Heaven Exults over Babylon

19 After these things (A)I [a]heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! (B)Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to [b]the Lord our God! For (C)true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He (D)has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.” Again they said, “Alleluia! (E)Her smoke rises up forever and ever!” And (F)the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, (G)“Amen! Alleluia!” Then a voice came from the throne, saying, (H)“Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, (I)both[c] small and great!”

(J)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, “Alleluia! For (K)the[d] Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for (L)the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” And (M)to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, (N)for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

Then he said to me, “Write: (O)‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, (P)“These are the true sayings of God.” 10 And (Q)I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, (R)“See that you do not do that! I am your (S)fellow servant, and of your brethren (T)who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the (U)testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

Christ on a White Horse

11 (V)Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, (W)a white horse. And He who sat on him was called (X)Faithful and True, and (Y)in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 (Z)His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. (AA)He [e]had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 (AB)He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called (AC)The Word of God. 14 (AD)And the armies in heaven, (AE)clothed in [f]fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Now (AF)out of His mouth goes a [g]sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And (AG)He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. (AH)He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And (AI)He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:

(AJ)KING OF KINGS AND
LORD OF LORDS.

The Beast and His Armies Defeated

17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, (AK)“Come and gather together for the [h]supper of the great God, 18 (AL)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, [i]free and slave, both small and great.”

19 (AM)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 (AN)Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and (AO)those who worshiped his image. (AP)These two were cast alive into the lake of fire (AQ)burning with brimstone. 21 And the rest (AR)were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. (AS)And all the birds (AT)were filled with their flesh.

Satan Bound 1,000 Years

20 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, (AU)having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of (AV)the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and (AW)set a seal on him, (AX)so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.

The Saints Reign with Christ 1,000 Years

And I saw (AY)thrones, and they sat on them, and (AZ)judgment was committed to them. Then I saw (BA)the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, (BB)who had not worshiped the beast (BC)or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they (BD)lived and (BE)reigned with Christ for [j]a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such (BF)the second death has no power, but they shall be (BG)priests of God and of Christ, (BH)and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

Satanic Rebellion Crushed(BI)

Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out (BJ)to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, (BK)Gog and Magog, (BL)to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. (BM)They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. 10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone (BN)where[k] the beast and the false prophet are. And they (BO)will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 19:1 NU, M add something like
  2. Revelation 19:1 NU, M omit the Lord
  3. Revelation 19:5 NU, M omit both
  4. Revelation 19:6 NU, M our
  5. Revelation 19:12 M adds names written, and
  6. Revelation 19:14 NU, M pure white linen
  7. Revelation 19:15 M sharp two-edged
  8. Revelation 19:17 NU, M great supper of God
  9. Revelation 19:18 NU, M both free
  10. Revelation 20:4 M the
  11. Revelation 20:10 NU, M where also

Threefold Hallelujah Over Babylon’s Fall

19 After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude(A) in heaven shouting:

“Hallelujah!(B)
Salvation(C) and glory and power(D) belong to our God,
    for true and just are his judgments.(E)
He has condemned the great prostitute(F)
    who corrupted the earth by her adulteries.
He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”(G)

And again they shouted:

“Hallelujah!(H)
The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever.”(I)

The twenty-four elders(J) and the four living creatures(K) fell down(L) and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried:

“Amen, Hallelujah!”(M)

Then a voice came from the throne, saying:

“Praise our God,
    all you his servants,(N)
you who fear him,
    both great and small!”(O)

Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude,(P) like the roar of rushing waters(Q) and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:

“Hallelujah!(R)
    For our Lord God Almighty(S) reigns.(T)
Let us rejoice and be glad
    and give him glory!(U)
For the wedding of the Lamb(V) has come,
    and his bride(W) has made herself ready.
Fine linen,(X) bright and clean,
    was given her to wear.”

(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts(Y) of God’s holy people.)

Then the angel said to me,(Z) “Write this:(AA) Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!”(AB) And he added, “These are the true words of God.”(AC)

10 At this I fell at his feet to worship him.(AD) But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God!(AE) For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.”(AF)

The Heavenly Warrior Defeats the Beast

11 I saw heaven standing open(AG) and there before me was a white horse, whose rider(AH) is called Faithful and True.(AI) With justice he judges and wages war.(AJ) 12 His eyes are like blazing fire,(AK) and on his head are many crowns.(AL) He has a name written on him(AM) that no one knows but he himself.(AN) 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood,(AO) and his name is the Word of God.(AP) 14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen,(AQ) white(AR) and clean. 15 Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword(AS) with which to strike down(AT) the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.”[a](AU) He treads the winepress(AV) of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:(AW)

king of kings and lord of lords.(AX)

17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds(AY) flying in midair,(AZ) “Come,(BA) gather together for the great supper of God,(BB) 18 so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and the mighty, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people,(BC) free and slave,(BD) great and small.”(BE)

19 Then I saw the beast(BF) and the kings of the earth(BG) and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse(BH) and his army. 20 But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet(BI) who had performed the signs(BJ) on its behalf.(BK) With these signs he had deluded(BL) those who had received the mark of the beast(BM) and worshiped its image.(BN) The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake(BO) of burning sulfur.(BP) 21 The rest were killed with the sword(BQ) coming out of the mouth of the rider on the horse,(BR) and all the birds(BS) gorged themselves on their flesh.

The Thousand Years

20 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven,(BT) having the key(BU) to the Abyss(BV) and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan,(BW) and bound him for a thousand years.(BX) He threw him into the Abyss,(BY) and locked and sealed(BZ) it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations(CA) anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.

I saw thrones(CB) on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge.(CC) And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded(CD) because of their testimony about Jesus(CE) and because of the word of God.(CF) They[b] had not worshiped the beast(CG) or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands.(CH) They came to life and reigned(CI) with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.(CJ) Blessed(CK) and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death(CL) has no power over them, but they will be priests(CM) of God and of Christ and will reign with him(CN) for a thousand years.

The Judgment of Satan

When the thousand years are over,(CO) Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations(CP) in the four corners of the earth(CQ)—Gog and Magog(CR)—and to gather them for battle.(CS) In number they are like the sand on the seashore.(CT) They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded(CU) the camp of God’s people, the city he loves.(CV) But fire came down from heaven(CW) and devoured them. 10 And the devil, who deceived them,(CX) was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur,(CY) where the beast(CZ) and the false prophet(DA) had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.(DB)

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 19:15 Psalm 2:9
  2. Revelation 20:4 Or God; I also saw those who