His armies Revelation 19v14.
"And the armies, which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean".
Many might be surprised by the phrase "the armies which are in heaven" but they shouldn't because one of the titles of God is "the Lord of hosts." As with any vast empire God controls the universe by means of serried ranks of angels. They are described in the bible as "principalities, powers, mights, and dominions". These are formed in an orderly fashion and are variously described as seraphim, cherubim, the arch angel, and innumerable angels. They have different abilities and different ranks and form an awesome force against which nothing will ever prevail. God is not only a God of grace, He is also a God of war and will take up arms against all who will oppose Him, and this is what is happening here. In the overall context of scripture, together with the context of this chapter the armies of heaven consists of two groups namely "the church of the firstborn," and the "elect angels", and together they form an incredible army.
Many might be surprised by the phrase "the armies which are in heaven" but they shouldn't because one of the titles of God is "the Lord of hosts." As with any vast empire God controls the universe by means of serried ranks of angels. They are described in the bible as "principalities, powers, mights, and dominions". These are formed in an orderly fashion and are variously described as seraphim, cherubim, the arch angel, and innumerable angels. They have different abilities and different ranks and form an awesome force against which nothing will ever prevail. God is not only a God of grace, He is also a God of war and will take up arms against all who will oppose Him, and this is what is happening here. In the overall context of scripture, together with the context of this chapter the armies of heaven consists of two groups namely "the church of the firstborn," and the "elect angels", and together they form an incredible army.
- The church She is the bride, the Lamb's wife, yet she is with Him in war. Many will wish to contest this view, since a beautiful bride is never considered to be involved in warfare; however the fact is, this bride will be with Him wherever He goes and the evidence of scripture is overwhelming. Revelation 17v14 declares "these shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of lords and King of kings: and THEY THAT ARE WITH HIM are called and chosen and faithful." Paul says in 1st Thessalonians 4v17 that when Christ comes to take the church to Himself it is said "so shall we ever be with the Lord." Again in Revelation 14v4 it is written "these are they which follow the Lamb withersoever He goeth." This applies to redeemed Israel in future days but the same principle applies to the church. Wherever He goes, whether to a marriage ceremony or to a marriage supper, or to a global war, she will be with Him. In Jude verse 14, referring to this same event "Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousands (myriads) of His saints to execute judgment upon all.............". Notice was made of how the armies were dressed, not in battle garb, but in fine linen white and clean; the point being made is that Christ will need none of His armies to fight for Him, He will do it all alone, but those who are with Him will share in His victory, because they are also riding upon white horses. If we refer to Revelation 2v26-27 we find His promise to the overcomer in this life that he will "give them power over the nations and enable them to rule the world with a rod of iron." The saints of God will not engage in the war but will enjoy the spoils of the war.
- The elect angels With Christ and the church, when heaven is opened, will come the angels. The evidence is as follows: in the same chapter in verse 17 it says "I saw an angel standing in the sun." Jesus Himself described this event in Matthew 25v31 "when the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall he sit upon the throne of His glory." Again in Matthew 26v7 "for the Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels." Matthew 13v39 ".......the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels". Matthew 13v41 "the Son of Man shall send forth His angels and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity." The armies here are described as wearing white raiment; it is recorded that the angels who stood by the grave of Jesus were clad in shining garments (Luke 24v4). In Revelation chapter 12v7 we read of the war in heaven "..and there was war in heaven Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not". In Psalm 68v17, it is recorded "the chariots of God are twenty thousand, and even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them." In 2nd Kings 6v17 the eyes of the young servant Elisha the prophet to "behold the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha." The vision of Ezekiel in chapter 1 is of the four living creatures, the guardian angels, who stand before the throne of God and constantly move to do His bidding as and when required. When Jesus returns in this glorious, yet awesome event, there is much that has to be done and the angels will be very much involved in that. Without expanding on any of the following, it is right we should mention these different events. They will call the elect of God (Israel) from the four corners of the earth. They will call the armies of birds and beasts to clean up the carnage that will result from the return of Christ. They will separate the wheat from the tares and they will separate the good fish from the bad fish, and they will organise the setting up of His glorious kingdom
- Amazon bookshelf George Neilly
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