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The
final destruction of
Babylon causes the
multitudes in heaven to erupt in loud praise. What a fitting contrast to the
mourning of lost men in chapter 18. The Bride of Christ raptured before the
Tribulation will be among those singing praises before the throne. Yes, we will
be part of this heavenly chorus, and from our heavenly perspective, we are in
complete concert with our Lord's destruction of corrupt world systems. This
outpouring of praise will herald the return of our Lord and King to take His
rightful place on the throne of Israel.
The celebration is more
than justified by the last verse of chapter 18, which summarizes the worst of
the charges brought against
Babylon . “And in her was found the blood of prophets
and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth.”
Babylon embodied all that led
to the atrocities against God’s people, what can be called the Tribulation
holocaust. Ref. Rev. 6:7; 11:7; 13:7, 15; 17:6.
See 19:2—“…and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants
shed by her.” The Tribulation holocaust
of innocent blood will bring the wrath of God down on the heads of the citizens
of the global system of Antichrist. Our heavenly King will return to destroy
His enemies in person--and He will bring His Bride and the citizens of heaven
with Him.
19:1-5—“After these things…” Immediately following the destruction of
Babylon , the victory celebration
begins. The praise is led by the
twenty-four elders [representing the completed Church in heaven] and four living
creatures we saw in chapters 4 and 5.
Their “Amen” is a resounding affirmation of the justness of all they
witnessed.
- The voice from the throne is likely one of the cherubim as they are posted to the throne, calling all heaven to the worship celebration [vs. 5].
- MacArthur, p. 2018--“The fall of
- The sinking millstone also represents the failure of the global economic system. Just as evil commercialism was pictured caught in a grain measuring basket, so the capital of the economy is pictured as a grain millstone slated for destruction.
- 19:6--The longed for day of justice
has come and all in heaven rejoice! “Hallelujah!
For our Lord God Almighty reigns.”
I can recall unforgettable worship moments in the over
thirty years of my life in Christ. My
spirit has been lifted to the throne in filled auditoriums with hundreds of
voices and a full slate of instruments.
I have also experienced the profound presence of Christ in a tiny group
where our bowed heads offered soft praise in song. Nothing I have experienced in this life will
come close or even compare to the purity of praise in the throne room as
multitudes beyond number offer our praise in the very receiving presence of the
Trinity.
What an honor to participate in this incredible throne
room worship service. No praise band,
church choir, orchestra, pipe organ or means of human sound will be able to
equal the “voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the
sound of mighty thunderings…” John
describes what he heard in the only means available to him—the powerful sounds
of nature. From his description, we can
speculate that the worship chorus will not only be impressive in quality and
volume, but will seem to exude power, just as we can literally feel the power of
the crashing waters of Niagara
Falls .
ENTER—THE
BRIDE
If you
are new to the study of The Revelation, verse 7 of chapter 19 is worthy
of special preview notice. Here is the
only specific mention of the Church since we left the Church Age in chapter
3. The Church is the Bride of Christ and
is introduced here, at the end of the Tribulation, NOT because the Church is IN
the Tribulation, but because Christ is ready to return to the earth and He is
bringing His bride [wife in some translations] with Him. Where has the Bride been? The Bride has been in heaven with Christ
because the Church was raptured BEFORE the Tribulation began. The placing of the Bride exactly here is, in
fact, strong evidence that the Church is NOT going through the Tribulation. The Church doesn’t appear on earth again until we return
with our Bridegroom.
CONFIRMATION OF PRE-TRIB RAPTURE--19:6-9--
“For
the wedding of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready…” The Wedding in which the Church becomes the
bride of Christ begins in heaven during the Tribulation. When the Church returns
with Christ here in chapter 19, she already “has made herself ready” because the
Church will receive her adornments at the Judgment of Rewards in heaven (The
Bema) immediately following the Rapture.
[See 1 Cor. 3:12-15; 2 Cor. 5:9, 10; Romans 14:10; 1 John 2:28.]
MacArthur, p. 2019—“Hebrew weddings consisted of 3 phases: 1) betrothal (often when the couple were
children); 2) presentation (the festivities, often lasting several days, that
preceded the ceremony); and 3) the ceremony (the exchanging of vows). The church was betrothed to
Christ by His sovereign choice in eternity past (Eph. 1:4; Heb.
13:20 ) and will be presented to
Him at the Rapture (John 14:1-3; 1 Thess. 4:13 -18). The
final supper will signify the end of the
ceremony. This symbolic
meal will take place at the establishment of the millennial kingdom and last
throughout that 1,000 year period (cf. 21:2).” See also 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:22-24.
