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Pastor Scott L. Harris
Grace Bible Church, NY
December 14, 2025
*The Four-fold Hallelujah & The Marriage of the Lamb
Revelation 19:1-10
Introduction
We have spent the last four sermons with a focus on what will be taking place on earth during the last part of the seven year Tribulation period. *It took a couple of weeks in Revelation 16 to examine the seven bowls of God’s wrath that will be poured out on the earth and the devastation caused by them. That will be the “Great Tribulation” period described by Jesus in Matthew 24:21 which will be worse than anything that preceded it or will come after it.
*We then examined Revelation 17 which is an explanatory chapter giving details concerning religious Babylon, an ecumenical false religion. The beast, the antichrist uses it to help him gain world domination, but he then plunders, shames and utterly destroys it. That action fits well with him declaring himself to be a god and demand worship of himself which occurs at the midpoint of the Tribulation.
*Last week we examined Revelation 18 which is also an explanatory chapter. It concerns commercial Babylon and its utter destruction. What relationship will exist between religious and commercial Babylon is not clear, but both are utterly devastated. Commercial Babylon is a city in a physical location which is destroyed very quickly, and the smoke of her destruction causes the laments of the kings of the earth, the merchants of the earth, and those who made their living by the sea. All had gained greatly by their interaction with Babylon, and all suffer loss with her total destruction which is described in terms of her sudden disappearance like a millstone cast into the sea, her silence of any human activity, her lack of any lamplight, and no weddings being held there any longer. The laments on earth are a contrast to the rejoicing that will occur in heaven for Babylon’s destruction ends her exploitation and deceptions of the nations, and will fulfill the martyrs’ prayers for vengeance on those that had spilled their blood.
*This morning we will examine Revelation 19:1-10 which is the third section in this intercalation. It shifts from a focus on events on the earth with the destruction of Babylon to a focus on four hallelujahs given in heaven. Three of those are responses related to the destruction of Babylon, and the last concerns the marriage of the lamb. It concludes with a short incident that reinforces the importance that only God is to be worshiped.
Revelation 19:1–10 (NASB95)
1 After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God; 2 because His judgments are true and righteous; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and He has avenged the blood of His bond-servants on her.” 3 And a second time they said, “Hallelujah! Her smoke rises up forever and ever.” 4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” 5 And a voice came from the throne, saying, “Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great.” 6 Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. 7 “Let 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.” 8 It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 9 Then he said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’ ” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.” 10 Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
*First Hallelujah! – Revelation 19:1-2
Revelation 19:1 begins, “After these things.” In the book of Revelation that often indicates a change of subject, but here the subject remains the same but there is a change of speaker and perspective. This is the climax of the declaration of the destruction of Babylon that began in Rev. 18:1 by the announcement of the glorious angel from heaven and continued in Rev. 18:4-20 with the voice from heaven describing Babylon’s destruction and the laments over it. The immediate “thing” that precedes this is the strong angel’s object lesson and description of the utter devastation of Babylon.
*John now states his next experience related to this. “I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying.” This is a description of a numerous crowd that speaks in a loud, unified voice. John does not specifically identify this large group in heaven, but it appears to be the redeemed saints in heaven for the same terminology is used in verse 6 for the God fearing slaves who join in the praise of God and in Rev. 7:9 for the innumerable martyrs.
They make a declaration and then give the reasons for it. “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God; 2 because His judgments are true and righteous; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and He has avenged the blood of His bond-servants on her.”
*Hallelujah is the transliteration of a Hebrew phrase which means “praise Yah,” the shortened form of the covenant name of God, Yahweh. In most English translations of the Bible, this phrase is rendered either Hallelujah or praise the Lord. In the twenty-four times it is used in the Psalms, it most often occurs at the beginning or end or both and often connected with the punishment of the wicked as it is here. Three attributes which belong to God are quickly given: salvation, glory and power. Actually, each has an article: the salvation, the glory and the power. Each is a specific point for which praise should be given to God.
*The salvation here is not being used in connection with sin and so is not carrying the sense of either justification or sanctification. This is in connection with the destruction of great harlot, and so it is deliverance from the corrupting influence and persecution that came from her. The salvation is used in a similar sense in Rev. 12:10 in relationship to Satan being cast out of heaven. God is to be praised for His deliverance of His people from Satan and evil. As explained in 1 Peter 1:3-9, what is present in part now will be an absolute reality in the future when we are safe in heaven.
