REVELATION CHAPTER 19
Note that
John hears rather than sees much of this chapter. (Vs.1, 5, 6, 9)
Vs. 1 - The “these things” reference
is the Fall of Babylon described in Ch. 18. The people in heaven are likely the
ten thousand times ten thousand mentioned in 5:1. “Alleluia” is the GK form of the Hebrew
Hallelujah which means “Praise Jehovah”. Salvation comes from the Gk. Soteria and could also be translated,
victory.
Vs. 2 - The judgment referred to here
was announced in 17:1 and detailed in chapters 6, 9, 11 and 16 and is well
described in 1 Nephi 22:13-16.
The JST changes servants to “saints”.
Vs. 3 - The smoke rising up is cross
referenced to the “smoke” in Gen. 19:28, which refers to the smoke rising up
after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Also the destruction of Idumea
(the world D&C 1:36) Isaiah 34:9-10.
Vs. 4 - The 24 elders are the same
ones as we met in 4:4. They are leaders of the 7 churches of John’s time who he
sees in heaven. The 4 beasts were introduced in 4:6. They are “zoon”, actual
beasts that exist in heaven. Joseph suggested that they lived on another planet
than ours. (Parry, p. 61)
Vs. 5 - Servants is changed to Saints
in the JST.
Vs. 7 – The marriage supper of the
Lamb is a symbolic reference to the 2nd Coming of Jesus Christ. Keep
in mind what a bride does to make herself ready. She wants to be beautiful for
her groom. We make ourselves ready with all that we do in our lives. The Church
is the bride and it is trying to be ready. All that the Church does is to
prepare for the coming of the Groom. Repentance and the Atonement are the key
words in our personal preparation
Vs. 8 - “Each of us is invited to the
marriage feast, but we must come dressed appropriately. Let us picture a
wardrobe somewhere in the heavens, with our name upon its door. Inside hangs a
single article of clothing. It is that we will put on when we present ourselves
at the entrance to the supper. Each day we live, we are weaving the threads of
that apparel. If our lives have been filled with service, dignity,
righteousness, obedience, consecration, sacrifice, humility, and charity, when
we open the door a resplendent garment will await us. We will recognize the stitching;
the cut of the cloth, and its adornment, for it will reflect all the patterns
of our lives. In joy we will put it on and enter the feast. But if our
existence has been controlled by selfishness, dishonesty, indulgence, anger,
pettiness, pride, materialism, and hypocrisy, then the open door of the
wardrobe will reveal the poorly stitched, scantily endowed attire that bespeaks
our lives. In such vestments we will not feel comfortable in the presence of
those who employed themselves in learning to be more skilled seamstresses.
(Wilcox p. 270)
Vs. 9 - Here the emphasis shifts from
the righteous collectively represented by the bride to our individual worthiness
as guests. Read JSMatthew vs. 44-55 (wo
to the unprepared) & D&C 101 32-34 (the Lord will reveal all things) for
two contrasting reactions to the coming of the Lord. The Prophet Joseph Smith (1805–44) taught: “Those who keep the
commandments of the Lord and walk in His statutes to the end, are the only
individuals permitted to sit at this glorious feast. … Reflect for a moment,
brethren [and sisters], and enquire, whether you would consider yourselves
worthy [of] a seat at the marriage feast” (Teachings of
Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007]
Vs. 10 - See D&C 130:5. Alma
17:2-3 teaches us how to get that spirit of prophecy. We cannot depend on the testimonies of other
people. We need to know for ourselves. …“The source of this sure knowledge
and firm conviction is divine revelation, ‘for the testimony of Jesus is the
spirit of prophecy’. “We receive this testimony when the Holy Spirit speaks to
the spirit within us. We will receive a calm and unwavering certainty that will
be the source of our testimony and conviction irrespective of our culture,
race, language, or socioeconomic background. These promptings of the Spirit,
rather than human logic alone, will be the true foundation upon which our
testimony will be built. “The core of this testimony will always be the faith
in and the knowledge of Jesus Christ and His divine mission” (DFUchtdorf, “The
Power of a Personal Testimony,” Ensign Nov.
2006, 38).
Vs. 11 - White horse is a symbol of
victory. Look for something else to worry about. You don't have to worry about
the righteousness of the judgment. There has been a war going on since the war
in heaven. Jesus fights fair!
Vs. 12 - Many crowns - See 11:15! "As
with all glorified beings, our Lord has a new name in celestial exaltation, a
name known to and comprehended by those only who know God in the sense that
they have become as he is and have eternal life. See Rev. 2:17. Thus Christ's
'new name' shall be written upon all those who are joint-heirs with him (Rev.
