REVELATION 19

Re 19:1 ¶ And after these things

• After these things- The phrase after these things refers to the events of chapters 17 and 18 and especially the fall of Babylon. Here in verses 1-10, we're taken to heaven in that interval between the destruction of Babylon and the Second coming of Jesus Christ that.

I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia;

• Alleluia This word comes from two Hebrew words. The first is allelu, meaning “give praise.” The second is the Hebrew name of God in the shortened form, Yah. It means “praise Yahweh,” or “praise the Lord.”
• This is the only time that we find this word in the NT, but it is a frequent title for Psalm 111:1; 112:1; 113:1. Psalm 113-118 are known as the Hallel Psalms, and they were sung in connection with the Feast of Passover in celebration of Israel's deliverance out of Egypt. It is fitting that the word Hallelujah is a word that is used in Scripture to describe the joy of those who were delivered from their enemies by the mighty hand of God.
• If you have repented of your sin and trusted in Him as full atonement for you sin debt, than you can declare a hearty Alleluia this morning as well. For God Himself has delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son (Col 1.13).

The first aspect of praise consists of the declaration that salvation and glory and honor and power belong to our God.

• This 4 fold anthem of praise reminds us of 1 Chronicles 29:11, "Thine, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty. Indeed, everything that is in the heavens and the earth, Thine is the dominion, O Lord, and Thou dost exalt Thyself as head over all. Both riches and honor come from Thee and Thou dost rule over all. And in Thy hand is power and might. It lies in Thy hand to make great and to strengthen. Now therefore, our God, we thank Thee and praise Thy glorious name."
• Salvation belongs unto our God.
• Ps 3:8 Salvation belongeth unto the LORD
• Jonah 3.9 Salvation is of the LORD.
• Glory and honor belongs unto our God.
• The Psalmist put it this way: Ps 115:1 Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto Thy Name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake.
• Ro 11:36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
• Power belongs unto our God
• Before Jesus ascended up into heaven, He said, Mt 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
• Heaven confirms that sound theology will always be God and Christ centered and not man centered. As glorious and wonderful as the redemption of man is, the major theme of Scripture is not the redemption of man, but The Redeemer of Man.
• Isa 44:6 Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.

2 For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore (religious Babylon and all that belong to her), which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.

• Back in Revelation 7:9-14, we saw a great multitude which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood  of the Lamb. In Revelation 6:9,10, we know that a part of this great multitude who were martyred at the hand of Antichrist during the Great Tribulation cried out for God's righteous judgment. Here, their prayer is answered.

• Here, this great multitude, along with the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures all join in celebrating the fall of Babylon, the Antichrist and the world system that supported him.

• The ground of God’s judgment demonstrated in the fall of Babylon was the immorality by which the great harlot seduced and corrupted the earth.
• Observe beloved the contrast of perspective in chapter 18 to that of chapter 19.  The people on earth wail following the destruction of Babylon, but heaven rejoices. In the twinkling of an eye we are taken from a scene of somber weeping and lamenting to joyful worship and praise, from one of darkness and doom to one of light and deliverance, from a series of woes to a series of jubilant announcements.
• Oh beloved, and I am especially speaking to those who have lost loved ones who trusted in Jesus Christ, let these words spoken by the saints in heaven encourage you this morning. While we sit here thinking or stewing over events going on in the world, or the troublesome things going on in our lives, our loved ones are in heaven worshipping The Mighty King and praising Him for His true and righteous ways. 

