Welcome to The MHB Podcast. This is Michael Baun. And welcome to my 165th episode. In this episode I want to continue our study of the book of Revelation. We are in chapter 19. This chapter begins with another description of the heavenly host’s triumphant celebration over the fall of Babylon. Then it shows us the marriage supper of the Lamb – which is a celebration of the perfected union of Jesus Christ and His Church. The chapter finishes with a harrowing scene of Christ Himself riding into war against the beast and the false prophet. The beast and the false prophet are quickly apprehended and the rest of the wicked army is slain by a sword which comes from the mouth of Christ. He quite literally speaks them out of existence. It’s a glorious scene of power exercised by the Almighty God Himself. Reading chapters like this one and reflecting on them helps you to understand that no amount of evil – no matter how strong – is able to stand defiantly before Christ who is the King of kings and Lord of lords. Let’s begin with verses 1-4:
Rev 19:1 After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation, glory, and power belong to our God,
Rev 19:2 BECAUSE HIS JUDGMENTS ARE TRUE AND RIGHTEOUS; for He has judged the great prostitute who was corrupting the earth with her sexual immorality, and HE HAS AVENGED THE BLOOD OF HIS BOND-SERVANTS ON HER.”
Rev 19:3 And a second time they said, “Hallelujah! HER SMOKE RISES FOREVER AND EVER.”
Rev 19:4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!”
This chapter opens with praise and thanksgiving given to God by His faithful followers in light of Babylon’s fall. Again, this is not so much a celebration of Babylon’s failure to repent as it is a celebration of justice being served to the wicked. Repentance and forgiveness are always the priority in the eyes of God and should always be the priority in the eyes of Christians. But the tragic reality of the human condition is that some people will never repent and never allow themselves to seek forgiveness. It is these people who delight in evil and cruelty, and justice being served against these enemies of God is cause for celebration on earth and in heaven. For the beleaguered faithful of God’s Church, their prayers for deliverance have turned into praises of thanksgiving. That’s something to always keep in mind if you’re going through challenging times. Faith in Jesus Christ will always end in praises for His goodness – even if you can’t see the light at the end of your tunnel just yet.
Looking upon the ruins of Babylon, the faithful praised God for the truth of His word and the righteousness of His executed will. Babylon had become a great hub for idolatry and cruelty. You probably know an individual person who seems to make the lives of everyone around them more miserable than they need to be. This often happens when a singular person gives him or herself over to wickedness and evil. Their cruel actions inflict lasting damage on those around them which causes all manner of difficulties to ripple out into the world. Now imagine an entire nation dedicated to this hellish work. The idolatry of Babylon became like a cancer in the spirit of humanity, and so its destruction meant a healthier future where faithful people might be further liberated to love God and to love their neighbors safely.
It’s interesting to note the effect these praises have on Babylon’s destruction. The praises seem to intensify the fire which consumed Babylon. This is meant to show us the importance of praising God for what He has done for us and what He is doing for us right now. If we want God to unfold a desirable future in our lives, a good first step is to stand back and be thankful for the good He has already given us. It’s important for you to give God the glory for the ways in which He’s delivered you because otherwise it can be easy to fall into the temptation of believing you did it yourself. Withholding the glory from God results in personal arrogance and this arrogance will eventually result in a collapse of your well-being. Not to mention the fact that failing to glorify God can cause you to overlook just how good He’s been to you – and very few things are more damaging to a person’s faith than misunderstanding the character and nature of God.
This passage closes with a vision of the angels in heaven and the faithful on earth praising God with a melodious harmony. This is another reflection on the continuity between the host of Heaven and the faithful among humanity. When you open your heart to Jesus Christ, the Spirit of God transforms you across time so that you increasingly reflect the Christlike persona which is the most authentic version of who you are. It is who you were always meant to be. Let’s continue with verses 5-10:
Rev 19:5 And a voice came from the throne, saying, “Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great.”
Rev 19:6 Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters, and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.
