Mourning Turned to Joy

Jesus said, “Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted.” And “Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy.” [1]

Many have mourned and lamented throughout history because of how sinners treat Christ and His servants. For example King David prayed, “O Lord, God of my salvation, I have cried out day and night before You. Let my prayer come before You; incline Your ear to my cry. For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to the grave.” “Shall Your wonders be known in the dark? And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?” [2]

In Revelation 19, Jesus reveals to John and to us, the mourning of His people turning to joy.

“After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, ‘Alleluia! Salvation and glory, honor, and power belong to the Lord our God! For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.’ Again they said, ‘Alleluia! Her smoke rises up forever and ever!’ And the 24 elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, ‘Amen! Alleluia!’ Then a voice came from the throne, saying, ‘Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!’” [3]

Alleluia is the Hebrew phrase for praise the Lord! The word “praise” appears approximately 259 times in the Bible. “Praise” is a significant theme in the Bible.

The great multitude in heaven is crying out “Praise the Lord” in a loud voice for avenging the blood of God’s servants on Babylon. Babylon is a code word for the kingdom of Satan. Satan wanted all people to denounce faith in Christ, but God’s servants praised Jesus. The devil’s disciples deemed proclaimers of Christ rebels. But now Babylon is smoldering, and a great multitude of redeemed people by the blood of the Lamb are rendering glory, honor and power to the Lord God because of His righteous judgments. The 24 elders and the four living creatures join with them and invite all God’s servants in heaven to praise God.

God has responded to the prayers of His mistreated people and brought about a new day. He did not allow evil to win. Now, that the harlot is gone, it is time for the marriage of the Lamb and His bride to begin. The woman who was treated poorly is now experiencing redemption. The saints are experiencing vindication! Abuse and insults are over.

The previous sufferings of our Lord’s witnesses is noted throughout the Book of Revelation.

Revelation 2:10 – Smyrna Christians imprisoned 10 days
Revelation 2:13 – The Lord’s faithful witness Antipas martyred
Revelation 5:9, 11 – The crucifixion of Christ is referenced
Revelation 6:9 – Martyrs slain for the Word of God
Revelation 11:7 – The two witnesses slain by the beast
Revelation 12:17 - The dragon wars with keepers of God’s Word
Revelation 13:7 - The beast overcomes the saints
Revelation 16:6 – They have shed the blood of saints and prophets
Revelation 17:6 – Woman drunk with blood of saints and martyrs
Revelation 18:24 – Babylon killed prophets, saints, and others
Revelation 19:2 – God avenges the shed blood of His servants

“And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, ‘Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.’ And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, ‘Write: blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ And he said to me, ‘These are the true sayings of God.’ And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, ‘See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.’” [4]

The celebration is about the removal of the distance between God and His people. Mockers will no longer mock their love for Christ. Marriage is a code word for a love relationship that is to be happy forevermore. The bride symbolizes people who love God and are loved by Him.

The Lord said to His people long ago, “I will betroth you to Me forever; yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice, in lovingkindness and mercy; I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, and you shall know the Lord.” [5]

Clean and bright garments are given to them. The garments symbolize the righteous acts of the saints. How did they do righteous acts? They received the righteousness of Christ imputed onto them by their faith in Christ. They also received the indwelling Holy Spirit. Jesus filled them with love for God and love for people. Scripture says, “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.” [6]

There’s no longer any reminder of past sin. The Lord threw her sins in the sea of forgetfulness. “As far as the East is from the West so far has God removed her transgressions from her.” [7]

John is so impacted by this vision that he wants to worship the angel before him. The angel stops John. The angel sees himself as a fellow servant and brother to John. The angel testifies for Jesus. He worships God and wants John to worship God as well.

The angel tells us that the Spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus. In other words, the entire Bible points people to Jesus Christ. He is the way back to God.

Peter testified for Jesus, saying, “To Him give all the prophets witness, that through His Name whosoever believes in Him shall receive remission of sins.” [8]

“Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many diadems. He had a Name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His Name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a Name written: King of kings and Lord of lords.” [9]

Jesus Christ is seated on a white horse as a victorious conqueror. He is called Faithful and True. Faithful and True are names applied to Jesus Christ in Revelation 1:5, 3:7, 14. Jesus Christ is described as having flaming eyes in Revelation 1:14, 2:18. He wears many diadems on His head. A diadem is a victor’s head ornament like a half circle of crafted leaves. A crown symbolizes one who rules from a throne. Jesus wears many diadems because He has won many victories.

