Chapter Xiii Revelation 17–19 : The Fall Of The Dragon’S Allies
REVELATION 17–19:
THE FALL OF THE DRAGON’S ALLIES
FIVE enemies of the Christ have been introduced: the dragon, the sea-born beast, the earth-born beast or false prophet, the harlot Babylon, and the men who bear the mark of the beast. We have seen what happens to the men who receive this mark (chapters 15, 16). In the present vision the apostle shows us by means of symbolic pictures what befalls Babylon, the sea-born beast, and the false prophet. The dragon’s defeat will be described in Revelation 20.
Broadly speaking, this section may be subdivided as follows: Chapter 17 describes the nature and tells the history of the great harlot, Babylon. Chapter 18 shows us the inevitable, complete, and irrevocable character of Babylon’s fall. Chapter 19 introduces us to the rejoicings in heaven because of the complete overthrow of Babylon and because of the wedding of the Lamb. It also presents the Author of this victory, the Rider upon the white horse, who triumphs over Babylon, the beast, and the false prophet, and executes final judgment on all His enemies.
I. THE JUDGMENT OF BABYLON
1. The woman and the beast (17: 1–6)
One of the seven angels that had the seven bowls appears to John. The fact that one of these angels appears indicates that the vision is one of woe for the wicked and of weal for the Church (cf. Rev. 21: 9). This angel speaks with John in a friendly manner, saying, ‘Hither! I will show thee the judgment of the harlot, the great one, the one sitting upon many waters.’ So, in the Spirit (see Rev. 1: 10) John is carried to the wilderness where he sees a scarlet beast.[1] It is the sea-born beast and symbolizes the world as the centre of persecution. This spirit of persecution finds expression in the governments and peoples of this world, particularly in the great world empires that follow one another in history. John sees this beast in the wilderness, for the radiant woman of Revelation 12, representing the Church, had fled there.
The beast is not alone. There is sitting upon it a woman. This woman must not be confused with the radiant woman of Revelation 12. The two are enemies. The woman of Revelation 17—the one sitting upon the beast—is the great harlot. She is gorgeously arrayed and excessively adorned. She is ‘gilded with gold’. She is clothed with purple and scarlet, for she sits as queen. Precious stones and pearls are her ornaments. Kings of the earth are her paramours. Worldly people are made drunk with the wine of her whoring. In her hand she holds a cup filled with abominations: the unclean things pertaining to her whoredom. On her forehead, possibly on a band attached to her forehead, is a name written: Babylon the great, the mother of the harlots and of the abominations of the earth. Not only are her paramours drunk, she herself is also drunk, namely with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. John wonders greatly. He does not grasp the meaning of this picture, so the angel explains its meaning.
This harlot, evidently, is Babylon[2] (17: 5, 18; 19: 2, 3). The question is, what does Babylon represent?[3] In order to arrive at the correct view with respect to the symbolical meaning of this figure, we must bear in mind, first of all, that Babylon is called the great harlot.[4] In other words, the symbol indicates that which allures, tempts, seduces and draws people away from God.
Secondly, we must remember that this harlot is a worldly city, namely, Babylon. It reminds us of pleasure-mad, arrogant, presumptuous Babylon of old.[5] The description of this symbolical Babylon of Revelation 17–19 also recalls to our mind that heathen centre of wickedness and seduction, Tyre. Observe the striking similarity between Revelation 17–19 and Ezekiel 27, 28. Moreover, when we study the catalogue of goods found in Babylon (18: 11 ff.) it becomes evident that the symbol has reference to a great industrial and commercial metropolis. Babylon, therefore, must indicate the world as a centre of industry, commerce, art, culture, etc., which by means of all these things seeks to entice and seduce the believer, that is, to turn him away from God. It symbolizes the concentration of the luxury, vice, and glamour of this world. It is the world viewed as the embodiment of ‘the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the vainglory of life’ (1 Jn. 2: 16).
