Chapter Nineteen

The Triumph of Christ: Victory Over the Beast

19:1 And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God:

John now hears a great multitude of people praising God for His actions against Rome. Many people have been persecuted and murdered at the hands of the great whore, now God evens the score. He avenges His people and they are very thankful to see it. Alleluia is from the Greek word “allelouia,” which Thayer defines as “praise ye the Lord, Hallelujah.”[1] The intent of all these terms is to glorify and praise God for what he has done to Rome. Certainly if anyone is qualified to have “glory, and honor, and power” it is almighty God.

19:2 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.

“True and righteous are his judgments.” God did not unjustly punish Rome. The measures He used against her were harsh, but certainly not as harsh as what she had done to His people. She deserved everything she got, and then some.

“Which did corrupt the earth with her fornication.” The papacy’s evil influence spread over the entire Western world. Every nation was seduced into an immoral relationship with the great whore. Catholicism was an integral part of Western culture at that time—it permeated all aspects of society. The earth had truly been corrupted by the wicked influence of Rome.

“And hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.” Rome was responsible for literally spilling the blood of untold numbers of Christians, now God has turned the tables, and is spilling the blood of many Catholics, and destroying their position among the nations. For this, His servants are very thankful.

19:3 And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.

The inhabitants of Heaven continue to praise God for His avenging the blood of the saints. “Her smoke” has reference to the fact that she was set afire by the wrath of God. She continues to burn and no man can extinguish the flames. The smoke from her burning carcass rises so high that it appears to go on forever. This does not have reference to eternal punishment in Hell, although in the end the great whore is certain to be banished to that awful place.

19:4 And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; alleluia.

This is the last time we will see the twenty-four elders and the four beasts mentioned in Revelation. They first appeared back in chapter four, and have appeared several times since. But each time we see them they are always surrounding the throne of God praising Him, this instance is no exception. They fall down before Almighty God to praise and worship Him for His righteous judgment on the great whore. Being righteous, the elders and the beasts, were certainly glad to see the great evil beast judged by God, and her power and influence destroyed. While they had not been directly affected by her evil, they still had a great desire to see her destroyed. Any righteous person will always wish to see evil brought to a quick and decisive end.

19:5 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.

In the first three verses we saw a great multitude of God’s people praising Him for avenging them of Rome. Now we see a new voice speaking. This voice comes “out of the throne.” God is the one who sits upon the throne, but the words spoken by the voice do not sound as if they were spoken by God. The voice said, “praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him.” This seems to be someone else eliciting praise for God. It could perhaps be Christ who is at this time reigning in His kingdom. Revelation has already told us that Christ is also seated on the throne with God. “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne” (Revelation 3:21). So this is likely Christ exhorting all of God’s servants to praise Him.

Fear is from the Greek word “phobeo,” which Strong’s defines as: “to frighten, i.e. to be alarmed; by analogy to be in awe of, i.e. revere: -be (+ sore) afraid, fear (exceedingly), reverence.”[2] Clearly the intended meaning here is reverence. Everyone who has reverence for God should praise Him because of what He has just done. “Small and great” is included to reinforce the idea that ALL of God’s servants are expected to praise Him for His righteous actions against Rome. No one is too lowly or too lofty to be excluded from the praise of God.

19:6 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.

Now it seems as if the great multitude of the saved, the twenty-four elders, the four beasts, and possibly even Christ, all unite their voices in a very loud and powerful celebration of God’s greatness. They are filled with praise and adoration for the Almighty One.

Omnipotent is from the Greek word “pantokrator,” which Strong’s defines as “the all-ruling, that is God (as absolute and universal sovereign):-Almighty, Omnipotent.”[3] God possesses absolute power over everything and everyone. He is all powerful, and the great host praises Him, and rejoices that it is He who possesses this great power, because He also has the wisdom to wield the power properly.

19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

The great host also finds occasion to rejoice and celebrate because the time has come for the marriage of the Lamb. The Lamb has previously been clearly identified as Christ. He is to be married, and we are told that His wife has made herself ready, but she is not identified. By looking elsewhere in the New Testament we are able to discover the identity of Christ’s bride. It is the Church. On at least two occasions the Apostle Paul clearly referred to the relationship between Christ and the Church as a marriage. “Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God” (Romans 7:4). “For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ” (II Corinthians 11:2). The Church made itself ready for the marriage to Christ by, as the Apostle Paul said, being a “chaste virgin” in Christ. The Church was washed in the blood of the Lamb and thereby became worthy to become His bride.

