"After this," John hears "a great multitude in heaven" praising God for His righteousness in punishing the great harlot. The song exalts the Lord as "our God," from whom "salvation" proceeds and to whom "glory and power" belong.
 | Author: William MacDonald Rank: Author Posted on: 2024-07-06 Source: Title: Commentary on the New Testament Year (original): 1989 Author: William MacDonald Number of pages: 1504 Publisher/Editor: CLV Print: GGP Media GmbH, Pößneck |
The Marriage of the Lamb
[Verse 1]. The first words, “after these things”, introduce a new section, which at the same time directly connects to what is previously said. When the judgment on Babylon is fully executed, there is an enormous reaction in heaven. All who are in heaven form a great choir and express as out of one mouth their great joy about God and His judgment on Babylon. The first word that John hears is “hallelujah!” For the first time in this book and in the whole New Testament you hear this word sounding. It is used sparingly.
The word means ‘praise Yahweh’. It is a call to worship God. Worship always has a cause. When you come to know something of Who God is, of His works and of His ways, and you come impressed by that, it touches your heart, it causes you to worship Him. This is what happens, for example, with Abraham when God told him about His plans with him and Sarah [Gen 17:17]. Worship is not the experience of lofty feelings through music with ecstatic expressions.
The word appears four times in [Verse 1-6] and no further. In the Old Testament the word appears more often and especially in the book of Psalms. There it is always spoken out on the earth, while here it is said in heaven. The first time you find it in Psalm 104 [Ps 104:35]. Psalm 104 speaks prophetically about the millennial kingdom. Here in Revelation 19 the time has come that the millennial kingdom is established and a visible content is given to ‘hallelujah’.
God is honored and praised as the One to Whom “salvation” belongs. The point here is the coming of the ultimate and full salvation of everything that He Himself had planned to save [1Pet 1:5]. In that salvation His “glory” and His “power” become visible. This is the salvation He has worked with the power that belongs to Him.
[Verse 2]. There is no doubt that His judgments are ”true” and ”righteous”. This is true for all judgments, but these characteristics are specifically praised in view of the judgment on “the great harlot”. The word ‘harlot’ emphasizes again her unfaithfulness which was great and deep. His truthfulness and righteousness become clear in the judgment on her who has sinned in such a general and specifically horrible way.
She “was corrupting the earth” as a whole, all men on it, “with her immorality” and she has made especially God’s “bond-servants” a target of her wickedness. She deserves the judgment in all areas. With the judgment because of her abuse of God’s bond-servants, God answers the supplication of the martyrs in Revelation 6 [Rev 6:10], who asked Him to avenge their blood. The day of vengeance has come [Isa 61:2].
[Verse 3]. For the second time God is praised, this time because the judgment remains “forever and ever” and there will never again be a repetition of the performance of the great harlot. “Her smoke” is the smoke of the great harlot. The rising up of the smoke indicates that this judgment is a permanent remembrance (cf. [Isa 34:8-10]). A smoke that rises up to God speaks of the satisfaction that God’s love and holiness find in judgment. You see this in the sacrifices that speak of Christ. With regard to the judgment on the wicked, only an eternal punishment answers to God’s holiness.
[Verse 4]. The elders and the living creatures are mentioned here for the last time. In Revelation 4, they are mentioned for the first time [Rev 4:4-6]. They fall down before God to worship Him as Judge. They have also fallen down before Him as Creator [Rev 4:4] and as Savior [Rev 5:14]. The judgment on Babylon is the cause to express themselves in an “Amen. Hallelujah!” (cf. [Ps 106:48]). ‘Amen’ is a confirmation of the judgments, an underlining of them. ‘Hallelujah’ draws the attention again to God as the One Who is worthy of praise.
[Verse 5]. Then “a voice came from the throne”. All judgments have always come from the throne. With the judgment on the great harlot a point has been reached that the throne can call for to praise God. Everything God does will be to the glory and praise of His Name. Everything that He says and does reflects His glorious characteristics. And everything that is visible of God causes all who hear Him to praise Him. That also goes for His judgments. His judgments prove His righteousness, one of His many impressive characteristics.
The throne, the symbol of God’s government, calls “all … His bond-servants” to praise Him. It is a call to all who have served Him faithfully on earth, regardless of whether they have been ‘small or great’ therein. They have served Him with the fear of God. This fear is not being afraid of God, but reverence.
