The American Wisdom Series

Revelation chapter 19
Rejoicing in Heaven after the Fall of Babylon

We've reached the 19th chapter in the great Book of the Revealing and there's about to be rejoicing in heaven. The 7th Trump is still sounding as Jesus Christ returns to this earth having judged the great whore and avenged the blood of His servants. Babylon the great is history!

However, before we begin this chapter let's take a preview look at some of the terminology and symbols used in this chapter. You see, if you have studied line by line with us from the beginning of this book, then you will have no problem understanding most of this chapter because you already know what most everything means. For example, here of some the symbols and phrases used that we've read of and learned about to this point in the Book of Revelation:

vs. 2 The great whore

vs. 4 The four and twenty elders and the four beasts (living beings)

vs. 6 The voice of many waters

vs. 8,14 Fine linen, clean and white

vs. 11 A white horse

vs. 12 "Eyes as a flame of fire"

vs. 15 Sharp sword proceeding from Christ's mouth

vs. 15 the winepress of God's wrath

Therefore the rest of the words and phrases in in this study, such as Lamb, Word of God, Kings of kings and Lord of lords, etc., are to be found previously in God's Word.

The point is that if a person were to pick up the book of Revelation and try to read and understand it without the foundation from the Word, you just can't imagine what kind of scenarios they would come up with. On second thought, you've probably seen some of the wild and crazy interpretations of this book. I actually heard one nationally televised preacher tell the viewers that there are going to come "huge locusts, down out of the sky, the size of horses, with stingers in their tails, and when they sting you it will hurt for 5 months".

Confusion, confusion! And it all comes from not studying the Word of God!  And so it is written that the time is fast approaching when the whole world will be confused about who the true Christ is. Will you? Not if you are sealed with His Word in your forehead.

Chapter 19 verse 1:

Rev. 19:1
And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:

By the way, this is the first time this word "Hallelujah" is used in the New Testament and it is connected with the punishment of the wicked. Do you know what? The first time it is used in the Old Testament it is connected with the same thing.

Psalm 104:35
Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the LORD, O my soul. Praise ye the LORD.

So John observes them praising God in heaven.

[2] For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.

[3] And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.

Don't let the phrase "and her smoke rose up for ever and ever" conjure up some image of an ever burning hell fire. It simply means that when something is burned and it "goes up in smoke" it is gone for ever and ever.

[4] And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.

[5] And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.

[6] And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

[7] Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

Rev. 19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

"Yes, but salvation is of grace and not of works", you say. True, but you are rewarded by your works, so will you be saved with your clothes on or will you saved stark naked.

Rev. 16:15
Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.

Now John is given some instructions. Back to work John!

Rev. 19:9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

[10] And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

What is the testimony of Jesus? It's the entire Word of God. We could say it's both the Old Testimony and the New Testimony. Yes, I like it!

[11] And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

The rider on this white horse is Jesus Christ, and He is coming to make war with His enemies, who we read in Rev. 17 are preparing to make war with Him. Rev. 17:14 "These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful."

[12] His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a name written, that no man knew, but He himself.

Yes, He will have many crowns on His head for all the crowns of the earth will have been surrendered to Him.

The word "knew" used here is "oido" which means to "know intuitively without effort". Do you know His name?

[13] And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Rev. 19:14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

Did you notice that everyone who rides with Him is fully clothed in white linen.

[15] And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

[16] And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

1 Tim. 6:11-16
But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.

[12] Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

[13] I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession;

[14] That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:

[15] Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;

[16] Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.

Christ is coming to make war (Rev. 19:14-15) and to subdue all nations, taking all their "crowns", and placing them all under His rod of correction. We observed Him returning with His armies, who rode upon white horses, and were clothed with fine white linen, meaning their righteous acts.

Just wait until you see this army of the Host of Heaven led by the King of kings! It will truly be an awesome sight to behold! Of course when we read about the horses we wonder if these horses are real horses like "Trigger" or "Secretariat" or "Silver". Well, not exactly. Do you remember in 2 Kings chapter 6 when Elisha and the young man were surrounded by a host of enemy horses and chariots, and how Elisha prayed to the Father to reveal the heavenly army to the young man?

