Revelation 19 – 20
Now, we set our hearts and eyes on the second return of Christ. After He celebrates the marriage supper of the Lamb, He will bring a final blow to the devil’s cosmic plan to establish his rule and destroy God’s people and God’s plan. Then He will establish His kingdom on earth for 1,000 years. Hope is here because Jesus HAS overcome!
Chapter 1 John’s vision of Jesus, Jesus’ message for the churches, and His plans for eternity
Chs 2-3 Jesus delivers a message to each of the 7 churches
Chs 4-7 Jesus pulls back the curtain and unveils what things must happen and will happen
Chs 8-10 We walked through the 7 trumpets, then the Little Scroll that God had them seal up what the seven thunders said and not write them down
Chs 11-12 We were introduced to 2 witnesses who were killed by the antichrist and continues the campaign of persecuting Israel as an attack on God and His promises to Israel with the ultimate goal of destroying Jesus Christ
Chapter 13 The beast of the sea and the beast of the earth
Chapter 14 The Great Tribulation
Chs 15-16 The Bowls of Wrath & the Vision of Destruction
Chs 17-18 Woman & the Beast; The Fall of Great Babylon
Chs 19-20 The Second Coming of Christ; The Final Judgement
Revelation 18:21–24
21 Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall not be found anymore. 22 The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters shall not be heard in you anymore. No craftsman of any craft shall be found in you anymore, and the sound of a millstone shall not be heard in you anymore. 23 The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore, and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall not be heard in you anymore. For your merchants were the great men of the earth, for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived. 24 And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth.
REVELATION 19:1-5
After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God! 2 For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.” 3 Again they said, “Alleluia! Her smoke rises up forever and ever!” 4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, “Amen! Alleluia!” 5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!”
Jesus Has Overcome!
- Jesus Overcomes Our Past – 19:1-5
Babylon has been destroyed, never to return!
The 24 elders & 4 living creatures echo the words of the Psalmist at the end of Book 4,
Psalm 106:48,
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel
From everlasting to everlasting!
And let all the people say, “Amen!”
Praise the Lord!
Jesus Receives His Bride – 19:6-10
And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! 7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” 8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 9 Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.” 10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
Who is in the wedding? As Revelation 19 opens, the bride of Christ, His church, is already in heaven for the marriage feast of the Lamb.
In Genesis, the pinnacle of creation was a marriage.
In these final days, the marriage of the lamb and his bride is to be the focal point of the marriage of heaven and earth themselves, and Babylon, the symbolic equivalent of the ancient Babel which thought to climb up to heaven by its own energy, is shown up as a futile parody of the real thing, a human attempt to get, by sheer greed, what God proposed to give by sheer grace. Tom Wright, Revelation for Everyone, For Everyone Bible Study Guides (London; Louisville, KY: SPCK; Westminster John Knox, 2011), 168.
The true intention or spirit of prophecy always points to Jesus.
John MacArthur says, The central theme of Old Testament prophecy and New Testament preaching is the Lord Jesus Christ. Until the coming of His Kingdom, all who proclaim the gospel must be faithful to the testimony of Jesus, the saving gospel message, which was His message. Daniel L. Akin, Exalting Jesus in Revelation, ed. Daniel L. Akin, David Platt, and Tony Merida, Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2016), 289.
It has always been about Jesus!
- Jesus Overcomes Our Present – 19:11-20
Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS
The singular vignette of Christ’s return in Revelation 19:11–16 is the most dramatic passage in the entire Bible! – Ed Hindson
Heaven is opened just as it was in Rev. 4:1
- Everything happening in these verses have heaven as a backdrop as God begins His decisive response to all evil.
- Like in 11:19 & 15:5 and at Jesus’ baptism (see Mark 1:10 & John 1:51).
He Defends His Name
There are 7 descriptions of our Warrior Messiah (19:11-13)
- Called Faithful & True
- In Righteousness He Judges & Makes War
- Eyes like a flame of fire
- On His head were many crowns
- A name that no one knows
- Clothed in a robe dipped in blood
- His Name is now called The Word of God
He comes with an army and absolute authority (19:14-16)
He Defeats His Enemies
The herald of victory! (19:17-21)
Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, 18 that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.” 19 And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. 20 Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21 And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.
