"And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood." As when they are the enemies of the Lords flock, for his "club" that He uses to protect them is a "rod of iron", one that will not break, and will devestate the enemy attacking His flock. And if you are wise and involved in any kind of ministry at all when attention and adulation and these kinds of things come your way, you will be wise as the angel and say, "Don't worship me. Revelation 2:27; Revelation 12:5; Psalms 2:9; Psalms 45). The meaning is no more than this, that in the great battle of Armageddon, which was for the destruction of all the remainder of the enemies of the church, whether papists, or atheists, or Turks; men of all sorts and orders should be slain, and their dead bodies made meat for the fowls of heaven . The word is alethinos ( G228) and has two meanings. There were two particular effects of her evil: the one, illicit commerce with the kings of the earth; the other, intoxicating the inhabitants of the earth with the wine of her fornication. It isn't that you have been faithful in your devotions, and you have witnessed to so many people, and read so many chapters of the Bible, and spent so many hours in prayer, and you have done all of the religious devotional things, not that at all. From his mouth . "That day" does not mean a time when everybody will be converted, but when the Lord Jesus will govern righteously when overt evil will be judged, and good be sustained perfectly for a thousand years. And the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints. Then again the character of it, as derived from Christianity having already taken its place, is asserted. If Christianity does not bring joy, it does not bring anything. This is the kind of double meaning of which the Greek language is capable. They were judged every man according to their works. yet are a large body of themselves. that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And of course, this proselytizing law was prompted by the Greek Orthodox Church, and he has been sentenced to spend three and a half years in jail in Greece. "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heavens fled away." The seven Spirits of God (Greek: , ta hepta pneumata tou theou) are mentioned four times in the Book of Revelation, and in the Book of Isaiah it names each Spirit.Revelation 1:4: John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven . Meanwhile the armies of the antichrist perish in battle (19-21).With the antichrist and the false prophet destroyed, only the first member of the evil trinity remains to be dealt with, Satan himself. The events that are described within its pages were written for us today. If so, we can define the true prophet as the man who has received from Christ the message he brings to men, and whose words and works are at one and the same time an act of witness to Christ. On that interpretation the phrase will mean that no man can speak to men until he has listened to Jesus Christ. We see the Lord Jesus as righteous judge in chapter 1 and as the one who will soon be coming in the last chapter. Christ, the glorious Head of the church, is described as on a white horse, the emblem of justice and holiness. giving God glory for a fifth reason, the marriage of the Lamb has come. As far as the display of government goes, it is according to God morally, and for His glory, though I deny not for a moment that there are elements of evil which are never allowed, but kept under if not expelled. We will in that day when He returns and all of the vast military might of the world gathered and assembled together to destroy Him at His coming and He just speaks the Word and it is all over. Not only are they supposed to be coexistent, but united in their change of feeling against Babylon. His Earthly Kingdom (see article . There will be here upon the earth millions of people who have gathered together to war against Him at His coming. As for the earthly land and city, the moon will have her light increased to that of the sun, and the sun shall be sevenfold. It will be remembered that it was said to them that they must wait. Once again John finds his inspiration in the words of Scripture. Yet it will be found imperfect, for reasons which, I think, will be clear to any unbiassed mind. History is actually "His story." But it is what each saint has, though the blessed thought here is that the church has it not merely in the way of each person possessing his own; the bride has the whole of it (that is, the church in glory). The Word of God is alive and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword. He has saved us! Although there is such a levelling of human distinctions, and men have to do directly with God that is men raised from the dead or in their changed condition we still see the holy Jerusalem "the holy city, new Jerusalem," separate from the rest of those that fill the new heaven and earth. (ii) His name is Faithful and True. This disposes of many a web of comments; for we find at once what is perfectly simple, what any child of God who believes this to be the word of God must own. This is clearly of moral importance. Help us purchase electrical generators for churches. That with it he should smite the nations - The nations that were opposed to him; to wit, those especially who were represented by the beast and the false prophet, Revelation 19:18-20. The wine vat actually with your feet pressing down all of these grapes, you can imagine what your clothes would look like. The actual picture comes from Isaiah: "The streams of Edom shall be turned into pitch, and her soil into brimstone; her land shall become burning pitch. And he said to me: "These are the true words of God." Had he really penetrated under the surface, and seen that beneath the fair guise of Christendom the woman was, of all things under the sun, the most corrupt and hateful to God, it would not be so much to be surprised at. understood literally. We begin the description of the conquering Christ. In as many things as she glorified herself, and lived luxuriously, so much torment and sorrow give to her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am not a widow, and I shall in no wise see sorrow.". [Note: Ladd, pp. Again, death and hades are said to come to their end, personified as enemies. And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet, who performed in his presence signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast, and who worship his image. For who knows not the horrors of Mariolatry? God will judge Israel, namely, Jews living when He returns (Ezekiel 20:33-38), and the Gentiles living then (Matthew 25:31-46). And so it is with this very Babylon that comes before us here. small and the great mean everyone which includes all human categories and He has a name known to no one but himself. First, there are