“And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.  And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:18-19).  As Jesus told Peter and Andrew, when we follow our Lord properly He will make us fishers of men.  The work that Jesus did in life and death was to save men (Luke 19:10 and Ephesians 2:5-6).  As we follow our Lord and do as He did, we will find that our lives too will become about saving ourselves and those who will hear us declare the saving message of the Gospel (I Timothy 4:16).

Being a fisher of men is an act of compassion and love.  Just prior to our Lord sending out His disciples to the lost house of Israel in the “limited commission” the Scriptures reveal why He was sending them out.  Jesus had compassion on the lost because He saw a people who were without direction.  Notice what Matthew records of this account: “But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.  Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest” (Matthew 9:36-38).  Some people love salmon, bass, catfish, or other types of fish.   Our Lord loved souls and set out to catch them from the snare of the devil.  We should follow Jesus’ example in trying to recover those caught in the snare of the devil (II Timothy 2:24-26).

When Jesus had compassion on the multitude of lost souls He stated that the laborers are few (cf. Luke 10:2).  The work of preaching is given to those who are in Christ (Matthew 28:19-20).  We know that there are very few in Christ (Matthew 22:14 and Luke 13:23-24).  Thus, we must realize the need to go fishing for souls.

With few truly fishing for souls, there are many working against those seeking to fulfill the work of evangelism.  Let us not be naïve, for the devil has implanted many among the saints who are certainly laboring.  They are laboring to make disciples of men rather than the Lord (Acts 20:28-31).  They want to make sure that they throw back any men that you may catch with the net of the Gospel.  These wolves will often succeed in their mission to convert the saved back to being lost (II Peter 2:1-3).  There are even those who are leading the saved back to the world, without even intending to do so, through their negative influence (Matthew 15:14)

As fishers of men, we need to realize that the waters we fish in (the world) are polluted (II Peter 2:20).  So, while we are at work fishing, let’s be aware of the dangers of our environment.  Let’s be reasonable and realize that the great fisher of men Himself warns us: “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41).  Don’t get lost due to a strong undercurrent and become what you’re trying to help save!– B.A.Y.

Introduction Thoughts:

Rome is full of evil.  The nations of the world have joined Rome and have committed spiritual fornication with her.  The sins of Rome had gotten so bad that John said they reached unto Heaven (18:5).  The fall of Rome has been prophesied, the detail has been great, and now we see the rejoicing that will occur because of the fall of Rome.  We also see the finality of the battle drawn out for us here in chapter nineteen continuing in chapter twenty as the Lord mounts His battle horse and let’s the sword from His mouth judge the beast and the false prophet.

This battle is what many call the battle of Armageddon, which began in chapter sixteen. This was not a physical war, but a spiritual battle between good and evil.  Saints have been fighting the overall war against Satan since the first century (Ephesians 6:10-12 and I Timothy 6:12).  We must always keep the context of the book of Revelation in mind as we study these fairly simple chapters that are perverted by the doctrines of men.  Chapter nineteen in the eyes of many begins the battle of Armageddon while chapter twenty begins the fictional idea of a thousand year reign of Christ on earth.  Both are false conclusions.

This chapter serves as further proof that we are talking of the fall of Rome instead of Jerusalem.  We learned in chapter seventeen that the harlot (imperial city of Rome) had power and the support of all nations (17:15).  The nations mourned over the loss of Rome in chapter eighteen (18:15-19).  Here we read again of the power that Rome had over the nations of the earth (vs. 1-2; 19).  Jerusalem never had the world supporting her, while even history shows that Rome did have the support of kings within and without.

19:1-2 “And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.”

• While tears on earth are shed for the downfall of Rome (18:15-19), there is a rejoicing in heaven over the victory of God.  The saying Alleluia means “praise Jehovah” or “praise ye the Lord” according to Strong and Thayer.
• The prayer of the martyred has been answered (Revelation 6:10-11; 18:20).  This is a reason to rejoice and praise the Lord.
• The harlot is the imperial city of Rome.  This we discovered in our studies of chapter seventeen (17:1-2; 5; cf. 14:8-10).
• The fairness of the Lord is shown as well.  He has been longsuffering with Rome (II Peter 3:9), but His people deserve a deliverance and justice as well.  Time has come and the Lord has judged.

• Again, they rejoice as the smoke of her (the harlot) rises up for ever and ever.  This would signify that eternal punishment that Rome is delivered to (Revelation 19:20; 20:10).

• The twenty four elders that surround the throne of God (Revelation 4:4), representing both dispensations (the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve Apostles), also worship the Lord and give praise to Him.

