Title: Final Gathering, Attack, and Collapse (Rev. 19-20)
Topic: Second Coming
Summary: Final Gathering, Attack, and Collapse (Rev. 19-20)
Use the reference links below to follow along in the Bible as you watch.
References:
Revelation 19; 20:1-14; 6:9
Hebrews 9:27
Exodus 15:6, 8-10
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
Ezekiel 38:8-13, 20-23; 39:1, 4-7, 17-29
034 - Final Gathering, Attack, and Collapse (Rev. 19-20)
Durch Jonathan S. Rose
Spirit and Life Bible Study broadcast from 3/30/2011. The complete series is available at: www.spiritandlifebiblestudy.com
Revelation 19
1
And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:
2
For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.
3
And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.
4
And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.
5
And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.
6
And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
7
Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
8
And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
9
And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
10
And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
11
And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
12
His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
13
And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
14
And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
15
And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
16
And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
17
And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
18
That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.
19
And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
20
And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
21
And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
Apocalypse Revealed #832
832. 19:18 "That you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of commanders, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great." This symbolizes an assimilation of goods from the Lord through the truths in the Word and in doctrine drawn from it, of every level of meaning, degree or kind.
The subject of no. 831 above was conjunction with the Lord through the Word, and now here it is the assimilation of goods from Him through the Word's truths.
To eat symbolically means to assimilate (no. 89). The flesh the people were to eat symbolizes goods in the Word and so in the church. And kings, commanders, mighty men, horses and those who sit on them, and people, free and slave, both small and great symbolize truths of every level of meaning, degree or kind. Kings symbolize people governed by the church's truths from the Word, and abstractly the church's truths from the Word themselves (nos. 20, 483). Commanders symbolize people who possess concepts of goodness and truth, and abstractly those concepts themselves (no. 337). Mighty men symbolize people who are learned in doctrine from the Word, and abstractly the learning gained from there itself (nos. 337). Horses symbolize an understanding of the Word, and those who sit on them symbolize people who are wise owing to their understanding of the Word, and abstractly the wisdom gained from there itself (nos. 298, 820). People free and slave symbolize people who acquire knowledge on their own and people who gain it from others (nos. 337, 604). People small and great symbolize people who do so to a lesser or greater degree (nos. 527, 810).
It is apparent from this that the people's being called to eat the flesh of those listed symbolizes an assimilation of goods from the Lord through the truths in the Word and in doctrine drawn from it, of every level of meaning, degree or kind.
[2] It should be known that no one has any spiritual good from the Lord except through truths from the Word. For the Word's truths exist in the light of heaven, and goods in the warmth of that light. Consequently unless one's intellect is in the light of heaven through the Word, his will cannot enter into the warmth of heaven. Love and charity cannot take form except through truths from the Word. A person cannot be reformed except through truths from the Word. The church itself takes form in a person in consequence of those truths - not in consequence of those truths in the intellect alone, but by living in accordance with them. Only then do truths enter into the will and become goods. The appearance of truth is thus turned into the appearance of good. For what pertains to the will and so to the love is called good, and everything pertaining to the will or love is also part of a person's life.
It can be seen from this that what is meant here by eating the flesh of those listed is an assimilation of goodness through truths of every level of meaning, degree or kind, through the Word, from the Lord.
Who cannot see that flesh here does not mean flesh? Who can be so irrational as to believe that the Lord calls and summons all people to a great supper in order to have them eat the flesh of kings, commanders, mighty men, horses, those who sit on them, and all people, free and slave, both small and great? Who cannot see that there is in this a spiritual meaning, and that apart from that meaning no one knows what is meant here? Who can continue to deny that the Word at its heart is spiritual? Would it not be no more than something material if people were to understand it according to its literal sense and not according to the spiritual sense?
[3] Similar to the passage here is the following one in Ezekiel:
...thus says the Lord Jehovih, "Speak to every sort of bird and to every beast of the field: 'Gather yourselves and come; gather together from all sides to My... great sacrificial meal on the mountains of Israel, that you may eat flesh and drink blood. You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth... You shall eat fat till you are full, and drink blood till you are drunk, at My sacrificial meal which I am sacrificing for you. You shall be filled at My table with horses and chariots and... with all the men of war... (Thus) will I set My glory among the nations." (Ezekiel 39:17-21)
Flesh here likewise symbolizes the church's goodness from the Lord through the Word, and blood the church's truth.
Who does not see that people would not be given blood to drink to the point of drunkenness, and would not eat horses, chariots, mighty men, and men of war till they were full, at the table of the Lord Jehovih?
Accordingly, when flesh symbolizes the church's goodness and blood the church's truth, it is clearly apparent that the Lord's flesh and blood in holy supper symbolize Divine goodness and Divine truth from the Lord, the same as bread and wine, regarding which see John 6:51-58. 1
Flesh symbolizes goodness in many other places in the Word as well, as in the following:
I will... remove the heart of stone from their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh... (Ezekiel 11:19, cf. 36:26)
My flesh longs for You in a dry... land... (Psalms 63:1)
My heart and my flesh shout aloud for the living God. (Psalms 84:2)
My flesh... will dwell secure. (Psalms 16:9)
When you see the naked and cover him, and do not hide yourself from your own flesh... (Isaiah 58:7)
Fußnoten:
1. "I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world." The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?" Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven - not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever."