his servants. "Yet is" is a most unfortunate expression. But in the time really contemplated here all this political shuffling will be over. "And to the bride was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousnesses of saints." He gets his power and they get theirs for one and the same time. If you preach on prophecy, you are bringing the testimony of Jesus. harlot. He spoke these things into existence; the power of the Word of God.If we would only realize the power of the Word of God. "And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the wife of the Lamb. So we find the Lord has room for all that is the fruit of His own grace only, for the appeal of grace, even when there is not the answer to it. He has avenged the blood of his servants at her hand ( Revelation 19:2 ). Five reasons for their praise emerge: (1) We know that sometimes there were nine, sometimes eleven or more; but supposing this all perfectly certain, I affirm that, according to history, they did not receive their power as kings for one and the same time with the beast. Here you may see the reason for saying that the four and twenty elders and the four living creatures are not absolutely the church, because when that symbol applies, and the one of the bride comes forward, we have got others too. this great multitude begin to praise God, the volume would be so great as to Again John finds his picture in the prophetic words of the Old Testament, where it is said of the chosen king of God: "With righteousness he shall judge the poor" ( Isaiah 11:4). He is arrayed in a vesture dipped in his own blood, by which he purchased his power as Mediator; and in the blood of his enemies, over . - Utley. twelve disciples and twelve Old Testament prophets. Thus there is no question that some of the actors in the final scenes of the great drama were already there, as the reigning city, and the Roman empire. I have examined Him. If they have only heard His voice, this after all is the incalculable boon; yea, it is the turning-point of all blessing. - CBSC, a sharp sword . Sometimes they have contended for its application to pagan Rome. He is a threat to them, because He tells you, you don't have to be religious to be accepted by God. Again this is a picture taken directly from the Old Testament, from Ezekiel's picture of the slaughter of the forces of Gog and Magog. Centuries after came in, not only the division into east and west, but the broken up state of the west, when there ceased to be an imperial chief. It is an added digression for the purpose of describing an object already named passingly in the foregoing series, which closes at Revelation 21:8. . But that idea is wholly insufficient to cover or meet the word of God, which gives clear and strong reasons that prove the mistake of applying this to the pope as its complete fulfilment. Indeed it must be so, because, as we read in the end of the last chapter, there the lost were cast. (iii) It may be that the name is one which can be revealed only at the final union of Christ and the Church. overwhelming understanding of Who this is. Judgment is the inescapable consequence of sin. III. I have a hard time stomaching religious people. Rabbi, Jehudah, actually gave the odd instruction that men ought not to pray in Aramaic because the angels did not understand Aramaic! At the same time you will mark that these are not said to be executors of judgment as Christ is. The word used here for crown is diadema ( G1238) , which is the royal crown, as opposed to stephanos ( G4735) which is the crown of victory. When God is so gracious, His word rich, full, and deep, it does seem sad to see His children content with just enough to save their souls, or keep them from positive starvation. Only the Son of God can understand the mystery of his own being. The seventh bowl contained under it the fall of Babylon, which "was remembered before God, to give to her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.". Jewish dreams were full of the warrior Messiah, who would lead God's people to victory and smash his enemies. Revelation 19:4 "And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down believers lives, i.e., the outward manifestation of inward virtue. The tree of life: The Bible begins with a tree of life ( Genesis 3:22-24) which man was not allowed to eat from after the sin at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It may well be from that old Jewish idea that there came the idea of the marriage feast of the Lamb, for that indeed would be the true Messianic Banquet. For certain there are two great acts of resurrection, one when the Old Testament saints and the church are caught up to heaven, the other when Satan was bound after the beast and false prophet were thrown into the lake of fire, as well as Babylon judged. (1) A mighty angel comes down from heaven. Man alone is to blame who has misapplied it. engagement. 3. We usually pronounce it JEHOVAH; but the vowels in Jehovah are really those of the Hebrew word 'Adonay ( H136) , which means Lord, the name by which the Jews called God in order to avoid pronouncing the sacred name. What empire has existed, then sunk, and finally reappeared, with higher pretensions and power, only to perish horribly? The glory of the kingdom does not preserve when men in their natural state are exposed to the adversary. But a grave consideration soon disposes of both views by the relation to the beast, and more particularly by what will be shown a little farther on. You can believe this. This is predicted in Numbers 24:17 and on account of this the nations will be angry under the sounding of the seventh trumpet, with which this vision is contemporary, Revelation 11:18. Here is most likely the multitude of the angels, first in the Te Deum of praise. Third, he alone has the wisdom to find the right judgment and the power to apply it. Then the book concludes after a solemn warning against either adding to or taking from its contents. No hint whatever is given that they constitute the city, but there is the inscription of their names outside. But here there is none; a temple is for the earth. "The dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works." It was the destruction of the imperial unity of Rome that gave occasion for the well-known ten kingdoms which the barbarians set up afterwards. . Hitherto the reverse of this has been true in history. Revelation 19:1 "And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God:" In the last chapter, we saw the terrible destruction of commercial and political Babylon symbolized by its capital city of Babylon. This is the Messiah of Jewish apocalyptic expectation far more than the Messiah whom Jesus claimed to be. And out of his mouth proceeded a sharp sword Again, all voices agree as one in seeing this as a symbol of the word of God (Hebrews 4:12,13; Ephesians 6:17f).