Chapter 19 Book of Revelation

Bible Verses

[1] 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:

Commentary

V.1 There is new thought about life and it's meaning, which brings great rejoicing and honoring the glory and power of God. This is the beginning of a marvelous new civilization that will lift mankind to a higher level of scientific and spiritual attainment than has ever before been possible.

Verily, Thou art the Lord of Strength, Thou art potent to ordain what so ever Thou willest and within Thy Grasp Thou holdest the reins of all created things. No God is there but Thee, the All-Powerful, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p.117

[2] 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.

V.2 The world always struggles between the Yin and Yang, between light and dark, between materiality and spirituality. When the dark side goes too far - retribution occurs.

The people aforetime joined partners with God, though they professed belief in His unity; and although they were the most ignorant amongst men, they considered themselves the most accomplished. But, as a token of divine retribution upon those heedless ones, their erroneous beliefs and pursuits have, in this Day of Judgement, been made clear and evident to every man of discernment and understanding.

Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 124

[3] And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.

V.3 Those that have recognized God and His Manifestation are joyous. The memory (smoke) of the city (Babylon) will never be forgotten.

The world has become a new world. The darkness of night which has enveloped humanity is passing. A new day has dawned. Divine susceptibilities and heavenly capacities are developing in human souls under the training of the Sun of Truth.

Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p.23

[4] And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.

V.4 There is often more than one correct explanation for allegorical explanations and the verses themselves. The four beasts in this case represent the four races of men who have returned to worshipping God. They can also be thought of as the four types of souls, a whole line of thought that has not been explored in this book.

As to the four and twenty elders, the following explanation is given by Abdu'l-Baha:

"And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God.

"Saying, We give Thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, Which art, and wast, and art to come; because Thou hast taken to Thee Thy great power, and hast reigned."[1] In each cycle the guardians and holy souls have been twelve. So Jacob had twelve sons; in the time of Moses there were twelve heads or chiefs of the tribes; in the time of Christ there were twelve Apostles; and in the time of Muhammad there were twelve Imams. But in this glorious manifestation there are twenty-four, double the number of all the others, for the greatness of this manifestation requires it. These holy souls are in the presence of God seated on their own thrones, meaning that they reign eternally.
[1 Rev. 11:16-17.]

Abdu'l-Baha, Some Answered Questions, p. 57

[5] And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.

V.5 The voice (that of Baha'u'llah, from the point of view of those who recognize the Source and Power of the New Age) came from the throne, saying Praise God, all servants, and all that fear Him, both small and great.

XIV. The Divine Springtime is come, O Most Exalted Pen, for the Festival of the All-Merciful is fast approaching. Bestir thyself, and magnify, before the entire creation, the name of God, and celebrate His praise, in such wise that all created things may be regenerated and made new.

Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 27

[6] 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 thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

V.6 John heard the great multitude, from all countries, all languages, giving Praise to God, saying 'Alleluia the Lord God reigns'. The thunderings of gratitude was for the new message, the Sacred Law of God, which Baha'u'llah has brought.

Through Him the light of unity hath shone forth above the horizon of the world, and the law of oneness hath been revealed amidst the nations, who, with radiant faces, have turned towards the Supreme Horizon, and acknowledged that which the Tongue of Utterance hath spoken in the kingdom of His knowledge: "Earth and heaven, glory and dominion, are God's, the Omnipotent, the Almighty, the Lord of grace abounding!"

Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 1

[7] Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

V.7 They cried 'Let us be glad and rejoice, as the parable of the marriage feast, a symbol of the beginning of the New Law of God, is about to take place. Christ was warning people to be prepared for His return. Those who are called to investigate and partake of the new message are those who share in the 'marriage supper'.

[8] And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

V.8 It was granted that the bride wear the fine white linen which is clean new and fresh, she is the symbol of the New Law, and the white linen, a symbol of righteousness.

