Revelation Chapter 19 (GOD'S WORD)

With the completion of Chapter 18, we now shift our attention to heaven for the final four chapters of the Revelation of Jesus Christ. Chapter 19 contains
















































Revelation Chapter 19, Verse 1 (GOD'S WORD)

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    1 After these things I heard what sounded like the loud noise from a large crowd in heaven, saying,
        “Hallelujah!
        Salvation, glory, and power belong to our God.
What things? The judgment and total annihilation of the prostitute called Babylon (chapters 17-18). As we have found from our studies of the last two chapters, Babylon is the collapse of the global economy. But it is more than that. It also is the spiritual (evil) motivators that are destroyed. These motivators are greed, envy, anger, idolatry, and so on and so on.

Most scholars tend to write about the prostitute as only pertaining to the unbelieving world and/or those who did take the mark of the beast (Revelation 13:11-18). I would suggest that the judgments in chapters 17 and 18 are aimed squarely at organized churches and religions. It is clear that the Revelation of Jesus Christ
       1)  is written to seven churches (Revelation 1:11), and
       2)  "my people" (Revelation 18:4-5) are not to be playing footsie (and a whole lot of other things) with the prostitute.
Scholars are divided as to whom the LARGE CROWD are. Some say this is the heavenly host of angels¹; others say this is the same LARGE CROWD of tribulation saints in Revelation 7:9. For all we know it may be a merged choir of all heaven's occupants; angels, redeemed/raptured saints, the 24 elders and the 4 living creatures (verse 4).

It does contain one of the mysteries of heaven, however, in that, we really don't know the language of heaven. It is unified and can be spoken by all listed previously and by fetuses and young children who were not able to or had learned to speak. Spirit-filled believers can testify to talking with God the Father in another tongue or prayer language. But one can only wonder at how the spiritual nature of an unborn fetus, for example, can participate in this LOUD NOISE?
This is the first time that HALLELUJAH is used in the New Testament. Literally translated it means "Praise Him Who Is". In the Old Testament, this same HALLELUJAH is translated "Praise the Lord" as in Psalm 104:31-35-35.

We see GLORY and POWER in Revelation 4:11 given to Jesus Christ because He is Worthy. Here SALVATION is added to confirm the completion of His Worthiness. Furthermore, this is the response to the command given in Revelation 18:20.

SALVATION: We can find SALVATION in no other than Jesus Christ (Acts 4:5-12). But the full meaning of SALVATION here is to include the redemption of the earth from the sin curse as we discussed in the chapter 5 verse studies.

GLORY: This is the essence of God. As Moses experienced it (Exodus 33:17-23), the GLORY of God contains GOODNESS, NAME OF THE LORD, GRACIOUSNESS, and COMPASSION.  When one comes to understand and worship God's GLORY, one will not have any other gods (Exodus 20:21-26).

POWER: So POWERful is the GLORY of God, that one becomes afraid of its brilliance (Exodus 34:29-35). This is not being afraid like being scared, but rather like having a holy respect for God. We are to "FEAR GOD" was the conclusion "The Preacher" came to (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).

In this verse, we have the three spiritual aspects the LARGE CROWD have in common. Yet how little is heard about these aspects from our present day leaders. If our leaders are to "shepherd" us into eternity, then I think we should be prepared in these three aspects so that we won't feel out of place in heaven. Or to make this even more personal, when was the last time you shared with someone about SALVATION, GLORY, or POWER as you have experienced it in your life?
¹   MacArthur, John Jr., Revelation 12-22, Moody Press, Chicago, page 196















































Revelation Chapter 19, Verse 2 (GOD'S WORD)

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2       His judgments are true and fair.
        He has condemned the notorious prostitute
            who corrupted the world with her sexual sins.
        He has taken revenge on her for the blood of his servants.”
This is the third time we hear that HIS JUDGMENTS are TRUE and FAIR (Revelation 15:3 and Revelation 16:7 are the other two times). When something is repeated for three times in Revelation, the statement is to be considered of high importance. TRUE and FAIR are requirements to be able to JUDGE. Thus, these JUDGMENTS can only be GOD's JUDGMENTS. We, even as redeemed believers, do not qualify yet (Luke 22:19-30).

For a contrast to what is TRUE, Jesus gives us an example about the devil in John 8:31-44-47. Along with the lying comes deception (2 John 4-7-11). Believers are warned to not be taken in by the deception to the point of not acknowledging that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. There are so-called Christians today who are trying to downplay this TRUTH. They are in line for HIS JUDGMENTS.
God certainly doesn't consider the HARLOT to be GREAT; only GOD is GREAT. Thus this verse is for human consumption. Humans have a tendency to idolize people they "look up to" or those who have wealth or political power or religious stature. Many so-called Christians succumb to this temptation. They have become corrupted with her IMMORALITY. They have rationalized their "Christian" status with their desired social status even after being specifically command to get away from the HARLOT (Revelation 18:4-5). So strong is the corruption that many times "Christians" don't even recognize it or take steps to remove themselves.

