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Rejoicing in Heaven
19 After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out,
“Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
for his judgments are true and just;
for he has judged the great prostitute
who corrupted the earth with her immorality,
and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”
Once more they cried out,
“Hallelujah!
The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.”
And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” And from the throne came a voice saying,
“Praise our God,
all you his servants,
you who fear him,
small and great.”
The Marriage Supper of the Lamb
Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,
“Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God
the Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and exult
and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his Bride has made herself ready;
it was granted her to clothe herself
with fine linen, bright and pure”—
for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
The Rider on a White Horse
Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.” And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.
(ESV)
Revelation 19 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, 2 for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”
3 Once more they cried out, “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.” 4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” 5 And from the throne came a voice saying, “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great.”
Revelation 19:1-5 ESV
Welcome to the celebration! On the surface, it seems there’s not much going on here other than a song of praise. But let’s dig deeper. The layers of this heavenly church service echo from the multitudes in heaven down to the inhabitants of the earth. This is not just a heavenly song; it is an invitation for the entire universe to reverberate a joyful noise of praise and worship to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
Who kicks things off? It is the great multitude in heaven. This is the same multitude from Revelation 7:9 that no one could number. They are the same martyred believers who were slaughtered by the Antichrist during the Great Tribulation and cried out for God’s righteous judgment back in Revelation 6. This heavenly choir raises a hallelujah, literally. ‘Hallelujah’ is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word for “praise the Lord.” That Hebrew word is found all throughout the OT, but interestingly, ‘hallelujah’ is not found anywhere else in the NT other than here in Revelation 19!
This is the nature of worship. The innumerable multitude stirs up the 4 living creatures and the 24 elders and they can’t contain themselves. They join in with not only their voices, but by falling down on their faces before the Lord. Their worship is unrestrained because of the fact that God has done everything that He said He would. He made good on every promise. He rescued and protected His children. Not one was lost. He destroyed the beast, the worldly kings, the harlot, and all others who waged war against Him.
This worship goes far beyond just personal deliverance. It is the cosmic realization of God’s comprehensive perfection. It is the culmination of God’s entire plan, every single detail, which now comes into full view after so much suffering and upheaval. The previous chapters of destruction and turmoil seem miles away as the dark clouds begin to clear on the horizon. The party has officially kicked off, but as I mentioned before, this isn’t just a heavenly party.
After we hear from the multitude, the 4 living creatures, and the 24 elders, a voice calls out from the altar of God. This voice summons for a response to the pinnacle of God’s plan of redemption. We are slowly approaching the fulfillment of everything God has promised for all eternity. We are about to climb to the apex of universal praise. We read of a call to worship directed at the rest of God’s people on earth!
And from the throne came a voice saying, “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great.”
Revelation 19:5 ESV
The Wedding Feast
Finally, the wedding feast has come! Historically, the church has been described as the bride of Christ, and John picks up on this point painting a picture of what that wedding day will look like. Many OT and NT writers wrote of this moment.
“I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice, In lovingkindness and in compassion, 20 And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. Then you will know the LORD.
Hosea 2:19-20 NASB
“For your husband is your Maker, Whose name is the LORD of hosts; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, Who is called the God of all the earth.
Isaiah 54:5 NASB
FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND SHALL BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH. 32 This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.
Ephesians 5:31-32 NASB
As opposed to the prostitute in Revelation 17 wearing purple and scarlet with gold, rings, and jewels, Christ’s bride is adorned with bright, clean, fine linen. The clothing was significant. The text says that the linen represents the righteous acts of the saints. It does not say that the bride was given the linens to wear, but rather, that she was granted the ability to array herself with them.
Spiritually speaking, our lives translate the same way. We were created to do good works which Christ prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them (Eph 2:10). They are not given to us, but rather, we are given the ability to accomplish them through the strength of Christ.
John is overcome with emotion at the sight of the marriage supper. So much, in fact, that he falls down and begins worshipping, only to be stopped by the angel. He is corrected by the angel because it is God alone who is worthy of worship.
What a glorious sight when we are reunited with our Lord and Savior!