Revelation 19:1-10
In verse 1 John hears another outburst of praise to the Lord, obviously this happens quite frequently. Since Hebrews 13:15 admonishes us to ‘praise continually which is the fruit of our lips’, then scenes like these should not be foreign to us.
Notice, he speaks of ‘a great voice of much people in Heaven’. Between all the people that have died and gone before the Rapture and the different Raptures we have seen in this book, all of us will be part of this great voice!
Verse 2 states, ‘true and righteous are his judgments’. Most of us will acknowledge this to be true; however there are many that do not believe this. God gets the blame for many of the tragedies and misfortunes of life.
Many think Him unfair as to how He deals with man in the earth. There are those that say they plan to question Him about this or that when they come into His presence. Well, I think there will be many that are in for a big surprise. When they do come into His presence, their mouths will be shut and most likely they will be on their faces before Him!
Why is it that we with our finite minds want to challenge an infinite God? The answer to the question will always be “pride.” Miserable, stinking pride!
Here it is also stated that the whore has been judged for her fornications which is the control and manipulation she had over the nations due to her oil wealth as well as the personal sins of human slavery. She is going to be judged for the blood of God’s people since she has been the source of support and finance that has caused these deaths.
In verse 3, praise is offered up to God just as Hebrews 13:15 states we should offer it up as a sacrifice. The smoke of the whores burning is going to rise forever. Some of this will be of a physical nature due to a Nuclear Holocaust. However for it to burn forever, this would also have to be of a spiritual nature due to the fact the earth will be undergoing renovation for the eternity.
In verse 4 we have the Twenty-four Elders and the Cherubim in the presence of God bowing down before Him giving Him worship. His awesomeness will compel different expressions of worship from everyone that is around Him.
Verse 5, this particular scene must be developing into an awesome sight for another voice out of the Throne to be calling for more praise!
Verse 6 shows us the great multitude spoken of earlier and a description of that voice being the sound of many waters and thundering going on. These voices proclaiming God omnipotent (all powerful) Who reigns. This must be building up to something!
Verse 7 proclaims the marriage of the Lamb has come! The Bride has made herself ready! This is a confirmation that not all the church or those who profess to be Christians will be the Bride for the Bride has been making herself ready and many in the church have not.
As we discussed earlier in our study, there will be a first Rapture of those that are ready, preparing, looking unto and excited about the Bridegrooms return and those who were not ready. Although these will not be the Bride, they will attend the wedding.
The important thing here is, all that have accepted Christ will be there in some faction or another and not in the alternative place for eternity.
In verse 8 we see a description of the Brides wedding clothes. We see that her righteousness was granted as a result of what the Bridegroom has done to redeem her.
Verse 9; here it is, the Marriage Supper of the Lamb! This is what all the excitement is about with all the worship and praise. This is to be a monumental moment for all of Heaven.
The consummation of the Lord and His Bride and the celebration that all Heaven has been preparing for! This is a special moment for the saints of God to come to the wedding as the Bride of Christ.
It often eludes me as to why there is so much complacency and apathy in the Body of Christ concerning what is coming in the future. Most brides are preparing, planning, making decisions, buying accessories, practicing, talking about it to all who will listen and excited about her wedding day!
Yet when we look around many churches at the solemn expressions and lack of enthusiasm that is witnessed, how can they be expecting anything? Not to mention how quiet and reserved most church services can be in comparison to the above scripture concerning how loud the worship, praise and celebration will be!
Again, not all Believers will qualify to be the Bride, for they lack motivation to be intimate with Him. Note that those that are called to the Marriage Supper have a Blessing pronounced over them.
In verse 10 John is so overwhelmed by it all that he drops to the feet of the Angel/Believer to worship him. Whether an Angel or a Believer it is wrong either way! We are to worship God only and not Angels or each other. The Angel/Believer tells John not to worship him; that he is a fellow servant of John and his brethren that have the testimony of Jesus which is the spirit of prophecy.
Only a fellow Believer could qualify to be a fellow servant of those that have the testimony of Jesus. Angels do not have this redemptive testimony, they are in a different class of God’s creative beings.
