The Lamb’s Wife (Rev. 19:5-10)
As the marriage of the Lamb and the presentation of the bride are before Christ’s glorious appearing to judge and govern the world, it might be thought better to class them with those preliminary events dealt with in our last part. They are however so closely associated with His coming to receive His inheritance that the moral connection seems more strictly preserved by regarding them as a foreground to that picture of His advent and reign which fills the rest of the book. Christ takes His inheritance as “Head of the body, the Church;” nor is He, so to speak, perfected for this inheritance until the Church is thus associated with Him; for it is “the fullness [or completion] of Him that filleth all in all.” In one sense indeed the Church is thus associated with Him now; but the time for its full and perfect recognition as the Lamb’s wife is only just before His glorious appearing.
The judgment of Babylon is among the latest acts before Christ’s reign; for the seven last plagues “fill up the wrath of God,” and this judgment is one of the last events in this closing scene. The league of the beast and the ten kings is only for “one hour,” a term clearly signifying a very short period; and they are already gathering their forces for the fatal battle-field of Armageddon, when this outburst of fury lays Babylon in the dust. There is a design in this. The events in heaven wait, so to speak, on the events in the earth. While the harlot reigns the wife does not take the place she has in God’s counsels. As soon as the harlot is judged the wife is seen arrayed in her wedding garments, and the marriage of the Lamb is celebrated in heaven.
“And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye His servants, and ye that fear Him, both small and great” (Rev. 19:5). This verse connects the portion we have before been looking at with that which now comes before us. A voice issues from the throne, the throne of judgment on which God is sitting, claiming worship from all His servants, and all that fear Him. His judgments now visiting the earth include both the solemn destruction of His enemies, and the vindication of His own holiness. The former we have seen in the judgment of Babylon; the latter we now see in the reign of Christ, and the glory of the Church, the first-fruits of His redemption work.
“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 thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God Omnipotent [or Almighty] reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready” (Rev. 19:6-7). Here, as we have seen before, the reign of Christ and of God are spoken of as identical. This is not because Christ is God (for it is as man that He takes the kingdom), but it is because Christ as man perfectly carries out God’s will; so that His government is, what all government should be, the government of God administered in obedience to His will by man. How soon after its institution government lost this character is shown in the Old Testament. How completely it reverses it in its last stage, when the ruling power of the world becomes the executor, not of God’s will, but of Satan’s, is shown in former chapters of this book. Now God is about to give the throne to the one man who will perfectly carry out His will, so that He Himself shall really reign in the earth.
Here again God is spoken of as Lord God Almighty — Jehovah, Elohim, Shaddai. It was as Almighty God that He entered into covenant with Abraham; it was as Jehovah that He made Himself known to Israel. The promises of earthly dominion and government given to the seed of Abraham and the nation of Israel all cluster round these names. It was only by faith indeed that Abraham knew God as the Almighty; but now He is about to show Himself, both to friend and foe, as at once almighty in His judgments, and almighty in His salvation.
But glory is given to God, not merely because He reigneth, but because “the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready.” Who then is this wife of the Lamb? Speaking to the Corinthians, Paul says, “I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:2). And so in another epistle he writes, “husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it... that He might present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.... For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the Church: for we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones.... This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the Church” (Eph. 5:25-32).
These passages show that the Lamb’s wife spoken of in the Revelation is the Church. The scene of the marriage is in heaven, and it is important to bear this in mind, for there is an earthly as well as a heavenly bride, just as there is an earthly as well as a heavenly Jerusalem. The difference, however, is most marked. Jeremiah writes, “Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith Jehovah; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals” (Jer. 2:2). The espoused wife proves herself unfaithful, and is cast off; but God declares, that after many days of visitation He “will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her....And she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth” (Hos. 2:14, 15). And when Christ comes as King, girding His sword upon His thigh, making His arrows sharp in the heart of His enemies, and establishing His throne “forever and ever;” when He appears anointed with the oil of gladness above His fellows, all His garments smelling “of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces;” then it is said to Jerusalem, “So shall the King greatly desire thy beauty: for He is thy Lord; and worship thou Him” (Psa. 45:1-11).
