John says, “And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven.” What are the things under consideration here? They are the things that John has been privileged to see in his vision. There were the seven churches of Asia which represented the churches throughout the church age. The churches at Ephesus, Smyrna and Philadelphia representing our Lord’s true churches throughout the entire age. The ones at Pergamus, Thyatira, Sardis, and Laodicea representing the apostate, or false churches.

After he had seen the churches run their course, he saw the rapture of the saints set forth by his invitation to “Come up hither” in 4:1. And following this he saw the awful seal, the trumpet judgments, and the bowl judgments being poured out upon this old wicked world. He has seen “the beast and the false prophet” come on the scene and perform their task. Now he has just witnessed, in his vision, the utter and complete overthrow and destruction of the old whore and the city of which she boasts. When this has been accomplished we hear our Lord’s raptured saints who have suffered so much at the hands of the false churches as they break forth into worship of and praise to their great God with all that is within them.

In verse 2 we see why all that wonderful worship and praise. Here we are told that our Lord’s judgments are “true and righteous.” And that He has “avenged the blood of His” saints at the hand of this old whore. In our day judgment is perverted and twisted. The highest court in the land deliberately turns criminals loose upon society. Sometimes we wonder why God permits wicked, Communistic judges to promote crime and to trample upon the right of upright people, but let us remember, the more despicable the judgment is today the louder our praise will be in that coming day when righteousness reigns upon the earth. And not only will we praise our great God in that day, but in Psalms 96, I Chronicles 16, and Isaiah 55 we see the heavens rejoicing, the fields being glad, the trees rejoicing before the Lord, singing out before Him and clapping their hands all because He comes to judge the earth. And then we hear the mountains and the hills breaking forth before Him into singing. May we see and hear all this soon.

In verses 3-6 we hear not only the worship and praise of the raptured saints but also that of the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures. And in verse 6 this great multitude of voices is heard as the voice of many waters and as the voice of mighty thunderings. And the reason for it is that “the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth.” This word “omnipotent” comes from PANTOKRATOR which means ruler of all. It is found in II Corinthians 6:18 and nine times in Revelation. And in every one of these places except here in this verse 6 it is translated “Almighty”. Most preachers of our day hold up a god before their people that can be turned about and twisted around like a child playing with her doll or teddy bear, but that is not the God of the Bible. The God of the Bible is this Almighty God. He is the one who has all power in heaven and in earth. Matthew 28:18. He is the One who does as He “will in the armies of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth.” Daniel 4:35. He is the One who does according to “the good pleasure of His will.” Ephesians 1:5. He is the One who saves any one whom He wants to save. John 5:21. In fact, He is the One who does anything and everything He wants to do whether you and I like it or not.

In verse 7 we are told to “be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him.” And the reason we are given for this is that “the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife (Bride) hath made herself ready.” If we are not very careful we will put too much of “us” and not enough of “Him” in this verse. It is true that the Bride makes herself ready. It is also true that we believe when we are saved. And the Arminian preacher has salvation being the result of our believing. But the Bible has believing being the fruit of salvation. Every thinking person whether saved or lost will admit that we must have faith in a person before we believe in that person. So our believing in someone is brought about by our having faith in that person. No one believes in Jesus Christ until he or she has faith in Him. And in Ephesians 2:8 we are told plainly that our faith “is a gift of God.” Now God is not foolish enough to give faith to a dead person. A dead person wouldn’t know what to do with faith, and he couldn’t do anything with it if he did. And every lost person is dead spiritually. Ephesians 2:1, 5. So our Lord quickens, or makes alive, the lost, dead sinner He wants to save, and then He gives that person faith. This quickened sinner then exercises his God-given faith and believes. That is what is meant in Acts 18:27 where we are told that the saints in Achaia “had by God’s grace become believers.” So if you are a believer today, it is by God’s amazing grace.

Yes, the Bride has made herself ready, but in verse 8 we are told “to her was granted that she should be arrayed (or clothed) in fine linen, clean and white.” Please note, this says it was granted (or given) to her. If a young woman who has never earned a dollar in her life comes down the aisle to the tune of “Here Comes the Bride” wearing a lovely wedding gown, everyone knows that she has been granted to be arrayed in that beautiful wedding gown. Everyone knows that her parents, or someone else has provided the lovely gown. So it is with this fine linen, clean and white. In this case, the wonderful Bridegroom who alone is able to do so, has provided this lovely wedding gown.

In our Authorized Version we are told that this “fine linen is the righteousness of saints.” Some other translations say the fine linen signifies or represents the righteous acts of saints. Anyway, if we are able to perform any righteous acts, let us be sure to give the right One the credit for it. If our acts were controlled by our old depraved nature, we would probably all be in the chain gang.