Just a side note, most of the Bible truly is about and for Abraham's descendants. But here "corrupted the world" makes the JUDGMENT for all mankind.
Here we finally have the answer to the martyr's request in Revelation 6:10. The list of those avenged is given in Revelation 18:24.















































Revelation Chapter 19, Verse 3 (GOD'S WORD)

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    3 A second time they said, “Hallelujah! The smoke goes up from her forever and ever.”
Praise to the One Who Is -- twice indicates this is the highest honor we can give for our salvation (verse 1). Additionally, this time the PRAISE is for the complete victory over Babylon. No longer are these Babylonian practices (primarily economic) found within the body of believers. Instead the ones who removed themselves from Babylon (Revelation 18:4-5) are totally committed to living by faith (Luke 18:1-8).
This confirms that Babylon, global economy and politics, are completely destroyed. The "NEVER ... AGAIN"s in Revelation 18:21-23 are permanent no matter how the devil and beasts will try to survive. The prophesy in Isaiah 34:5-10-15, if you believe that it is talking about this time, says there aren't any noblemen (economists or politicians) who can put whole system back together again in a recognizable form. The earth has been prepared for the 1000 year reign of Christ (Revelation 20:4-6).

SMOKE is all that is left of what was thought to be of substance. As such, it is a symbol of complete destruction and previously just the sight of it caused mourning (Revelation 18:9 and Revelation 18:18). What a contrast here, though, the sight of the SMOKE is cause for a burst of PRAISE!

Note that the duration, FOREVER and EVER, is the same amount of time that those who took the mark of the beast will be tormented (Revelation 14:9-12).














































Revelation Chapter 19, Verse 4 (GOD'S WORD)

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    4 The 24 leaders and the 4 living creatures bowed and worshiped God, who was sitting on the throne. They said, “Amen! Hallelujah!”
The twenty-four LEADERS generally are believed to be representative of the redeemed believers in heaven. Neither the LEADERS nor the LIVING CREATURES are mentioned in Revelation after this. After the marriage of the redeemed believer (bride) to Jesus Christ, (the revealed One, bridegroom) takes place (verse 7), there is no need to distinguish between the two --- they have become ONE (Ephesians 5:22-31-33). From here on out, the Revelation truly is the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

On the other hand, the four LIVING CREATURES have positions around the THRONE of God. They continually acknowledge or WORSHIP God for the total and complete GOOD that God is and that is why they continually say "AMEN" (Revelation 5:14). The LIVING CREATURES, by being so close to God, appear to see everything (Revelation 5:8-10). Since they are full of eyes, front and back and within (Revelation 4:6,8), they fully understand what the complete destruction of Babylon (evil) means. It is as if they are to heaven as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is to the earth (Genesis 2:15-17). Even as we, today, cannot find the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, so too in heaven after this verse, the four LIVING CREATURES are not heard from again. That is not to say that they are removed from their position around the THRONE.
Please refer back to Revelation 4 for the details of this place in heaven.
When the word of God, whether as the Law (Nehemiah 8:1-12) or Salvation (Luke 15:3-7) or Judgment (this portion of Revelation), the response is or should be "AMEN" and "HALLELUJAH!". Israel's sins and punishment (Psalm 106) can be thought of as a microcosm of the whole earth's iniquities and punishment. When the final realization of what God did to save His chosen people, the people are to say "Amen. Praise to the One Who IS!"















































Revelation Chapter 19, Verse 5 (GOD'S WORD)

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    5 A voice came from the throne. It said, “Praise our God, all who serve and fear him, no matter who you are.”
John hears a voice coming from the THRONE. It probably isn't either God's or Jesus' because of the way "PRAISE OUR GOD" is worded. The area around the THRONE is fairly crowded or intense (see previous verse).

It should be noted that this command to "PRAISE OUR GOD" is for a select group. The use of the pronoun, OUR, shows that this is a unified group. Otherwise, the command could have be generic, "PRAISE TO GOD".
The THRONE is surrounded by this group of SERVANTS. To be a SERVANT at this time implies one who is totally committed to God for eternal life. Since this portion of scripture comes after the fall of Babylon, this group, more specifically, probably are those who did come out of her, Babylon (Revelation 18:4-5). The New Testament has many examples (Luke 6:20-26; Luke 8:11-15; Luke 16:19-31; Matthew 19:23-30) of how difficult is will be for people who believe they are materially independent from God to reach this position around the THRONE. Even today, they bring that same attitude within the organized church. The penetration of material independence is so great that many churches seem to function just fine without putting too much faith/trust in God.
This FEAR is a holy respect for God. One would think that PRAISE and FEAR do not go together, but PRAISE rises up out of respect. This is the way Psalm 112:1-6 describes this PRAISE and FEAR relationship. In fact, after all is considered (as the Preacher did in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14), all that matters is to "fear God and keep His commandments". The Preacher goes on to say that this applies to every person,
Material status is uniquely earthly and has no place around the THRONE. Around the THRONE, we all will be His SERVANTS and share equally in His blessings (Psalm 115:12-13-18). Take a moment right now as you have studied this verse and just "PRAISE OUR GOD!"















































Revelation Chapter 19, Verse 6 (GOD'S WORD)

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    6I heard what sounded like the noise from a large crowd, like the noise of raging waters, like the noise of loud thunder, saying,
                "Hallelujah! The Lord our God, the Almighty, has become king.
Thus, this is the combined voices(noise?) of the Bride and the Bridegroom whose marriage will soon be celebrated (next verse).
The happy couple shouts, "Praise to the One Who Is"! The kingdom has been delivered to God the Father, the Almighty (1 Corinthians 15:20-24-28). The fall and complete destruction of Babylon (materialism) also fulfills the earth's redemption process (Revelation 5:1).
This isn't like the wedding vows you hear in churches today, but this is a vow, nevertheless, which recognizes the KINGLY AUTHORITY of God, the Father. As One Couple (Philippians 3:17-21), they recognize God using His fullest and mightiest name, the ALMIGHTY (Revelation 4:8, Revelation 1:8). If you are among the REDEEMED, then someday, you, too, will take this vow.

