Four Hallelujahs

FOUR HALLELUJAHS

Rev 19

When you get to chapter 19 here, the great harlot Babylon…or Rome has just fallen.

God had warned of the harlot’s fall in the seals that were broken back in chapter 6 and 8.
Again He warned of her fall by the sounding of the 7 trumpets back in chapters 8-11.
And finally the warnings were over…the wrath of God was poured out in the bowls found in chapter 16.

In chapter 17 and 18 we have the obituary where the harlot is identified as Rome and we have the announcement of her death.

And now, here in chapter 19, after the news of her death…it is a time of celebration.

The death of the harlot is something to sing about and so this chapter speaks of four hallelujahs and an invitation to a wedding feast.
The Lamb’s wife has not only survived the harlots demise…but she has surpassed it.
So it is fitting that the bride of Christ should rejoice and that joy is set forth under the figure of a wedding feast.

Also, in this chapter you will see two armies….the army of the Lamb and His holy ones…against the terrible trio and their allies.

The result again will be victory for the Lord and His followers.
And that is the message through out this book….the Lord and those who are faithful to Him will always be victorious.

Now, once again, it is difficult to determine what each figure of speech is referring too.

This is a vision and so it is not likely that we can ever know exactly what each figure is talking about.
But even so, there are some obvious lessons that we can learn and that is what we need to look for.
So, lets begin in verse 1.

19:1 After these things I heard, as it were, a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying,

“Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God;

We don’t know exactly who this “great multitude in heaven” is.
Perhaps it is the great multitude we read about in chapter 7.
Whatever the case, they are pleased with the fall of the harlot.
It is a cause of celebration.

19:1 After these things I heard, as it were, a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying,

“Hallelujah!(Praise to Jehovah) Salvation and glory and power belong to our God;2 because His judgments are true and righteous; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and He has avenged the blood of His bond-servants on her. ”

The greatness of God rests not only on his power but also on the righteousness of his character.
One of the proofs that He judges righteously is what He has done to the great harlot.
She is a graphic example of how God judges righteously
God has avenged His servants…
She has gotten exactly what she deserved.
It was a righteous judgment.

3 And a second time they said, “Hallelujah! Her smoke rises up forever and ever.”

This is repeated for emphasis.
And notice the “smoke rises forever and ever.”
Nero started this fire when he persecuted the saints.
God used the fire that Nero started for Rome’s destruction.
And this fire is one that no man can put it out.
Rome is the illustration of everlasting defeat at the hands of God.

4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!”

The whole of heaven agrees with the song: “Praise to Jehovah.”

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.” 6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude and as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.

See the word, “Almighty”?
That is the Greek word “pantokrator” and it speaks of “awe inspiring power.”
This is the original and authentic “shock and awe.”
Rome was the iron army.
But one King stopped them in their tracks.

And notice that God “reigns.”

God has always done that…these people just needed to be reminded of it.

Now, as we go through the next few verses remember the context.

The context is rejoicing over the fall of the harlot.
People try to apply the next couple of verses to all kinds of things.
But here, God uses the setting of a wedding to express joy over the fall of the beast.

7 “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.”

In scripture the wedding feast or a marriage is a common figure.
Sometimes one part or the whole process is called on to teach one thing or another.
In Matthew 25: 1ff the disciples are taught watchfulness as they wait for the groom to return.
That is the sole purpose in that passage of using the wedding illustration.

In John 3:28-30 the wedding scene is used again, but for a different reason.

In that passage John the baptizer uses the wedding scene to show that Jesus merits all the praise and glory.
That the best man is not the central figure at the wedding but the groom is.

In Matthew 22:1-14 the marriage feast is called on again to illustrate several things such as the ungodliness of the Jews in respect to Jesus.

In Luke 12:35-40 the wedding feast is brought up again…this time to teach watchfulness again.

So the wedding feast is brought up in several places in the N.T. and is used to teach or illustrate a specific point.

Well, that is what this verse is here.

The marriage of the Lamb and His bride is called up to say that the victory of the Lamb and His Church over the harlot is an occasion of rejoicing for both.
The Lamb is the worthy groom…and the bride has shown her worthiness to be His bride by the fact that she has remained faithful through out the persecution she has suffered at the hands of the harlot.

And because she has, look at verse 8:

8 And 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.

This is a picture of a loyal bride…the church has been faithful throughout and therefore she is pure…subject to join in on the celebration.

9 And he said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.'” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.”

This is a rare privilege.
Only those who love the Lamb at heart…and who love His bride receive this invitation.
They too can join in the celebration.

10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said to me, “Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

Now, the rebuke here suggests that the worship that John was about to deliver here was improper.
Keep in mind this is a vision so we are not talking about a real-life event here by John.

What we may have here though, is this may be God’s way of telling the brotherhood that no one, not any one, is to be praised for their deliverance except for God.

11 And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war.

No doubt from the descriptive terms found here and in the next few verses that this One who sits on the white horse is Christ.
This is a picture of a righteous warrior.

12 And His eyes are a flame of fire, (He sees all and misses nothing…penetrating…discerning) and upon His head are many diadems(He wears many because He is King of Kings); and He has a name written upon Him which no one knows except Himself.

Whatever this name is, it is unique to Him alone.

13 And He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood(whose blood? His own…bringing to remembrance that He gave His all for His followers and is worthy to be praised, or is it the blood of enemies indicating that He defeats His enemies); and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.

15 And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may smite 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. 16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

This is a picture of a mighty conqueror…and I believe that is what we need to comprehend.
Our Lord is Lord of Lords, King of Kings, and He will not be defeated.
And if we remain faithful to Him…we too will be victorious.

17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, “Come, assemble for the great supper of God; 18 in order that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great. ”

There is no doubt about the outcome of any who want to stand against the Lord.
Just like Rome they will be defeated.

19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, assembled to make war against Him who sat upon the horse, and against His army. 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.

Notice here that the beast and the false prophet are not killed but thrown into the lake of fire.
They are utterly defeated…and their torment goes on forever.

21 And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat upon the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.

If you don’t understand the details of what is going on here…there is one thing that you can understand clearly…and that is: JESUS AND HIS FOLLOWERS WILL BE AND ARE VICTORIOUS.

We are on His side….and that is where we need to stay.