วิวรณ์ 19:14 วิจารณ์

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.).

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 the armies which were in heaven,.... Not the angels, though they are God's host, and are the armies of the heavens; they are in heaven, and dwell there, and follow Christ, attend upon him, and minister to him, and have been sometimes represented by horses and horsemen, Kg2 2:11 and they are pure and holy creatures, and will come with Christ to judgment: but this vision refers not to the day of judgment; and besides, the saints are meant, as appears by their habit, for the fine linen, white and clean, is the righteousness of the saints, Rev 19:8 and the righteousness of angels and saints is not the same. Moreover, these are the same company described in Rev 17:14. The saints are in a state of warfare, have many enemies to fight with, sin, Satan, and the world; they are enlisted as volunteers under Christ, the Captain of salvation; they are provided with the whole armour of God, and are very numerous, and always more than conquerors through Christ: these are described by the place where they were, "in heaven"; not being glorified saints in heaven; with these indeed Christ will come to judgment, even with all his saints with him; but members of the church militant, said to be in heaven, because that is often called the kingdom of heaven; and because their names are written in heaven, and they are of heavenly extract; they are born from above, and are partakers of the heavenly calling; they belong to heaven, they are citizens of it, and are pressing on to it. And these followed him; Christ, their Leader and Commander in the exercise of grace, and in the discharge of duty; having gone on in his ways through a train of sufferings, and cleaved unto him, and now attend him; not to assist in fighting, but to add to the glorious and triumphant appearance of their General; and therefore are said to be upon white horses; they had served Christ in his Gospel, which some of them had preached, and all professed, and had maintained the purity of it in doctrine and practice, and now triumphed in Christ, and along with him, riding upon horses of the same colour with his, as being his princes and nobles, and whom he had made kings as well as priests; the former may be signified by their horses; see Jdg 5:10 and the latter by their following habit, clothed in fine linen, white and clean; not the horses, but the armies on them; which designs not their inward purity, which was very glorious; nor their outward conversation garments, washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb; but the robe of Christ's righteousness, which is pure and spotless: these have no armour on, for they are not to strike a blow, only their General, who has the bloody garment on, is to tread the winepress, and destroy antichrist with the breath of his mouth, or with his sword proceeding out of it, as follows.

All the hosts of heaven follow this Word of God. They follow the Word who leads them and imitate him in all things, especially in having mounted white horses like him, for all things are open to those who understand. And just as “pain and grief and groaning fled” at the end of things, so, I think, obscurity and dismay fled when all the mysteries of God’s wisdom burst forth with precision and clarity. And consider the white horses of those who follow the Word, clothed in “pure white linen.” [What does this mean] unless the linen garments, since linen comes from the earth, are types of the languages on earth in which the sounds have been clothed, which indicate the realities in a pure manner?

And heavenly hosts followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen; for the Lord is both the commander of the heavenly powers and has so named himself, speaking as Joshua son of Nun. (see Jos. 5:14) Saying, "I the commander-in-chief of the power of the Lord, have now appeared." (Jos. 5:14) And the horses are white even to the holy angels; for they likewise take pleasure in those pure of men, since they are pure in nature and unmingled with any stain. And this is shown by that garment of white and fine linen.

In heaven the churches, as though “with unveiled face beholding the glory of God,” all being pure in heart and made whiter than snow by grace, are said to follow Christ.… They always go forward on white horses, that is, with pure bodies and minds, following the footsteps of Christ, who is going before and to whom it is said in the Song of Songs, “We run after you for the aroma of your ointments.”

We interpret the armies of heaven to be the bride herself, who above was said to be prepared for the marriage of the Lamb. When it says that they were “on white horses,” it is speaking either of the purity of faith, or it is alluding to the members of our bodies made new through the resurrection. [The fine linen] is the righteous works of the saints.

[The heavenly armies] signify the heavenly orders that are resplendent with the excellence of their nature, with the sublimity of their thoughts and with the brightness of their virtues and their intimate union with God.

And the armies of heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following him on white horses. That is, the Church in pure bodies imitates him, which, because of the struggle of its contest, rightly receives the name of army.

Clothed in fine linen, white and clean. Which he previously explained to be the righteous acts of the saints, as the Psalmist says: Let your priests be clothed with righteousness (Psalm 132).

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.

The armies which were in heaven - Angels and saints over whom Jesus Christ is Captain, Clothed in fine linen - All holy, pure, and righteous.

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.

the armies . . . in heaven--Compare "the horse bridles," Rev 14:20. The glorified saints whom God "will bring with" Christ at His advent; compare Rev 17:14, "they that are with Him, called, chosen, faithful"; as also "His mighty angels." white and clean--Greek, "pure." A, B, Vulgate, Syriac, and CYPRIAN omit "and," which ORIGEN and ANDREAS retain, as English Version.