Victory

2 BECAUSE HIS JUDGMENTS ARE TRUE AND RIGHTEOUS; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and HE HAS AVENGED THE BLOOD OF HIS BOND-SERVANTS ON HER.”

3 And a second time they said, “Hallelujah! HER SMOKE RISES UP FOREVER AND EVER.”

4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!”

5 And a voice came from the throne, saying,

“Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great.”

The start of a new vision.

I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying,

The great multitude is likely angels. It is probably not saints because the saints are told to join in later in verse 5.

“Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God; because His judgments are true and righteous; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and He has avenged the blood of His bond-servants on her.”

“Hallelujah” is a transliteration of the Hebrew. It means praise (halal) God (Yah). It only appears here in the entire New Testament.

God is praised for what He is accomplishing in the conclusion of the judgements on earth.

Salvation, and glory and power are a result of judgments that true and righteous as evidenced by judging the great harlot for two reasons: (1) corrupting the whole earth with immorality, and (2) avenging the blood of the martyrs.

And a second time they said, “Hallelujah! Her smoke rises up forever and ever.”

A second Hallelujah goes up in response to the finality of the judgment of God. This final judgment is one from which there is no coming back. Unlike the Flood, judgment of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Sodom, Gomorra, etc., this is not a temporary restraining of evil, but the last blow to the system of evil ever.

Mark 9:48 NASB95

where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.

Revelation 14:10–11 NASB95

he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. “And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”

Isaiah 66:17 NASB95

“Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go to the gardens, Following one in the center, Who eat swine’s flesh, detestable things and mice, Will come to an end altogether,” declares the Lord.

And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!”

This third Hallelujah is not a new statement, but a full agreement to the previous one. It is a period at the end of the declaration.

And a voice came from the throne, saying, “Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great.”

We cannot identify the speaker here, but it is likely not God since we are commanded to give praise to our God. The command is quite clear though. No matter who you are, if you are a servant of God, this is a time to stop what you are doing and give God praise because of the magnitude of what He is accomplishing.

An Invitation for Dinner (6-10)

Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.”

This final Hallelujah changes the scene from one of judgment to that of reward. It is the climax of the songs and the loudest outpouring of praise from a great multitude of voices.

The reason for this fourth Hallulujah is that God reigns, and, with His enemies trampled beneath His feet, it is now time to have a wedding.

Examples: Lord of the Rings, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast

It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’ ” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.” Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

Here we see the bride of Christ made ready for marriage. The Church, finally purified of sin, is clothed exclusively in righteousness.

This is the full picture of marriage. What we have today in our earthly picture is meant to point ahead to this moment. That is why we protect it so much.

2 Corinthians 11:2 NASB95

For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin.

Ephesians 5:25–27 NASB95

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.

Isaiah 25:6–10 NASB95

The Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain; A banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow, And refined, aged wine. And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples, Even the veil which is stretched over all nations. He will swallow up death for all time, And the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces, And He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; For the Lord has spoken. And it will be said in that day, “Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.” For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain, And Moab will be trodden down in his place As straw is trodden down in the water of a manure pile.

Isaiah 25:6-10

And he said to me, “These are true words of God.” Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

John is so overcome by what he has seen that he bows down in worship before the angel who is revealing these things to him. If you have ever wondered if we should worship an angel, here is your answer. No.

Because they, like us, are but servants of God.

Because worship belongs only to God.

Because what we reveal, even when amazingly glorious, is a testimony about Jesus, not us.

A Warrior King (11-16)

And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.

The heavens are again opened, like they were in 4:1 to let John in, but now Jesus comes forth. This is the event known as the Second Coming.

Jesus approaches, no longer pictured as a lamb, but as a conquering king. He sits on a war horse, is called Faithful and True, and goes out to wage war.

And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

The armies of heaven are made up of the bride of the Lamb, Tribulation saints, Old Testament saints and the holy angels.

A Total Victory (17-21)

Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, “Come, assemble for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great.”

An angel in the sun calls out for the carrion birds of the earth to prepare for a slaughter. There is no question who will win this war.

And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.

God totally annihilates His enemies. As we already saw, they had been softened up in the field by 100 pound hailstones. That was just in preparation for the arrival of Christ.

Zechariah 14:12–13 NASB95

Now this will be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the peoples who have gone to war against Jerusalem; their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongue will rot in their mouth. It will come about in that day that a great panic from the Lord will fall on them; and they will seize one another’s hand, and the hand of one will be lifted against the hand of another.

Zephaniah 1:14–18 NASB95

Near is the great day of the Lord, Near and coming very quickly; Listen, the day of the Lord! In it the warrior cries out bitterly. A day of wrath is that day, A day of trouble and distress, A day of destruction and desolation, A day of darkness and gloom, A day of clouds and thick darkness, A day of trumpet and battle cry Against the fortified cities And the high corner towers. I will bring distress on men So that they will walk like the blind, Because they have sinned against the Lord; And their blood will be poured out like dust And their flesh like dung. Neither their silver nor their gold Will be able to deliver them On the day of the Lord’s wrath; And all the earth will be devoured In the fire of His jealousy, For He will make a complete end, Indeed a terrifying one, Of all the inhabitants of the earth.

Ezekiel 39:12 NASB95

“For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them in order to cleanse the land.

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