Below are some preliminary questions to assist in the study of this passage. For a comprehensive study of the passage, download the Study Guide (PDF download).
1. What does John report that he now hears? See Revelation 19:1-2 (printed below)
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) True and righteous are his judgments! He has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and he has avenged the blood of his servants that was shed by her hand.” (Revelation 19:1-2)
John reports that he hears “what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven, shouting, ‘Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God!’” At present, Christ exercises the divine authority and power of God to preserve His people and to restrain the powers of darkness. The day is coming when Christ shall employ the divine power of God to bring His people into a perfect state of peace and blessing, and consign the devil and all his hosts to everlasting judgment (cp. Revelation 20:10). In Revelation 19 are transported to that future day as we hear the heavenly multitude praising God because “he has avenged the blood of his servants.”
2. What assurance are we given with regard to the judgment that will be carried out by Christ on the last day? See Revelation 19:11 (printed below)
Then I saw heaven opened, and there before me was a white horse, and he who sat upon it was called Faithful and True. With righteousness he judges and wages war. (Revelation 19:11)
We are assured that on that day it will be “with righteousness” that the Lord Jesus Christ shall judge and “wage war.’ Christ’s standard of judgment will be the absolute righteousness of God as revealed in His commandments (cp. Psalm 96:13; Psalm 19:9b). In accordance with that divine standard, the Lord Jesus will wage war against all those who defy that holy standard and will prevail against them, consigning them to everlasting judgment.
3. How does John describe the Lord Jesus as He shall appear on that day? See Revelation 19:12-13 (printed below) How would you explain the meaning of the imagery?
His eyes are flames of fire, and on his head are many diadems; and he has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. (13) He is dressed in a robe splattered with blood, and his name is the Word of God. (Revelation 19:12-13)
In verses 12-13 the apostle John describes the Lord Jesus as He shall appear on the Last Day. “His eyes are flames of fire;” here is depicted His absolute purity, a purity before which all wickedness is detected and consumed. “On his head are many diadems;” here is seen His absolute sovereignty as the King of kings and the Lord of lords. “He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself;” as the Son of God, Christ is awesome, inscrutable, beyond the scope of human comprehension. “He is dressed in a robe splattered with blood;” this is not His own precious blood that was shed at Calvary on behalf of those who believe in Him, this is the blood of those who have defied God and His commandments as their blood is now required of them and the punishment for their disobedience is enacted against them (cp. Isaiah 63:1-3). “His name is the Word of God;” the Lord Jesus Christ is the full revelation of God (John 14:9).
4. What does John hear the great and heavenly multitude proclaim in verses 6-7 (printed below?)
Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like the peals of thunder, shouting, “Hallelujah! for the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns! (7) Let us rejoice and be exceedingly glad, and let us give him the glory, for the wedding day of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.” (Revelation 19:6-7)
The great heavenly multitude is proclaiming, “the wedding day of the Lamb has come.” “The wedding feast of the Lamb” is a combination of images that graphically convey the truth that the Lord Jesus Christ will finally bring His redeemed into the most sacred and blessed union with Himself. At present we cannot even begin to understand and can only partially experience the relationship between Christ and the believer as it is defined in such passages as Colossians 3:3-4 (a passage that speaks of the incomprehensible spiritual union that exists between Christ and His church). But on that great day we will know to the fullest the wonderful promise of the Lord Jesus: “On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you” (John 14:20).
5. How is the Lamb’s bride (i.e.; the church, composed of all those who believe in Him) described in verse 8 (printed below?)
She was granted grace to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean—the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the saints. (Revelation 19:8)
Verse 7b tells us that Christ’s bride “has made herself ready.” Upon becoming engaged, a young lady prepares herself for her wedding day; all the more, as Christians we should be preparing ourselves for “the wedding supper of the Lamb”—Scripture tells us that this is our blessed obligation (cp. 1 John 3:2-3). According to verse 8, Christ’s bride “was granted grace to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean.” This “fine linen” is defined as “the righteous acts of the saints;” the point being made is that it is the Christian’s calling to develop a holy life of devotion to God (note Hebrews 12:14). Furthermore, the very righteousness that is required of the Christian is divinely given to the Christian and produced within him by the Holy Spirit (cp. Ephesians 2:8-10).
