CHAPTER XVI.

THE TRIUMPH OF CHRIST; OR "MARRIAGE OF THE LAMB."

Revelation xix: I: xx: 6.

After these things I heard as it were a great voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, Hallelujah; Salvation, and glory, and power, belong to our God: for true and righteous are his judgments; for he hath judged the great harlot, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and he hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And a second time they say, Hallelujah. And her smoke goeth up for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped God that sitteth on the throne, saying, Amen; Hallelujah. And a voice came forth from the throne, saying, Give praise to our God, all ye his servants, ye that fear him, the small and the great. 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 thunders, saying, Hallelujah: for the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigneth. Let us rejoice and be exceeding glad, and let us give the glory unto him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And it was given unto her that she should array herself in fine linen, bright and pure: for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are bidden to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are true words of God. And

I fell down before his feet to worship him. And he saith unto me, See thou do it not: I am a fellow-servant with thee and with thy brethren that hold the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

And I saw the heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and he that sat thereon, called Faithful and True; and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. And his eyes are a flame of fire, and upon his head are many diadems; and he hath a name written, which no one knoweth but he himself. And he is arrayed in a garment sprinkled with blood; and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and pure. And out of his mouth proceedeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his garment and on his thigh a name written, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.

And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in mid heaven, Come and be gathered together unto the great supper of God; that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and of them that sit thereon, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, and small and great.

And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat upon the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him

the false prophet that wrought the signs in his sight, wherewith he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image: they twain were cast alive into the lake of fire that burneth with brimstone: and the rest were killed with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, even the sword which came forth out of his mouth: and all the birds were filled with their flesh.

And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and cast him into the abyss, and shut it, and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years should be finished: after this he must be loosed for a little time.

And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as worshipped not the beast, neither his image, and received not the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they lived, and reigned with Christ a thousand years. The rest of the dead lived not until the thousand years should be finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: over these the second death hath no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

A Two-Fold Joy:-Having described the judgment on "Babylon" and the "weeping and mourning" of those who had vested interests there, the seer proceeds to tell of the joy with which the news of her

destruction was received in "heaven." The reason for this rejoicing is two-fold. First, by common consent her judgment was just. The "harlot" was "drunken with the blood of the saints" (xvii: 6), and now her sins had returned on her own head. In the destruction of Jerusalem the defiant behest of the murderers of Jesus was abundantly answered. (Matt. xxvii: 25.) Then, Judaism's disintegration propitiated the "marriage of the Lamb." The Lamb and His Bride have their caricatures in the "lamb" of Chapter XIII and the "harlot" of Chapter XVII. The purity of the Bride is contrasted with the iniquities of the "harlot." That there be no misapprehension of his meaning, the seer declares that the "fine linen" she wears is the "righteous acts of the saints."

Judaism's Two Alternatives:-This description is very suggestive. While the true Bride has a rival the marriage cannot take place. The Bride is the Church of Christ, the "harlot" Judaism. The destruction of the latter as an organic force was absolutely essential, humanly speaking, to the success of Christianity. While Jerusalem and the Temple stood, Judaism was the rival of the gospel. It had but two alternatives to be absorbed in the new movement, or altogether eliminated. As the Jews became bitter persecutors and regarded Christianity as a rival rather than the fulfilment of Judaism, they courted the calamity that overtook them.

Anticipations of Victory:-This section, therefore, marks a pause in the conflict, in order that the fall of "Babylon" be celebrated. In reality it is anticipatory of the double victory about to be won. It is the tendency of the seer to present the various shades of the picture he is describing, at different intervals. More than once "Babylon" has been described as already "fallen," but in reality this is an accomplished

fact only when the "beast" and the "false prophet" (the latter another title for "Babylon" and Judaism) are "cast alive into the lake of fire." (xix: 20.)

Now we see the significance of the appearance of Christ in this connection. We must bear in mind that the Apostle is still dwelling on the local aspect of the great conflict. The Champion of Righteousness comes forth followed by the armies of heaven to put an end to it.

The difference between the descriptions of Christ and those of His enemies should not be missed. There is not a suggestion of the grotesque about Him. When the "red dragon" appears, he has seven heads and ten horns, and on each head a diadem. (Ch. XII.) But Christ comes forth in regal dignity having on His Head MANY diadems showing his pre-eminence in all realms, and justifying His title of "King of kings and Lord of lords." This description is based on Psalm ii and Isaiah lxiii.

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Climax of Struggle:-The climactic struggle, as seen from John's immediate view-point, is now about to take place. Arrayed against Christ and His people are the "beast" and "false prophet" with their followBut so confident of victory are the forces of righteousness that an angel calls the carrion birds beforehand to the feast. The beast and false prophet are seized and "cast alive into the lake of fire, that burns with brimstone." Their followers are "killed with the sword of Him Who sat on the horse, which came forth out of his mouth." This last qualifying sentence ought to discourage every tendency to look for literalness here. It is not by the material sword that Christ conquers, but by His inherent authority to speak for, and as, God. He is the "Word of God" Who destroys His enemies by the "breath of his mouth." (II Thess. ii: 8.)