Hallelujah!
Praise the Lord!
What a feast we have to look forward to on that day!
I loved verses 7 and 8 that speak of our justification and being given the fine linen to wear. My Bible notes say this "reflects the doctrine of salvation by grace alone.". Beautiful!
I sit in awe of the words written of this feast and humbled and so ... loved. I can only imagine how John must have felt hearing and seeing the vision of all this and being so moved that he was ready to worship the angel! The angel responds that telling John and us to "Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." vs 10a TBP writes about these words, "Prophecy" is the task of every believer to explain and share the Scripture with others. The "spirit" of prophecy is the heart and soul of that Christian activity. The whole purpose for understanding the Bible and talking to others about it is to testify to Jesus. (pg 185)
Faithful. Just. King of kings. Lord of lords. Word of God. God Almighty. All words and phrases that continue to describe Jesus for us.
The second part of this chapter depicts again God's righteous judgement and complete victory over his enemies. Their reign of terror will end. Jesus reigns eternally!
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In this chapter is the dichotomy of Judgment Day. At the center is Jesus.
To those of us who have been given white robes, our victorious Jesus is a sight of unparalleled glory. We all shout our praises together - "Hallelujah!" As the angel said, "Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!"
To the enemies of Jesus (the beast and the false prophet, along with all who are deceived by them), the one who rides on the white horse is clearly "KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS." Their time of grace is over. They are cemented in their rejection of one who, in unfathomable love, died to save them. They are defeated. Unspeakable horror.
Something that struck me as particularly interesting was the description of the names of Jesus in v11-16. First he is called "Faithful and True." But then it says, "He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself." The next verse says his name is "the Word of God." And then a couple verses later it says, "On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS." It made me wonder what this all meant about Jesus' name. Reading The People's Bible gave some insight:
"Name" in Scripture often has the broader meaning of reputation, that is, what is known about a person. Only in heaven will the believer fully appreciate all that Jesus is. "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known" (1 Cor 13:12). While we wait for heaven, we will not press for an explanation of the name of Jesus beyond what he has told us in his Word.
What I take from this is that only Jesus knows all there is to know about himself. We, as believers, know whatever he has told us about him in his word. Those who are about to be defeated know only what is written plainly on his robe and on his thigh as he comes to conquer: "KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS."
I (finally!) have my nativity scene set up. I look at the tiny helpless baby in the stinky barn surrounded by lowly beasts lying in a dirty manger. This is the one! This is he who is called Faithful and True! He is the Word of God! He is KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS! My knees are a little weak. My heart wants to burst at the awesome wonder of it all.
"Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!"
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