In
the closing chapters of the Revelation
given to the apostle John, he is
given insight into what happens at the end of time as we know it, when God’s judgment finally comes upon the whole earth. It will be the end of all gospel
preaching. It will be the end of the
great invitation for all sinners to be reconciled with God through Christ. It
will be the end of God’s
great mercy expressed to an
unwilling and rebellious people.
It will be the day of accounting. And it will be the beginning of a
new era for God’s people. This era begins with a
feast!
I
remind you again of the scheme
and flow of the Revelation to John. Central to the
Revelation are the visions of three cycles of judgment - seven seals (6:1-8:5), seven trumpets (8:6-11:19)
and seven bowls (16:1-21). Each cycle represents
the time
between Christ’s ascension
and His descension, and the cycles occur with ever increasing intensity. Following
this comes a revelation
of the end, a vision of the glorious
redemption of all the saints and of the
final destruction of all of God’s enemies - the prostitute, the beast, the false prophet,
and finally Satan himself.
It
all begins in 16:17.
There we see
the judgment of God beginning
upon the great prostitute - Babylon - the
city of man - the bride of the dragon (16:17-18:-24). This vision is then
contrasted with a vision of heaven, and the gathered saints - the bride
of Jesus Christ, the church! (19:1-11).
A Remarkable Contrast!
* The beast has ten crowns (13:1), indicating that
his kingdom is limited, while Christ wears many crowns/ diadems (19:12).
*The beast has blasphemous names on his head (13:1), while Christ has a name called “King
of kings and Lord of lords” (19:16).
*The dragon,
Satan gives the beast his power (13:2), while Christ, the Lamb’s power and authority is from God the eternal Creator. (5:12 etc.)
*The beast imitates
Christ (who bears the marks of
the cross (5:6,12) and who rose again) through
a fatal wound that is healed (13:3).
*The beast seeks the worship of the inhabitants of the world (13:4 etc.).
But Jesus Christ is destined to be confessed
as King of Kings and Lord of
Lords (17:14). He is the true object of worship.
*The beast has been waging war on the saints (13:7) and Christ now makes war on the beast.(19:11)
We
noted then that destruction finally descends upon the great prostitute, Babylon, who has caused the saints so much trouble. She is the city that
symbolizes and represents every city in
which immorality and greed and all forms
of ungodliness are welcomed. We have noted that heaven rejoices over her destruction (18:20 à 19:1-5). The only ones who weep for the destroyed city are the
kings of the earth (18:9) and the merchants of the earth (18:11,15) who had made their living out of her, and whose
identity was from her. They are
grieving because their life and their livelihood is now gone.
Following this we find
the greatest love story ever told. The
long suffering bride of Christ, the
church, which He purchased with His blood
(5:9-10), has greatly suffered in Babylon.
But now she is united with her great bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ (19:6-10).
It is a happy ending.
It is the completion of
a promise. The bridegroom has come to fetch his bride that she may be where He is (John 14:1-3). Here is the consummation of the marriage promised
ages ago. This was foretold
by Israel’s prophets, and by Jesus in
several of his parables. NOW the time
has come when God’s people ( metaphorically called the bride) WILL BE joined to their
Lord Jesus (metaphorically called the bridegroom of the church).
Babylon’s
destruction ushers
in the wedding feast. The time has now come for church to be physically and actually united to her
Saviour, whom until this time she
has only loved
by faith, and not by sight. Now is the time in which the true church will be
united with her Saviour, and it
all starts with a huge
wedding banquet. This is
a party and a feast beyond
all human comprehension. In some measure
this is what we look forward to every time we
celebrate the Lord’s supper. This is what we ought to
be reminded of every time we attend a wedding.
Have you
received your wedding invitation? “
Blessed are those who are invited to the
marriage supper of the Lamb” (19:9)
What about those who are not invited to the marriage of the Lamb?
Texts
like this beg a question. “What will happen to those who
have denied or refused
Christ in the day when the gospel
was preached?” The answer to that is, “It will be terrible!” But before you
get very discouraged about that
thought, remember that right now
we are still living in the gospel age. “Behold, now is the favourable
time; behold now is the day of salvation.” (2 Cor 6:2). This is
still the age of God’s mercy.
We are
still living under the shadow of the
cross.
We are still living in the days of the outpoured Spirit. He still opens people’s
blind eyes and deaf ears. So, if you are thinking about your loved ones that do not worship Christ, do not loose heart! Pray and seek the Lord
for their salvation. Remember Bible
promises like Luke 11:13 and
Luke 18: 1- 8 and Rev. 5:8 ; 8:3-4. Remember that God is still
in the business of answering our prayers.
