Earlier we saw that Babylon is judged at trumpet 7, and then her punishments are poured out during the cups. At cup 6, three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouths of the dragon (Satan), the beast (papacy), and the false prophet (Muhammad/Islam). They gather the Babylonian kings of the earth together to the battle of Armageddon.
Hitgalut (Revelation) 16:13-16
13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon [Satan], out of the mouth of the beast [papacy], and out of the mouth of the false prophet [Muhammad].
14 For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of Elohim El Shaddai.
15 “Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”
16 And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Har Megiddo [Armageddon].
The opening verses of Revelation 19 remind us that we should rejoice over the harlot’s destruction, since it means the bride (Israel) will finally be married. In verse 7, the bride has made herself ready—and while it may at first seem counterintuitive, Armageddon is, in fact, the marriage supper of the Lamb.
Hitgalut (Revelation) 19:1-9
1 After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Halleluyah! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to Yahweh our Elohim!
2 For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.”
3 Again they said, “Halleluyah! Her smoke rises up forever and ever!”
4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped Elohim who sat on the throne, saying, “Amein! Halleluyah!”
5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our Elohim, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!”
6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Halleluyah! For Yahweh Elohim El Shaddai reigns!
7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.”
8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the set-apart ones.
9 Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!'” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of Elohim.”
In verse 10, Yochanan (John) worships the messenger (angel). The messenger, however, says not to do that, because he also is nothing more than a servant.
Hitgalut (Revelation) 19:10
10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Yeshua. Worship Elohim! For the testimony of Yeshua is the spirit of prophecy.”
In verse 11, Yeshua returns on a white horse. This is not the anti-messiah’s white horse of seal 1 (Revelation 6:2), but a different white horse. Yeshua is accompanied by an army of His set-apart ones (saints). [As we will see in the next chapter on the rapture, this army of saints may include those who were raised from the grave in the first century, as well as the 144,000 who were called up to heaven in Revelation 11:2.]
Hitgalut (Revelation) 19:11-14
11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.
12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself.
13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of Elohim.
14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.
Verse 15 tells us that Yeshua will smite the nations with a sword that comes out of His mouth, and rule over them with a rod of iron.
Hitgalut (Revelation) 19:15
15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty Elohim.
This is undoubtedly the same rod mentioned in Psalm 2, with which Yeshua will rule over the nations.
Tehillim (Psalms) 2:7-9
7 “I will declare the decree: Yahweh has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.
8 Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.'”
However, Revelation 2:26-27 tells us that Yeshua plans to rule over the nations by giving this rod to His set-apart ones (i.e., His body)—and that it is they who will rule over the nations during the millennium (as He will be in the throne room in heaven during that time).
Hitgalut (Revelation) 2:26-27
26 “And he who overcomes [Israel], and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations —
27 ‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’ — as I also have received from My Father;”
This also agrees with Daniel 7:26-27, which tells us that after Babylon falls, the kingdom and dominion will be given to the saints of the Most High. This is the same thing as giving it to Yeshua, because His set-apart ones are His body.
Daniel 7:26-27
26 “But the court shall be seated, And they shall take away his dominion, To consume and destroy it forever.
27 Then the kingdom and dominion, And the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, Shall be given to the people, the set-apart ones of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And all dominions shall serve and obey Him.”
Most Greek-based versions of verse 16 have Yeshua arriving at the battle with His name written on His thigh.
Hitgalut (Revelation) 19:16
16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND MASTER OF MASTERS.
However, this creates a conflict, as the Torah generally prohibits tattoos or marks made in our flesh.
Vayiqra (Leviticus) 19:28
28 “You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am Yahweh.”
The solution is that in Hebrew, the word for a banner is dagel (דגל), while the word for a thigh/leg is ragel (רגל). Since the first letters of each word look like each other, a scribe who was unfamiliar with the Torah may have mistaken the word דגל (banner) for רגל (thigh). It makes more sense that Yeshua will have His name displayed on His military banner than on His thigh, as He rides at the head of His army of saints.
Once the enemies of Israel are destroyed, He will call the birds of the heavens to come for the supper of the great Elohim, so that they might eat the flesh of kings and mighty men.
Hitgalut (Revelation) 19:17-21
17 Then I saw a messenger standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great Elohim,
18 that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.”
19 And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.
20 Then the beast [papacy] was captured, and with him the false prophet [Muhammad] who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.
21 And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.
If we compare the language in this passage with the description of the wedding feast in Hosea 2, we find that the language of birds feasting at the end of a great battle is a perfect parallel.
Hoshea (Hosea) 2:14-23
14 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, Will bring her into the wilderness, And speak comfort to her.
15 I will give her her vineyards from there, And the Valley of Achor [Distress] as a door of hope; She shall sing there, As in the days of her youth, As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.
