SET
TWENTY-ONE
-The 1st 1/2 of Daniel's 70th Week-
Rev. 19:4-16 This half of this addendum gives more information about the
destiny of the believers: i.e., their wedding with the Lamb, their rejoicing over Satan's
banishment, and their return to the earth for the wedding supper. It also deals with the
Lord's return, His smiting of the nations, and the establishment of His kingdom. |
-The 2nd 1/2 of Daniel's 70th Week-
Rev. 19:17-21 Again, the two halves of this set emphasize the different outcome
for the believers and the unbelievers. In this half of this addendum, we see the final lot
of the beast, the false prophet, and the unbelievers who followed them. It also deals with
the final great battle between the forces of light and darkness at the end of the Kingdom
Age. |
4 And the four and twenty elders and the four
beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen;
Alleluia.
The scene is in heaven where we who have always had to wonder
about heavenly things will be full of wonder at what we see and feel. We will finally
understand just why the heavenly beings are full of praise for our Maker and our Redeemer.
This verse indicates that everyone in the Kingdom of God as well as the animals and birds
of creation will worship God. (Remember, worship is the "love language" between
God and the redeemed of the earth — not some religious ritual practiced by man.)
5 And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his
servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.
At this point in time, those in heaven will not need to
be reminded to worship God; for them, worship will be as natural as breathing. However,
there is a very special event about to happen and this "voice" is part of the
ceremony: reminding the inhabitants of heaven that the Lamb is about to be wed to His
Bride.
6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of
many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God
omnipotent reigneth.
And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude and as the voice of many
waters and as the voice of mighty thunderings... Now, we read of more
"voices," though the three voices will be as one — coming from the same
source. These voices will be in response to the "voice" that came out
of the throne. The characteristics of these voices will be:
#1) as...of a great multitude. They will be loud not only because of their
enthusiasm, but also by virtue of their very number,
#2) as the voice of many waters. They will be
representative of the many nations (rivers) of the earth, and
#3)as the voice of mighty thunderings Not only will all of heaven be praising God
with a mighty voice, but the glorified Saints who will "know even as they are
known" will be doing so with full understanding and agreement of God's judgments of
sin and His dealings with those who love and practice it. Also, like Noah of old, their
very praise will judge those on the earth who judged themselves unworthy to receive God's
gift of eternal life.
Heb. 1:7
By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an
ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of
the righteousness which is by faith.(Cf. Acts 13:46.)
...saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. This will be an
expression of the glorified Church's exultation that their faith was justified and that
their well being is as secure as their all-powerful, loving and gracious Father.
7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the
Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white:
for the fine linen is the righteousness of
saints.
There is no way that we can foresee the pageantry of this affair.
The "grandest" celebration that we can throw down here must surely pale by
comparison. However, we can note a couple of things about the Bride. We can notice that
she "hath made herself ready." This, of course, was done in this life
when she received Christ as her Lord and Savior. And we can notice that it will be "granted
that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white." This brings to mind
the Scripture:
Ephesians 2
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift
of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath
before ordained that we should walk in them.
9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the
marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. |
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and
he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come
and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
And I saw an angel standing in the sun; Click here for our understanding of "in
the sun."
...and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of
heaven... The literal interpretation seems to apply here.
However, just as "beasts" can stand for worldly rulers, so can "fowl"
stand for the devils that follow Satan.
Hosea 7:
11 Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart: they call to Egypt, they go to
Assyria.
12 When they shall go, I will spread my net upon them; I will bring them down as the fowls
of the heaven; I will chastise them, as their congregation hath heard.
13 Woe unto them! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because they have
transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against
me.
Luke 8:5 A sower went out to sow his
seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls
of the air devoured it.
Luke 13:19 It is like a grain of
mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it
grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it.
...Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; If this language refers to both the birds and the fallen angels whose
habitat is with Lucifer — the prince of the powers of the air — and God gives
both to feast upon the ungodly, well...
18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh
of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all
men, both free and bond, both small and great.
The application to the devils in this passage is not as obvious
as the reason for the birds, but probably as valid in the light of Jesus' declaration that
if we do not drink of His blood and eat of His flesh, we do not dwell in Him (John
6:47-58). Remember, the devil will have spent his time trying to imitate God's Christ, but
always destroying those who put their trust in him. This verse alludes to that pattern.
The Lord Jesus gave His flesh and shed His blood for us that we might live, while the
devil came to use and destroy man and his flesh. So here at the end of the last age of
time, God is going to turn loose both the birds of the air and Satan's fallen angels to
destroy and devour those who have followed Satan and destroyed and devoured their
fellowman.