How different the earthly and the heavenly brides! The earthly bride, having proved unfaithful, is cast off, but will at length be allured into the wilderness, and thence restored and made glorious in the earth. The heavenly bride, the true Church of God, has never been cast off, but is taken to be with Christ, and receives glory in heaven. It is clearly to the heavenly bride, and not to the earthly, that the scene in the Revelation refers.
We can now understand why, after the rejoicings which took place on the fall of Babylon, the twenty-four elders are never again seen. As representing the redeemed, they consisted partly of “the Church of the firstborn,” that is, believers baptized into one body with Christ, His bride, and partly of the “just men made perfect,” or the saints of the older dispensations. Until the marriage of the Lamb these formed one company. But now that His wife hath made herself ready, they must separate. Some of those whom the elders represent belong to the Church, the Lamb’s wife, and some do not. They are now, therefore, divided into different companies, each to receive a distinct blessing.
The blessing of the Old Testament saints is afterward named, but John’s vision was naturally riveted on the glories of the wife. “And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; for the fine linen is the righteousnesses of saints” (Rev. 19:8). The use of the plural here shows that this raiment is not the righteousness imputed to all believers, but the righteous deeds of the saints, wrought in them by the Spirit of God, and now displayed as the covering and glory of the Church. The thing is stated in an abstract way to suit the figure, but is individually applied in the epistles. Before this time believers will have been manifested at the tribunal of Christ, their works scrutinized, and a reward, proportioned to their faithfulness, bestowed. Each saint will appear with Christ arrayed in the righteousness He has wrought; the trials of faith, often so hard to bear down here, will “be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:7).
What a contrast between the scarlet and purple, the gold, and precious stones and pearls, with which the harlot dazzled the eyes of the world, and the white robe, the mark of God’s approval, in which it is granted to the wife to appear at the revelation of Jesus Christ! The splendor of the harlot, though “highly esteemed among men, is abomination in the sight of God.” On the other hand, the very deeds that drew down the scorn, the hatred, and the persecution of the world, are owned by God, and given for the adornment of the Lamb’s wife throughout eternity.
“And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God” (Rev. 19:9). Here, then, are two classes. The Church is the Lamb’s wife, but besides her there are persons “called unto the marriage supper.” John the Baptist said, “He that hath the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled” (John 3:29). These words, though spoken of the earthly bride, are equally true of the heavenly. They show that there are saints who rejoice in the bridegroom’s voice, yet are not of the bride. The Old Testament saints were, in this respect, like John the Baptist. They are not of the bride. Heirs of glory and immortality, blessed according to the riches of God’s grace, still their relationship with Christ and their portion in heaven are not the same as those of the Church. Friends of the bridegroom they will, of course, be, and will rejoice greatly because of His voice. Their hearts will go forth in praise and gladness at the marriage supper of the Lamb. This is their blessed portion in connection with the bridegroom whom they love. But to the Church will belong the supreme, unapproachable joy of being acknowledged as His wife, the special object of His affections, presented to Himself without “spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing,” loved and cherished even as His own flesh.
And here comes in a word to the conscience-”These are the true sayings of God.” How such an assurance seems needed as a spur to our poor; halting faith! How apt we are, in contemplating so magnificent a destiny, to yield the assent of our intellects, while withholding the confidence of our hearts. What rapture would fill our souls, if these things were received, not only as doctrines, but as facts. How the brightest light of this world would pale before the splendor of this noonday sun. What down here could attract the heart that was really gazing by faith on this prospect of unclouded glory opened up to us in the heavens? What riches, what splendor, what pleasures, could allure the soul to earth, which had appropriated, through trust in God’s word, the glories that belong to the Lamb’s wife?
So overwhelming is this spectacle, that John, oppressed by the exceeding weight of glory, would fain render divine homage to the angel that showed him it. “And I fell at his feet to worship him; and he said unto me, See thou do it not; I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Rev. 19:10). God alone is the object of worship. The angel, however glorious, is only a ministering spirit, and here ranks himself with John as a “fellow-servant.” He is also the fellow-servant of all “that have the testimony of Jesus.” This, in the book of Revelation, is the spirit of prophecy. In other portions of the Word the Holy Ghost speaks, but here the spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus Himself, for it is “the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him, to show unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass.”
