Revelation Chapter 19, Vision 7, The marriage of the Lamb, the coming of Christ, Armageddon.

VISION 7: - REVELATION 17:1- 22:5: - SEVEN LAST VISIONS.

Part 3:- REVELATION 19.

Revelation 19 is the continuation of the seventh and final vision of St. John. In this chapter we have parts (ii) and (iii).

Vision (ii) - 19:6-10 : - THE MARRIAGE OF THE LAMB.

(1) Introduction.

In Ancient Hebrew marriage contracts there were three aspects:
(i) The Marriage was often arranged by the parents while the parties were still children. The payment of the dowry established it legally. The Couple were then legally married though still children.
Example:- Joseph and Mary (Matthew 1:18; Luke 1:27; 2:5) were legally "espoused" and it would have required a divorce to annul it. However in God's economy there is no divorce.
Often the children would live in their prospective "in laws" houses for extended periods as they grew up so that adjustments could be made. The couple thus often grew up as almost brother and sister.

(ii) When old enough the bridegroom would go with his friends to the house of the bride and escort her to his house (e.g Matthew 25). A runner would go before the Bridegroom to announce his impending coming so that the Bride had time to ready herself. This collection of the Bride consummated the marriage, but it was not the legal marriage.

(iii) The Marriage supper was then held at his house. Guests were invited.
Full consummation in the sexual sense followed this.

C/f Christ and the Church:
(i) The wedding was set up at the time of redemption. The Holy Spirit is given as our dowry. We are espoused at conversion (2 Corinthians 11:2).

(ii) At the Second Coming of Christ he comes with his angels and escorts us to his Father's house. Christ comes to get his bride at the Parousia; but who the bride is has already been determined before that by espousal. This espousal is true for all Christians so all are legally in the Bride of Christ. It was true for the Corinthians Paul was writing to, but they were in no way perfect.
Ephesians 5 - Christ is coming for a perfect bride, i.e. one who has taken the opportunity to make herself ready just as the Hebrew bride would after receiving the news of the groom’s coming from the forerunner.
For the consummation the Bride would get dressed in her wedding dress. She would have this all prepared and ready. The dress was perfect, but it does not imply that the Bride herself is.

(iii) Then there is a marriage supper in heaven (Revelation 19:6) –in the Father’s house.

This passage here in Revelation 19, then, is the ANNOUNCEMENT that the time for the marriage has come. It is not the marriage itself. Those making the announcement are the invited guests, the friends of the groom, who are rejoicing in the eventual consummation of the relationship of the bride and groom.
The guests and the bride are the same, but seen from different viewpoints. The Bride is Zion, the whole people of God seen as an entity. The Guests are the individual members of the Bride, the individual Christians.
The actual marriage supper follows the events of v 11-16, which describe the Bridegroom, all decked out and ready for his marriage coming to collect the Bride.

Modern Alternative Interpretations:

(1) Dispensationalism.
This view believes in a pre-tribulation rapture, hence the coming of Christ for his Bride is said to occur at the beginning of the Tribulation, the Marriage supper at some stage during the Tribulation in Heaven. The Church then returns to earth with Christ at his coming. This view is clearly contradicted by a correct understanding of the Jewish custom, and by this passage here where the announcement is ONLY JUST BEING MADE that the Bridegroom is on his way to collect the Bride. We must understand the importance of this announcement in the tradition of the Jews. It was a call to the Bride to prepare for the Groom's coming, not an announcement that the marriage was already over.

(2) The Manchild / Bride of Christ Theory.

There are variations on this theory, so the following is only intended to be a general outline. Details differ with various teachers.

The theory begins with Revelation 12. The woman here is said to be the Bride of Christ, she is seen here to be complete and perfect yet this is the beginning of the Tribulation thus implying that the Bride does not include any converts from the Tribulation period.

The woman has a child, a manchild, and then other offspring. Because of this first child the marriage to the Lamb must have already occurred as she could not have children out of wedlock. These are perfect parents bringing forth the perfect child, a manchild.

The woman is then raptured – to heaven or to "the desert". The manchild is said to be a group of almost super spiritual people, super Christians, the Overcomers, totally victorious. They are the mature Christians. They are identified with the five wise virgins of Matthew 25. The rest of the Woman's offspring are said to be the unwise virgins. Why these perfect parents should have one perfect child, then the rest be imperfect needing persecution to purify them, is unclear.

Hence we are told that some Christians are in the Bride, some in the Manchild, and some are in neither of these groups.

Answers to this theory:
(i) The wedding in Revelation is clearly after the Tribulation.

(ii) The NT elsewhere says that all Christians are members of Christ's body, the Church (Ephesians 5), not just a few of us. The symbol of the Bride is yet another OT symbol of Israel given to the Church.

