As we move into chapters 19 and 20 of The Book of the Revelation we can breathe a big sigh of relief. No more plagues and catastrophes, no more rebellion and evil ruling the planet. We transition from what’s going on in heaven and earth separately - to the two becoming one - as Jesus Christ returns to earth, opening up the curtain to the spirit world - and giving the evil one who inspired all this trouble his comeuppance.
Verses 1 - 5
Babylon represents man’s final attempt to rule his own destiny and to be free from any relationship with the God who created him. That effort - inspired and fueled by Satan - has been overthrown and finally put to rest.
Babylon is known as the great prostitute because man giving himself to anyone but his Creator is prostituting himself to other gods who aren’t really gods at all.
Notice "His judgments are true and just." No one will be able to say at that time that God isn’t fair in judging the evil in man and Lucifer. All the arguments that man is basically good at heart and left to his own will slowly progress towards good and create the utopian society. Babylon - the final world system - will show once and for all that "man’s heart is evil continually" (Genesis 6:5).
To be honest, I have a hard time with verse 3 - the fact that the smoke from the torment of those in hell will never end. But hell is a reality - one that we ignore to our own peril.
The word "halleluiah" is found only here in the New Testament - and four times in this chapter alone. It is a combination of two Hebrew words that mean "praise" and "Yahweh." This word is the same in every language - this is one time when no matter what tongue we speak, we say the same thing.
Verse 4 reminds us that it doesn’t matter how important or insignificant you are - what matters is that you fear the Lord and give Him praise!
Now comes one of my favorite parts of the Bible - the Marriage Supper of the Lamb
Verses 6 - 10
There is a great worship song to this verse - and I just can’t wait to hear all the saints from the Old and New Covenant sing it out - those that trusted in God for salvation by grace through the coming Messiah, and those that looked to Jesus for that grace.
Notice a couple of things:
1. The church acknowledges that God reigns - the opposite of Babylon
2. We will give Him glory for all that we have done
3. We are ready for the supper because "it was granted" for us to put on the white clothes of righteousness. That gift came from the Lord Himself and His death on the cross.
4. The linen represents righteous deeds - but it is really Him doing them through us.
We are blessed indeed to be invited to that feast. There is a neat picture of the Jewish wedding that is fulfilled here. The wedding took place in three stages: Betrothal, collection, and feast.
1. Betrothal. The groom and witnesses would meet at the Father’s house and sign an agreement outlining the payments necessary for the arrangement. The groom would then seal the deal by giving the bride something of value. The groom would spend the time between the betrothal and the wedding preparing the house. This is Jesus paying for our sins so we can be His bride and giving us the Holy Spirit as a down payment. He said "I go to prepare a place for you." (John 14:2)
2. The Collection - on the wedding day the groom would collect his bride in a torchlight processional through the streets and bring her to the father’s house. The bride and groom would dress in their finest apparel - as well as the guests. This is the rapture. (1 Thes 4:17)
3. The Feast. The wedding feast could last up to 7 days after the marriage ceremony. Those in attendance would wash their hands to purify themselves - and during the feast songs and poetry would be shared. That’s what we see here in Revelation 19 - an event I think takes place just before Jesus’ return to the earth.
In verse 10 John is overwhelmed by what he witnesses and tries to worship the angel who is like his guide through all of this vision. The angel is not embarrassed but tells him clearly to worship the Lord.
The main purpose of prophecy is to declare God’s truth - so in giving a witness for the reality of Jesus Christ we are prophets. All prophecy focuses on Jesus.
So now in chapter 20 we see Jesus return to lay claim to earth.
Verses 11 - 13
So now, finally - we see the risen Lord Jesus riding on a horse - ready to march on planet earth. The last time we saw Jesus riding was on a donkey, coming into Jerusalem in peace. Now he rides a horse as a conquering hero. Jesus sees all and has all authority. We’re not sure what the name is - perhaps believers were not to know this name, yet. The blood on the robe could be the blood of the martyrs, it could be the blood of Christ’s enemies or could be His own blood. I think for me it is most likely the blood of His enemies - symbolic of the warrior king who comes to conquer and take back earth and destroy His enemies.
