วิวรณ์ 19:7 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.

Let us be glad, and rejoice, and give honour to him,.... The saints particularly; the converted Jews will call upon one another to express their gladness at the glorious display of Christ's kingly power and authority, and at the destruction of his enemies, and the happy and comfortable state of his church and people; and to rejoice in him as the Lord their righteousness and strength, and to give him the honour and glory of salvation, and to return him thanks for all the benefits they shall have received from him, particularly on account of what follows: for the marriage of the Lamb is come; that is, of Christ, the Son of God, with the Jewish church more especially; there was a secret betrothing of all the elect to Christ before the world began; and there is an open espousal of every individual of them at conversion; but the public and general solemnization of the nuptials will not be until the new Jerusalem church state takes place in the personal reign of Christ, hereafter mentioned, Rev 21:1 but here, and as previous to that, there will be a very general and open marriage of Christ with the people of the Jews, who have long rejected and forsaken him; for if the conversion of a single person may be called a marriage with Christ, much more the conversion of such members; and which is often prophesied of under this metaphor of a marriage, as in Isa 62:4. And now the time will be come for the accomplishment of it, the evidence of which follows: and his wife hath made herself ready, or "dressed herself"; by decking herself with jewels, and putting on her wedding garment provided for her, and given to her by her husband, the Lamb, as appears from the next verse: this preparation will lie partly in the number of converts that will be brought into the Jewish church, which she will receive and clothe herself with, as with the ornament of a bride, Isa 49:18 and partly by the exercise of the several graces of the Spirit upon Christ, comparable to the jewels of a bride, with which she will be adorned for her husband; and also by putting on the robe of his righteousness, hereafter mentioned, which the old Jewish synagogue rejected, and therefore was cast off, Rom 10:3. The Arabic version reads, "the marriage of the Lamb is now come with his spouse, prepared for him"; and the Ethiopic version, "the marriage of his Lamb is come, and the wife is prepared"; and that her preparation is not by her own merits and works of righteousness, but by the grace of her husband, is clear from the following verse. Mr. Daubuz, by "the marriage of the Lamb", understands the first resurrection, and the state of the church at that time; and by "the fine linen", the dress of the church, next mentioned, the incorruptible body of the saints compared to a garment, Co1 15:53 and by those who are afterwards said to be "called to the marriage", the converted nations in a mortal state: but all the saints will share in the first resurrection; besides, as yet the beast and false prophet are not destroyed, which must be before the first resurrection, as the following vision shows.

For, he says, the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has prepared herself. The marriage present with the Lord is still an engagement to the church and not yet a completed marriage. And this the divine apostle associates, writing the second letter to the Corinthians, in which he says: "for I engaged you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ." (2 Cor. 11:2) Therefore the matter is still an engagement; for "I engaged you": truly. And as the sign of the engagement, we receive "the pledge of the Spirit." (2 Cor. 1:22) When, however, the church becomes one spirit with Christ, just as a husband is one body with his wife, then it is the perfect marriage. For even while philosophizing about the physical marriage, the wise apostle, adducing the scriptural statement that "the two shall be one flesh," brings forward that "this mystery is great; but I say it of Christ and the church." (Eph. 5:31-32) Therefore the holy angels say: "The marriage of the Lamb has come," signifying then the marriage that will be celebrated in the present engagement; for the Gospel clearly handed this down to us, where first it introduces marriages of a king's son celebrated by the father, and many called to the feast, some partaking of the banquet, others refusing the dinner, and one cast out who was not clothed in a wedding garment (Matt. 22:2-14); Then the same Gospel (Matt. 25:1-13) speaks of ten virgins, of whom five, whom it also calls wise, bringing their lamps to meet the bridegroom for that blessed wedding feast, while the excluded ones, when they had no oil left, extinguished their lamps; none of this is to be understood for the present time, but for the time to come.

The fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. After thanksgiving has been given and after the voice of exhortation has been heard, the praise to God, as though the sound of claps of thunder, is loudly proclaimed by those who rejoice that the marriage feast of the Lamb has come. This will occur when, after the consummation of the world, “every rule and authority will have been destroyed and he will have delivered the kingdom to God the Father, so that God will be all in all.” This will occur, that is, when his wife, namely the catholic church, will be joined to him in the purity of faith. Concerning this the holy apostle said: “For I betrothed you to Christ to present you as a pure virgin to one husband.” And so, the fine linen which she [the church] wears does not represent the beauty of a vestment, but the righteousness of the saints.

And let us give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come. The marriage of the Lamb is when the Church will be united with the Lord in the bridal chamber of the heavenly kingdom.

And his wife has made herself ready. By constantly engaging in works of righteousness, she has shown herself worthy of the spiritual feast and eternal kingdom. This can also be understood according to the parable of the Gospel, which narrates the virgins rising at the arrival of the bridegroom, adorning their lamps, that is, accounting for their works, for which they expect to receive eternal beatitude.

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 marriage of the Lamb is come - The meaning of these figurative expressions appears to be this: After this overthrow of idolatry and superstition, and the discomfiture of antichrist, there will be a more glorious state of Christianity than ever was before.

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.

glad . . . rejoice--Greek, "rejoice . . . exult." give--so B and ANDREAS. But A reads, "we will give." glory--Greek, "the glory." the marriage of the Lamb is come--The full and final consummation is at Rev 21:2-9, &c. Previously there must be the overthrow of the beast, &c., at the Lord's coming, the binding of Satan, the millennial reign, the loosing of Satan and his last overthrow, and the general judgment. The elect-Church, the heavenly Bride, soon after the destruction of the harlot, is transfigured at the Lord's coming, and joins with Him in His triumph over the beast. On the emblem of the heavenly Bridegroom and Bride, compare Mat 22:2; Mat 25:6, Mat 25:10; Co2 11:2. Perfect union with Him personally, and participation in His holiness; joy, glory, and kingdom, are included in this symbol of "marriage"; compare Song of Solomon everywhere. Besides the heavenly Bride, the transfigured, translated, and risen Church, reigning over the earth with Christ, there is also the earthly bride, Israel, in the flesh, never yet divorced, though for a time separated, from her divine husband, who shall then be reunited to the Lord, and be the mother Church of the millennial earth, Christianized through her. Note, we ought, as Scripture does, restrict the language drawn from marriage-love to the Bride, the Church as a whole; not use it as individuals in our relation to Christ, which Rome does in the case of her nuns. Individually, believers are effectually-called guests; collectively, they constitute the bride. The harlot divides her affections among many lovers: the bride gives hers exclusively to Christ.