(iii) The unwise virgins of Matthew 25 did not get purified by Tribulation rather, as far as we can tell in the story, they went to Hell. The context of Matthew 24,25 is the Day of the Lord at the end of the Tribulation, not a rapture several years prior to it.

(iv) The perfection of the Bride is related to her numerical completion as much as it is to her moral standing. Hebrews 11:40 tells us that the OT saints belong with us in the plan of God. Those that died "imperfect" in the OT age are to be made perfect in the Bride because they inherit the perfection of the GROOM.

(v) Engagement is marriage in Jewish thought, so all Christians who are espoused to Christ are in the Bride.

(2) EXEGESIS.

REV 19:6 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.

John here turns to a more detailed description of the theme he introduced with the blowing of the Seventh Trumpet. Hence we have several echoes of phrases used there: "Servants...who fear him, both great and small", "peals of thunder" and the declaration of divine sovereignty and the reign of God.
The servants are rewarded by an invitation to "the wedding of the Lamb".

Revelation 11:15-18 "God reigns".
NEB// Greek "the Lord our God has entered on his reign".
In other words the statement indicates the full realization and manifestation of that reign on the earth.
This is the theme of a series of Psalms (93-99) which are the Psalms praising God on his ascension to the throne of the earth. These Psalms are prophetic in character and form a continuous prophecy concerning the coming of Christ, the Church age and the second coming. The R.S.V. has translated the tenses accordingly to give this progression.

REV 19:7 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.

Three OT themes are interwoven here. These have all been used elsewhere in the NT but never before are they woven together in this way:

(i) The reign of God is a great feast.
Isaiah 25:6; Mark 2:19; Matthew 22:1f, 25:1ff; Luke 14:15ff.

(ii) Israel is the Bride of Yahweh.
Hosea 2:5; Isaiah 1:21; Jeremiah 2:2 c/f Ephesians 5:32.

(iii) Clean garments speak of sanctification.
Genesis 35:2; Isaiah 52:1, 61:10; Zechariah 3:4.

The idea of marriage is again a symbol - it is used here to express the idea that we are to be one with him. This "oneness" is not an absorption into his being, as in Hinduism, rather the oneness that God brings is a unity of different people, as in marriage. The unity of "one flesh" seen in marriage prefigures the spiritual unity we will have in Christ. John is attempting to convey the idea that there is no closer relationship possible.
As in Revelation 12 the bride is all of the people of God from every age, she is Zion. Hence there is no need to argue for two Brides of Christ, or a Bride and a Wife, as some have. That the faithful of the OT inherit with us is a clear theme of the NT.

REV 19:8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear." (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)

"fine linen" = "the righteous deeds of the saints"
Revelation 3:18.
This is the resurrected body (2 Corinthians 5:1-5, 1 Corinthians 3).

"righteous deeds"- The Greek is plural so the reference is not to justification but to the deeds performed by us in obedience to God.
Ephesians 5:26,27; Revelation 7:14.
These are deeds given to us by God which we have only to walk in.
Ephsians 2:10.
These robes are in contrast to the Harlot.

REV 19:9 Then the angel said to me, "Write: `Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!'" And he added, "These are the true words of God."

"Write this"
A reminder that the revelation here is mediated by an angel.

"Blessed are those who are invited..."
The fourth beatitude in the book.
The Church corporate is the Bride, but the members of the Church individually are the guests.
Matthew 8:11; 26:29.
One cannot come of one's own accord, we need an invitation.
Luke 14:17; Matthew 22:3.

REV 19:10 At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, "Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."

"I fell down to worship him
Only God is to be worshiped.

"the testimony of Jesus"
Used four times, here and in 1:2,9 12:17. It is used in such a way as to demand that the genitive be taken as a subjective genitive, i.e. "the word of God and the testimony of Jesus" can only mean "the word spoken by God and attested to by Jesus (in his life)".
The use of the phrase here applied to the saints therefore has the emphasis of conforming to and publishing the testimony of his crucifixion, i.e. martyrdom.

Vision (iii) - 19:11-21: - THE VICTORY OF CHRIST.

This is Christ's coming in power and Glory at the end of the Age.
This is the coming of the Messiah expected in the OT and was what the Jews were expecting, hence they could not recognise Jesus.

REV 19:11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war.

"then I saw the heavens opened."
C/f 15:5; 11:19.
Matthew 3:16; John 1:5; Acts 7:56.
This is the coming of God as envisaged in the OT.
What we see here is a Triumphal Procession as in Roman times.
Ancient kings returning from victorious battle would arrive back home and their army, with its booty, would parade through the town in procession. The procession of Christ began at his resurrection when he led, "a host of captives" and out of the booty gave "gifts to men" (Ephesians 4). In his train were the captive principalities and powers (Colossians 2:15). Now the procession makes its way back through conquered territory, and the victory is secured.
Isaiah 64:1,2.

