) Punishment of evil stands forever!

V4-5-6- If you remember, in Ch. 15, it became impossible for anyone to enter the temple into God’s presence…why? Here…the plagues have ended, and the room has cleared, and the throne and its’ surroundings come back into view! All who have died in the Lord (the 24 elders) and the angels (4 beasts) sings praises and approvals to God!
In response, a voice from the throne (it is that of God????) calls out to command that God be praised! And almost instantly, the multitudes roar!!!!!!

The Wedding Supper of God

V7-8- Why do you think John chose to include the wedding scene in this section, when it really did not totally fit? One reason may be to show the vivid contrast between good and evil (the harlot and the bride). I think it may also be to once again assure the readers of their great victory! Who is the bride that has “made herself ready”? It is the church! This was not a new thought to the readers…this concept had been referred to in God’s relationship to Israel already in OT writings.
What a contrast between the dress of the 2 women! The bride wears her whites…pure and clean (a.k.a. forgiven!)!

V9- So who is called to the wedding supper? What does this mean? To me, the ones invited to the feast are those who’ve accepted Jesus’ invite of salvation! They were invited by Jesus to this party, and they have accepted!

V10- John, wrapped up in all the wonder and splendor of this great scene, does what most of us would’ve done. He falls to the feet of the angel to worship it! But, the messenger does not let this happen! He knows that ONLY GOD is worthy of such action, and he reminds John as such. He reminds him that God’s spirit is still alive and well in the lives of his people today!

Jesus, the Triumphant Warrior

V11- What a cool “Hollywood Moment” this would make! Can you imagine just how cool this would have looked?!?!?!? This image first appeared in Ch. 6. Here, it is continued. The rider on the white horse is Jesus (see verse 16)! He is readied for Rome’s downfall…the last battle of this evil empire! John is not describing a literal battle, but the judgment God brought on Rome.

V12- Why would he wear “many crowns”? It indicates the scope of his reign: boundless power and authority. What do you think this “secret name” is talking about? Some speculate it is the name of the relationship He keeps with the Father and Holy Spirit. Others say it is the relationship He has with the saved. Both of these are beyond our weak little mind’s understandings, so we would not be able to “know their name”….as it is, I guess we will never know!

V13-14 Why is his robe spotted with blood? There are 2 major schools of thought here: One says that it is the blood of the enemy brought on in the judgment of God. Others claim it is simply the blood from his own sacrifice for mankind. Do you think it matters? What do you think?

V15- What do you think this sword in his mouth represents? I believe it simply to be God’s sword of judgment. This picture being painted fits into that---one of a warrior bringing judgment on a guilty enemy!

V16- The rider is unmistakably identified as Jesus Christ!

V17-18- This is somewhat of an odd verse (After all, what good is a chapter in Revelation without some confusion?) Why the images of birds devouring the enemy do you think? Very similar pictures of the same thing are given in OT writings (see Is., Jer., and Eze.) Of course, there is nothing literal here: it is a picture of the total defeat of God’s enemies! Like God has declared a great fest at his work of judgment and invited the birds even to come and have their way! Tonight’s main course?????—ROME!

V19-20- One last picture of Rome’s final fleeting attempts to ward off their own demise! And we know…Satan and his empire lose! They are tossed into a lake of fire! And the rest were slain. This serves to remind us all that the victory over Rome is really much BIGGER: IT IS A VICTORY OVER SATAN!!!!!