Revelation 19:1 Komentář

In this chapter we have, I. A further account of the triumphant song of angels and saints for the fall of Babylon (Rev 19:1-4). II. The marriage between Christ and the church proclaimed and perfected (Rev 19:5-10). III. Another warlike expedition of the glorious head and husband of the church, with the success of it (Rev 19:10, etc.).

The fall of Babylon being fixed, finished, and declared to be irrecoverable in the foregoing chapter, this begins with a holy triumph over her, in pursuance of the order given forth: Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets, Rev 18:20. They now gladly answer the call; and here you have, 1. The form of their thanksgiving, in that heavenly and most comprehensive word, Alleluia, praise you the Lord: with this they begin, with this they go on, and with this they end (Rev 19:4); their prayers are now turned into praises, their hosannas end in halleluias. 2. The matter of their thanksgiving: they praise him for the truth of his word, and the righteousness of his providential conduct, especially in this great event - the ruin of Babylon, which had been a mother, nurse, and nest of idolatry, lewdness, and cruelty (Rev 19:2), for which signal example of divine justice they ascribe salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto our God. 3. The effect of these their praises: when the angels and saints cried Alleluia, her fire burned more fiercely and her smoke ascended for ever and ever, Rev 19:3. The surest way to have our deliverances continued and completed is to give God the glory of what he has done for us. Praising God for what we have is praying in the most effectual manner for what is yet further to be done for us; the praises of the saints blow up the fire of God's wrath against the common enemy. 4. The blessed harmony between the angels and the saints in this triumphant song, Rev 19:4. The churches and their ministers take the melodious sound from the angels, and repeat it; falling down, and worshipping God, they cry, Amen, Alleluia.

INTRODUCTION TO REVELATION 19 This chapter contains the triumph of the saints over Babylon, and their thanksgiving to God because of his judgments on her; the marriage of Christ and his church, and a battle between him and his and her enemies, with the success of it. The congratulations are first of a promiscuous multitude in the church, ascribing salvation, praise, honour, glory, and power to God, because of the righteousness of his judgments, and because of the perpetuity of them, Rev 19:1 and then of the four and twenty elders and four living creatures, who worship God, assent to what had been before said, and join in praising the Lord, Rev 19:4 and then another voice out of the throne is heard, calling upon all the servants of the Lord, and those that fear him, whether small or great, to praise our God, Rev 19:5 after which is heard the voice of a great multitude, stirring up one another to praise, because of the reign of the Lord God Almighty, and to rejoice and be glad because the time of the Lamb's marriage with his bride was come; who is described by her dress, the righteousness of the saints, comparable to fine linen, clean and white, Rev 19:6 upon which an angel bids John write those persons happy who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb, and affirms these to be the true sayings of God; wherefore John, in a transport of joy, was just going to worship the angel, had he not been forbidden by him; from which he dissuades him, by observing that he was his fellow servant, that God only is the object of worship, and that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy, Rev 19:9 next follows a vision of a battle between Christ and his enemies; and first he the General is described, by the horse he sat upon, a white one; by the characters he bears, faithful and true; by what he did, judging and making war in righteousness; by his eyes, which were as a flame of fire; by his having many crowns on his head; by having a name, or names unknown, and particularly one, which is the Word of God; by his habit, a vesture dipped in blood; by the armies he was at the head of, riding on white horses, and clothed in fine linen; by a sharp sword coming out of his mouth, with which he should utterly destroy the nations; and by having a name on his vesture and thigh, King of kings, and Lord of lords, Rev 19:11 upon which an angel is seen standing in the sun, and calling to all the fowls of the heaven to come to the supper of the great God, and to eat the flesh of kings, captains, mighty men, horses and horsemen, of all ranks, and degrees, Rev 19:17 and next an account is given of the armies of the beast, and of the kings of the earth, that came to make war with the above warrior, Rev 19:19 the issue and success of which follow; the beast and false prophet are taken, and cast alive into a lake of fire and brimstone; and the rest are killed by the sword of the above General, and the fowls have a feast of their flesh, Rev 19:20.