[Verse 6]. For the third time John hears a voice. It is the voice that reminds him of three things: “a great multitude … many waters and … mighty peals of thunder”. It is not an unordered mixture of sounds, like a busy market place with screaming people and honking cars. There is harmony in the ‘great multitude’. The ‘many waters’ indicate an impressive and irresistible power. The ‘mighty peals of thunder’ are the all drowning out messengers that accompany the acceptance by God of His kingship.
The great multitude here includes all heavenly citizens, apart from the church which is mentioned in the next verse. For the last time, the “hallelujah” sounds and this time in relation to the acceptance by God of His kingship. He has begun to reign, which He does through His Son.
[Verse 7]. The mighty choir of voices with a multiple sound cries out to itself to be happy and to rejoice and to give God glory. The reason is that “the marriage of the Lamb has come”. This happy event is now on God’s program. Now the false bride, the great harlot, has been judged, the time has come for the wedding of His Son.
Before the millennial kingdom of peace public comes, the wedding has to take place first. Then the bride can publicly follow the Bridegroom on His side to reign with Him. That is God’s purpose. What is remarkable, however, is that it is His wedding. At every wedding on earth, the attention is drawn to the bride. Here it is different. All attention is focused on Him.
The bride is here called “His wife”. Yet she remains the bride forever [Rev 21:2]. She is wife and bride [Rev 21:9]. That she is forever bride means that she will forever keep the glory as bride for the heart of the Lord Jesus. She will never put off her wedding robe. She is arrayed in it and “has made herself ready” to be His wife. The next verse describes what her robe consists of.
[Verse 8]. The robe consists of “the righteous acts of the saints”. There is nothing unrighteous on that robe. But, you may say, the saints have also committed unrighteous deeds, not only righteous ones, haven’t they? Exactly because of that the judgment seat of Christ is so important [Rom 14:10]; [2Cor 5:10]. As soon as the church has been caught up, your life, and the life of every believer, will be judged in all its particularities in God’s light. You will appear there in a glorified body. Therefore, it can have nothing to do with eternal judgment. The Judge is none other than your Savior, Who gave His life for you. How then could you still perish?
To purpose of the revelation before the judgment seat is to show you God’s judgment of your life. You will then know fully as you have been fully known [1Cor 13:12]. You first need to know how you have been judged by the Lord to be able to judge or reign over other people. Everything you have done in the body, will be revealed, even all the motives of your heart [1Cor 4:5]. You will only love Him more as a result (cf. [Luke 7:47]).
Maybe you will see righteous acts in the robe of which you did not think they were righteous acts. Conversely, things may be absent of which you thought them to be an important contribution to the robe. The question for you and me is now: To what extent do I contribute to the beauty of that robe? Will there probably be acts that will be consumed by the fire [1Cor 3:15], which will cause that there will be nothing left for the robe?
If we speak about our righteous acts, then we speak about the side of our responsibility. Through our deeds we may or may not contribute to the robe. But there is also the other side, which is the side of God’s grace that has worked in us, so that we may do good deeds. In a song it is written: ‘Whatever good that we have done, it was all achieved through Your grace.’ That reflects well what is written here, that the robe has been “given” to her. That determines you that everything you have contributed to that robe is ultimately the work of God’s grace.
When the bride appears on the scene, her brilliance will be great. What she wears is given to her by God. What she shows are the purity and cleanness of God Himself (cf. [Ezek 16:14]). “Fine linen” is a precious textile, more precious than the linen with which the angels are clothed [Rev 15:6]. Mind the contrast with the robe of the great harlot [Rev 17:4]; [Rev 18:16].
The word means ‘praise Yahweh’. It is a call to worship God. Worship always has a cause. When you come to know something of Who God is, of His works and of His ways, and you come impressed by that, it touches your heart, it causes you to worship Him. This is what happens, for example, with Abraham when God told him about His plans with him and Sarah [Gen 17:17]. Worship is not the experience of lofty feelings through music with ecstatic expressions.
The word appears four times in [Verse 1-6] and no further. In the Old Testament the word appears more often and especially in the book of Psalms. There it is always spoken out on the earth, while here it is said in heaven. The first time you find it in Psalm 104 [Ps 104:35]. Psalm 104 speaks prophetically about the millennial kingdom. Here in Revelation 19 the time has come that the millennial kingdom is established and a visible content is given to ‘hallelujah’.
