The book of Revelation is a book of contrasts. In it we see two suppers that God spreads in a short time apart: the great supper of God in which He calls the buzzards to feed on the captains and the kings of the earth, and the marriage supper of the Lamb for the Bride that has made herself ready. We’re heading for two things, for the destruction of the great whore, mystery Babylon, and we’re headed for the time of glorious adornment and beautification of the true bride. Two women are coming to the front right now: the great false church and the true remnant coming forth in the name of the Lord. And God is preparing two suppers, that special supper for His bride, and that awful catastrophe called “the great supper of God.” We see the awfulness of evil and its ultimate end, judged by God and destroyed, and we see the triumph of those that believed God no matter what happened to them. Even the martyrs come forth from under the altar where they’ve cried for vengeance and God brings them forth to great victory and resurrection.
The picture of what we read in Revelation 19 is the ultimate of victory, and we are walking in the forestages of what is being prophesied here of the great end-time victories and the destruction of the enemy. We may see it only in a small measure, casting out a few thousand demons, but think of the day that millions of them will be put in the abyss and Satan himself will be put in the bottomless pit. So what we may see in the great exploits, the greater works than even Christ did, may actually be a fragment of the great things that are to happen as we see this convulsion take place in the dispensations, the old age dying, and the new age emerging in all of its strength.
The kingdom of our God is coming, and we’re encouraged to believe it, for God has spoken to our hearts that it is coming, and coming soon. The Lord has been coming to our hearts in a special visitation, in a way which has not been known in the history of the church until this hour. We’re aware that we have a walk with God. We never sing, “The old time religion, it’s good enough for me”; it would never be good enough for us! Would you like to have only what your father, your grandfather or your great grandfather had from God? That would be the height of your ambition, to have a walk with God that equaled theirs? No, we want more and we have more, many times more.
It is not spiritual pride to claim this; we know it’s true, for God has restored more things to walk in, in this end time. We can’t deny there’s a restoration to the church of healing, the gifts of the Spirit, the New Testament ministries (the apostle, prophet, etc.), the glorious message of the kingdom, judgement being restored to the house of God—all of these things. Maybe some of them are just in the beginning stage, but many things are so far advanced in restoration that we have to say, “We’ve not seen the like of this; our fathers have not seen it, nor their fathers before them. The earth has not beheld the outpouring of the Spirit like this before.” And so when we begin to read in the book of Revelation about the victory of Christ, we know in our heart that the beginnings of these things have already started within us. We are witnessing them.
Let me give you an idea of how things of spirit have their fulfillment. They have them in great cycles. For instance, II Thessalonians 2 talks about the Lord slaying that wicked one with the brightness of His coming, that one that sits in the sanctuary as God, declaring himself to be God, the son of perdition, and how the Lord will slay him with the brightness of His coming. But you know as well as I that you have almost experienced that in your own life. What happens when people come into this walk? They have a battle of Armageddon. The old antichrist of the flesh within them that is sitting in the sanctuary of their soul, is slain by the brightness of the word that God brings of His very own self. You go through it on a little mystical plane, so how could you doubt that God is not going to do it on a great, vast plane through the world? You can believe that there is an antichrist because you’ve had one in your own heart at some time or another, and you’ve had to see him slain by the word that came from God. You can believe that, because you’ve experienced it, especially in this walk. But now comes the day when we believe for the great end time events that are going to fill the whole earth on such a tremendous scale, and they will come forth and we will see them; we will glorify God in them.
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 thunders, saying, Hallelujah: for the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigneth. Let us rejoice and be exceeding glad, and lit us give the glory unto him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And it was given unto her that she should array herself in fine linen, bright and pure: for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they that are bidden to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are true words of God. And I fell down before his feet to worship him. Revelation 19:6–10a.
This amazing creature said, “These are the true words of God.” And John said, “I fell down before his feet to worship him.” Would you believe that John the Beloved would mistake the voice of God? Do you think he would? God was speaking, and the last words Christ was uttering forth through this creature were, “These are the true words of God.” And down went John. John couldn’t have been deceived; he knew the voice of God when he heard it. He didn’t make a mistake.
