by Jeanne Guyon
Chapter 19
Rev.19:1,2: After these things I heard,
as it were, a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, "Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God; because His judgments
are true and righteous; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting
the earth with her immorality and He has avenged the blood of His bond-servants
on her."
Heaven will rejoice when carnality is banished from earth because it will
then be the time of the glory and reign of God on earth, since His will
shall be done on earth as in heaven. This is the joy of the saints in heaven
and of those on earth, when they see this evil condemned.
The other heaven, the inner one in the depth and center of the soul,
rejoices after the destruction of this will which is so carnal. Then the
soul knows the great advantages that have come to her by the destruction
of this self-will, and how righteous it was that she would suffer all she
did. In the depth of her joy and delight she cannot help praising her God,
and giving Him endless thanks for His wonderful works.
Rev. 19:3,4: And a second time they
said, "Hallelujah! Her smoke rises up forever and ever." And the twenty-four
elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits
on the throne saying, "Amen. Hallelujah!"
Again they said: Alleluia, for we cannot praise God enough for such a great
benefit. The work of the whole life will be praising God and admiring His
mercies after such a deliverance. Truly God uses painful means to destroy
self-will. (Editor's reference: "Manifold
Grace for manifold trials," by Ray and Doris Prinzing. End of
reference).
Then all the saints, all that is great and holy in the soul, praise and
adore Him. How do they? By their nothingness, shown by their falling down
prostrated. (Editor's reference: "Songs
In The Night and all the day long," by Ray and Doris Prinzing. End
of reference).
Rev.19:5: And a voice came from the
throne, saying, "Give praise to our God, all you His bondservants, you
who fear Him, the small and great."
Oh God, your servants will be busy praising You throughout eternity -and
this must be their occupation in time.
Three kinds of praises are mentioned here and they are all according to
the will of God.
This
revelation of Jesus Christ is one of the most sublime states in this life.
The soul in whom Jesus Christ has revealed Himself offers to God the most
sublime praises in this life. It is a praise of sacrifice. This is the
greatest praise God can draw from His creatures. This is the mystery
of Christian religion and of the most perfect state in it. But these
deep truths, these forms of worship so worthy of God, are ignored by men.
Oh truths, when you are manifested, all this will be uncovered. (Editor's
reference: From "Overcoming Religion"
featured
in "Letters of Truth," by Ray and Doris Prinzing we quote, "To say that
as a young man Saul/Paul was RELIGIOUS would be understating the case.....for
he stated it plainly, ‘after the most straitest sect of our religion I
lived a Pharisee.' But one day he experienced a direct encounter with the
Lord....From that moment on his ‘religion' began to fade away, and
an ON-GOING ENCOUNTER, A RELATIONSHIP filled his life. End of note).
Rev. 19:6,7: And I heard, as it were,
the voice of a great multitude and as the sound of many waters and as the
sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our
God, the Almighty, reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory
to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself
ready."
All saints in Heaven, angels and men will rejoice when this vile Babylon
is destroyed and taken from earth. This reign could take place only when
the will of God was fulfilled on earth as in heaven.
But notice the wonderful expression in the Scripture. It does not say we
must rejoice because He is made king since He was born king, as He told
Pilate. But the Scripture says we must praise God because the Lord God
omnipotent reigns. He was king, but did not enjoy the complete possession
of His reign.
But what must delight us is the fact that the marriage of the Lamb is come.
Oh, holy and spotless Church, you are the Bride of the Holy Spirit; but
up to now, there has been no marriage. The Lamb came to be the Spouse of
all the souls. That was His dearest desire. He expressed it before dying:
"Father, may they be one as we are one." However, this church, though one
in faith, is filled with rebellious members with a rebellious will, preventing
this marriage. It is one in spirit because those who withdraw cease to
be her children. But she is not one in love. However all will have to become
one so that Jesus Christ will reign everywhere.
This will be the greatest joy in Heaven and the greatest happiness on earth.
Oh happy day, the day of triumph for the Lamb!
The Bride will be prepared through the loss and stripping of all that was
opposed to her Bridegroom. She invites herself and everyone to rejoice
because she discovers now what it means for God to enter His reign within.
There is no resistance; it is a complete submission.
Rev. 19:8: And it was given to her to
clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the
righteous acts of the saints.
With this marriage, the Bride is clothed with the robe of innocence. Jesus
Christ wants to give all men this robe of innocence and purity, and after
centuries of abomination will follow those of innocence and simplicity,
a natural state, all revealing Jesus Christ Who will extend the power of
His redemption given by His Father for men. This robe given to the Church
will be the righteousness of the saints. They will be godly; they will
be placed in the Truth. This is what will take place at the marriage of
the Lamb.
This spotless Lamb arrays her with the robe of innocence, simplicity, which
is the brightest that ever was. This is abundant redemption in Christ.
Rev.19:9: And he said to me, "Write,
'Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.'
" And he said to me, "These are true words of God."
This supper is simply the sacrifice, or mystic death, which souls are called
to go through. No one is admitted unless he has been invited, called, sacrificed,
dead, brought to nought. Oh blessed supper, where the Lamb Himself feeds
the souls that He wants for His Bride.
Rev. 19:10: And I fell at his feet to
worship him. And he said to me, "Do not do that; I am a fellow servant
of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God.