*The glory, the quality of God’s splendor, is displayed in His judgment on the great harlot – religious Babylon. Satan seeks to gain glory for himself, and all false religions seek to redirect glory away from the true God to something else. But divine glory only belongs to God, and He is a jealous God who is a consuming fire (Deut. 424), and He will not give His glory to another (Isaiah 42:8; 48:11). God glorifies Himself in the destruction of the great harlot.
*Rebellious man deludes himself with the idea that somehow he can thwart God’s will. The lament of the kings of the earth over Babylon’s fall includes in their dismay that the great city of Babylon was also a strong city. The lament of those who made their living by the sea includes their wonder at the sight for “what city is like the great city.” Those who worship the beast give the rhetorical proclamation, “Who s like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?” (Rev. 13:4). Nebuchadnezzar gave the answer to that long ago “I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom endures from generation to generation. 35 “All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’ . . . for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride.” God’s power is displayed in the destruction of Babylon.
*Verse 2 gives two causal statements for Babylon’s destruction. First because “His judgments are true and righteous.” They are true for they conform to reality and historical fact. They are also righteous for they are in accordance with the established law of God. In this case, the judgments have come because Babylon has willfully violated God’s laws.
*The second reason for God’s judging of the great harlot was her “corrupting the earth with her immorality.” She influenced those who dwelt on the earth to commit great and grievous sins for which they would not repent (Rev. 14:8; 17:2; 18:3). In addition, she was responsible for shedding of the blood of innumerable martyrs, and God’s judgment of her is in answer to their prayers for God to take vengeance on them.
*Second Hallelujah! – Revelation 19:3
Verse 3 records a second Hallelujah! 3 And a second time they said, “Hallelujah! Her smoke rises up forever and ever.” This hallelujah is given by the same group that gave the first, *but this time it is specifically for the finality of God’s destruction of Babylon, the evidence of which is “Her smoke rises up forever and ever.” That is in the present tense. The smoke continues to rise up eternally. The question immediately rises of how could that be since all the contents of the city would eventually be consumed by the fire and go out?
*The answer is that this encompasses both the physical destruction which would eventually terminate when there is nothing left to burn, but also the souls of those that were part of her. Rev. 14:11 already stated that the smoke of the torment of those that worship the beast would go up forever and ever. This is looking forward to the final judgment in Revelation 20 in which Satan, the beast, the false prophet and all those whose names are not in the book of life are cast into the eternal like of fire.
*Those who deny the eternal nature of Hell and the torment of those cast into it are heretics for they must not only deny the clear teachings here in Revelation, but also of Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 25:31-46 that the accursed are sent into punishment in the eternal fire. The two most common heresies on this topic are universalism, the belief God relents and all people are eventually saved from Hell, and annihilationism, the belief that the unrighteous eventually cease to exist. We will examine the doctrine of eternal damnation in depth when we get to Revelation 20:14-15.
*Third Hallelujah! – Revelation 19:4
John records the third hallelujah in verses 4-5. 4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!”
* The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures are introduced in Revelation 4 when John is given his first view of the throne room of God in heaven. These two groups are seen worshiping God in Revelation chapters 4, 5, 7, 14 & 19. Their worship here consists of falling down and prostrating themselves before God seated on His throne and proclaiming, “Amen. Hallelujah!” Amen is a response of affirmation which in this case is agreement with the proclamation made in previous two hallelujahs to which they then add their own. Praise the Lord for His character displayed in the completion of the judgment and destruction of Babylon and those in her.
*Fourth Hallelujah! – Revelation 19:5-7
The actions of the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures results immediately in the instructions which result in the fourth hallelujah. 5 And a voice came from the throne, saying, “Give praise to our God, all you His slaves, you who fear Him, the small and the great.” 6 Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.”
*The specific identity of the voice that comes from the throne is not given, but it most likely is an angel since he uses the plural term “our God” in the command. If it was the Lamb, He would have used the term “My God” as He did in Revelation 3:2. The command itself is to “Give praise to our God” which is to speak of the excellence of God in relationship to His character, actions or promises. This is in the present tense so it was something they were to continue to do. The command is given specifically to God’s slaves who fear God, both the small and the great. In Revelation, slave of God is used to refer to John (Rev. 1:1), Christians (2:20), the 144,000 (7:3-4), the prophets and saints (11:18), Moses (15:3) the martyrs (19:2) and angels (19:10; 22:9). Since the command is given to those in heaven, these slaves of God are the redeemed and the martyrs of every level and category (the small and the great) who are given the additional description as those who fear God as they were in Rev. 11:18.