Christ’s Coming With His Saints (Chapter 19:11-20:3)
The marriage of the Lamb has hardly taken place, when the grand spectacle for which all the previous history has formed the avenue suddenly bursts upon our sight. Terrible as the successive waves of judgment have been, they have led to no repentance. Man, as the billows have broken over him, has only hardened himself in iniquity, and blasphemed the God from whom these warnings came. Their terror has not roused him from his self-satisfaction and self-seeking. Life still runs its course as when Noah entered into the ark, or when God rained fire and brimstone from heaven upon the cities of the plain. Men eat and drink, marry and give in marriage, buy and sell, plant and build, till the very day that the Son of Man appears “in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God.”
And if such is the ordinary course of life even in this dreadful epoch, what will be the condition of the world politically and morally? A great war will be raging, with the Holy Land for its battle-field and its prize. The prince of the Roman Empire, now strangely revivified, will have led his confederate forces into the country to perish on the field of Armageddon. The unbelieving portion of the Jews, who, under the false Christ, have re-established idolatry and entered into a league with the Roman confederacy, will be sustaining a siege of unexampled horrors from an enemy that has crossed the Euphrates and now threatens the total destruction of the nation. Behind this scene Satan will be at work, using the antichrist as his tool to deceive the Jews, the head of the Roman Empire as his tool to corrupt the Gentiles, and both as his tools to persecute the faithful remnant who, in the very vortex of this raging wickedness and misery, are still crying, and looking to God for deliverance. And over all is God, still hidden, but unswervingly carrying out His own purposes, converting the machinations of His enemies and the wiles of Satan into pit-falls for their destruction, and instruments for the accomplishment of His own will.
It is only with one branch, either of the judgments or of the blessings, that the Revelation deals. Other Scriptures tell the fate of Gog, of the Assyrian, of the Edomites, and other neighboring nations. This book describes only the judgment of the Roman prince and of the false Christ, who have cast so lurid a light over its earlier chapters. Other Scriptures tell the glories of the earthly Jerusalem and of restored Israel. This book describes only the glories of those who reign with Christ, and of the New Jerusalem, “descending out of heaven from God.” We do indeed catch glimpses of the countless throng of Gentiles emerging from “the great tribulation,” of the sealed remnant of Israel, and the victorious remnant of Judah, through momentary rifts in the dark clouds of judgment which have been rolling round us. These glimpses show how fully the word of God here fits in with the word of God elsewhere. But the general object of the book is to supplement the truths already revealed, by fresh unfoldings of God’s purposes. The Church held no place in the Old Testament teaching. It is, therefore, concerning the Church, and things connected with the Church, that the light of revelation is here specially given.
Now this book takes up the Church and its immediate connections in three aspects: the true Church, whose glory it shows in heaven as the Lamb’s wife; the false church, whose destruction it narrates in the fall of Babylon; and Latin Christendom, which, as the revived Roman Empire, at last destroys Babylon, and plunges into blasphemous infidelity and idolatry. It is of these things, scarcely touched in the Old Testament, that the book of Revelation treats. The fate of Babylon we have already seen: the coming of Christ, in its connection with the true Church and the Roman Empire, is now brought before us.
Christ’s Glory and Army (Rev. 19:11-16)
“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a name written, that no man knew, but He Himself. And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and His name is called The Word of God” (Rev. 19:11-13). The great event for which the saints have been sighing, creation groaning, and even a shuddering world at one time looking, now at length takes place. Mounted on a white horse, the symbol of victorious power, Christ issues from the opened heavens. While, on earth, “they are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy, there is none that doeth good, no, not one,” He comes as the Faithful and the True. The armies of the world were summoned by “unclean spirits,” but “in righteousness He doth judge and make war.” Coming in awful retribution, “His eyes are as a flame of fire;” while as King, He wears on His head “many crowns.” But beyond all that man’s eye can see, He has a glory and character of His own, incommunicable and incomprehensible, “a name written, that no man knew, but He Himself.” Man as He is, He is also the Son of God, and thus a fullness resides in Him which no mere creature intelligence can fathom.
