Revelation 19 Studies

For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each chapter is divided into a number of studies and each study or passage has a simple four-Part, verse-by-verse approach, to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage: Rev 19:1-9

1 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,
2     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.’

3 And again they shouted:

‘Hallelujah!
The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever.’

4 The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried:

‘Amen, Hallelujah!’

5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying:

‘Praise our God,
    all you his servants,
you who fear him,
    both great and small!’

6 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.
7 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.
8 Fine linen, bright and clean,
    was given her to wear.’

(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)

9 Then the angel said to me, ‘Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’ And he added, ‘These are the true words of God.’

A. Find Out:    

1. Who did John seem to be hearing? v.1
2. What were they proclaiming? v.2
3. Who else did he see and what were they doing? v.4
4. Then where did a voice come from and what did it command? v.5
5. What were they proclaiming? v.7a
6. How was the “bride” described? v.7b,8

B. Think:

1. How did the many voices speak (yes, speak)?
2. What does this seem to indicate?
3. What essentially were they doing?

C. Comment:

     First to note: WHO are the three different sets of voices recorded here? First there is a great multitude, presumably angels and the redeemed in heaven (see 5:11), then there are the elders and four creatures close to the throne and finally there is the voice from the throne itself (Jesus?).

     Second to note: WHAT are they doing? They are all proclaiming the will of God. The first group affirm that salvation comes from God alone and that His decisions to bring judgement are true and right always, especially as it has applied to the downfall of Babylon. The elders and beasts simply confirm that this is a right proclamation.

     Then comes the command from Jesus (because He always glorifies His Father) that the right response therefore is to praise God, for He is worthy of it. Then there is a final proclamation by all the hosts of heaven that the time has come for Christ and His church to be brought together. This is a truly glorious proclamation!

     Note in each case, except for the voice from the throne, they shout! There is an element of fervour in this that perhaps we would do well to imitate. They know the truth of what they say and they want all of heaven and earth to hear it, for it is truly wonderful!

D. Application:

1. Heaven declares the will of God; we are to conform to it!
2. The truth is worth proclaiming with fervour!

Passage: Rev 19:10-16

10 At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, ‘Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.’

11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. ‘He will rule them with an iron sceptre.’ He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:

king of kings and lord of lords.

A. Find Out:

1. Why did the angel reject John’s adoration? v.10
2. Who was the rider on a white horse and what was he to do? v.11
3. How is he described? v.12
4. What does he wear and what is his name? v.13
5. Who follows him? v.14
6. How does he war against his enemies? V.15
7. What is his name? v.16

B. Think:

1. What do his various names signify about this rider?
2. What do the various descriptions of him suggest about him?
3. How would you summarise his activity and the means of it?

C. Comment:

     Here is one of the most glorious and triumphant passages in the book! Here comes the Son of God as the conquering king. By His description in verse 13 it is clearly Jesus (see John 1:1,14). The fact that he has a name that no one else knows places Him far above any other being, and His name King of Kings and Lord of Lord confirms His supremacy; there is NO-ONE to compare with Him, He is high above all else!

     Justice is His measure and therefore He comes against all who deserve punishment and have not already had it taken by Himself on the Cross at Calvary. Justice will be meted out and all will get what they deserve. His eyes penetrate and pierce to the very innermost areas of a persons life; nothing is hidden from Him. His means of striking down the enemies of God and bringing justice will be by the declared word of God, the truth, that comes like a sword (see Hebrews 4:12,13). He is accompanied by a mighty host who have been redeemed and cleansed by the Lamb, yet He Himself is the prime mover against the enemy; they are more like a retinue than equal warriors.

D. Application:

1. Testimony to Jesus, comes again and again prophetically. All He would be, was spoken before it was. Now it will be!
2. Jesus WILL triumph, bringing justice, fury to those who deserve it!

Passage: Rev 19:17-21

17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in mid-air, ‘Come, gather together for the great supper of God, 18 so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and the mighty, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, great and small.’

19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army. 20 But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshipped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulphur. 21 The rest were killed with the sword coming out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.

A. Find Out:

1. Why were the birds called? v.17,18
2. Who made war against the rider? v.19
3. Who were captured? v.20a
4. What had they done? v.20b
5. What happened to them? v.20c
6. What happened to the rest? v.21

B. Think:

1. What, quite simply, is the end of the enemies of God?
2. How were most destroyed?

C. Comment:

     In one sense this is not the most enlightening piece of Scripture and yet in another it is just that. At first sight it is a gruesome sight given to us: an entire army wiped out and destroyed and left for the birds to eat, with the two main leaders being thrown into a lake of fire. Quite a harsh and violent end.

     But there in the good sense it is just that, the end! It is the end of the violence, the atrocities, the deception and the lies of the years and years that had gone by previously when these godless beings, entities or organisations had led astray the world’s population and progressively killed the people of God. It is also an end to the ongoing judgements of God that had sought to turn back mankind from its folly.

     Finally there is an end brought about by the word of God being spoken out in power and with authority by the Son of God Himself. The word that comes forth, the word of truth, is so devastating that none are left after it. We should always remember that mankind has deserved death and it has only been the grace and mercy of God that has not brought it in this manner before. In this sovereign act we see the supremacy of the Son of God, as He always has been, but now exercising that supremacy to usher in a new era. The unrighteous have been offered mercy but when they have refused it, only death is left.

D. Application:

1. God WILL be triumphant!
2. The unrighteous WILL be judged and found wanting!