The judgments have been declared, described from three different angles in Seals, Trumpets and Bowls. There is a logical order to what follows. First, the mechanism for calling men to sin, the Siren Song of the Harlot, Babylon, has been silenced. How could we not rejoice in knowing it will come?
The camera angle shifts again to Heaven. We see and hear a innumerable multitude rejoicing at the end of the Harlot. The constant refrain goes back at least as far as Moses: "Just and true are Your ways, O Lord!" From their heavenly perspective, they see the smoke of her immolation drifting upward endlessly. Who could refrain from adding their own rejoicing? This is the point at which all in Heaven and on earth confess He is Lord.
In so doing, the Eternal Wedding Feast begins. There is nothing left for the Bride to get ready. In contrast to the Harlot's flashy, pornographic appeal to lust, the Bride is utterly pure, beauty personified. She is fully clothed in the righteousness God has granted His saints. The angel from Bowls reminds John to note the ultimate blessing, the most praiseworthy aspect of salvation is partaking in that feast. Further, the angel notes there is nothing more important God could say. Recall Jesus Himself warned His disciples not to get wrapped up in the powers of His Kingdom, but to rejoice more they belong to Heaven (Luke 10:17-20). For far too long we have had teaching and preaching making much of what God does for us here and now, and noticing we get to see Heaven becomes an afterthought. The greatest miracle of Heaven is not healing, deliverance from demons, nor even raising the dead; it is God including us in His redemption. The angel pointedly emphasizes this other-worldly viewpoint as from God. He does it again in his response to John's effort to worship him; he disclaims any superiority in rank.
Whereas the first of the Four Horsemen was just an ordinary conqueror, a normally ambitious ruler of men, Jesus comes as the ultimate Ruler of All. In ancient times, the power to appoint a new legal name was reserved for rulers. Secondly, they would often give their servants a secret name, which served as a sort of password for sending urgent commands by some messenger; to hear a command addressed to that secret name proves it could come only from his Lord. Since their is no higher authority than Christ, He gave Himself a secret name. No war, famine and death follow in His wake, but the uncounted multitude of reborn souls sharing in His conquest, riding white mounts all, clad in the righteousness only God could grant.
To further confirm His identity, we are told He has the Sword of Truth in His mouth (Hebrews 4:11-13), same as in the first chapter. To rule with iron was an unbreakable rule, as He is the final Executioner of God's wrath on sin. He destroyed sin on the Cross, and will in the End destroy all who cling to sin. The final symbol is the emblazoned titles on His clothing: "King of Kings, Lord of Lords."
Standing where he could not be ignored, an angel calls the carrion eaters to a feast about to begin, the flesh of all those who rejected Christ. With the Harlot removed, the signal for man's last thrust at Heaven is given. At their finest moment, when all the forces of humanity are gathered, fearsomely united in one great army against God, it ends. It's almost anti-climactic to note the Beast and the Prophet are simply taken captive. No drama, no heart-wrenching scenes of unspeakable human effort. It's over. The two are tossed unceremoniously into the Lake of Fire.
All the rest of human rebellion dies simply by the Truth. The same Word which brought all things into being simply dismisses life from their bodies, and they fall. There is more than enough for every bird to be full. This, too, is part of the Wedding Feast. From the viewpoint of Heaven, all this is simply footnotes. The greatest combined effort of all humanity is hardly worthy of notice before the Lord. Indeed, it results in death and destruction.
Just as Babylon represents an abstract concept, so the final battle at the Mountain of Assembly (Har-Mgiddown) is symbolic. There may well be some final assemblage of humanity against some perceived base of Christian operations in this world, but it's more important to realize fallen mankind has always been united in one thing only: Opposition to the convicting power of God's Word. You and I know from experience sinners remain sensitive to the truth about their sin. For those of us who fully embrace the spirit realm by faith, and renew our minds to focus on spiritual concerns, the Beast is already de-fanged. Upon this earth there will certainly come a day when that spiritual reality will be manifested in some final way. What that will be no man can envision.
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Ed Hurst
19 October 2007
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