Understanding the Book of Revelation: The Praise and Armageddon

                 Chapter 19 describes the praise in Heaven and the war at Armageddon.

Hallelujah

                Hallelujah is two Hebrew words combined. Hallelu means praise and jah is a shortened form of Jehovah. Therefore, hallelujah means praise Jehovah. In contrast to the mourning of the world over the destruction of Babylon we now have rejoicing over her destruction by those in heaven. This burst of praise is in response to the answer to the saints’ prayers because God has judged the great city for the way she has treated them. God made Rome rightfully pay for killing and tormenting His people. 

The Marriage

                Verse 7 mentions the bride of Jesus. Christ’s wife is the church, all believers from all ages. We can see this in the parable of the virgins in Matthew 25. We can take a look at the marriage customs of the Hebrews. First is the betrothal. This is considered more binding than our 'engagement'. The terms of the marriage are accepted in the presence of witnesses and God's blessing pronounced upon the union. From this day groom and bride are legally husband and wife (2 Corinthians 11:2). Next comes the interval between betrothal and the wedding-feast. During this interval the groom pays the dowry to the father of the bride if this has not yet been done (Genesis 34:12). Sometimes the dowry is in the form of service rendered (Genesis 29:20). Then comes the procession at the close of the interval. The bride prepares and adorns herself. The groom, arrayed in his best attire and accompanied by his friends, who sing and bear torches, proceeds to the home of the betrothed. He receives the bride and conveys her, with a returning procession, to his own home or to the home of his parents (Matthew 9:15; Matthew 25:1). When the groom had to come from afar, the feast was at times spread at the home of the bride. Finally there is the wedding-feast, which includes the marriage supper. The usual festivities last seven or more days. The bride is the church and Christ the bridegroom. The church is betrothed to Christ and Christ has paid the dowry for her with his own blood. The interval of separation is the current dispensation during which the bride makes herself ready. At the end of this dispensation the Bridegroom accompanied by his angels comes to receive his bride and the wedding feast begins. It does not last a few weeks but throughout eternity. In Christ the bride was chosen from eternity. Throughout the Old Testament dispensation the wedding was announced. When Christ assumed our flesh and blood; the betrothal took place. The price, the dowry was paid on Calvary and now after an interval, the Bridegroom returns and the wedding supper of the Lamb begins Even now Jesus is preparing a place for his bride who he will come back for and who will be with him forever. The reason why the bride wears white in verse 8 is because of her purity and righteousness. It is just like at a wedding here on earth. The bride wears pure white during her first wedding because she is pure. 

The Rider on the White Horse

                In verse 11 Christ becomes the fighting General to fight against the Antichrist and his army at Armageddon. He designates himself as 'the faithful and true witness' in the letter to the church in Laodicea. His eyes are flames so that He may carry out judgment on mankind. He wears crowns because of His glory and royal authority. He has a name written which no one knows but Himself because there are certain aspects of Christ that we have not yet experienced and only He knows. He wears a garment dipped in blood in verse 13 because He has tread the winepress of God and he sacrificed himself for mankind. 

                The armies in Heaven are the overcoming believers. The sharp sword that comes out of his mouth is not an actual sword but it is words of judgment used against the nations. In verse 15, to shepherd is to rule. An iron rod signifies strong power. Therefore, Christ will shepherd with strong power. Christ’s garment signifies righteousness and his thigh represents standing strength. His title is on his robe so all can easily see it. 

The Feast of God

                In verses 17 and 18 the bodies of all types of people will be offered to the flying creatures. This is from Ezekiel's prophecy about Gog in Ezekiel 39:4, 17. You can also look at David and Goliath in 1 Samuel 17:46, 'Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel'. Verse 19 is referring to the battle at Armageddon, the valley of Jehoshaphat, near Jerusalem. The Antichrist and the false prophet will be the first cast to Hell with Satan. The rest will suffer the words of God’s judgment.

Understanding the Book of Revelation: Who Are the Two Witnesses?

 The Temple Measured

                 Chapter 11 reveals the two witnesses to us and the seventh trumpet, which produces the seven bowls that we will see further in chapter 16. In verse 1 John is given a reed like a rod to measure the temple. This is most likely meant to preserve the temple during the time of supernatural calamities and physical danger or for the reformation of the temple, while in Ezekiel the measuring of the temple was for the rebuilding of it. The altar mentioned here is the incense altar because the altar of sacrifice is in the court outside of the temple. The court is on earth. The holy city is the earthly Jerusalem. At the end of this age the Antichrist will make a covenant with the Jews for one week (7 years) during the last week of the 70 weeks (490 years) God appointed the Jews in Daniel 9:24-27 to end sin. During the last three and a half years, or forty two months, he will break the covenant and end the worship of God (Daniel 9:27). He will blaspheme God and persecute His people. He’ll destroy Jerusalem. This will be the Great Tribulation. 

               

The Two Witnesses      

          1,260 days is three and a half years. The two witnesses here are Moses and Elijah. The reason they wear sackcloth is because it’s funeral clothes. It’s a warning to mankind not to worship the Antichrist so they can escape eternal damnation. In verses 5-6, the actions are the same as what Moses and Elijah did. Moses had turned water to blood and brought plagues among men. Elijah caused the rain to stop due to his great faith. By saying they have the power to do these things again tells us they won’t do it but it lets us know their identity. Malachi 4:5 predicted Elijah’s mission.

“See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and

dreadful day of the Lord comes.”

                The prophet Zechariah, in Zechariah 4, received a vision of two olive trees at either side of a golden light stand. 4:13 says they are the two anointed to serve the Lord. In Matthew 17:1-3 both Moses and Elijah appeared before the Lord on the mount of transfiguration. Moses represents the law and Elijah represents the prophets (Luke 16:16). Olive trees produce oil for the lamps (like mentioned in Matthew 25:1-13). Oil signifies the Holy Spirit. Lampstands produce light through use of the oil. During the church age the churches are the lampstands for God’s testimony. During the 42 months the witnesses are the source of the Holy Spirit and the testimony. The Antichrist will kill these two witnesses and their bodies lie in the city of Jerusalem. It’s spiritually called Sodom and Egypt because even after the 1948 restoration they’re as sinful as Sodom and as wordly as Egypt. The torment that they brought upon the earth was the testimony that they spoke because mankind didn’t want to accept it. The three and a half days is included in the 1,260 or else it would extend past the Great Tribulation. In standing back on their feet they have been resurrected. Jerusalem then suffers an earthquake.

                The earth is no longer ruled by Satan and God’s judgment will now occur on the dead. The Ark of the Covenant is the center of all God’s accomplishments. The earthquake that then occurs is the fourth quake predicted in Revelation. The first occurred at the sixth seal, the second was before the seven trumpets, the next was at the rapture of the two witnesses, and now there is one during the seventh bowl which is the most sever calamity of the seventh trumpet.