The Marriage of the Lamb
Revelation 19:6-10
The marriage of the lamb
Revelation 19:6-10
Main Idea: We prepare for the marriage of the Lamb through grace-fueled repentance, faith, and worship.
I. The Lamb (19:6, 10)
Revelation continually emphasizes that what awaits us at the end of time is the reign of Triune God over all of creation. The chaos of the world right now, seduced by the influence of the great harlot (17:1-6), the mighty beast (17:8-13) , and the ancient serpent (12:1-9) over the kingdoms of this world will one day come to a definitive and decisive end (cf. 12:11; 17:14).
Revelation 11:15: Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”
John is so overcome by the glorious, good news of this vision that he begins to worship the messenger (19:10). He is quickly reminded that the angel is a “fellow servant” and he must worship God alone. Though this “unveiling” seems almost too good to believe, John is reassured that the testimony and revelation of Jesus are true.
II. The Bride (19:7)
The announcement of the certain reign of the Lord and the Lamb over all of creation should produce rejoicing, exultation, and glory from his people, because it ushers in the long-awaited “marriage of the Lamb.” The picture of the Lord as the groom and his people as the bride is found all throughout Scripture (cf. Isa. 54:5; 62:4-5; Jer. 3:20; Hosea; Mt. 22:1-14; 25:1-12) and finds its consummation here.
In the time of the Bible, weddings had the following pattern:
The couple would become “betrothed” (engaged), often arranged ahead of time
The groom would pay a “dowry” to the father of the bride during
The wedding would begin with a processional of the bride to the home of her husband; great preparations were made for this presentation to her groom
The groom then receives his bride and the lengthy (often week-long) wedding feast begins
“The kingdom and the marriage are two aspects of the same reality, when God will finally be our all in all (1 Cor. 15:28), with no more distance, no more absence, no more waiting, but faith finally turned into sight, hope into possession, and earthly sorrows into pleasures forevermore... Unlike the marriage of the Lord with his old-covenant people Israel, which failed miserably, now the bride is so fully prepared for the approach of her glorious husband that she will be unable ever to spoil this eternal marriage.”
~ Ray Ortlund, Marriage and the Mystery of the Gospel
III. The Dress (19:8)
The clothing for the bride of the Lamb is meant to be in contrast to the gaudy appearance of the harlot (cf. 18:16). This “dress” represents both sides of our salvation, both our justification and our sanctification:
Justification: “it was granted to her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure…” (cf. 7:14; Eph. 5:27; Matt. 22:11-14)
Sanctification: “... for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.” (cf. Isa. 61:10; Eph. 2:10; 1 Jn. 1:9)
Titus 2:11–14: For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
“The gospel calls us to cleanse ourselves from everything dishonorable (2 Tim. 2:21) and to reach by faith and repentance for everything excellent (2 Pet. 1:3-11). This is the bride’s part, for the strong hope of that glorious wedding celebration above acts upon us now with purifying power (1 Jn. 3:2-3). And it is important to see that the bride does not wait to prepare herself until after all her oppressors have been judged and dispensed with… the church remains under pressure during her season of preparation. But her calling is not to defeat her enemies; her calling is to make herself ready for her groom.”
~ Ray Ortlund, Marriage and the Mystery of the Gospel
IV. The Invitation (19:9)
The angel tells John: “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the lamb” (cf. Lk. 14:15) This is the fourth ‘blessed’ promise of Revelation (cf. 1:3; 14:13; 16:15). We resist the seductive ploys of the great harlot of Babylon by living our lives in anticipation for this immeasurably great and endlessly glorious banquet feast that awaits the saints in the future.
Isaiah 25:6-9: On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,
of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
And he will swallow up on this mountain
the covering that is cast over all peoples,
the veil that is spread over all nations.
He will swallow up death forever;
and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,
and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,
for the Lord has spoken.
It will be said on that day,
“Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.
This is the Lord; we have waited for him;
let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
Hallelujah!
Revelation 18:20-19:5
Hallelujah!
Revelation 18:20-19:5
Main Idea: We are summoned to join the hallelujah chorus of heaven because Babylon will be judged and defeated.
I. The Harlot Condemned (18:20-24)
While the kings of the earth (18:9), merchants (18:11), and sailors (18:17) “weep and mourn” over the fall of Babylon, the “saints, apostles, and prophets” are commanded to rejoice in God’s judgment over the great harlot and the wicked city (18:20; cf. Rev. 6:10).