[9] And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

V.9 The One Who commanded John to write was of course Jesus, or the Angel of Jesus, as has been the case throughout the Book of Revelation (see Revelation 1:1 and Revelation 22:16) and thus it is that Jesus spake and sent His Message unto ALL the World Religions, as to what would happen to them in the "last days", so that they would join with all the other religions in recognizing the Eighth and Nineth Angels in establishing God's Kingdom on earth.

And further We have said: "He Who is the Father is come, and the Son (Jesus Christ), in the holy vale, crieth out: 'Here am I, here am I, O Lord, my God!', whilst Sinai circleth round the House, and the Burning Bush calleth aloud: 'The All-Bounteous is come mounted upon the clouds! Blessed is he that draweth nigh unto Him, and woe betide them that are far away.'

Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 57

[10] And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

V.10 John was so impressed by what the angel had shown him that he fell at his feet to worship him, the angel told him: "see thou do it not" do not worship me as I am only as you are, turn to God and worship Him. Christ foretold of the One to come, that would reveal truth in accordance with the greater need and maturity of mankind.

'Verily, there is none other God but Me, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Merciful!' We, in truth, have sent Him Whom We aided with the Holy Spirit (Jesus Christ) that He may announce unto you this Light that hath shone forth from the horizon of the will of your Lord, the Most Exalted, the All-Glorious, and Whose signs have been revealed in the West. Set your faces towards Him (Baha'u'llah) on this Day which God hath exalted above all other days, and whereon the All-Merciful hath shed the splendour of His effulgent glory upon all who are in heaven and all who are on earth. Arise thou to serve God and help His Cause.

Baha'u'llah, The Proclamation of Baha'u'llah, p. 18

[11] And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

V.11 In a vision John saw a white horse, the rider coming with great power.

The beautiful and glorious person riding upon the white horse is the Greatest name, (Baha'u'llah) and the horse means also His glorious body.

'Abdu'l-Baha, Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Baha, Vol. 3, p.681

[12] His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.

V.12 "His eyes were as a flame of fire". Many have said that they could not look at His eyes, others have said that He could read your very soul. "On His head were many crowns". God gave Him this attribute, plus a name written, and attributes which only Baha'u'llah could know about. The Manifestations of God are in a much higher station, "the Beauty of the Unseen ...above the horizon of creation", one that we can never reach.

The spiritual brotherhood which is enkindled and established through the breaths of the Holy Spirit unites nations and removes the cause of warfare and strife. It transforms mankind into one great family and establishes the foundations of the oneness of humanity. It promulgates the spirit of international agreement and insures Universal Peace. Therefore we must investigate the foundation reality of this heavenly fraternity. We must forsake all imitations and promote the reality of the divine teachings. In accordance with these principles and actions and by the assistance of the Holy Spirit, both material and spiritual happiness shall become realized. Until all nations and peoples become united by the bonds of the Holy Spirit in this real fraternity, until national and international prejudices are effaced in the reality of this spiritual brotherhood, true progress, prosperity and lasting happiness will not be attained by man. This is the century of new and universal nationhood. Sciences have advanced, industries have progressed, politics have been reformed, liberty has been proclaimed, justice is awakening. This is the century of motion, divine stimulus and accomplishment; the century of human solidarity and altruistic service; the century of Universal Peace and the reality of the divine kingdom.

'Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith, p.227

[13] And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

V.13 His "Vesture" - that of endurance and strength, describes the character of this Holy being, Baha'u'llah Who had to survive a life in prison, along with the abuse of religious and political leaders, to bring the 'Word of God' to mankind.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.

John 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

John 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

John 1:5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

King James Bible

All the divine Manifestations have proclaimed the oneness of God and the unity of mankind. They have taught that men should love and mutually help each other in order that they might progress. Now if this conception of religion be true, its essential principle is the oneness of humanity. The fundamental truth of the Manifestations is peace. This underlies all religion, all justice. The divine purpose is that men should live in unity, concord and agreement and should love one another.