God is honored and praised as the One to Whom “salvation” belongs. The point here is the coming of the ultimate and full salvation of everything that He Himself had planned to save [1Pet 1:5]. In that salvation His “glory” and His “power” become visible. This is the salvation He has worked with the power that belongs to Him.
[Verse 2]. There is no doubt that His judgments are ”true” and ”righteous”. This is true for all judgments, but these characteristics are specifically praised in view of the judgment on “the great harlot”. The word ‘harlot’ emphasizes again her unfaithfulness which was great and deep. His truthfulness and righteousness become clear in the judgment on her who has sinned in such a general and specifically horrible way.
She “was corrupting the earth” as a whole, all men on it, “with her immorality” and she has made especially God’s “bond-servants” a target of her wickedness. She deserves the judgment in all areas. With the judgment because of her abuse of God’s bond-servants, God answers the supplication of the martyrs in Revelation 6 [Rev 6:10], who asked Him to avenge their blood. The day of vengeance has come [Isa 61:2].
[Verse 3]. For the second time God is praised, this time because the judgment remains “forever and ever” and there will never again be a repetition of the performance of the great harlot. “Her smoke” is the smoke of the great harlot. The rising up of the smoke indicates that this judgment is a permanent remembrance (cf. [Isa 34:8-10]). A smoke that rises up to God speaks of the satisfaction that God’s love and holiness find in judgment. You see this in the sacrifices that speak of Christ. With regard to the judgment on the wicked, only an eternal punishment answers to God’s holiness.
[Verse 4]. The elders and the living creatures are mentioned here for the last time. In Revelation 4, they are mentioned for the first time [Rev 4:4-6]. They fall down before God to worship Him as Judge. They have also fallen down before Him as Creator [Rev 4:4] and as Savior [Rev 5:14]. The judgment on Babylon is the cause to express themselves in an “Amen. Hallelujah!” (cf. [Ps 106:48]). ‘Amen’ is a confirmation of the judgments, an underlining of them. ‘Hallelujah’ draws the attention again to God as the One Who is worthy of praise.
[Verse 5]. Then “a voice came from the throne”. All judgments have always come from the throne. With the judgment on the great harlot a point has been reached that the throne can call for to praise God. Everything God does will be to the glory and praise of His Name. Everything that He says and does reflects His glorious characteristics. And everything that is visible of God causes all who hear Him to praise Him. That also goes for His judgments. His judgments prove His righteousness, one of His many impressive characteristics.
The throne, the symbol of God’s government, calls “all … His bond-servants” to praise Him. It is a call to all who have served Him faithfully on earth, regardless of whether they have been ‘small or great’ therein. They have served Him with the fear of God. This fear is not being afraid of God, but reverence.
[Verse 6]. For the third time John hears a voice. It is the voice that reminds him of three things: “a great multitude … many waters and … mighty peals of thunder”. It is not an unordered mixture of sounds, like a busy market place with screaming people and honking cars. There is harmony in the ‘great multitude’. The ‘many waters’ indicate an impressive and irresistible power. The ‘mighty peals of thunder’ are the all drowning out messengers that accompany the acceptance by God of His kingship.
The great multitude here includes all heavenly citizens, apart from the church which is mentioned in the next verse. For the last time, the “hallelujah” sounds and this time in relation to the acceptance by God of His kingship. He has begun to reign, which He does through His Son.
[Verse 7]. The mighty choir of voices with a multiple sound cries out to itself to be happy and to rejoice and to give God glory. The reason is that “the marriage of the Lamb has come”. This happy event is now on God’s program. Now the false bride, the great harlot, has been judged, the time has come for the wedding of His Son.
Before the millennial kingdom of peace public comes, the wedding has to take place first. Then the bride can publicly follow the Bridegroom on His side to reign with Him. That is God’s purpose. What is remarkable, however, is that it is His wedding. At every wedding on earth, the attention is drawn to the bride. Here it is different. All attention is focused on Him.
The bride is here called “His wife”. Yet she remains the bride forever [Rev 21:2]. She is wife and bride [Rev 21:9]. That she is forever bride means that she will forever keep the glory as bride for the heart of the Lord Jesus. She will never put off her wedding robe. She is arrayed in it and “has made herself ready” to be His wife. The next verse describes what her robe consists of.
