Read or listen The Book of Revelation, chapter 19 online (ESV, YouVersion)

Heaven Rejoices 19:1-5

After seeing the destroyed Babylon, John hears a voice that he finds difficult to describe. That's why he again resorts to the words "as if". However, he gets the words right. A voice from heaven says, "Hallelujah." The word is Hebrew and means, "Praise the Lord." Amazingly, this chapter of Revelation is the only place in the New Testament where the word appears. Still, it is probably clear that the word was used by the first Christians, for example, in church services. After all, they read the Old Testament and "hallelujah" appears numerous times in the Psalms.

The song of the heavenly host is a praise that God has finally put an end to the wickedness of the world and judged the one who caused so much evil. God's patience lasted a long time. Even though he saw the wickedness of the world, he gave the world more time of grace so that as many as possible would turn to him and be saved. But now the limit has been reached. John sees the day for which the church of God has been waiting and praying.

In verse 5, God’s servants are called those who fear God. Many think that God is not to be feared. To many, God is like a friend and not to be feared. The Bible teaches otherwise. God is so great and we are so small that we are not God’s friends. He is so great and greater than us that it is right to fear him. It does not mean that we run away from God and do not dare to come to him. To fear God is to respect God so deeply that one does not approach him as an equal friend. Someone who fears God listens carefully to what God says and does not dare to stick to, for example, how they themselves have thought about right and wrong. He who fears God does not dare to live without caring about God's will and does not leave himself among God's own people. Perhaps this will result in the world's hatred. But he who fears God knows that the hatred of men is much easier to bear than the hatred of the Holy God.

The Wedding Feast of the Lamb 19:6‑10

Then John sees what will happen after the end of this world. It's time for the wedding feast of the Lamb. Those who have reached heaven praise God for this. The praise is so great that John compares it to the noise of great multitudes, the roar of a storm, and the rumbling of thunder. God has finally shown that he is the one who has all power. The Devil and his forces have been defeated once and for all, and eternal joy in heaven is about to begin.

The Old Testament compares the relationship between God and His people to a marriage. God's people were to be faithful to God as spouses should be to each other. Adultery and fornication were the worship of foreign gods or the disregard for God's will. The Book of Revelation speaks of the same thing: Jesus' own - those who are baptized and believe in Jesus - are like are like engaged to Jesus. They must remain faithful to the bridegroom. Unfaithfulness is to stop serving Jesus or to ignore what he has spoken. Now the church of God is the bride of Jesus. The wedding time will be when Christ returns, this world and its evil will end and eternity will begin.

Chapter 7 explained how a sinful person is given a garment suitable for the great wedding feast. When the garments are washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb (Rev. 7:14), one can go to heaven, where the marriage of the Lamb is celebrated. God lives in heaven and is holy. That is why you cannot go to heaven with your sins. Sins must be forgiven and only the blood of Jesus can wash away our sins. Whoever thinks he will get to heaven, but does not care about the blood of Jesus, deceives himself and is not on the way to heaven.

Here too, the Book of Revelation speaks of a garment that will be put on those who have entered heaven. The garment is said to mean "the righteous deeds of the saints." This does not mean that good works are a condition for entering heaven. The only condition is that one has been forgiven of one's sins, and sins are forgiven by Jesus as a gift without any works or achievements. The purpose of verse 8 is probably to tell what God's people will receive just before the wedding feast in heaven begins. We will be clothed with righteous deeds that are in accordance with God's will. It means that the evil deeds that were so common in the lives of even the best child of God in this world are now left behind. Evil is gone and those who have entered heaven do only what is according to God's will, right and good. This makes heaven a good place. There are no hurtful words, no bad deeds, no selfishness, no unlovingness. There are only good deeds that we do for one another. This too is a gift from God, not our own merit. The words "it was granted her to clothe herself" tell us this. God clothes us with something that does not come from us.

Then the angel calls blessed those who have entered the marriage supper of the Lamb. There is indeed a good reason to congratulate them. They are where God is and with God there is only good. And if they are not at the wedding feast of the Lamb, then they are there, where trouble and anguish are endless. That is also why those who have reached heaven should be congratulated: they have avoided perdition.

When John has heard this, he is going to bow down at the feet of the angel who has spoken to him about these things. The angel strongly forbids doing so. Only God should be worshipped—not even his angels, no matter how wonderful they may be. This is a point worth remembering if you have to discuss with Jehovah's Witnesses. They claim that Jesus is not God. However, the Bible says in many places that people bowed down before Jesus and worshipped him. Jesus allowed this and there is only one reason for this: Jesus is God and he himself knew it. He is the Son of God and of the same essence as the Father. Therefore, we can and should bow before him just as we bow before God the Father.

"For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
(verse 10, ESV)

The idea of the ​​verse 10 is probably this: God’s prophet testifies about Jesus. The main point of his message is what Jesus has done, what he has said, and what he means to us. He who focuses on anything other than Jesus is not God’s prophet, even if he speaks nicely and performs miracles. The true and false spirit can be recognized by what is said about Jesus. The true spirit is where the testimony about Jesus that the Bible gives about him is given. The true and false spirit can be recognized by what is said about Jesus. The right spirit is where the testimony of Jesus is given according to the Bible.

The Lamb Fights and Conquers 19:11-21

John has already been shown what will happen to God’s people after the end of the world. When the new vision begins, we move back in time. John sees the battle that the one riding the white horse is having against the Devil. The name of the rider is not given, but John makes it clear who he is. He is the Word of God, the King of kings and Lord of lords. There is only one possibility: the rider is Jesus. He fights against his Enemy and defeats him with his troops. The Devil and his servants will be captured and thrown into perdition. This will happen on the last day when our Lord comes.

Verse 12 says that no one knows Jesus’ name except himself. This tells us about the mysteries of God. The Triune God—and therefore the Son—is something we do not fully understand. Many questions remain unanswered here. Even though we do not understand everything, we can still belong to God. Once in heaven we will understand what we do not understand now. The church in Philadelphia was promised that Jesus would write God's name on those who entered heaven (Rev. 3:12). Perhaps it also means that in heaven we will know God so well that there are no more unanswered questions.

The description of Devil's defeat tells a lot. The battle is over and a lot of corpses are lying on the battlefield. Eagles and ravens hover over the battlefield, waiting to eat the flesh of the dead. John sees this in vision and it tells us what will happen to the Devil's forces in the end. They have been beaten and the birds of prey are waiting. The Devil and his kingdoms were mighty and ruled the world together with his servants. Now the battle is over and the Devil and his forces have been destroyed.