Jeremiah 51:47-49: Therefore, behold, the days are coming
when I will punish the images of Babylon;
her whole land shall be put to shame,
and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.
Then the heavens and the earth,
and all that is in them,
shall sing for joy over Babylon,
for the destroyers shall come against them out of the north,
declares the Lord.
Babylon must fall for the slain of Israel,
just as for Babylon have fallen the slain of all the earth.
The mighty angel throws a “great millstone” into the sea (cf. Jer. 51:60-64), symbolic of the total and complete judgment that will be poured out on Babylon. The emphasis of Babylon’s final judgment is on what will be “no more” (6x):
No more music (18:22a)
No more industry & work (18:22b)
No more light (18:23a; cf. 21:23)
No more weddings (18:23b)
The reason for Babylon’s judgment is threefold:
1. Self-glorification (18:23c; cf. Gen. 11); Babylon’s merchants were pridefully the “great ones” of the earth, who propped themselves up by exploitation and greed.
“The chief purpose of humanity, according to [Revelation], is to glorify God and to enjoy him, not to glorify yourself and enjoy your own achievements. Self-glorification necessitates judgment in which a forced humbling occurs. It is idolatrous for Babylon and her allies to call themselves “great.” This title is reserved only for the true God. To focus on humanity as the center of everything and to forget God is the greatest sin.”
~ G.K. Beale, The Book of Revelation (NIGTC)
2. Deceptive influence and seduction of the nations to idolatry (18:23d)
3. Persecution and violence toward the prophets and saints (18:24). “It’s important to think of judgment and its horrific finality not primarily in terms of the suffering it inflicts but in terms of the just retribution it represents.” ~ D.A. Carson
II. The Hallelujah Chorus (19:1-5)
After John is shown the final judgment and the end of Babylon, the worship in heaven is unveiled to him. The “great multitude in heaven” cries out with a loud voice: “Hallelujah!” (lit. “Praise God!”; 4x in Rev. 19; cf. Ps. 146-150).
This burst of ‘Hallelujah’ praise is because of:
God’s salvation: He rescues us out of Babylon by the victory of the Lamb (cf. 12:11; 17:13; Eph. 1:3-14).
God’s glory: He is eternally ‘weighty,’ significant, and consequential.
God’s power: He alone is ‘immeasurably great, not mighty Babylon or Rome (cf. Eph. 1:19-20).
God’s perfect justice: He has avenged Babylon in righteousness for her immorality. (19:2a; cf. Rom. 12:18)
“That’s the goal of everything the angel has been revealing. That’s what the whole book of Revelation is about. That’s the point of all God’s judgments, all God’s dealings with the world. All God’s plans for history from beginning to end have this one goal— worship God! Don’t worship the wealth of Babylon, don’t worship the power of Babylon, don’t worship the pleasures of Babylon, and don’t even worship the holy messenger who brings you the news that Babylon has fallen forever. Worship God! ... God let John hear the celebration of heaven so that in his exile and his suffering he might join in and worship God. And John wrote it down in a book so that we might listen to the worship of heaven and join in.”
~ John Piper, “Worship God!”
In response to the loud, exuberant, joyful worship of heaven, the twenty-four elders (representing the totality of God’s people) and the four living creatures (representing all of creation) join the chorus: “Amen. Hallelujah!” (2 Cor. 1:19-20). As the hallelujah chorus swells, a voice from the throne summons all of God’s servants, “small and great,” to join in worship (19:5; cf. Ps. 115:13).
“Corporate worship is the declaration in the midst of Babylon that we will not be drawn into her harlotries because we have found in God the satisfaction of our souls. Corporate worship is the public savoring of the worth of God and the beauty of God and power of God and the wisdom of God. Worship is an open declaration to all the powers of heaven and to all of Babylon that we will not prostitute our minds or our hearts or our bodies to the allurements of the world. Though we may live in Babylon, we will not be captive to Babylonian ways. And we will celebrate with all our might the awesome truth that we are free from that which will be destroyed... Corporate worship is the blatant, public savoring of God in the midst of a seductive Babylonian culture. Worship is the flagrant, open enjoyment of God as the fountain of life. It is a public declaration that God is more to be desired than all the pleasures of Babylon.”
~ John Piper, “Worship God!”
Psalm 150:6: Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!
