Revelation Chapter 19:1-10 Lesson 25 Christ Independent Methodist Church 4078 Silver Lake Drive, Palatka, FL 32177 July 20, 2011 Michael K. Hudson Sr. Senior Pastor Revelation 19:1 10 KJV 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 a 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 Traditional Mount Zion. Mount Zion is the hill on Jerusalem s western ridge and is dominated by the Dormition Abbey church and bell tower Jerusalem; also Salem, Jebus, Zion, and Ariel, The Accordance Bible Lands PhotoGuide, n.p. 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. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 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. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. One of the most beautiful pictures in nature is when the storm clouds begin to roll away and the sun breaks through and shines on the earth. The warmth and brightness of the sun is a welcome site to the land that has suffered the effects of a violent storm. Revelation chapter nineteen is just this kind of picture. The world has been under the awful storm of the Tribulation Period. The storms have finally climaxed with the complete destruction of Babylon, which leaves the world reeling. The Antichrist lead his armies in the battle of Armageddon where he is ultimately defeated. The storm clouds over the earth are ended when the Son returns, shining through the clouds. Chapter nineteen is the picture of the wonderful Saviour returning to set up the millennial reign. But, before He returns, a great event must happen in heaven: marriage of the Lamb.
Chapter nineteen is divided into three sections: Great praise in heaven, great marriage of the Lamb, and the glorious return of Christ. The first two will be discussed in this lesson. I. Great Praise Revelation 19:1 6 KJV 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 a 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. After the complete destruction of Babylon, the old wicked system that has deceived nations for centuries, heaven is rejoicing and earth is mourning. In the last lesson, it was learned that the kings and merchants of the earth who made riches off the city of Babylon wept for her destruction. But, in chapter nineteen, the scene shifts to heaven where all of heaven is rejoicing that the old system is destroyed. The reason that heaven is rejoicing is because of Babylon s corruption and cruelty has come to an end. She caused the nations to go into sin. She killed the servants of the Lord that was sent to share the Gospel with the world. Heaven is rejoicing because Babylon finally gets judged; she is destroyed completely. In this passage, there are four hallelujahs that divide the section. Each of these hallelujahs shows something great about the Lord. A. Hallelujah for His great salvation Revelation 19:1 KJV 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: The word hallelujah is mentioned on four times in the New Testament. These four times are found in this passage. No other place in the New Testament is this word used. It is so befitting that it is used here because it marks the victory of the Lord over the kingdom of wickedness and sinfulness. It is God s victory over the Antichrist, false prophet, and Satan. What better place than here to sing Hallelujah. The word Hallelujah means praise ye the Lord. Only the Lord is the one who is worthy of praise and honor and glory. He is the one who brought salvation. He is the one who purchased our redemption with His own blood. How much God s people need to sing praise to Him for the great salvation that is found only in Jesus Christ! B. Hallelujah for His great justice Revelation 19:2 3 KJV 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. The ones in heaven are praising the Lord for His judgment and justice. How the Lord judges is always right! His judgment is never too lenient or too harsh. It is never too quick or too late. It is never too much or too little. His judgment is always right. Maybe someone thinks that His judgment is cruel and unjust. They do not have the mind of God, nor understand all what He understands. They are wrong and God is always right in His judgments and justice. The song praises the Lord for judging Babylon 2
because Babylon caused so many to go into sinful activities because of her influence and the shedding of the innocent blood of those that God sent to share the Gospel with the world. Her judgment is right and complete. She will suffer torment forever and ever because of her sins. God is to be praised because He is always just and true. C. Hallelujah for His great sovereignty and supremacy Revelation 19:4 5 KJV And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia. And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. In the hallelujah, the four and twenty elders, ones that represent the church, fall down before the One that sits upon the throne. They are worshipping the Sovereign King over all creation. They are worshipping the Lord because He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is the ultimate authority over all. There is nothing greater than He. In this passage, two great words are put together: hallelujah and amen. Hallelujah means praise ye the Lord. Amen is an exclamation that what is being said is true. Amen is a word given to show that one is in complete agreement with the words that are being said. Amen means so be it. One cannot praise the Lord enough because He truly is the Sovereign One that sits upon the throne of glory. D. Hallelujah of His great power and might Revelation 19:6 KJV 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. In this verse, all of heaven is praising the Lord for His power. He is the supreme author- ity over all the earth. He is the one of ultimate power. He is the mighty One that can do anything with His own power. The one who spoke and the worlds came into existence. The One who spoke and creation began. The last hallelujah is sung by the ones who are in heaven is impressive. Millions upon millions are praising the Lord and it sounds like the thundering sound of mighty waters rushing. It will be deafening when every creature in heaven is praising the Lord. The Lord is the only One who is worthy of praise, honour, and glory. He truly is the Lord God Almighty, the Eternal One. II. Great Celebration Revelation 19:7 10 KJV Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 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. