The false church of the end times is no more. The capital city of the Antichrist is burning. The end times economy has collapsed and those who trusted in the wrong things are in mourning. The main events of the Great Tribulation are finished at this point except for the battle of Armageddon. Hallelujahs break out in heaven because of the righteous judgments of God and because the eternal reign of Christ is soon to begin on the earth.
"After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven, shouting: 'Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for true and just are His judgments. He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood of His servants.'" (Revelation 19:1-2) In Chapter 6 we saw the souls of the martyred saints asking how much longer it would be until the Lord avenged them. The judgment these saints longed for has come. In Chapter 6 the saints called the Lord "holy and true" because they knew His righteousness would not allow Him to overlook the wrongs done to them. In verse 2 of our passage today these saints praise Him for being the "true and just" God they always believed Him to be.
"And again they shouted: 'Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.'" (Revelation 19:3) The judgment of the Babylon of the end times is irrevocable. Babylon will never rise again. I can't say whether this city will literally burn forever or whether it's a symbolic statement when these saints say, "The smoke from her goes up forever and ever." I think it's possible that the city does smoke for eternity so that all the martyred saints of God will have a daily reminder of the faithfulness of God.
There is an underground coal mine fire in Centralia, Pennsylvania that has been burning since 1962. No one knows how to put it out. It's believed now that it can't be put out. The only way this fire will ever stop burning is when its fuel source---the coal---has been entirely depleted. It's not impossible to imagine that a city like Babylon might remain on fire forever, especially when that fire is the result of God's holy judgment. His holiness can never be depleted.
"The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried: 'Amen, Hallelujah!'" (Revelation 19:4) The four living creatures stand before the throne of God day and night, as we learned early on in our study of Revelation. We met the twenty-four elders early on too, right after John in his vision was called up to heaven. It is largely accepted by many mainstream scholars that these elders represent the church that was called out of the world in the rapture before the Great Tribulation began. If these elders represent the church, then they have an extra reason to rejoice, for what is known as "the wedding of the Lamb" is soon to take place. This is an event the church (the bride of Christ) has longed for.
"Then a voice came from the throne, saying, 'Praise our God, all you His servants, you who fear Him, both great and small!'" (Revelation 19:5) We don't know the owner of this voice that comes from the area of the throne. Since the voice says "our God", it may be the voice of a saint or of an angel standing very near the throne. This could be the voice of Jesus Christ. Though Christ is God, during His earthly life we found Him addressing God in the same way any of us would, as "our God". When He taught the disciples how to pray, He began the prayer by saying "our Father". Christ identified Himself with mankind in every way, and while He lived as a man on the earth He related to God as a man relates to God, so I wouldn't find it odd if here in verse 5 it's His voice who refers to God the Father as "our God".
"Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: 'Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.' (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God's holy people.)" (Revelation 19:6-8) The praises of the multitude in heaven are so mighty that they shake the ground like powerful peals of thunder. In the same way that a person standing near a great waterfall can hear nothing but the sound of the rushing water, John can hear nothing other than the shouts of praise. I get chills just thinking about this scene. I become teary-eyed imagining how powerful the praise will be when we stand face to face with our mighty God, with nothing between us and Him and with nothing to hinder our praise: no sin, no temptation, no troubles and trials. I praise our God for this blessed hope and for the day when all these hopes come true! I praise the Lord that the day is coming when we can say that, in every way and in every corner of the creation, "The Lord God Almighty reigns!"
We will be taking a short break from our study while I go out of town tomorrow through Monday, so we will pick back up right here on Tuesday morning. A beautiful wedding is going to take place when we return, the most beautiful wedding ever. Our temporary pause in the study allows us to look forward to and imagine this wedding with great anticipation. Like a bride who counts off the days before the blessed event takes place, we are counting off the days until we---the bride of Christ---stand beside our Bridegroom dressed all in white.
Let's close today with a link to a song of praise to our God.
When The Stars Burn Down
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