And after these things,.... After the angel had declared the fall of Babylon, a voice from heaven had called the people of God out of her, and had ordered them to take vengeance on her; after the mournful lamentation of the kings, merchants, and seafaring men; after another voice had called upon the saints to rejoice at her overthrow, and a mighty angel had described the manner of it, and had expressed her ruin in the strongest terms, with the reasons of it, John heard the songs of the righteous, as follow: I heard a great voice of much people in heaven: not literally taken, for these are not the innumerable company of angels, who are never called people; nor the spirits of just men made perfect, or the souls of departed saints, but men on earth; wherefore heaven designs the church, as in Rev 18:20 and frequently in this book; the people are the same with the 144000 seen with the Lamb on Mount Zion, Rev 14:1 and with those on the sea of glass, who had got the victory over the beast, Rev 15:2 and are no other than God's covenant people, who are given to Christ, and made willing to be his in the day of his power; and though they are but a seed, a remnant, a small company, when compared with the world and carnal professors; yet are a large body of themselves, especially they will be at this time, when the nation of the Jews shall be born at once, and the fulness of the Gentiles will be brought in: and their voice on this occasion, the downfall of Rome, is said to be "great" partly on account of their number, who will join together in acclamations of praise, and partly on account of their great affection and vehemency of spirit, which will be raised hereby: saying Alleluia; an Hebrew word, which signifies "praise ye the Lord". The Jews say (n), that the book of Psalms consists of ten sorts of songs, but Hallelujah is the greatest of them, because it comprehends the name (Jehovah) and praise in one word: and it is observable that this word, which is often used in the Psalms, is first used when the Psalmist desires the utter consumption and destruction of sinners and wicked men on earth, and is here taken up by the saints at the destruction of the man of sin and son of perdition; see Psa 104:35 and its being an Hebrew word shows that at this time the Jews will be converted, and that Jews and Gentiles will become one church state, and will worship and praise the Lord together; for the word is a call upon the saints to join together in solemn praise and thanksgiving; who is to be praised for the perfections of his nature, for the works of his hands, both of nature and grace; and for his righteous judgments on his and his church's enemies; and this is to be done in concert: salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: salvation, temporal, spiritual, and eternal, is of God; "salvation" from antichristian power and tyranny, and from all enemies, and the everlasting salvation of the soul; and the "glory" of it belongs to all the three Persons; they are glorious in themselves, and deserve all glory to be ascribed to them by man, and especially by the saints: "honour" is also their due; God the Father is to be honoured because he is the Father, and the Son is to he honoured as the Father is, and the Holy Spirit is not to be grieved, but to be highly esteemed and valued, and equally with the other two Persons: and "power" belongs to them all, and is seen in the works of creation, redemption, and sanctification. (n) Yalkut Simeoni, par. 2. fol. 89. 1. T. Bab. Pesachim, fol. 117. 1.

This is the voice of the church when the separation has already occurred and when all wicked persons have gone out of her to be consumed with eternal fire. “And their smoke goes up for ever and ever.” Hear, O brothers, and fear and know that Babylon and the harlot whose smoke ascends forever and ever are not to be understood as anything other than lustful, adulterous and arrogant persons. And, therefore, if you wish to avoid these punishments, do not desire to commit such grievous sins.… Is it smoke of a burned-out city that is visible and goes up forever and ever, and not rather [the smoke] of people who remain in their arrogance? It says “it goes up,” not “it will go up,” for in the present age Babylon is always going into destruction and burning up in part, just as Jerusalem is moving into paradise in those saints who leave the world. The Lord showed this in the story of the poor man and the rich man.

As from a great multitude I heard a voice from heaven: for the ranks of the holy angels are innumerable; as one of the Fathers said, the ninety-nine are the sheep (see Matt. 18:12, Luke 15:4) preserved and steadfast, the angels, and the one that was led astray is all humanity. And they said, "Alleluia." The word alleluia is Hebrew; it means "praise" or "give thanks, praise God." Therefore they sing a song of thanksgiving at the righteous judgment of spiritual Babylon.

The saints exult over the destruction of the traitorous city, and they praise God with the jubilation of praise. What does this describe other than the coming of the retribution of the evildoers and the rewarding of the good? This is that of which Daniel spoke, “Some will rise to everlasting life, and some to everlasting reproach,” so that they might see [this] forever. For this reason it is said, “The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.”

“Hallelujah” signifies divine praise, while “Amen” means “truly” or “let it be so.” This praise is common both from the angelic powers as well as from humankind, which is similar to the angels, and this praise is sent up to God three times on account of the tri-hypostatic deity of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God.

