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Rejoicing in Heaven

19 After this I heard (A)what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out,

“Hallelujah!
(B)Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
    for (C)his judgements are true and just;
for he has judged (D)the great prostitute
    who corrupted the earth with her immorality,
and (E)has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”[a]

Once more they cried out,

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

And (G)the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped God who was seated on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” And from the throne came a voice saying,

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

The Marriage Supper of the Lamb

Then I heard what seemed to be (J)the voice of a great multitude, like (K)the roar of many waters and (L)like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,

“Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God
    the Almighty (M)reigns.
Let us rejoice and exult
    and give him the glory,
for (N)the marriage of the Lamb has come,
    and (O)his Bride has made herself ready;
(P)it was granted her to clothe herself
    with fine linen, bright and pure”—

for the fine linen is (Q)the righteous deeds of the saints.

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

The Rider on a White Horse

11 Then I saw (W)heaven opened, and behold, (X)a white horse! The one sitting on it is called (Y)Faithful and True, and (Z)in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 (AA)His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are (AB)many diadems, and he has (AC)a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in (AD)a robe dipped in[d] blood, and the name by which he is called is (AE)The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, (AF)arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, (AG)were following him on white horses. 15 (AH)From his mouth comes a sharp sword (AI)with which to strike down the nations, and (AJ)he will rule them with a rod of iron. (AK)He will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh (AL)he has a name written, (AM)King of kings and Lord of lords.

17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to (AN)all the birds that fly directly overhead, (AO)“Come, gather for (AP)the great supper of God, 18 (AQ)to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave,[e] both small and great.” 19 And I saw (AR)the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies (AS)gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. 20 And the beast was captured, and with it (AT)the false prophet (AU)who in its presence[f] had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who (AV)worshipped its image. These two were (AW)thrown alive into the lake of (AX)fire that burns with sulphur. 21 And the rest were slain by the sword (AY)that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and (AZ)all the birds were gorged with their flesh.

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 19:2 Greek bondservants; also verse 5
  2. Revelation 19:9 Greek he said
  3. Revelation 19:10 Greek fellow bondservant
  4. Revelation 19:13 Some manuscripts sprinkled with
  5. Revelation 19:18 Greek bondservant
  6. Revelation 19:20 Or on its behalf

Songs of Victory in Heaven

19 After this, I heard what sounded like a vast crowd in heaven shouting,

“Praise the Lord![a]
    Salvation and glory and power belong to our God.
His judgments are true and just.
    He has punished the great prostitute
who corrupted the earth with her immorality.
    He has avenged the murder of his servants.”

And again their voices rang out:

“Praise the Lord!
    The smoke from that city ascends forever and ever!”

Then the twenty-four elders and the four living beings fell down and worshiped God, who was sitting on the throne. They cried out, “Amen! Praise the Lord!”

And from the throne came a voice that said,

“Praise our God,
    all his servants,
all who fear him,
    from the least to the greatest.”

Then I heard again what sounded like the shout of a vast crowd or the roar of mighty ocean waves or the crash of loud thunder:

“Praise the Lord!
    For the Lord our God,[b] the Almighty, reigns.
Let us be glad and rejoice,
    and let us give honor to him.
For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb,
    and his bride has prepared herself.
She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.”
    For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people.

And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.” And he added, “These are true words that come from God.”

10 Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said, “No, don’t worship me. I am a servant of God, just like you and your brothers and sisters[c] who testify about their faith in Jesus. Worship only God. For the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus.[d]

The Rider on the White Horse

11 Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. 12 His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself. 13 He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses. 15 From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress. 16 On his robe at his thigh[e] was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords.

17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, shouting to the vultures flying high in the sky: “Come! Gather together for the great banquet God has prepared. 18 Come and eat the flesh of kings, generals, and strong warriors; of horses and their riders; and of all humanity, both free and slave, small and great.”

19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the world and their armies gathered together to fight against the one sitting on the horse and his army. 20 And the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who did mighty miracles on behalf of the beast—miracles that deceived all who had accepted the mark of the beast and who worshiped his statue. Both the beast and his false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. 21 Their entire army was killed by the sharp sword that came from the mouth of the one riding the white horse. And the vultures all gorged themselves on the dead bodies.

Footnotes

  1. 19:1 Greek Hallelujah; also in 19:3, 4, 6. Hallelujah is the transliteration of a Hebrew term that means “Praise the Lord.”
  2. 19:6 Some manuscripts read the Lord God.
  3. 19:10a Greek brothers.
  4. 19:10b Or is the message confirmed by Jesus.
  5. 19:16 Or On his robe and thigh.

The Sound of Hallelujahs

19 1-3 I heard a sound like massed choirs in Heaven singing,

Hallelujah!
The salvation and glory and power are God’s—
    his judgments true, his judgments just.
He judged the great Whore
    who corrupted the earth with her lust.
He avenged on her the blood of his servants.

Then, more singing:

Hallelujah!
The smoke from her burning billows up
    to high Heaven forever and ever and ever.

The Twenty-four Elders and the Four Animals fell to their knees and worshiped God on his Throne, praising,

Amen! Yes! Hallelujah!

From the Throne came a shout, a command:

Praise our God, all you his servants,
All you who fear him, small and great!

6-8 Then I heard the sound of massed choirs, the sound of mighty rapids, the sound of strong thunder:

Hallelujah!
The Master reigns,
    our God, the Sovereign-Strong!
Let us celebrate, let us rejoice,
    let us give him the glory!
The Marriage of the Lamb has come;
    his Wife has made herself ready.
She was given a bridal gown
    of bright and shining linen.
The linen is the righteousness of the saints.

The Angel said to me, “Write this: ‘Blessed are those invited to the Wedding Supper of the Lamb.’” He added, “These are the true words of God!”

10 I fell at his feet to worship him, but he wouldn’t let me. “Don’t do that,” he said. “I’m a servant just like you, and like your brothers and sisters who hold to the witness of Jesus. The witness of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

A White Horse and Its Rider

11-16 Then I saw Heaven open wide—and oh! a white horse and its Rider. The Rider, named Faithful and True, judges and makes war in pure righteousness. His eyes are a blaze of fire, on his head many crowns. He has a Name inscribed that’s known only to himself. He is dressed in a robe soaked with blood, and he is addressed as “Word of God.” The armies of Heaven, mounted on white horses and dressed in dazzling white linen, follow him. A sharp sword comes out of his mouth so he can subdue the nations, then rule them with a rod of iron. He treads the winepress of the raging wrath of God, the Sovereign-Strong. On his robe and thigh is written, King of kings, Lord of lords.

17-18 I saw an Angel standing in the sun, shouting to all flying birds in Middle-Heaven, “Come to the Great Supper of God! Feast on the flesh of kings and captains and champions, horses and their riders. Eat your fill of them all—free and slave, small and great!”

19-21 I saw the Beast and, assembled with him, earth’s kings and their armies, ready to make war against the One on the horse and his army. The Beast was taken, and with him, his puppet, the False Prophet, who used signs to dazzle and deceive those who had taken the mark of the Beast and worshiped his image. They were thrown alive, those two, into Lake Fire and Brimstone. The rest were killed by the sword of the One on the horse, the sword that comes from his mouth. All the birds held a feast on their flesh.