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Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks

A reading plan that walks through the entire New Testament in 24 weeks of daily readings.

Duration: 168 days

Revelation 19-20

Chapter 19

¹After this I heard what sounded like the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying:

    “Alleluia!^[a]
Salvation, glory, and might belong to our God,
²    for true and just are his judgments.
He has condemned the great harlot
    who corrupted the earth with her harlotry.
He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”^(A)

³They said a second time:

“Alleluia! Smoke will rise from her forever and ever.”^(B)

⁴The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, “Amen. Alleluia.”

The Victory Song.^[b] ⁵A voice coming from the throne said:

“Praise our God, all you his servants,
[and] you who revere him, small and great.”^(C)

⁶Then I heard something like the sound of a great multitude or the sound of rushing water or mighty peals of thunder, as they said:

    “Alleluia!
The Lord has established his reign,
    [our] God, the almighty.
⁷Let us rejoice and be glad
    and give him glory.
For the wedding day of the Lamb^[c] has come,
    his bride has made herself ready.^(D)
⁸She was allowed to wear
    a bright, clean linen garment.”^(E)

(The linen represents the righteous deeds of the holy ones.)^[d]

⁹Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed^[e] are those who have been called to the wedding feast of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These words are true; they come from God.”^(F) ¹⁰I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Don’t! I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brothers who bear witness to Jesus. Worship God.^(G) Witness to Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”^[f]

The King of Kings. ¹¹^[g]Then I saw the heavens opened, and there was a white horse; its rider was [called] “Faithful and True.” He judges and wages war in righteousness.^(H) ¹²His eyes were [like] a fiery flame, and on his head were many diadems. He had a name^[h] inscribed that no one knows except himself.^(I) ¹³He wore a cloak that had been dipped in^[i] blood, and his name was called the Word of God.^(J) ¹⁴The armies of heaven followed him, mounted on white horses and wearing clean white linen.^(K) ¹⁵Out of his mouth came a sharp sword to strike the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod, and he himself will tread out in the wine press^[j] the wine of the fury and wrath of God the almighty.^(L) ¹⁶He has a name written on his cloak and on his thigh, “King of kings and Lord of lords.”^(M)

¹⁷^[k]Then I saw an angel standing on the sun. He cried out [in] a loud voice to all the birds flying high overhead, “Come here. Gather for God’s great feast, ¹⁸to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of military officers, and the flesh of warriors, the flesh of horses and of their riders, and the flesh of all, free and slave, small and great.”^(N) ¹⁹Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered to fight against the one riding the horse and against his army. ²⁰The beast was caught and with it the false prophet^[l] who had performed in its sight the signs by which he led astray those who had accepted the mark of the beast and those who had worshiped its image. The two were thrown alive into the fiery pool burning with sulfur.^(O) ²¹The rest were killed by the sword that came out of the mouth of the one riding the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.

Chapter 20

The Thousand-year Reign. ¹^[m]Then I saw an angel come down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the abyss^[n] and a heavy chain.^(P) ²He seized the dragon, the ancient serpent, which is the Devil or Satan,^[o] and tied it up for a thousand years^(Q) ³and threw it into the abyss, which he locked over it and sealed, so that it could no longer lead the nations astray until the thousand years are completed. After this, it is to be released for a short time.

⁴Then I saw thrones; those who sat on them were entrusted with judgment. I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, and who had not worshiped the beast or its image nor had accepted its mark^[p] on their foreheads or hands. They came to life and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years.^(R) ⁵The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were over. This is the first resurrection. ⁶Blessed^[q] and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over these; they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for [the] thousand years.

