God’s final Word – Chapter 19, verses 1 through 10

God’s final Word – Giving thanks to God

The following comes through the notes of Mark Ramsey and the responses of the class.

1. Giving thanks to God

   The Bible lists many reasons for giving thanks to God:

   1. God is to be praised first for the attributes of His glorious being.
      

      Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people; praise his holy name. (Psalms 30:4 NIV)

      Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever. (Psalms 136:26 NIV)

      Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. (Psalms 106:1 NIV)

      In you, Lord my God, I put my trust. (Psalms 25:1 NIV)

      Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5 NIV)

   2. God is to be praised for His mighty works.
      

      Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago. (Isaiah 25:1 NIV)

      I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. (Psalms 139:14 NIV)

      that I may declare your praises in the gates of Daughter Zion, and there rejoice in your salvation. (Psalms 9:14 NIV)

   3. God is praised for the gift of His Son.
      

      Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! (2 Corinthians 9:15 NIV)

      For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16 NIV)

      Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. (Luke 2:38 NIV)

   4. Praise God always and for everything.
      

      always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 5:20 NIV)

      give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV)

   5. Praise God for the destruction of the wicked.
      

      The righteous will be glad when they are avenged, when they dip their feet in the blood of the wicked. Then people will say, “Surely the righteous still are rewarded; surely there is a God who judges the earth.” (Psalms 58:10‭-‬11 NIV)

      Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it. Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy. Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his faithfulness. (Psalms 96:11‭-‬13 NIV)

   For what do you give praise to the Lord?

   Numerous members of the class laid out scenarios for which they praised God for.

   The praise seen in heaven throughout Revelation reaches a crescendo in this passage. The heavenly rejoicing is not over the damnation of those who reject God but because Jesus Christ will soon remove those obstinate sinners from the world and God will be properly honored, the Lord Jesus Christ will be enthroned and the earth will be restored to its lost glory.

   This is the only place in the New Testament where “halleluiahs” appear. It simply means “Praise the Lord.”

2. The first hallelujah — Revelation 19:1-2
   

   After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for true and just are his judgments. He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.” (Revelation 19:1‭-‬2 NIV)

   “After these things” marks the beginning of a new vision which takes place after the destruction of Babylon. The text does not identity those whose composite voices make up the loud voice of the multitude, but they are probably angels. The redeemed saints are to join in the praise in Revelation 19:5-8. So, believe the uncounted millions of angels make up the majestic awe-inspiring choir singing halleluiah because the false church has fallen. The great harlot is the false church during the first half of the Tribulation which assists the Antichrist in his rise to power. Midway during the Tribulation, the Antichrist and the ten kings decide they no longer need the harlot and they will destroy her.

3. The second hallelujah — Revelation 19:3
   

   And again they shouted: “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever.”
   Revelation 19:3 NIV)

   Babylon’s judgment provoked the first outburst of rejoicing; the aftermath of her destruction prompts the heavenly chorus for a second time. The economic aspect of Babylon is now destroyed.

   “The smoke rises up forever and ever” indicates that the judgment is final, permanent and irreversible. There will be no more false religion or worldly philosophy.

4. The third and fourth hallelujahs — Revelation 19:4-8
   

   The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried: “Amen, Hallelujah!” Then a voice came from the throne, saying: “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both great and small!” Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. (Revelation 19:4‭-‬6 NIV)

   The 24 elders are best seen as the representatives of the church and the four living creatures are the cherubim, a high-ranking order of angels, who cry out, “Amen, Halleluiah!” (so let it be-praise the Lord)

   The voice from heaven is likely an angel, since he refers to God as “our God” and he calls another group to join the anthem of praise. These are most likely the redeemed believers in heaven as they are described as God’s bondservants: “The small and the great” embraces everyone who is redeemed.

   The fourth hallelujah is proclaimed because the Lord, our God, the Almighty reigns. The evil world system has been completely destroyed and God’s kingdom has come into its fullness.

5. A song for the Lamb and His Bride — Revelation 19:7-10
   

   Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.) Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.” At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.” (Revelation 19:7‭-‬10 NIV)

   In Revelation 19:7-8, God is being praised because a marriage has taken place. The phrase “has come” denotes an action that has already been completed. It’s the marriage of the Lamb, Jesus Christ.

   Who is the bride? Ephesians 5:25-27 says the bride of Christ is you and me, the church of Jesus Christ, those who were saved during the unique period of history between Pentecost and the rapture of the church.

   When and how will this wedding take place? To understand this fully, we need to review the phases of a Jewish wedding, on which the marriage of the Lamb is modeled:

   1. A marriage contract was drawn on and a dowry was paid. The parents usually initiated the marriage contract when the future bride and groom were still children and the marriage became legal when the bride’s father paid her dowry. Here, the wedding contract was drawn up and the dowry paid when Christ shed His blood on the cross, giving His life for His bride. This was the new covenant, joining believers to Christ in a spiritual marriage.
   2. The marriage ceremony took place in the groom’s home. When the couple reached a suitable age, the groom, along with his friends, would arrive at the bride’s house unannounced and escort her back to his house, where the official public marriage took place. Matthew 25:1-13. Christ will arrive in the clouds unannounced, to rapture the church, His bride (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17), fulfilling the second phase of the wedding.
   3. The wedding feast was celebrated. The groom’s father hosted a multi-day party. Christ attended a wedding feast in Cana where He turned water into wine. John 2:1-11. At the end of the Tribulation, Christ will return with His bride, the church, to celebrate the great marriage feast at the beginning of the millennial kingdom and stretch throughout the millennial reign to be finally consummated in the new heavens and the new earth. In the new heavens and new earth, the bride concept will be expanded to include the redeemed of all ages as the New Jerusalem becomes the bridal city. In the Old Testament God is the Bridegroom of Israel.

   Who are the honored guests? (Revelation 19:9) (this is the fourth of seven beatitudes in Revelation). These are believers who are not the bride of Christ but are friends of the bride and groom The Old Testament saints, the New Testament believers like John the Baptist, who died before the birth of the church at Pentecost, and the Tribulation martyrs who gave their lives for Christ. See The Revelation Record, p.389

   The angel reassured John, “These are the true words of God” and John who was so overwhelmed that he fell prostrate at the feet of the angel, who rebuked him, reminding him that the angel was a fellow servant with John. God alone is to be worshipped — not the most glorious angel nor the most exalted saint. Only the one true God in three persons Father, Son and Holy Spirit — deserves our praise and worship. At the end of these astounding visions, the angel turns John attention back to the One to whom the book of Revelation ultimately points — He is the One to whom all prophecy has always pointed Jesus Christ, the “spirit of prophecy.”