Revelation 19:2
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. 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.
God's judgments are altogether true and right, for He has condemned the great unfaithful power that corrupted the earth with its spiritual unfaithfulness and has avenged the blood of His servants shed by its hand. This declaration rises in the great alleluia of the multitude in heaven ascribing salvation and glory and power to Him, just before the reign of the Lord Almighty is announced and the marriage of the Lamb comes. The condemned power is mystical Babylon, whose corrupting influence harmed the earth and whose unrepentant despisers of God's law exalted a human institution above His Sabbath. He has marked every persecution endured by Christians under apostate control and will overlook nothing, for compelling false worship and forcing men to do evil is a most heinous sin that must meet His avenging judgment. His justice is satisfied by the utter destruction of the wicked, not by delight in their endless torment, and the heavenly host confirms that judgment with praise that brings joy to the holy and hope to those being prepared to stand in the day of the Lord.
True Judgment in Heaven's Praise
God's judgments are true and righteous, for he has judged the great whore who corrupted the earth with her fornication and has avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. This judgment falls upon the corrupting power represented by Babylon, whose harlotry harmed the earth, and it avenges the servants whom she killed. It is part of heaven's praise after God's judgment, when wickedness reaches its end, and it will surely be fulfilled. In that setting it falls on unrepentant despisers of God's law, including those who give a man-made institution the honor required for God's Sabbath and compel others to worship it. It belongs to the truths of Revelation 18 and 19 concerning God's judgments and the final warning to the world, and is to be regarded in the light of heaven's work of preparing a people to stand in the day of the Lord, with righteousness and hope rather than gloom.
The verse stands within the great alleluia sung by much people in heaven, ascribing salvation and glory and honor and power to God because his punishments are right and just. That praise condemns the great harlot who ruined the earth by her unfaithfulness and punishes her for the blood of his servants, and it is answered with alleluia and worship. It comes before the announcement that the Lord God omnipotent reigns and that the marriage of the Lamb has come, and before the capture and punishment of the beast and the false prophet. The same Alleluia and praise of Revelation 19:1-6 is echoed by the redeemed as they approach the New Jerusalem, placing this praise amid the joy of entering the city.
The triumph of angels and redeemed saints in the praise that follows God's righteous judgment reflects their deliverance from the Devil's temptations and the deliverance of the inhabitants of other worlds from his presence. Revelation 19:1-5 also connects with serving alongside Jesus and seeking to honor and glorify him.
Final Events Foretold Nearby
The chapter to which this verse belongs pictures the final events in sequence: the beast and the false prophet are cast into the lake of fire, the dragon is bound in the bottomless pit for a thousand years, afterward the wicked are raised and finally destroyed, while Christ triumphs and reigns on earth. It portrays God's judgments and the defeat of evil, moving from the judgment pronounced here to Satan's thousand-year imprisonment, the resurrection and final destruction of the wicked, and Christ's final triumph and reign on earth.
The verse belongs to the truths of Revelation 18 and 19 that all must read and understand, concerning God's judgments and the final warning to the world. Those chapters contain testing truths for this time and the last call of mercy that is to be given more fully to the world. While waiting for this message of warning to be sounded to all, including the many who have not yet heard it, God in mercy shows long forbearance and holds back His judgments. God's judgment of Babylon and His avenging of the blood of His servants will surely be fulfilled. The fulfillment of this chapter is near and is to be read and understood as a real event, part of the powerful proclamation of the last-day events calling people to trust and practice God's Word rather than be deceived.
Justice, Warning, and Hope
The power judged is mystical Babylon, the great harlot whose fornication corrupted the earth, and God in true and righteous judgment avenges upon her the blood of His servants shed by her hand. That judgment falls upon unrepentant despisers of God's law, including those who give a man-made institution the honor due to God's Sabbath and compel others to worship it. It is pronounced upon all who enforce the worship of the beast, for God has seen every persecution Christians have endured at the hands of those under apostate control, and nothing will be overlooked or forgotten by Him.
To seek to compel men to do evil and to insult God by forcing false worship is a most heinous sin in His sight, so all who do it should fear His avenging judgment. Yet the declaration that true and righteous are His judgments does not teach delight in the endless torture of the wicked, and its strong language must not be clothed with the bitterness and cruelty of Satan's character nor used to prove that the wicked suffer forever. Their destruction satisfies God's justice, for they are utterly destroyed and not kept alive to suffer endlessly, and after they are destroyed the heavenly host approves His judgment with Amen.
These events are to be regarded in the light of heaven's work of preparing a people to stand in the day of the Lord, with righteousness and confidence and hope rather than gloom or sadness. This praise belongs to heaven's song and accompanies the declaration that He reigns; it is joyful to the holy but unbearable to the unsanctified, whose tastes and characters have not been changed. It is a song the unsanctified have never learned and cannot enjoy, for the wicked rise with the characters they formed in life, and heaven's worship is out of harmony with their desires.