*The description of those who respond matches verse 1 – “something like the voice of a great multitude in heaven” with the loud volume here described as “like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder.” Their response fulfills the command as they proclaim, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.” This has always been true because the Lord God is the one “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty” (Rev. 1:8). *Like His eternal nature, God’s attribute of being omnipotent is part of His very being. He is referred to as “the Almighty” nine times in Revelation. With His judgment and destruction of Babylon, God’s reign exerts itself in an obvious way upon the earth, and that will continue with Messiah’s return as the conquering king which is described beginning in Rev. 19:11.
*The Marriage of the Lamb – Revelation 19:7-9
This large group continues on in verse 7 in their praise of God, and in doing so they bring up a new element that is an additional cause for their hallelujah that could now move to the next element in its fulfillment. 7 “Let 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.” * “Let us” is a present, subjunctive as is “rejoice and be glad,” so it is an invitation, not a command, but one that is gladly fulfilled continually by the “us” – the redeemed. The cause of this state of happiness and experience of great joy that are the causes of giving glory to God is that the time of the marriage of the Lamb has come and the bride has made herself ready.
*That preparation is further explained in verse 8. 8 “It 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 description is symbolic which is then immediately explained. One of the preparations a bride makes for her wedding is acquiring the proper clothing. That is still true in our own society as the bride shops for her wedding dress which will not only flatter her beauty, but more importantly, represent the character she has developed because it is of fine material and is bright and clean.
*Fine linen was made from flax, and being described here as “bright and clean,” it would have been white without contamination or being dyed a different color. It would be costly, delicate and soft. Such cloth was associated with both wealth, position and holiness since it was worn by the wealthy (Prov. 31:22), those in high positions Gen. 41:42), the priests and Levites (Exod. 39:27; 2 Chron. 5:12), and angels (Rev. 15:6). A wedding dress made out of fine linen would symbolize the bride’s value and her purity.
*Until recent times a white wedding gown represented the same in western culture. A virgin would wear white and a woman entering a second marriage would wear a pastel. But since fornication before marriage has become so common, very impure women wear white gowns for their wedding resulting in the symbolic meaning being lost in modern culture. It would now be the style and not the color of the dress she chooses that makes a statement about her moral character. But the meaning implied by “fine linen, bright and clean” in the Biblical text still represents value and purity.
*The symbolism of the clothing of the bride of lamb is stated directly. “The fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints,” but notice at the beginning of this verse that this clothing “was given to her.” How can this be both something saints are given and their own righteous acts? Just as a bride can be given her dress, she still has to put it on, so it is with the saints. *This is a description of salvation and sanctification. A sinner is made a saint at salvation when the atoning sacrifice of Christ is applied to the sinner by faith so that he receives forgiveness and is justified before God receiving the righteousness of Christ imputed to him. Being now set apart to God, this change of belief empowered by the Holy Spirit results in a life that turns away from evil and pursues holiness. That is the process of sanctification. It was true prior to the first advent as saints looked forward in faith to God’s promised provision of a Messiah to redeem them, and it is true after Christ’s first coming as saints look back in faith to Jesus being that provision.
*Righteousness is a gift from God to believers which makes them saints, and they are then empowered by the Holy Spirit to live according to that righteousness and performing its deeds. That is why Philippians 2:12-13 calls believers to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling,” and then explains, “for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” In the same way, Paul explains in Colossians 1:29 that his labor in ministry was “striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.”
*Now the question arises, who exactly comprises this bride and when does this take place? The answer to the first question is answered in that this is the bride of the Lamb who throughout Revelation is a reference to Jesus Christ. While in the Hebrew Scriptures the people of Israel are often referred to symbolically as the wife of God (Isaiah 54:5-6; 62:4-5; Ezekiel 16:7-14; Hosea), in the Greek Scriptures, Jesus is described in the symbolism of being a bridegroom in the gospels (John 3:29; Matt. 9:15), and the church is specifically presented as the bride or wife of Jesus Christ in the Epistles (Eph. 5:25-27, 32; 2 Cor. 11:2). This will expand to all saints from every age after the Millennium with the start of the new heavens and earth when the New Jerusalem will be presented as the bride of the Lamb (Rev. 21:8-9). But since verse 9 states there will be guests invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb, there is a restriction here to the church. That restriction also better fits the stages of a Jewish wedding which is the underlying symbolism here.