The LORD OUR GOD, the ALMIGHTY, has BECOME KING!
This is the beginning of God's kingly REIGN over the earth both spiritually and physically (Revelation 20:4-6).















































Revelation Chapter 19, Verse 7 (GOD'S WORD)

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     7        Let us rejoice, be happy, and give him glory
                      because it's time for the marriage of the lamb.
                               His bride has made herself ready.
 The "us" is the happy couple celebrating their marriage (see previous verse). The groom always has given GLORY to Him (God, the Father - John 5:17-47). So this request is mostly likely a reminder for the BRIDE .
When we become a believer in Christ, the engagement period leading up to this marriage begins. This is a spiritual marriage and has nothing to do with the physical urges that drive so many of the earthly marriages (Matthew 22:23-30-33).

Note that "the LAMB" is previously used for Jesus Christ in the Revelation (Revelation 5:6 and Revelation 14:1).
Who is the BRIDE?  From a Revelation viewpoint, she is
  1. Those who came out of Babylon (Revelation 18:4),
  2. Those who are not defiled by women (Revelation 14:4),
  3. Those who didn't take the mark of the beast (Revelation 13:16),
  4. The tribulation martyrs (Revelation 6:11),
  5. The overcomers (Revelation 3:21, Revelation 3:12, Revelation 3:5, Revelation 2:26, Revelation 2:17, Revelation 2:11, and Revelation 2:7),
  6. Those who occupy the new Jerusalem (Revelation 21:9-27), and
  7. Those who are wearing bright and clean linen clothes (next verse).
As one can see, there is no distinction as to race, religious affiliation, social status, or wealth. Thus for the BRIDE to make herself READY must be something other than that. It is left to the reader to determine how the BRIDE has gotten herself ready.

An interesting sidebar here: while the BRIDE is referred to in the feminine form here, it probably is to reinforce the concept of believer procreation. That is, it is the female side of human beings which bears the child. In the same manner, believers beget other believers when the Gospel is proclaimed with the help of the Holy Spirit (John 3:1-5-21). This partially explains why it seems more difficult for male believers to witness to others about Salvation. They aren't use to being child bearers.















































Revelation Chapter 19, Verse 8 (GOD'S WORD)

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    8                                She has been given the privilege of wearing
                                           dazzling, pure linen."

        This fine linen represents the things that God’s holy people do that have his approval.
The BRIDE is permitted to be dressed in a DAZZLING, PURE LINEN wedding dress. More than that, to be able to be the BRIDE, she must be dressed like this (Matthew 22:1-14). John confirms that she truly is dressed like this (Revelation 21:2).

This also signifies the priestly role that the BRIDE will play (Revelation 1:6 and Revelation 5:10). In the Old Testament, the priest's robe or ephod was made of fine twisted linen (Exodus 28:1-6-43). The material of the ephod is symbolic of:
Material
 our High Priest is
 Reference
Gold
 God
 John 10:30
Blue
 Truth
 John 14:6
Purple
 King
 Luke 1:32-33
Scarlet
 the Lamb
 John 1:29
Linen
 Righteousness
 1 John 2:1
                            table from "An Exposition of The Revelation of Jesus Christ", Ella A. Rust, p. 317

Jesus Christ is both the GROOM and High Priest (Hebrews 9:11-14) and is dressed like this (Revelation 19:11-14). If the groom and BRIDE are to be a married couple, then she, too, must be pure and clean (2 Corinthians 6:14-18).
 What are the characteristics of these THINGS?
  1. They are the result of exercising faith, e.g. Abraham's faith, Romans 3:21-28 and Romans 4:3-8.
  2. They are performed in the power of the Holy Spirit by the "new man" (Ephesians 4:17-30 and Romans 7:1-6).
  3. They are the effect, not the cause, of being in Christ Jesus (1 Corinthians 1:26-30-31).
There is a paradox here. We cannot be saved (or become the BRIDE) by works (RIGHTEOUS ACTS) (Ephesians 2:8-10). Salvation only happens by faith in Christ Jesus (GROOM). Yet here at the marriage feast, what we are wearing is what we did (RIGHTEOUS ACTS) AFTER we accepted Christ by faith.















































Revelation Chapter 19, Verse 9 (GOD'S WORD)

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   9Then the angel said to me, "Write this: 'Blessed are those who are invited to the lamb's wedding banquet.'" He also told me, "There are the true words of God."
 The speaker probably is the angel in Revelation 17:1 who had shown John the destruction of Babylon (materialism globally). He goes on to show the other side: the LAMB'S WEDDING BANQUET.  The sight must be so awesome that John is standing there grasping for anything he can relate this to. Apparently, he can't find anything so beautiful, and so the angel has to remind him again to "WRITE this:" (Revelation 1: 11,19).