19:8—The “fine linen” she wears represents “the
righteous acts of the saints.” Without
Christ, all our works are as filthy rags.
(Is. 64:6) Only in Christ are we
able to produce the outward manifestation of inward virtue. [Note that this “linen” is not the imputed
righteousness granted to believers at salvation, but the practical results of
that righteousness in believers’ lives, according to MacArthur, p. 2019. These are the rewards given to the Church
believers at The Bema, The Judgment of Rewards.] The elaborateness of our
wedding gown will depend on the quality of our “righteous acts” while on
earth—those done for the glory of God.
The church is the bride, pure and faithful—never a harlot,
like unfaithful
Israel
in Hosea (see Hosea 2). [Note: Not the “Harlot of Babylon” in chapter
17]
The church is the bride during the presentation feast in
heaven, then comes to earth for the celebration of the final meal (the
Millennium). After that event, the new
order comes and the marriage is consummated (Rev. 21:1,2 ).” (MacArthur, The MacArthur Study
Bible, p. 2019) (See also Heb. 12:22-24).
- 19:9—“…Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!” THE BRIDE IS RETURNING WITH THE BRIDEGROOM, CHRIST, FOR THE WEDDING SUPPER, THE FINAL STAGE OF THE WEDDING.
- Look carefully at the wording: “Blessed are those who are invited (called)…” Those who are singled out for blessing in this verse are not the Bride; the blessed are THE GUESTS. The bride doesn’t get invited, she invites, or in this case, her bridegroom invites to the wedding supper. Those invited as guests are believers from ages other than the Church Age.
- What remnants are signified as guests:
- THOSE SAVED BEFORE PENTECOST but who were not alive at Pentecost. Pentecost can be called the birth of the Church because it was the day the Holy Spirit came to indwell existing believers and all who come to Christ thereafter—until the Rapture. (Acts 2:1ff.) These believers are no less “saved” although they are not “the church.” MacArthur: “It is really differing imagery rather than differing reality.” Note that this group of believers includes all believers in the Old Testament historical period and believers in the New Testament who died before the coming of the Holy Spirit.
CLARIFICATION OF THE CHURCH: Those who were living at the time of
Pentecost are believers specifically called the church, those “in Christ”
because Christ is in us in the person of the Holy Spirit. [2 Cor. 5:17; Romans 12:5; 16:7; Gal. 3:27; 1 Thess. 4:16] This distinction is
demonstrated in the Rapture passage in 1 Thess. 4:16: “And the dead in Christ will rise
first.” For example, John the Baptist
was not a believer who was in the category of “the church” because he was
beheaded by Herod before Pentecost. John
actually clarified his position in the Kingdom himself when he identified
himself as a friend of the bridegroom:
“I am not the Messiah; I have been sent as his
forerunner. It is the bridegroom to whom
the bride belongs. The bridegroom’s
friend, who stands by and listens to him, is overjoyed at hearing the
bridegroom’s voice. This joy, this
perfect joy, is now mine.” [John 3:29]
- THOSE SAVED IN THE TRIBULATION who were martyred or died
during the seven year time period. These
believers came to Christ after the Rapture.
They will be resurrected and will attend the Marriage Supper of the Lamb
in the
- BELIEVERS ALIVE IN EARTHLY BODIES. A remnant of believers will come to Christ
after the Rapture during the Tribulation and will physically survive the seven
years. They will enter the
THE REVELATION, which means THE REVEALING OF
CHRIST, is the culmination of all prophecy.
It is a great omission by the church NOT to teach this incredible book of
prophecy, “For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of
prophecy.”
We are in the season of
celebration of Christ’s first coming.
Our Lord’s birth at
Bethlehem and His
earthly ministry fulfilled hundreds of Old Testament prophesies. Fulfilled prophecy is the strongest evidence
for the validity of the Bible. Just as
Christ came the first time as a baby to Bethlehem
fulfilling prophecy , so He is coming again, and in the
same way He left [Acts 1]. He will
return in His human body bearing the marks of His death on the cross. He will return to the Mount of
Olives , the same place from which He ascended into heaven to His
Father. All of the prophecy concerning
His Second Coming will be as completely and perfectly fulfilled as were the
prophecies concerning His First Coming…and His return may be very near.
In Him We Wait, Work, and
Watch,
Luke
12:35-59
[Prophecy Chat is a weekly
commentary of current events in light of Bible prophecy. Sharon L. Clemens is a premillennial teacher
of eschatology. She can be reached for
comment or questions by e-mail at
farmgrove@frontier.com]
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