Revelation 19:1-21

Tomlinson's Comments

CHAPTER XIX
THE HALLELUJAH CHORUS AND FINAL JUDGMENT

Text (Revelation 19:1-21)

1 After these things I heard as it were a great voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, Hallelujah; Salvation, and glory, and power, belong to our God: 2 for true and righteous are his judgments; for he hath judged the great harlot, her that corrupted the earth with her fornication, and he hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.
3 And a second time they say. Hallelujah. And her smoke goeth up for ever and ever. 4 And the four and twenty elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped God that sitteth on the throne, saying, Amen; Hallelujah. 5 And a voice came forth from the throne, saying, Give praise to our God, all ye his servants, ye that fear him, the small and the 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 thunders, saying, Hallelujah: for the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigneth. 7 Let us rejoice and be exceeding glad, and let us give the glory unto him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 8 And it was given unto her that she should array herself in fine linen, bright and pure: for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they that are bidden to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are true words of God. 10 And I fell down before his feet to worship him. And he saith unto me, See thou do it not: I am a follow-servant with thee and with thy brethren that hold the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
11 And I saw the heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and he that sat thereon called Faithful and True; and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12 And his eyes are a flame of fire, and upon his head are many diadems; and he hath a name written which no one knoweth but he himself. 13 And he is arrayed in a garment sprinkled with blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which are in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and pure. 15 And out of his mouth proceedeth 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 of the wrath of God, the Almighty. 16 And he hath on his garment and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in mid heaven, Come and be gathered together unto the great supper of God; 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 thereon, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, and small and great.
19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat upon the horse, and against his army. 20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought the signs in his sight, wherewith he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast and them that worshipped his image: they two were cast alive into the lake of fire that burneth with brimstone: 21 and the rest were killed with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, even the sword which came forth out of his mouth: and all the birds were filled with their flesh.

Revelation 19:1 After these things.

Following the stirring scenes pertaining to the fall of Babylon, John hears these songs of rejoicing and thanksgiving. Such anthems are heard whenever some great triumph or blessing is about to come.
In the twentieth verse of the eighteenth chapter there was a call to heaven and the holy apostles and prophets to rejoice over the downfall of Babylon. Here we have the response to that call. John said:

vs. Revelation 19:1-18.

I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying Alleluia; salvation and glory, and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God. 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. And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.
And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye servants, and ye that fear him both small and great.
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.
Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready. And to her it was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

This has been a lengthy quotation, but it includes the verses which present this great Alleluia Chorus. This Hallelujah Chorus contains the only Hallelujahs of all the New Testament. It would seem as if these Hallelujahs were reserved for this wonderful victory in the downfall of spiritual Babylon.

These first verses of this chapter are an interlude between the fall of Babylon, Chapter 18, and the fall of the beast (Revelation 19:11-21). This is the fifth parenthesis thus far in the book of Revelation. These interludes are thus familiar features throughout the book. This parenthesis consists of a fourfold chorus and each chorus has the same theme: Hallelujah. We note that the music and singing of heaven has been heard often throughout the uncovering of the mysteries of God, but not until now has the Hallelujah Chorus sounded.

The Hallelujahs are four in number. Perhaps this points the divine finger to God's victory over the powers of the earth, because four seems to be the numerical symbol of the earthfour corners, four winds, four directions.

The first two Hallelujahs celebrate the fall and utter destruction of Babylon, the harlot. John hears the voice of a great multitude, saying, Hallelujah: Salvation, and glory, and power, belong to our God: for true and righteous are his judgments; for he hath judged the great harlot. (Revelation 19:2).

And, again (second time) they say, Hallelujah, and her smoke goeth up for ever and ever. (Revelation 19:3).