And he saith unto me, See thou do it not: I am a fellowservant with thee and with thy brethren that hold the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Verse 10. Do you think the ministry of the testimony of Jesus was given to people until the people would go forth? Do you know what we mean by testimony? The utterance of Jesus was to come forth through them. This man had that ministry. He said, “You worship God, for that testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” John wasn’t fooled; God was speaking through that man. That was the testimony of Jesus coming forth. That was the spirit of prophecy; it was God speaking. This was about the highest plane of prophetic utterance you can find. The Apostle John recognized it as the voice of God, and fell down to worship the individual so speaking. He said, “Don’t do it; I am a fellowservant with you, and one of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus.” This was one of the saints who had died that was ministering to John, but with the voice of God coming from him.
And I saw the heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and he that sat thereon called Faithful and True; and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. And his eyes are a flame of fire, and upon his head are many diadems; and he hath a name written which no one knoweth but he himself. And he is arrayed in a garment sprinkled with blood: and his name is called The Word (the logos) of God. Revelation 19:11–13. John had said this before: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. John 1:1–2.
The word “logos” means more than just a word of so many letters that can be defined; it’s an idea, a concept, a principle, an expression. All of these words should be included in the idea of “logos.” It is more than just a simple word; it is an expression. Jesus, then, was the expression of God. When a word has a certain image, or a person has a certain image that is conveyed to his name, it immediately changes; everybody, then, takes that name. They called their dogs Nero, but they called their sons Paul, because a logos, an image, an expression came forth in a man, God came forth in a man. When we want to name that man, we say his name was Paul. Now, you associate the word Paul with that. Consequently, there are many Pauls in the world.
There came a man, sent from God whose name was John. John 1:6. How many Johns are there in the world? There was the concept, the idea, the principle, the word, the logos, and we associate it with a word. Thou shalt call his name Jesus; for it is he that shall save his people from their sins. Matthew 1:21. He was to be and He was an expression of God. We affix to Him a word of sounds, but the name of Jesus does more than that; it conveys an expression. He that hath seen the Father. The Father was revealing Himself through His son, and we call Him “the logos,” the expression of God. Have I been so long time with you, and dost thou not know me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. How sayest thou, Show us the Father? John 14:9. Do you get the message? Jesus said, “I am His logos; I am the expression of the Father.”
And the armies which are in heaven (which are in heaven; it’s not a future thing; these armies are positioned in the spiritual realm,) followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and pure. And out of his mouth proceedeth 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 of the wrath of God, the Almighty. And he hath on his garment and on his thigh a name written. KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in mid heaven, Come and be gathered together unto the great supper of God; 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 thereon, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, and small and great. Revelation 19:14–18. I wonder if a king’s flesh tastes any different from a slave’s flesh. God is picking the mighty ones and calling the vultures to a feast. God has never intended through all of this age to bring it to a conclusion in any other way except a mighty deliverance and victory in the remnant and in the bride; and on the other hand, a mighty catastrophe of judgement that will sweep the earth like we’ve never seen before. This age ends in a convulsion and a scream, and it ends with a mighty feast and a mighty shout of victory for God’s anointed.
And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat upon the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought the signs in his sight, wherewith he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast and them that worshipped his image: they two were cast alive into the lake of fire that burneth with brimstone: and the rest were killed with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, even the sword which came forth out of his mouth: and all the birds were filled with their flesh.
And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and cast him into the abyss, and shut it, and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years should be finished: after this he must be loosed for a little time. Revelation 19:19–20:3.
Why didn’t the Lord just finish him off? Because the devil is always the unwilling and unwitting servant of the Lord, and if God has a purpose for him for a little while, and then He finishes him off, that’s God’s business. Just think what it is going to be like—a thousand years without anything present of his deceptiveness, no lying spirits to create an atmosphere to veil the truth.
Satan can’t do anything except that God will turn it for good. Paul said, “We can do nothing against the truth but for the truth,” and I believe that is true. I think the day will come that when someone gets up in a service to rant and rave against the church and against everything it believes, everyone will break into worship because it will have the same effect as if the man were blessing us. God will turn the tide and make it a blessing. You don’t have to worry about the things that come, just keep your eyes upon the Lord and trust Him with all your heart.
We have just read the last chapter of the great mystery, and if you like mystery stories, now you know how it’s going to turn out. There is to be a wedding and there will be a great marriage supper—the villain is going to get his just desserts and be put in the abyss! The Lord has told us how it will end. Let’s worship with all of our hearts and rejoice in Him: because He loves us so much, there ought to be nothing but praise in our hearts for the Lord.