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NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Rev_19:6-8
6b"Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. 7Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready. 8It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints."
▣ "the Lord our God, the Almighty" This threefold title for God from the OT (YHWH, Elohim, and El Shaddai, see hyperlink at Rev_4:8) appears in various forms in Rev_1:8; Rev_4:8; Rev_11:7; Rev_15:3; Rev_16:7; Rev_16:14; Rev_19:15; and Rev_21:22.
The pronoun "our" is very unusual because it is spoken by an angel. It appears in no other occurrence with this threefold title. However, the textual evidence for its inclusion is strong.
1. "Lord the God of us" in an early corrector of MS à cf8 i2 (UBS4 puts this in the text but gives it a "C" rating)
2. "the God, the Lord of us" in the original MS of à *
3. in some later minuscule Greek texts, "the God of us" (MSS 051, 209)
4. "Lord God" (MS A)
5. "Lord" (Peshitta and Coptic versions)
▣ "reigns" There has been much discussion over this aorist tense verb (cf. Rev_11:17). Some see it as God beginning to reign (an ingressive or inceptive aorist, cf. Psa_93:1; Psa_97:1, NJB). However, God has always reigned (a constative or gnomic aorist, cf. Psa_99:1). Some see it as God reigning on the earth now as He has in heaven (a culminative or effective aorist, cf. Mat_6:10). The end of time and the consummation of God's kingdom occurs several times in Revelation at the end of the different cycles of judgment (seals, trumpets, bowls). This seems to be parallel to Rev_11:15. It may be an allusion to Isa_24:23; Isa_52:7 or Mic_4:7. See hyperlink at Rev_5:10.
Rev_19:7 The first two verbs in Rev_19:7 are subjunctives.
1. let us rejoice – present active
2. let us exult – present active
The third verb has several variants.
1. dôsômen (irregular aorist active subjunctive) – MS P
2. dôsomen (future), "we will give glory" – MSS à cf8 i2, A
3. dômen (aorist active subjunctive) – MS à *
Numbers 1, 3 would be translated like the first two verbs, "let us give glory." Number 2 would be translated "we will give glory" (RSV). The UBS4 gives #1 a "C" rating; the UBS3 gave it a "D" rating. The committee could not decide which was original.
▣ "give the glory to Him" This may be a metaphorical phrase for trusting, believing, or placing faith in Christ. In Rev_11:13 it could mean that some repented and became believers as a result of God's acts of judgment. This phrase is used of God's people in Rev_14:7 and of tormented unbelievers' refusal to worship God in Rev_16:9.
▣ "the marriage of the Lamb" "Lamb" has an OT sacrificial connotation (cf. Leviticus 1-7). This phrase links a sacrifice element with a communal meal (peace offering). There is an allusion to this marriage feast in Mat_8:11; Mat_26:29; Luk_14:15; Luk_22:16. It focuses on the Jewish marriage custom of a betrothal period, a waiting period, and a seven-day wedding feast. It is interesting to note that within a few passages the metaphor changes to God's people, not as bride, but as wedding guests (cf. Rev_19:9 and Mat_22:1-14). The metaphor will change again in Rev_21:2; Rev_21:9 to God's people as "the New Jerusalem." The concept of a marital relationship between God and His Church is found in the OT in Isa_54:4-8; Isa_62:5; Jer_31:32; Ezekiel 16; and Hos_2:14-19. The metaphor is seen in the NT in 2Co_11:2; Eph_5:21-31; Rev_19:9; Rev_21:2; Rev_21:9; Rev_22:17. Also, Jesus is depicted as a bridegroom (cf. Mat_9:15; Mar_2:19-20; Luk_5:34-35; Joh_3:29). Several parables in Matthew continue this theme (cf. Mat_22:1-14; Mat_25:1-13). Marriage may be the best human example of the concept of a biblical covenant.
▣ "His bride has made herself ready" This is an aorist active indicative. Some have interpreted this as meritorious human works. The aorist passive of Rev_19:8 shows this interpretation cannot be true. This context affirms the paradoxical relationship between God's initiating activity (cf. Joh_6:44; Joh_6:65) seen in the invitation of Rev_19:9, which is a perfect passive participle, and mankind's necessary faith response (cf. Mar_1:15; Act_3:16; Act_3:19; Act_20:21). This paradoxical relationship can be seen in Php_2:12-13. It is supported by the fact that in Rev_19:8 God gives permission to dress, but the dress refers to the good deeds (righteous acts) of God's people (cf. Rev_14:13; Eph_2:10; 1Ti_5:25).
In Word Pictures in the New Testament A. T. Robertson has an interesting comment on Rev_19:7. "Three metaphors of women appear in the Apocalypse (the Mother in chapter 12, the Harlot in 13 to 19, and the Bride of Christ here to the end). 'The first and third present the Church under two different aspects of her life, while the second answers to her great rival and enemy (Swete)'" (p. 449).
Rev_19:8 "the righteous deeds of the saints" The term "righteous acts" (dikaiôma) has several usages in the NT.
1. it refers to God's acts of justice (cf. Rev_15:4)
2. it refers to Jesus' act of dying on behalf of mankind (cf. Rom_5:16; Rom_5:18)
3. it refers to believers' lives of justice (cf. Rev_19:8)
4. it refers to a decree, a law, or an ordinance, usually the Law of Moses (cf. Luk_1:6; Rom_1:32; Rom_2:26; Rom_8:4; Heb_9:1; Heb_9:10).
The main theological issue related to this family of Greek terms (dikaioô, dikaiôsis, dikaios, dikaiosune) is how fallen mankind can claim to be right, righteous, just, justified. It must be stated emphatically that this spiritual condition was not accomplished by human effort (cf. Rom_3:21-30; Eph_2:8-9), but by Divine choice (the Father), through a Divine act (the Son), and the Divine drawing of the Spirit (cf. Joh_6:44; Joh_6:65). Mankind can only receive the finished result (cf. Romans 5; 2Co_5:21).
The goal of right standing is right living, Christlike living (cf. Rom_9:29; Gal_4:19; Eph_1:4; Eph_2:10). Righteous living is evidence of a relationship with God (cf. Rev_14:13), not the grounds of that relationship (cf. Gal_3:1-3)! See Special Topic at Rev_19:11.