Verses 14 - 16
We come with Jesus on His return - we get up from the banquet table and get on our horses and ride out like Hoss and Little Joe on the Ponderosa (OK - am I dating myself here?). Don’t like riding horses? Are they really horses anyway? Don’t worry about it - these horses don’t buck. Besides - He’s the One who does all the work anyway.
Jesus has a sword (Isaiah 49) - 4-5 feet long - used by cavalry soldiers; a scepter (Psalm 2) - some think it is more like a club that is used to smash His enemies, and He treads a winepress - often used as a picture of judgment (Isaiah 63). There will literally be no escape for God’s enemies when He returns.
Verses 17 - 18
There is so much carnage after Jesus dispatches the armies of men who have come to try to defeat God that carrion birds like vultures are attracted to the scene. Ezekiel 39 gives us more on this battle, including the fact that it’ll take 7 years to bury all the dead.
Verses 19 - 21
So the final end comes to the Beast and False Prophet - thrown alive into hell - its first inhabitants. The Lake of Fire is known as Gehenna and is the final destination for all those who reject Jesus Christ.
So now the dragon gets captured.
Chapter 20 - Verses 1 - 3
So Satan gets thrown into the Abusso - the place of demonic incarceration. He has one more card to play in human history, but not yet.
Verses 4 - 6
So this represents the beginning of what is called the Millennium. It stands for 1,000 years - a time when God actually rules in person on earth from Jerusalem. It will be a time of great peace, the earth will be restored, and men will hear directly from Jesus Christ.
Who are on the thrones - you and me. In 1st Corinthians 6:2-3, Paul says that you and I will judge the world. Some suggest it is the 24 elders - that’s possible too. But we do know that we will rule and reign with Jesus during this time period. Those who were killed during the Tribulation will get their new bodies and assist in the rule.
So will there be anyone alive? Yes - those that have not received the Mark of the Beast will repopulate the earth. And those children who are born will also be born with a sin nature and they’ll need to make a decision to receive Jesus Christ. The difference is that there will be no temptation from Satan and his demons. But even in that perfect environment, there will be those who choose not to love God.
Verses 7 - 10
So we skip 1,000 years into the future here. Satan is let loose and he manages to get bunches of people to think they can overthrow God. But God isn’t fooling around at all this time - we get a hint that the earth’s landscape will have changed dramatically - but fire comes down and consumes them and then the devil is finally thrown into hell.
The next section should scare anyone who reads it.
Verses 11 - 15
This is known as the Great White Throne judgment. You don’t want to be present at this one - basically God will prove to everyone that they deserve being sent away from God to a place Jesus said was of weeping and gnashing of teeth - called "outer darkness".
The only way to escape hell is to be written in the Book of Life. You get in there by giving your life to Jesus Christ - allowing His sacrifice to cleanse you from all you have done that is evil.
God doesn’t grade on a curve - even one lie will cause you to be rejected from God’s presence for all of eternity. And no good things that you do will balance out that one evil deed. Only Jesus paying the price for you will do it.
Notice that earth and sky fly away. As we’ll see next time - earth itself will be destroyed and a new heaven and new earth will be revealed. You can’t just go your own way on earth - there won’t be an earth to be on anymore.
Conclusions
Is your life right now full of mourning? Perhaps you have suffered - physically, emotionally, even spiritually. Things haven’t gone well for you and sometimes you feel like God must not love you or something.
Take heart - like Psalm 31:11 says: "you have turned my mourning into dancing." There is an end to suffering - and its rejoicing and celebrating and conquering and ruling and fellowshipping with God forever and ever.
Or perhaps your life is going along fine - and you don’t think you need to thing about God or eternity at all. After all - you can’t see it. Perhaps all this is a made up fairy tale to scare people into obeying some arbitrary set of rules that some man invented.
I don’t think that’s true - and I think the proof is there, in the Bible - and in your own heart. But let me ask you something - are you 100% sure of your position? If not - are you willing to take the chance that this might be true - and risk spending all of eternity apart from everything good and peaceful and joyful - in a place where mourning is a way of life?
Next time - the New Heaven, The New Jerusalem - and what awaits the saints.
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