A Call for Justice and Mercy

7 ^(A)In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is ^(B)Chislev. ² Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech and their men ^(C)to entreat the favor of the Lord, ^3 (D)saying to the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts and ^(E)the prophets, “Should I weep and ^(F)abstain in ^(G)the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?”

⁴ Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me: ⁵ “Say to all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in ^(H)the fifth month and in ^(I)the seventh, for these ^(J)seventy years, ^(K)was it ^(L)for me that you fasted? ^6 (M)And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves? ^7 (N)Were not these the words that the Lord proclaimed ^(O)by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous, ^(P)with her cities around her, and the ^(Q)South and the ^(R)lowland were inhabited?’”

⁸ And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying, ⁹ “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ^(S)Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, ^10 (T)do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, ^(U)or the poor, and ^(V)let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.” ¹¹ But ^(W)they refused to pay attention ^(X)and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear.^{[a] 12 (Y)}They made their hearts diamond-hard ^(Z)lest they should hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent ^(AA)by his Spirit through ^(AB)the former prophets. ^(AC)Therefore great anger came from the Lord of hosts. ^13 (AD)“As I^[b] called, and they would not hear, ^(AE)so they called, and I would not hear,” says the Lord of hosts, ^14 (AF)“and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all ^(AG)the nations that they had not known. ^(AH)Thus the land they left was desolate, ^(AI)so that no one went to and fro, ^(AJ)and the pleasant land was made desolate.”

Rejoicing in Heaven

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

³ Once more they cried out,

⁴ And ^(G)the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” ⁵ And from the throne came a voice saying,

The Marriage Supper of the Lamb

⁶ 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,

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

⁹ And the angel said^[a] 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 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^[b] 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^[c] them with a rod of iron. ^(AK)He will tread the winepress 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,^[d] 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^[e] had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who ^(AV)worshiped its image. These two were ^(AW)thrown alive into the lake of ^(AX)fire that burns with sulfur. 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.

The Thousand Years

20 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, ^(BA)holding in his hand the key to ^(BB)the bottomless pit^[f] and a great chain. ² And he seized ^(BC)the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and ^(BD)bound him for a thousand years, ³ and threw him into ^(BE)the pit, and shut it and ^(BF)sealed it over him, so that ^(BG)he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.

⁴ Then I saw ^(BH)thrones, and ^(BI)seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw ^(BJ)the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those ^(BK)who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. ^(BL)They came to life and ^(BM)reigned with Christ for a thousand years. ⁵ The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. ^6 (BN)Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such ^(BO)the second death has no power, but they will be ^(BP)priests of God and of Christ, and they ^(BQ)will reign with him for a thousand years.

The Defeat of Satan

⁷ And when the thousand years are ended, ^(BR)Satan will be released from his prison ⁸ and will come out ^(BS)to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, ^(BT)Gog and Magog, ^(BU)to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. ⁹ And ^(BV)they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded ^(BW)the camp of the saints and ^(BX)the beloved city, but ^(BY)fire came down from heaven^[g] and consumed them, ¹⁰ and the devil ^(BZ)who had deceived them was ^(CA)thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where ^(CB)the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Judgment Before the Great White Throne

¹¹ Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence ^(CC)earth and sky fled away, and ^(CD)no place was found for them. ¹² And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and ^(CE)books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is ^(CF)the book of life. And ^(CG)the dead were judged by what was written in the books, ^(CH)according to what they had done. ¹³ And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, ^(CI)Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, ^(CJ)according to what they had done. ¹⁴ Then ^(CK)Death and Hades ^(CL)were thrown into the lake of fire. This is ^(CM)the second death, the lake of fire. ¹⁵ And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, ^(CN)he was thrown into the lake of fire.