Paul Kretzmann Commentary - Revelation 19:5 - 19:10

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Paul Kretzmann Commentary - Revelation 19:5 - 19:10


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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:

The voice out of the throne:

v. 5. And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye His servants, and ye that fear Him, both small and great.

v. 6. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude and as the voice of many waters and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia; for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

v. 7. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready.

v. 8. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

v. 9. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage-supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

v. 10. And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not; I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus; worship God; for the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy.

The chorus of praise at the destruction of the great harlot is given in the form of antiphonal singing: And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Extol our God, all His servants, those that fear Him, both small and great. That was the one strophe addressed to the servants of the Lord, to those that are not merely members in His community, but whose special devotion to His interests, to His service and worship, has given them the closest fellowship with Him. That is their glorious privilege throughout eternity, to praise and extol the Lord of their salvation. Therefore they, in an antiphonal chant, respond to the urgent invitation: And I heard what resembled the voice of a great multitude and the rushing of many waters and the muttering of mighty thunders, saying, Hallelujah, for the Lord God, the Almighty, is King. Like the shouting of uncounted masses of people, like the irresistible rushing of mighty streams, like the grumblings and mutterings of a strong thunder, the song of the elect breaks forth at the Lord's word, giving all praise to Him, the Lord, the almighty God, the King of the ages. The omnipotent God has conquered the portals of all His enemies, and revealed Himself as King over all.

To this fact there is added another cause for rejoicing: Let us he glad and exult, and give glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready; and to her was given to be clothed in shining white fine linen (for the fine linen was the righteous deeds of the saints). What had been foretold by the prophets and spoken of time and again by Christ and the apostles is here represented as being consummated in heaven. The bride of Christ, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the whole number of those that have come to faith and remained faithful to the Lord unto the end, is celebrating her marriage with the Lamb, with the Savior, with Christ. That, indeed, is a reason for the greatest rejoicing, for the highest exultation, to know that all the hopes of the centuries have now been realized, that all the believers are now united with their Savior throughout eternity. The bride, moreover, is clothed in the most gorgeous wedding-garment, all pure white and shining with brilliancy. It is a pure, precious dress of honor, the dress of salvation. For whereas without Christ all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags, in Him, through faith, even our smallest works, all the acts of our every-day life, are acceptable to the heavenly Father. Thus we shall be ornamented in heaven with the garment which the heavenly Bridegroom has merited through His perfect obedience to the commandment of God, through the shedding of His blood, through His death and resurrection.

The importance of this incident is heightened through an additional factor which is here recorded: And he says to me, Write, Blessed are they that are called to the marriage-feast of the Lamb. And he says to me, These are true words of God. So the Bride, the perfected saints, the believers that have been faithful to the end, are also invited to the marriage-feast of the Lamb, the union which He had planned before the beginning of the world. Truly, those people are blessed with a happiness which transcends all human conception, and there cannot be the slightest doubt as to their being heirs of all these joys, because He who is the Faithful, the True One, has given the promise, and He makes no mistake. The scene which John had witnessed so overwhelmed him that he relates: And I fell before his feet to worship him. He was ready to give divine honor to this messenger from heaven that unfolded the final triumph to him in such a singular manner, But the angel interposed: And he says to me, Not that: thy fellow-servant I am and one of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus; worship God (for the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy). The testimony of Jesus, to which the angel referred, is that Spirit of Prophecy by whose power all the prophets and apostles, including John himself, had testified of Jesus and of His kingdom. Although the angels are heavenly spirits, powerful and blessed, yet they are but servants and witnesses of Christ, and should therefore not be given divine honor; for that belongs to God alone.