Chapter 19            THEME:  Marriage of the Lamb and return of Christ in judgment

Chapter 19 marks a drastic change in the tone of Revelation. The destruction of Babylon, the capital of the Beast's kingdom, marked the end of the Great Tribulation. The somber gives way to the song, and the dreary days of judgment to bright days of blessing. This chapter ushers in the greatest event for this earth ‑‑ the second coming of Christ to the earth to establish His Kingdom. It is the bridge between the Great Tribulation and the millennial kingdom that He will establish upon this earth. Two  central features are the marriage supper of the Lamb and the return of Christ to the earth.   The hallelujahs open this chapter and the opening of hell concludes it. Two great suppers are recorded in this chapter. 

19:1    "After these things" ( meta tauta)  literally, "the things that shall be after these things." After what things? After the church things. Chapter 4 opened with meta tauta. There is a chronological progression, a sequence of events. Now we will see what will take place after the Great Tribulation:  the coming of Christ to the earth. He is the only One who can end the Tribulation. And so this is the last occurrence of the expression meta tauta.

 "A great voice of a great multitude." In the worship scenes of chapters 5- 7 we saw the elders, the church, and the uncounted numbers of angels and created beings  worshiping God. Now a great number of tribulation saints has been added to the number.   This is the first time they have been able to utter the great note of praise of the Old Testament ‑‑ Hallelujah! (occurs four times in the first six verses). This is its only occurrence in the New Testament. It is reserved for the final victory. It is interesting to note that hallelujah occurs frequently in the Book of Psalms. It means "praise the Lord." It appears in frequent succession in Psalms 146-150.  In fact, Psalm 150 is a mighty crescendo of praise. Hallelujah is a fitting note of praise at this juncture in the Book of Revelation. The Great Tribulation is over and  Jesus is coming. The church is to be united with Christ in marriage. Hallelujah!

 Hallelujah because God is coming to judge, and the wicked are going to be removed from the earth. Hallelujah is an expletive of praise as the final phase of salvation is coming to pass. This is something that Paul talked about in Romans 8:18‑23: "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body."  This is the great day. The earth will be released from the bondage of sin.

19:2-4   It is interesting that at the end of all these judgments, those in heaven, who have more perfect knowledge than you and I have, are able to say that God's judgments are true and right.  God will be righteous in judging the great harlot. When we read about the judgment of the great harlot, representing the apostate church which went into the Tribulation, it says that the kings of the earth and the Antichrist destroyed the harlot. Yet here we are told that it was God who judged it.   God uses different instruments, and He will even use the Devil to accomplish His purpose. Those in heaven are saying, "True and righteous are his judgments," because the apostate church deserved to be destroyed.

In these verses we find a picture of the church in heaven saying, "Hallelujah." They say it twice. Why? As long as the imposter of the true church, the great harlot, is on the earth, the marriage of the Lamb will not take place in heaven. The anti‑church is disposed of first, which makes way for the marriage of the Lamb. I assume that the marriage of the Lamb takes place in heaven sometime during the midst of the Tribulation which is going on upon the earth.

"He hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand." You see, believers are forbidden to avenge themselves. It is true that some of us try to do it, but the moment we do so, we forsake the walk of faith. In Romans 12:19 God says to us: "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." God will take care of vengeance for you. 

The twenty‑four elders for the first time sing Hallelujah. The elders (possibly representing the church: Rev. 4). This is the last time the elders appear as such, for the figure changes now, and the church is to become the bride of Christ. The word church means "called out."

19:5-6    "A voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God." Notice that the call to praise comes directly from the throne of God, because the Lord Jesus Christ is preparing to take control of this world. This is truly the Hallelujah Chorus and the most profound anthem  of praise in the entire Word of God. It takes us all the way back to that covenant which God made with David in which He promised that He would raise One upon David's throne who would rule the world. In 2 Samuel 7:16 we read: "And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever."  But before Christ returns to the earth, there is going to be a wedding, and you and I, as believers, will be part of it.

19:7-8   The church, that is, the body of believers all the way from Pentecost to the Rapture,  will be presented to Christ as the bride for a marriage. The marriage takes place in heaven, and this is a heavenly scene throughout.

(Eph 5:25‑27).

"The marriage of the Lamb is come." Marriage is a marvelous picture of the joining together of Christ and the church. Notice that the Old Testament saints are not included ‑‑ only the believers during the church age are included. Even John the Baptist designated himself as only a friend of the Bridegroom. He said, "He that hath the bride is the bridegroom . " (John 3:29). The bride occupies a unique relationship with Christ. Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it. Remember what He said in His High Priestly Prayer: John 17:23‑26. The thing that is so wonderful is that we are going to know Christ ‑‑ really know Him ‑‑ for the first time.

"The fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints." (Which was given to us as a gift by Christ). The wedding gown of the church is the righteous acts of the saints.  (Phil. 3:9). We will also be seen as chaste virgins before Christ.

We have already seen that the elders placed their crowns at the feet of the Lamb, proclaiming that He alone is worthy. The church will reveal His glory: "That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:7). We will be on display.   We have no right to heaven and would not go there except for the righteousness of Christ and the fact that we belong to Him.

19:9-10    The marriage of the Lamb and the marriage supper will take place in heaven.  The Bridegroom will return to the earth for the marriage supper.  After acting as a scribe for this scene, John feels compelled to worship the angelic messenger. However, he is restrained from doing so. The angel is but a creature. Only God is to be worshiped. After the marriage of the Lamb in heaven, the next great event is the return of Christ to the earth.

He comes to the earth, His bride will be with Him!

19:11-12     Now we see Him coming in His great glory. His coming will be the final manifestation of the wrath of God upon a sinful world. The rebellion of Satan, demons, and men is put down, and judged. He puts down all unrighteousness before He establishes His Kingdom in righteousness.   The white horse on which He rides is the animal of warfare. 

He is called "Faithful" because He has come to execute the long‑time program of God, He is called "True" for He is inherently true and comes to demonstrate the truth by His appearance.

"Upon his head many diadems" indicates that He will be the ruler of this earth.  He is the King of Kings and He is the Lord of Lords.