Thirdly, Babylon thus viewed is past, present and future. Its form changes; its essence remains. Let us remember that the harlot, Babylon, is very closely associated with the beast, so closely, in fact, that she is said to be sitting on the beast (17: 3). The beast is the entire antichristian persecution movement throughout history, embodied in successive world empires. The beast, very clearly, is past, present, and future. (Read Rev. 17: 8–10.) Therefore we conclude that the harlot also represents the world as the centre of antichristian seduction at any moment of history. That the harlot, Babylon, was present in one form or embodiment in John’s day is clear from Revelation 17: 9: ‘the seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits’. Here the reference is clearly to Rome. The imperial city attracted to her pleasures the kings of the nations, the rulers in every domain of life, art, industry, commerce, etc. (See Rev. 17: 2.) The apostle sees the Rome of his own day, filled with vanity, luxury and pleasure. It was a pleasure-mad city. Even the saints were torn to pieces in its circuses for the amusement and entertainment of the public. The harlot was drunk with the blood of the saints (17: 6). When, in Revelation 18: 4, the admonition is given: ‘Come forth my people, out of her, and have no fellowship with her sins’, that command was intended not only for people living close to the end of the world’s history, but also for believers in John’s own day and age; indeed, for believers in every age.
Babylon, then, is the world as the centre of seduction at any moment of history, particularly during this entire present dispensation. The harlot, Babylon, always opposes the bride, new Jerusalem (Rev. 21: 9 ff.). Both symbols are introduced by ‘one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls’, but they are opposites. For Babylon’s fall refers not only to the final destruction of the world, viewed as a centre of antichristian culture and seduction, at the moment of Christ’s second coming, but also to the demolition of every preceding concentration of worldly enticement. Babylon’s fall takes place throughout history but especially on the great day of final judgment. The fall of the last great Babylon—Babylon in its final form—coincides with the coming of our Lord unto judgment.
According to the figure employed, the harlot holds in her hand a golden cup. A golden cup entices one to drink; for one expects the most precious drink from such a precious vessel. Yet the cup contains nothing but abominations, the unclean things pertaining to the woman’s whoredom. Whatever is used by the world in order to turn believers away from their God is in this cup: pornographic literature, sports in which one becomes completely absorbed, luxuries, worldly fame and power, the lusts of the flesh, and so on. Let everyone make his own list. It includes things that are bad in themselves as well as things which become bad because one does not view them as a means but as an end in themselves: art for art’s sake, etc. The angel tells John the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her (verses 7–18). Observe the close association between beast (the empire of the world) and woman (seduction). This is true in a two-fold sense: first, worldly people drink the wine of the woman’s whoredom and indulge in her pleasures; secondly, the world as the centre of persecution and the world as the centre of luxury, antichristian culture, and pleasure always work in close co-operation in opposing the Church. The prophet Balaam was aware of this, so he advised Balak to make use of the cunning art of deception in order to ensnare and destroy Israel (Nu. 31: 16; Jude 11; Rev. 2: 14). In the days of John, Rome not only persecuted the Church with the sword but also tried to entice believers by means of the allurements of the great city. The same holds true even today. Antichristian governments do not destroy every church building; they change some of them into places of worldly amusement! Thus, throughout history ‘beast’ and ‘woman’ are always associated. Always until... the beast turns against the woman (17–19).
2. The history of the beast (17: 7–18)
In verse 8 the angel begins to relate the history of the beast. It was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss. First, the beast was, for example, in the form of Old Babylonia, the kingdom of the mighty Nimrod, in the land of Shinar: ‘let us make us a name’ (Gn. 10: 8–11; 11: 4). Or in the form of Assyria with its proud capital in Nineveh. Or, again, of the spirit of worldly arrogance and oppression which manifested itself in New Babylonia (think of Nebuchadnezzar and the captivity of the Jews); or in the kingdom of the Medes and Persians; and, very definitely, in the Greco-Macedonian Empire out of which came forth the great precursor of the final antichrist, Antiochus Epiphanes of Syria (175–164 BC). ‘And is not.’ All of these kingdoms in which the beast had been embodied perished. The beast, in the form of Old Babylonia, Assyria, New Babylonia, Medo-Persia or Greco-Macedonia, is no more. Yet—and this excites the wonder and admiration of men whose names from the foundation of the world were not written in the book of life—this beast seems to have the ability to raise its head anew after every defeat! Worldly men wonder when they see the beast ‘how that it was, and is no more, and yet shall be present’. They fail to see that, under every form and in every embodiment, the beast goes into perdition. This statement, as a comparison between verses 8 and 11 indicates, is true especially with respect to the final manifestation of the power of antichrist just before the second coming of Christ. That antichristian empire will also go ‘into perdition’. Thus, again and again the beast appears in a new embodiment. The forms change, but the essence remains throughout this entire dispensation, even throughout the history of the world until the judgment day.