Come Out of Her, My People
Revelation 18:1-20
Come out of Her, My People
REvelation 18:1-20
Main Idea: We who belong to Jesus are free from Babylon and commanded to break up with her.
I. What is Going on Here?
God is bringing judgment on Babylon.
Babylon is iconic as not just a place or an empire, but as a pattern of power opposed to God. As such, Babylon symbolizes political power used unjustly, economic exploitation, cultural arrogance, and moral corruption.
Revelation 18 predicts the utter and final fall of Babylon as a fiat accompli which occurs in history at the return of Jesus. (Revelation 19)
1. Why is Babylon judged? For her iniquities.
“Her sins are heaped high as heaven and God has remembered her iniquities.” (18:5)
She glorifies herself imagining she is entitled to the outlandish luxury she enjoys at other’s expense. So established is her mark on human history, she thinks she can never be dethroned. But her extensive network of seduction, commerce and might is nothing more than a "dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit” and beast. Her unequalled might amounts to nothing but smoke and debris before the Lord God almighty who has judged her.
2. How is Babylon judged? Suddenly and completely.
“Her plagues will come in a single day, death and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire.” (18:8)
Whereas the plagues of Egypt played out over weeks and months, the plagues Babylon faces will happen “in a single day,” more specifically, “in a single hour!” Even those drunk with the wine of her excesses will recognize it for what it is: JUDGMENT (18:10)
In the ancient world, as in our own, fire is representative of total loss. When a thing is “burned up,” it will never be repaired. It will never be seen again. The “smoke of her burning” is the only thing left to prove she was ever there.
3. What reaction does Babylon’s destruction produce? It depends on your relationship to her.
There is weeping and mourning among those who had become dependent upon her and entangled with her in her crimes. (18:9-19) This community is made up of:
“All nations (who) have drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality,”
“The kings of the earth (who) have committed immorality with her,”
“The merchants of the earth (who) have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living.” (18:3)
II. What are We to Do?
Come out of her, my people
A death sentence has just been passed on “Babylon the great.” We are to decisively, determinedly, and definitively “break up with” Babylon, “lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.” (18:1-5)
The text lists two reasons for this “break up”
1. We can neither resist her wiles nor escape her plagues if we stay.
Keep in mind that “all nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living.” (Rev 18:3) You are a fool to think that you shall resist or escape what these could not.
2. We do not belong to her.
We are GOD’S PEOPLE. We belong to Him because He loves us and has freed us from our sins by Jesus’ blood. The very Son of God was slain for us, and by His blood He ransomed a people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and Jesus has made us a kingdom and priests to God, and we shall reign on the earth. (Rev. 1:5-6; 5:9-10)
We may reside in the precincts of Babylon and live out our days under her dread shadow - just as John was in exile on Patmos and his readers lived out their lives under Rome’s heavy hand - but we no longer belong to her.
III. How are We Supposed to Do it?
While this specific passage only gives the high-level command, keep in mind that the entire Revelation was written to seven churches just like ours. These people in the churches were the “my people” to whom the voice from heaven was speaking directly.
1. Repent
The first step to breaking up with Babylon is brutal specificity and ruthless honesty about the sins she has lured you into with an eye to killing them! Repentance requires admitting the specific ways in which we are “drinking the wine of her sexual immorality” and forsaking it.
Repentance is not a generalized uncomfortable feeling about some vague shortcoming you may or may not have. It is a specific awareness of a pattern of behavior that is either luring you into bed with Babylon or proof that you are already in bed with Babylon.
2. Remember
The second step is to remember Whose you are and re-orient your identity to Jesus and to Jesus alone. It is this remembering that strengthened the suffering saints in Smyrna to “be faithful unto death” (Rev 2:10) and enabled the succeeding saints in Philadelphia to “hold fast what (they) have, so that no one may seize (their) crown.” (Rev 3:11)
3. Overcome
Those who “overcome” are those who “conquer.” This idea shows up in each of the letters to the seven churches. It refers to those now anchored in Christ who re-structure their lives to pursue holiness and love, purity and peace, righteousness and virtue. This kind of life is made possible because they hear and obey “what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Rev 2:7,11,17 26; 3:5,12,21)
4. Rejoice.
This is how we know we have “broken up with” Babylon. At one time in our lives, we were “drunk” at her party along with everyone else. For now, we are forced to live in the shadow of her tenement and endure the humiliations and persecutions she doles out to her former lovers. But we are looking for Jesus and we know how the story ends. God gives judgment for His people against her. She burns, we live. “Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets!” (Rev 18:20) THAT IS US!