• An unidentified voice comes from the throne telling all that serve the Lord to praise Him.

• A voice with power and might comes forth praising the Lord and speaking of Him as the all-powerful being that God is.  The Lord is all-powerful and reigns over all (Revelation 11:15).  This has been shown in the Lord’s triumph over Satan, Rome, and the false prophet.
• This is the only verse in the KJV that uses the word “omnipotent”.  Yet, the fact that God is all-powerful is proclaimed from the beginning of the Scriptures through the end (Genesis 1:1, Job 42:2, Jeremiah 32:17; 27, and Matthew 19:26).

• The church is the bride of Christ (Romans 7:4, II Corinthians 11:2, and Ephesians 5:22-33).
• These verses show the church has dressed herself to be ready for the Lord.  Thus, the saints have clothed themselves with righteousness and have trimmed their lamps to be ready to meet their Lord.
• Certainly, saints do not want to find themselves in unworthy apparel (Matthew 22:1-14; cf. Revelation 16:15).  In contrast, Rome is dressed in the garments of a harlot with blood upon her hands.
• A judgment day is being established.  Rome will suffer.  Yet, while the punishment is against Rome it is sure that saints will die and these saints are ready to meet the Lord.  Death, it is the time of victory for the faithful in Christ (II Timothy 4:6-8).

• John falls down to worship the messenger.  He is rebuked as only God is to be worshipped (Matthew 4:10, Acts 10:25-26, Acts 12:21-23, and Revelation 22:8-9).

• He on the white horse is called Faithful and True.  This alone identifies that Christ is heading up the battle against the wickedness that was (Revelation 1:5; 3:7).

• More is given to describe Jesus on the horse.  His eyes were as a flame of fire (Revelation 1:14; 2:18).  His eyes penetrate (Hebrews 4:13).
• He had many crowns upon His head signifying His power and reign above all things and people (Matthew 28:18 and Ephesians 1:20-21).
• The name that no man knew, but he Himself could mean several things.  It could mean that His judgment over Rome was not acknowledged as from above.  It could mean that since He has been given a name above all names that man could not grasp the meaning of His name (Philippians 2:9-11).  It could mean that His name is unknown to those He is judging because their minds have been corrupted and His name has been ignored.  Whatever the true meaning is, we know the identity of Him on this white horse is Christ.  The context has declared that and will continue to clarify that.

• His garments are stained with the blood of His enemies (Isaiah 63:2-6 and Revelation 14:20).
• His name is the Word of God (John 1:1; 1:14, and I John 1:1).

• The armies in Heaven cannot be the saints on this earth.  The fact is this passage supports the Lord’s action against Rome.  Their garments are white and pure as is the vehicle upon which the Lord has ridden to bring judgment against Rome.  The cause is right as is the course the Lord has taken.
• The battle was not one fought with carnal weapons (II Corinthians 10:3-5).  This of course separates the idea of the physical battle from the true spiritual battle.

• Again, we know that Christ is He who is sitting on the white horse leading the charge against Rome because of the continuing description we are getting.  It is Christ who has the sword coming out of His mouth (Revelation 1:16).  That sword is the word of God (Ephesians 6:17 and Hebrews 4:12).
• The reign of Christ is compared to the strength of a rod of iron.  He is a strong ruler (Psalms 2:7-9).
• He treads upon the winepress with fierceness and the wrath of God.  This image shows how the Lord judged with severity based upon what we read earlier in our studies (Revelation 14:19-20).

• Christ is the King of kings (I Timothy 6:14-15 and Revelation 17:14).

• This picture of devastation is clear.  The idea of the carnage left to the birds for the picking depicts a horrid image.  The imagery is to show that God destroys Rome and the beast is left essentially to the vultures.

• Rome brought all of her allies against the Lord and none prevailed as we have seen and will see in the context that follows.
• This verse stands to show the power of deception that is brought through the workers of that old serpent the Devil.

• The beast (Rome) and the false prophet that helped Rome to be in power are cast into a lake of fire.
• The lake of fire is clearly Hell (Revelation 20:14-15).  Those that follow Satan can look forward to an eternity with him.

• The Lord did not stop with the beast and the prophet.  The followers of the beast are destroyed by the sword that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
• This sword, being the word of God, allows us to know that their destruction comes through judgment from the word of God (John 12:48).  The reminder needs to be made that this was not a carnal war!

Studies in Revelation Continued in Next Week’s Bulletin...
 

1. All Scripture quotations are from the King James Version unless otherwise noted.
2. Joseph H. Thayer, Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, (Reprint by Hendrickson, 2002, original copyright 1896).