Last week, we saw the only time Revelation showed what anti-Christic worship looked like, of course from an eternal perspective. It was full of lament. Now, in contrast, we again see what worship looks like in heaven.
We also see a similarity among the worship scenes in heaven in Revelation.
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Chapters 4-5 |
Chapter 11 |
Chapter 19 |
| And I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living beings and the elders and the thousands; saying with a loud voice… (5:11-2) | and there were great voices in heaven (11:15) | I heard a great voice of many people in heaven (19:1) |
| The 24 elders fall down before the One on the throne … and cast their crowns before the throne” (4:10) | And the 24 elders, who sat before God on their thrones, fell upon their faces and worshiped God (11:16) | And the 24 elders … fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne (19:4) |
| Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty (4:8) | We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty … because You have taken Your great power and reigned (11:17) | Because the Lord God Almighty reigns (19:6) |
| And our of the throne proceed lightning and thunder and voices (4:5) | And there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings (11:19) | Like the voice of strong thunderings (19:6) |
Yet, John is not simply being repetitive, replaying for us what worship in heaven in like. For if we are astute, we see each worship scene linked in some way to our salvation.
- In Revelation 4-5, Jesus, as the only One who has such authority, takes the scroll and begins to break the seven seals. This leads to the opening of the scroll, symbolizing God’s fulfillment of His covenant with His people.
- Revelation 11 precedes the introduction of the woman, Mary, who gives birth to the One who will save us, Jesus Christ. Yet, the woman in chapter 12 takes on dual symbolism, who, toward the end of the chapter, represents the Church.
- Revelation 19 shows the Bride of Christ, the Church, in contrast to the Prostitute of Babylon, who is coming down from heaven in victory. The overthrow of the great Prostitute of Babylon opens the way for another woman to enter the scene.
Read Revelation 19:1-5
Revelation 6:10: [And the saints in heaven] were crying out with a loud voice, saying: “How long, O Master, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
Revelation 19:2: Because He has judged the great prostitute … and has avenged the blood of his servants by her hand.
– What does Revelation 19 show about the prayers of the saints in heaven in Revelation 6?
– Revelation 19:3 mentions smoke from Babylon. How does this differ from the smoke of the saints, which Revelation had mentioned in connection with worship?
Read Revelation 19:6-8
– Why are the saints rejoicing in heaven?
Ephesians 2:8-10: For by grace you have been saved through faith–and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift–not from works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
– What is the source of the “righteous deeds of the saints”? How does this simply reflect the connection between justification and sanctification?
Read Revelation 19:9-10
The last time John mentioned that he was specifically commanded to write something down was Revelation 14:13: “Blessed are those who died in the Lord.” This time the message is this: “Blessed are they who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb.”
Scripture repeatedly uses the imagery of a marriage banquet to celebrate the prophesied messianic deliverance finally taking place. We see this in the Old Testament (Isaiah 25:6, 62:9; and Ezekiel 39:17) and in the Gospels (Luke 14:15-24 and Matthew 22:1-14). So, it should not surprise us that we see such a marriage supper in Revelation.
– Who are those called to the marriage supper of the Lamb?
– Until we are in eternity at the “supper of the Lamb,” what is our “Lamb’s supper” until then?
Indeed, the Lord’s Supper begins the messianic wedding banquet, the victory banquet, which will reach its full consummation in eternity. The Lord’s Supper, here in time, is the messianic feast that will culminate in the feast of the lamb, the lamb’s high feast in eternity.
– Sometimes, we view the Lord’s Supper as an optional add-on to the Divine Service. How does this part of Revelation change that?
– John was so moved by the marriage supper of the Lamb that he did what?
– Why was he chastised?
Read Revelation 19:11-16
– Whom does John now see?
– How do we know the rider on the white horse (mentioned earlier in Revelation 6:2) is Jesus?
– What is John describing (Hint: Not Christ’s first coming but His …)?
Read Revelation 19:17-21
We must remember that John is revealing God’s truths using symbolism. Thus, what he describes here is not literal. But it does testify in a gruesome way about the final defeat of evil. John is also tying in to imagery that Ezekiel used to show the climactic battle between the forces of evil and the people of God.
This is what the Lord God says: Call out to every kind of bird and all the wild animals: Assemble and come! Gather from every side to the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you, a great feast on the mountains of Israel. There you will eat flesh and drink blood. You will eat the flesh of warriors and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, as though they were rams, lambs, goats, and all the fattened bulls of Bashan. You will eat fat until you are satisfied and drink blood until you are drunk, at the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you. At my table you will eat your fill of horses and riders, mighty men and every warrior. (Ezekiel 39:17-20)
This defeat, and victory for Christ, is immediate and total.
– For the saints, the great supper of God gives life. What, instead, is happening in this great supper of God?
Click here to go to Lesson 16.
