Key Verse:
Revelation 19:7 NKJV
7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.”
Are you ready? The Word says that you are. Accept it in faith. Rejoice!
Selah...
Where to begin?
Luke 21:27-28 NKJV
27 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”
If there is a take-away from this set of lessons, it is this: Jesus will return for the Redeemed; the Church. Contrary to the common understanding that the Church is singularly a New Testament construct, what we observe in Heaven is all-inclusive; peoples from every creed, nation, tongue, and time. Those who died in faith before the cross of Christ and those who died after will be counted in that number that no man can number. Let’s have a quick review of how that number has been depicted from on High.
I.
Revelation 4:4 NKJV
4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white [b]robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads.
The first depiction we see of the Church is that of the twenty-four elders. They inform us that saints from both sides of the cross abide there. Both old and new testament are represented at the throne. That they are called elders speaks to their position before God as ‘the royal priesthood’ mentioned by Peter:
1 Peter 2:9 NKJV
9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
II.
Revelation 7:4 NKJV
4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed:
Next, we see the Church depicted as the 144,000 from the tribes of Israel who are sealed by the Spirit of God. The connotation is that the Church of God will comprise a force in the earth greater than any military force that Rome or any other entity on earth can muster. Paul wrote to the Church at Rome concerning this in this manner:
Romans 8:37 NKJV
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
III.
Revelation 7:9-10 NKJV
9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
The third depiction of the Church that we see presented is ‘the great multitude’ in Revelation 7. These people are from every ethnicity, nation, and tongue. These are representative of the grace and mercy that God will shed on all of humanity. That person that you thought would be the last person on earth to be saved may be the person blocking your view of the throne in glory. Expect a crowd.
The Lesson
Revelation 19:1 NKJV
1 After these things I [a]heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to [b]the Lord our God!
For the final time in Revelation, we are afforded a look into the throne room of God. The worship is focused; attuned toward God with attention to His might and His majesty. The singularity of the voice of the multitude calls to our attention the degree to which the entirety of Heaven is focused on the glory of God and the glory of His salvation toward all of creation. Just know that in saving man, God saved all of creation.
Revelation 19:2 NKJV
2 For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.”
Justice has a name: Jesus. In this moment, God’s ultimate display of Justice has come to fruition. The very greatest of evil on the earth; the great harlot, Babylon has fallen under God’s mighty hand. Those who formerly had shaken their fist at God would shake them no more. God’s vengeance was complete.
Revelation 19:3 NKJV
3 Again they said, “Alleluia! Her smoke rises up forever and ever!”
And for eternity the aftermath of her destruction will be forever a testament before Heaven of the absolute power of our God. For eternity, the saints of God, indeed all of the hosts of Heaven will rejoice in remembrance of God’s great deliverance. For eternity.
Revelation 19:4 NKJV
4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, “Amen! Alleluia!”
Then in classic response to the call of the multitude, the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures confirm all of the worship of the multitude. “Amen!”, they shout. “Alleluia!”, they sing, prostrate before the throne of God.
Revelations 19:5 NKJV
5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both[c] small and great!”
And now an unidentified voice emanates from the throne, commanding all of Heaven to praise the Lord! “Everybody! Praise Him! Everybody praise our God!”
Revelation 19:6 NKJV
6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the[d] Lord God Omnipotent reigns!
For a moment, imagine the magnitude of the voice of the multitude. Listen as the heavenly chorus thunders in praise to God. This is no small effort. No half-hearted praise. Every voice is lifted up in full-throated worship to the Lord, God Almighty! For the Lord God, Almighty Reigns!
Revelation 19:7 NKJV
7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.”
It is for good reason that Heaven a reached this frenzied crescendo: the bride of the Lamb has made her appearance. And she is beautiful! The Church, the Ekklesia. The Holy assembly. The Bride of Christ! Beautiful!
Revelation 19:8 NKJV
8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
And what does John behold in the Bride that is so rapturous? The Bride’s finished work in the earth is displayed in the beauty of her adornment. Dressed in fine linen, she is the picture of righteousness; the righteousness that is of faith. Faith in Jesus Christ. Thus, she has been made complete by the blood of the Lamb and by the Word of her testimony.
Revelation 12:11-12a NKJV
11 And they overcame him (Satan, the accuser of the brethren) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. 12a Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them!...
Amen!
Selah
wb
Revelation 19:11-16 NKJV
11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He [e]had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in [f]fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Now out of His mouth goes a [g]sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:
KING OF KINGS AND
LORD OF LORDS.
No comments:
Post a Comment