The angel is now about to interpret the meaning of the beast’s seven heads and ten horns. The meaning is not clear on the surface. Wisdom is needed to interpret them (cf 13: 18). The seven heads have a twofold symbolical significance. They indicate both the present embodiment of the beast and all of its embodiments throughout history. First of all, then, these seven heads symbolize seven mountains, the seven hills of Rome, viewed as the capital of the Roman Empire.[6] It is the great city which rules over the kings, the mighty ones, of the earth. It was, in John’s day, the centre of antichristian persecution. But it was also the centre of antichristian seduction, allurement and enticement; the woman, the harlot, sits on these seven hills. Secondly, these seven heads also symbolize seven kings, that is, kingdoms.[7] As we have already indicated, the Book of Daniel clearly proves that these seven heads do not symbolize seven individual kings or emperors but seven antichristian world-empires. Five fell, namely, Ancient Babylonia, Assyria, New Babylonia, Medo-Persia and Greco-Macedonia. One is, namely Rome. The seventh is not yet come, but when it comes it will have to remain some little while. The emphasis is on the word ‘remain’. Is this seventh head the collective title for all antichristian governments between the fall of Rome and the final empire of antichrist that is going to oppress the Church in the days just preceding Christ’s second coming?[8] In the language of the Apocalypse this entire gospel age is but a little while (cf. Rev. 11: 2, 3; 12: 6, 14; 13: 5). The beast that ‘was and is not’ is the eighth and final, most terrible dominion of antichrist toward the close of history (cf. 2 Thes. 2: 3 ff.). Does the clause ‘and is of the seven’ indicate that, in some sense, one of the former antichristian empires will be re-established and, if so, which one?[9] At any rate, ‘he goes into perdition’ (see Rev. 19: 20).
The ten kings are really all the mighty ones of this earth in every realm: art, education, commerce, industry, government, in so far as they serve the central authority. Self-aggrandizement in opposition to Christ is their goal. In order to reach this goal they are willing to give their power and authority to the beast. They reign ‘in company with’ the beast for just ‘one hour’. Every worldly ruler has his satellites and they, too, generally last only ‘one hour’. All these ‘horn-kings’ have one design, namely to help the beast in its conflict with Christ and His Church. That this is their unanimous purpose is clearly stated in verse 14. That verse, as already indicated, states the theme of the entire book: ‘These shall war against the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome (‘conquer’) them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings; and they also shall overcome (‘conquer’) that are with him, called and chosen and faithful.’
Throughout history, especially throughout this entire dispensation, the Lamb constantly defeats and shall defeat every form of antichristian dominion. Every kingdom of antichrist perishes. This will appear especially when the Lamb shall crush the power of the last great antichrist at the close of the world’s history (cf. Rev. 11: 11; 16: 14 ff.; 19: 11 ff.; 2 Thes. 2: 8). For a while it may seem as if antichristian forces have gained the upper hand (Rev. 11: 7; 13: 7). But when antichrist seems to be completely victorious, his utter ruin is imminent! Thus, Christ ever reveals Himself as King of kings and Lord of lords (Dt. 10: 17) and believers conquer together with Christ. By the irresistible grace of God they were called (1 Pet. 2: 9; Rom. 8: 30). This ‘internal’ call proves the fact that they have been chosen for salvation and victory from eternity (Eph. 1: 4). Moreover, their own faithfulness or loyalty to Christ furnishes further evidence that they are, indeed, God’s children (cf. Rev. 1: 5; 2: 10; etc.; for 17: 15 see 13: 1). Evidently, John had seen in the desert a kind of lake or pool. In this pool he had seen the beast and upon the beast the woman. The waters of this lake symbolize the surging nations, peoples, etc. of this world, that are constantly opposing and persecuting the Church (cf. Je. 51: 13).
For a while all seems to go well: the world in general and especially its mighty ones commit whoredom with the great harlot. They drink of her golden cup and they become drunk with the wine of whoredom. They carry the woman: they yield entirely to her allurements and enticements, her antichristian culture. They are fond of the luxuries of the world. The ‘lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the vainglory of life’ please them immensely. But, in the end (verses 15, 16) these very people who constitute ‘the antichristian world’ turn against the whore. Worldly people, including also the mighty ones of this earth—the ten horns—in the end hate the whore—they cast her off and strip her of her extravagantly gorgeous garments and costly ornaments; they devour her flesh; and burn her utterly with fire.