Awful to relate, He is “clothed with a vesture dipped in blood,” not the blood of atonement, but the blood of judgment. He is red in His apparel, because, as He says in Isaiah, “I have trodden the wine-press alone; and of the people there was none with Me: for I will tread them in Mine anger, and trample them in My fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon My garments, and I will stain all My raiment. For the day of vengeance is in Mine heart, and the year of My redeemed is come” (Isa. 63:3-4). It is a terrible picture, but not more terrible than true. He is, as in the days of His humiliation, “the Word of God,” the perfect exponent of God’s mind. Then He came “full of grace and truth,” laid His glory by, stooped to death, and was made a propitiation for sins. He has since sent forth His ambassadors, praying men, in His stead, to be reconciled to God. But men have scorned and slighted His invitations, despised and persecuted His messengers. And now the same “Word of God” comes again, to declare and execute God’s will, no longer in grace, but in judgment.
Even now, indeed, His love is as great as ever, and the blessings He bestows as worthy of Himself. But they must be brought in by judgment. Men, having refused to submit to His grace, must be made to submit to His power.
Then shall the world be filled with praise. Then shall the song burst forth, “Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands: sing forth the honor of His name: make His praise glorious. Say unto God, How terrible art Thou in thy works! through the greatness of Thy power shall Thine enemies submit themselves unto Thee. All the earth shall worship Thee, and shall sing unto Thee; they shall sing to Thy name” (Psa. 66. 1-4).
But Christ does not come alone. “And the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of His mouth goeth 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 wine-press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God” (Rev. 19:14-15). These armies in heaven are “clothed in fine linen, white and clean,” which, as we have lately seen, symbolizes “the righteousnesses of saints,” and, like Christ, are seated on white horses, types of victorious power. This identifies them with the Church, which is clothed in white raiment, and is to reign with Christ. That it must be the Church is clear, too, because Christ is now coming to “smite the nations,” and to “rule them with a rod of iron.” But He has promised the Christian overcomer to give him “power over the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers, even as I received of My Father.” So likewise, in describing the war of the ten kings against the Lamb, it is said, those who “are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful” (Rev. 17:14). Now this can only refer to saints, for though angels are “chosen and faithful,” they are not, and could not be, spoken of as “called.” Calling, on the contrary, is the special characteristic of the saints, who are constantly spoken of as “called saints,” or saints by calling. It is, therefore, the Church, with the addition, perhaps, of the Old Testament saints, that here accompanies Christ as the armies in heaven.
The Church is associated with its Head in everything, in suffering, in life, in judgment, in dominion, in glory. Like Christ, it is not of this world, and in the world it must have tribulation. But if believers suffer with Christ, it is because they are quickened together with Him, and “He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken their mortal bodies.” They are, therefore, one with Him in life as well as in suffering. And being thus associated with Him, He makes them sharers of all He is and has. If He will judge the world and angels, the saints shall judge the world, and judge angels also. If He will rule the nations with a rod of iron, the saints will rule them with a rod of iron also. If He will appear in glory to the world, the saints “shall appear with Him in glory” also. If He reigns, the saints who suffer shall reign with Him also. Here He comes forth with a sharp sword out of His mouth, to tread “the wine-press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God,” and the saints, as the armies of heaven, come forth with Him also.
“And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” (Rev. 19:16). How vain are all man’s efforts to resist God. “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against Jehovah and against His Anointed.” The armies of the beast have been summoned to “make war with the Lamb.” To such giddy heights of madness can human pride and presumption climb. But God’s decree remains unchanged: “Yet have I set My King upon My holy hill of Zion.” In spite of all man’s feeble efforts He hath “a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords;” for God hath “given Him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:11).