This "BLESSED" is the fourth one in the Revelation (see the list in Revelation 1:3). There is variance among scholars as to whom are the invited. Some suggest that the BRIDE is not at the WEDDING BANQUET. In Jewish weddings, the bride was brought to the groom at the end of the BANQUET. So the invited must be guests. Interpreting this says that the believers saved under grace, i.e. after Christ's resurrection and up to the rapture are not the ones invited. That would leave pre-Christ's resurrection and after rapture believers as the invited. This distinction may be reading too much into this verse; rather, it probably means the invited are those who have attained salvation regardless of age period. God doesn't want any to perish (2 Peter 3:8-9-13) and the WEDDING BANQUET is for the living. Furthermore, Jesus in Matthew 8:5-11-13 indicates there is no distinction between Jews or Gentiles at the BANQUET. This doesn't take anything away from the status the Jews hold as God's chosen people.

In a sense, everyone is invited to the BANQUET as everyone's name is written in the book of life to begin with. We choose to "uninvite" ourselves by having our name erased from the book of life (Revelation 3:5). Our actions or life style or life motivations then indicate our choice (James 4). If we choose to be an enemy of God, then we certainly aren't going to be invited to the WEDDING BANQUET. The BANQUET is for the cleansed (previous verse) and the righteous. The invitation is the knock on the 'church' door (Revelation 3:20).....we choose to answer the knock or not.
This seems so obvious to us, but John has seen and written about so much caused by the devil or deceiver (Revelation 12:9), that he may have wondered whether this WEDDING BANQUET is one of the devil's deceptions (Mark 13:14-22-23). Thus it is entirely appropriate for the angel to confirm that the invitation to the WEDDING BANQUET is authentic and from God.

This expression is used twice more in the Revelation (Revelation 21:5 and Revelation 22:6). Heaven must be so awesome and different due to the absence of evil that John has to be assured that this is NOT a deception. All uses of this expression surround glimpses of the new heaven.

Revelation Chapter 19, Verse 10 (GOD'S WORD)

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10I bowed at his feet to worship him. But he told me, "Don't do that! I am your coworker and a coworker of the Christians who hold on to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God, because the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy!"
 Clearly John is very human and totally out of place during the vision of the WEDDING BANQUET. He did what many who have had this kind of brush with purity and righteousness (see Matthew 17:1-6-8 for example) have done.  Except here, Jesus was involved in the BANQUET, so John falls down at the angel's feet and that is not good. First, we must WORSHIP GOD and not angels. The worship of angels defrauds the worshipper of their desired goal (Colossians 2:16-18-19).
The rebuke is firmly given with sweet humility. The angel is a created being with the purpose to serve God and by extension the redeemed (ones who hold on to the TESTIMONY of JESUS). These who hold on to the TESTIMONY of JESUS are the same ones with whom the dragon (devil) is making war (Revelation 12:17).

Angels are very aware of their position in heaven. Apparently, they, too, at one time were given a choice: Serve GOD or join the devil (dragon -- Revelation 12:7-9). This angel chose to serve God and, in turn, the redeemed.

Interestingly, John doesn't fully understand what he has done wrong because he will do it again (Revelation 22:8,9).
It is clear where our worship is to be directed: GOD. Anything else is idolatry and violates God's forever commandment (Exodus 20:4-6). The angel here acknowledges that the God he knew from his creation was also sent to earth to assume a human form (denoted by the use of the name JESUS -- Luke 1:26-31-38 and Matthew 1:18-25). The angel emphasizes God as the triune God. WORSHIP GOD (the Father). For the TESTIMONY of JESUS (the Son) is the SPIRIT (Holy Spirit) of PROPHESY. Soon this Holy Trinity will be doing away with the Unholy Trinity (devil himself, Revelation 20:10; beast, verse 20; and false prophet, verse 20).

In a sense, angels, too, do a form of prophesy (Revelation 14:6-12).

Revelation Chapter 19, Verse 11 (GOD'S WORD)

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    11I saw heaven standing open. There was a white horse, and its rider is named Faithful and True. With integrity he judges and wages war.
This may seem strange, but apparently heaven is not a wide-open place. Rather, at least with respect to this sin-riddled earth, heaven is protected from evil (Matthew 3:13-16-17, Acts 7:54-56-60, Revelation 4:1, and Revelation 15:5). One should be aware that Hades is within sight/hearing distance of Abraham's boson (heaven?). The need to protect heaven from evil should also make us much more alert to the foibles of the devil The devil is very crafty and will be able to deceive many (like the sand of the seashore - Revelation 20:8) after the millennial reign of Christ.

This may also explain why the New Jerusalem (heaven) has gates (Revelation 21:12).
The WHITE HORSE symbolizes power and warfare from a righteous, pure, and holy army. The commander-in-chief, here denoted as ITS RIDER, is none other than Jesus Christ. While we have seen how Jesus Christ looks in heaven (Revelation 1:12-16), here we find Him in his "military" role and as Messiah (John 4:25-26).
This ties back to Jesus being called "The amen, the witness who is Faithful and True, the source of God's creation....(Revelation 3:14). The Creator of this earth is coming back to earth as Commander-in-chief  with his armies (verse 14) to reclaim the earth as the rightful owner.

