Revelation 19: 1-9

 

The Rejoicing in Heaven

19 After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying,

“Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and power to our God,
²     for his judgments are true and just;
he has judged the great whore
    who corrupted the earth with her fornication,
and he has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”

³ Once more they said,

“Hallelujah!
The smoke goes up from her forever and ever.”

⁴ And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who is seated on the throne, saying,

“Amen. Hallelujah!”

⁵ And from the throne came a voice saying,

“Praise our God,
    all you his servants,
and all who fear him,
    small and great.”

⁶ Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunderpeals, crying out,

“Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God
    the Almighty reigns.
⁷ Let us rejoice and exult
    and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
    and his bride has made herself ready;
⁸ to her it has been granted to be clothed
    with fine linen, bright and pure”—

for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

⁹ And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.” ¹⁰ Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your comrades who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

 

These verses signify that Babylon the Great, (presumably Rome, or some future global power), has been destroyed and that judgement is rendered on this figure who, though represented in the metaphor by a female 'harlot', exists in patriarchal culture and as an empire that was built, administered, and enriched primarily by males.

It's interesting that when the church or the body of Christ is described in the Bible it is always described as female as well. Perhaps this is done to emphasize the power imbalance between human beings and God and Christ, and to also help emphasize human vulnerability and weakness and our need for protection from dark spiritual forces.

At the end of the passage, John the Revelator falls down to worship the figure in his vision, to which the figure strongly objects, telling him to devote his worship only to God and Christ. He calls himself a 'fellow servant' and this can be taken to heart as a strong reminder to us about the many times that Christ told His disciples they must be a 'servant of all' and humble themselves in servitude as an agent of the Great Commission.  

Just as the 'great harlot' of Babylon is a false idol to her worshipers, representing greed and materialism as well as lusts of the flesh, it is also easy for humans to fall into idol worship of pastors and priests and other clergy who bring the message of Christ through themselves to us. It behooves us to remember that they are carriers of the message of Salvation through Christ, and have no power to save us on their own. I hope that everyone will accept the Salvation that Christ offers us and that He alone can give.

 

A Prayer for Salvation from Christ:

Lord Jesus, I confess my sins and ask for your forgiveness. Please come into my heart as my Lord and Savior. Take complete control of my life and help me to walk in Your footsteps daily by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank you Lord for saving me and for answering my prayer.

A more detailed step by step process:

https://www.wikihow.com/Accept-Jesus-Into-Your-Life