Revelation 19-22

The Voice

19 The scene changed. After this, I heard the great sound of a multitude echoing in heaven.

³ Again praise spilled from heaven.

⁴ And the twenty-four elders and four living creatures fell on their faces and worshiped God who reigns on the throne.

⁶ And I heard what seemed to be an immense crowd speaking with one voice—it was like the sound of a roaring waterfall, like the sound of clashing thunder.

¹⁰ At that, I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he refused my praise.

¹¹ I looked up and saw that heaven had opened. Suddenly, a white horse appeared. Its rider is called Faithful and True, and with righteousness He exercises judgment and wages war. ¹² His eyes burn like a flaming fire, and on His head are many crowns. His name was written before the creation of the world, and no one knew it except He Himself. ¹³ He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name He was known by is The Word of God. ¹⁴ And the armies of heaven, outfitted in fine linen, white and pure, were following behind Him on white steeds. ¹⁵ From His mouth darts a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. He will rule over them with a scepter made of iron. He will trample the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God, the All Powerful. ¹⁶ And there on His robe and on His thigh was written His name: King of kings and Lord of lords.

¹⁷ Then I looked up and saw a messenger standing in the sun; and with a loud voice, he called to all the birds that fly through midheaven.

¹⁹ I looked down, and I saw the beast I had seen earlier and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered together to wage war against the One riding the white horse and His heavenly army. ²⁰ The beast was soon captured along with the false prophet, the earth-beast I had seen earlier who performed signs to deceive those who had agreed to receive the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its detestable image. Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. ²¹ And all who remained met death at the blade of the sword that proceeded from the mouth of the One riding on the white horse. All the birds feasted fully on their flesh.

20 Then I saw a messenger coming from heaven. In his hand was a key to the abyss and a great chain that had been forged in heaven. ² He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for 1,000 years with the great chain. ³ The messenger cast him into the abyss and locked it and sealed him in it so that he could not go about deceiving the nations until the 1,000 years had come to completion. Afterward he must be released for a short time.

⁴ Then I saw some thrones, and those seated in judgment were given the right to judge. Standing there were the souls of those who were beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and the word of God. They had refused to worship the beast or its detestable image and had not received the mark upon their foreheads or upon their hands. They had come back to life and reigned with the Anointed One, our Liberating King, for 1,000 years. ⁵ Now as for the rest of the dead, they were not given life until the 1,000 years were completed. This is the first resurrection.

⁶ Blessed and holy are the ones who take part in the first resurrection. Over these, the second death has no power; they will serve as priests of God and His Anointed, and they will reign with Him for 1,000 years.

⁷ When the 1,000 years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison. ⁸ And he will crawl out of the abyss in order to deceive the nations located at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog^[a] as Ezekiel described them, in order to rally them together for one final battle. They are in number as the grains of sand on the shore. ⁹ They marched in unholy array over the expanse of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. As they laid siege to the city, fire rained down from heaven and incinerated them. ¹⁰ And the devil who had deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had already been thrown; and the unholy trio will be tortured day and night throughout the ages.

¹¹ The scene changed. I saw a great white throne, and One was seated upon it. The earth and heaven receded from His presence; there was no place for them. ¹² And I saw the dead, great and small, standing in front of the throne. Some books were opened. Then another book was opened; it was called the book of life. And the dead were judged according to what had been recorded in the first books; these were the records of everything they had done. ¹³ And the sea surrendered its dead. Death and Hades gave up their dead as well. And all were judged according to their works. ¹⁴ Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. ¹⁵ And everyone whose name could not be found among the names written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

21 I looked again and could hardly believe my eyes. Everything above me was new. Everything below me was new. Everything around me was new because the heaven and earth that had been passed away, and the sea was gone, completely. ² And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride on her wedding day, adorned for her husband and for His eyes only. ³ And I heard a great voice, coming from the throne.

⁵ And the One who sat on the throne announced to His creation,

⁹ And then one of the seven messengers in charge of the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came over to me.

