Revelation 19

Rejoicing in Heaven

1 After this I heard ¹what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, "Hallelujah! ²Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,

2 for ³his judgments are true and just; for he has judged ⁴the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and ⁵has avenged on her the blood of his servants."^[a]

3 Once more they cried out, "Hallelujah! ⁶The smoke from her goes up forever and ever."

4 And ⁷the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, "Amen. Hallelujah!"

5 And from the throne came a voice saying, ⁸"Praise our God, all you his servants, ⁹you who fear him, small and great."

The Marriage Supper of the Lamb

6 Then I heard what seemed to be ¹⁰the voice of a great multitude, like ¹¹the roar of many waters and ¹²like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty ¹³reigns.

7 Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for ¹⁴the marriage of the Lamb has come, and ¹⁵his Bride has made herself ready;

8 ¹⁶it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure"--for the fine linen is ¹⁷the righteous deeds of the saints.

9 And the angel said^[b] to me, "Write this: ¹⁸Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." And he said to me, ¹⁹"These are the true words of God."

10 Then ²⁰I fell down at his feet to worship him, ²¹but he said to me, "You must not do that! I am a fellow servant^[c] with you and your brothers who hold to ²²the testimony of Jesus. Worship God." For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

The Rider on a White Horse

11 Then I saw ²³heaven opened, and behold, ²⁴a white horse! The one sitting on it is called ²⁵Faithful and True, and ²⁶in righteousness he judges and makes war.

12 ²⁷His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are ²⁸many diadems, and he has ²⁹a name written that no one knows but himself.

13 He is clothed in ³⁰a robe dipped in^[d] blood, and the name by which he is called is ³¹The Word of God.

14 And the armies of heaven, ³²arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, ³³were following him on white horses.

15 ³⁴From his mouth comes a sharp sword ³⁵with which to strike down the nations, and ³⁶he will rule them with a rod of iron. ³⁷He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.

16 On his robe and on his thigh ³⁸he has a name written, ³⁹King of kings and Lord of lords.

17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to ⁴⁰all the birds that fly directly overhead, ⁴¹"Come, gather for ⁴²the great supper of God,

18 ⁴³to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave,^[e] both small and great."

19 And I saw ⁴⁴the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies ⁴⁵gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army.

20 And the beast was captured, and with it ⁴⁶the false prophet ⁴⁷who in its presence^[f] had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who ⁴⁸worshiped its image. These two were ⁴⁹thrown alive into the lake of ⁵⁰fire that burns with sulfur.

21 And the rest were slain by the sword ⁵¹that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and ⁵²all the birds were gorged with their flesh.

Revelation 19 Commentary

Chapter 19

The church in heaven and that on earth triumph, and praise the Lord for his righteous judgments. (1-10) A vision of Christ going forth to destroy the beast and his armies. (11-21)

Verses 1-10 Praising God for what we have, is praying for what is yet further to be done for us. There is harmony between the angels and the saints in this triumphant song. Christ is the Bridegroom of his ransomed church. This second union will be completed in heaven; but the beginning of the glorious millennium (by which is meant a reign of Christ, or a state of happiness, for a thousand years on earth) may be considered as the celebration of his espousals on earth. Then the church of Christ, being purified from errors, divisions, and corruptions, in doctrine, discipline, worship, and practice, will be made ready to be publicly owned by him as his delight and his beloved. The church appeared; not in the gay, gaudy dress of the mother of harlots, but in fine linen, clean and white. In the robes of Christ's righteousness, imputed for justification, and imparted for sanctification. The promises of the gospel, the true sayings of God, opened, applied, and sealed by the Spirit of God, in holy ordinances, are the marriage-feast. This seems to refer to the abundant grace and consolation Christians will receive in the happy days which are to come. The apostle offered honour to the angel. The angel refused it. He directed the apostle to the true and only object of religious worship; to worship God, and him alone. This plainly condemns the practice of those who worship the elements of bread and wine, and saints, and angels; and of those who do not believe that Christ is truly and by nature God, yet pay him a sort of worship. They stand convicted of idolatry by a messenger from heaven. These are the true sayings of God; of Him who is to be worshipped, as one with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

Verses 11-21 Christ, the glorious Head of the church, is described as on a white horse, the emblem of justice and holiness. He has many crowns, for he is King of kings, and Lord of lords. He is arrayed in a vesture dipped in his own blood, by which he purchased his power as Mediator; and in the blood of his enemies, over whom he always prevails. His name is "The Word of God;" a name none fully knows but himself; only this we know, that this Word was God manifest in the flesh; but his perfections cannot be fully understood by any creature. Angels and saints follow, and are like Christ in their armour of purity and righteousness. The threatenings of the written word he is going to execute on his enemies. The ensigns of his authority are his name; asserting his authority and power, warning the most powerful princes to submit, or they must fall before him. The powers of earth and hell make their utmost effort. These verses declare important events, foretold by the prophets. These persons were not excused because they did what their leaders bade them. How vain will be the plea of many sinners at the great day! We followed our guides; we did as we saw others do! God has given a rule to walk by, in his word; neither the example of the most, nor of the chief, must influence us contrary thereto: if we do as the most do, we must go where the most go, even into the burning lake.