*There were several stages in a Jewish wedding: The betrothal, the preparation, the procession, the feast, and the consummation. The betrothal is somewhat similar to engagement but with greater legal ramifications. In an engagement in western societies, a man and woman promise to marry each other, and the man gives her a valuable ring as a surety of his promise. Properly, if he breaks the engagement, she gets to keep the ring, but if she breaks it, she gives the ring back. However, that would be a matter of honor for there are no legal requirements for any of this.
*A betrothal was much more serious and it usually involved promises between families and not just the bride and groom. It was not uncommon for royal or wealthy fathers to arrange marriages when the future bride and groom were still children in order to perpetuate the royal line in political alliances or to preserve or enhance the wealth of their children. Daniel 11 contains examples of that in its prophecies concerning the alliances made between the Selucids and the Ptolemys. A dowery of some type was set by the bride’s father as payment for the bride. A good father would keep that in reserve to bless his daughter or support her if something happened to her husband. While it was usually of some form of wealth, it could also be years of labor as was the case of Jacob for Rachel and Leah (Genesis 29:18-30), or military victory as in the case of David and Michal (1 Samuel 18:25-27). A betrothal was legally binding, that is why Joseph was seeking to “put away” (ajpoluw / apolu , the Greek term for divorce) Mary privately after he found out she was pregnant. It took an angel of the Lord to change his mind by telling him that the child was miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit and would be the savior.
*The betrothal of Jesus to the church consists of His many promises to save those who will believe in Him from their sins and grant them eternal life with Him. That is actually rooted in eternity past. *The dowery was His own blood shed at Calvary to pay the price of redemption for those that will believe in Him.
*The next part of Jewish marriage was preparation. The groom would prepare a home where he and his bride would live. Construction of the house could take several years. Meanwhile, the bride would prepare herself for the wedding and married life. Jesus told His disciples in John 14:2–3, 2 “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3 “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” Meanwhile, the church, as stated here in Revelation 19:7 is making herself ready by walking in a manner worthy of the Lord, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God (2 Cor. 1:10-11) in the pursuit of spiritual maturity (Col. 1:28) by functioning as a unified body with each part of it working together in order to grow up in all aspects of the fullness of Christ (Eph. 4:11-16).
*The third part of a Jewish marriage is the procession in which the groom and his friends go to the house of the bride to escort her and her bridesmaids to the home of his family where the wedding celebration would begin, and that could last for days. The parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25:1-13 is an example of such a procession. *The wedding procession for Christ and the church is when Jesus fulfills His promise in John 14:3 to come again and receive His disciples to Himself that they may be where He is. That is described in 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17, 16 “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.” We refer to that as the rapture from the Latin translation of the Greek term (aJrpavzw / harpazo) translated in English here as “caught up.” We believe that occurs at the beginning of the Tribulation period primarily due to the doctrine of imminency, the many New Testament verses commanding Christians to be actively looking in the present time for Jesus’ return for them, but also due to the fact that the purpose of the tribulation period is the purging the Jewish people and God’s wrath to come upon all unrepentant sinners in preparation for the millennial kingdom. The church is not part of the tribulation period on earth.
*The fourth part of a Jewish marriage is the marriage feast which is what is described in Revelation 19:9, Then he said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’ ” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.” This could last for days and would be followed by the consummation of the marriage when the bride and groom would begin to dwell together as man and wife. This marriage supper apparently lasts a long time for the consummation is not until the start of eternity with the coming of the new heavens and earth and New Jerusalem when as already mentioned, all saints from all dispensations comprise the bride of the Lamb (Revelation 21:9-10).
There will certainly be celebration in heaven during the Tribulation period as seen by the many praises given to God throughout it, and perhaps the marriage supper begins there. *The fact Revelation 19:14 describe the armies in heaven that come with Christ are dressed for a wedding – clothed in fine linen, white and clean – adds to that possibility, though that only actually confirms they are prepared for it. However, in view of the causal statement in verse 7 and it being part of the last of the four hallelujahs, it appears this occurs after the destruction of Babylon and the completion of the seventh bowl of wrath which concludes with the second advent of Christ with His armies from heaven and His conquest of the earth. That would place the marriage supper celebration as part of the Millennium. If it does begin in heaven, it will continue in the Millennium.
