1 ¶ After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
After this… The Hallelujah chorus which has waited for the judgments that destroyed Egypt to destroy the final global empire of Babylon is now heard. Hallelujah! the children of Israel and the goyim attached to them are delivered from Babylon’s lies and oppression. Then, just as I Pharaoh came after Israel when Egypt was defeated, in order to be drowned in the sea, so the dragon and the beast will come after her, in order to be taken captive and wait destruction by Mashiach, when they are exposed in the open, when the civilization of Babylon is destroyed.
2 for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”
His judgments…. we know that Israel only went into captivity to Babylon and the nations as she did into captivity in Egypt. We know it was only by the loving judgment of God for the sake of corrections and for the sake of a testimony to the need for the Good News of Mashiach’s sacrifice to be made for her, in order that the world might e saved. By His judgments here we understand the whole of His manner of dealing with the “city” of world-wide institutions built on the falsification the Biblical authority to hold Israel captive, (for a time), is true and just because it reveals completely this falsification and deals with it measure for measure, (ch. 18:6). Just so much as it turned truth into a lie to gain power in the world, precisely that much it is exposed by the truth and found naked and without defence in its shame. And precisely as much as it stood upon the martyred souls of God’s people for its foundation, when they are delivered from under its foot, it is shown not to be a house standing on God’s word of chastisement to Israel, as it claimed, but a house built upon sand.
Sexual immorality… The word, fornication, is a transliteration of the word, πορνείᾳ, (pornia), from which the word, pornography also derives. But the physical here is an expression, a symptom , of the spiritual disease. In this case, the form of spiritual immorality is the using of goodness and truth for purposes of ungodliness. In Revelation 2, this is called the doctrine of Baalim.
3 ¶ Once more they cried out, “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever
Hallelujah…The first Hallelujah is for the victory of God. Here, the second is for the justice eternally rendered to Babylon the Great.
4 ¶ And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!”
twenty-four elders… In 1 Peter 1:2 we were told that the very angels wait to hear and witness the glory of the Good News of Israel and Her redemption through the prayer of the blood of the Lamb. Now here, together with the 24 elders, the highest angels of the chariot of G-d fall down to worship G-d, saying “Amen, Hallelujah!” in agreement with the Hallelujah Chorus. For this is their testimony that they are witnesses and have seen that the Gospel of Truth embraced by Jerusalem has exposed and destroyed the Babylon of Lies, and that by doing this it has overcome the beast and the devil, leaving them open and defenceless against the coming of Mashiach in judgment.
5 And from the throne came a voice saying, “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great.”
Voice from the throne…This is the very commandment of the Revelation. The Apocalypse commands with this commandment of God’s love all those whom it has liberated. With this commandment, the Apocalypse places anew under God’s authority all whom it has set free from captivity to their evil inclination and transformed into God’s freed slaves for all eternity. For the word of God has re-created them in redeemed Israel in the Lamb, to be the light that shines as praise to his glory, which heaven and earth could not be by their first nature. This is indicated already in the opening words in Revelation 1:1-2.
”There is with the love of me great inheritance.” Proverbs 8:21. This is the light of the first day, that the righteous by faith in God should be made that light. This is the plan of God, the wisdom of Proverbs 8, the glory of obedience to the commandment of HaShem.
Both small and great… that is, both Gentile and Jew.
6 ¶ Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.
Then… 19:5 is the final word of history of the war in heaven, as referred to in 12:7-10, the final battle of which was won by the assembly of witnesses on earth, as it is written, “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto the death”, (12:11).
Then…Then the Wedding of Jerusalem!
peals of thunder…Our Lord God reigns…Loud crashes of thunder… seven crashes of thunder. Vast throng… as in Revelation 7. All these now have heard the seven thunders and repeat as one what they have heard. Jerusalem’s testimony to the nations from the Land of Testimony is given. In this act, the covenant promise of HaShem to Avraham to return his offspring to the Land as a testimony to the light of the resurrection of the dead is fulfilled.