Cross References

• 1. See Revelation 11:15
• 2. Revelation 4:11; Revelation 7:10; Revelation 12:10
• 3. Revelation 15:3; Revelation 16:7
• 4. See Revelation 17:1
• 5. Deuteronomy 32:43; 2 Kings 9:7; [Revelation 16:6]; See Revelation 6:10
• 6. Revelation 18:9, 18; Isaiah 34:10; [Revelation 14:11]
• 7. Revelation 4:4, 6, 10; Revelation 5:14
• 8. Psalms 22:23; Psalms 113:1; Psalms 134:1; Psalms 135:1
• 9. Revelation 11:18
• 10. Daniel 10:6; [ver. 1]
• 11. See Revelation 1:15
• 12. Revelation 6:1; Revelation 14:2
• 13. Revelation 11:15, 17; Psalms 97:1
• 14. Matthew 22:2; Matthew 25:10; Luke 12:36; Luke 14:8; John 2:1; [Ephesians 5:22-32]
• 15. Revelation 21:2, 9; [Isaiah 54:5; Hosea 2:19, 20]
• 16. [Psalms 45:13-15; Ezekiel 16:10]
• 17. [Psalms 132:9; Isaiah 61:10]
• 18. Luke 14:15; See ver. 7
• 19. [Revelation 21:5; Revelation 22:6]
• 20. Revelation 22:8
• 21. Revelation 22:9; See Acts 10:26
• 22. Revelation 1:2; Revelation 6:9; Revelation 12:17
• 23. See Ezekiel 1:1
• 24. See Revelation 6:2
• 25. See Revelation 3:7, 14
• 26. [Psalms 96:13; Isaiah 11:4]
• 27. Revelation 1:14; Revelation 2:18
• 28. [Revelation 12:3]
• 29. ver. 16; Revelation 2:17; [Proverbs 30:4]
• 30. Isaiah 63:2, 3
• 31. See John 1:1
• 32. Revelation 3:4; Revelation 7:9
• 33. [Revelation 14:20]
• 34. ver. 21; See Revelation 1:16
• 35. [Isaiah 11:4; 2 Thessalonians 2:8]
• 36. Revelation 2:27; Revelation 12:5
• 37. Revelation 14:20; Isaiah 63:3
• 38. ver. 12
• 39. See Revelation 17:14
• 40. ver. 21
• 41. Jeremiah 12:9; Ezekiel 39:17
• 42. [Isaiah 34:6; Jeremiah 46:10; Ezekiel 39:19]
• 43. Ezekiel 39:18, 20
• 44. Revelation 11:7; Revelation 13:1
• 45. Revelation 16:16
• 46. Revelation 16:13; Revelation 20:10
• 47. Revelation 13:11-14
• 48. See Revelation 13:15
• 49. Revelation 20:10, 14, 15; [Daniel 7:11]
• 50. Revelation 14:10; Revelation 21:8; See 2 Thessalonians 1:8
• 51. ver. 15
• 52. ver. 17

Footnotes

• [a]. Greek bondservants; also verse 5
• [b]. Greek he said
• [c]. Greek fellow bondservant
• [d]. Some manuscripts sprinkled with
• [e]. Greek bondservant
• [f]. Or on its behalf

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO REVELATION 19

This chapter contains the triumph of the saints over Babylon, and their thanksgiving to God because of his judgments on her; the marriage of Christ and his church, and a battle between him and his and her enemies, with the success of it. The congratulations are first of a promiscuous multitude in the church, ascribing salvation, praise, honour, glory, and power to God, because of the righteousness of his judgments, and because of the perpetuity of them, Re 19:1-3 and then of the four and twenty elders and four living creatures, who worship God, assent to what had been before said, and join in praising the Lord, Re 19:4 and then another voice out of the throne is heard, calling upon all the servants of the Lord, and those that fear him, whether small or great, to praise our God, Re 19:5 after which is heard the voice of a great multitude, stirring up one another to praise, because of the reign of the Lord God Almighty, and to rejoice and be glad because the time of the Lamb's marriage with his bride was come; who is described by her dress, the righteousness of the saints, comparable to fine linen, clean and white, Re 19:6-8 upon which an angel bids John write those persons happy who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb, and affirms these to be the true sayings of God; wherefore John, in a transport of joy, was just going to worship the angel, had he not been forbidden by him; from which he dissuades him, by observing that he was his fellow servant, that God only is the object of worship, and that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy, Re 19:9,10 next follows a vision of a battle between Christ and his enemies; and first he the General is described, by the horse he sat upon, a white one; by the characters he bears, faithful and true; by what he did, judging and making war in righteousness; by his eyes, which were as a flame of fire; by his having many crowns on his head; by having a name, or names unknown, and particularly one, which is the Word of God; by his habit, a vesture dipped in blood; by the armies he was at the head of, riding on white horses, and clothed in fine linen; by a sharp sword coming out of his mouth, with which he should utterly destroy the nations; and by having a name on his vesture and thigh, King of kings, and Lord of lords, Re 19:11-16 upon which an angel is seen standing in the sun, and calling to all the fowls of the heaven to come to the supper of the great God, and to eat the flesh of kings, captains, mighty men, horses and horsemen, of all ranks, and degrees, Re 19:17,18 and next an account is given of the armies of the beast, and of the kings of the earth, that came to make war with the above warrior, Re 19:19 the issue and success of which follow; the beast and false prophet are taken, and cast alive into a lake of fire and brimstone; and the rest are killed by the sword of the above General, and the fowls have a feast of their flesh, Re 19:20,21.