19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered
together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
For a planet that served many times as a battlefield, this will be the final battle on
the earth.
20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought
miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast,
and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning
with brimstone.
Because the beast will so personify the devil, it's easy to think of him as the devil.
But this set does not refer to the end of the devil, that is yet to come. This set refers
to the end of mankind. This will be the final destiny of the beast and all that Satan
deceived into following him.
21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse,
which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
Again, as with the first half of this set, the Lord Jesus will
slay His enemies with the "sword" that "proceeded out of his mouth."
Also, there can be no mistake as to who these "fowl" will be. As the fowl
(devils) have devoured the souls of unbelievers and made them to destroy the flesh of
their fellowman, now the fowl of the earth shall eat the flesh of those who devoured their
neighbor.
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And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage
supper of the Lamb... The Lord would have us to know
that not all of the pomp and circumstance will be at the wedding in heaven. The marriage
supper of the Lamb will take place on the earth after Christ returns from heaven with His
army of angels and His new Bride to bind the enemy and throw him into hell where he will
remain for the duration of the Kingdom Age. (This will be the second event of His Second
Coming.) Then, God, the Father of the Bride, will throw a shindig that will amaze even the
Rockefeller's; and blessed will be he who is invited, writes John.
And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. During our age, the only ones who can receive this are the born-again
believers who already know that the Word of God is without error. Apparently, this
statement is either for emphasis, or for those who will live during this half of Daniel's
70th Week who will need all the encouragement they can get.
10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it
not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of
Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am
thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God... This identifies this "voice" to be the voice of
an angel as opposed to being the voice of Christ.
...for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
This makes sense, since all of His works and sufferings will be in vain if He
doesn't return to the earth to fulfill His plans and promises.
11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him
was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
This is the "true" white horse of Revelation, the one
that Satan tried so hard to counterfeit (See Rev. 6:1-2).
12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he
had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
His eyes were as a flame of fire... Incorporated in this
expression is the idea that He sees all and judges all with righteous judgment. For an
interesting study, go to the Blue Letter Bible in our Treasure Chest of Bible Study Aids
and type in the expression "flame of fire." As you study, note how the
expression is used when a people are being judged for their mistreatment of Abraham's
seed.
...and on his head were many crowns... i.e., all the
powers of the earth are ordained of God in either His perfect or His permissive will.
Rom 13:1
Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the
powers that be are ordained of God.
..and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. This is only one of the "things" that God chooses not
to reveal to His creation. Once again, because God is perfect, then His reasons behind
this are perfect as well.
13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called
The Word of God.
And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood... The vesture was an outer
garment worn by the high priest when he entered into the most holy place in the
tabernacle/temple. These high priests were types pointing forward to Christ Jesus, the
ultimate high priest who offered Himself for our sin, hence the "vesture dipped in
blood."
...and his name is called The Word of God. Lest
there be any doubt as to this being the Son of God, here is a title that is undisputedly
His.
14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed
in fine linen, white and clean.
And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses... Remember, the horse was one of the ultimate war machines
of the day. Therefore, the symbolism of the "white horse" has to do with
"righteous warfare." It will be given to the glorified Church to return with
Christ and to be involved in the defeat of the beast and in the setting up of our Lord's
kingdom.
...clothed in fine linen, white and clean. This will be the
state of all who have been "washed in the blood" of Jesus.
Isa 1:18
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as
scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as
wool.
15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the
nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the
fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword that with it he should smite the nations...
We have trouble comprehending this statement because we are so
far removed from the faith once given to the fathers. The first Church was able to
"speak" with a little of the faith and authority that moves God; but
remember, the Lord Jesus "spoke" our existence into being.
Heb. 11:3
Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that
things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
Psa 33:6
By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of
his mouth.
Since the by the power of His Word, the Lord Jesus spoke
into being all that we can (and can't) see, truly it will be a fearful thing when he speaks
the judgment of the nations.
...and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the
fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. Although
the earth will experience the winepress of God's wrath somewhat during this half of
Daniel's 70th Week, this particular verse is also prophetic foreshadowing — pointing
forward to his 1,000 year rule and especially to His dealings with the nations at the end
of the Kingdom Age.
16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS,
AND LORD OF LORDS.
16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written... For
our study of " vesture,"
CLICK HERE.
...KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. This title belongs to
our Lord Jesus by right of creation, by right of purchase (when He paid the price for out
redemption), and by right of conquest.
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