Revelation 19

The Fourfold Hallelujah

1 After these things I heard something like a ¹loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, "² Hallelujah! ³ Salvation and ⁴ glory and power belong to our God;

2 ⁵BECAUSE HIS ⁶JUDGMENTS ARE ⁷TRUE AND RIGHTEOUS; for He has judged the ⁸great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and HE HAS ⁹AVENGED THE BLOOD OF HIS BOND-SERVANTS ON HER."

3 And a second time they said, "¹⁰Hallelujah! ¹¹HER SMOKE RISES UP FOREVER AND EVER."

4 And the ¹²twenty-four * elders and the ¹³four living creatures ¹⁴fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, "¹⁵Amen. ¹⁶Hallelujah!"

5 And a voice came from the throne, saying, "¹⁷ Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, ¹⁸ you who fear Him, the small and the great."

6 Then I heard something like ¹⁹the voice of a great multitude and like ²⁰the sound of many waters and like the ²¹sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, "²² Hallelujah! For the ²³ Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.

Marriage of the Lamb

7 "Let us rejoice and be glad and ²⁴give the glory to Him, for ²⁵the marriage of the Lamb has come and His ²⁶bride has made herself ready."

8 It was given to her to clothe herself in ²⁷fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the ²⁸righteous acts of the saints.

9 Then ²⁹he said to me, "³⁰Write, '³¹Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.' " And he said to me, "³²These are true words of God."

10 Then ³³I fell at his feet to worship him. ³⁴But he said to me, "Do not do that; I am a ³⁵fellow servant of yours and your brethren who ³⁶hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."

The Coming of Christ

11 And I saw ³⁷heaven opened, and behold, a ³⁸white horse, and He who sat on it is called ³⁹Faithful and True, and in ⁴⁰righteousness He judges and wages war.

12 His ⁴¹eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many ⁴²diadems; and He has a ⁴³name written on Him which no one knows except Himself.

13 He is clothed with a ⁴⁴robe dipped in blood, and His name is called ⁴⁵The Word of God.

14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in ⁴⁶fine linen, ⁴⁷white and clean, were following Him on white horses.

15 ⁴⁸From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that ⁴⁹with it He may strike down the nations, and He will ⁵⁰rule them with a rod of iron; and ⁵¹He treads the wine * press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.

16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has ⁵²a name written, "⁵³KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."

17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to ⁵⁴all the birds which fly in ⁵⁵midheaven, "⁵⁶Come, assemble for the great supper of God,

18 so that you may ⁵⁷eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, ⁵⁸both free men and slaves, and ⁵⁹small and great."

19 And I saw ⁶⁰the beast and ⁶¹the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who ⁶²sat on the horse and against His army.

Doom of the Beast and False Prophet

20 And the beast was seized, and with him the ⁶³false prophet who ⁶⁴performed the signs ⁶⁵in his presence, by which he ⁶⁶deceived those who had received the ⁶⁷mark of the beast and those who ⁶⁸worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the ⁶⁹lake of ⁷⁰fire which burns with brimstone.

21 And the rest were killed with the sword which ⁷¹came from the mouth of Him who ⁷²sat on the horse, and ⁷³all the birds were filled 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. Jeremiah 51:48; Revelation 11:15; Revelation 19:6
• 2. Psalms 104:35; Rev 19:3, 4, 6
• 3. Revelation 7:10
• 4. Revelation 4:11
• 5. Psalms 19:9
• 6. Revelation 6:10
• 7. Revelation 16:7
• 8. Revelation 17:1
• 9. Deuteronomy 32:43; 2 Kings 9:7; Revelation 16:6; Revelation 18:20
• 10. Psalms 104:35; Rev 19:1, 4, 6
• 11. Isaiah 34:10; Revelation 14:11
• 12. Revelation 4:4, 10
• 13. Revelation 4:6
• 14. Revelation 4:10
• 15. Psalms 106:48; Revelation 5:14
• 16. Psalms 104:35; Revelation 19:3, 6
• 17. Psalms 22:23; Psalms 115:13; Psalms 134:1; Psalms 135:1
• 18. Revelation 11:18
• 19. Jeremiah 51:48; Revelation 11:15; Revelation 19:1
• 20. Ezekiel 1:24; Revelation 1:15
• 21. Revelation 6:1
• 22. Jeremiah 51:48; Revelation 11:15; Revelation 19:1
• 23. Psalms 93:1; Psalms 97:1; Psalms 99:1; Revelation 1:8
• 24. Revelation 11:13
• 25. Matthew 22:2; Matthew 25:10; Luke 12:36; John 3:29; Ephesians 5:23, 32; Revelation 19:9
• 26. Matthew 1:20; Revelation 21:2, 9
• 27. Revelation 15:6; Revelation 19:14
• 28. Revelation 15:4
• 29. Revelation 17:1; Revelation 19:10
• 30. Revelation 1:19
• 31. Matthew 22:2; Luke 14:15
• 32. Revelation 17:17; Revelation 21:5; Revelation 22:6
• 33. Revelation 22:8
• 34. Acts 10:26; Revelation 22:9
• 35. Revelation 1:1
• 36. Revelation 12:17
• 37. Ezekiel 1:1; John 1:51; Revelation 4:1
• 38. Revelation 6:2; Revelation 19:19, 21
• 39. Revelation 3:14
• 40. Psalms 96:13; Isaiah 11:4
• 41. Daniel 10:6; Revelation 1:14
• 42. Revelation 6:2; Revelation 12:3
• 43. Revelation 2:17; Revelation 19:16
• 44. Isaiah 63:3
• 45. John 1:1
• 46. Revelation 19:8
• 47. Revelation 3:4; Revelation 19:8
• 48. Revelation 1:16; Revelation 19:21
• 49. Isaiah 11:4; 2 Thessalonians 2:8
• 50. Psalms 2:9; Revelation 2:27
• 51. Isaiah 63:3; Joel 3:13; Revelation 14:19, 20
• 52. Revelation 2:17; Revelation 19:12
• 53. Revelation 17:14
• 54. Revelation 19:21
• 55. Revelation 8:13
• 56. 1 Samuel 17:44; Jeremiah 12:9; Ezekiel 39:17
• 57. Ezekiel 39:18-20
• 58. Revelation 6:15
• 59. Revelation 11:18; Revelation 13:16; Revelation 19:5
• 60. Revelation 11:7; Revelation 13:1
• 61. Revelation 16:14, 16
• 62. Revelation 19:11, 21
• 63. Revelation 16:13
• 64. Revelation 13:13
• 65. Revelation 13:12
• 66. Revelation 13:14
• 67. Revelation 13:16
• 68. Revelation 13:12, 15
• 69. Revelation 20:10, 14; Revelation 21:8
• 70. Isaiah 30:33; Daniel 7:11; Revelation 14:10
• 71. Revelation 19:15
• 72. Revelation 19:11, 19
• 73. Revelation 19:17

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "from her hand"
• [b]. Lit "wife"
• [c]. Or "holy ones"
• [d]. Or "shepherd"
• [e]. Lit "wine press of the wine of the wrath of God's anger"
• [f]. Lit "one"
• [g]. I.e. chiliarchs, in command of one thousand troops
• [h]. Or "by his authority"
• [i]. I.e. burning sulphur

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.