'Abdu'l-Baha, Foundations of World Unity, p.50

XXIV. Beware, O believers in the Unity of God, lest ye be tempted to make any distinction between any of the Manifestations of His Cause, or to discriminate against the signs that have accompanied and proclaimed their Revelation. This indeed is the true meaning of Divine Unity, if ye be of them that apprehend and believe this truth. Be ye assured, moreover, that the works and acts of each and every one of these Manifestations of God, nay whatever pertaineth unto them, and whatsoever they may manifest in the future, are all ordained by God, and are a reflection of His Will and Purpose. Whoso maketh the slightest possible difference between their persons, their words, their messages, their acts and manners, hath indeed disbelieved in God, hath repudiated His signs, and betrayed the Cause of His Messengers.

XXV. It is evident that every age in which a Manifestation of God hath lived is divinely ordained, and may, in a sense, be characterized as God's appointed Day. This Day, however, is unique, and is to be distinguished from those that have preceded it. The designation "Seal of the Prophets" fully revealeth its high station. The Prophetic Cycle hath, verily, ended. The Eternal Truth is now come. He hath lifted up the Ensign of Power, and is now shedding upon the world the unclouded splendor of His Revelation.

Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p.59

[14] And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

V.14 The armies of God, their vestures also of white linen, are from the Concourse on High; so devoted that they are willing to be martyred. They are symbolically following Baha'u'llah on white horses, which indicates power, ready to serve.

We entreat Him -- blessed and exalted is He -- to graciously confirm thee in extolling Him and in magnifying His glory and to strengthen thee through the power of His invisible hosts. Verily, He is the Almighty, the Omnipotent.

Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 77

[15] And out of his mouth goeth 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 and wrath of Almighty God.

V.15 The sword of truth is 'The Word of God'. The rod of iron is the 'Law of God': strong and firm and just, which God has revealed to Baha'u'llah for this new cycle. The "winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God" symbolizes the great 'Day of Judgment' at the end of the old cycle.

"By God! Troubles have failed to unnerve Me, and the repudiation of the divines hath been powerless to weaken Me. I have spoken, and still speak forth before the face of men: 'The door of grace hath been unlocked and He Who is the Dayspring of Justice is come with perspicuous signs and evident testimonies, from God, the Lord of strength and of might!' Present thyself before Me that thou mayest hear the mysteries which were heard by the Son of Imran (Moses) upon the Sinai of Wisdom. Thus commandeth thee He Who is the Dawning-Place of the Revelation of thy Lord, the God of Mercy, from His great Prison."

Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 85

[16] And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

The title KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS, is the title Baha'u'llah has been given. It is recognition of the role of the Manifestation of God in this day, age and cycle, to fulfill what the ancient texts meant when they said: "The government will be upon His shoulders." Thus it is that Baha'u'llah has set down the prescriptions for the formation of a World Government, and how the affairs of man should be conducted from the highest to the lowest levels.

This is not to say that Baha'u'llah is more than the other Manifestations. ALL the Manifestations are equal, and are Manifestations of the One God. They are ALL the one and same. It is just that their station is different from age to age in keeping with the needs of the age, and the need for this age is unification of the world.

This is the day whereon every man endued with perception hath discovered the fragrance of the breeze of the All-Merciful in the world of creation, and every man of insight hath hastened unto the living waters of the mercy of his Lord, the King of Kings.

Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 101

[17] And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;

V.17 The fourth angel of the seven religions is the Angel of the Zoroastrian Religion, and is the one most identified with the sun. We identify Him with the country of Persia, now Iran, where Baha'u'llah was born to a noble family, that traced it's ancestry back through David, back to Abraham. The Bab also born in Persia and told of the New Message, and gathered many to 'the supper of the great God'.