The meaning is that there will come a time when these same worldly people who together with their antichristian governments constitute ‘the beast’ and who were infatuated with the ‘harlot’, that is, with the seduction of this world, its pleasures and allurements, its culture and luxury, come to see what great fools they have been. But then it is for ever too late. Thus, for example, Judas Iscariot, who drank of the golden cup—Mammon was his god—and for a while considered the thirty pieces of silver so enchanting, finally experienced a revulsion of feeling, and flung the money before the priests and elders, and afterwards hanged himself (Mt. 27: 3 ff.; Acts 1: 18). The pleasures of sin disappoint in the end. Foolish girls may admire the veiled prophet; once the veil is removed and they see his hideous features, they are filled with despair. God Himself finally hardens the hearts of those who have hardened themselves against His repeated warnings (verse 17). Revelation 17: 16, 17 is a lesson for every day. It reveals the course of worldly individuals: first, they become infatuated with the pleasures and treasures of the world, and harden themselves against God; then they are hardened; finally, when it is too late, they experience a revulsion of feeling. They are punished by the results of their own foolishness.[10]
When the world offers us her treasures we should follow the example of Jesus (Mt. 4: 8 ff.). Be sure to read that passage and to take it to heart.
3. The fall of Babylon (18: 1–24)
And now John sees another angel coming down out of heaven. He has great authority and his effulgence lights up the earth. With a strong voice he cries:
‘It fell, it fell, Babylon the Great!
(Cf Is. 21: 9; Je. 50: 2; 51: 8)
And it became a habitation of demons,
And a prison of every unclean spirit,
And a prison of every unclean and hated bird.
For of the wine of the passion of her whoring all the nations
have drunk.[11]
And the kings of the earth committed whoring with her;
And the merchants of the earth have grown rich from her
excessive luxury.’
Here Babylon’s fall is announced as if it had already occurred; so certain is its fall. Let this serve as a warning for all! The utter desolation of Babylon is vividly described when it is said that even the unclean spirits and the unclean and hated birds consider it a prison (cf. Is. 13: 20 ff.; Je. 50: 39, 45; 51: 37, 42; Zp. 2: 14). The reason or justification for Babylon’s fall is given in Revelation 18: 3: the nations and kings and merchants allowed themselves to become infatuated with Babylon’s pleasures and treasures. These merchants represent all those who have set their hearts on the wares of the world.
A voice from heaven is addressed to believers:
‘Come forth, my people, out of her,
That you may have no fellowship with her sins,
And that you may not receive of her plagues;
For glued together were her sins, even up to heaven,
And God has recollected her unrighteous deeds.’
The admonition to leave Babylon is addressed to God’s people in all ages (cf. Is. 48: 20; 52: 11; Je. 50: 8, 41–44; Zc. 2: 7). From this fact it also appears that Babylon is not only the city of the end-time. It is the world, as centre of seduction, in any age. To depart from Babylon means not to have fellowship with her sins and not to be ensnared by her allurements and enticements. Those who set their heart on the world shall also receive of her plagues. It may seem as if God has forgotten Babylon’s sins. In the day when Babylon falls it will become evident that He has most certainly remembered them.
Then Babylon will receive the ‘double’ according to her works. This does not mean that she will receive twice as much punishment as she deserves; but that she will receive the exact amount of punishment which she has earned. The punishment is the ‘double’, the counterpart, of the sin. The torment and mourning (verse 7) are the exact equivalent for her pride and arrogance. The scales balance exactly. In her self-glorification, presumption, and boastfulness she has said in her heart—which is even worse than saying it to others—‘I sit as queen, and a widow I am not, and mourning I shall not see’ (cf. Is. 14: 13, 14; 47: 8; Je. 50: 29). Therefore, death, mourning, and famine will ruin her in one day, because the Lord God, whom she has opposed, is strong.
The next section (verses 9–20) presents a threefold lamentation, on the part of kings, merchants, and navigators, followed by the rejoicings of heaven.
First, the kings or mighty men, the men of influence of the earth, utter their lament. They have committed whoredom with this harlot, Babylon or, in other words, they have yielded to her temptations and have enjoyed her luxuries, so when they see the smoke of Babylon’s great conflagration, they shall stand afar off for fear of her torture and say,
‘Woe, woe! The city, the great one!
Babylon! The city, the strong one!
For in a single hour your judgment has overtaken you.’
Next, the merchants—all those who set their hearts on the goods and luxuries of the world—wail and mourn because their cargoes have suddenly become worthless (cf. Lk. 12: 16–21). All that delighted them is suddenly destroyed. They can do nothing to save it. They stand ‘from afar’. Babylon, the pleasure-mad world, the seductress, perishes in utter helplessness.