• Also observe that there is no questioning the wisdom and ways of God in heaven. The proclamation of the people in heaven to the judgment of the great whore is true and righteous are His judgments.
• Pastor J. Hampton Keathly III writes, “God’s perfect and holy character, His perfect righteousness and justice, cannot act unfairly or unjustly. He has perfect knowledge (omniscience) and, therefore, He has all the facts so that all His judgments are in accord with the truth. There is no hearsay evidence in the court of God.”
• Every attribute of God should become a fresh ray in the sunlight of our gladness. The fact that He is wise should make us glad, knowing as we do our own foolishness. That He is mighty should cause us who tremble in our weakness to rejoice. That He is everlasting should always be a theme of joy when we know that we wither like grass. That He is unchanging should provide a perpetual song, for we change every hour. That He is full of grace, that He is overflowing with it, and that this grace in covenant He has given to us, that it is ours to cleanse us, ours to keep us, ours to sanctify us, ours to perfect us, ours to bring us to glory-all this should serve to make us glad in Him. CHS
• How I need to remember biblical truth about the character of God when I am in the midst of a serious trial in my life and I find myself doubting the fairness of love of God for me.  In the middle of his great trial Job made the statement, Job 23:3 Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat! 4 I would order my cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments. When Job got his request answered and he stood before The Lord, we read Job 40:1 Moreover the LORD answered Job, and said, 2 Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it. 3 Then Job answered the LORD, and said, 4 Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.5 Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.
• Like Asaph in Psalm 73, there are times in this age when the “bad guys” are doing great and the follower of Jesus is getting hammered to the proverbial wall. But know this beloved, the Bible tells us that this cannot and will not always be the case because the character of God is that He is Just and True.
• Another reason for this praise of God was the fact that God avenged the blood of His servants at her hand. God does not allow His servants that suffer for His Name sake to go unavenged or unrewarded.  For those of you that may be presently involved in a situation where your flesh wants to take matters into your own hands or get even with someone that has wronged you, remember this….if you are a child of the King of the universe, He has made this very clear.
• Ro 12:19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
• Heb 10:30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord.
• Beloved, fight your battles with your enemies God’s way and not yours.

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

• Heaven rejoices not because of the damnation of the unjust, for God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Heaven rejoices because when Jesus Christ returns to this earth, the prayer of the church, Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven (Matt 6.10) will be fulfilled.  

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

• The Greek says, “and they worshipped the God, the One who sits continually upon the throne.” Oh, how we need to capture this picture of our God who sits on the throne deep within our hearts this morning beloved, for it emphasizes the permanent sovereignty of God.
• When John was taken up into heaven, the first thing that he saw was a throne was set in heaven, and One sat on the throne (Rev 4.2).  There is only One Sovereign Ruler of this universe.
• There is no act of man, nor of the nations, nor problem which comes up in our lives which overrules the sovereignty of God.
• Ps 103:19 ¶ The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.
• Dan 4:35 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?
• 1Pe 3:22 Who (The Lord Jesus Christ) is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.
• Amen means “so be it.” In other words, as far as the judgment of this fallen world system goes, the verdict of the saints in heaven is Amen! This Amen agrees with one of the initial statements of John in the Revelation as it relates to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to judge the world in righteousness.
• Re 1:7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

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.

• And who is to respond to this command to Praise our God? His servants and ye that fear Him.
• Jesus said, Lu 16:13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
• Who or what is your master this morning my friend? There is no room for rival passions in our lives beloved.
• One of the titles of Jesus Himself is Isa 42:1 ¶ Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth.
• Our example of being a servant is The Lord Jesus Christ Who served His Father and others in humility and grace.
• Mr 10:42 But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. 43 But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister (diakonos): 44 And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant (doulos) of all. 45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
• The worldly spirit of loving preeminence and being superior over others is contrary to the teaching of Jesus Christ. Arrogance, pride, self exalting attitudes.
• To be a follower of The Lord Jesus Christ means that you make the choice to prefer others above yourself just like our Lord did in the upper room in John 13 when He washed the disciples’ feet. We are all called to serve one another in love beloved.
• The path of greatness and fulfillment in the body of Christ comes by dedicating my life to be a servant of God.  How important it is for us to realize that as we reach out to serve others, or in some area of ministry that we are actually serving God. For as I reach out to others or serve in the church I am to do it in the name of the Lord, I do it as unto the Lord.  Whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all to the glory of God. And so the path of greatness is learning to be the servant and the motive of serving is to be marked by humility and grace.
• In Luke 14 when Jesus gave the conditions for discipleship, He said that if you intend to build a tower or go out to war, you first count the cost before you engage in the project or in the battle. To be a servant or disciple of Jesus Christ in the truest sense will be costly beloved. We are living in a day and age beloved when people are quitting when the going gets tough. They quit on their marriages, they quit serving at church, they quit reading their bibles, they quit coming to pray meetings, they quit fellowshipping with other saints.