After this, I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying: Alleluia, etc. Now the Church says this in part; but then it will be said perfectly when the separation has been made, and when it has been more openly avenged.

The whole heavenly host give glory to God, because he has judged the great whore, and avenged the blood of his saints, Rev 19:1-6. The marriage of the Lamb and his bride, Rev 19:7-9. John offers to worship the angel, but is prevented, Rev 19:10. Heaven is opened, and Jesus the Word of God appears on a white horse; he and his armies described, Rev 19:11-16. An angel in the sun invites all the fowls of heaven to come to the supper of the great God, Rev 19:17, Rev 19:18. The beast, the false prophet, and the kings of the earth, gather together to make war with him who sits on the white horse; but they are all discomfited, and utterly destroyed, Rev 19:19-21.

I heard a great voice of much people in heaven - The idolatrous city being destroyed, and the blood of the martyred saints being avenged, there is a universal joy among the redeemed of the Lord, which they commence with the word הללו יה Hallelu-Yah, praise ye Jah or Jehovah; which the Septuagint, and St. John from them, put into Greek letters thus: Αλληλουΐα, Allelou-ia, a form of praise which the heathens appear to have borrowed from the Jews, as is evident from their paeans, or hymns in honor of Apollo, which began and ended with ελελευ ιη, eleleu ie; a mere corruption of the Hebrew words. It is worthy of remark that the Indians of North America have the same word in their religious worship, and use it in the same sense. "In their places of worship, or beloved square, they dance sometimes for a whole night always in a bowing posture, and frequently singing halleluyah Ye ho wah; praise ye Yah, Ye ho vah:" probably the true pronunciation of the Hebrew יהוה, which we call Jehovah. See Adair's History of the American Indians. Salvation - He is the sole author of deliverance from sin; the glory of this belongs to him, the honor should be ascribed to him, and his power is that alone by which it is effected.

THE CHURCH'S THANKSGIVING IN HEAVEN FOR THE JUDGMENT ON THE HARLOT. THE MARRIAGE OF THE LAMB: THE SUPPER: THE BRIDE'S PREPARATION: JOHN IS FORBIDDEN TO WORSHIP THE ANGEL: THE LORD AND HIS HOSTS COME FORTH FOR WAR: THE BEAST AND THE FALSE PROPHET CAST INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE: THE KINGS AND THEIR FOLLOWERS SLAIN BY THE SWORD OUT OF CHRIST'S MOUTH. (Rev. 19:1-21) As in the case of the opening of the prophecy, Rev 4:8; Rev 5:9, &c.; so now, at one of the great closing events seen in vision, the judgment on the harlot (described in Rev. 18:1-24), there is a song of praise in heaven to God: compare Rev 7:10, &c., toward the close of the seals, and Rev 11:15-18, at the close of the trumpets: Rev 15:3, at the saints' victory over the beast. And--so ANDREAS. But A, B, C, Vulgate, Syriac, and Coptic omit. a great voice--A, B, C, Vulgate, Coptic, and ANDREAS read, "as it were a great voice." What a contrast to the lamentations Rev. 18:1-24! Compare Jer 51:48. The great manifestation of God's power in destroying Babylon calls forth a great voice of praise in heaven. people--Greek, "multitude." Alleluia--Hebrew, "Praise ye JAH," or JEHOVAH: here first used in Revelation, whence ELLICOTT infers the Jews bear a prominent part in this thanksgiving. JAH is not a contraction of "JEHOVAH," as it sometimes occurs jointly with the latter. It means "He who Is": whereas Jehovah is "He who will be, is, and was." It implies God experienced as a PRESENT help; so that "Hallelujah," says KIMCHI in BENGEL, is found first in the Psalms on the destruction of the ungodly. "Hallelu-Jah" occurs four times in this passage. Compare Psa 149:4-9, which is plainly parallel, and indeed identical in many of the phrases, as well as the general idea. Israel, especially, will join in the Hallelujah, when "her warfare is accomplished" and her foe destroyed. Salvation, &c.--Greek, "The salvation . . . the glory . . . the power." and honour--so Coptic. But A, B, C, and Syriac omit. unto the Lord our God--so ANDREAS. But A, B, C, and Coptic read, "(Is) of our God," that is, belongs to Him.