2 Kings 6:17
And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

In any event, when Christ returns to make war at the sound of the 7th Trump, we read that His armies will follow Him. It is at this time that His Kingdom will be ushered in, which is to say that His Millennial reign will begin. This is one statement to which most everyone agrees. But there is something which happens at Christ's return which is a "mystery" to most.

Do you recall how many times we've said that an understanding of the rest of the Bible is essential in order to come to the fullness of the understanding of the Book of Revelation? That makes sense, doesn't it? You can't just pick up a book and read the last chapter or two and understand the whole book, can you?  Here's what we said:

"Plus, if you've studied, i.e. read with understanding, the entire Bible from the beginning, from Genesis on, line by line then you will completely understand this chapter, for as we said from the opening study, there is nothing really new in the Book of Revelation that hasn't been discussed before in God's Word. It's just that in this Book of the Unveiling, this PICTURE BOOK, prophecy is all tied together and simplified for our understanding."

So before we see the picture, let us first understand what Paul said. The subject is he is addressing is the death and resurrection of the body from flesh to spirit:

1 Cor. 15:44
It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

1 Cor. 15:50
Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

Paul explains it and makes it very simple for us to understand, which I guess is why it is a "mystery" to most.

[51] Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

And about how long, and precisely when will this change of bodies take place?

[52] In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

Now don't let the phrase "the dead shall be raised incorruptible" cause you to switch subjects in the middle of a sentence. The subject is the change of bodies from flesh to spirit. We read in verse 51 that it is ALL who are changed and here in verse 52 Paul breaks it down into two categories. (1) The "dead", who are the "spiritually dead", i.e. the figuratively dead (see appendix 139 in the Companion Bible regarding the different use of the word nekros translated "dead" in the NT). They too will be elevated, or raised to incorruptible bodies, and (2) we Christians also!

Paul is simply saying both the good and the bad, those who are saved and those who aren't, will be changed, i.e. ALL, EVERYONE!

[53] For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

And so there is much confusion in the ranks of Christianity concerning the subject of "resurrection" because of the lack of understanding of the use of the word "nekros" and the failing to understand the simplicity of the "mystery" that Paul explains in 1 Cor. 15.

So we have learned from the apostle Paul that ALL flesh will be changed when Christ returns, and it is at that point to which we have arrived in Rev. 19. Here then is the PICTURE of the end of all flesh at the sound of the 7th Trump:

Rev. 19:17
And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;

The original texts read "to the great supper of God". The word "supper" used is here is the Greek word "deipnon" which comes from "dapane", dap-an'-ay, Greek #1160; from dapto (to devour); expense (as consuming) :- cost.

Again, don't be confused and bring in subjects that are not being discussed. This verse is not talking about the marriage supper of the Lamb which takes place later. Jesus Christ is returning and the flesh age is over and all mankind will be changed into their spiritual bodies.

[18] That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.

So do you get the PICTURE that there will be a lot of carcasses lying around for the birds to feast on and clean up? Pretty graphic isn't it?

[19] And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.

The 14th chapter of the Book of Zechariah gives us this same account of Christ's return when His feet touch down upon the Mount of Olives. Remember we just read in Rev. 19:18 that "ALL FLESH" is going to be consume away at His return and that includes the earthly kings and their armies which Satan has gathered at Jerusalem to make war against the Lamb.

Zech. 14:12
And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.

Rev. 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

Now let's think for a moment. We know that Satan will be loosed for a short time after the Millennium to be used as a final test for those who go through the Millennium.  But he will NOT be given a one political system again (for Christ is taking charge as King of kings forever when He returns), nor will he afforded the role as false Messiah again, i.e. the false prophet.

Here's verse 21 to complete the 19th chapter:

Rev. 19:21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

Again, I hope you can see that there is nothing new here that we haven't read of before! We are reading the final chapters of the Word of God. We should know all of this before we get to this point. Revelation is simply the uncovering, a final Pictorial Look at the events consummating the end of this age, i.e. it is mostly summary material.

In chapter 20 we will go into and even pass through the Millennium to that final judgment when all that is evil and wicked is consumed away in the lake of fire and the 3rd Heaven and 3rd Earth age, which will exist for all eternity, is finally come!

How truly exciting is the Revelation from our Father to those who have eyes to see and ears to hear!