In human terms, we never can be FAITHFUL and TRUE because of the sin curse placed upon us. So we hear phrases like "fair" or "impartial" used; but even these are hard to confirm. Comparing among earthlings always leaves room for untruth. Not so with Jesus Christ; He is NAMED (by God, we assume) FAITHFUL and TRUE;
Because Jesus is TRUE, He is able to JUDGE and execute this WAR against evil. We, as His supporting army, should have been faithful during our basic training (Ephesians 6:10-12-20). Then we will be able to wage war with Jesus. Sadly, too many so-called Christians never go to 'boot camp'; it is doubtful they'll be part of the army (verse 14).

Revelation Chapter 19, Verse 12 (GOD'S WORD)

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 12His eyes are flames of fire. On his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him, but only he knows what it is.

Continuing from the previous verse:
It is Jesus' EYES that test our faith. The result will be that we may give praise and honor and glory at this time (1 Peter 1:3-7-9). We know that this was the physical attribute given to HIS EYES in Revelation 1:14, but clearly this set of verses here in chapter 19 is spiritual in nature. The spiritual side is totally open to Jesus. On earth we can be a fake Christian, acting the part in church, and being a model to those around us, and yet, when Jesus' EYES pierces into/through us, He will judge the thoughts and intentions known only to us (we falsely believe). We may have hidden that secret self from those around us but not from Jesus (Hebrews 4:12-13).
Contrast this with what the fiery serpent (Revelation 12:3) and the Beast (Revelation 13:1) wore on their head(s). "Many" implies more diadems than any other. Jesus is imbued with royal dignity. How different this is from the crown of thorns (Mark 15:16-20).

There is an account in the Old Testament of the conquering king removing the crown from the conquered king and placing it upon his own head (2 Samuel 12:26-30-31). In a spiritual sense, this finalizes the fall of the kings of the earth who committed acts of immorality and lived sensuously with her (the prostitute - global economic materialism, Revelation 18:9). Perhaps these diadems symbolize Jesus' final conquest over the kings of the earth.
Contrast this with the many blasphemous names the prostitute took for herself (Revelation 17:3). Without a name, it is hard to brag or boast. That's important to the devil, you know. He feels he should be the one riding out of heaven on the white horse (previous verse).

The name is written upon Jesus presumably by God the Father. Its meaning is hidden from us. Some scholars believe that at some time, we believers will know what that name is, just as mysteries of God had been revealed to some of the apostles (Ephesians 3:1-4-13). However, it really is immaterial whether we will get to know that name. What is important is that we now know "JESUS" and accept him as our Lord and Savior here and now.

Revelation Chapter 19, Verse 13 (GOD'S WORD)

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 13He wears clothes dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.
Often this phrase is compared to the 'vengeance' passage in Isaiah 63:1-6. This implies that His clothes are covered with enemies' blood. While this may be, it is more likely that this is Christ's own blood. He is coming from heaven (verse 11) and the battle hasn't been enjoined yet (verse 19). Moreover, in the Revelation, the blood mentioned is always Christ's blood (Revelation 1:5; Revelation 5:6, 9; Revelation 7:14; and Revelation 12:11).

Symbolically, we are seeing salvation portrayed. It gives us our white robes (Revelation 7:14 and Revelation 22:14) when we ride into 'battle' (next verse). We are seeing the pure revelation of Jesus Christ. That is, righteousness expunging evil (Hebrews 9:11-22).
In the previous verse, Jesus has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself, and now we are told His NAME is 'THE WORD OF GOD". One could look upon the previous verse as an endearing nickname that is used by a parent for his child (Matthew 3:13-17). In this verse, His NAME is essentially how Christ is or should be known by us, His bride (verse 7). It is the essence of God's spiritual nature (John 1:1-5) placed in us when we accept Him as our Lord and Savior (John 15:1-17).

During our present period of grace, we most often take 'THE WORD OF GOD' to mean the Gospel or Good News, and that meaning still is included here. However, a broader meaning is implied. As commander-in-chief (verse 11), the WORD OF GOD is now mostly judgments or vengeance as requested (Revelation 6:9-11 (5th seal)). Words come from the mouth .... recall what comes from Jesus' mouth (Revelation 1:16 and Revelation 19:21). Again, we see righteousness supplanting evil using military imagery.

Placing these two phrases together in this verse reinforces the idea that the BLOOD on His clothes is CHRIST'S own BLOOD. NO enemy (evil) can come close to Christ as long as that sword (WORD OF GOD) of pure truth (verse 11) comes from His mouth. The devil introduced Adam and Eve (and the whole world) to evil (Genesis 3:1-5-7); now Christ is restoring the world to its pristine nonevil state prior to the millennial reign (Revelation 20:4-6).
Taking a composite look at the 7 spiritual items in verses 11-13, we realize that we have just been given the Revelation of Jesus Christ.         















































Revelation Chapter 19, Verse 14 (GOD'S WORD)

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14The armies of heaven, wearing pure, white linen, follow him on white horses.
This verse continues the military symbolism. The non-military form of this symbolism is found in Micah 5:2-5-6 where the 7 shepherds are thought to be Christ and the 8 leaders of men being the ARMIES. Note how the passage begins with Bethlehem and ends with Nimrod + Assyria (Babylon). Furthermore, 8 represents divine perfection as does the fact that those in the ARMIES are
as represented in verse 8 also. See the description of the holy ones in Zechariah 14:1-5-9 and the unblamable in Holiness in 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13. It is clear that we are again seeing righteousness triumph over evil.