Notice the list of cargoes which had been Babylon’s delight. There were cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls (cf. the gorgeous apparel and embellishments of the great harlot, Rev. 17: 4). None of these things has abiding value. They all perish. ‘The fashion (schema, outward appearance and glamour) of this world passes away’ (1 Cor. 7: 31). Then, in close connection with the foregoing, various kinds of costly garments are mentioned: fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet. (Again cf. Rev. 17: 4; also Lk. 16: 19.) Next, various materials that are used in the construction of articles of luxury are listed; thyine wood, used for inlaying and as incense, ivory vessels, and other utensils made of precious wood, brass, iron or marble. Also listed are spices and ointments: cinnamon, amomum (an aromatic herb), perfume, and frankincense. The emphasis is on luxury.
The best in the line of food and drink comes next: wine, oil, fine flour, wheat. Here is the oil and the wine of the wicked rich, and the finest flour besides. But this also is destined to perish. Livestock and marketable animals such as cattle and sheep, are mentioned next. The concluding items are horses and chariots and bodies, even the souls of human beings. These wicked people trade in bodies and souls of slaves as if they constituted mere articles of merchandise. They did anything and everything to enrich themselves. The apostle’s picture is based entirely on conditions prevailing round about him at the very time when he saw and wrote these visions. Yet essentially the picture of Babylon which he receives and reproduces is true for every age.
Observe that to this catalogue of cargoes which belong to Babylon and which perish, every department of existence makes its contribution: the mineral kingdom (gold, silver, etc.), the plant kingdom (fine linen, silk, etc.), the animal kingdom (ivory, cattle, sheep, etc.), and even the kingdom of man (bodies and souls of men). The result is that when Babylon perishes, the economic chaos is complete; the world of the unbeliever, on which he has pinned his hopes and built his trust, collapses! This is true with respect to the fall of every Babylon—whether it is literal Babylon, or Nineveh, or Rome. It is true especially with respect to the final kingdom of antichrist at the close of history. Thus, the harlot Babylon sees the heyday of the lust of her life slipping away from her; the dainty and sumptuous things perish away, so that men cannot find in her anything that is attractive. In the end the harlot proves to be a great and bitter disappointment (see Rev. 17: 16). Utterly helpless is Babylon; the merchants stand ‘afar off’ and wail when they compare the former splendour of the harlot—her fine linen, her purple, her scarlet, her gold, her precious stones and her pearls, with her present condition. In a single hour this vast wealth has been destroyed!
The third lamentation proceeds from the mouths and hearts of seafaring men. Four classes are mentioned: the captains, the passengers intent on business, the sailors, and as many as gain their living by the sea, e.g. exporters, importers, fishermen, those who dive for pearls, etc. All these see from afar the smoke of Babylon’s conflagration. They recall its former greatness and splendour. They can hardly believe their eyes when they see the total ruin and thorough collapse of all their hopes and desires. They heap dust on their heads as a token of grief (Ezk. 27: 30) and they exclaim,
‘Woe, woe! The city, the great one!
In whom were made rich all those having the ships in the sea by reason of her luxury!
For, in a single hour she was made desolate!’
Because the wicked base their entire hope upon the luxuries and pleasures of this life, when the ‘fashion’ of this world perishes they perish with it. Their ‘all’ vanishes.
But the saints, apostles and prophets of God are summoned to rejoice from their heavenly home, for Babylon’s fall is God’s just retribution which is visited upon the world because it persecuted the Church.
The final paragraph of this chapter indicates the thorough-going, irrevocable, and irreparable character of Babylon’s fall. The symbol used is very striking (cf. Je. 51: 63, 64). An angel appears. Observe that it is a strong angel. What he is about to do requires strength. By himself he picks up a millstone, not an ordinary stone from a handmill but a great millstone, that is, one from a mill turned by an animal. What does the angel do with this great millstone? Does he drop it upon the land? No, he drops it into the sea so that it may disappear completely. Does he merely permit it to fall? No, he lifts it up and then hurls it into the sea so that it may be buried deeply in the ocean bed. So thorough-going and complete will be Babylon’s fall. Never will the great millstone be retrieved. Thus, this wicked world, as the centre of seduction, will perish for ever.