The written Name no one knew will likely be revealed later. His robed dipped in blood refers to the blood of His enemies according to the Jamieson Fausset Brown Commentary. His Name is called the Word of God in John 1:1, 14; 1 John 1:1, 5:7. The armies of heaven follow Him on white horses, and clothed in fine linen. The white and cleaned leads some to think that these are the saints who came out of the tribulation. They are risen from the dead and returning with their resurrected leader: Jesus Christ. The Bible says that Jesus is the firstborn from the dead and that many resurrections will follow His.

Jesus doesn’t need an army of angels to defeat human armies. Jesus told His disciples that He could request from His Father more than twelve legions of angels. A Roman legion typically consisted of approximately 4,000 to 6,000 soldiers. If say, Jesus was referring to a legion of 5,000 angels, more than 12 legions would be more than 60,000 angels. But it only took one angel to wipe out 185,000 soldiers in 2 Kings 19:35.

It is the Word of God that proceeds from the mouth of Jesus that slays the great army of Satan that is gathered at Armageddon. His command extracts blood from them as a winepress extracts juice from grapes.

The Name on His robe and on His thigh is King of kings, and Lord of lords. This title reassures us that He rule overs all kings and lords.

The Bible says that Jesus will consume the lawless one with the breath of His mouth and destroy him with the brightness of His coming. Other passages speak of Jesus having a sword that proceeds from His mouth. The Bible also calls the Word of God living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. [10]

“Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, ‘Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, 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.’” [11]

He calls the birds to gather for the supper of the great God. What’s on the menu? It is not people eating birds. It is birds eating people. The cleanup crew is assembled before the battle begins. When the disciples asked Jesus where His second coming would take place, He answered them saying, “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.” [12]

“And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.” [13]

The devil gathers a massive army against God’s people in Jerusalem. The Jamieson Fausset Brown Commentary says this is the battle of Armageddon. The Lord slew the army of the beast with the sword of His mouth. Birds cleaned up the battlefield.

The Lord prophesied long ago, saying, “Woe to the multitude of many people who make a noise like the roar of the seas, and to the rushing of nations that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters! The nations will rush like the rushing of many waters; but God will rebuke them and they will flee far away and be chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, like a rolling thing before the whirlwind. ...And before the morning, he is no more. This is the portion of those who plunder us, and the lot of those who rob us.” [14]

Those who followed the beast rejected God’s throne of grace and received instead His great white throne of judgment. Proverbs 28:5 says, “Evildoers do not understand what is right, but those who seek the Lord understand it fully.”

The beast [the antichrist] and his false prophet are thrown alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. This is what God said He would do in Revelation 14:10, and He kept His Word.

“The Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire.” King David prophesied, saying, “Upon the wicked He shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.” The Lord told Ezekiel, “I will rain upon him [Gog], and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.” The Lord says to us in Revelation 21:8: “The fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone...” [15]

This event is not the rapture. During the rapture, Jesus came as a thief. He took the earth’s most precious treasure away. He took the salt and the light. He took His Church to be with Him. The fullness of the Gentile Church was completed. During the tribulation, Jews as well as people from every tribe, tongue and nation embrace Jesus as their Messiah. Those who come out of the great tribulation are more than can be counted. [16]

Who was on the invitation list? The whole world! God so loved the WORLD, that He gave His only Son for us, that WHOSOEVER would believe IN HIM we would not perish but have everlasting life. All our invited! Will all come? [17]

Jesus spoke of a certain man preparing a great banquet. He invited many guests, but they had excuses for why they could not come. How many are excusing themselves from God today? [18]

The wedding banquet of the Lamb and His bride will be grander than all previous banquets! The Lord wants you there! Have you responded to the Lord’s invitation?

How do you RSVP for the Wedding Day? You RSVP by verbally acknowledging your need for the Lord Jesus Christ to save you from your sins. You believe and confess that Jesus Christ died and resurrected for you, and that He ascended to heaven and is coming back for you. Be baptized in Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Then, remain in an ongoing relationship with Him via prayer, Bible reading, and service.

[1] Matthew 5:4; John 16:20
[2] Psalm 88:1-3, 12
[3] Revelation 19:1-5
[4] Revelation 19:6-10
[5] Hosea 2:19-20
[6] Romans 13:14
[7] Micah 7:19; Psalm 103:12
[8] Acts 10:43
[9] Revelation 19:11-16
[10] 2 Thessalonians 2:8; Revelation 1:16, 2:16; Hebrews 4:12
[11] Revelation 19:17-18
[12] Revelation 19:17; Luke 17:37
[13] Revelation 19:19-21
[14] Isaiah 17:12-14
[15] Genesis 19:24; Psalms 11:6; Ezekiel 38:22
[16] Revelation 7:9
[17] John 3:16
[18] Luke 14:16-20