O ye friends of mine! Illuminate the meeting with the light of the love of God, make it joyful and happy through the melody of the Kingdom of holiness, and with heavenly food and through the "Lord's Supper" [1] confer life. [1 A term synonymous with heavenly food.]

Abdu'l-Baha, Tablets of Abdu'l-Baha v1, p.24

The feast (supper) [every nineteen days] is very acceptable and will finally produce good results. The beloved and the maid-servants of the Merciful must inaugurate the feast in such wise as to resurrect the feast of the ancients -- namely, the "lord's supper."

Abdu'l-Baha, Tablets of Abdu'l-Baha v1, p.149

O thou seeker of the Kingdom! Make thou an effort so that thou mayest partake from the spiritual Supper of the Lord. At that time every difficulty will become easy, and every trouble will be conducive to the tranquility of the heart and soul.

Abdu'l-Baha, Tablets of Abdu'l-Baha v3, p.535

[18] 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 on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.

V.18 This verse has another unusual symbolic parallel to the Zoroastrian Faith in consideration of its practice of leaving the dead in "Cities of the Dead" for their flesh to be eaten by birds of prey. There is also a deeper meaning, that of chastisement.

The peoples of ancient Persia believed that earth-burial was not even permissible; that such burial, to a certain degree, would block the coursings and journeyings required by nature. For this reason they built Towers of Silence open to the sky, on the mountain tops, and lay the dead therein on the surface of the ground. But they failed to observe that burial in the earth doth not prevent the natural travellings and coursings which are an exigency of creation -- that rather, earth-burial, besides permitting the natural march of phenomena, offereth other benefits as well.

'Abdu'l-Baha, Summon up Remembrance, p. 175

[19] And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.

V.19 The worldly powers, and all those who support and follow them (followers of the Beast) always arise up against the Manifestation of God (the One Who sits on the white horse) in every New Age, when they should properly submit unto Him and be obedient to His Teachings, which are the Teachings that the world needs for that Age.

Ye are but vassals, O kings of the earth! He Who is the King of Kings hath appeared, arrayed in His most wondrous glory, and is summoning you unto Himself, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. Take heed lest pride deter you from recognizing the Source of Revelation, lest the things of this world shut you out as by a veil from Him Who is the Creator of heaven... By the righteousness of God! It is not Our wish to lay hands on your kingdoms. Our mission is to seize and possess the hearts of men.

Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 211

[20] And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

V.20 The Beast, the powers of falsity and evil, materialism and immorality, selfishness and hatred, that wreaked havoc on the world finally reach their peak of self-destruction. Their False Prophet (science without religion) whom they had greatly honored, but who deceived them into a false faith that money, the mark of the Beast, was in control, had proven itself as much the source of evil as good, so now they became embroiled in their own machinations that were a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

Erelong they will perceive the consequences of what their hands have wrought in the Day of God." "This is the Day," He again has written, "whereon the earth shall tell out her tidings. The workers of iniquity are her burdens... The Crier hath cried out, and men have been torn away, so great hath been the fury of His wrath.

Baha'u'llah, quoted by Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Baha'u'llah, p. 194

[21] And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

V.21 As explained in verse 11, He Who sits upon the horse is Baha'u'llah and the sword from His mouth is of course His teachings. Therefore this states that His Teachings will prevail and that remnant which survive the Great War but still struggle against Him will become spiritually dead as symbolized by their being devoured by the Zoroastrian birds of prey in the Towers of Silence.

We have truly revealed the signs, demonstrated the irrefutable testimonies and have summoned all men unto the straight Path. Among the people there are those who have turned away and repudiated the truth, others have pronounced judgement against Us without any proof or evidence. The first to turn away from Us have been the world's spiritual leaders in this age -- they that call upon Us in the daytime and in the night season and mention My Name while resting on their lofty thrones. However, when I revealed Myself unto men they rose against Me in such wise that even the stones groaned and lamented bitterly.

Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p.253