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:

• Hendel’s Hallelujah chorus was inspired by this text of Scripture.
• Great multitude….voice of many waters….voice of mighty thundering. Beloved, if the language that is used to describe the workings of God from the throne and the volume of praise that is continually brought before Him, I really hope that you are not expecting heaven to be like the public library!
• While there is something precious and irreplaceable about our quiet times alone with God, there is also something absolutely thrilling about a large number of Christians worshipping God with sincere enthusiasm.

for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

• pantokrator (Gk.) almighty; absolute and universal sovereign. God alone is all-powerful, invincible, unstoppable, and supreme. Psalm 93.1, 97.1 & 99.1 all declare that The Lord reigns.
• Your God is reigning in your life right now beloved. Just like Job that I mentioned earlier. Joseph told his brothers that they very same things that they meant for his evil, God used for good and His glory. God reigns beloved!

7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour (glory) to him:

for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

Giving glory to God is the language of the redeemed, whether they are in heaven or on earth.

• 1Ti 1:17 Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
• Jude 1:25 To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
• 1Co 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
• The imagery of a marriage depicting the intimate relationship between God and His people is sprinkled throughout the Old Testament (Is. 54:5-7; Hosea 2:19). And the New Testament portrays the church as Christ's bride (Eph. 5:23-28). A born again Christian is not married to a system of theology or a denomination, but to The Lord Jesus Christ.

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 (righteous acts of the saints).

• Our righteousness before God is not based upon our performance. Our righteousness before God is not something that we earn by observing particular rules or rituals, thus making us a part of our salvation. Our righteousness comes by embracing what Jesus Christ, The Lamb of God has already done for us by grace through faith.
• It is not our righteousness that saves us for our righteousness is as flighty rags in the sight of God. Our righteousness is an imputed righteousness. 
• But in this verse we see once again the reoccurring theme of the balance between salvation by grace and the evidence of that salvation being works of faith. On the divine side, salvation is all of God who "grants" us the righteousness of Christ through faith (Rom. 1:17; 3:21, 22, 24-26; 10:4; 1 Cor. 1:30; 2 Cor. 5:21; Phil. 3:9 ). One the practical side, we see that the fine linen, which will be worn by Christ's bride, is made up of the "righteous acts of the Saints" (1 Thess. 1:3; 1 Tim. 1:5; James 2:14, 19, 20,26; 2 Peter 1:5-8).
• God saved us and gave gifts unto us because He has called us to be His witnesses in this fallen world. God wants your life to make an impact on others for Jesus Christ.  We also know that the only eternal rewards that we will be given will be those that are done out of a love for Christ and for the glory of God.

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.

• Jesus Himself eagerly anticipates this marriage supper. He spoke longingly of the day when He will drink of the fruit of the vine again, with His disciples in the kingdom (Matthew 26:29).
• Lu 14:16 Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: 17 And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.18 And they all with one consent began to make excuse.
• After the service I am going to give you an opportunity come and trust Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of your life. If you will not do that today, know this, Jesus does not accept any excuse as a valid one?
• God, with His great power and steadfast love for us, sits permanently on the throne. And, as the One who sits on the throne in heaven, we ought to humbly submit to Him and give Him the throne of our hearts.

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.

• In this passage and in Re 22:7,8, the apostle offers worship to a fellow creature, an angel. In each place the prohibition is prompt. This episode is introduced in order to teach the sinfulness of all creature worship. PNTC
• In telling the story, John does not hesitate to make himself a negative example. He is as ignorant as Cornelius was when he fell down to worship Peter and was told, Stand up . . . I am only a man myself (Acts 10:26) or as the people of Lystra when they tried to offer sacrifices to Paul and Barnabas and were told, We are only men, human like you" (Acts 14:11-15).
• No created being should be worshipped. This is in contrast to Jesus, who receives the worship of angels (Hebrews 1:6) and of men (Matthew 8:2, Matthew 14:33, John 9:38). Thus, we see the infallible doctrine of the deity of Jesus Christ. If Jesus was the angel Michael as the JW’s claim, then He would have discouraged any worship that was directed towards Him.
• I am thy fellowservant- There are important differences between humans and angels, but both are servants of the same Lord.
• The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. The design of prophecy is to bear testimony to Jesus. The language does not mean, of course, that this is the only design of prophecy, but that this is its great and ultimate end. The possession of the prophetic spirit shows itself in witness to Jesus.
• John himself bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw (Rev 1.2).
• When a person is born again, they bear the testimony of Jesus Christ. Ro 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His. Does your life bear the testimony of Jesus my friend? Make you calling and election sure.