*Who then are the guests invited to this marriage supper that the angel ensures will know they are blessed by having John write it down? By the way, that invitation is given in the perfect tense so it is an ongoing invitation. Since the church is a distinct portion of all the people of God, those will be both the saints from prior to the church age, and the tribulation saints that come after it, both those that are martyred and those that live through it. John the baptist referred to himself as the friend of the bridegroom (John 3:29) and not the bride, and the tribulation saints are never referenced as part of the church. These wedding guests are not second class citizens of heaven, but blessed people called by God to Himself that have a different role. All present for it will be joyful and celebrate it.
*The voice from the throne then affirms that what he told John “are true words of God.” This unidentified angel has been faithful to speak accurately God’s message.
*Worship God, not Angels – Revelation 19:10
That this is an angel speaking to God is affirmed by what happens in verse 10. Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
*We are not told why John does this. Perhaps he is confused or perhaps he is overwhelmed by all that he has seen and been told, but he will do the same thing again in Revelation 22:8 “to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things.” However, both times he is immediately corrected and commanded not to do such a thing. The angel identifies himself as a suvndouloV / sundoulos, a fellow slave of John’s and all others that “hold the testimony of Jesus.” *That serves also as a correction to the tendency for angel worship that was widespread in the Greek influenced world in the first and second century (See Col. 2:18; Acts 14:13-15; Romans 1:25; 1 Cor. 8:5-6; 1 Timothy 4:1).
*Worship belongs only to God, and the rebuke proves this is an angel and not the Father, Son or Holy Spirit. One of the evidences that Jesus is God is that He thoroughly understood this command since He used it in rebuking Satan in Matthew 4:10, yet Jesus received the worship of men and did not rebuke them (Matthew 8:2; 14:33; 28:9, 17; John 20:28).
*The angel concludes, “For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” The Apostles and prophets of the New Testament received inspiration from the Holy Spirit on what to say and write so that people would know and believe Christ and follow God’s commands to Christians (John 16:13; 20:31; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:21). Those who “hold the testimony of Jesus” are those who believe and will follow what the Scriptures teach about Jesus. In proclaiming those truths, whether in private or public, they are simply repeating what the Spirit has given to the prophets.
*Conclusions
There will be great turmoil on earth when God’s wrath comes upon unrepentant mankind, but there will be celebration in heaven because God’s righteousness and justice will be upheld and carried out. Those who are Christians need not fear what is coming because we will be part of the righteous rejoicing in heaven. That gives us lots of reason to have hope and rejoice in the present.
*The invitation is given to all to join us by turning from your sin to believe in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ to receive forgiveness and adoption into God’s family. However, those who do not will be subject to God’s wrath, and though there will be many that will turn to Christ in those years of tribulation, it will probably come at the price of martyrdom. More importantly, you do not know when your life on earth will end and you will face God’s judgment without recourse or hope. If you are not already right with God, then today is the day of salvation. Don’t put it off any longer. You can be ready for either death or Christ’s return.