Notice the fact that the phrase ‘no more at all’ (verses 21–23) occurs six times. Observe also the climax in the arrangement of the six: ‘No more at all’ shall Babylon be found. The city as such is gone. That is a general statement, not nearly as vivid as what follows. Next we read ‘No more at all’ the sound of harpists and musicians, flute players and trumpeters. All music has disappeared (cf. Je. 25: 10). What is the world without music? Yet one can live without it. In fact, some people seem to prefer to do without it. What follows makes matters more serious. ‘No more at all’ shall be found in thee any craftsman of whatever craft. Try to imagine life in any great city without any craftsman. But in what follows one of life’s basic needs seems to be taken away. ‘No more at all’ shall be heard in thee the sound of a millstone (cf. Je. 25: 10). The passage is beginning to reach its terrible climax. ‘No more at all’ shall the light of a lamp shine in thee (cf. Je. 25: 10). Utter darkness reigns supreme, a darkness that can be felt, a darkness which symbolizes the final and complete effusion of God’s wrath upon this wicked, pleasure-loving, seductive world! And that condition lasts throughout all eternity.
Now the final touch: whatever imparts unity, whatever inspires love, every love-relationship, has disappeared completely and for ever: ‘No more at all’ shall the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride be heard in thee (cf. Je. 25: 10). The reason for this terrible sentence was because Babylon’s merchants were the ‘great ones’ of the earth (cf. Rev. 6: 15). God was completely forgotten. The merchants had one ambition—to be great; to be like God in power and authority. To this is added: ‘By thy magic all the nations were deceived’ (cf. Is. 47: 9 ff.). The gold and glamour of this world deceived the wicked. The beast out of the earth—also called ‘the false prophet’—had been successful in his attempt to lead people astray. In addition, the harlot had caused them to wander away farther and farther from God. Finally, the blood of all God’s prophets, saints and even of all Christian martyrs, was found in Babylon. Babylon slaughtered them all. Here is one more reason why we conceive of the term ‘Babylon’ as indicating the world as a past, present, and future reality, and not merely as the city that shall exist in the last days. The main point for us to observe, however, is this, that the pleasure-mad, arrogant world, with all its seductive luxuries and pleasures, with its antichristian philosophy and culture, with its teeming multitudes that have forsaken God and have lived according to the lusts of the flesh and the desires of the mind, shall perish. The wicked suffer eternal despair. This doom will not be complete until the day of the final judgment.
II. REJOICINGS IN HEAVEN
1. The marriage of the Lamb (19: 1–10)
We now hear the hallelujahs of heaven when Christ has come in glory to take for Himself His bride, the Church (19: 7). Heaven celebrates God’s victory over the harlot, Babylon. John hears first a great sound of a great multitude. The hosts of angels ascribe salvation and glory and power to God. They declare that in judging the great harlot God has perfected the salvation of His people. Thus the glory of His attributes has become manifest, and His power has been revealed. It is God, and He alone, who has wrought salvation (cf. Rev. 12: 10). Moreover, in bringing about the fall of Babylon Jehovah’s righteousness has been displayed (cf. Rev. 15: 3 f.), for this harlot had corrupted the entire earth with her whoring (cf. Rev. 14: 8; Je. 51: 7). Self-exaltation and leading people farther and farther away from God had been her chief delight. Besides, she had brought about the slaughter of the saints (Rev. 17: 6; 18: 24). Now God has rendered vengeance (Rev. 8: 5; Je. 50: 13). The angels rejoice exceedingly in the salvation of God’s people. They are filled with gladness of heart when they ponder the fact that all opposition has been quenched for ever. Again they give expression to this joy by crying, ‘Hallelujah!’ Their hearts seem to be filled with ecstasy to the very breaking-point, and in their rapture they cry ‘Praise Jehovah’. That is the meaning of ‘Hallelujah’, which is found only here in the New Testament. Babylon’s smoke goes up for ever and ever (Rev. 14: 11; 18: 8, 9, 18, 21 ff.; Is. 13: 20 ff.; Mt. 25: 46). Never again will she rise to vex the Church.
Next, the twenty-four elders, symbolizing the entire Church, praise God, and so do the four cherubim, representing all the cherubim (Rev. 4: 2–6; 5: 14; 7: 15). So filled are they with thanksgiving that they can utter but two words: ‘Amen—Hallelujah!’ They express their adoration to God who is seated upon the throne, and who is highly exalted, glorious and sovereign.
Then John hears a solo-voice—one of the cherubim or one of the other angels?—coming from the region of the throne, exclaiming: ‘Give praise to our God, all you servants of His, those fearing Him, the small and the great!’ The lowliest angel and the highest saint, all are summoned to glorify God, the Author of salvation; for all serve Him out of reverence.
John now hears the voice of all the hosts of heaven, both angels and men. It resembles the sound of many waters and mighty thunders, for these hallelujahs, spontaneous and majestic, issue from lips innumerable (14: 2).