Rev 19:7 “Let’s rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, because the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has prepared herself.”
Rev 19:8 It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
Rev 19:9 Then he *said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.’” And he *said to me, “These are the true words of God.”
Rev 19:10 Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he *said to me, “Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brothers and sisters who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
This passage begins a song of praise which celebrates the marriage of Christ and His Church. The heavenly music is said to sound like many waters and peals of mighty thunder. Comparing the songs to natural phenomena instead of comparing them to other earthly music suggests they will be unlike any songs we’ve ever heard before. They will be perfect in melody without a single missed note. The song celebrates the reign of God being made public and His divine marriage to the Church. This dynamic of Christ being the head of the Church and the faithful being the bride of Christ can seem a bit mysterious. But I think it has to do with the providential nature of God. Calling the Church the bride of Christ is not meant to emasculate the men of the Church – rather it’s just the case that compared to God Himself none of us can measure up to His own providential nature. God protects all of His faithful (both men and women) and none of His faithful are safe without His protection (both men and women). God provides for all of His faithful (both men and women) and none of His faithful are spiritually self-sufficient without His providence (both men and women). I think it’s this providential and protective dynamic which lends itself to Christ being the groom and the Church being the bride.
The bride of Christ is pictured as being clothed in fine linen which is clean and white. The purity of this clothing is meant to show the righteousness of Jesus imputed onto the faithful among humanity. It’s impossible for you to stand before God on the merits of your own self-righteousness. We all need the righteousness of Jesus to cover us like clean, fine linen. The clean clothing also represents absolution from our sins and adoption into the house of God. You may think you’ve done or said things so terrible the stain of which will never come out of your soul. But there is no human sin which is too damaging for the absolving blood of Christ to wash away in forgiveness. Progressive sanctification into holiness is impossible without first accepting Christ’s forgiveness for your sins. Allow yourself to be forgiven and allow the Spirit of God to transform you into a new creation.
The marriage supper of the Lamb is like a culmination and celebration of all the promises of the gospel. The faithful found in Christ are joined in mysterious communion with the Spirit of God in this holy moment. It’s a picture of redemption in the highest form. Once humanity walked with God in the garden of Eden, then we fell into wickedness and sin, a broken condition which Christ Himself saved us from. Jesus sacrificed Himself so we might be restored and returned home. This future heavenly feast commemorates the redemption of humanity, the victory of Jesus over sin and death, as well as our final reconciliation to God.
When John saw the vision of this feast he was so overcome with joy and affection that he fell to the ground in worship of the angel who showed it to him. John prostrated himself at the feet of the angel as an external sign of worship. The angel immediately refused John’s adoration and redirected it toward God. There are a couple of important lessons to learn about John trying to worship the angel. First is that human beings tend toward idolatry and we have a proclivity to worship that which is right in front of us. We should caution ourselves against feelings of adoration when they emerge within us in response to our earthly spiritual leaders. Do not make the mistake of viewing your pastor or your other human spiritual authorities as greater than any other created being. Your pastor is only human and has all the flaws and ugliness that you do. The second lesson is that if you are someone’s spiritual authority you must immediately reject attitudes of adoration if you see them come up. It feels good to be worshiped and adored, but accepting such treatment on behalf of God is a grievous and terrible mistake. Such acceptance will result in your own destruction as well as the destruction of those who worship you – and these troubles will come upon you fast.
The angel warned John that even though he is an angel, he remains merely a fellow servant alongside John in service to God. Angels may have a more spectacular nature than human beings, but they are equal in office to humanity when compared to God. The angel who was speaking with John was a messenger on God’s behalf, and the angel reminded John that he too, as a prophet, is a messenger for God. This reminder of equality between them was a way for the angel to ensure John didn’t look up to him in an unhealthy way. That’s precisely how you should respond if those around you begin to view you as a surrogate for God – you must remind them that they are your equals and all of us are humble servants of the Almighty Jesus. The angel is quite clear that to worship anything apart from God is to be guilty of idolatry. Let’s read verses 11-21:
Rev 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.