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. In chapter four, the church (saints saved from Pentecost till the Rapture) is raptured away from the earth so it does not go through the Tribulation Period. Now, the church is seen in heaven praising the Lord and getting ready for the marriage of the Lamb. To understand the marriage of the Lamb, one must understand who are the bridegroom, bride, friends of the bridegroom, and how the Jewish marriage custom relates to the marriage of the Lamb. A. The Bridegroom Revelation 19:7 KJV Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for 3
the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. In verse seven, the bridegroom is named as the Lamb. The Lamb is the Son of God, Jesus Christ. John the Baptist described Christ as the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. John 1:29 KJV The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Of all the names of Jesus Christ that is found in the Bible, why does the Lord use the name of the Lamb? Christ is seen as so many different characteristics: holy, righteous, light of the world, just, omnipotent, omniscience, and so many more. But, the greatest thing that the Christian knows about Christ is His great love that He gave Himself as the sacrifice for man s sins. The Christian loves the Lord because He is the Lamb of God. 1 John 4:19 KJV We love him, because he first loved us. The name, Lamb, is a sweet name to all those that have their sins washed by the blood of the Lamb. It truly is a name of love. The Lamb is the one who loved us so much that He died on Calvary s cross for our sins. What better name to use at one s marriage than a name that means love. B. The Bride Revelation 19:7 8 KJV Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 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. 1. Who is the bride? There is a great deal of disagreement with who is the bride of Christ mentioned in this passage. From this disagreement, three main positions are given as who the Bride of Christ is. The first position is that Israel is the bride. The second position is that the church is the bride. The third position is that Israel and the church together is the bride. The first and third position cannot be because the nation of Israel is described in the Old Testament as the unfaithful wife. The bride of Christ is mentioned as a chaste virgin, an unfaithful wife cannot be presented as a chaste virgin. The only one that can be the chaste virgin is the church. Ephesians 5:25 32 KJV Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 2 Corinthians 11:2 3 KJV For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. The church is the bride of Jesus Christ. She is that chaste virgin that will be presented to Him. The church consists of those who came to Christ from Pentecost till the Rapture of the church. 2. How is she made ready? a. Through the grace of Christ The bride is made ready through the grace and sovereignty of the Lord. He works in the 4
lives of His children in order to bring them to be more like the Lord Jesus Christ. Colossians 1:12 KJV Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 2 Timothy 1:12 KJV For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. Christ will finish His work in the life of the Christian. b. Through living a holy life Then, she is made ready as she makes herself ready by becoming more like Christ. 1 John 2:28 KJV And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. Some will be ashamed to stand before Christ because they have not made themselves ready for the marriage of the Lamb. They have not grown in their walk with Christ. They have not become more like Him. Now is the time for the Christians to prepare themselves to stand before the Lord. This life is an opportunity to cleanse oneself of the sinfulness and depravity of this world and put on the Lord Jesus Christ. James 4:7 8 KJV Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Are you making yourself ready to stand before the Lord? Are you living a life that is pleasing to the Lord? 3. How can the bride wear white, fine linens? Revelation 19:8 KJV 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. Fine, white linen speaks of righteousness and purity. How can the bride of Christ wear the garments of righteousness? Isaiah 64:6 states that man s righteousness is as filthy rags in the site of God, so how can the church have garments of righteousness? This verse clearly states that this is the righteousness of the saints. Therefore, something must happen in order to remove all the old dross, contamination and make the bride righteous. In 1 Corinthians chapter three gives the event that will happen in heaven right after the rapture of the church. This event is called the Judgment seat or the Bema seat of Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:10 17 KJV According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man s work of what sort it is. If any man s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. The Christians will stand before Christ and give an account of what they did in this life for Him. They will give an account of how they lived their life. They will give an account on how they built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ. The building materials are the things that 5