3:12), and shall signify that they have become even as he is and he is even as
the father. (3 Nephi 28:10) DNTC 3:567.
Vs. 13 - The blood on Christ's clothing symbolizes at
least 3 thing; the blood Christ shed in performing the Atonement, the blood, or sins, of the wicked that he
took upon himself and the blood of the unrepentant wicked he has slain in his
wrath. (Parry, p. 260) “Having bled at every pore, how red His raiment must
have been in Gethsemane, how crimson that cloak! “No wonder, when Christ comes
in power and glory, that He will come in reminding red attire (see D&C 133:48), signifying not only the winepress of
wrath, but also to bring to our remembrance how He suffered for each of us in
Gethsemane and on Calvary!” (NAMaxwell, “Overcome … Even as I Also Overcame,” Ensign, May
1987, 72).
The red
apparel may also symbolize the destruction of the wicked at the Lord’s coming
(see Isaiah 63:1–4; D&C 133:46–51).
Vs. 14 - "One of the Lord's titles
is Lord of Hosts, the word hosts is
used to translate the Hebrew tsebaah,
which generally means armies. Christ is the Lord of the armies of heaven.
(Parry p. 260) The linen of the priesthood, the clothing worn by the bride.
Vs. 15 - JST is a great help. A great
example of the 2 edged sword concept. Christ's suffering for our sins was,
treading the winepress. This verse and 14:19 remind us that the wicked will
tread the winepress for their own sins.
Vs. 16 - Who are the kings and the
Lords over whom He will reign? I look forward to good government. I am grateful
for the governing in our Church.
Vs. 17 - In the sun is a position of splendor.
The slain people at the 2nd coming of
the Lord will be so many that the fowls of the air will be invited to come and
feast on the corpses. This is called "the supper of the great God."
(Parry p. 262) Ezekiel 39:17-22 and D&C 29:18-21. Quite a contrast to
marriage supper of the Lamb.
Vs. 18 -If you were in the habit of being
favored and protected because of your position as you fought against the Lamb,
your get out of jail free card just expired. Note the JST.
Vs. 19 - The Ch. 13 beast. This war
started in the pre-earth life and has included battles of Jesus vs. Satan ever
since. Most of the battles have been battles of words and ideas with actual
wars being another part.
Vs. 20 - The image of the beast- In the
days of John, great celebrations were held on the local level in honor of
Caesar as part of the Imperial Cult. Images of Caesar would be worshipped in an
obligatory fashion. What are some of the ways today that people worship the
"image of the beast?" We live in a day when we don't have to be
present to see images of the beast and his products.
"A man
is his own tormentor and his own condemner. Hence the saying, they shall go
into the lake that burns with fire and brimstone. The torment of disappointment
in the mind of man is as exquisite as a lake burning with fire and brimstone. I
say, so is the torment of man. (Joseph Smith HC 6:314) See Parry p. 265
Vs. 21- "the only weapon the
prophets need to defeat the enemy hosts and to establish peace upon the earth
is the proclamation of the gospel." (Draper p. 213) Alma 31:5
“Those with
refined senses find it difficult to conceive of the desolation, destruction,
and death that will prevail during the final great battles ushering in Christ’s
reign of peace. So great shall be the slaughter and mass murder, the carnage
and gore, the butchery and violent death of warring men, that their decaying
bodies ‘shall stop the noses of the passengers’ [Ezekiel 39:11], and it shall be a task of mammoth proportions
merely to dispose of them” (Doctrinal New
Testament Commentary, 3:569).
REVELATION CHAPTER
20
We have witnessed the defeat and
destruction of the beast and the false prophet and the armies of the wicked. In
this chapter we see the binding of their master, Satan for a thousand years.
The followers of the Lamb will reign with Christ and be resurrected in the
first resurrection, while the followers of the beast will have to settle for
left over body parts at the end of the millennium.
Verse 1 – See 9:1 &
Moses 7:26- He has chained others & is now chained. Is. 14:9-20.
& Is. 65:17. “The bottomless
pit” is a term for the realm of Satan and those who follow him (Revelation
20:1, 3). Even there, God holds supreme authority, for it is God’s angel
who has “the key of the bottomless pit” (JST Rev. 20:1)
Verse 2 – This verse gives
us in one verse the four names or titles John calls the adversary; dragon,
serpent, Devil, Satan.