Rev 19:12 His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many crowns; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself.
Rev 19:13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.
Rev 19:14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.
Rev 19:15 From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.
Rev 19:16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written: “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
Rev 19:17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in midheaven, “Come, assemble for the great feast of God,
Rev 19:18 so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, both free and slaves, and small and great.”
Rev 19:19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse, and against His army.
Rev 19:20 And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire, which burns with brimstone.
Rev 19:21 And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.
Jesus Christ the conquering King. This passage is a glorious vision of King Jesus riding into the great battle at Armageddon. The throne of Jesus is in Heaven and when He establishes His kingdom on earth He will do so with heavenly power and authority. Jesus is pictured as riding a white horse, which might symbolize the certainty of His success in battle. White horses were avoided for the purposes of battle because they stood out on the battlefield and made you an easy target. But the victory of Christ has already been sealed and so He presents Himself with all the glory befitting the true and living God. In this passage Jesus is called Faithful and True which means all of His judgments are righteous and His conquest of the wicked is the execution of the long-held promises of God.
This image of Christ shows Him wearing many crowns which symbolizes His authority over every sovereign state and world leader. Jesus is the King of kings. That’s always important to remember but it’s particularly relevant when you must live under corrupt leadership. Your leader might be an authoritarian but ultimately He must still answer to Jesus Christ. There are no leaders in positions of power who are there without the permission and providence of God. Jesus is clothed in a robe which has been dipped in blood. This might symbolize the blood of His perfect sacrifice which atoned for the sins of all humanity, or it might symbolize the blood of His enemies over whom He has always prevailed.
It’s interesting to note the mystery of the name of Jesus. The passage says He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself and that His name is called The Word of God. When Jesus came to earth 2,000 years ago, the Bible says the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. I also think when we study Scripture and do our best to apply God’s precepts the Word of God becomes manifest in ourselves. When we live out Scripture the Word is being made flesh in our own lives. That’s an important part of the process when it comes to Bible interpretation. If your understanding of a particular passage causes you to fail in loving God or loving your neighbor when you attempt to act on that understanding – then there’s a high probability your understanding is incorrect. None of us have a perfect understanding of Scripture and so none of us are a perfect manifestation of the Word of God made flesh. But Jesus is. Since none of us can perfectly comprehend the precepts of God, there ends up being a mysterious element to the perfection of Jesus Christ. The mystery of His perfection is incomprehensible this side of Heaven. But because we have forgiveness we have been set free to do our best in living for love and truth.
In this passage Christ is followed by a very large army which is composed of many armies. There are angels and saints which follow Him on white horses and are adorned with similar clothing. The fine linen worn by His followers was white and clean. It’s interesting to notice how the clothing of His followers is pure although His own clothing is stained with blood. This imagery shows us how Christ has taken our sins, our pain, and our suffering onto Himself so that we might be free of it forever. And indeed we are – our God is gracious beyond understanding.
It’s very strange to see the image of a sword coming out of the mouth of Christ to bring judgment and destruction onto the wicked. Scripture itself is sometimes called the sword of the word of God and so that gives us a clue as to the interpretation of this vision. We might think this sword represents the warnings God gave through His word for the wicked to repent before it was too late. But I think a better understanding is to think of the sword as the truth reasserting itself over the lies. When you speak the truth it cuts down lies like a sword. It does this so effectively that it’s impossible to lead a population astray without employing some form of censorship.