19:8 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.

The bride was adorned in fine white linen for the marriage. The white color of the linen denotes her state of purity and innocence. The linen that she is clothed with is said to be “the righteousness of saints.” The Church is made up of the saints, so the righteousness of the saints is the righteousness of the Church. This righteousness comes about through obedience to God. “And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:24). So the bride of Christ has made herself ready for the marriage by submitting herself to God.

19:9 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.

The “he” which spoke to John here is an angel. He will identify himself as an angel in the next verse. This angel instructs John to write down a message. This message proclaims that those who are called to the marriage of the Lamb are very blessed. The reason that it is such a great blessing to be at this marriage is that if you are there it means you are a member of the Lord’s Church and have been redeemed by Christ. If you are not invited then it means you are not a member of His Church. Therefore an invitation to the marriage supper is the same as saying those who have been saved. Then the angel tells John that the things which he has said are “the true sayings of God.” It is not as though there was any doubt about this, but the angel just wishes to reaffirm that God is the author of these words.

19:10 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.

Apparently without thinking about what he was doing, John fell down at the feet of the angel who was talking to him with the intent of worshipping him. The angel quickly rebuked John for his actions, informing him that, as an angel, he is also a servant of God, and should not be worshipped. The Apostle Paul clearly taught that angels were not to be worshipped. “Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind” (Colossians 2:18). God is the only one to be worshipped. Back in chapter nine we discussed the subject of who and what may be worshipped. The conclusion was that only God and Christ can scripturally be worshipped. Man is not allowed to worship angels, images, idols, saints, or anything of the kind.

The angel told John he was his fellowservant. Although man is different than angels, he, like the angels, is expected to worship God. When the angel told John he was his fellowservant he also included “thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus.” Thus we see that the angels consider themselves as the brethren of all men who submit themselves to and obey God.

“For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” The spirit of something is what gives it life or substance. So to speak of the “spirit of prophesy” we are talking about what gives prophesy meaning and validity. This is, of course, the “testimony of Jesus.” We are certain that these prophesies will come true because they are the “testimony of Jesus.” Since He affirms that these things are true we should have no doubts about them whatsoever.

19:11 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.

Looking into Heaven, John sees a white horse. We will find that this is not the same white horse we saw in chapter six. That horse, and its rider, represented the period of great success and expansion for the Roman Empire. The so-called Pax Romana. The white horse we see here is ridden by one called “Faithful and True.” The next few verses will make it very apparent that this is Christ. The names faithful and true certainly do apply to Christ. He is the epitome of truth and faithfulness. He was faithful to His Father when He came to this earth and allowed Himself to suffer many things, including crucifixion, for the sake of man. And he has always been truthful, even when the truth hurt.

“In righteousness he doth judge and make war.” Christ does not judge as a man, but as God. Therefore His judgments are not subject to the human faults of pride, jealousy, greed, ignorance, and the many other things that cloud our perception of truth and reality. Christ is able to clearly see things as they are. He spoke of how judgment is to be carried out. “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment” (John 7:24).

Christ is said here to “make war.” This does not mean that He will lead a literal army on the field of battle. This is certain because of a statement He once made during His life here on earth. “Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence’” (John 18:36). Jesus’ warfare is not carnal but spiritual. He leads His angels, and those men who follow him, into battle against Satan and his forces. And as we have just seen He judges with righteous judgment, therefore He knows exactly who He should fight against.

19:12 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.

Christ’s eyes are here said to be like a flame of fire. This shows His ability to see through anything. He can burn away all barriers, and even see into the hearts of men. It illustrates the fact that nothing can be hidden from God. It is as the Hebrew letter says, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:12-3). Christ is often spoken of as the Word of God, and here we see the penetrating power of the Word.

“On his head were many crowns.” These symbolize conquest and victory. He has conquered death, sin, and Satan along with all things which are evil. The fact that He wears MANY crowns, and not just one, shows His supremacy over all other kings and rulers. He is “King of kings and Lord of lords” (I Timothy 6:15).

“And he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.” At the time Jesus came to the earth the Jews were steadfastly looking toward Heaven in anticipation of the arrival of their promised Messiah. Everyone was expecting a king who would restore the greatness of the nation of Israel. They were not at all expecting the Messiah to be who and what He was. Therefore they rejected Him.

