First, Old Harlot is burned. Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots was to be utterly burned with fire (Rev. 1:1-3, 17:5; 16; 18:2, 8). Her fall would come swiftly for her plagues would come in one day and desolation in one hour because the Lord God who judged her strong (Rev. 18:1-20). Jerusalem was incomparable in comparison to the majesty of other cities. But, the abominations she committed and the tribulation she suffered were equal to her once majestic glory. For God, she was the incomparable whore who is worthy of destruction (Ezek. 16:14, 44-52; Matt. 24:21-22). It stands as an ongoing message to all who would think of violating their covenant with Jehovah God (“Her smoke goeth up forever and ever” (Rev. 19:3).
Second, the Marriage of the Lamb is Come (Rev. 19:7) “Immediately after” the burning of the old harlot, the time “for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready” (Rev. 19:7). This corresponds to another vision of John who sees the prophets and saints rewarded “immediately after” the fall of “the great city…where our Lord was crucified” (Rev. 11:8, 13,18). Thus, was fulfilled His promise to return in order to gather together the elect “immediately after the tribulation of those days” (cf. Matthew 24:29-34). This has a first-century application. “Those days and the tribulation of those days fit the events of the last days of the Jewish system. It is the same world system (heavens and earth) that existed in Peter’s day that would be destroyed by fire (2 Peter 3). John envisions the first resurrection taking place within the broader context of “the marriage of the Lamb” (Rev. 20:4-6).