In
this chapter we have, I. A further account of the triumphant song of angels
and saints for the fall of
Babylon
, ver. 1-4. II. The marriage between Christ
and the church proclaimed and perfected, ver. 5-10. III. Another warlike
expedition of the glorious head and husband of the church, with the success
of it, ver. 10, &c.
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The
Triumph of the Saints.
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A. D. 95.
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1 And after these things I heard a great
voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and
honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: 2 For true and
righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore,
which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood
of his servants at her hand. 3 And again they said, Alleluia.
And her smoke rose up for ever and ever. 4 And the four and
twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on
the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.
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, ch. xviii. 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 (v.
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 (v. 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, v. 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, v. 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.
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A. D. 95.
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5 And a voice came out of the throne, saying,
Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and
great. 6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude,
and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings,
saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. 7 Let us
be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is
come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 8 And to her was
granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the
fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 9 And he saith unto
me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper
of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou
do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the
testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of
prophecy.
The triumphant song being ended, and epithalamium, or marriage-song, begins,
v. 6. Here observe,
I. The concert of heavenly music. The chorus was large and loud, as the
voice of many waters and of mighty thunderings. God is fearful in
praises. There is no discord in heaven; the morning stars sing together; no
jarring string, nor key untuned, but pure and perfect melody.
II. The occasion of this song; and that is the reign and dominion of that
omnipotent God who has redeemed his church by his own blood, and is
now in a more public manner betrothing her to himself: The marriage of
the Lamb has come, v. 7. Some think this refers to the conversion
of the Jews, which they suppose will succeed the fall of Babylon; others, to
the general resurrection: the former seems more probable. Now, 1. You have
here a description of the bride, how she appeared; not in the gay and gaudy
dress of the mother of harlots, but in fine linen, clean and white,
which is the righteousness of saints; in the robes of Christ's
righteousness, both imputed for justification and imparted for
sanctification--the stola, the white robe of absolution,
adoption, and enfranchisement, and the white robe of purity and universal
holiness. She had washed her robes and made them white in the blood of
the Lamb; and these her nuptial ornaments she did not purchase by any
price of her own, but received them as the gift and grant of her blessed
Lord. 2. The marriage-feast, which, though not particularly described (as
Matt. xxii. 4), yet is declared to be such as would make all those happy who
were called to it, so called as to accept the invitation, a feast made up of
the promises of the gospel, the true sayings of God, v. 9.
These promises, opened, applied, sealed, and earnested by the Spirit of
God, in holy eucharistical ordinances, are the marriage-feast; and the
whole collective body of all those who partake of this feast is the bride, the
Lamb's wife; they eat into one body, and drink into one Spirit, and are
not mere spectators or guests, but coalesce into the espoused party, the
mystical body of Christ. 3. The transport of joy which the apostle felt in
himself at this vision. He fell down at the feet of the angel, to worship
him, supposing him to be more than a creature, or having his thoughts at
the present overpowered by the vehemency of his affections. Here observe,
(1.) What honour he offered to the angel: He fell at his feet, to worship
him; this prostration was a part of external worship, it was a posture
of proper adoration. (2.) How the angel refused it, and this was with some
resentment: "See thou do it not; have a care what thou doest,
thou art doing a wrong thing." (3.) He gave a very good reason for his
refusal: "I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren which have
the testimony of Jesus--I am a creature, thine equal in office, though
not in nature; I, as an angel and messenger of God, have the
testimony of Jesus, a charge to be a witness for him and to testify
concerning him, and thou, as an apostle, having the Spirit of prophecy,
hast the same testimony to give in; and therefore we are in this brethren
and fellow-servants." (4.) He directs him to the true and only object
of religious worship; namely, God: "Worship God, and him
alone." This fully condemns both the practice of the papists in
worshipping the elements of bread and wine, and saints, and angels, and the
practice of those Socinians and Arians who do not believe that Christ is
truly and by nature God, and yet pay him religious worship; and this shows
what wretched fig-leaves all their evasions and excuses are which they offer
in their own vindication: they stand hereby convicted of idolatry by a
messenger from heaven.
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11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a
white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True,
and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12 His eyes were
as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a
name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13 And he was
clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of
God. 14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him
upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15
And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the
nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the
winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And he
hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING
OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice,
saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather
yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; 18 That ye
may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of
mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the
flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.
19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies,
gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against
his army. 20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false
prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that
had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image.
These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse,
which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled
with their flesh.
No sooner was the marriage solemnized between Christ and his church by the
conversion of the Jews than the glorious head and husband of the church is
called out to a new expedition, which seems to be the great battle that was
to be fought at Armageddon, foretold ch. xvi. 16. And here observe,
I. The description of the great Commander, 1. By the seat of his empire; and
that is heaven; his throne is there, and his power and authority are
heavenly and divine. 2. His equipage: he is again described as sitting on
a white horse, to show the equity of the cause, and certainty of
success. 3. His attributes: he is faithful and true to his covenant
and promise, he is righteous in all his judicial and military proceedings,
he has a penetrating insight into all the strength and stratagems of his
enemies, he has a large and extensive dominion, many crowns, for he is King
of kings, and Lord of lords. 4. His armour; and that is a vesture
dipped in blood, either his own blood, by which he purchased this
mediatorial power, or the blood of his enemies, over whom he has always
prevailed. 5. His name: The Word of God, a name that none fully knows
but himself, only this we know, that this Word was God manifest in the
flesh; but his perfections are incomprehensible by any creature.
II. The army which he commands (v. 14), a very large one, made up of
many armies; angels and saints followed his conduct, and resembled him in
their equipage, and in their armour of purity and righteousness--chosen, and
called, and faithful.
III. The weapons of his warfare--A sharp sword proceeding from his
mouth (v. 15), with which he smites the nations, either
the threatenings of the written word, which now he is going to execute, or
rather his word of command calling on his followers to take a just revenge
on his and their enemies, who are now put into the wine-press of the wrath
of God, to be trodden under foot by him.
IV. The ensigns of his authority, his coat of arms--a name written on his
vesture and thigh, King of kings, and Lord of lords, asserting his
authority and power, and the cause of the quarrel, v. 16.
V. An invitation given to the fowls of heaven, that they should come
and see the battle, and share in the spoil and pillage of the field (v.
17, 18), intimating that this great decisive engagement should leave the
enemies of the church a feast for the birds of prey, and that all the world
should have cause to rejoice in the issue of it.
VI. The battle joined. The enemy falls on with great fury, headed by the
beast, and the kings of the earth; the powers of earth and hell
gathered, to make their utmost effort, v. 19.
VII. The victory gained by the great and glorious head of the church: The
beast and the false prophet, the leaders of the army, are taken
prisoners, both he who led them by power and he who led them by policy and
falsehood; these are taken and cast into the burning lake, made
incapable of molesting the church of God any more; and their followers,
whether officers or common soldiers, are given up to military execution, and
made a feast for the fowls of heaven. Though the divine vengeance
will chiefly fall upon the beast, and the false prophet, yet it will
be no excuse to those who fight under their banner that they only followed
their leaders and obeyed their command; since they would fight for them,
they must fall and perish with them. Be wise now therefore, O you kings,
be instructed, you rulers of the earth; kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and
you perish from the way, Ps. ii. 10, 12.