Even Jesus’ own apostles did not fully understand His purpose. Peter made it clear that he understood who Jesus was. “And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 16:16-17). But, unfortunately, none of them understood what He was. They too were expecting Him to become a carnal king of Israel and lead the nation to great heights. Even after His crucifixion, as He was preparing to ascend back into Heaven, they still did not understand. “When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). But instead of restoring fleshly Israel, a few days after His ascension, Christ established spiritual Israel, the Church. No one knew Jesus’ name as a spiritual king.

19:13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

Vesture is from the Greek word “himation,” which Strong’s defines as “a dress (inner or outer):-apparel, cloke, clothes, garment, raiment, robe, vesture.”[4] This does not indicate any particular garment, thus we see that the article of clothing is not important. But the fact that the garment has been dipped in blood is significant. It is representative of His having shed His blood for mankind. He went to the cross and bled and died to atone for the sins of man.

“His name is called The Word of God.” Christ is often spoken of as the Word of God in the Bible. One good example is from the Apostle John. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). One view of the Godhead is to say that the Holy Spirit is the thoughts of God, and Christ is the words of God. This would imply that Christ is a kind of spokesman for God. He clearly identified Himself as such during His earthly ministry. “For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak” (John 12:49). So in a sense, Christ was the spokesman for God while on the earth. He communicated the love which God had for man throughout His life and especially in His death, love that ordinary words could not convey. Christ demonstrated the love, mercy, and grace of God, which He perfectly embodied.

19:14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

In verse eleven we saw that Christ makes war, now we see the army which He leads into battle. His army is said to be in Heaven. This does not, however, imply that His army is made up of angels, although they certainly do battle for the cause of righteousness. We must keep in mind that John is seeing all of these visions in Heaven. He saw Christ in Heaven riding a white horse, certainly His army would be right behind Him, which would also place them in Heaven, even if they are not heavenly beings. The Bible often speaks of the Christian life in terms of a battle, but the distinction is clearly made that the battle is not a carnal one. “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds)” (II Corinthians 10:3-4). And the enemy that Christians must fight is the Devil and those corrupt men who have allied themselves with him. “Put on the whole amour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:11-12). So Christ’s army, which He leads into battle, is the redeemed from the earth, the Church, along with the angels. They also ride on white horses as Christ does. This shows that they also have been victorious in battle. They have conquered Satan and his evil forces by joining the army of God. And again, just as Christ was described, these people are dressed in clean white clothing. This shows their purity and innocence as the children of God. They have been washed clean by the blood of the Lamb, and are now worthy to ride with Him into battle.

19:15 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.

Back in chapter one where Christ was described at length, He was said to have a sharp two-edged sword coming from His mouth. His sword is His speech. His words are the words of God. “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). The weapon of the righteous in their battle against evil is also the word of God.

“That with it he should smite the nations.” Christ will use His sword to fight against the evil heathen nations. With it He brought an end to paganism in Rome and Christianity began to overspread Europe. When it was delivered back to the common people it shook up the entire Western world by sparking the Reformation. Through this He eventually brought about the end of papal Rome. And certainly it has had significant effects on many nations throughout history which would be a little more difficult to document. Christ even warned the early apostate Roman Church, in His letter to Pergamos (313-533), that He would use this weapon against them if they did not repent. “Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth” (Revelation 2:16).

“He shall rule them with a rod of iron.” This was prophesied concerning Christ by David (Psalms 2:9), and we have already seen it mentioned in chapters two and twelve here in Revelation. It means that Christ’s rule will be strict and unyielding. He will not make any concessions to the forces of evil, nor will He permit His people to be involved with evil things. He will demand strict adherence to His teachings and will reject all who disobey Him. “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:48).

“And he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.” The authority to judge has been given to Christ. “For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: and hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man” (John 5:22, 27). In chapter fourteen we saw that the wicked of the earth, who were compared to grapes, were to be reaped and cast into “the great winepress of the wrath of God.” To obtain the juice from grapes it is required that someone walks on them to squeeze out all of the juice. Here we are told that Christ is to be the one who treads out these grapes. In other words, He will be the one who brings about the judgment against Rome, which we have already read about, as well as all other evil men.

19:16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

The vesture was mentioned in verse thirteen to be an unspecified article of clothing. On this vesture as well as on His thigh the title “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” is written. This name shows his supremacy above all other kings and leaders. His power is absolute, He shares it with no one. He is the head of the Church, despite the contradictory claims of the pope. “And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence” (Colossians 1:18). The pope seeks to exalt himself and claims that he, not Christ, is the head of the Church. This claim is clearly a direct contradiction of the Bible. Christ is indeed Lord and King of all.