The third Hallelujah is uttered by the twenty-four elders (we found them to be heavenly princes) and the four living creatures (we found them to be Cherubim).
Then a voice came forth from the throne, as it were the voice of a heavenly director or conductor, saying, Give praise to our God, all ye his servants, ye that fear Him, both small and great.
Then this majestic chorus is heard in answer to the voices bidding. The chorus is like the voice of a great multitude, and like the the voice of many waters, and like the voice of mighty thunders, saying,
Hallelujah: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
As the majestic heavenly chorus comes to its grand finale John hears a voice commanding him to open the fourth of the seven beatitudes of the apocalypse.

Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.

A solemn confirmation of this beatitude follows: And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. (Revelation 19:9).

What a contrast is this with that of the eighteenth Chapter! There we read And the voice of the Bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee (Babylon); here is pictured the approaching marriage of the Lamb. This vision brings us only to the announcement of the coming marriage of the Lamb. The subject will be taken up again in the twenty-first chapter.
So deeply impressed was John and so overwhelmed by such a glorious revelation from this voice that came out of the throne that he fell at the feet of the messenger to worship him.

Revelation 19:10 And he said unto me, See thou do it not; I am thy fellow-servant, and of all thy brethren, that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

While the apostate church worshipped saints, Mary and the angels, members of the true church are forbidden thus to do so. This ought to be sufficient warning to the devotees of such a false worship.

In this verse and also in Revelation 22:7-8, the apostle, John, offered to worship the angel and in each instance the prohibition is instantaneous.

Another comparison between the two instances is enlightening. Here the angel says: See thou do it not; for I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren. In Revelation 22:9 he adds, of thy brethren, the prophets. Here the explanation is added, The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

In testifying of Jesus the angel seems to present himself as becoming one of the prophets. This spirit of prophecy is the witness to Jesus of His being the Messiah, the Son of God, the Redeemer, the Lamb that was slain, the Bridegroom and the King of the Kingdom, when the kingdoms of this world shall become the Kingdom of our Lord and His Christ.
Now we seem to come to the opening of a new vision, because of the similarity of the wording to that used at the beginning of other new visions.

In Revelation 4:1, where the vision of the throne, the slain Lamb and the seven seals began, we read:

After this I looked, and behold, a door was opened in heaven.

In Revelation 11:19, another beginning, we read: And the temple of God was opened in heaven.

And here in Revelation 19:11-16 we read: 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. 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. And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and His name is called The Word of God and the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

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. And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

All this is symbolism at its highest and best. Some have called this the Battle of Armageddon and thereby made such statements literal. We shall never see a white horse with a sword projecting out of the mouth of its rider. Truly, and without doubt this is a spiritual presentation of symbolism. And how logical and natural should this follow the Hallelujah Chorus.
Up to this point the false apostate church has been under consideration. Now we see the triumphant church with presentations of conditions that would have obtained had it not been for the departure from the truth.
Here we get a glimpse of what can, and will obtain when Babylon is burned. Shall we briefly consider some of the characterizations here, remembering always that we are walking in the realm of symbolism.

First: He rides upon a white horse. This is the first time Christ has appeared since a door was opened in heaven in Revelation 4:1 and a vision was given of God sitting upon His throne and Christ standing like a Lamb as it had been slain. There he was portrayed in His mediatorial work, now he is presented as a conqueror. We have already found that a horse is an emblem of war, and a white one as a symbol of victory.

As the King of the Jews he rode, in his entry into Jerusalem, upon an ass, a colt the foal of an ass. There he was meek and lowly, but here he rides a martial charger, as the King of the entire world.

Second: He is called Faithful and True, This presents Him in sharp contrast to the previous visions, where the Harlot church is unfaithful and the dragon, or the devil, is a deceiver.

Third: In Righteousness He doth judge and make war.

In the last church period, the Laodicean period, corresponding to the time element of this present chapter, Christ is called the Faithful and True Witness, (Revelation 3:14). Chirst is here presented in a dual role, namely, Judge and avenger, or executioner, but in both, Jesus Christ the righteous.

