Day 257, Revelation 19 
We have just read about the battle of Armageddon, where Jesus makes
very short work of the great harlot, the beast, the false prophet, and the
armies that foolishly gather to do battle against Him at His return. They are
truly deluded by the devil to even hope that they might win such a war, and
their fate is sealed before the war begins. The birds that will feast on their
flesh are summoned in advance (19:17-18).
We are told in today's reading that, after her judgment, the smoke
of the great harlot will ascend "forever and ever" (19:3), one more
indication that she represents a wicked city. Keep in mind that the previous
chapter ended with a scene of the smoke of Babylon rising (18:18), while this
chapter begins with a scene of the smoke of the destroyed great harlot rising,
once again leading us to believe that the great harlot and Babylon are one and
the same.
We are also told that the kings of the earth and the armies that
will gather to battle Christ as He returns will be killed by a sharp sword
which comes from His mouth. This, I assume, is symbolic of the fact that
He will kill them with just a word. Paul wrote concerning the antichrist:
“And then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the
breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming” (2
Thes. 2:8). After the antichrist is slain, he will be cast into the lake
of fire along with the false prophet. We will read in the next chapter that
they will be "tormented day and night forever and ever" (20:10)
along with the devil himself.
It seems quite possible that when Jesus returns to earth riding a
white horse, you might also be riding a white horse along with the army that
returns with Him! That army does not seem to consist of angels, but of the
redeemed, as they are described as being "clothed in fine linen, white and
clean" (19:14), and we are told in an earlier verse that those who are
invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb will be given clothing of "fine
linen, bright and clean" (19:8). I suspect that there will be no
casualties among that army at the battle of Armageddon. And with all this in
mind, we may have a better idea what Paul meant when he wrote to the
Corinthians, "We are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your
obedience is complete" (2 Cor. 10:6).
The marriage supper of the Lamb will apparently occur sometime
within this same time frame, and we note that the church is the Lamb's bride.
She will be pure and holy, cleansed by His blood, and the fine linen that she
will wear will symbolize the “righteous acts of the saints” (19:8). So
she will be more than "legally righteous," but also "practically
righteous." It is possible that it was this supper that Isaiah foresaw
when he wrote: “The Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all
peoples on this mountain; a banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with
marrow” (Is. 25:6). Won't that be a wonderful occasion?
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