In verse 9 we are told that “Blessed (or happy) are they which are called (should be invited) to the marriage supper.” According to this statement there must have been some people who have lived in this church age, and there must be some living today who will be invited to this wonderful “marriage supper”. So who is it that is to be invited? Let us remember, the book of Revelation was not written for the benefit of the Old Testament saints. Had it been intended for their help and comfort, it would have been written in their day. So, must we not admit that this book, the book of Revelation, was written for the benefit of the Lord’s saints in this church age, and for those of His people who will be saved and living on the earth during the tribulation age?

Surely no one would say that the Bride will be invited to her own supper. Then if there are to be some of the saints of this age invited to this supper that certainly means that the Bride will not be made up of all the New Testament saints. I am persuaded that more of our Lord’s saints are going to be surprised when they learn the truth as to who the Bride of Christ is than they are about any other thing in the Bible. It seems that the most widely accepted belief concerning the Bride is that she is made up of all saved people during this church age. If that be true, our Lord’s Bride will consist of some who have been immersed, some who have been sprinkled, some who have had a little water poured on them, and some who had no baptism at all whatever. If that be true, His Bride will consist of some who believe in God’s sovereign grace and election, some who hate those doctrines with a passion, some who believe in the local church like those in the apostolic days, some who believe in the universal invisible conglomeration, some who believe in the eternal security of the believer, some who believe a person can be saved one day and lost the next, and where he spends eternity depends upon which day he dies, some who believe one thing and some who believe another concerning a hundred other things in the Bible. What a Bride that Bride would be. Anyone who can believe such junk as that seems to know just about as much about the Bible as I know about Einstein’s Theory.

In II Corinthians 11:2 Paul says, “I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.” This word “chaste” is from HAGNOS which means pure from every fault. If the Bride consists of one group who teaches and believes election and another group who actually hates election, how under heaven could both groups be pure from every fault?

In I Corinthians 1:10 Paul speaking to those who are to make up the Bride of Christ says, “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you: but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” Our Lord’s precious Bride will consist of those who accept all the doctrines set forth by the wonderful Bridegroom, therefore, there will be no divisions among them concerning these wonderful doctrines in the Bible. When we accept this definition of the Bride, we will see a great host of saved people in this age who will not be in the Bride. These saints who are not in the Bride will be honored with an invitation to that wonderful “marriage supper.” Someone may say, “Do all these who make up the Bride have to be members of the Lord’s true churches?” They most certainly do. They could not possibly accept all the teachings of the Bible without their being immersed into one of His precious churches.

In verse 10 John seems to be beside himself for joy. He has been privileged to see the wonderful Bride arrayed in her lovely wedding gown and then he has heard that blessed invitation go out to the honored guests. Now he falls at the feet of the angel to worship him. But this angel is not like the pope of Rome. He tells John not to do that. He says, “Worship God.”

No other being in the whole universe is worthy of worship. So let us worship God.

When we come to verses 11-13 we are on shouting ground. You and I deserve to have heaven remain closed to us forever. But here in verse 11 John “saw heaven opened.” And not only that, but he also saw the Lord of glory coming from heaven. Here we see quite a difference in His glorious appearance. When He came the first time He was the meek and lowly One. He permitted Himself to be shamefully treated. He was led as “a lamb to the slaughter”, yet He “opened not His mouth.” But here in these verses He has laid aside His meek and lowly character and is now Lord of Lords and King of Kings as He comes to judge and make war.

This is the One that David spoke of in Psalms 50:3 where we read, “Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about Him.” You will recall that when He came the first time His enemies raised the tempest, but when He comes back He will raise the tempest, and woe unto His enemies when that time comes. In Matthew 24:30 we are told that “they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” This is the time the Jews are talking about in Hosea 6:3 when they said, “He shall come unto us as the rain.” When He came the first time He was born of a woman, but when He comes back He will come down from above like the rain.

In the Scriptures fire speaks of judgment. In John 3:17 we learn that our Lord’s mission at His first coming was not “to condemn the world.” Most translations say, “to judge the world.” But here in this Scripture before us our Lord’s eyes are like a flame of fire. He is not coming at this time to offer up Himself as a sacrifice for sin. Hebrews 9:28 says, “Unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” This should read “without, or apart from a sin offering.” When He comes back to the earth it will be to rule the nations with a rod of iron. It will be to judge the world in righteousness. When righteousness reigns upon this old sinful world it will be such a radical change that even “the moon shall be confounded and the sun ashamed.” Isaiah 24:23.