Judgment of the Beast and False Prophet (Rev. 19:17-21)
“And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great 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 on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great” (Rev. 19:17-18). God prepared a great supper before, a banquet of grace and love, and sent out His servants to call them that were bidden. For near two thousand years the table has been spread, and still men turn a deaf ear, and go, one to his farm, and another to his merchandise. Nay, the remnant have taken His servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slain them. But God will not be mocked forever. The day of judgment has now dawned. It is not now, as with Israel, armies sent forth to destroy the murderers and burn up their city. It is Christ Himself coming to slay them with the sword of His mouth. And now another supper is spread, the supper of the great God, and the flesh of kings and captains, the despisers alike of grace and judgment, is the dreadful repast. An angel, standing in the seat of supreme authority, bids the guests, “all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven,” to come and revel in the feast. One’s heart sickens at the horrid sight, and one can only say, with Abraham, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
And now comes the great catastrophe, the end of man’s daring machinations when he madly raises his puny hand against God. “And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him that sat on the horse, and against His army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into, a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of Him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of His mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh” (Rev. 19:19-21). Man dares to defy God now; but how fearful the arrogance to which his pride will reach, when he goes forth “to make war against Him that sitteth on the horse!” Yet “these are the true sayings of God.” This is what man will surely do. But how speedy and inevitable the end! As in creation, “He spake and it was done, He commanded and it stood fast,” so here, in an instant, the wicked is consumed with the spirit of His mouth, and destroyed with the brightness of His coming. There is no campaign here, no long, doubtful struggle, with victory inclining first to one side and then to the other; for as Isaiah says, when describing the destruction of another adversary by the Lord’s advent, “Every battle of the warrior is with confused noise and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire” (Isa. 9:5). The armies of the beast are slain, and given to the fowls of heaven. But a more awful fate is reserved for the beast and his wicked coadjutor.
Two men have been taken to heaven without tasting death. Two men will be cast into hell without tasting death. A thousand years before the dead are judged, a thousand years before Satan is finally punished, the leaders of man’s guilt and blasphemy will be “cast alive into a Lake of fire burning with brimstone.” Other companies will follow both in the blessing and the doom. When the Lord comes for His saints, before the time we are now looking at, all believers living on the earth will be caught up to be with Him in heaven. When the Lord judges the nations, shortly after the time we are now looking at, all those whom He places on the left hand will be banished at once “into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” But as there is something specially blessed in the lot of the two men singly caught up into God’s presence, so there is something specially ghastly in the fate of the two men singly cast into the lake of fire. There is an awful isolation in their doom which oppresses the imagination. And yet this is the destiny of men whom the popular voice has exalted into gods, men whose wisdom and power have been the theme of universal admiration, men who have only carried out the common desire of our fallen nature to forget God, and work according to their own will.
Satan Bound (Rev. 20:1-3)
There are, as we have said, other judgments on the nations before Christ’s throne is established and His people fully delivered. Three epochs are fixed-the thousand two hundred and sixty-days already named, and two others beginning from the same period. “And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days” (Dan. 12:11-12). There are, therefore, three stages in the deliverance, one thirty days, and the other seventy-five days, after the close of the three and a half years. But since the only judgment here named is that of the beast and his confederates, it would be beside our purpose to enter into the other events.
The Revelation, however, draws aside the curtain, and discloses a series of scenes not named in other scriptures. The war in heaven showed the part which Satan was playing as accuser of the brethren. Afterward, however hidden behind his human masks, he is the real instigator of all the horrible wickedness and cruel persecution of the saints which his deluded agents carry on in the world. Till now God has left him at large; and such is the power which he has gained by his lies over the hearts of men, that he is called the prince and the god of this world. But now that the true Prince is come, and God claims His rights as the Creator and Governor of mankind, Satan must be bound. If the true wife is to be acknowledged, the harlot must be judged; if the true Prince is to be acknowledged, the usurper must be put aside. “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled; and after that he must be loosed a little season” (Rev. 20:1-3).