When Jesus was crucified He was derivisively given a title. “And the superscription of his accusation was written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS” (Mark 15:26). Notice that this title was His “accusation.” He was accused of being something, a king, that He really was not. But here in Revelation we see that He really was a king after all. However, He allowed Himself to be crucified unjustly so that He might redeem the unjust.

19:17 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;

We have now seen the sun used numerous times to represent a great power. In chapter sixteen, the fourth vial was poured out upon the sun, which was the pope himself. I believe that here again we see the sun representing the papacy. The angel is symbolically standing in the midst of Rome and inviting all the birds of the air to come to the “supper of the great God.” This supper is not to be a joyous event for Rome, as the next verse will show. The idea is that Rome and her immoral partners are about to be destroyed, and the angel is giving the vultures a heads up. They can begin circling overhead now, because very soon there will be an abundance of food for them, because of the terrible death and destruction which will soon begin.

19:18 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.

The vultures and other scavengers will have a wide menu to choose from. They can devour the flesh of the rich and powerful or the poor and destitute. Death will prevail over all who serve the beast, and the vultures can eat at their leisure. This verse points out that no one will be immune from the slaughter. God will not play favorites, “both free and bond, both small and great,” will fall victim to His wrath. Of course all of this is symbolic. Certainly many people did die, and no doubt some were even devoured by vultures. But the intended meaning of this passage is to show the devastation which is to be wrought against the beast. It shows the desolation and destruction brought upon the great whore and her lovers by Christ because of their sins against Him and His people. After any great battle dead bodies would be a common sight, and this battle is no exception. Typically the bodies will be gathered together and buried or burned. In this case, however, no one cares enough to properly dispose of the carcasses. This really shows that Rome’s evil partners had no real love for her, the kings and merchants were simply parasites who owed much of their wealth and power to the beast.

19:19 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.

The great beast and all the kings of the earth, who were his allies, gathered themselves together to battle against Christ and His army of Christians. This is not a literal battle, but a spiritual battle between Satan and Christ, and the men who follow each of them. This war is actually not confined to a short period of time, but has really extended over the entire Christian age. We are just seeing the culmination of it here in this last great battle of the war. The two sides continue to battle back and forth until Christ eventually emerges victorious.

19:20 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.

We know that the beast is the Roman Catholic Church. The false prophet was also seen in chapter sixteen, where we said it was the Holy Roman Empire. The beast was the organization, the papacy, while the false prophet was the “front man” for this corrupt organization. It definitely qualified itself to be called a false prophet by they way it urged all men to bow down to and worship the papacy. Just as any good prophet of God exhorts men to bow down and worship God.

The way we can identify the Holy Roman Empire as being the false prophet referred to in this verse is to examine this false prophet’s relationship with the beast. The verse tells us that the false prophet wrought miracles before the beast. We have said previously that real miracles were not performed, but this represents the exercise of great power. We saw where this exact thing was done in chapter thirteen by the second of the two beasts. The beast which “had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon” (Revelation 13:11). We identified this beast as the Holy Roman Empire back in chapter thirteen when we first saw him. And there, just like here in our present verse, he is said to have wrought miracles before the first beast, the papacy. “And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live” (Revelation 13:12-14).

The mark of the beast represents those who recognize the pope as the supreme head of the universal Church. The image of the beast is the appearance that the old Roman Empire had been revived with the coming of the Holy Roman Empire. The fate of the beast and the false prophet is the lake of fire. The papacy and her secular arm, the Holy Roman Empire, are destined to be defeated and cast into the lake filled with fire and brimstone, which is eternal Hell.

19:21 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.

“The remnant” are those who have received the mark of the beast and who worship his image. The organization and its secular agency were cast into the lake of fire in the last verse, but all those who submitted to this evil power have yet to be judged. Christ then leads His army against them and kills them with the sword. This is not literal of course, but refers to the eventual fate of all those who reject God in favor of the papacy. They will be overcome by Christ’s sword, which is His word, which will judge them in the last day, and condemn them to the lake of fire also.

“The fowls of the air were filled with their flesh.” This continues the analogy to an actual battle. After a real battle bodies are scattered all over the battlefield. The birds would then make a feast of the carcasses of the fallen. This pictures the utter and complete defeat of the beast and his forces. There will not even be anyone left to bury the bodies. They will simply be left for the vultures to gorge themselves. And what the vultures cannot eat will be left to rot. This is certainly a gruesome scene and would certainly produce a horrible stench. But it is nothing to be compared to the sickening odors of sin and abominations that Rome polluted the world with for far too long.