16 And it shall be, in that day,” Says Yahweh, “That you will call Me ‘My Husband’ [Ishi], And no longer call Me ‘My Lord’ [Ba’ali],
17 For I will take from her mouth the names of the Baals [the Lords], And they shall be remembered by their name no more.
18 In that day I will make a covenant for them With the beasts of the field, With the birds of the air, And with the creeping things of the ground. Bow and sword of battle I will shatter from the earth, To make them lie down safely.
19 I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me In righteousness and justice, In loving-kindness and mercy;
20 I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, And you shall know Yahweh.
21 It shall come to pass in that day That I will answer,” says Yahweh; “I will answer the heavens, And they shall answer the earth.
22 The earth shall answer With grain, With new wine, And with oil; They shall answer Jezre’el.
23 Then I will sow her for Myself in the earth, And I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; Then I will say to those who were not My people, ‘You are My people!’ And they shall say, ‘You are my Elohim!’”
After Armageddon, Ephraim realizes who she is, and stops calling Yahweh by Baal’s name (Lord). Also, we should note that in verse 23, Yeshua does not take His bride up to heaven, but she is sewn in the earth. This is yet one more witness that the bride will continue to live here on earth during the millennium.
The wedding story also shows up in Ezekiel 39, which describes the first war of Gog and Magog. Here we see the same great battle—and after Ephraim emerges victorious, he realizes who he truly is—and who Yahweh is. The Ephraimites also realize that they should not be calling Him by the name of Ba’al (Lord), and that if they are intimate with Him, they should call Him by His true name (Yahweh).
Yehezqel (Ezekiel) 39:1-8
1 “And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, ‘Thus says Yahweh Elohim: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal;
2 and I will turn you around and lead you on, bringing you up from the far north, and bring you against the mountains of Israel.
3 Then I will knock the bow out of your left hand, and cause the arrows to fall out of your right hand.
4 You shall fall upon the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you; I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 You shall fall on the open field; for I have spoken,” says Yahweh Elohim.
6 “And I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in security in the coastlands. Then they shall know that I am Yahweh.
7 So I will make My set-apart name known in the midst of My people Israel, and I will not let them profane My set-apart name anymore. Then the nations shall know that I am Yahweh, the Set-apart One in Israel.
8 Surely it is coming, and it shall be done,” says Yahweh Elohim. “This is the day of which I have spoken.”
Dropping down to verse 17, we see the birds of the air and the beasts of the field coming to partake of a great sacrificial meal (i.e., the wedding feast). Then in verse 22, the house of Israel (Ephraim) realizes that His name is Yahweh, and that they went into captivity for their iniquity (i.e., not obeying the Torah). Then, in verse 25, Yahweh turns back Ephraim’s captivity, and brings them all back home to dwell in His land during the millennium.
Yehezqel (Ezekiel) 39:17-29
17 “And as for you, son of man, thus says Yahweh Elohim, ‘Speak to every sort of bird and to every beast of the field: “Assemble yourselves and come; Gather together from all sides to My sacrificial meal Which I am sacrificing for you, A great sacrificial meal on the mountains of Israel, That you may eat flesh and drink blood.
18 You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, Drink the blood of the princes of the earth, Of rams and lambs, Of goats and bulls, All of them fatlings of Bashan.
19 You shall eat fat till you are full, And drink blood till you are drunk, At My sacrificial meal Which I am sacrificing for you.
20 You shall be filled at My table With horses and riders, With mighty men And with all the men of war,” says Yahweh Elohim.
21 “I will set My glory among the nations; all the nations shall see My judgment which I have executed, and My hand which I have laid on them.
22 So the house of Israel shall know that I am Yahweh their Elohim from that day forward.
23 The Gentiles shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they were unfaithful to Me, therefore I hid My face from them. I gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they all fell by the sword.
24 According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I have dealt with them, and hidden My face from them.”‘
25 Therefore thus says Yahweh Elohim: ‘Now I will bring back the captives of Jacob [Ephraim], and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My set-apart name —
26 after they have borne their shame, and all their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, when they dwelt safely in their own land and no one made them afraid.
27 When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and I am hallowed in them in the sight of many nations,
28 then they shall know that I am Yahweh their Elohim, who sent them into captivity among the nations, but also brought them back to their land, and left none of them captive any longer.
29 And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’ says Yahweh Elohim.”
While a few of us are being called into more truth now, most Ephraimites will not know who Yahweh is (or that His name is not Lord) until after the tribulation sequence is over.
But what about the rapture? Scripture tells us there will be a rapture of the saints when Yeshua returns—but we are also told that the bride (which consists of saints) will continue to dwell here on earth during the millennium. How can this logical paradox be resolved? We answer this question in the next chapter.