These voices proclaim in unison that the Lord, God, the Almighty has now revealed Himself in the full majesty of His royal glory and power (verse 6). Each exhorts his neighbour to rejoice and to be glad exceedingly, and, above all else, to give to God all the glory (1: 6; 14: 7). The reason for this burst of jubilation is given in these words:
‘For it has come, the wedding of the Lamb,
And his wife has made herself ready!
And it was given to her that she be clothed in fine linen, glistening, pure;
For the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.’
In order to understand the meaning of this sublime passage we must briefly review the marriage customs of the Hebrews.[12] We distinguish the following elements in a Jewish marriage. First comes the betrothal. This is considered more binding than our ‘engagement’. The terms of the marriage are accepted in the presence of witnesses and God’s blessing is pronounced upon the union. From this day groom and bride are legally husband and wife (2 Cor. 11: 2). Next comes the interval between betrothal and the wedding-feast. During this interval the groom pays the dowry to the father of the bride if this has not yet been done (Gn. 34: 12). Sometimes the dowry is in the form of service rendered (Gn. 29: 20).
Then comes the procession at the close of the interval. The bride prepares and adorns herself. The groom, arrayed in his best attire and accompanied by his friends, who sing and bear torches, proceeds to the home of the betrothed. He receives the bride and conveys her, with a returning procession, to his own home or to the home of his parents (Mt. 9: 15; cf. also Mt. 25: 1 ff.). When the groom had to come from afar, the feast was at times spread at the home of the bride. Finally there is the wedding-feast, which includes the marriage supper. The usual festivities last seven, or even more, days.
Scripture again and again compares the love-relationship between a bridegroom and his bride to that which exists between Jehovah and His people, or between Christ and His Church (Is. 50: 1 ff.; 54: 1 ff.; Eph. 5: 32; Rev. 21: 9). Indeed, the former is a symbol, a faint reflection of the glory and beauty of the latter.
Now, the Church is ‘betrothed’ to Christ. Christ, moreover, has paid the dowry for her; He has bought His bride, the Church:
‘From heaven He came and sought her
To be His holy Bride,
With His own blood He bought her,
And for her life He died.’
The ‘interval’ of separation has come. It is this entire dispensation between Christ’s ascension to heaven and His coming again. During this period the bride must make herself ready. She arrays herself in fine linen, glistening and pure. The fine linen symbolizes her righteous acts, her sanctified character (7: 13). Her deeds have been washed by the blood of Christ. Remember, however, that this righteousness is ‘given to her’ by God’s sovereign grace.
At the end of this dispensation the Bridegroom, accompanied by the angels of glory (Mt. 25: 31), comes to receive His bride, the Church. The wedding-feast begins. To that most glorious moment our passage refers in the words:
‘It has come, the wedding (or wedding-feast) of the Lamb,
And his wife has made herself ready!’
The feast lasts not one or two weeks but throughout all eternity! This feast is the climax of that entire process by means of which the Bridegroom, Christ, comes to His bride, the Church. It is the goal and purpose of that ever-increasing intimacy, union, fellowship, and communion between the Redeemer and the redeemed. In Christ the bride was chosen from eternity. Throughout the entire Old Testament dispensation the wedding was announced. Next, the Son of God assumed our flesh and blood: the betrothal took place. The price—the dowry—was paid on Calvary. And now, after an interval which in the eyes of God is but a little while, the Bridegroom returns and ‘It has come, the wedding of the Lamb’. The Church on earth yearns for this moment, so does the Church in heaven. Then we shall all be with Him for evermore. It will be a holy, blessed, everlasting fellowship: the fullest realization of all the promises of the gospel.
Even during this present dispensation—this ‘interval’ of separation—those who are ‘effectually called’ (not merely ‘bidden’) to the marriage supper of the Lamb are blessed (verse 9). Before the supper itself even begins the ‘called ones’ are blessed; and these are true words of God. They are genuine and real. Filled with ecstasy, the apostle falls down before the feet of the speaker in order to worship him. Did he mistake him for the Lord Jesus Christ Himself?[13] At any rate, the speaker, who was probably either one of the cherubim or another angel, prevents the intended worship, adding: ‘To God render worship.’ For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of the prophecy. The spirit and inner content of all true prophecy—that is, of the entire Bible—is the testimony of Jesus, the testimony which He revealed to us. That revelation which He gave us forbids us to worship anyone besides God (Mt. 4: 10).