Interestingly, this army is not camouflaged to avoid detection as modern earth militia are. Rather this is the TRUTH coming forth boldly like a light set upon a hill (Matthew 5:14-16). There is no doubt that evil and those committed to evil (who took the mark of the beast and worshiped the image of the beast) can fully see Christ and His ARMIES coming. The conflict soon will be engaged (verses 17-21).
All believers have followed HIM; that's how they got to HEAVEN in the first place, and thus are able to serve in the ARMIES. Using ARMIES (plural) implies that this is a collection of entities: Old Testament saints like those at the mount of transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-3-13) and the bones who came back to life representing the WHOLE house of Israel (Ezekiel 37:1-10-14), believers in Christ on WHITE HORSES, and angels (Matthew 16:21-27-28 and 2 Thessalonians 1:5-7-10).

We are not told what color the colt was, but it, too, was used in a triumphal entry (Luke 19:29-40). This is not a coincidence but rather a foretelling of this spiritual entry from HEAVEN into battle just as Christ went to battle to conquer death at Calvary.















































Revelation Chapter 19, Verse 15 (GOD'S WORD)

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15A sharp sword comes out of his mouth to defeat the nations. He will rule them with an iron scepter and tread the winepress of the fierce anger of God Almighty.
 Because it has been used repeatedly throughout Revelation (Revelation 1:16, Revelation 2:12, Revelation 2:16, and Revelation 19:21), this imagery of a sharp sword coming from Jesus Christ's mouth is an important TRUTH for us to understand. I don't understand how just speaking the Word DEFEATS THE NATIONS. This is part of the awesomeness of The Revelation of Jesus Christ. The spoken TRUTH (righteousness) (John 14:1-6-11) conquers LYING (evil) (1 John 2:18-22-29) every time.

Since the SHARP SWORD comes from HIS mouth, it is clear that we are talking about spiritual matters here. If they were physical, they probably could be taken care of by a physician. If they are spiritual, then the defeat of spiritual wrongdoing and evil can only be done by God's Word (Luke 4:1-12-13).

In this verse, we see three throwbacks to the Old Testament. To DEFEAT the NATIONS, sounds very much like Isaiah 11:1-5. However, since this is spiritual in nature, the phrase, THE NATIONS (plural), has the flavor of religious denominations who have played footsie with the prostitute. The prostitution or prideful materialism has made it's way into many if not all religious denominations. Just as each political nation has its own cultural mix,  various denominations have their own cultures. Hence, we find here that no religious denomination will be spared from the SWORD.
This is what was prophesied in Psalm 2:1-9-12.

It may have a broader meaning, in that, it may give a glimpse at how Christ will rule during the millennial period (Revelation 20:4-6). From a spiritual viewpoint, this indicates there is NO COMPROMISE with evil when Christ reigns. Yet evil, apparently, has not been completely suppressed, for after the millennial period, the devil is loosed for a short time to see whom he may deceive. He's able to convince many that evil still is glamorous and is the "good life" since as many as the sand on the seashore are enticed (Revelation 20:7-8-10). Sadly, this fits with Jesus' comment about even 'the elect' may be deceived during the tribulation (Mark 13:14-22-23).
This is what was prophesied in Isaiah 63:1-6.

This is a visual interpretation of evil being squeezed from the earth and, in particular, from the various religious denominations. We live with evil so close by everyday that it has become second nature to us. So much so that we can't even discern evil when we are confronted by it. This leads to the same state that the Laodicean church found/finds itself in (Revelation 3:14-22). It isn't a coincidence that the 'lukewarm' are spit out of His mouth .... it is the same process of the SWORD DEFEATING the NATIONS.

To indicate the overwhelming, overcoming power of God, both the ANGER of GOD and the highest name of GOD ALMIGHTY (Revelation 4:8 and Revelation 19:6), are commingled here in this verse. Every bit of EVIL will be squeezed out from the earth, and the earth will be returned to its original created state which God saw that it was VERY GOOD (Genesis 1:24-31). Interestingly, one could ask the question why restore the earth to its original state only to have it "pass away" (Revelation 21:1)?

Revelation Chapter 19, Verse 16 (GOD'S WORD)

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 16On his clothes and his thigh he has a name written: King of kings and Lord of lords.
 If you compare Psalm 45:1-9, it is almost as if the Psalmist is writing about this verse. While the Psalm refers to the sword on the thigh, we know that the sword really is coming from His mouth (verse 15). Since the sword represents the spoken truth, what is more true than "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."

These are the same bloodied CLOTHES in verse 13. Since HIS CLOTHES represent righteousness, only Christ using His pure RIGHTEOUSNESS could even assume this NAME. Furthermore, since the NAME is across the THIGH part of HIS CLOTHES, we can understand that this is part of HIS position as Son of Man. Placing the NAME on the THIGH part of HIS CLOTHES makes it very visible as He is riding the white horse. There is no doubt what Christ's name is. And one could assume that this is the same name that is written on the outside of the scroll (Revelation 5:1). We see here that Christ is the rightful owner of the earth and in quasi-military fashion is reclaiming it. This also allows Christ to establish His thousand year reign (Revelation 20:4-6).
Before Christ received His blood stain on HIS CLOTHES, Pilate asked Him this very question, "So you are a KING?" (John 18:33-37). Jesus gave Pilate an answer appropriate for that moment; here, we have the complete answer. Jesus said He was born to be a king, but not just a king, but rather "KING OF KINGS"!

