Of course they will be preserved through that crisis in some sort of way suitable to divine wisdom. Spirit of prophecy: The person and message of Jesus is the Jesus Christ. There are always those that say, "What about the people that haven't heard? New American Standard Version "Called" is most evidently inapplicable, because calling supposes that the person is brought out of one condition and raised into another and a better one. Commentary on Revelation 19:11-21. And then those men who have chosen to cast their lot with Satan in rebellion against God. . What confusion! He answers, "I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in my anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. It is the divine judgment of man eternal judgment. It wouldn't have to be more than ten miles in diameter to hold all of the unrighteous from Adam until now. All the way along the fairness of God's judgment has been challenged.I don't know what God is going to do in a lot of cases. 1 Thessalonians 3:4-5 Commentary. There is one other reason for the rejoicing. Here now is the rejoicing which was called for. The speaker isn't identified but is probably an angel and refers to God as our There was a Jewish belief that no man could know the name of God until he had entered into the life of heaven. In the Revelation two kinds of people are specially called the servants of God; the prophets ( Revelation 10:7; Revelation 11:18; Revelation 22:6), and the martyrs ( Revelation 7:3; Revelation 19:2). The surest way to have our deliverances continued and completed is to give God the glory of what he has done for us. There are not enough adjectives in the dictionary And I fell at His feet to worship him. The effect of these their praises: when the angels and saints cried Alleluia, her fire burned more fiercely and her smoke ascended for ever and ever, v. 3. Next comes the marriage of the Lamb to his bride. It is Christ Himself about to be displayed in His rights as King of kings, and Lord of lords; and this in the face of the world. Nothing is hidden from Him. 5:10). When the beast dares to fight with the Lamb He shall overcome the beast; and they that are with Him, "called and chosen and faithful" terms, as a whole, entirely inapplicable to the angels. That is why religions fail. The battle joined. The Word of God is alive and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword. Such was her influence stretching out far beyond the beast. Christ will come in glory to judge and rule. The Sword--The Word of His mouth--is now wielded in judgment. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS ( Revelation 19:15-16 ). No marriage can last without fidelity, and the Christian must be as faithful to Jesus Christ as Jesus Christ is to him. That glorious prediction of breaking the serpent's head was the stay and support of the patriarchal age; and the many prophecies there were concerning the Messiah to come were the gospel of the Old Testament. We can quite understand that God would comfort His people in the dark ages by this book; and a very imperfect glimpse at its real meaning might in His grace serve to cheer them on in their trials as far as it went. The race was now in the resurrection state either for good or for evil; and thus it must be for ever. He knows there is rejoicing and giving of honor. His equipage: he is again described as sitting on a white horse, to show the equity of the cause, and certainty of success. Every day-and we set up these rules for righteousness. *It now appears that the Cod. - WG, and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty . At the same time the attempt to apply Babylon to ancient Rome is almost as unhappy; and for a plain reason. It is altogether unfeasible, and it shows how carelessly we read the Bible that people are not stopped by such an expression. (i) In certain circles of Judaism the angels had a very large place. He speaks and it is done. Verse 9. It was John's instinct to worship the angelic messenger; but the angel forbids him to do that, because the angels are no more than men's fellow-servants. Here were thrones, and people sat upon them, changed 'before this into the image of Christ's glory. One of the most approved axioms is, that kingdoms are just like men in this respect, that they begin, rise, and fall. Accordingly these are the two main objects of judgment brought before us in the chapter. A fourth century A.D. 11:2; Eph. Verse By Verse Acts Through Revelation can be taken as capably as picked to act. This web site explains the Book of Revelation, each individual scripture. When the thousand years expire, Satan reappears on the scene to the sorrow and ruin of the Gentiles who were not born of God. "Whoever comes to me I will in no wise cast out" ( John 6:37 ). And I saw an angel standing in the sun ( Revelation 19:17 ); You can't do that unless you are an angel. But the most ordinary knowledge suffices; for who does not know from the Bible that there was a Roman empire when Christ was born, one emperor, and no such state as that empire divided into ten kingdoms? Raphael tells Tobit that he is the angel who brought his prayer before God ( Tob_13:12-15 ). There is, however, a great deal more than this on the subject, and given with great precision in scripture, because this is merely the principle of sin in one or other form from the beginning. Here are two further pictures of the warrior Christ. for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication ( Revelation 19:2 ). He destroys the assembled rebels who have gathered together against Him. Bad as pagan Rome was, it would be false to affirm that it ever had come out of the bottomless pit. "True and righteous are thy judgments, O Lord." I don't know exactly what He will say. harlot. i. These words of praise here are focused on the Lord Jesus Christ. His Word is "a two-edged sword." distinctions. As noted in the commentary on Rom. It is very evident, therefore, that the saints in a glorified state are here represented as following the Lord out of heaven. small and the great mean everyone which includes all human categories and again. 