Revelation 19:1-21

(Revelation 19:1-21)

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. 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.  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 doth judge and make warHis eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.  And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.  And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.  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;  That ye 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.  And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, 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.  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.

 

The book of Revelation is the epistle of the apostle John recording the vision he saw on Patmos Island. There are three visions the apostle John saw. The first is an illusion of the past that has already been made. The suffering of Jesus Christ, the death of the cross, and the resurrection event overcoming all evil are events of the past. The second is AD, where the apostle John lived. In the 90s, it is an illusion of those who worship and compromise the Roman emperor who became a god by himself, and Christians who, on the contrary, refuse to deceive and threaten and lose their faith until the end. Warning and encouragement are mixed in this vision. The third is a vision of final salvation and judgment that has not yet been fulfilled. The illusion of this future, from the point of view of the present day, is also an illusion that has already become the past. For example, the fall and judgment of Babylonian Rome became a thing of the past. However, there is an illusion of a future that has not yet come true. It is still a thing of the future that the Lord will come again to extinguish all remaining evil and make everything new.

 

Because chapter 19 is a description of the Lord's Second Coming, it is an illusion of a future that has not yet been fulfilled. There are two major types of visions recorded in Chapter 19, which describe two outcomes of an event. Therefore, the second coming of Jesus is like a wedding feast for believers, but it is the final judgment for those who do not believe. One class is a feast filled with majestic and cheerful songs, while the other is a cries of terror thrown into the lake of fire. These two visions are what will happen in the future, but at the same time they are messages that give the Christians living today an unspeakable hope.

 

『 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 apostle John heard a loud voice from a great multitude. Those sounds are the voices of one word that the Old Testament people enjoyed shouting in worship. The apostle John heard the shout of Hallelujah, reverberating from heaven. The sound is taken over by the twenty-four elders and four living creatures, and resounds four times in total. After the glory song vibrates all over the sky, an angel appears. 『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. This Hallelujah Glory Song was a shout foretelling the upcoming wedding feast of the Lamb. The saints who have endured countless persecutions and hardships so far have been invited as brides to the wedding feast of the Lamb.

 

The day Jesus came again was recorded by the Apostle John as the wedding feast of the Lamb. This is an expression used in the Old Testament to describe the intimacy between God and his people. When Jesus Christ, the bridegroom, calls the churches and Christians on earth as brides, and describes that day as a wedding feast, it is unspeakable comfort and hope. This is one of the greatest descriptions on earth that one can use when one loves another, but respects the best. What Jesus Christ calls my wife, my bride, is the same as my everything. Therefore, this vision is also the heart of the Lord to love but to the end.

 

This is a gift given to those who believe in the vision of the wedding feast of the Lamb, endure, and keep the Word and promises. On the other hand, the vision of the white horse rider shows the dignity of Jesus Christ, who extinguishes evil. 『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 doth judge and make war. The Bible says that Jesus Christ comes on a white horse when He comes again. The Lord, with his fiery eyes and many coffins, leads an army of white horses, and wages a final war with the beast, the false prophet, and the army. The Lord on a white horse wore clothes sprinkled with blood. It is a garment with the blood of Christ shed for all on the cross. 『And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. The man on this white horse wears clothes sprinkled with blood, and fights with the sword (fire of the Holy Spirit) coming out of his mouth.

 

When Jesus Christ, coming again on a white horse, judges the beasts, false prophets, and armies that deceive all nations, he does not win victory by shed blood by striking the other person with a sword. The Lord, who comes on a white horse, conquers the power of death by bleeding himself. So, Jesus stands as the judge. He wears blood sprinkled clothes and uses the words from his mouth as his sword to fulfill judgment.

 

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