Propaganda and deception fail to work unless the truth can be suppressed. That’s why totalitarian regimes limit free speech and that’s also why cult leaders seek to isolate you from others. If two or three are gathered in conversation with an aim to seek the truth, the truth will present itself and the falsehoods will burn away in its presence. Wicked leaders may be successful for a moment in stifling the truth – but eventually it always reasserts itself and those who have built their lives on a foundation of lies will watch in terror as their worldview crumbles in front of them. I think this is in part why so many modern people are hypersensitive to being triggered by the speech of someone else. They know that parts of their own belief structure are inconsistent with reality and when someone speaks the truth to them it hurts them in a very vulnerable part of their being. They are terrified to acknowledge their own guilt and repent because they haven’t found relationship with Jesus Christ who forgives. So instead they seek to snuff out the truth anytime it emerges and threatens their fantasy. But such practice cannot last forever and eventually the truth will reassert itself.
So what happens when the game of deception can no longer be sustained and begins to implode on itself? A whole lot of death and destruction happens. This is where the idea of a feast for the crows comes in. Christ riding into battle with the sword which comes from His mouth to slay His enemies means the birds will feast on the aftermath. You might think this sounds brutal and harsh but history itself is brutal and harsh. Every time a population has agreed to descend into collective psychosis by lying to each other about the nature of themselves, the nature of God, and the nature of reality, the end result has always been mass death and destruction. The only way to avoid such an outcome is for a strong portion of the society to repent and get back on track. The wicked who chose battle with Jesus rejected the many opportunities He gave them at restoration. But that doesn’t have to be us. We can turn back from the brink at any moment and reevaluate our culture’s relationship to the truth.
In this chapter the enemies of God chose to rally themselves against Him and make war on the truth. The beast and his false prophet, along with the kings of the earth, made a move for the throne of God. That was a fatal mistake. They were seized and cast into the lake of fire where their lies could no longer bring harm to the Church. Their followers were destroyed and reduced to food for the birds. There’s an important lesson to be learned here. Imagine being a follower of the Antichrist and his false prophet. Undoubtedly you’ve heard the Christians go on and on about how Jesus Christ will reign victorious and any opposition to the King of kings is a hopeless enterprise. Yet you still chose to take up your lot with the losing team. Why would someone do this?
I think it’s the same reason why tens of millions of people agree to lie to themselves and others about tenets of reality which are so basic and fundamental they go all the way down to suggesting there’s no difference between the biological sexes. There is a vast quantity of people who know that woke ideology is at best nonsense and at worst an assault on truth itself – yet they fall in line like good little followers. If thought leaders as foolish as the priesthood of the woke cult are able to persuade or intimidate you into following them, do you really think you’ll stand a chance against the Antichrist should he rise to power in your lifetime? Being afraid of ideological tyrants is a symptom of not fully understanding the true power dynamic which is at play here.
Deceivers like Hitler, Stalin, Mao, and the critical theorists of today aren’t even worthy of being mentioned in the same sentence as the Antichrist. And yet even the Antichrist, as powerful as he will be, is utterly destroyed by a mere spoken word from Jesus. If you’re allowing your fear of our corrupt cultural thought-leaders to shape your relationship to the truth then you don’t really know who Jesus Christ is. You don’t know Him as the conquering King and the Lord of lords. I hope this chapter has been able to give you a better picture of the Almighty power of Jesus. I hope you realize you have nothing to fear when you have faith that God is with you. I want to end this episode by reading you Psalms chapter 2. Sit back and listen to the holy reign of Jesus Christ:
Psa 2:1 Why are the nations restless And the peoples plotting in vain?
Psa 2:2 The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers conspire together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying,
Psa 2:3 “Let’s tear their shackles apart And throw their ropes away from us!”
Psa 2:4 He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them.
Psa 2:5 Then He will speak to them in His anger And terrify them in His fury, saying,
Psa 2:6 “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.”
Psa 2:7 “I will announce the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have fathered You.
Psa 2:8 ‘Ask it of Me, and I will certainly give the nations as Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth as Your possession.
Psa 2:9 ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.’”
Psa 2:10 Now then, you kings, use insight; Let yourselves be instructed, you judges of the earth.
Psa 2:11 Serve the LORD with reverence And rejoice with trembling.
Psa 2:12 Kiss the Son, that He not be angry and you perish on the way, For His wrath may be kindled quickly. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!
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