"behold, a white horse"
White symbolizes victory.
Not the same scene as in 6:2.

"faithful and true"
Revelation 3:14; 1:5; John 1:17.
These two words really mean much the same thing in Hebrew thought. To be "true" in Hebrew is not to correspond to reality, as in Greek thought, rather it means to be reliable, faithful.

"in righteousness he judges and makes war"
The Greek is present tense which indicates that this is a permanent attribute of the Messiah, something he is always doing.
Isaiah 11:4; Joel 3:1-16.
The modern Christian view that war is evil or immoral is not sustained by scripture. God is the "Lord of Hosts (Armies)”, and he conducts a holy war. Jesus is his captain (Joshua 5:13-15). "Lord of Hosts" is a title given to God over 100x in Scripture.
Psalm 24:8; Exodus 15:3; 2 Samuel 5:22-25.

REV 19:12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself.

"his eyes are a flame of fire".
Revelation 1:4, 2:18.

"on his head were many crowns"
Greek = diadema, royal crowns.
Christ wears diadema, royal crowns. Satan's forces are pictured as wearing such (the seven headed beasts). This is because Satan gained legal right to rule on earth through usurping Adam's position as king of Earth. Now however Christ is coming as the last Adam, the Second Man, the Redeemer, to claim back earth for its rightful owners. Now he has conquered and has the legal right to the crowns of earth.
Christians are never said to wear this sort of crown. We wear "stephanos", victor’s crowns, never "diadema", ruler’s crowns.

"he has a name inscribed which no one knows but himself"
This implies that we cannot grasp the full meaning of it.
Revelation 2:17; 3:12; 14:1.
The name of "The Lord Jesus Christ".

REV 19:13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.

"clad in a robe dipped in blood"
Isaiah 63:3 - the blood comes from Armageddon.

NOTE: Caird thinks that the blood is something else (p 241-243), but this is because he builds his view on a very fixed order of events. The Bible is more fluid in its symbols. Christ can be pictured as the victorious warrior even before the battle is joined.

"The word of God"
John 1:1; Wisdom 18:15,16; Hebrews 4:12; 1 John 1:1.

REV 19:14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.

“the armies of heaven
= Angels (Genesis 32:1-2).
But the saints returning with Christ are there also (1 Thessalonians 4:14 "will bring with him").
Matthew 26:53; Jude 14,15 "holy ones" = angels.
1 Thessalonians 3:13; Zechariah 14:8.
Revelation 12:7.
However we are not told that they also fight. The victory belongs to Christ alone. Rather we are to see the angelic host as coming to witness the victory. Also they have the task of gathering the saints.

REV 19:15 Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.

"a sharp sword"
Hebrews 4:12; Ephesians 6:15,16; Isaiah 11:4; Psalm 2:9.
The only weapon involved in the conflict.

"a rod of iron"
Implies that everything is not rosy. There are problems during this period of the kingdom on earth that need subduing. However the only weapon Jesus uses to achieve this control is his word.

"tread the winepress"
Isaiah 63:3; Revelation 14:19.

"sword" "rod of iron" - the Roman and Jewish symbols of judicial authority. Suggests that he has to be involved in the act of judging throughout the reign.

REV 19:16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

"King of kings and Lord of Lords".
The fourth time his name is mentioned here.

REV 19:17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, "Come, gather together for the great supper of God,

REV 19:18 so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and mighty men, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, small and great."

Armageddon is now described. Drawn from Ezekiel 39:17-20, Gog and Magog.
Matthew 24:28.

"the birds that fly in mid heaven"
This symbol is again drawn from Astrology. The bird is Corvus, the Ravens, a decan of Leo, the coming King. In it the ravens are coming to eat the body of the enemy of God.
This refers us back to ch 8-11. Caird points out that John never described there the third woe, just the seventh trumpet. It appears now we get to see the third woe.

NOTE: The Bird population in Palestine is increasing rapidly with afforestation. Most birds are carnivorous.

REV 19:19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army.

Who are these armies?
C/f - 16:12-16.

REV 19:20 But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.

"lake of fire"
Greek = Gehenna. It is not made for man but for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). However the first person thrown into it is a man, the Antichrist, along with the False Prophet. It appears that no one else is put there until after the Millennium.
No man has to go to Hell. Hell is made for the Devil - he has to go there. Men only go there by choice.
Antichrist and the false prophet are flung alive into Hell. They do not get to go through the "portals of death" (Kiddle).

REV 19:21 The rest of them were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.

No universalism here. All of God’s enemies are destroyed. There does not seem to be any room here for a universal salvation at some later stage.