Bible Version: New International Version (NIV)
Application Notes: Life Application Study Bible (NIV)
REVELATION 19
Threefold Hallelujah Over Babylon’s Fall
1 After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting:
“Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
2 for true and just are his judgments.
He has condemned the great prostitute
who corrupted the earth by her adulteries.
He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”
3 And again they shouted:
“Hallelujah!
The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever.”
4 The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried:
“Amen, Hallelujah!”
5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying:
“Praise our God,
all you his servants,
you who fear him,
both great and small!”
6 Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:
“Hallelujah!
For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
7 Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
8 Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear.”
(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)
9 Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”
10 At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.”
The Heavenly Warrior Defeats the Beast
11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:
king of kings and lord of lords.
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God, 18 so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and the mighty, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, great and small.”
19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army. 20 But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. 21 The rest were killed with the sword coming out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.
Application Notes
19:1-10 Praise is the heartfelt response to God of those who love him. The more you get to know God and realise what he has done, the more you will respond with praise. Praise is at the heart of true worship. Let your praise of God flow out of your realisation of who he is and how much he loves you.
19:1-8 A great multitude in heaven initiates the chorus of praise to God for his victory (19:1-3). Then the 24 elders (identified in the note on 4:4) join the chorus {19:4). Finally, the great choir of heaven once again praises God-the wedding of the Lamb has come (19:6-8). (See Matthew 25:1-13, where Christ compares the coming of his kingdom to a wedding for which we must be prepared.)
19:2 The identity of this great prostitute is explained in the note on 17:1-18.
19:7-8 This victorious scene portrays the culmination of human history--the judgment of the wicked and the wedding of the Lamb and his bride, the church. The church consists of all faithful believers from all time. The bride's clothing stands in sharp contrast to the gaudy clothing of the great prostitute of 17:4 and 18:16. The bride's clothing represents the righteous acts of God's holy people. These righteous acts are not religious deeds done by believers in order to be saved; rather, they reflect the work of Christ to save us in order to do good works (7:9,14; also see Ephesians 2:10).
19:10 The angel did not accept John's homage and worship because he knew only God is worthy of worship. Like John, it would be easy for us to become overwhelmed by this prophetic pageant. But Jesus is the central focus of God's revelation and his redemptive plan (as announced by the prophets). As you read the book of Revelation, look beyond all the details of these awesome visions and focus on the overarching theme in all the visions-the ultimate victory of Jesus Christ over evil.
19:11-21 John's vision shifts again. Heaven opens, and Jesus appears--this time not as the Lamb but as a warrior on a white horse (symbolising victory). Jesus came first as the Lamb to be a sacrifice for sin, but he will return as a conqueror and king to execute judgment (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10). Jesus' first coming brought forgiveness; his second will bring judgment. The battle lines have been drawn between God and evil, and the world is waiting for the King to ride onto the field.
19:11 The name "Faithful and True" contrasts with the faithless and deceitful Babylon described in Revelation 18.
19:12 Jesus is called "Faithful and True" (19:11), "Word of God" (19:13), and "KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS" (19:16). But no name can do him justice. He transcends any description or expression the human mind can devise. He deserves our total allegiance.
19:13 For more on the symbolism of Jesus' robe being dipped in blood, see the second note on 7:14.
19:15 This scene graphically displays God's wrath. It shows his anger and judgment against sin and against those who have constantly rejected Christ as the means of forgiveness and reconciliation. God's wrath exists alongside his mercy. In each generation, there must be balanced preaching and teaching about God's grace and his anger against sin.
In our day, however, teaching about God's love and acceptance has become so predominant that God's anger seems to be mythical. But such a portrayal of God hardly warns people away from sin. Teaching about God's wrath may be watered down by some, but it is nevertheless real and will be terrible for those who have steadfastly refused him (1 Thessalonians 1:10). In your study and teaching, do not emphasise God's mercy to the exclusion of his wrath.
19:16 This title indicates God's sovereignty. Most of the world will be worshipping the Beast, the Antichrist, whom they believe has all power and authority. Then suddenly out of heaven will ride Christ-the "KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS"--along with his army of angels. His entrance will signal the end of the false powers.
19:17 This "great supper of God" contrasts grotesquely with the wedding supper of the Lamb with the faithful (19:9). One pictures the ultimate celebration; the other shows total devastation. (See Ezekiel's prophecy of this event in Ezekiel 39:17-20.)
19:19-21 The battle lines have been drawn, the opponents are poised, and the greatest confrontation in the history of the world is about to begin. The Beast (the Antichrist) and the false prophet have gathered the governments and armies of the earth under the Antichrist's rule. The enemy armies believe they have come of their own volition; in reality, God has summoned them to battle in order to defeat them. That they would even presume to fight against God shows how their pride and rebellion have distorted their thinking. There really is no fight, however, because the victory was already won when Jesus died on the cross for sin and rose from the dead. Thus, the evil leaders are immediately captured and sent to their punishment, and the forces of evil are annihilated.
19:19 The Beast is identified in the note on 13:1.
19:20 The fiery lake of burning sulfur is the final destination of the wicked alliance and all unbelievers. This lake is different from the Abyss (bottomless pit) referred to in 9:1. The Antichrist and the false prophet are thrown into the fiery lake. Then their leader, Satan himself, will be thrown into that lake (20:10), and finally death and Hades as well (20:14). Afterwards, everyone whose name is not recorded in the book of life will be thrown into the fiery lake 120:15).
Taken from Life Application Study Bible - Third Edition - (NIV)