Notes on the book of Revelations/Chapter 19

by John Nelson Darby

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Thus Babylon was judged—removed out of the way—with her corruptions, which corrupted the earth: and the blood of the servants of the Lord God was avenged. This is celebrated as the work of the Lord God by a multitude in heaven, and the mystic representations of the redeemed; but the worship was of God as sitting on the throne, whose power and judgment had been thus exercised. The way was now made free; and a voice comes forth out of the throne for the voice of praise from all God’s servants. His sons could always praise Him in spirit; but here, the prevalence of evil being removed and ‘delay no longer,’ they, in their character of servants, and all that feared God, can praise Him; for He now reigned as the Lord God Omnipotent—that character or those characters in which He dealt with the earth whether as God, Creator, Promiser, and Shield of his people while strangers, or the everlasting Accomplisher of all He had promised, Jehovah Elohim Shaddai. All these he took nowin power and reigned. This time takes us back to xi. 17:^[1] having had, in the interval, the source, character, and form of evil and judgment of all but the beast and open power against the Lamb which is earthly. All secret or mere corrupt evil, all evil that had its place in heaven, being removed, it was a question of open power, Satan’s last and hopeless resource on earth. The praise accordingly is returned to God in this character of Lord God Almighty who reigneth, and gladness and joy immediately came forth. Then his first and immediate purpose manifests itself, before even the Lamb’s judgment of His earthly enemies, “the marriage of the Lamb is come.” This is a matter of ordinance and dispensation. We are now His children; but the marriage of the Lamb is not yet come, nor is his wife made ready. It is not here, then, children with the Father; but the time for the Lord’s manifest glory being come, the Lord God takes His power, judges and removes the evil worldly counterpart, and the Lamb’s wife made ready, the time for it is come: these, however, were heavenly things^[2] and they are passed by. The time and readiness and nature of her robes only, are passingly mentioned as an important circumstantial characterizing the progress of events: and it closes with pronouncing blessing on those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb; and the prophet returns to the course on the earth again, where the white robed ones are found the companions of His glory in judgment. This closed the scene of what was properly heavenly, i.e. the time during which the Lamb (and His followers) were not manifested upon earth. It closes with “these are the true sayings of God.” The angel was his fellow servant^[3] and the fellow-servant of his brethren that had the testimony of Jesus; for the spirit of prophecy still testified of Jesus. God was to be worshipped: this was the great end of the book to keep the Church in the holy simplicity of true worship in the midst of ruin and apostasy. Now the heaven is opened: it is not John caught up there. It is not a sign there: it is not the temple opened to him there; but heaven is opened and one comes forth.^[4] Heaven opened for the Holy Ghost to descend on Jesus here. It opened for the angels of God to ascend and descend on the Son of man: it opened for the Church (to wit, in Stephen closing that period and scene), to be received into heaven, and for the unity of the body and its heavenly place to be revealed to and preached by Paul. It now was opened, that the King of kings and Lord of lords Himself should come forth, thence to act on the earth—to judge and make war in righteousness. It was now the time that power was to be applied to righteousness^[5] in the earth. He came in the manifestation of faithfulness and truth—he came with scrutinizing and purging judgment—he came in the assemblage of many royalties; and in the secret of His own power, which none knew but Himself. His armies were in fine linen clean and white—heavenly righteousness and purity—the priests of God. He came with divine vengeance, His garment was dipped in blood: and in that title of the manifestation of the power of God which was from creation downward, “the Word of God.” Thus He had created, thus revealed, thus judges. The armies in heaven followed. None were in this conflict with Him on the earth—his own arm brought salvation: he smites, rules, and treads the wine-press of God’s wrath. The power and title in which he is now publicly manifested is “King of kings, and Lord of lords:” this recals to xvii. 14.

The birds of the air are summoned to the great supper of destruction.