Revelation 19: 11- 21 - Two visions
(i) First vision - 19:11-16 - The Lord Jesus Christ on a white
horse, like a conquering
king is ready to defeat
His enemies. He comes to
strike all the enemies of God –
all those that have opposed Him, inspired by their leader Satan
(the dragon- Ch. 13 ), and the
anti-Christ (the first beast) and
the false prophet (the second
beast). Christ appears on a white horse with the armies of heaven (v. 14)
who are also seated on
white horses. The horse is
for war. Notice that our Lord does not appear now on the colt of a donkey[1] but on a horse. He does not now come as the meek One, announcing the kingdom
of God and calling people
everywhere to repent and believe the gospel. No! He now comes as a warrior and a judge. He is fighting a
battle that He will win. His personal appearance and His body language say
it all. His eyes are like a flame of
fire.[2]
He sees everything for what it is, even
the inmost thoughts of the human
heart. Nothing is hidden before Him when He comes for judgment. He is called
“ Faithful and True”. He is
the Faithful One as He now comes on the clouds of heaven according to
His Word, as he said He would (e.g Matt
24:30) to meet the expectation of the
church of all the ages that has
been waiting for His return. Jesus had
spoken many times about His second coming. The prophets and the apostles had spoken about His second
coming. He is the True One. Many false Christ’s arose in His absence, just as He said, and according to His Word (e.g.
Matt 24:4,5). When He returns, the
difference between the false christ’s and Him will be
overwhelming!
On His head He
wears many crowns (diadems) symbolic of victories won in the past.
This is not the first time that He has won the battle. On the cross He already has overcome sin and the devil.
“… and
he has a name written that no one knows but himself.” This
name is no secret. It is in fact revealed in v. 16: “On his
robe and on his thigh he has a name
written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”
In v. 13 we read that the Lord Jesus is “clothed
in a robe dipped in blood, and he is
called the Word of God.” We are immediately reminded of 5:9: “worthy are you … for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and
people and nation.”
A number of
commentators think that the imagery here relates to Isaiah
63:1-3 – a reference to the day of the Lord:
“Who is who
comes from Edom, in crimsoned
garments from Bozrah, he who is splendid
in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength? It is I , speaking in righteousness, mighty to
save. Why is your apparel red, and our garments like his
who treads in the winepress? I have trodden the winepress alone and from the peoples no one was with me. I trod them in my anger
and trampled them in my wrath; their lifeblood
spattered on my garments, and stained all my apparel clothing.”
The image of
a robe dipped in blood corresponds
with the last judgment and it
appears that Isaiah 63 and John 19:11ff speak about the same thing. They speak about the terrible judgment of God on all
His opponents.
V. 14 “And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen white and pure were following him on white horses”. When the Lord Jesus returns in judgment He does not come alone. He will be accompanied by His angelic army – just as He said in Matt.
13:39-49; Matt 16:27; 24:31; 25:31.
V. 15 Notice too,
that this army does not fight in the
great battle. They accompany Christ
who will simply strike the nations
with his Word[3]
and rule them with a rod of iron[4]! He will tread the winepress of the
fury of the wrath of God the Almighty
alone[5]!
(ii) Second vision - Vv.17- 21 : An
angel makes a gruesome announcement. This sounds
similar to what we read of in Ezekiel 39: 17 -19. Here Ezekiel
speaks of a coming judgment, in
which the birds will feed upon the flesh
of those defeated by the God of Israel. John links this picture with the
day of judgment.
Note the irony! In the first 10 verses of Ch.19 John speaks of the great blessing of being invited to the marriage supper of the
Lamb. In verses 11 and following there
is a “feast of judgment”. For this
feast, the LORD issues an invitation to the birds, “Come and
dine!” All who reject the free offer of Christ will
be handed over to the birds! They won’t be guests. They will be the main course!
Here follows
the climax (Vv. 19-21). The servants of the devil will now suffer the full consequences of their
actions. In this last battle ( called Armageddon – 16:16) the
beast and the false prophet do their utmost to destroy the church, when suddenly the Lord Jesus appears!
We read that the beast and the false prophet were captured and thrown into the lake of fire, to be
tormented forever and ever. All those who have
followed the beast and who bear
his mark will be consumed by the wrath of God, their
remains will be eaten by the birds.
Summary
The prostitute has been judged; the anti-christ
(the first beast) is now judged, and the false prophet ( he second
beast ) is now judged. All those who serve them will be judged. In chapter 20 we will see
Satan judged.
The
second coming of Jesus Christ is wonderful good news for all those invited to the marriage supper
of Christ the Lamb.
Those
who have ignored the message of Christ and who have mocked His word and who have refused to come to Him to have life will then be judged
by Him.
Be warned. If you are
not trusting in Christ for your salvation now, you cannot standin the dy of His wrath. You will be handed over to the wrath of the Lamb.
You now know what awaits you.
Right
now it is not too late to
respond and to receive that invitation to the marriage supper of the Lamb.
I beg you to flee to Jesus Christ this very moment before that
day comes when He
shall be your Judge, and not your Saviour.
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