Revelation 19-21 moves history into its glorious Hallelujah phase. In the first 
six verses of chapter 19, four resounding Hallelujahs (praise the Lord) are 
raised - the only place in the New Testament where this word is used. It would 
seem that the Lord reserved this fourfold proclamation of praise for the 
climactic stage of His program for humanity.

HALLELUJAH FOR SALVATION

"And after these things I heard a great voice of many people in heaven, saying, 
Hallelujah! Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto the Lord, our God" 
(Rev 19:1).

Revelation 19:1-6 resounds with an explosion of praise. The final stage of 
redemption's delivery system has been fully activated, and the saints respond 
accordingly.

Running through the whole of the passage, on the positive side of the ledger is 
the triumphant refrain of the unbridled exultation of the saints for the 
fullness of the salvation He has wrought. Further, the implication includes 
praising Him as an ever-present deliverer of the believer.

Second Corinthians 1:10 delineates the three phases of the believer's 
deliverance: "Who [Christ] delivered us from so great a death, and doth 
deliver; in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us." First, we are now 
delivered from the penalty of sin. Next, we are being delivered from the power 
of sin. Finally, we will be delivered from the presence of sin. In Revelation 
19, the Word begins to unfold the final state - our deliverance from the 
presence of sin. In Heaven with Christ, we sing of Him who made it all 
possible, for He has.... Redeemed us - "for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed 
us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation" 
(Rev. 5:9).

Received us - "I heard a great voice of many people in heaven" (Rev. 19:1).

Readied us to reign with Him - "And hast made us unto our God a kingdom of 
priests, and we shall reign on the earth" (Rev 5:10).

On earth, events are moving rapidly toward the final chapter; payday is here at 
last.

HALLELUJAH FOR DIVINE JUSTICE

"For true and righteous are his judgements; for he hath judged the great 
harlot...And again they said, Hallelujah ! And her smoke rose up forever and 
ever" (Rev. 19:2-3).

In the aftermath of the Gulf War, millions of frustrated people the world over 
asked why justice was not executed on Saddam Hussein. Why was he allowed to 
survive as a national leader after inflicting such demonic carnage throughout 
the Middle East? Theirs is a cry heard repeatedly across the centuries as 
tyrants have appeared to go unpunished.

The classic biblical cry for such justice is heard in Revelation 6:10. 
Tribulation saints who had been martyred by the Antichrist and his cohorts 
exclaim, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our 
blood on them that dwell on the earth?" (Rev 6:10). Their Hallelujah of 
Revelation 19:3 proclaims that justice has been done. Chapters 17 and 18 record 
the events.

chapter 17 reveals the judgment of "the great harlot that sitteth upon many 
waters" (17:1). Scholars of prophecy conclude that the judgment described here 
is associated with the final calamity brought on the apostate Church represented 
by corrupt spiritual Babylon. Following the Rapture of the true Church, 
religion will, of course survive. But her skirts will be red with the blood of 
Tribulation saints (17:6).

Intriguingly, God will employ the godless forces of the Antichrist and his 
political Babylon allies to destroy the harlot who was "drunk with the blood of 
the saints" (17:6), for "these shall hate the harlot, and shall make her 
desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. For God 
hath put in their hearts to fulfill his will" (17:16-17).

In chapter 18, political Babylon, whose "sins have reached unto heaven," will be 
judged by the "God [who] hath remembered her iniquities" (18:5). This is the 
summary outpouring of divine wrath upon the aggregate sins of a godless world 
system that has afflicted Jewry and faithful Gentile believers for millennia. 
Thus, the hosts of Heaven rejoice at her destruction and revel in the 
anticipation of the final disposition of the Antichirst, his prophet, and Satan 
who authors the anti-God conspiracy. "Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy 
apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her" (18:20).

HALLELUJAH OF WORSHIP

"And the four and twenty elders and the four living creatures fell down and 
worshiped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen. Hallelujah!" (Rev. 19:4)

The 24 elders are clearly the representatives of the Church in Heaven, for they 
are those who sang the "new song" of Revelation 5 in praise of Him who "wast 
slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and 
tongue, and people, and nation" (Rev. 5:9).

They are charged to "Praise our God" (Rev. 19:5). Thus, the voices of those 
"servants," who will have the indescribable privilege of serving Him throughout 
eternity (Rev. 22:3), fill the universe with thunderclaps of praise and 
adoration.

The Lamb and His exploits will be a central theme of the worship songs of the 
saints.

"Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for thou hast 
created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created" (Rev. 4:11).

"And the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of 
thousands, Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to 
receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory,f and 
blessing" (Rev. 5:11-12).

The song "Worthy is the Lamb" has become a favorite of multitudes of believers 
in recent years. The theme is in perfect harmony with the triumphant worship 
song we will share with Him in Heaven as the final triumph unfolds.

HALLELUJAH FOR HIS SOVEREIGNTY

"And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, and like the voice of 
many waters, and like the voice of mighty peals of thunder, saying, Hallelujah! 
For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth" (Rev. 19:6).

A triunity of consummating events is described from verses 7 through 21 of 
Revelation 19.

The MARROAGE OF THE LAMB

"Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him; for the marriage of the Lamb 
is come, and his wife hath made herself ready" (v.7). She is "arrayed in fine 
line, clean and white; for the find linen is the righteousnesses of saints" 
(v.8).

Isaiah 61:10 speaks of being clothed "with the garments of salvation...the robe 
of righteousness." In Revelation 19, the bride's raiment is "the 
righteousnesses of saints." Better understood, it is literally the righteous 
deeds of the saints. These are the "good works" for which the believer is 
"created in Christ Jesus" (Eph.2:10) In redemption we are clothed in the very 
righteousness of Christ and, consequently, made worthy for God's presence 
through His finished work. As His bride, we are displayed in the array of our 
voluntary, faithful, loving service to the one who has loved us and drawn us to 
Himself.