7 Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready;
the marriage of the Lamb is come…From the time of the sounding of the seventh trumpet the bride heard and began to testify to what the seven thunders said, thus preparing herself for her wedding, destroying Babylon with truth.
8 it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
fine linen…The white linen, the righteous deeds of grace.
9 ¶ And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”
Write this…invited… true words of God…Write now what you didn’t write before, when the seven thunders spoke. For only those who have received their invitation see this writing.
10 Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
a fellow servant… to the testimony of Yehoshua…the spirit of prophecy…Why here does he mistake the angel for the Lord? This spiritual place this moment in which Yochanan finds himself in the Revelation, is the gate between the two creations. In the first the Lord came to Abraham by the Angel of the Lord. But in the new creation Abraham an the angel are present with the Lord together. This — the bride’s readiness is that gate.
Spirit of prophecy… Why is this the explanation here? Because the testimony of Yehoshua is the Good News of the Jerusalem the Bride and Her Messiah, which destroys Babylon and allows for the return of Her Redeemer, to defeat the beast and the dragon.
11 ¶ Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.
Then I saw… As soon as Yochanan understands what the angel explains he sees it taking place.
a white horse…the one sitting on it…Called Faithful and True… righteous war…because the children of God are now manifest, the creature is purified and no longer in travail. Yehoshua who came to the children upon a donkey now comes with them upon white horses.
He is faithful and true in his coming according to the day and hour of His Father’s Justice and Judgment. For all time and all hearts stopped as soon as Jerusalem said in answer to the testimony of the Two Witnesses, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of Adonai!”
12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are i diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself.
his eyes…his head…his name…His war is conducted with his eyes. He has won his victory and wears his crowns before he comes to battle. He has a name only his Father speaks and only he hears. Where it is written all creation stands.
13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.
blood dipped rob… The Word of God by name… The Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world: this is the Word of God. All the blood of judgment is turned into the soul of the life of the eternal world in him.
14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses.
his armies on white horses… Because his clothing is dipped in blood, their clothing is white linen — and he rides with them on white horses.
15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.
the sword of his mouth striking down the nations…ruling with a rod of iron…treading the wine press of God’s wrath…All these tools he directs with his gaze. For he comes with his work already done. All things in heaven and earth have been prepared. The stage is set; the testimony is given. Therefore, his very coming is the revelation of the truth, the trampling out of the wine press of the wrath of God against all deceit in word and deeds.
16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
King of kings, Lord of lords written on robe and thigh…He comes from sitting at the right hand of God, already outwardly and inwardly King of kings and Lord of lords.
17 ¶ Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God,
angel in the sun…great supper of God…The sun ultimately sets in judgment and mortality. Whatsoever is not in Israel’s Mashiach passes away. The sun itself cannot face him! How much more the kings of dust!
18 to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.”
flesh of kings…flesh of men…“They have laid Jerusalem in heaps. They have given the dead bodies of Your servants to be food to the birds of the sky, The flesh of Your pious ones to the beasts of the earth. They have shed their blood like water around Jerusalem, And there was no one to bury them.(Psalms 79:3)“
Therefore, measure for measure. For they say, “peace, peace, when there is no peace. “ There is no vessel for God’s blessing. For only peace is the vessel for God's blessing.
19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army.
the beast and kings of the earth…war against him on the horse…and against his armies…They do not believe and do not know that they are defeated from the cross.
20 And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur.
the beast captured…with the false prophet…who deceived those who worshipped the beast…They are not able to make war with the truth. They are arrested by the truth, and they are simply taken away as having already been defeated before they ever stand to fight.
21 And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.
and the rest slain by the sword of the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse…The deceivers of the world are arrested by the truth, and those who served them are executed by hearing the truth — for it is only beneficial to make the judgment of the leaders of the lie a public judgment. See note on 19:17
All Scripture used here for the text of chapter 19 is from the NET translation.
