Chapter 19

This chapter could well be two chapters. The first ten verses deal with “the marriage of the lamb.” The remainder jumps back to the beginning of the harvest to give us yet another perspective on how the current social order will meet its end.

The “marriage of the lamb” is a symbol for the time when Jesus has (in terms of his Matthew 13 parable) gathered all of the wheat into the barn. Near the end of the harvest his entire bride of 144,000 individuals will have been selected and will have been “changed” (1 Cor 15:51) to “be like Him” and to “see Him as He is.” (1 John 3:2) Throughout the Gospel Age this group has been in the process of being selected to be “kings and priests” and to “reign on the earth” (Rev 5:10) in answer, finally, to the Lord’s prayer (Matt 6:10).

While the harvest work of completing the Church progresses, the additional work of destroying Babylon is in progress (19:11-21). Thus Chapter 19 confirms what we saw in Chapter 14: the harvest has two works (14:16; 14:18) — harvesting the wheat and harvesting “the vine of the earth,” Babylon. (Compare also 14:19, 20 with 19:15 — the same event.)

It might here be important to note a connection between Chapters 16 and 19.

In the midst of the plagues (16:13) appear three symbolic characters united to take one last stand at deceiving the world -one last attempt to hold the old social order together.

According to 16:14 they will be under the influences of demons. (Compare Jude 6) We should, thus, expect during the sixth plague a dramatic increase in the influences and manifestations of the occult.

Who are these three symbolic entities in 16:13?

Where did they come from?

The “beast” and “false prophet” first occurred in Chapter 13. The false prophet was not there called by the same name; but a careful comparison of 19:20 with 13:14 should convince the careful student that the same creature under a different name is meant. The third creature, the “dragon,” first appeared in Chapter 12.

Without an explanation of why, it will here merely be suggested that many astute students of Revelation believe the dragon to be a symbol of civil power.

The beast, in this instance, appears to be the most entrenched of religious systems, the Church of Rome*(See Note #1 at bottom of page) — “Babylon the Great, the MOTHER of harlots.” (Rev 17:5) Because she is called a mother, it is manifest that she has harlot daughters. These daughters apparently combine their influence at the end of the age to be collectively called, “The False Prophet.” Together, mother and daughters are the great institutions of false Christianity which Jesus called bundles of tares. (Matt 13:30)

Note as Chapter 19 ends that only two — the religious two — of these creatures are destroyed. The third, the dragon of civil power, is not destroyed until a thousand years later, though he is bound (restrained from exercising power) during that period (Rev 20:2, 3, 10).

These are highly symbolic passages, but they are extremely reasonable once the symbols are understood.

The literalist has impossible problems with these texts. Consider Dan 7:3, 7, 17, 19, and 23 where a “beast” is seen to “devour the whole earth.” What a picture!

On what does it stand while it eats the earth?

Are we now in its stomach? Of course not!

The angel in Dan 7:16, 17 was kind enough to interpret the symbolism. An exhaustive topical study of “beast“* (See Note #2 at bottom of page) in the Bible will clearly show that, when the word is used symbolically, it always represents a group of men (which could be an institution, organization or government) with unholy characteristics trying to control others.

Thus we come to the close of the second structural section of Revelation. As we prepare to look at the third and final section, it will be beneficial to take a look once again at the Chart of the Ages. Note that, just as the harvest ends one age (i.e. the Gospel Age), it also begins another (the Messianic Age).

The harvest is not only the beginning of the Messianic Age, but the beginning of the thousand years.

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Note # 1 *the identity of the Papal system as the antichrist is common to Protestant Christianity, at least from the time of Peter Waldo. Martin Luther clearly identified it as such, as did the translators of the King James Bible in their Dedicatory Epistle.

Believing that the Papal system is the antichrist does not make one prejudiced against Catholics; it shows merely that the doctrine of the Roman Church is antagonistic to true Christianity.

The more modem tendency to apply the antichrist name to an individual at the end of the age is an idea invented by Roman Catholic theologians to counteract Protestant accusations. It is unfortunate that many Protestants have fallen for this deception.

Note # 2 * Please note: “Beast,” when associated with God, in passages such as Rev 4:6-9, is translated from another Greek word which would be better rendered “living ones.”

These four beasts represent the living attributes of God’s character which, in perfect balance, make Him so magnificent. The attributes are LOVE, POWER, JUSTICE AND WISDOM. The same four “living creatures” appear in the opening chapter of Ezekiel.

We will take a look at Section 3 Chapters 20-22 in our next post.