Sermon Notes – 12/14/2025
The Four-fold Hallelujah & The Marriage of the Lamb – Revelation 19:1-10
Introduction
Revelation 16 – the sequential narrative of the pouring out of the _________ ___________of God’s wrath
Revelation 17 – the explanatory chapter on the destruction of _____________ Babylon
Revelation 18 – the explanatory chapter on the destruction of _____________Babylon
Revelation 19:1-10
– the _____________section on the four hallelujahs and the marriage of the Lamb
First Hallelujah! – Revelation 19:1-2
“After these things” – the description of the utter ______________of Babylon
The voice of great multitude in heaven – the ____________saints in heaven (See: Rev. 7:9; 19:6)
Hallelujah! = praise + _________, the shortened version of God’s covenant name, Yahweh
For the salvation – God’s __________of His people from Satan & evil – a future absolute (1 Peter 1:3-9)
For the glory – God’s display of His own ___________in His judgment on proud, arrogant Babylon
For the power – God’s power displayed in His ___________ of Babylon
Because God’s judgments are righteous & true: conforming to ____________ and God’s laws
Because God’s judgment of Babylon _________ her corrupting influence on the earth
Second Hallelujah! – Revelation 19:3
For the finality of the destruction of __________
The city of Babylon’s fires will eventually burn out, but the smoke of the torment of her people is ________
Denial of the ___________nature of Hell is heresy whether universalism, annihilationism or something else
Third Hallelujah! – Revelation 19:4
The 24 Elders & 4 living creatures ________the two previous hallelujahs & their reasons and add their own
Fourth Hallelujah! – Revelation 19:5-7
An angel voices the command for all manner of “________of God” & “those who fear Him” to praise God
The command is obeyed by “a great _____________in heaven” who proclaim their hallelujah very loudly
The eternal & omnipotent God always has & always will ______, but it exerts itself in Babylon’s destruction
The Marriage of the Lamb – Revelation 19:7-9
The great multitude adds a new element for their praise to God – the ____of marriage of the Lamb has come
They give an _________to join them in rejoicing, gladness & giving God glory for the marriage of the Lamb
The bride’s clothing was symbolic of her value and ____________
Fine linen was __________, delicate & soft – associated with wealth, position, priests & Levites, and angels
White wedding gowns have ___their symbolic meaning in a majority of society that no longer respects them
The symbolic meaning is stated directly – the righteous acts of the saints – but the linen was ________to her
Salvation & sanctification are both are _________by the Lord, and the saint responds by _________holiness
Righteousness is imputed by God to the believer, who empowered by the Holy Spirit then _______its deeds
The Lamb is Jesus Christ, and His bride is the ______- Matt. 9:15; John 3:29; Eph. 5:25-27, 32; 2 Cor. 11:2
The first stage of a Jewish wedding is _________- much more serious than engagements in western societies
A betrothal involved families, required a dowry, and was ________binding – a divorce necessary to break it
Jesus’ betrothal consists of His ___________to save those who believe in Him & grant eternal life with Him
The dowery was His own _________shed to pay the price of redemption
The next phase was preparation of a home – Jesus is preparing a _____in heaven for His bride (John 14:2-3)
Preparations done, the groom led a procession to the bride’s house to ________ _____back to his home
Jesus’ will return to retrieve His disciples (John 14:3) which will take place at the ______(1 Thess. 4:16-17)
The 4th part is the wedding ______which could last for days. Jesus’ marriage supper lasts for the millennium
Even if it begins in heaven, it continues during the _____________since it comes after the 7th bowl of wrath
The invited guests are the saints ________to the church age and the tribulation saints ______the church age
The voice from the throne affirms he has been ___________to truthfully speak God’s message
Worship God, not Angels – Revelation 19:10
We are not told why John attempts to worship the angel, but the angel __________him both times
The recording of the rebukes is a ___________to the angel worship that existed in the first & second century
Worship belongs _______ ____ ______(Matt. 4:10), & Jesus’ reception of it is evidence of His deity
The Scriptures written by the apostles & prophets are Holy Spirit ________& testify to Jesus & His teaching
Conclusions
Christians will be in _______during the tribulation – the invitation is open to repent & believe & be there too
KIDS KORNER
Parents, you are responsible to apply God’s Word to your children’s lives. Here is some help. Young Children – draw a picture about something you hear during the sermon. Explain your picture(s) to your parents at lunch. Older Children – Do one or more of the following: 1) Count how many times the words “Hallelujah” and bride are said. 2) Discuss with your parents the reasons for the four hallelujahs & and who is the bride of the Lamb
THINK ABOUT IT!
Questions to consider in discussing the sermon with others. What is the relationship between Revelation 19:1-10 and Revelation 16,17 & 18? What does Hallelujah mean? When is the first Hallelujah given? Who gives it? What is its subject and causes? Who gives the second Hallelujah and why is it proclaimed? Why is it heresy to deny the eternal nature of Hell? Who gives the third Hallelujah and why is it proclaimed? Who are those commanded by the voice from the throne to give praise to God? How do they respond? God is omnipotent and has always reigned, so what is the significance of that being included in the fourth hallelujah? What is the significance of the marriage of the Lamb to cause rejoicing, gladness and glory to be given to God? What is the significance of the bride’s clothing? If the fine linen is given to the bride, what is her part in making herself ready with it? Who is the Lamb? Who is the bride? Describe the five stages of a Jewish wedding (betrothal, preparation, procession, feast, and consummation). How / when does Jesus fulfill each of those stages with His bride? Why does the angel rebuke John for trying to worship him? How do you hold to the testimony of Jesus? How is the testimony of Jesus the spirit of prophecy?
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