Revelation 19

This sublime ode is continued in the first ten verses of the following chapter, where we shall be greeted by a song from Chap. XIX. Ver. 1—10. Heaven rejoicing in the fall of Babylon—the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.—Alas! how estranged is earth from heaven!—that which gives joy to one, is matter of lamentation to the other. How many scenes are there of pleasure and hilarity on earth, which are enough to make an “angel weep” to view them! We need not wonder, then, if sometimes, when earth is weeping, heaven should be rejoicing. Hark to the shout of heaven! “Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God!…. 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.”

This is an act of retributive justice, and while we remain sinners we may well tremble at its exercise; but in a state of perfect holiness, it should appear, saints an angels rejoice as well in the exercise of the divine truth and equity, as in the display of the milder perfections of the Deity.. “And again they said, Alleluia!’ The praises of heaven are incessant and unwearied; that which is with us duty, is with them enjoyment. It was said in the preceding chapter, “Rejoice over her, thou heaven; and ye holy apostles and prophets, for God hath avenged you on her;” namely, on the great harlot, which debauched the world, and persecuted the church. But victory is not the only source of joy; the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife has made herself ready.

• The harlot who had pretended to be the spouse of Christ being “convicted of fornication with the worldly powers,” and for ever discarded, “the attention of heaven and earth (says Archdeacon Woodhouse) is naturally turned to that chaste and pure virgin, who is now to be presented to her Lord. The choral song brings her to view; arrayed, not in purple and scarlet, and gold and precious stones; not in worldly splendour, like the harlot, but in pure, simple, and resplendent garments, which are the clothing of the heavenly inhabitants. She has washed her garments, and ‘made them white in the blood of the Lamb.’ By faith in her Redeemer she is become righteous—for this is the fine linen, the righteousness of the saints.”

The marriage of the Lamb being announced, a blessing is pronounced on all those who are invited to his marriage supper. This supper is by some commentators considered as the Millennium, but is by no means to be confined thereto. Whenever the Lord Jesus vouchsafes to his people a display of his redeeming mercy, it is a marriage feast, whether in earth or in heaven; and happily we are invited to such a feast, without waiting for the Millennium. ** How rich are thy provisions, Lord; ‘Thy table furnish’d from above! The fruits of life o’erspread the board, The cup o’erflows with heavenly love !"—Watts. But a remarkable incident is here introduced. The prophet, dazzled, perhaps, with the glory of the angel that appeared to him, or peculiarly struck with the solemnity of his words— “These are the true sayings of God”—seems to have mistaken him for the Lamb himself, and fell at his feet to worship him.

The angel, however, instantly corrects his error: ‘‘See thou do it not; I am a fellow-servant of thine, and of thy brethren, who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God.’ This seems to us, as plain and as strong a prohibition of worshipping angels, as we can well conceive—“See thou do it not.’ The angel thus classing himself with St. John and his brethren, intimates, that both his office and theirs was to honour the Lord Jesus, by bearing witness to him. ‘The testimony of Jesus (saith he) is the spirit of prophecy;” or, as Dr. Doddridge and Bishop Hurd invert the sentence, without any material change of sense—‘‘The spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus:” to bear witness to his glory, is the great object of prophets on earth, and of angels in heaven.

Ver. 11-21. The grand contest between the Word of God and the beast and false prophet.—This description is an evident amplification of a former one, (Revelation 6:2), though it appears to refer to a very different event. The conqueror here described is the Logos, or Word of God. His name is Faithful and True, and who in righteousness alone maketh war. His eyes are described as before, ((Revelation 1:14), &c.) “like a flame Ver. 13. A vesture dipped in blood.—Compare (Isaiah 63:1), &c. Ver. 15. Rule them with a rod.—Another allusion to (Psalms 2:9), before repeatedly referred to. Ver. 16. King of sa del &c.—This title was often affected by the eastern despots. So Cyrus had engraved on his tombstone—“Here am I buried, Cy- Ver.

18. That ye may eat the flesh of kings, &c.—This is an evident imstation [imitation] of Ezekiel xxxix. 17. Forbes (author of the “Oriental Memoirs”) states, as an illustration of this passage—“that during the night after a sanguinary battle in India, hyenas, jackals, and wild beasts of various kinds, prowled over the field with a horrid noise; and the next morning a multitude of vultures, kites, and birds of prey, were seen asserting their claims to a share

Notes on the verses

Chap. XIX. Ver. 1. Alleluia.—Heb. “Hallelujah.” Ver. 4. The four beasts—i. e. “living creatures,” as before. Ver 8. Clean and white.—Doddridge, ‘pure and resplendent.”——The righteousness.—Doddridge, “the righteous acts of the saints.” He remarks, “So dikaiomata (the Greek word here used) evidently signifies though I make no doubt but it is with regard to the obedience and righteousness of the Son of God, that all our righteous acts are accepted before God.” Ver. 10. See thou do it not.—The Rhemish translators sadly equivocate here, as supposing that the angel only forbade that supreme worship, (latria) which is peculiar to the Deity, and not the inferior worship which the church allows to saints and angels, but certainly without any authority from the Scriptures.

Nor do the common people know any thing of this distinction.— See Fletcher’s Lectures against the Roman Catholic Religion, Lect. vii—— Thy fellow-servant.—Doddridge and Woodhouse, “A fellow-servant with thee and thy brethren, who keep (or hold) the testimony of Jesus.” Ver. 11. Behold a white horse.—This evidently refers to the same Conqueror introduced in (Revelation 6:2). There he had a crown; here he has many crowns, implying that he had gained many victories. Ver. 12. Many crowns.—Greek, ‘‘diaduma.” It was the use of Eastern despots to follow the example; one used so of Parthian kings, of Tigranes, of Pharnaces, &c. are found with the same title inscribed.— Woodhouse. Ver. 17, An angel.—Greek, “one angel;” which Doddridge renders “a single angel.”

of the dead.” —Orient. Mem. Ver. 20. These both were cast alive.—This marks a most exemplary punishment, as Lowman observes: they were not slain, and their carcasses burnt; but they were burnt alive, and were so to continue tormented for ever and ever.