For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
The angel teaches us that we must not stop at the least thing, however
excellent it may appear, because it is not above us but on our level. Oh
men, you do not understand your dignity and nobility, otherwise you would
not stop at a thousand things that are unworthy of what you are.
The angel certifies that those who have within the testimony of Jesus are
equal to him, an angel, no less! In the highest form
of worship, we must pass by everything,
and stop only with Him!
Rev. 19:11,12: And I saw heaven opened;
and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and
True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war. And His eyes are a
flame of fire, and upon His head are many diadems; and He has a name written
upon Him which no one knows except Himself.
The second advent of Jesus Christ is not the last judgment but the day
of His manifestation. This manifestation will take place throughout the
earth, and in His whole Church, as it is in the individual soul.
He is the Faithful and the True One. Anything else is a lie. He sits on
a white horse. Innocence and righteousness He imparts to the soul.
His eyes are as flames of fire, to indicate His perfect love burning within.
He is crowned with many crowns because apart from the crown due Him by
His birth, He acquired many by the victories He won. His name is known
of Himself alone. This name is the strength and power that God gave Him.
Rev.19:13: And He is clothed with a
robe dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of God.
The Word of God, through Jesus Christ, had a vesture dipped in blood. The
humanity of Christ was like the vesture of Divinity. Through His death
Jesus Christ conquered; truth triumphed destroying the lie that had held
it captive.
Jesus
Christ must then reign throughout the whole earth, for He will reign over
the hearts as well as over the minds of men.
Rev. 19:14,15: And the armies which
are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him
on white horses. And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it
He may smite the nations; and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and
He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.
All of heaven is being armed to destroy the lie and to establish the truth.
All are on white horses as their Captain; this shows innocence, righteousness,
justice. These uphold truth. They are clothed in fine linen white and clean,
which shows they are upheld in righteousness and innocence, their clothing.
There goes out of the mouth of Jesus Christ a sharp sword with two edges.
That is simply His Word manifesting the truth. He then comes with this
weapon to smite all that is opposed to the truth. He will rule uprightly.
Oh God, till now Your reign has been divided in the hearts and on the earth.
But time is at hand when You will reign alone on earth and in the hearts,
and no one will share Your authority.
Rev. 19:16: And on His robe and on His
thigh He has a name written, "King of kings, and Lord of lords."
The name of Jesus Christ bears the power that was given to Him when He
became a man and shows how God gave Him royalty and power. The name written
on His thigh, meaning His power as a man that was given Him. He must
be King of kings; all the earthly kings must be subject to Him, not only
outwardly, by receiving faith, but inwardly, by receiving His Spirit. Then
will Jesus Christ reign making all men kings. He will be King of kings
and Lord of lords because He will meet no resistance.
Rev.19:17,18: And I saw an angel standing
in the sun; and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds
which fly in midheaven, "Come, assemble for the great supper of God; in
order that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and
the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on
them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and
great."
This angel which is in the sun is the herald of the truth. He will invite
all men to come and admire its light. But before this, oh God, what a horrible
fight must be fought on earth! Oh God, nothing will be able to come against
You on the earth or in the heart of man. He is a conqueror Who wants to
possess His conquests. He ransacks all that opposes His kingdom. Oh
Princes, open your gates and the King of glory shall come in! Oh men, open
your hearts and your minds and receive within this King of glory Who comes
to stay!
Rev. 19:19: And I saw the beast
and the kings of the earth and their armies, assembled to make war against
Him who sat upon the horse, and against His army.
The beast is self-love, a follower of the lie, the one who has seduced
all men and made them to be contrary to love and truth, for truth and love
cannot be separated. This self-love gathers all his followers to make war
with all their might against pure love. They see they are about to be ruined
and then they do the most damage and are armed with more might.
This is true for both the individual and the world at large. Self-love
has never put up so much effort than at the time of his destruction; the
lie has never seemed stronger than when he is about to vanish away to be
replaced by truth. But their efforts are useless. The kings are powerless,
the mighty are without strength; nothing will be able to resist this Sovereign
King. They war against Jesus Christ and do not know it. He knows how to
revenge and defend His cause.
Rev. 19:20,21: And the beast was seized
and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence,
by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those
who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire
which burns with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which
came from the mouth of Him who sat upon the horse, and all the birds were
filled with their flesh.
The beast is taken and with him the false prophet, that is the lie, who
by his deception and apparent miracles has deceived all men, preventing
them from siding with the truth, making them choose self-love instead of
pure love. But now when Jesus Christ comes and appears in His reign, this
monster must be taken. But as soon as Jesus Christ appears, the beast and
the prophet must be taken by Jesus Christ Who is love and truth. Oh Jesus,
as soon as You come, this hellish monster, this wretched self-love, does
not resist You any more! Self-love and "Lie" came out of hell, just as
the truth came from God. Jesus Christ then came to have them return to
their own place and to bring truth on earth. Henceforth the reign of Jesus
Christ is the reign of truth and pure love, as the reign of the devil had
been the reign of self-love and lies.
Oh God, now indeed is the reign of self-love and the lie.
Come, Lord Jesus, to destroy them.
__________________________________________________________________
(1) Guyon,
Mme. Jeanne, CHRIST OUR REVELATION, Gardiner, Main, Reprinted 1987 Christian
Books Publishing House ( Book in now out of print)