Charles Ellicott Commentary Revelation 19

THE CHORUS OF THE HEAVENLY MULTITUDE REJOICING OVER HER FALL.

And after these things I heard . . .—Or, I heard, as it were, a mighty voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying. The saints who were commanded in the last chapter to rejoice are now heard raising their songs as in one great voice of praise. The song is as follows:

Alleluia!
The salvation, and the glory, and the power
Are our God’s,
Because true and righteous are His judgments,
Because He judged the great harlot, who corrupted the earth with her fornication,
And avenged the blood of His servants out of her hand,
Alleluia.

This last “Alleluia” clearly belongs to the song or chorus. It is separated from the body of it by the descriptive words (Revelation 19:3), And again they said, Alleluia; or better, and a second time they have said. The Evangelist, as he writes, seems to hear once more the strains of the anthem: he writes down the words, and as the final “Alleluia” bursts forth after a musical pause, he writes, “once more they have said Alleluia.”

The word Alleluia occurs in this passage no less than four times (Revelation 19:1; Revelation 19:3–4; Revelation 19:6): it is used nowhere else in the New Testament, but it is familiar to us in the Psalms, as fifteen of them begin or end with Praise you the Lord, or Hallelujah; and the genius of Handel has enshrined the word in imperishable music. The song here does not begin with ascribing “salvation, etc.,” to God, as the English version suggests: it rather affirms the fact: the salvation, etc., is God’s. It is the echo of the ancient utterance—Salvation belongs to God.

It is the triumphant affirmation of the truth by which the Church and children of God had sustained their struggling petitions, as they closed the prayer which Christ Himself had taught them, saying, when too often it seemed to be otherwise, Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory. So here they give a threefold praise: the salvation, and the glory, and the power are all God’s. The manifestation of His power is in the deliverance of His children from the evil, from the great harlot, and in the avenging the blood of His servants out of her hand, “forcing, as it were, out of her hand the price of their blood.”

And the twenty-four . . .—The twenty-four elders, the representatives of the Church, and the four living beings, the representatives of nature, fell down and worshipped God who sits (not “sat,” as in the English version) on the throne. These, too, join in the chorus of praise.

And a voice came.—From the direction of the throne, there came a voice calling all God’s servants to rejoice. We are not told whose voice it is. Some have assumed that it is Christ’s; it is better to leave it indefinite. In response to this call, the voice of praise is heard (like the voice spoken of in Revelation 14:2), as it were, the voice of a great multitude; and, as it were, the voice of many waters; and, as it were, the voice of mighty thunders. All nature’s tones seem mingled in this voice of praise: it is human, it is majestic as the sea, and glorious as the thunder.

The Anthem.

Alleluia!
For the Lord reigned,
The God, the Almighty.
Let us rejoice and exult,
And we will give the glory to Him,
Because the marriage of the Lamb has come,
And His wife has made herself ready.

In this anthem, the word for “reigneth” is not in the present tense, as in the English version; but, though it is translated here “reigned,” we must not understand it as referring only to the past: it expresses the exultation of God’s servants that the Kingship of their God is manifested and vindicated against those who denied or hated His rule.

His reign never ceased, and He has shown that His was a real sovereignty. Their joy also rises from the prospect of the closer union between the Lamb and His Bride.

This close union is more fully spoken of later. Here the glorious end is for a moment anticipated: the morning glow announces the coming day, and it is near, even at the doors. The image of the marriage is familiar. It entered into our Lord’s parables (Matthew 22:2–10; Matthew 25:1–10); we also find it in the Psalms and in the Epistles (Psalms 45, and Ephesians 5:23; Ephesians 5:30; 2 Corinthians 11:2).

And to her was granted . . .—Better, And it was given to her that she should be clothed in fine linen, bright, pure; for the fine linen is the righteousness (or, righteousnesses; the word is plural) of the saints. This verse is not to be taken as part of the song. The song closes with the announcement that the Lamb’s wife has made herself ready. Then follows the explanation of this readiness: she is adorned in fine linen.

Her apparel is in contrast to the harlot: it is not purple and scarlet (Revelation 17:4; Revelation 18:16), but pure white. The symbol is explained: the fine linen is the righteousness (or, righteousnesses) of the saints. The raiment is that which strikes the eye: it has its character, and it indicates the character of the wearer. The harlot attracts by ostentatious colors, the tokens of qualities more conspicuous than abiding, more dazzling than helpful; the Lamb’s wife is robed in pure and stainless white, the token of those high, moral, spiritual qualities by which she has been known.

The source of these righteousnesses is divine: it is given to her to be so arrayed. It is no fictitious righteousness: it is real, it is hers, though it would never have been hers but for Him without whom she can do nothing (Compare to John 15:4-5 and Philippians 3:8-10): and it is through the wearing of this white flower of a blameless life that she has borne witness for her Lord, and against the spirit of harlotry and sin (Matthew 7:16–18).

And he says to me . . .—Who is the speaker? The general and simplest opinion is that it is the angel mentioned in Revelation 17:1 who speaks. The speaker instructs the seer write: “Blessed are they who are bidden to the supper of the marriage of the Lamb.” This is one of the six blessings of the Apocalypse (Revelation 1:3; Revelation 14:13; Revelation 20:6; Revelation 22:7; Revelation 22:14). It is founded on our Lord’s parables (Matthew 22:1; Matthew 25:1). The blessing of the call to the marriage supper is more clearly realized now that the day of joy is near.

We must not draw too sharp distinctions, as some have done, between the bride and the guests: the imagery is varied to give fullness and force to the truths which no emblems can adequately express. The Church of Christ will rest, and feast, and reign with her Lord; and in all the peace, gladness, and triumph of that time of joy God’s servants will share. A solemn confirmation of this follows, as in Revelation 21:5; Revelation 22:6: “these words are true (sayings) of God.”