“After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for true and just are his judgments. . . “Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns.” ” (Revelation 19:1–2, 6 NIV).
With the enemies of Christ and the Church destroyed, the Church gathered in Heaven rejoices. "The first word he hears is Hallelujah. This is an untranslated Hebrew word (rather than Greek). When hallelujah appears in the Old Testament, the New International Version correctly translates “praise the LORD.” [1] "With the prostitute destroyed, the Lamb’s pure Bride is announced, arrayed in purity. it was granted. Her gown of righteous deeds is her groom’s gift of grace (cf. Isa. 61:10; Rev. 6:11; 7:14). On the church as bride of Christ, see 21:2, 9; 22:17; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:25–27." [2]
This is the end game. This is what all creation has been waiting for. This is the "Marriage Supper of the Lamb." “Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”” (Revelation 19:9, NIV)
"In the Old Testament the people of Israel were called the wife of the LORD, yet in the New Testament the church is the wife of Christ as the apostle Paul taught so explicitly (Eph. 5:25–32). The best way to picture verses 7–9 is to remember the two important steps in ancient Jewish marriage. First came betrothal in which there was an agreement to marry. During this extended period, the groom and bride called each other “husband” and “wife” and remained faithful to each other, but there was no consummation of the relationship (see Matt. 1:18–19) as a specific illustration). This period of betrothal corresponds to the present extended era of church history. The second step was the wedding ceremony itself. At this time the groom went in procession to the bride’s house and then escorted her back to his home for an elaborate wedding feast of several days (see Matt. 22:1–10; 25:1–13 for parables of Jesus illustrating this). The text at hand announces that at last the church and her Lord have been united for eternity." [3]
"The feast lasts not one or two weeks but throughout all eternity! This feast is the climax of that entire process by means of which the Bridegroom, Christ, comes to His bride, the Church. It is the goal and purpose of that ever-increasing intimacy, union, fellowship, and communion between the Redeemer and the redeemed. In Christ the bride was chosen from eternity. [4]
Father, even as that great and wicked enterprise of Babylon is destroyed for eternity, so too Your Church is united to You for Eternity. This Father is Your great salvation, uniting sinners, saved by grace, to Your Son, in intimate, glorious fellowship, forever and ever. The day will come when the robes will be actually white, sin will be gone, faith will be sight -- and eternal, unquenchable joy defines our life for trillions upon trillions of years. Thank you, Father.
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1. Easley, K. H. (1998). Vol. 12: Revelation. Holman New Testament Commentary (346). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
2. Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (2491). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
3. Easley, K. H. (1998). Vol. 12: Revelation. Holman New Testament Commentary (349–350). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
4. Hendriksen, William (1998-06-01). More Than Conquerors: An Interpretation of the Book of Revelation (pp. 180-181). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
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