An angel standing in the sun.
Robert Mounce describes this as a position of splendor appropriate to a herald of victory.Robert H. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1997), 357.
He summons the birds to gorge on the flesh of the defeated armies of the beast.
Osborne says, The message is gruesome and powerful, guaranteeing before the battle has been joined that the end result is certain. Grant R. Osborne, Revelation, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2002), 687.
The First & Second Comings of Jesus ChristHis First ComingHis Second ComingHe rode on a donkeyHe will ride on a white horseHe came as a Suffering ServantHe will come as King and LordHe came in humility and meeknessHe will come in majesty and powerHe came to suffer the wrath of God for sinnersHe will come to establish the kingdom of God for His saintsHe was rejected by many as the MessiahHe will be recognized by all as LordHe came to seek and save the lostHe will come to judge and rule as KingHe came as God incognitoHe will come as God in all His splendor
Daniel L. Akin, Exalting Jesus in Revelation, ed. Daniel L. Akin, David Platt, and Tony Merida, Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2016), 293.
- Jesus Overcomes Our Future – 20:1-3
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.
Before the millennium, Satan is bound.
In v. 2 all four titles by which Satan is designated in Revelation are brought together. He is the dragon defeated in heavenly combat by Michael (12:7–8), the serpent who tried to sweep away the messianic community with a flood (12:15), and the devil who knows that his time is short (12:12). Robert H. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1997), 361.
This is the only place in the Bible that mentions the doctrine of the millennium.
- From the Latin words mille (million) and annus (year) or 1,000 years.
- Pre-millennialism = the time of Christ’s return to be prior to the millennium
- Post-millennialism = the time of Christ’s return to be after the millennium
- A-millennialism = no millennial reign of Christ; His second coming ushers in the new heaven and new earth
Pre-millennialism is the best position that explains what the Scriptures are teaching us.
It is the view that best honors a normal, historical, grammatical hermeneutic while still recognizing the prophetic and apocalyptic nature of Revelation. Daniel L. Akin, Exalting Jesus in Revelation, ed. Daniel L. Akin, David Platt, and Tony Merida, Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2016), 306.
- Chapter 20 follows 19 – so the millennium follows the Second Coming of Christ
- Millennium is used 6 times in 20:1-7
Every place in Scripture that the word year is used with a specific number, it is literal.
- Both resurrections listed in 20:4-7 are physical or bodily resurrections.
Why must Satan be released for a little while?
For a thousand years, those among the nations who worshiped the beast will be under Jesus’ sovereign control and ruled by the saints. They will not experience Satan or be deceived in any way by him. All they will experience is the benign rule of Jesus himself. Grant R. Osborne, Revelation, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2002), 703.
In other words, 20:3c and 20:7–10 are the divine “must” of a just God. Grant R. Osborne, Revelation, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2002), 703.
He Establishes His Kingdom – 20:4-6
And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.
John sees thrones.
- Matthew 19:28 – Twelve apostles will judge the 12 tribes of Israel.
- 1 Corinthians 6:3 – Believers will judge angels.
- Revelation 2:6 – The saints will have authority over the nations.
- Revelation 5:10 – The followers of the Lamb will “reign on the earth.”
He also resurrected martyrs from the tribulation.
- This is the first resurrection after the tribulation.
- The reunion of the Church has already occurred, and we have celebrated the Marriage Feast of the Lamb (19:6-10) – 1 Corinthians 15:52-54; 1Thessalonians 4:16
John gives us a beautiful summary of the destiny of the redeemed, followers of the Lamb!
It is the 5th beatitude of Revelation.
Blessed & holy…happy and set apart
- The 2nd death has no power
- Priests of God and Christ serving throughout the 1,000 years
- Reign with Him for 1,000 years
He Brings an End to Evil – 20:7-10
Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. 9 They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. 10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
He Establishes Ultimate Justice – 20:11-15
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
Who stands before the great white throne?
What are “the books?’
Who are the dead from Death & Hades?
Jesus Has Overcome!!!