Christ the Victor
‘Look up’, a time of triumph and celebration is coming. Are you ready?
Babylon the Great, the kingdom of this world, has fallen. How are we to respond to the economic chaos and persecution which follows? Revelation 18: 20 calls on us to rejoice! Those whose treasure is stored in heaven will not have sufered loss. They will rejoice because the kingdom of this world has received its long-deserved judgment.
We will rejoice for Jesus has assured us that, “when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads because your redemption draws near.” Men’s hearts will fail from fear of what is coming on the earth. But those who know their God will be confdent that soon they will see their King.
Celebrations and triumph. Revelation 19:1 – 20:3
This rejoicing is taken up in heaven with a fourfold Allelujah. Alleluja is from two Hebrew words meaning ‘Praise the Lord’. First, the multitude cry out, “Alleluja, Salvation and glory and honour and power belong to the Lord our God” (Revelation 19:1). It is the same salvation theme that the vast multitude of the saved sing when standing before the throne after the sixth seal is opened (Revelation 7:12). God is praised for the justice of His judgment which has avenged the blood of His servants.
Again, the multitude cry Alleluja in response to the judgment which has fallen on Babylon. Her smoke rises for ever. Never again will there be a kingdom of this world in opposition to God. The elders and Living Creatures echo this praise with the words “Amen! Alleluia!” Amen means truth. All that the multitude say is true. The Lord our God is worthy. The praise concludes with “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!” Omnipotent means all powerful. He is truly King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
The wedding feast
Babylon has fallen, ‘the marriage supper of the Lamb’, is soon to follow. We are told that the bride has made herself ready and been granted to be arrayed in fne linen. In the customs of the Jewish wedding, after the betrothal ceremony, there would be a period, usually a year, before the wedding took place. In that year the Bride would spend her time preparing the wedding garment.
This would be a linen garment, which she would embroider, to make it as beautiful as possible, in readiness for the great day when the bridegroom would return to take her to the marriage feast. In Revelation the garments are not made beautiful by embroidery but by the righteous acts of the saints (Revelation 19: 8).
The verse is careful to say “granted to her”, to wear the fine linen. These righteous acts are not of our own doing but the work of the Holy Spirit living in us. It should be the supreme desire of all of us who are born again of the Holy Spirit, to allow Him to work in our lives so that the way we live is pleasing to our Lord. We will then have beautiful garments to wear on that great day.
Who is the Bride?
There will be a wedding feast, but who is the bride? If you put that question to a Christian the most likely answer is ‘the church’. Jesus set much of His ministry into the context of the customs surrounding the Jewish wedding. He spoke of guests invited to a wedding feast (Matthew 22:1–14). As a bridegroom He would come and take us to the place He had prepared for us (John 14:3).
He likened His followers to 10 virgins waiting for the bridegroom (Matthew 25:1 – 13). He referred to Himself as the Bridegroom (Matthew 9:15, Mark 2: 19).
Paul saw himself in the role of a matchmaker presenting the Church at Corinth to Christ (2 Corinthians 11: 2) and the relationship between husbands and wives should be a picture of Christ and His church (Ephesians 5:25–27).
If our studies were based solely on the New Testament it would be reasonable to conclude that the Church was the Bride of Christ.
The Bridegroom
The Bible for John the Baptist was the Old Testament. In John 3:29 we read that he called Jesus the Bridegroom. In John’s mind there would have been no doubt as to the identity of the bride. The Lord [Jehovah] already had a wife, “Return, O backsliding children, says the Lord, for I am married to you” (Jeremiah 3:14).
This is a theme picked up in Jeremiah 31:31,32. The prophet Jeremiah understood the covenant made at Sinai as a betrothal. At that time, God committed Himself to Israel, as a husband commits himself to a wife. After the Lord called Israel out of Egypt, under the canopy of cloud that covered the mountain, He gave Israel His marriage contract, the Mosaic Law.
Israel broke her side of the contract. Despite Israel’s adultery the Lord cannot break His side of the agreement for He hates divorce (Malachi 2:16). One day God will renew the marriage contract. “For a mere moment I have forsaken you, but with great mercy I will gather you” (Isaiah 54:7). The time is coming when the Lord, as a husband, will show everlasting kindness to Israel (Isaiah 54:4–8). The story of Hosea and Gomer graphically depicts the heartbreak that the Lord experienced over Israel’s unfaithfulness. It also contains the promise of renewal. The Lord will betroth Israel to Himself for ever (Hosea 2:16,19,20).
By declaring Jesus to be the Bridegroom, John the Baptist was not voicing a new revelation. He was stating that Jesus the bridegroom was Jehovah the Lord God of Israel.
If Israel is the bride, what about the church?
The church is grafted into the rootstock from which Israel the natural branches were broken off (Romans 11: 24–29). We inherit the promises given to Israel by becoming part of Israel. When Jesus commissioned the disciples to go into all nations, He was declaring that the Gentiles could also be joined with Israel in His bride. There is one bride and one bridegroom for both Jew and Gentile.
The feast will take place on earth, for it is to the earth that Jesus and His followers return and it is on the earth that renewed Israel is to be found. The betrothal of Israel to the Lord took place at Sinai under the canopy of cloud (Deuteronomy 4:11-13). The consummation of the marriage will also take place under a covering spread by God. There will be a canopy over mount Zion (Isaiah 4:5). The word used here for covering is chuppah, which is also used for the wedding canopy. It is on Mount Zion that the Lord will make a feast for all peoples (Isaiah 25: 6–9).
The penultimate battle
The raptured church is to return, as the armies of heaven, with Christ, to Jerusalem. When the frst of the seals was broken it revealed a rider on a white horse. This rider represented man’s eforts to rule this earth independently from God culminating in the Antichrist. Jesus Christ is now revealed as the Son of Man who will bring the rule of God to the whole earth. He is the only man who can hold the reins of world power and ensure peace, justice and blessing for all mankind.
His names portray His character, integrity and authority. In contrast to all the lies and deceit of the Beast and the false prophet, He is faithful to His promises, never failing those who trust Him. He is the truth, which evil men have denied, choosing the lies of Satan in its place.
A name no one can know. It is a secret between Him and His Father, hidden from men and angels. There is an unsearchable intimacy in the deity which none of His creation can understand or share. Word of God, is used by John in his gospel and frst letter. It is the energising Word of power that spoke worlds into being and healed the blind and lame.
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. He is Lord of heaven and earth. He comes not in meekness but power. Once He entered Jerusalem, on a donkey, and was rejected by His own people. Now He comes as conqueror, riding on a white horse, to be accepted as King.
A garment dipped in blood. Isaiah 63:3 speaks of the day of vengeance of our God. “I have trodden the winepress alone; from the nations no one was with me. I trampled them in my anger and trod them down in my wrath; their blood spattered my garments, and I stained all my clothing”. Jesus shed His own blood to purchase men from out of this world. He alone brought salvation and He alone will bring retribution.
The rod of Iron. The one who had compassion on the sheep when he saw that they were without a shepherd will shepherd the nations with a rod of iron. [Psalm 2:9]
The Feast of Creation
A grim terrible picture follows, which may offend. The natural world, which has suffered so long from man’s sin, is invited to celebrate being rid of those who have caused so much destruction. It is a reference back to Ezekiel 39:17–20 where it is called a sacrifcial meal.
The battle over, the beast and false prophet are the frst to be consigned to the lake of fre. Satan will not yet sufer that fate. He is imprisoned for a thousand years. God will use him one last time, which we will look at in the next article.