The Strand Study Bible

REVELATION 18:20  19:9

2171

Written From the Island of Patmos

20 1 Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath 2 avenged you on her. 21 And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the 3 sea, saying, 4 Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found 5 no more at all. 22 And the voice of harpers, and musi- cians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard 5 no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be , shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; 23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard 5 no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. 24 And in her was found the blood of 6 prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth. Revelation 19

2 For true and righteous are 9 his judg- ments: for 10 he hath judged the 11 great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, 12 and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. 3 And again they said, Alleluia. 13 And her smoke rose up for ever and ever. 4 And the 14 four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped GOD that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia. 5 And a voice came out of the throne, saying, 15 Praise our God, all ye his ser- vants, 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 thun- derings, saying, Alleluia: for the LORD GOD omnipotent reigneth. The Marriage Supper of the LAMB begins 7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to HIM : for the marriage of the 16 LAMB is come, and his 17 wife hath made herself ready. 8 And to 17 her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and 18 white: for the fine linen is the 19 righ- teousness of saints. 9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the mar- riage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

1. Jere 51:10,48 Note - That the angel (vs 1-2) specifically addresses people living in Heaven ( Rejoice over her, thou heaven ) indicates they’re aware of what’s happening on earth. 2. Jere 50:15,28 & 51:6,11,36

3. Jere 51:42 4. Jere 51:12 5. Jere 50:29,39 & 51:37,43 6. Jere 50:7,33 & Rev 16:6 & 17:6 7. Rev 11:15 8. Jere 51:10,48 9. Rev 3:7 & 16:7 10. Jn 5:22

11. or, “false religious system now centered in Rome” - Rev 17:18 12. Deut 32:43 & Psa 137:8 13. Isa 34:10 14. or, “Christians” - Rev 4:4-6 15. Psa 134:1 16. Jn 1:29 17. or, “the bride of Christ; the Church” - II Cor 11:2 & Eph 5:23-27 18. Rev 3:4-5,18 19. or, “good works” - Psa 132:9

The saints in Heaven rejoice over the destruction of “Political” Babylon Date Written - c. AD 96

1 And after these things 7 I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, 8 Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:

18:21 Whereas “religious” Babylon (Rev 17) represents the false religious system of the world ( Rev 17:5,7 ), “political” Babylon (Rev 18), which is represented by the city of Babylon here, represents the world system and how it operates. C. Anderson Scott in The New Century Bible Revelation notes: It is difficult to doubt, after examining this description, that the Apostle had a real city in view; whatever spiritual application we may give to it is not the primary, but a secondary interpretation. 1 18:22 The Apostle John foresaw the day when the world and all it’s entertainment (music, sports, Hollywood, Disney, etc.) would disappear ( shall be heard no more ) forever ( at all in thee ). Lehman Strauss in Revelation notes: No more mirth and no more music. How sad! All entertainers and entertainment disappear forever. But it was not the kind of music that honored God. Earth’s music had its origin with Jubal, a descendant of Cain and son Lamech, the first polygamist (Genesis 4:16-21). Dr. Ironside said, “Music charmed the weary sons of Cain as they sought to make themselves happy in this world apart from God.” The world today attempts to escape the realities of life by listening to modern jive and jazz from morning till night, but all to no avail. One day the Lord will blot it all out. 2 19:1 " Salvation , glory , honor , and power" belongs to the entire Triune Godhead (Rev 7:10, Psa 3:8 and Gen 2:4 ). 19:9 After the Rapture of the Church ( Rev 4:1 ) and the JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST (II Cor 5:10-11) a marriage will take place in heaven between the Church (the bride) and the Lord Jesus (Bridegroom). While the earth is suffering through the Tribulation, the Church will be enjoying a heavenly wedding, followed by a feast. “ They which are called ” are guests who have been invited to the feast. Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins in Are We Living in the End Times? note:

Who are these guests invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb? Not the members of the church, for they are the bride. We get one clue from John 3:29, where John the Baptist identified himself as a “friend of the bridegroom.” We believe the guests will be faithful Old Testament saints, including those who died or were martyred in the Tribulation. 3

1 Scott, C. Anderson. The New Century Bible Revelation , New York, NY, Oxford University Press. Print. 2 Strauss, Lehman. Revelation , Neptune, NJ, Loizeaux Brothers, 1964. Print. 3 Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. Are We Living in the End Times? , Wheaton, ILL, Tyndale, 1999. Print.