¹⁰ He took me away in the Spirit and set me on top of a great, high mountain. As I waited for what I thought was a bride, he showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. ¹¹ It gleamed and shined with the glory of God; its radiance was like the most precious of jewels, like jasper, and it was as clear as crystal. ¹² It was surrounded with a wall, great and high. There were twelve gates. Assigned to each gate was a messenger, twelve in all. And on the gates were inscribed the names of the twelve tribes of Israel’s sons. ¹³ On the east wall were three gates. On the north wall were three gates. On the south wall were three gates. On the west wall were three gates. ¹⁴ And the city wall sat perfectly on twelve foundation stones, and on them were inscribed the names of the twelve emissaries^[c] of the Lamb.

¹⁵ My guide held a golden measuring rod. With it he measured the city and the gates and the walls. ¹⁶ And the city is laid out with four corners in a perfect square, the length the same as its width. He measured the city with his measuring rod, and the result was that its length and width and height are equal: 1,444 miles, a perfect cube. ¹⁷ And my guide measured the wall; it was nearly 72 yards high, in human measurements, which was the instrument the guide was using. ¹⁸ The wall was made of jasper, while the city itself was made of pure gold, yet it was as clear as glass. ¹⁹ The foundation stones of the wall of the city were decorated with every kind of jewel: the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, ²⁰ the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. ²¹ The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate expertly crafted from a single beautiful pearl. And the city street was pure gold, yet it was as transparent as glass.

²² And in the city, I found no temple because the Lord God, the All Powerful, and the Lamb are the temple. ²³ And in the city, there is no need for the sun to light the day or moon the night because the resplendent glory of the Lord provides the city with warm, beautiful light and the Lamb illumines every corner of the new Jerusalem. ²⁴ And all peoples of all the nations will walk by its unfailing light, and the rulers of the earth will stream into the city bringing with them the symbols of their grandeur and power. ²⁵ During the day, its gates will not be closed; the darkness of night will never settle in. ²⁶ The glory and grandeur of the nations will be on display there, carried to the holy city by people from every corner of the world. ²⁷ Nothing that defiles or is defiled can enter into its glorious gates. Those who practice sacrilege or deception will never walk its streets. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life can enter.

22 My heavenly guide brought me to the river of pure living waters, shimmering as brilliantly as crystal. It flowed out from the throne of God and of the Lamb, ² flowing down the middle and dividing the street of the holy city. On each bank of the river stood the tree of life, firmly planted, bearing twelve kinds of fruit and producing its sweet crop every month throughout the year. And the soothing leaves that grew on the tree of life provided precious healing for the nations.

³ No one or nothing will labor under any curse any longer. And the throne of God and of the Lamb will sit prominently in the city. God’s servants will continually serve and worship Him. ⁴ They will be able to look upon His face, and His name will be written on their foreheads. ⁵ Darkness will never again fall on this city. They will not require the light of a lamp or of the sun because the Lord God will be their illumination. By His light, they will reign throughout the ages.

And the Lord, the God who inspired the prophets, has sent His heavenly messenger to show to His servants what must soon take place.

⁸ I, John, am the one who heard and witnessed these visions. And when I heard and witnessed them, I fell prostrate at the feet of the heavenly guide who showed them to me. ⁹ But he refused.

¹⁴ Blessed are those who wash their garments. In the end, they have rightful access to the tree of life and will enter the city through its gates. ¹⁵ The dogs, the sorcerers, those who commit immoral acts, the murderers, the idolaters, and all who love and practice deception must remain outside the gates for all eternity.

And let everyone who hears these words say, “Come.”

¹⁸ Beware, everyone who hears the prophetic words of this book. Know this for certain: if anyone adds to these words, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book. ¹⁹ And if anyone subtracts from the prophetic words of this book, God will remove that person’s access to the tree of life and to the holy city which are described in this book.

²⁰ The One who testifies to these realities makes this promise:

To which we say, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”

²¹ May the grace of the Lord Jesus [the Anointed One]^[d] be with all [the saints].^[e] Amen.