Then we see His “vesture dipped in blood.” Some great Bible scholars say this is His own precious blood, but I must differ with them. His precious blood had to do with the atoning for our sins. It was the element in which we have been washed from our sins. But here there is no atoning for sin to be done. Here He is coming to take vengeance upon His enemies. At this time the blood of His enemies will flow to the horse bridles for 200 miles. At this time He says to the fowls of the air and the beasts of the field “ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.” On Calvary’s tree we see our dear Lord sacrificing His own precious blood for His people, but on the mountains of Israel we see Him sacrificing the blood of His enemies for the fowls of the air and the beasts of the field. So this is not His atoning blood upon His vesture here, but rather it is the blood of His vengeance. In Isaiah 64:3 He says, “I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.” So this is their blood upon His vesture, not His.

In verse 14 we see the armies which are in heaven as they follow our Lord as He comes down to earth. It seems that many people believe these armies are the saints. Their raiment resembles that with which the Bride is adorned, but we find it hard to believe that our Lord will use His Bride as an invading army. In fact, I find it hard to see that He will need the help of His saints in overcoming the armies of the world. In Daniel 4:35 we see that there were armies in heaven even in Daniel’s day. In Joel 2:11 we are told that “the Lord shall utter His voice before His army: for His camp is very great.” In Revelation 12:7 we see Michael and his angels overcoming old Satan and his angels. And we must admit that it will take a powerful army to do that. Then when we turn to II Kings 6:17 and see “the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha” we feel pretty secure when His armies take over.

In verse 15 we see “a sharp sword” going out of the mouth of our Lord with which He is to “smite the nations.” In Hebrews 4:12 we learn that the Word of God is “sharper than any two-edged sword.” And in Ephesians 6:17 we are told to take “the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God.” So the sword here in this verse is the precious Word of God.

Then in verse 16 we see one of His many wonderful names that has been written on His thigh. In verse 15 He is the “Almighty God”, because there He is the one who treads the wine-press (of 14:20) until blood flows for two hundred miles. In 22:16 when He signs His name to the wonderful Book of Revelation, He is Jesus, “the root and the offspring of David, and the Bright and Morning Star.” But here in verse 16 where He comes to reign over the earth and over the Kings of the earth He is “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

When we come to verses 17 and 18 we see the ghastly sight that always follows to some extent a great battle. Here when the battle of Armageddon has been fought we see the fowls of the air being invited not to the supper of the great God as we see it here, but rather to the great supper of God. When this time comes there won’t be a single person in all the world who believes in the little puny god that is being preached in most pulpits of today. They will all know that God is the Almighty One who has all power and uses it as it pleases Him. They won’t all be saved, but they will all believe that God is sovereign. So the word “great” here is superfluous. But this supper which consists of the bodies and blood of the two hundred million men of Revelation 9:16 will constitute a great supper. We see more of this great supper in Ezekiel 39:17-20.

In verse 19 John saw “the beast” who will be the ruler over the revived Roman Empire “and the kings of the earth” who have been gathered together by the frog like spirits of 16:13-14 as they come against the Lord of glory and His army. This results in the battle of Armageddon in which the Gentile world powers are completely destroyed. I have very little respect for, and faith in a negotiated peace, and I do not believe our Lord has any at all whatever. There won’t be any long drawn out peace talks on the mountains of Israel. Neither will there be any offer of any kind to negotiate, but rather a fight to the finish. And when it is finished the bodies of the enemy are fed to the fowls of the air and the beasts of the field.

When this has taken place we see in verse 20 that “the beast” and “the false prophet” who is the anti-christ are taken and “cast into the (not a) lake of fire” alive. These two men who are the incarnation of old Satan do not taste of physical death. They are just cast into hell alive. The time was when I wanted everybody to be saved, but I do not want that anymore. I want to see one hundred pound hailstones fall on that great army of men on the mountains of Israel. I want to see their blood run to “the horse bridles” for two hundred miles. I want to see the fowls of the air and the beasts of the field rip and tear the flesh of these men from their bones like a dog eating a rabbit. I want to see it take the Jews “seven months” to bury what is left of these bodies after the fowls and the beasts are through with them. Call that hard hearted if you like. I call it wanting to see God’s precious Word come true. If any one of these things should fail to come to pass, God’s word would be broken, and your salvation and mine would not be worth two cents. I believe the end of time to be so near at hand that I believe the beast and the false prophet are already living on the earth today. I further believe that if every preacher in the world were to preach to these two men until they turned blue in the face, these men would still land in hell alive. Call that reprobation if you like, I certainly won’t argue the point with you. Just as I was predestinated to be saved and spend eternity in the Blessed presence of my Lord these two men were predestinated to be lost and to be cast into hell alive.

Then in verse 21 we see the remnant being slain “with the sword of Him that sat upon the horse.” This is the same sword we saw in verse 15, that is, God’s precious Word. He just speaks the word and this remnant dies. In any battle the generals and others who think they are indispensable stay back away from the danger. So here they are not on the mountains of Israel when the hundred pound hailstones fall. So they are not beaten to a pulp, but our Lord just speaks the word and that will be it.