I wondered why both "KING OF KINGS" and "LORD OF LORDS" were used. Either one would be sufficient one would think. But then I recalled how corporations are structured and realized that this is a direct answer to the corporate materialism of Babylon. That is,

Christ's NAME
 Corporate NAME
 Representation
KING of KINGS
 Chairman of the Board: Legitimizes the corporation. Board members typically are Chairmen or "kings" of other corporations. Denomination leadership from a religious organization viewpoint. Interestingly, denominations don't usually have leaders from other denominations within their top structures.
Authorization
LORD of LORDS
 Corporate organization with layers of management up through Officers of the corporation. In the religious viewpoint, districts or dioceses or missions boards or orders or equivalents. (1 Timothy 3)
 Administration

Having both names then says that Christ is both the Authority and Administration during the millennial reign.
















































Revelation Chapter 19, Verse 17 (GOD'S WORD)

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     17I saw an angel standing in the sun. He cried out in a loud voice to all the birds flying overhead, “Come! Gather for the great banquet of God.
 What an unusual place for an ANGEL to stand. Or is it? You may recall that the fourth ANGEL with a bowl poured it upon the sun (Revelation 16:8). Even the image below showing the sun showing off a sunspot makes it easy to see how a special sunspot could appear to us on earth as an ANGEL. The sun is constantly being monitored by satellites and radio telescopes, so this appearance of an ANGEL standing in the sun would be relayed throughout the earth.
UV Image of Sun from SOHU spacescope.
During the tribulation while the fourth trumpet judgment (Revelation 8:12) was taking place, the sun was darkened. Perhaps the darkened sun erupts with one massive solar flare that looks like an ANGEL.

Most importantly, this ANGEL's appearance shouts to the reader that what is happening next is VERY IMPORTANT.
Now this complicates things. There is no inter solar medium such as air to carry the LOUD VOICE of this ANGEL. Hence, we come to one of those unexplainable events, at least in common earth terms, that will captivate the earth. Not only that, the devil and his surrogate armies (verse 19) are given notice as to what their fate will soon be.

When a LOUD VOICE is used (Revelation 6:10; Revelation 7:2; Revelation 7:10; Revelation 10:3; Revelation 14:15; and Revelation 18:2), something IMPORTANT follows. So too, here, watch for the IMPORTANT EVENT.
Earlier in this chapter in verse 9, we witnessed a wedding banquet. Now, the BIRDS are invited to God's BANQUET. Again, as in hearing the LOUD VOICE, the BIRDS at least on earth need air in which to fly. And that, in fact, is what surrounds the earth and separates the water below from the water above. God made it that way on the second day of creation (Genesis 1:6-8).

Some expositors tie this verse to Ezekiel 39:17-24 for the language is very similar. There are enough dissimilarities to also say these are not the same. However, one thing is clear from Ezekiel, it is iniquity which is the problem (or bird feed). In Ezekiel, it was iniquity within Israel, in particular, that was the problem; here in Revelation, it is the iniquity or evil of the whole earth. Look at how Jesus referred to this in Matthew 24:15-28.

This may well describe in physical terms a spiritual cleansing or removal of evil from the earth. Evil resides within living beings or in "water". Evil is real, and must be "eaten" by these BIRDS, to remove it from mankind. Much, if not all, evil is based in demons, and demons must go somewhere when they are excised (Mark 5:1-20). The BIRDS will take care of that.
It is God's privilege and His will to hold this GREAT BANQUET. Thankfully, I'm not on the menu! Are YOU?

Revelation Chapter 19, Verse 18 (GOD'S WORD)

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18Eat the flesh of kings, generals, warriors, horses and their riders, and all free people and slaves, both important or insignificant people.”
 There is no need to delineate the meaning of each of the persons involved. Rather 'THE FLESH OF' has been highlighted to show that this is more of a spiritual meal (previous verse). When Adam and Eve followed the advice of Satan and ate fruit from the tree of knowledge of GOOD and EVIL (Genesis 3:1-7), sin entered into this world. By the time of this verse in Revelation, the GOOD people are already in heaven and probably are on those white horses coming with Christ (verse 14), so these are the ones who followed EVIL due to the deception of the beast and the false prophet (verse 20). So here we see EVIL being removed from ALL MEN (left behind).

Including horses doesn't seem to fit. Probably these are the EVIL counterpart to what believers ride upon (verse 14). Also, we had locusts (Revelation 9:7) that looked like horses prepared for battle, and these were EVIL influences. Horses may denote how EVIL is transported. We don't understand this phenomenon, i.e. how does EVIL enter a man (Luke 22:1-3-6)?

Lastly, lest we think this is all spiritual, the literal consumption of ALL MEN remaining by these birds will take place. This leaves the interesting question: who will populate the earth during the millennial reign (Revelation 20:4-6)?

Revelation Chapter 19, Verse 19 (GOD'S WORD)

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19I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army.
 All that is left on the earth are evil-controlled elements and their leader, THE BEAST (Revelation 13:1-8 and Revelation 17:11-13). As we found out earlier, the KINGS simply are the evil power base of THE BEAST. They are his horns (Revelation 17:12). One could think of these KINGS as being evil in specific areas. It is left to the reader to determine the evil opposite of each of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17), for example. How many of these evil elements are covered in Revelation 21:8?