they did in this life. The gold, silver, precious stones are the things that were done for the Lord. The wood, hay, and stubble are the things that were done for self or others. The only thing that will remain is that which was done for the Lord. Once the useless has been burned away, all that remains is the righteousness of the Christians. Wonder how many will see most of the efforts of their life go up in smoke as being useless? Wonder how many are doing things that seem so important now, but in regard to eternity has no value at all? The church must be preparing itself to stand before the Lord. C. Friends of the Bridegroom Revelation 19:9 KJV And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. There will be those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. These who are called are the friends of the Bridegroom, which represents all those who know the Lord but were not part of the church age. These are the Old Testament saints. John 3:29 KJV He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. John the Baptist identified himself as a friend of the Bridegroom. Key point: marriage of the Lamb takes place in heaven and the marriage supper of the Lamb takes place on the earth during the millennial reign of Christ. D. Jewish marriage custom To better understand the marriage of the Lamb, one must understand the different aspects of the Jewish marriage custom. 1. Betrothal The first step was the Betrothal. The Betrothal was the legal covenant of the marriage. It was the establishment of the marriage covenant between two individuals. The bridegroom usually takes the initiative. He would travel from his home to the home of the prospective bride. He would negotiate a price for the young woman with her father. Once this agreement (covenant) had been made, the marriage was now legal. The bride was married to the husband. She was set apart for him. 2. Preparation The second step was the preparation, which there is a separation. The young man would leave the home of the bride and return to his own home. Usually this separation was for twelve months. This time allowed the bride to prepare herself for married life. It allowed the groom time to prepare a place for them to live. 3. Consummation The third step was when the bridegroom comes for his bride. When this time of separation was over, the bridegroom, with his best man and friends, would go to the bride s home and take her home to be with him. This usually happened at night. Even though the bride knew that the groom was coming for her, she was not sure of just when. So, the bridegroom would shout to give her an opportunity to be ready for him. The bridegroom would take his bride, with her female attendants, back to his house. The friends would be there for the marriage feast. The attendants would usher the bridegroom and the bride to the bridal chamber. During this time, the bride would be veiled, not allowing anyone to see her face. The bride and bridegroom will enter the bridal chamber alone for the physical consummation of the marriage. 4. Festival - supper After marriage is consummated, the bridegroom will announce it to the wedding party who will relay the news to the wedding guest. The wedding festival will usually continue for seven days during this time the bride will stay in the bridal chamber for the seven days. After the seven days, the bride is presented to the group with her veil removed. E. How does this relate to the 6
marriage of the Lamb? 1. Betrothal covenant of the church The betrothal is when there is a covenant made between the bride and the groom. This happens when a person comes to know Christ as his or her Lord and Saviour. The covenant has been made; it is legal binding between the two. 2. Preparation This is the separation and preparation for the bride and the groom. The bride, Christian, is to prepare himself or herself to be received as a chaste virgin. It is the time for the church to become more like Christ. The Lord is preparing a place for the church to live. John 14:1 4 KJV Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. 3. Consummation This happens in heaven during the Tribulation period. This is the intimate union between the bridegroom and the bride. The next events for the church are the rapture, Bema-seat, and the marriage of the Lamb. 4. Marriage supper This happens when the Lord returns to the earth with His bride and there is a feast for many days celebrating the great event. The Jewish marriage event is a prophetic picture of what is going to happen in the end of times with the church and the Lord. Ephesians 5:25 27 KJV Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. Why should the Christian strive to live a holy life; because one day he will be presented as a bride to the Lamb of God! How are you living your life for Christ? III. Great One Revelation 19:10 KJV And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Who is important? Who counts? When John heard this, he fell down to worship the one that brought him the message. This one immediately corrected John; he told John not to worship him because he is only a fellow servant. Only the Lord is to be worshipped, Him and no other. The Christian is to worship no one but the Lord. He is on the only one who deserves of praise, honor, and glory. He is the only who is truly God. Interesting to note that in today s society, the bride takes the center stage at the marriage. She is the focus point. She is the center of attraction. The bridegroom is just part of the ceremony. However, in the Jewish marriage custom, the bridegroom is the center and focus point of the marriage, not the bride. He is the important one. This holds true for the marriage of the Lamb. It is the Lord Jesus Christ who is the focus point, the important one, not the bride. One must wonder how many Christians have Jesus as the focus point of their lives. How many have Him as the Lord of their hearts? How many see Christ as the One who is to be worshipped, loved, and followed? How many are preparing themselves to be received as a chaste, pure virgin for the marriage of the Lamb? Does it matter how the Christian lives? Absolutely it does! 7