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. The church was betrothed to Christ by His sovereign choice in eternity past * None, however, can be exempt from being manifested before the judgment-seat of Christ, or from giving an account of all done in the body. Hitherto the reverse of this has been true in history. This city is seen now as the holy vessel of divine power for governing the earth during the millennium, "having the glory of God: and her brightness was like a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.". It will help to show us that, whatever may have been the past conditions of Babylon, there is a future one; and it is in that future one that Babylon is to perish. Both small and great: All distinctions and ranks are to be transcended. 21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. "And he saith to me, The waters which thou sawest, where the harlot sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues." to say enough about what Jesus has purchased for us all. b. "Crowns and thrones may perish Kingdoms rise and wane But the Church of Jesus Constant will remain. Clearly, therefore, it is future. Thus everything implies their simultaneous presence for the same time and common action with the beast, in plundering and then destroying Babylon. The elders do show us the heavenly heads of priesthood (embracing, as I believe, the Old Testament saints and those of the New); i.e., they are not limited to the church, Christ's body. 135:1; 146:1). It was not uncommon for a monarch to wear more than one crown in order to show that he was the king of more than one country. That is religion. Go to Next Section After the destruction of Babylon at Now, the time has come for the Lord Jesus Christ Himself to return in power and great glory and establish God's kingdom upon the earth. No doubt all this may seem to some a little difficult, but it is no use evading what is hard. "He has a name inscribed which no one knows but Himself." The word is alethinos ( G228) and has two meanings. When we come to the full application of the prophecy, we must look onward to the latter day. The twenty-four elders were prominent in the early visions ( Revelation 4:4; Revelation 4:10; Revelation 5:6; Revelation 5:11; Revelation 5:14; Revelation 7:11; Revelation 11:16; Revelation 14:3) as were the four living creatures ( Revelation 4:6-9; Revelation 5:6-14; Revelation 6:1-7; Revelation 7:11; Revelation 14:3; Revelation 15:7). What does Revelation 19:3 mean? This is of immense moment doctrinally, because it decisively proves that it is altogether unfounded to assume, as is popularly done, that the Lord only returns at this juncture. Worship: Only God is to be worshiped (compare 22:8-9; (ii) It can equally mean the witness which Jesus Christ gives to men. this that is glorious in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength?" Never worry about the righteousness of God's judgments. 9:7; I believe that religion is man's endeavor to reach God. But the prophecy shows us the beast revived and the separate kings reigning for the same time, before divine judgment destroys them at the coming of Christ and His saints. Some ancient authorities insert two-edged, from the parallel passage in Revelation 1:16. "I will raise him up at the last day." He came to the world, and avenged His people on the beast and the false prophet with the kings and their armies; and after that the risen saints reign with Him over it a thousand years. Help us purchase electrical generators for churches. of all sorts of jewels when he represented God to the people; but when he went When Christ at God's right hand was announced, even from the very beginning, He was ready to judge the quick and the dead. Verse 8. Every day you should witness to at least two people. and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. Then follows another scene still more solemn the most awe-inspiring of all we can contemplate, at the same time full of blessing for the Christian to look onward to as that which will for ever put aside every trace of evil, and vindicate good where man must altogether fail. 1 Thessalonians 2:10-12 Commentary. Nobody can dispute that this remarkable cluster of kingdoms in Europe was the fruit providentially of the destroyed unity of the Roman empire when the barbarians invaded it. Take notice of this (which confirms the application just now contended for), that when John saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus, he wondered with great wonder. "And the beast that was, and is not, even he is an eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth unto destruction." The fact is, in the very best authorities it does not exist at all. "And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and encompassed the camp of the saints, and the beloved city." Not that any of those judged (and the scene described is solely a resurrection of judgment) are said to be written there: we are shown rather that they were not found in that book.