As John witnesses the total destruction of Babylon, the symbol of godlessness and decadence, he hears the words, Rejoice over her, O heaven! Rejoice, saints and apostles and prophets! God has judged her for the way she treated you (18:20).
Chapter 19 continues with universal rejoicing at the collapse of Babylon’s tyrannical hold on the children of God. A rider on a white horse appears – He who is Faithful and True – the conquering Christ! He confronts the assembled powers of hostile Babylon. The defeat of Satan is replayed before John’s eyes as the beast and false prophet are cast into the lake of fire, a symbol of God’s ultimate judgment on all that is evil.
(*All Bible verses are from the NIV unless otherwise noted)
Chapter 19
1 After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
2 for true and just are his judgments. He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”
3 And again they shouted: “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever.”
4 The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried: “Amen, Hallelujah!”
5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying: “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both great and small!”
6 Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.
8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)
9 Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”
10 At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.”
Rev 19:1
After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God:
Look back at the two vast multitudes John has already witnessed in Rev 7:9-10 and Rev 5:11-13. These are the redeemed of the earth, God’s children, the followers of the Lamb!
By this time in his life, John had experienced wars, the decay of Rome and Jerusalem, and murderous persecution. He is once again witnessing the timeless effect of Christ’s victory on the cross. These are not isolated events in time as we measure it. They represent the timeless rejoicing over God’s ultimate conquest of evil and chaos.
Rev 19:2
He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood of his servants…Hallelujah!:
After Moses brought Israel out of Egypt to the promised land, the laws he was given governed their daily lives and their obedience to the One True God. Those laws were established to keep their focus on God and to protect them from the pagan societies that surrounded them. But time and again, Israel succumbed to the evil influences of their Canaanite neighbors. They forgot their God and built altars and high places to bow down to idols of wood and stone. The prophet Ezekiel confronted rebellious Jerusalem, using many of the same descriptions John used:
Ezek 16:35 “ ‘Therefore, you prostitute, hear the word of the LORD! 36 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Because you poured out your lust and exposed your naked body in your promiscuity with your lovers, and because of all your detestable idols, and because you gave them your children’s blood, 37 therefore I am going to gather all your lovers, with whom you found pleasure, those you loved as well as those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around and will strip you in front of them, and they will see you stark naked. 38 I will sentence you to the punishment of women who commit adultery and who shed blood; I will bring on you the blood vengeance of my wrath and jealous anger.
Rev 19:3
And again they shouted: “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever:
John has witnessed images depicting the destruction of the symbolic city of Sodom (chapter 11), and now he is shown the fall of the great prostitute, figurative Babylon, as a perpetually smoking ruin. Christ’s sacrifice on the cross defeats all that Sodom, Babylon, and the great prostitute stand for!
Rev 19:4
The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried: “Amen, Hallelujah!
The “twenty-four elders represent the redeemed leadership attributes of the Church as a whole, sharing Christ’s inheritance and reigning with him. All created order, symbolized by the four living creatures, and all the redeemed of the earth bow before God. The fourfold thunderous shouts of hallelujah (verses 1, 3, 4, 6) emphasize the celebration of humans and angels over the downfall of the harlot.
The Greek exclamation of hallelouia means “Praise Yah” which is the contracted form of Yahweh – Jehovah1. As the sacred, personal name of Israel’s God, Yahweh (YHWH – “to be”, “to exist”, “to cause to become”, or “to come to pass”2) occurs more than 6,800 times in the Old Testament. It was eventually spoken aloud only by priests in the temple. After the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, the name was no longer spoken3. Instead, “Adonai,” meaning “Lord” or “Master,” was substituted for Yahweh whenever it appeared in the sacred texts. Because of this, the correct pronunciation of this name was eventually lost4.
Rev 19:5
Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both great and small!
Once again, the reader is reminded of parallelism in the Revelation. The seventh trumpet sounded the same praise (11:15):
Rev 11: 16 And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying, “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign. 18 The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”
Similar shouts of praise were heard as Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a colt. “Hosanna! Hosanna!” meaning “Oh save!”5, an exclamation of adoration (Mark 11:7-10).