Fourth: His eyes were as a flame of fire.

To be able to judge justly he has eyes that seeth all things, hence this flaming vision.

Fifth: And on His head were many crowns.

This presents Him as a victorious King, whereas, heretofore he was the Lamb slain. The many crowns are significant.
When Ptolemy entered Antioch, he wore two crowns on his head (1Ma. 11:13). When the popes put on their headgear it is a triple crown, emblematic of three sovereignties in one. The dragon or the devil had seven crowns on his seven heads. The beast, or political Rome, had ten diadems on his ten heads, signifying the union of ten sovereignties. In all these instances, the accumulation of diadems symbolized accumulated victories and increased dominion.

Christ is crowned with many diadems, symbolical of His complete dominion over heaven and earth.

Sixth: He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood.

If it were not immediately said and His name was called the Word of God we would still know by his blood-stained garments that he was the Christ, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world, by virtue of His shed blood.

Seventh: And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword that with it he should smite the nations.

Already we have found this symbol stands for the word of God (Hebrews 4:12). This would certainly indicate that this whole action is spiritual.

Eight: And He shall rule them with a rod of iron. Literally, it means He shall shepherdize them with a rod of iron. In other words, His rule is to be firm yet at the same time in the spirit of a shepherd.

All this is highly symbolic. The armies which follow him in heaven are also portrayed riding on white horsesa symbol of triumphant warfareand clothed in fine linen, white and clean, which symbolizes the righteousness of saints.
These wear no armor and we notice that they are not the executors of this vengeance. The victory belongs to Christ alone. He bears the only weapon, the sword, or the word of God. He treadeth the winepress alone. Those who accompany Him need no weapons for the victory is represented as already won. Therefore, the sword of the Captain of their salvation is sufficient. They merely follow up the achievements of the sword he wields.

This is according to (1 John 3:8).

For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

Here is being fulfilled the prophetic utterance of the Psalmist concerning Christ's great triumph to be followed by a description of His glorious wife:

Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips. gird on thy sword upon thy thigh, O Most Mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty. And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of the truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things.
Thy throne O God is forever and ever, the scepter of thy Kingdom is a righteous scepter.

Kings-' daughters were among thy honorable women, upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir. (Psalms 45:2-9).

The name used here is not Jesus,-' one who saves, but is the word of God as the destroyer of His enemies.

The Word of God is all powerful, because it was the Word of God who in the beginning made all things (John 14:1-3). Therefore, none can stand before Him as He comes in the might of that name.

That the victory is certain is further emphasized by the verses that follow:

Revelation 19:17-18 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;

That ye may eat the flesh of kings, 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.

Thus the call to the great supper of God. What a startling contrast between this great supper of God, and that of the marriage supper of the Lamb.

This passage carries our minds back to Ezekiel 39:17-18.

Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every bird of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you.
You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth.

Revelation 19:19-21 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. 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. 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.

There is deep symbolism employed here and a different type of warfare conducted so that the whole struggle is wrapped in mystery, which doubtless will only be fully understood when the fulfillment comes.
The description of this great battle in which the Kingdoms of this world become the Kingdom of our Lord and his Christ is as strange in its weapon of warfare as it is brief in detail. Its very brevity amazes us. But the result is decisive.
The beast, representative of all political despotism and tyranny and the false prophet, the embodiment of false religion are taken, are seized and thrown alive into the lake of fire and brimstone.
And their followers alike are dispatched. Again the strange weapon that destroys them is the sword which proceedeth out of His mouththat spiritual weapon of irresistible might.
Such a strange warfare and such a feast of death has never before been witnessed. Thus is terminated the present order of things as we know it. Only the dragon'S, or the devil's fate remains to be uncovered.

Truly, more we would like to know, but we must not speculate. Neither dare we read in human opinions or theories. It is still true, The secret things belong unto the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever. (Deuteronomy 29:29).

We dare not be wise above that which is written.