College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
Revelation 19:1-8
Strauss-' Comments
SECTION 61
Text Revelation 19:1-8
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.
Initial Questions Revelation 19:1-8
1.
What does Hallelujah mean in Revelation 19:1?
2.
Discuss how the truth, justice, and righteousness are related in God's judgment of the great harlot - Revelation 19:2.
3.
Discuss the spiritual implications of the imagery of the harlot in Revelation 19:2.
4.
What does the Bible mean when it speaks of fearing God - Revelation 19:5?
5.
What is the significance of the assertion in Revelation 19:6 - that the almighty reigneth? (Reigneth is the translation of a form which means - keeps on reigning or continually reigns.)
6.
Is God really reigning in the above sense in view of the rapid development of the forces of evil in our own day?
7.
Who is the wife of the Lamb in Revelation 19:7?
8.
Discuss the difference in the dress of the great harlot (Revelation 17:4) and the wife of the Lamb - Revelation 19:8.
Triumph in Heaven; Two Hallelujah Psalms; An Angelic Message
Chapter Revelation 19:1-10
A great shout of joy is heard in heaven because of the over throw of the great Harlot. These shouts of jubilation also introduce the great scenes of final victory. The heavenly songs are modeled after their O.T. counterparts.
We have passed through the great woes and have seen the ravishing effects of evil upon both the spiritual and physical creation. Now, we enter the great section of Hope! This hope is grounded in God's victory through Christ. Our Christian hope stands in radical contrast with the contemporary nihilistic attitudes. In the prevision of hope we see the tension between cynicism and the Christian faith, defeatism and hope.
What was the message of the heavenly chorus? Hallelujah (from two Hebrew words meaning - praise Yahweh - see the note after chapter 19 on Handel's Messiah). Read Psalms 70; Revelation 19:1; Revelation 19:3-4; Revelation 19:6. The great Hallel is the technical title for Psalms 104-109. They were sung primarily at the feasts of Passover and Tabernacles.) The salvation (the Emperior cult claimed that Caesar was the only savior of men), and the glory, and power of our God. The chorus was claiming that salvation, glory, and power belong to almighty God, and not to the great harlot. Why do these characteristics belong to God-only?
Because true and righteous are his judgments;----This theme is the same as we find in Romans 1:18 to Romans 3:20. God will judge according to man's own works. The only hiding place will be the everlasting arms of the Lamb of God. Another reason for praising God isbecause he judged (once for all -) the harlot who defiled (eptheiren - the imperfect tense expresses the habit of defiling) the earth with her fornication, and he avenged (exedikçsen - 1st aor. indicative, God avenged the Christians, once for all) the blood of his slaves out of her hand. This entire section of scripture cries out against all forms of universalism which are so prevalent today. The nature of the Holy, Living God can not appease sin!
Again the heavenly chorus - shouts - Praise Yahweh (Hallelujah)! God's judgment had brought to an end the malignant disease which the great harlot had spread by her fornications.
The twenty-four elders, who first appeared in Revelation 4:4, then again Revelation 5:8, praise God and worshipped saying Amen (so be it?); Hallelujah.
Another voice joined the great chorus in praising God. The small and the great are alike commanded to praise (aineite - present, imperative - commanded to continually praise God). There is no one excused for any reason! God is no respecter of persons; He requires the same response from everyone. Being an educated, or wealthy and cultured person in no way places one in a more advantageous position with God. In human society and before men, these factors certainly give their possessor advantage, but will not sway God one wit!
The next to sing the Hallelujah chorus was a vast crowd. They sang - because our Lord God reigned (the tense shows the state of His reigning). During the most intense periods of persecution it would not be abnormal for the faithful to ask - whether or not God reigned as sovereign in all of His Creation. When the human situation is dominated by sin and evil, it is very difficult for us to understand how God was in fact the victor over sin, death, and hell at the cross. The Church has often been charged with an escapist attitude of other worldness. It presents every Christian with a profound problem, when we attempt to relate our pilgrimage in this world to the ultimate victory in the city of God. (See Augustine's The City of God; and Etienne Gilson, Les Metamorphoses de la Cite-' de Dieu, Paris, 1952.
John now uses the imagery of the marriage of the Lamb. Praise continues - because came the marriage of the Lamb, and the wife of Him prepared herself,.. The O.T. speaks of God as the Bridegroom of Israel in Isaiah 54:6; Hosea 2:16; Ezekiel 16:7. Christ appears as the Bridegroom in Matthew 9:15, Mark 2:19 f; Luke 5:34 f, and John 3:29. John the Baptizer said of Christ - He that hath the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, that standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of this bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is made full (John 3:29-36 translation). In the N.T. Christ is the Bridegroom of His Kingdom (2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:25 f; Revelation 3:20; Revelation 19:7; Revelation 19:9; Revelation 21:2; Revelation 21:9; Revelation 22:17). See A. Edersheim, Sketches of Jewish Social Life in the Days of Christ, Eerdmans reprint, chp. 9, pp. 139, Mothers, Daughters, and Wives in Israel gives a brief authoritative account of the Jewish marriage customs in the first century. This information will provide better understanding of the imagery of Bridegroom and Bride in this verse. Jewish wedding customs contained the following elements; (1) the betrothal was of much graver significance than engagements in our culture; (2) the interval is the specified period of time between the betrothal and the wedding feast. Sometime during this time the bridegroom pays a dowry to the girl's father; (3) the procession at the conclusion of the interval. Both parties dress in their finest and prepare themselves for the wedding feast. This feast was the fourth major element in Jewish marriage custom.
Wm Hendriksen has an excellent summation in his More Than Conquerors, op cit., pp. 216-217) of the marriage imagery.
God announced the great wedding feast in the O.T. The betrothal took place when God sent Jesus Christ to be heaven's missionary to sinful man. The dowry was paid by the atoning work of our Lord! Are we slighting God's invitation?
John uses the metaphor of a woman three times in The Revelation - the mother in chp. 12; the harlot in chps. 17 to 19; and the Bride of Christ from this verse to the end of the Book of Revelation.
The wife or the bride of Christ is His Church. She has been given bright, clean, fine linen in order that (hina - purpose clause - for the purpose that she be clothed) she might be clothed; for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. The imagery of a guiltless, guileless bride makes crystal clear that God's wife is pure and undefiled.
Discussion Questions
See Revelation 19:17-21.