All too few present-generation Christians pay much heed to the reward aspect of 
their relationship to Christ. Not many are deeply concerned about sending ahead 
that which will reap rewards to be lavished upon our Savior or displayed for His 
glory. May I suggest that when we arrive home to participate in the climactic 
events for which we are even now preparing, the rewards of lives well invested 
for Him will mean a great deal.

THE COMING OF THE LORD

Unlike His First Coming in humility as a babe in Bethlehem of Judea, or the 
first phase of His Second Coming to rupture the Church and bring the saints home 
to Heaven (Jn. 14:1-3; 1 Th. 4:14-18). Christ's appearing will be the final act 
of the revelation of the Messiah. No one, Jew or Gentile, will doubt who He is 
or ponder why He has come. The stage that was set in Revelation 1:7 will be 
fully occupied: "Behold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him and 
they also who pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of 
him. Even so, Amen."

In a scene (19:11-16) that beggars the capacity to describe it, He descends. 
The "KING OF KINDS, AND LORD OF LORDS' (v.16) rides a while horse, the 
manifestation of absolute victory. He is "clothed with a vesture dipped in 
blood" (v.13), thus indicating that He comes on the basis of His sacrifice for 
sin and His victory over death. The evidence of Christ's triumph over formed 
foes is seen in the persons who follow Him "upon while horses, clothed in fine 
line, while and clean" (v.14). Revelation 17:14 described this host as those who 
are called "chosen, and faithful."

His coming will, on the one hand, answer the heart cry of the surviving jewish 
remnant of the Great Tribulation for reconciliation with their long-spurned 
Messiah (Zech. 12:10-14). On the other hand, it will crush Gentile opposition 
to the King and His Kingdom. He who was once smitten (Isa. 53:4) will "smite 
the nations" (v.15).

Three consequences of His coming are set forth.

1. He will destroy the godless world system born at Babel (Gen 11:1-4), 
perpetuated through subsequent history, and globalized in the last days.

2. He will bring the nations to the "winepress of the fierceness and wrath of 
Almighty God" (v.15).

3. He will rule "with a rod of iron" (v.15).

The "KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS" will establish a theocratic Kingdom in 
which He will wield power as an absolute monarch. Satan and his despotic 
usurpers have attempted to create look-alike kingdoms throughout history. The 
perpetual problem has been the lack of a fit king or fit subjects for their 
kingdoms - sin has stood adamantly in the way.

Conversely, His glorious Kingdom will be marked by the very attributes that are 
His, for He is "called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and 
make war" (v.11). Faithfulness, truth, and righteousness will characterize His 
reign. In other words, everything for which saints of all ages have yearned and 
been denied will come at last!

CONDEMNATION OF THE UNGODLY

Ominous words greet us in verse 18. Fowls of Heaven are invited to "Come and 
gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God." Armageddon (Rev. 
19:17-21) embodies chilling connotations for an unbelieving world. In a few 
words it says, "God is going to set things right."

In what seems an incomprehensible display of anti-God belligerence, given all 
that the world has suffered during the Tribulation period, "the beast, and the 
kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him 
that sat on the horse, and against his army" (v.19). The object of the last 
great battle between the forces of light and darkness is Jerusalem (Zech. 
12:1-2; 14:1-3); a focal point is ancient Megiddo (Rev. 16:13-16) in the plain 
of Esdraelon.

To say that God's adversaries are crushed is not too strong a statement. Daniel 
anticipated the scope and consequences of the confrontation when he told 
Nebuchadnezzar that "a stone...cut out without hands" would smite his image - 
representing world dominion without God - and smash it "to pieces...and the 
stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth" 
(Dan. 2:34-35). Jesus Christ, "The stone which the builders rejected" (Lk. 
20:17), the stone over which Israel stumbled (1 Cor.f 1:23). becomes the smiting 
stone that will grind the adversaries into powder and, out of the dust, raise 
His great Kingdom mountain!

In preparation for His reign, the beast and false prophet are "cast alive into a 
lake of first burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword 
of him that sat upon the horse" (vv. 20-21). At the same time, "he laid hold on 
the dragon, that old serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him a 
thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up" (Rev. 
20:2-3). Thus, the satanic trinity of Revelation 13 is disposed of to make way 
for the Kingdom era of peace and tranquility. The final preparation is the 
judgment of the living nations (Mt. 25:31-46), at which time all His enemies 
will be deposed, and only believers - Jews and Gentile - will enter the Kingdom.

Dominating the text in Revelation 19:11-21 is the Word of God.

Christ is referred to as "The Word of God" (v.13).

"Out of his [Christ's] mouth goeth a sharp sword [the Word of God]" (v.15).

"The remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which 
sword proceeded out of his mouth" (v.21).

The same Word who spoke worlds into existence (Heb. 1:1-3) then Himself came to 
earth to manifest the very fullness of God (Jn. 1:14; Col. 1:15-19), now 
destroys all opposition to His sovereignty by but a word from His mouth. Our 
hearts should quicken at this revelation of His absolute power. It should also 
be translated into transcendingly practical terms as we realize that this very 
Word is ours to employ as we "Fight the good fight of faith" (1 Tim. 6:12) in 
these last days.

Written by Elwood McQuaid, Exective Director of The Friend of Israel

Reproduced by permission of Israel My Glory. A Ministry of The Friends of Israel 
Gospel Ministry, Inc., P.O.Box 908, Bellmawr, NJ 08099-9900.

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