The harlot, Babylon, having been disposed of, we now turn our attention to the beast and the false prophet. What happens to them? From the hallelujahs of heaven at and after the judgment day we return to the moments just preceding the final judgment.
2. The glorious Victor (19: 11–21)
John sees heaven itself opened, not merely a door opened in heaven (Rev. 4: 1). On a white horse, as in Revelation 6: 2, Christ is seated. He is called ‘Faithful and Genuine’. This is our Lord at His second coming, to judgment: to judge and make war. He is about to judge righteously, for His penetrating eyes are a flame of fire (1: 14). On His head the apostle sees many royal diadems or fillets, for He is King over all (cf. ‘diadem’ with stephanos, victor’s wreath) (Rev. 6: 2). His name no-one knows but He Himself.[14] Does it express the inner character of His relation to the Father? Whereas He has arrived for judgment, He wears a garment sprinkled with blood, not the blood of the cross but—symbolically, of course—the blood of His enemies (Is. 63: 1–6; Rev. 14: 20). His name is called ‘The Logos (or Word) of God’ (Jn. 1: 1). Only He Himself knows the full meaning of this name. All we can say is that He is called ‘the Word of God’ because in Him God fully expresses and reveals Himself (Jn. 1: 18, 10–30).
At His second coming the armies of heaven, that is, the holy angels, accompany Him (Mt. 25: 31). Because they are holy angels, they are clothed in fine linen, which is white and pure. Out of His mouth proceeds a sharp sword (Rev. 1: 16; 2: 12, 16). This sword is not the comforting story of the gospel. It is symbolical of destruction, as is clearly indicated by the entire context. He comes to ‘smite the nations’, and to ‘shepherd them with a rod of iron’ (2: 27; 12: 5). He treads the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God, the Almighty. He comes to carry out the sentence of God Almighty (Mt. 25: 31 ff.; Jn. 5: 22; Acts 17: 31). He now fully reveals Himself, by means of the destruction of the beast and his allies, as being indeed King of kings and Lord of lords. So certain is the victory of Christ over the beast and false prophet, and over all those who worship them, that an angel standing in the sun already summons all the birds to come and be gathered together for the supper, the great one, of God, in order to eat the flesh of kings, captains, mighty men, horses and their riders, yes, the flesh of all the wicked, both free and bond, small and great (cf. Rev. 6: 15; 17: 12, 15). It is an immense slaughter, the slaughter of Har-Magedon. Remember that Har-Magedon consists of two elements: the final attack of the anti-christian power—the beast—upon the Church, and Christ’s victory over this vast army at His coming unto judgment.
John sees the beast, the persecuting power embodied in world government and directed against Christ and His Church, and the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered together against the Rider on the white horse and His army.[15] Hence, the apostle sees the whole world of unbelief gathered for the final assault upon the Church. Please observe that the battle itself is not described. This battle of Har-Magedon is not a protracted struggle with now this, and then that, side winning. No, ‘with the breath of his mouth’ Christ, at His coming, defeats the foe. By the ‘manifestation of his presence’ He vanquishes His enemies (2 Thes. 2: 8). So also here in Revelation. We are simply told that the antichristian forces are gathered together against Christ and His army, and that they are put to rout. The beast (Rev. 13: 1 ff.) is taken. So is the false prophet—that is, the beast out of the earth, the great deceiver (13: 13, 14). These two are cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone (20: 10). As these are the leaders—respectively of antichristian persecution and antichristian religion and philosophy—they are said to be cast alive into perdition; while the men who worship them are first killed, and then also cast into the lake of fire and brimstone. The meaning is that at Christ’s second coming Satan’s persecution of the Church and his power to deceive on earth shall cease for ever. Every influence of Satan—whether in the direction of persecution or of deception—goes with him to hell, never again to appear anywhere outside hell.[16] Christ, the Rider upon the white horse, completely triumphs. So complete is His victory over His enemies, that according to the symbolism begun in verse 17, all the birds gorge themselves upon the flesh of the wicked (verse 21). Thus, in symbolic language, the judgment day has again been described.
We have seen the end of the men who bear the mark of the beast (Rev. 15, 16). We have also witnessed the fall of Babylon (17: 1 f.). We have read the description of Christ’s victory over the beast and the false prophet (19: 11 ff.). All go down in defeat. Their discomfiture is not complete until the day of Christ’s coming in judgment. Then all go down together, even though their histories have been presented under different symbols and in separate paragraphs. One foe, the leader of them all, remains. It is the dragon, Satan. His ruin is described in the final section of the Apocalypse.