Down to Earth But Heavenly Minded

Rejoicing in Heaven

After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out,

“Hallelujah!

Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,

for his judgments are true and just;

for he has judged the great prostitute

who corrupted the earth with her immorality,

and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”

Once more they cried out,

“Hallelujah!

The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.”

And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” And from the throne came a voice saying,

“Praise our God,

all you his servants,

you who fear him,

small and great.”

The Marriage Supper of the Lamb

Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,

“Hallelujah!

For the Lord our God

the Almighty reigns.

Let us rejoice and exult

and give him the glory,

for the marriage of the Lamb has come,

and his Bride has made herself ready;

it was granted her to clothe herself

with fine linen, bright and pure”—

for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

The Rider on a White Horse

Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, to 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, both small and great.” And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.

Great Rejoicing in Heaven (Revelation 19:1-6) –

The scene, again, is in heaven. Verses 1-6 depict great rejoicing in heaven. The reason for the rejoicing is the destruction of Babylon – both politically and ecclesiastically speaking. This was a tremendous occasion.

In verse one, John heard “a great voice.” This voice was like the voice of many waters, like the sound of many peals of thunders (Revelation 19:6). This voice was the voice of the redeemed in heaven. At instructions from the throne of God (found in verse 5), every redeemed heart cried out in fervent praise and worship: “Hallelujah.” [The Hallelujah chorus] Praise the Lord! “For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.”

The Marriage of the Lamb (Revelation 19:7-10) –

This is the event in which the bride and bridegroom, i.e. Christ and the Church, are brought together in a vital eternal union. This is a consummation of the marriage. The figure here is according to the pattern of oriental marriage, which had three stages: (1) The betrothal, (2) The coming of the bridegroom, and (3) The marriage and the marriage supper. Here, we see this picture presented through: (1) The betrothal of the believers to Christ, which took place at conversion, (2) The coming of the bridegroom that took place at the Rapture, and (3) The marriage supper, in connection with Christ’s coming to earth. Revelation 19:9 reads, “Blessed are they who are called into the marriage supper of the Lamb.”

Christ’s Second Coming to Earth (Revelation 19:11-16) –

This is a bird’s eye view of Christ’s departure from heaven. In verse 11, John saw Him riding on “a white horse.” His visible name was Word of God, Faithful and True. His eyes were like a flame of fire and there were many crowns on His head (Revelation 19:12). He is accompanied by the armies of heaven and will smite the nations. He will execute judgment on the nations (Revelation 19:14). He is called King of kings and Lord of lords.

This is the coming that the prophets foretold. This is the coming that is spoken of in the Gospels (except for one instance – John 14). Paul speaks of His coming in 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10. This is the coming our Lord spoke of in Acts 1. When John describes this scene, he has in mind the homecoming of the victorious Roman general. Riding on a white horse down the main street of Rome, His spoils of war are with him. John says the Christ is “King of kings and Lord of lords.”

The Rapture –

“If I go, I will come again and rescue you onto Myself.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 says, “the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 says, “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” [Envision this: There shall be two in a bed – one shall be taken, the other one left. There shall be two grinding at the mill – one shall be taken taken, the other one left]