Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks

The people in heaven praise God

19 After these things, I heard a sound like the voices of a great crowd of people in heaven. They were shouting,

³ Then the crowd of people in heaven shouted again,

⁴ The 24 leaders and the four beings that are alive then threw themselves down on the ground. They worshipped God, who was sitting on the throne. They said, ‘It is true! Praise the Lord God!’

⁵ Then a voice spoke from the throne. It said,

⁶ Then I heard a sound like the noise of a very big crowd that was shouting. The sound was like the noise of water that pours quickly along a river. It was like the noise of loud thunder. The crowd of people shouted,

⁸ God has given her linen clothes to wear that are bright and clean.’

These special linen clothes show the good things that God's holy people have done.^[b]

⁹ Then the angel said to me, ‘Write down this message: “There will be a special meal at the Lamb's wedding party. God has truly blessed those people that he has asked to come to that meal.” ’ The angel also said to me, ‘This is a true message from God.’

¹⁰ Then I bent down low at the angel's feet to worship him. But he said to me, ‘You must not do that! I am only a servant of God, the same as you are. I am a servant, like all believers who show clearly that they trust in Jesus. God is the one that you should worship! When God gave a message to his prophets, it was Jesus that they spoke about.’

The great king on a white horse

¹¹ I saw that heaven was now open. I saw a white horse there! The name of the man who was riding the horse was this: ‘A faithful, honest person’. He is always right when he judges people and when he goes to punish them in war. ¹² His eyes burn like bright flames of fire. Many crowns are on his head. He has a name that is written on him, but nobody knows that name except himself. ¹³ He wears a long shirt with a lot of blood on it. His name is: ‘The Word of God’.

¹⁴ Heaven's armies were following him. They were also riding on white horses. They were wearing linen clothes that were white and clean. ¹⁵ A sharp sword was coming out of his mouth.^[c] He will use this sword to attack the people of all the nations of the world. Then he will rule them with strong authority. He will punish them like someone who stamps on grapes in a winepress. That will show God's great anger against them. He is the Almighty God.^{[d] 16} The man who rides on the white horse has a name that is written on his shirt. It is also written high on his leg. His name is: ‘The King who rules over all other kings. The Lord who rules over all lords’.^[e]

¹⁷ Then I saw an angel who was standing in the sun. He shouted loudly to all the birds that were flying high in the sky, ‘Come here! Come together to eat the big meal that God has prepared. ¹⁸ Eat the meat from the dead bodies of God's enemies! Come and eat the meat of kings, the meat of army captains and the meat of powerful men. Eat the meat of dead horses and the soldiers who ride them. Eat the meat of all kinds of people: slaves and free people, important people and ordinary people.’

¹⁹ Then I saw the wild animal and the kings of the earth and their armies. They had come together to fight a war. They were ready to fight a battle against the man who rode on the white horse and his army. ²⁰ But the rider and his army caught the wild animal. They also caught the false prophet who had done miracles to help the wild animal. He used those miracles to deceive the people who had the wild animal's mark on them. Those people worshipped his image. Now the rider and his army threw the wild animal and the false prophet into the lake of fire. They were still alive when they threw them into the lake that burns with sulphur.

²¹ The rider of the white horse then killed all his other enemies. He killed them with the sword that came out of his mouth. So then all the birds ate the meat from the dead bodies until they were completely full.

The 1,000 years

20 Then I saw an angel who was coming down from heaven. He was holding the key to the deep hole.^[f] He also held a great chain in his hand. ² He took hold of the dragon. That dragon is the Devil and Satan. He is the snake who has lived since long ago.^[g] The angel tied up the dragon with the chain for 1,000 years. ³ Then he threw the dragon into the deep hole. He closed the door to the deep hole, and he locked it with the key. He put a seal on the door. During that time, Satan could no longer deceive the people of all nations. But after the 1,000 years have finished, he must go free for a short time.

⁴ Then I saw some thrones, and I saw people who were sitting on them. These people had received authority to judge other people. I also saw the souls of people who had died because they served Jesus. People had cut off their heads because they had told the truth about Jesus, and they had spoken God's message. These believers had not worshipped the wild animal or his image. They had not received the wild animal's mark on their heads or on their hands. Now they became alive again. They ruled as kings together with Christ for 1,000 years. ⁵ (But all the other dead people did not become alive again until the 1,000 years had finished.) This is the first time that God raises up dead people to become alive again. ⁶ God has blessed those people that he raises up that first time. They belong to God as his holy people. The second death has no power over them. Instead, they will be priests who serve God and Christ. They will rule as kings with him for 1,000 years.

God sends Satan into the lake of fire

⁷ When the 1,000 years have finished, God will let Satan go free out of his prison. ⁸ Satan will then go and deceive people in nations everywhere in the world. He will make them believe him. Those nations are God's enemies, Gog and Magog.^[h] Satan will bring them together to fight a war against God's people. Satan's army has many people, as much as the sand on the shore of the sea.^{[i] 9} I saw them as they marched over the whole earth. They arrived at the city which God loves. That is where God's people had made their camp. Satan's army made their camp all around the city. Then fire came down from heaven and it destroyed them completely. ¹⁰ The Devil had deceived those people. I saw God throw him into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur. That is the lake where he had already thrown the wild animal and the false prophet. They will have a lot of pain in that place, all day and all night for ever.

God judges all the dead people

¹¹ Then I saw a great white throne. I saw that God was sitting on it. The earth and the sky rushed away from the place where he sat. There was no longer any place for them. ¹² I also saw the people who had died, important people and ordinary people. They were standing in front of the great throne. Then someone opened books to see what was in them. God had written in them all the things that the people had done. Then someone opened another book which is God's book of life.^[j] God judged the people who had died. He looked in the books to see what they had done, and he decided what was right.

¹³ The sea brought up all the dead people who were in it. Death and Hades, the place for dead people, brought up all the dead people who were there too. God judged each person. God saw what they had done, and he decided what was right. ¹⁴ Then God threw Death and Hades into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death for people. ¹⁵ If anyone's name was not written in the book of life, God threw that person into the lake of fire.