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)
Par 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.
Belief in the Word
Par Bill Woofenden
"And his name is called The Word of God." Revelation 19:13
Additional readings: Isaiah 44:21-28 Psalms 15, Psalm 16
If we believe in God, our Heavenly Father, Who created the world and placed us in it, then we must believe in a Word of God, a Bible, a message from God to tell us what we need to know about Himself and about our relation to Him and about how to live in order to fulfill the purpose of our creation.
A loving parent would tell his children what they needed to know. Still more would our heavenly Father tell his children of Himself and of His love for them and of their nature, in His image and likeness, born for a short life in this world and for eternal development in heaven. He would warn them of the dangers of selfish ness and tell them of the safety and bussing of keeping near to Him and living according to his precepts and commandments.
Consequently there must be a Word, instruction from the Lord to every age and to every people. This Word may be given by perceptions of wisdom from within, by visions, by instruction by angels, as in the early days of the creation of man. At a later date it was given through prophets and took the form of a written and printed Word, to suit the needs of the people. The form may change but there must always be a Word, some message from the Lord to show us the way to a safe and happy life.
In the Writings of the New Church, we are told of an Ancient Word existing and in use long before the days of Moses, written in symbol and parable, as was the custom of speaking and writing in that age. Parts of this Ancient Word are preserved in our scriptures, brief fragments in the books of numbers, Judges, and Samuel, and several chapters at the beginning of the book of Genesis, the first seven chapters verbatim, and the first eleven in substance. Confirmation of the fact of the existence of this Ancient Word is found in the stories of Eden and the flood so like our own which are found in the remains of several nations, especially in those parts of the Near East which were the home of the Church which possessed the Ancient Word.
There has in all ages and with all peoples been a Word of God. We need to note that there are other sacred literatures than the Hebrew and Christian scriptures. These come in part from the same source and bring divine precepts to peoples of a genius differing from our own, but they are mixed with much which is not divine. We should realize that the Old and the New Testaments are the Lord's Word to us. And as they treat of the Lord's life on earth, and as these scriptures are the Word which was made flesh, the Law and the Prophets which He came to fulfill, they are in a unique sense the Word for the whole world to which the command applies, "Go ye, and teach this Gospel to all nations” (Matthew 28:19).
It is indeed a marvel that men can hold in their hands a book which contains a message from God, the Creator of the universe. To some it seems incredible. But God has the power to reach down through all the degrees of the spiritual world and all degrees of the natural. He did reach down through these planes in creating them and still does so in sustaining them. The Word can follow wherever creation goes, for every created object on every plane is an expression of the Divine love and wisdom of the Creator.
Even objects of the lowest natural plane are symbols and types of the Divine spirit within. So comes the parable, heavenly truths clothed in natural terms. In these universal terms God speaks to man, and His Word contains a message for everyone from the highest angel to the lowest man. Everyone hears the message according to his ability to understand, and even in its lowest form, which is the literal meaning, there is Divine light and power, so that it is throbbing with inward life.
"He that hath ears to hear, let him hear" (Matthew 11:15, Mark 4:9). Here is another marvel; the Divine Word can be opened if we have eyes to see and ears to hear. That is why the Lord did not need to set aside the old law, but only to open it in order to reveal the heavenly and Christian message which it contains. He did not destroy the Law and the Prophets, but opened the ancient scriptures and brought forth from them a new light and power for a new age, to meet a new and upward step in the world's development.
And this is the method of His second Coming. For the Word holds at its center the very Divine love, wisdom, and power of God, and has within it love and life for every plane of human life in heaven and on earth, through which it passed to its expression in the language and symbols of this earth.
The New Church is the church of the opened Word, the new light for the new age, revealing the Hebrew and Christian scriptures as the Divine Word for the present day.
That the world has entered a new age we cannot doubt. And this age needs a Word, a message of guidance, protection, and instruction from the Lord. Never was such a message needed more. While those who recognize this need stand doubting, wondering whether to reject the old Word as having served its use—a Word for a crude, unscientific age—and to expect a new Word to fall from heaven or to evolve itself in human minds, the Lord Himself has acted and met the need. He has by a chosen servant showed us that the Word already given has within it Divine love and truth and a message from God to every plane and degree of human development in earth and heaven.
He has opened the Word, the Word which has so endeared itself to men and women in the past and which has proved its power to thousands of heavenward pilgrims of many races. He has opened the word to give what the world needs for its guidance in a new age, a new revealing of Himself, a new revealing of the Christian law in its application to individual life and to the larger social life, a new revealing of what He has done and is doing in heaven and in earth for the establishment of His kingdom.
Out of the old Word, the Word long tried and loved, the new light shines, opening before us the path of the New Age. In the march of progress One goes before us, and the host of heaven follow, and the host of heaven follow, and the host of men and women who work for the progress of the heavenly kingdom, who are ready to give themselves, head and heart and hand for the uplifting of humanity, who are willing to give their lives to make men better and the world happier. "And his name is called the Word of God."