This is prophesied in Daniel 11:29-45, and as the last verse in Daniel says, "and no one will help him".
Since chapter 19 has been primarily the spiritual part of the redemption of the earth, then what we are seeing here is the spiritual part of the battle of Armageddon. We saw the physical part in Revelation 16:12-16.

Note that THE BEAST has to have ARMIES, while the Lord only has an ARMY. And even with ARMIES, the Lord single-handedly kills the ARMIES with the sword (THE TRUTH) in His mouth (Revelation 19:21). If we are chosen to serve in the Lord's ARMY for this campaign, then we won't have to fight but just witness the defeat of evil, PRAISE HIS HOLY NAME!

Revelation Chapter 19, Verse 20 (GOD'S WORD)

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20The beast and the false prophet who had done miracles for the beast were captured. By these miracles the false prophet had deceived those who had the brand of the beast and worshiped its statue. Both of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
These are two of the members of the "UNHOLY TRINITY": Satan, the BEAST (Revelation 13:1-10) playing the counter part to Christ, and Satan, the FALSE PROPHET, (Revelation 13:11-18) playing a bad imitation of the Holy Spirit. They were the henchmen/leadership who performed MIRACLES to deceive the non-believers in Christ. Suddenly, on the verge of the final battle, they simply were captured. By whom it isn't stated, but one may imagine that it is the One who is redeeming the earth (Revelation 5:5,7). He is leading the heavenly ARMY (verse 11 and 14). When the leadership in the form of two of the UNHOLY TRINITY is gone, the hopes of "the rest" (next verse) are dashed......they realize they had made the ultimate mistaken choice.
Notice how counterfeit these two deceptions are:
1. Christ's gift of salvation is free. Contrast that with those who received the BRAND of the BEAST. They took the BRAND in order to eat and to do business (Revelation 13:17).
2. The act of worship is a (holy) spirit thing. God is a SPIRIT, and we must WORSHIP Him in Spirit and Truth (John 4:7-24-38). Contrast that with those who WORSHIP the beast's image in direct violation of God's commandment (Deuteronomy 5:6-9-21).
This is the first mention of the FIERY LAKE of burning sulfur (the other references are Revelation 20:10, Revelation 20:14, Revelation 20:15, and Revelation 21:8). The order in which the FIERY LAKE of burning sulfur is filled appears to be, the BEAST and FALSE PROPHET,  Satan (1000 years later), and the rest, "anyone's name was not found written in the book of life" (Revelation 20:14-15). The FIERY LAKE of burning sulfur contains EVIL for eternity. EVIL itself apparently doesn't ever die. Just as believers in Christ have everlasting/eternal life, so to those who chose EVIL have an everlasting existence (that may be an understatement!). Since EVIL exists forever, this may be one explanation why the New Jerusalem has gates and has angels guarding the gates (Revelation 21:9-12-14).

This is the fulfillment of Daniel's vision, Daniel 7:9-11-12, albeit Daniel sees their bodies destroyed (but not the EVIL?).  Isaiah 66:22-24 talks about the same thing. The BEAST and the FALSE PROPHET remain ALIVE in the FIERY LAKE of burning sulfur because they are not consumed or annihilated. They are there 1000 years later (Revelation 20:10). At that time, they are tormented day and night forever.........and there is no reason to torment something that is dead or totally consumed.

Revelation Chapter 19, Verse 21 (GOD'S WORD)

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21The rider on the horse killed the rest with the sword that came out of his mouth. All the birds gorged themselves on the flesh of those who had been killed. Many biblical scholars believe that 'THE REST' refers to the kings and their armies in verse 19. This may be the case, however, this really doesn't tell us anything since we do not know who is in these armies. We know that those who took the mark of the beast are still left on this earth, but whether they all are in the armies isn't stated. Traditionally, armies have only been composed of men (Deuteronomy 20).

If these are spiritual armies, then we can assume that this refers to the rest of evil or the demonic world. This may be what the odd statement Jesus used in Luke 21:25-26-28, 'the powers of the heavens' refers to. Most of us have so little experience in this realm. In the Old Testament, Jeremiah uses the phrase 'inhabitants of the earth' (Jeremiah 25:29-33) in his prophesy. The 'inhabitants of the earth' may well include these evil entities (Revelation 12:9).

It shouldn't surprise anyone that just the SWORD or a word of TRUTH from the mouth of him who sat upon the horse can kill 'THE REST'. That is it's intended purpose (Revelation 19:15). Even while Jesus was on this earth, it only took a word:
This probably is both literal and symbolic. Physically, so many will die at the swipe of the SWORD that there is nobody to bury all of them, and they will lie as dung on the ground (Zephaniah 1:14-17-18).

Symbolically, the birds are a kind of cleansing force which will remove (or become filled with) evil (flesh). We don't understand this process very well for it implies that these birds ultimately are 'sacrificed'  into the lake of fire. That there is a correlation is supported by the prominent use of birds in the purification ritual for leprosy (Leviticus 14:1-4-9) for example. The result, however, is to return the earth to its pre-evil state (Genesis 2:4-14) such that the rightful owner may inhabit it (Revelation 20:4-6).