[Verse 8]. The robe consists of “the righteous acts of the saints”. There is nothing unrighteous on that robe. But, you may say, the saints have also committed unrighteous deeds, not only righteous ones, haven’t they? Exactly because of that the judgment seat of Christ is so important [Rom 14:10]; [2Cor 5:10]. As soon as the church has been caught up, your life, and the life of every believer, will be judged in all its particularities in God’s light. You will appear there in a glorified body. Therefore, it can have nothing to do with eternal judgment. The Judge is none other than your Savior, Who gave His life for you. How then could you still perish?
To purpose of the revelation before the judgment seat is to show you God’s judgment of your life. You will then know fully as you have been fully known [1Cor 13:12]. You first need to know how you have been judged by the Lord to be able to judge or reign over other people. Everything you have done in the body, will be revealed, even all the motives of your heart [1Cor 4:5]. You will only love Him more as a result (cf. [Luke 7:47]).
Maybe you will see righteous acts in the robe of which you did not think they were righteous acts. Conversely, things may be absent of which you thought them to be an important contribution to the robe. The question for you and me is now: To what extent do I contribute to the beauty of that robe? Will there probably be acts that will be consumed by the fire [1Cor 3:15], which will cause that there will be nothing left for the robe?
If we speak about our righteous acts, then we speak about the side of our responsibility. Through our deeds we may or may not contribute to the robe. But there is also the other side, which is the side of God’s grace that has worked in us, so that we may do good deeds. In a song it is written: ‘Whatever good that we have done, it was all achieved through Your grace.’ That reflects well what is written here, that the robe has been “given” to her. That determines you that everything you have contributed to that robe is ultimately the work of God’s grace.
When the bride appears on the scene, her brilliance will be great. What she wears is given to her by God. What she shows are the purity and cleanness of God Himself (cf. [Ezek 16:14]). “Fine linen” is a precious textile, more precious than the linen with which the angels are clothed [Rev 15:6]. Mind the contrast with the robe of the great harlot [Rev 17:4]; [Rev 18:16].
Verses that belong to this explanation: 1-8
1 And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: 2 For true and righteous [are] his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. 3 And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever. 4 And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia. 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. 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. 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.
 | Author: Ger de Koning Rank: Author Posted on: 2024-02-25 Source: Title: Revelation Author: Ger de Koning |
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 honor 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 that belong to this explanation: 1-10
1 And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: 2 For true and righteous [are] his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. 3 And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever. 4 And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
 | Author: Matthew Henry Rank: Priest AD: 1714 Source: Title: Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible Author: Matthew Henry |
Here we enter upon a new scene. Babylon the great is fallen. The saints are here represented rejoicing over the woman who was drunk with the blood of the saints. [Rev 17:6] (Calmet) — The voice of many multitudes….saying: Alleluia. In these visions, when the martyrs have triumphed and overcome persecutors, are sometimes represented their praises of God in heaven. Here in the Protestant translation, are retained Alleluia and Amen, which as St. Augustine takes notice, used not to be changed nor translated in any language. (Witham)
 | Author: George Leo Haydock Rank: Author AD: 1849 Source: Title: Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary Year (original): 1859 Number of pages: 571 Print: Edward Dunigan and Brother, New York, New York |
“Salvation and glory and honor and power to the Lord our God! for true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her”
The mystery of heaven’s joy is primarily that God declares His justice, as He condemns Babylon, the great adulteress. This doesn’t mean the heavenly rejoice over the wicked, but rather they show happiness for the evil is taken away. This painful picture of evil that caused the saints to grieve.
Verses that belong to this explanation: 1-2
1 And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: 2 For true and righteous [are] his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.
 | Author: Tadros Yacoub Malaty Rank: Monk Posted on: 2023-01-17 Source: Title: The book of Revelation Year (original): 1996 Author: Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty Number of pages: 257 Publisher/Editor: St. George's Coptic Orthodox Church, Sporting, Alexandria Print: Anba Reuis Press, Abassia, Cairo, Egypt Translation: Victoria and Ramzy Malaty |
The listed verse explanations of the individual persons have nothing to do with the explanations of the other persons. This also applies to the Bible translations.