Barclay writes:
- The salvation of God should awaken the gratitude of man;
- The glory of God should awaken the reverence of man;
- The power of God is always exercised in the love of God
- and should, therefore, awaken the trust of man.
Gratitude, reverence, trust – these are the constituent elements of real praise.6
Rev 19:7
For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready:
Jesus used the parable of the bride and bridegroom to explain the relationship of believers to God and His Anointed One:
Matthew 25:1-13 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
Mark 2:19 “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. 20 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.
John 3:29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.
The servants of God are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb, the arrival of Messiah. This is the culmination of the relationship between God and his people – a people prone to be wayward and unfaithful. But for those who seek God, the promise is sure:
Isa 25:6 On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
Hos 2:19 And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy.
Rev 19:8
Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people):
High-quality un-dyed linen is pure white. John is told that this illustrates the righteous deeds of the saints.
Rev 7:14 I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
This doesn’t suggest that their righteous acts have made them pure. It affirms that their deeds are made white, purified, and washed clean by the blood of the Lamb!
Rev 19:10
At this I fell at his feet to worship him:
Twice, John is overcome with adoration and falls to the ground to worship the messenger of God (Rev 22:8-9). For a moment, John was overwhelmed by the glory, majesty, and wonder of the vision. It’s a spontaneous reaction of humans to be overcome by the presence of holiness.
Josh 5:13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” 14 “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the LORD, I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?”
Dan 10:8 So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless. 9 Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground. 10 A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees.
Acts 9:3 As [Saul] neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly, a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
The Apostle Paul warned the saints:
Col 2:18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind.
Rev 19:10
“Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God!:
To bow in adoration to anything or anyone but God is to give absolute value, worth, and control of your life to it. That is the definition of idolatry:
Col 3:5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry.
Rev 19:10
For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus:
ESV: For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
NLT: For the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus.
John has heard the first part of this statement three times (Rev 1:2, 1:9, and 12:17). The phrase can have two meanings:
- The testimony about Jesus is the spirit of prophecy;
- The testimony Jesus brings is the spirit of prophecy.
In either case, Jesus carries this testimony in his life and teaching and, above all, in his selfless willingness to sacrifice everything to give life to anyone who will embrace him.
The Greek word propheteia and the Hebrew, nebuah, both mean an inspired utterance of a prophet, viewed as a revelation of divine will, at times an inspired prediction of the future7. The Bible provides several important guidelines regarding prophecy:
Num 12:6 he said, “Listen to my words: “When there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, reveal myself to them in visions, I speak to them in dreams.
Deut 18:22 If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed.
Deut 13:1 If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a sign or wonder, 2 and if the sign or wonder spoken of takes place, and the prophet says, “Let us follow other gods” (gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,” 3 you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul.
Lessons on prophecy often focus on Deut 18:22 as a test of true prophecy but fail to address Deut 13:1-3:
Deut 18:22 – If what is prophesied doesn’t take place, it’s not a message from God;
Deut 13:1-3 – If a prophecy proclaims something that isn’t consistent with Biblical truth, don’t listen to it!
Peter and Paul provided further counsel concerning prophecy:
Eph 4:11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
1Cor 12:1 Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3 Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
2Pet 1:20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
1Cor 13:2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
Cor 14:32 The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets.
1Thess 5:20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt
1John 4:1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.
Footnotes
- Strong’s G239. ↩︎
- Anne Marie Kitz, The Verb “Yahway”, Journal of Biblical Literature, 2019, https://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/sblpress/jbl/article-abstract/138/1/39/179046/The-Verb-yahway?redirectedFrom=fulltext, accessed May 9, 2024. ↩︎
- Bible Study Tools: The Meaning of Yahweh, https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/why-it-matters-that-god-is-yahweh.html, accessed May 21, 2024. ↩︎
- Ibid. ↩︎
- Strong’s G5614. ↩︎
- Barclay, Revelation 19:4-6. ↩︎
- Prophecy: The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. ↩︎
*All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