Satan is not very frequently mentioned in the Old Testament; but enough is said there to show his real character. He is the persistent hater of God and good. He first appears as the deceiver of men, then as their accuser before God, and in both cases his falsehood rivals his malice. Hence our Lord says of him, that “when he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44). As God is the author of truth, Satan is the author of falsehood; as God is the author of light, Satan is the author of darkness. But, alas! his deceits have so blinded men’s eyes, that even when the light shines they love darkness rather than light. He so deluded the Gentiles, that they worshipped devils instead of God; he so deluded the Jews, that they clamored for the blood of their own Messiah, and crucified the One who alone could bring them blessing. Since then he has gone about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he might devour. He is “the god of this world,” “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.” He has infused his poisonous corruptions into Christianity, and will at last bring in that iniquity and blasphemy which draw down so dreadful a doom on the beast and the false prophet. While he is permitted to go to and fro in the earth there is no safety for man. At the beginning of Christ’s reign therefore he is bound, and allowed to deceive the nations no more.
This is not, as some have thought, the result of the spread of truth. So far from truth spreading, it is at this period all but extinguished, and the most hideous wickedness is coming in like a flood. Satan’s power is never so great as just before his imprisonment. Instead of being overthrown by the triumphs of the gospel, he is suddenly arrested in the very climax of his disastrous sway over the hearts of men by the personal advent of the Lord Himself. The blessings brought to the world by this advent come, not gradually, but in a moment. It is suddenly that Satan is bound, suddenly that the beast and false prophet are destroyed, suddenly that God’s faithful people are redeemed, suddenly that creation “is delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God.” Then will come a season of real blessing for the earth and for mankind. But all Scripture describes its advent, not as a gradual dawn slowly expunging the darkness from the sky, but as a vivid burst of light revealing and banishing the thick gloom that overspreads the nations, and then shining in calm splendor over a redeemed and emancipated world.
The Millennial Reign (Rev. 20:4-15)
The reign of Christ is often spoken of in Scripture. Its splendors and blessings, as affecting Israel, shine prominently out in the Old Testament, and stand clearly marked in the background of the New. They have shot occasional gleams of sunshine even through the thick gloom of judgment which envelopes this book. Here, however, in consistency with the general character of the Revelation, we set, rather the retributive than the beneficent side of the Messiah’s kingdom. “He must reign till He hath put all enemies under His feet.” The first act of the reign was the judgment of the living, of which we had one awful example in the beast and his armies. Its last act will be the judgment of the dead and the casting of Death and Hades into the lake of fire.
The Fellow-Heirs (Rev. 10:4-6)
The earthly glories of the Messiah’s kingdom are, as we have said, merely seen in transient glimpses throughout this book. But the heavenly glories, about which other Scriptures are silent, are more fully detailed. Believers are said to be “heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.” When Christ reigns, therefore, it will not be alone, but in company with His fellow-heirs. This is the feature of the reign now brought before us. “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them; and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God, and [those] which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection; on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years” (Rev. 10:4-6).
Three classes are here associated with Christ in His reign. The first is not described: “I saw thrones, and they sat upon them.” Who are these? None to whom this could refer have been named since the armies of heaven came forth with Christ. It can only be to these, therefore, that allusion is here made. Indeed, the reason why they are not more fully described is probably that none other could be meant. These armies of heaven, as we have already seen, consist, wholly or in part, of the church. But the Old Testament saints may, perhaps, also be included. The garment of white linen is the special bridal costume of the Lamb’s wife, but as it signifies “the righteousnesses of saints,” it might adorn also the saints of the older dispensations. It is not, indeed, said that these shall reign with Christ, but comparatively little is revealed as to their distinctive portion in the heavenly glories, and the silence of the Old Testament is not supplied by the teachings of the New. The Lamb’s wife is the Church, and only the Church; but it is possible that the older saints are included in the armies of heaven which accompany Christ and in the first of the three classes which share His reign.
In this reign the Church, whether alone or not, obtains its long-promised portion. Believers, fully conformed to Christ’s image, will share His dominion over “the world to come.” Such are the riches of God’s grace bestowed upon all who have rested in Jesus as a Savior. After enumerating the most loathsome vices and crimes, the apostle says to the Corinthians, “And such were some of you; but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6:11). And of such it is declared joint-heirs with Christ,” that they are made “meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.” No wonder the apostle prays that we “may be able to comprehend with all saints, what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge.”