“It is important to note that it is the angel
who captures and binds the devil, not the inhabitants on earth, but he remains
bound because the people refuse to hearken to him. (Parry p. 268) See 1 Nephi
22:26 and Luke 4:13. “When you have resisted a temptation until it no longer
becomes a temptation, then to that extent, Satan has lost his power over you, and
as long as you do not yield to him, to that degree he is bound.” (Eldred G.
Smith, Improvement Era, June 1970, p. 104)
Verse 3 – Other versions
of the Bible agree that it was the pit that had a seal upon it, not Satan. –
D&C 88:110-115; 43:31; 29:22. Joseph Fielding Smith felt that the little
season may last as long as another thousand years. (DS. 1:81) 4 Nephi 24- &
3 Nephi 6:10-16
Verse 4-The enthroned
beings John saw in Revelation 20:4
who were given power to judge may represent the Twelve Apostles Jesus called
during His mortal ministry. Jesus said that these Apostles would sit on thrones
and judge Israel (see Matthew 19:28;
1 Nephi
12:9–10; Mormon
3:19; D&C
29:12). Though the Lord has indicated that some of His servants will assist
Him as judges, the scriptures also affirm that Jesus Christ Himself will be the
great and final Judge of all (see John 5:22; Acts 10:42;
2 Nephi
9:41). This judgment may refer to the 12 presiding over the righteos, not
to a final judgment.
Verse 5 – Details of the 1st
and 2nd resurrections are given in D&C 88:95-102
Verse 6 –1 of 7 Beatitudes
in the Book of Revelation. The 2nd death is spiritual death.
Verse 7 – D&C 88:22 –
Is the pattern of 4 Nephi a possible sign for the end of the millennium? 4 Nephi 1:38? It all starts when a bishop
doesn’t say hello to someone in his ward. (Vs. 27-administered that which was
sacred unto him it had been forbidden because of unworthiness." In the
name of tolerance & Christian Love?)
Verse 8 – The names Gog and
Magog are symbolic names of the hosts that will follow Satan in the war against
the Saints. We find these terms in Ezekiel’s description of the great wars that
precede the 2nd coming (Ezek. 38 & 39) Here they or others are
represented by the same symbolic names fight the Kingdom of Christ. (Parry 275)
In the Bible, a land and people
near the Black Sea. Their king, Gog, shall lead the armies of Magog in a last
great battle before the second coming of Christ (Ezek. 38:2; 39:6). The
scriptures speak of another great battle of Gog and Magog at the end of the
Millennium between the forces of God and the forces of evil (Rev. 20:7–9; D&C
88:111–116). Guide to the Scriptures
-Magog. Latter-day revelation adds the detail
that Michael the archangel, who is Adam (see D&C
27:11), will play an important role in this final battle by gathering the
armies of God together against Satan and his armies (see D&C
88:112).
Verse 9 -
It looks like armies coming from all over the earth to compass the camp of the
saints (Palestine) and the beloved city (the New Jerusalem) but fire comes out
of heaven and the bad guys lose. See 2 Kings 1 for Elijah commanding fire to
come down from heaven. The fire may be symbolic of heavenly power. (Parry)
Verse 10
- Satan joins the beast and the false prophet (19:20) 2 Nephi 9:16. The Old Testament describes the
destruction of the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by fire and brimstone
from heaven (Genesis
19:24). In the book of Revelation, fire and brimstone symbolize the
destruction and ultimate abode of the wicked.
Verse 11- The throne is God
the Father's. There is no room for the old earth, it is being replaced by the
Celestialized version.
Verse 12 - This is the
resurrection of those not resurrected back in vs. 4-5. The books will include
both those kept on earth and in heaven. (D&C 128:6-7) President Joseph
Fielding Smith taught, "Every man will be judged according to his works,
his opportunities for receiving the truth, and the intent of his heart."
(DS 2:2) see also TPJS p. 218)
Verse 13 - There will be no
missing bodies! see also 2 Nephi 9:10-12
Verse 14 - The second death
is the Spiritual Death. The only ones who will endure it forever are Lucifer
and the Sons of Perdition. All others will either take advantage of Christ's
suffering or pay for their own sins and inherit a lower kingdom.
Verse 15 - Make sure you
check your reservation. It is an important book.
“God judges men according to the use they make of the light
which He gives them” (Teachings: Joseph Smith,
405). He also explained, “[The Lord] will award judgment or mercy to all
nations according to their several deserts, their means of obtaining
intelligence, the laws by which they are governed, the facilities afforded them
of obtaining correct information, and His inscrutable designs” (TPJS p. 404).