Beauty & The Beast
Revelation 17:1-18
Beauty & The Beast
REvelation 17:1-18
Main Idea: We must resist the deadly seduction of Babylon and faithfully follow the Lamb.
I. The Harlot (17:1-6, 18)
John is given another look at the coming judgment and the end of history (cf. 16:17-21) through the fate of the “great prostitute.” John is given an ‘apocalypse’ into her identity, immorality, and influence from one of the angels of judgment.
Her Identity: The Harlot is revealed to be “Babylon the Great, the mother of prostitutes” (17:5; cf. 14:8; 16:19). “Babylon” is an example and ‘type’ of all nations who seek to deify themselves and therefore hate the Lord, his anointed, and his people (cf. Gen. 11; Dan. 4:30).
“Babylon cannot be limited to any one individual or institution or nation or city. You can’t point to any one location or country on a globe and say, ‘That alone is Babylon.’ You can’t confine Babylon within any particular geographical or territorial boundaries. Babylon is found wherever and whenever there is Satanically inspired deception and idolatry. Babylon is the symbol of all worldly entrenched opposition to Jesus Christ.”
~ Sam Storms, Our God Reigns
Her Immorality: The sexual immorality of the Harlot is symbolic of idolatry, spiritual adultery, and unfaithfulness to God. Her immorality is expressed through deceptive seduction or persecution against the saints (17:6). She is profiting off her immorality, holding a “golden cup” full of her “impurities and abominations” (17:4).
Her Influence: The Harlot is arrayed with royal clothing, gold, silver, and beautiful pearls. She allures and holds sway over:
“The kings of the earth” (17:2a)
“The dwellers on the earth” (17:2b; unbelievers throughout Revelation); she is "seated on many waters” (17:1), later identified as “peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages” (17:15).
1 John 2:15–17: Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
II. The Beast (17:7-13)
The ‘beast’ that the harlot rides has already been introduced in Revelation 13; it is supporting and upholding the harlot in her immorality and sinful influence over the world by providing political support and military might.
Just as before, the beast is merely a Satanic “parody” of the true Lord:
The Lord: “who is, who was, and is to come” (1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 16:5).
The beast “was, and is not, and is to come” (17:8); it ‘is not’ because of the finished work of Christ, who has overcome all the cosmic forces of evil that stand against him (cf. Col. 2:15). It ‘is to come’ because this powerful figure seems to have a resurrection from a mortal wound (cf. 13:3), but it is only to rise to destruction (17:8, 11).
The beast’s “seven heads” are a clear reference to Rome, a city built on “seven mountains” (17:9). However, the scope of the beast’s power extends beyond Rome; the seven heads and the ten horns likely represent the fullness of oppressive power throughout the ages. As powerful as a Rome-type power seems at any given time, they ultimately rise and fall, and will “only remain a little while” (17:11).
“The people in the churches who first received John’s letter would have found it difficult to envision a day when Rome would fall. But that day came, just as it has come for so many world powers since then… every human government has a shelf-life. One day all the many ‘isms’ that have such a grip on the many cultures of the world - classism, racism, materialism, consumerism, egoism, hedonism, humanism - will no longer rule the day. Every kingdom will one day give way to the true kingdom.”
~ Nancy Guthrie, Blessed: Experiencing the Promise of the Book of Revelation
III. The Lamb (17:14-17)
Despite the harlot’s seductive influence and the beast’s power, we are told of their sure and ultimate defeat:
The Lamb will conquer them (17:14). As the “Lord of lords and King of kings” he will overcome evil once and for all - and he will bring with him “those who are called and chosen and faithful.”
The Lord will turn evil against itself (17:15-17; cf. Gen. 50:20; Acts 2:23)
Psalm 2:1–6: Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,
“Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.”
He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord holds them in derision.
Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
“As for me, I have set my King
on Zion, my holy hill.”
“The harlot Babylon allures with pleasure that leads to the embrace of death and despair. The Savior Jesus calls with life from God for those who believe. The only blood he bears is the blood he shed in our place, to free us from the penalty of our sin. The key to Christian living, then, is in part to see the ugly destruction of the harlot who rides the beast. An even greater key is to see Jesus, who is altogether lovely, and who imparts true beauty, life, and glory to those who take the cup of life from his hands.”
~ Richard Phillips, Revelation