The ten kings were specially marked in their war against the Lamb; and they did take a lead in it; but the expression here is more general. The beast is found here, and the kings of the earth. Those who ruled the earth were generally found refusing to submit to this royal conqueror—to the Lord. The beast is first and prominent; then the kings of the earth withal and their armies. It was the general character of the state of the earth then. The beast and the false prophet are taken and put in the lake of fire. The prophet, by his characteristics, is identified with the second two-horned beast which arose out of the earth, which has lost its secular power but not its character as counsellor of mischief in the latter day. The remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat on the horse—it “proceeded out of his mouth.” For, though it. was the actual execution of judgment and no longer merely the sword of the Spirit, but of the Lord, in active imperial judgment of the quick, it was according to the word. It was the judgment of the word which proceeded out of his mouth: they died by that. The proper application of this is, to those who were against Him, as coming from heaven to judge those who were directly under the influence and power of apostasy. Still, the kings of the earth is wider than the ten kings, and left general: I doubt, however, whether it includes Gog, whose aim is against the land rather than the Lamb, or even the Prince of princes. With Gog, it is the gratification of covetousness—the lust of possessing. He goes against the land of unwalled villages, and perishes in the mountains of Israel, after Israel is brought back and dwelling in peace.

The beast and the false prophet, these delegates of Satan, the active enemies of the Lamb, were finally judged: but it does not appear that the deceiving of the nations by Satan thereupon ceases, because he is not yet bound. Still, he cannot now reproduce any thing that had before flowed from his place in heaven. The beast and the false prophet had been the active positive results of that; but, on his casting down became, as we have seen, merely open opposition to the Lamb. This is the character. of the action of the nations, ever afterwards under his influence: nothing like the great previous. system. So, even after the thousand years, all is on earth and of this character. He never regained heaven again at all. The beast and the false prophet, the resulting form of the apostasy while Satan was god of this world, never re-appeared either. He established himself evidentially prince of this world by what led to the cross, that being the climax of it. When that was departed from, the Church only became the instrument of his power; sin and the world resuming their dominion under her name. This was maintained in active apostasy by the use of a corrupt church, still on the earth as to means; and, when he was cast down from heaven, it could then only be by open war, as we have seen, against Him who came in His royalty to claim His inheritance. I believe it will be found that the early commerce and colonization of the earth were most intimately connected with idolatry; the children of apostate though once rescued Ham. His first act, was casting off or degrading authority as of God; and ere long we find, at the river of Cush,^[6] idolatry in practice, and extending even to the Shemitic race, whence Abraham was then called out.

The former state (i.e. confederacy, trading, false religion) is spoken of as a woman:^[7] this may, as to part of the ideas, be subjected to Christ. Nebuchadnezzar may rule Babylon (the city of confusion; so the Lord Christ “the city of the great king” where God is well known; and Jerusalem may be the queen in gold of Ophir. The latter state of earthly opposition is, either the beast, once prostrate under the former, and even it is by the will of the kings, or in the hands of the wilful king, the fallen and hostile carnal man rising up against the Lord. The former point much explains to me the prince of Tyre in the prophet Ezekiel.

1. When God takes to Himself His power and reigns, and the worldly kingdom of our Lord and of His anointed is come. It is taken up here on the actual judgment and removal out of the way of Babylon, as the earthly mystery opposed to the heavenly Bride of Christ: so that as the Lord God Omnipotent takes His power, so the Lamb thereon takes His bride. Her fall, which seems more connected with the fall of Satan from heaven, is a previous thing.
2. The marriage of the Lamb was not before the world; though, having espoused her in the heavens, He may then in the gladness of His heart bring her forth in glory.
   The marriage supper seems to be rather the manifestation, as his companions in glory, as the “blessed are the dead,” &c. is the rest from their labours, and reception of reward; I do not say the times, but the peculiar blessedness is different. I have some notion that the blessing, chap. xiv. has special connection with xiii. 10, and the blessing here with xiv. 12.
3. Note, sonship is not the point of this book, but dealings on earth : therefore the angel says, “fellow-servant” to those who, in their higher character, are really sons and joint heirs.
4. I have long felt, and it is clear from this passage, that the Church is actually with Christ in heavenly places before this; for they come forth with Him.
5. “Judgment shall return to righteousness; and all the upright in heart shall follow it.” Ps. xciv. 15.
6. Of this idolatrous and worldly power, Egypt, Babylon and Tyre (from which last the worldly and apostate character is specially drawn) were the great centres mentioned in Scripture. The last committed fornication with all the kingdoms of the earth: this in connection with her trade, &c.
7. As Babylon, or the great city, Tyre: adulterous Israel and idolatry.