But besides this first class there are two others. On the opening of the fifth seal were seen “under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held” (Rev. 6:9). This is the second class, here described as “the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God.” These had cried to God to judge and avenge their blood on them that dwell on the earth. They had white robes given them, but “it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow-servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.”
These fellow-servants and brethren of the earlier martyrs form the third class of those who have “part in the first resurrection.” It consists of those slain during the great tribulation for refusing to worship the beast and his image, saints whom we have already seen by anticipation in heaven, who having “gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.”
The proper hope of these two later classes of saints was not heavenly, but earthly. They were called after the Church, or heavenly dispensation, had passed away, and called to look for Christ’s return to reign over the earth. Of this they witnessed; for this they died. But by their martyrdom they lost the very hope for which they had been martyred; and as the heavenly hope was not theirs, what was to be their portion? To the last class “a voice from heaven” had proclaimed, “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth; yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors, and their works do follow them.” We now see what this blessedness is. Instead of the earthly portion they have lost, they are made to share the heavenly portion of the Church, and perhaps the saints of the older dispensations, as joint-heirs with Christ. Truly a blessed exchange! For God delights to give, not according to the measure even of His own calling, but beyond all measure except the abounding fullness of His own grace.
These three classes, then, live and reign with Christ. At this point the book lays aside for the moment its usual symbolic garb, and appears in a naked simplicity of language which leaves room for no misunderstanding. It says that Christ comes to judge the world; that after destroying His enemies and binding Satan, He reigns for a thousand years; and that in this dominion the three classes of heavenly saints live and reign with Him, while the rest of the dead live not again until the thousand years are finished. This shows that the saints here named had, for the most part at least, been dead, and had now been raised. For if they had been only disembodied spirits, in what would they have differed from “the rest of the dead”? The difference is, not in the fact that their spirits lived, for this was common to both, but in the fact that their bodies had been raised.
Hence it goes on to say, “This is the first resurrection,” showing that there is more than one resurrection, and that these persons who live and reign with Christ are raised in the first. It adds, “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection; on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.” No language could be clearer. It is evident that there are two resurrections — the first of believers before the thousand years’ reign, and the second of unbelievers after the thousand years’ reign. If this does not mean a resurrection of the body, where in Scripture is the resurrection of the body taught? The theological chemistry which could evaporate the teaching of this passage could equally evaporate the teaching of the others, or indeed of any passage on any subject. The Church having through its worldliness lost the present hope of the Lord’s return, began to look for it only at the end of the world. Hence the doctrine of a universal resurrection and judgment at that period received general acceptance, and theology sought to manipulate Scripture into accordance with this doctrine. But no manipulation can destroy the plain meaning of a passage like this, which shows that there are two resurrections — one to life, the other to judgment — and that the first precedes the second by a period of a thousand years.
Other scriptures show that the first resurrection takes place when Christ comes for His saints. “The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:16, 17). And again, “Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1 Cor. 15:51, 52). These passages show that the first resurrection takes place when the Lord comes for His living saints, and that this was to be the present hope of even the generation of Christians then on earth. Hence our Lord says, “Let your loins begirded about, and your lights burning; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that, when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately” (Luke 12:35-36). And Paul commends the Thessalonian saints because they had “turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven” (1 Thess. 1:9, 10).
This is the great scene of the first resurrection, which takes place before the judgments and sorrows recorded in this book. It includes all of the first class, all the saints, who, as represented by the four and twenty elders, are seen around the throne of God in glorified bodies, while the judgments are visiting the world. But the other two classes who share this resurrection suffer martyrdom during these judgments. Their resurrection is therefore a sort of supplemental act to the great scene already described. It is symbolized, at least partly, in the raising of the two witnesses. It is not said that these two classes of saints form a part of the bride; for this is the blessed distinction of the Church alone; but like the rest of the saints who have part in this resurrection, they are “blessed and holy,” are freed from the power of the “second death,” are “priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.”