⁷^[r]When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison. ⁸He will go out to deceive the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog,^[s] to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea.^(S) ⁹They invaded the breadth of the earth^[t] and surrounded the camp of the holy ones and the beloved city. But fire came down from heaven and consumed them.^(T) ¹⁰The Devil who had led them astray was thrown into the pool of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet were. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

The Large White Throne.^[u] ¹¹Next I saw a large white throne and the one who was sitting on it. The earth and the sky fled from his presence and there was no place for them.^(U) ¹²I saw the dead, the great and the lowly, standing before the throne, and scrolls were opened. Then another scroll was opened, the book of life.^[v] The dead were judged according to their deeds, by what was written in the scrolls.^(V) ¹³The sea gave up its dead; then Death and Hades^[w] gave up their dead. All the dead were judged according to their deeds. ¹⁴^(W)Then Death and Hades were thrown into the pool of fire. (This pool of fire is the second death.^[x]) ¹⁵Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the pool of fire.

Footnotes

19:1, 3, 4, 6 Alleluia: found only here in the New Testament, this frequent exclamation of praise in the Hebrew psalms was important in Jewish liturgy.
19:5–10 A victory song follows, sung by the entire church, celebrating the marriage of the Lamb, the union of the Messiah with the community of the elect.
19:7 The wedding day of the Lamb: symbol of God’s reign about to begin (Rev 21:1–22:5); see note on Rev 10:7. His bride: the church; cf. 2 Cor 11:2; Eph 5:22–27. Marriage is one of the biblical metaphors used to describe the covenant relationship between God and his people; cf. Hos 2:16–22; Is 54:5–6; 62:5; Ez 16:6–14. Hence, idolatry and apostasy are viewed as adultery and harlotry (Hos 2:4–15; Ez 16:15–63); see note on Rev 14:4.
19:8 See note on Rev 14:12.
19:9 Blessed: see note on Rev 1:3.
19:10 The spirit of prophecy: as the prophets were inspired to proclaim God’s word, so the Christian is called to give witness to the Word of God (Rev 19:13) made flesh; cf. Rev 1:2; 6:9; 12:17.
19:11–16 Symbolic description of the exalted Christ (cf. Rev 1:13–16) who together with the armies of heaven overcomes the beast and its followers; cf. Rev 17:14.
19:12 A name: in Semitic thought, the name conveyed the reality of the person; cf. Mt 11:27; Lk 10:22.
19:13 Had been dipped in: other Greek manuscripts and versions read “had been sprinkled with”; cf. Rev 19:15. The Word of God: Christ is the revelation of the Father; cf. Jn 1:1, 14; 1 Jn 2:14.
19:15 The treading of the wine press is a prophetic symbol used to describe the destruction of God’s enemies; cf. Is 63:1–6; Jl 4:13.
19:17–21 The certainty of Christ’s victory is proclaimed by an angel, followed by a reference to the mustering of enemy forces and a fearsome description of their annihilation. The gruesome imagery is borrowed from Ez 39:4, 17–20.
19:20 Beast…false prophet: see notes on Rev 13. The fiery pool…sulfur: symbol of God’s punishment (Rev 14:10; 20:10, 14–15), different from the abyss; see note on Rev 9:1.
20:1–6 Like the other numerical values in this book, the thousand years are not to be taken literally; they symbolize the long period of time between the chaining up of Satan (a symbol for Christ’s resurrection-victory over death and the forces of evil) and the end of the world. During this time God’s people share in the glorious reign of God that is present to them by virtue of their baptismal victory over death and sin; cf. Rom 6:1–8; Jn 5:24–25; 16:33; 1 Jn 3:14; Eph 2:1.
20:1 Abyss: see note on Rev 9:1.
20:2 Dragon…serpent…Satan: see notes on Rev 12:3, 9, 10, 15.
20:4 Beast…mark: see Rev 13 and its notes.
20:6 Blessed: see note on Rev 1:3. Second death: see note on Rev 2:11. Priests: as in Rev 1:6; 5:10; cf. 1 Pt 2:9.
20:7–10 A description of the symbolic battle to take place when Satan is released at the end of time, when the thousand years are over; see note on Rev 20:1–6.
20:8 Gog and Magog: symbols of all pagan nations; the names are taken from Ez 38:1–39:20.
20:9 The breadth of the earth: Palestine. The beloved city: Jerusalem; see note on Rev 14:1.
20:11–15 A description of the final judgment. After the intermediate reign of Christ, all the dead are raised and judged, thus inaugurating the new age.
20:12 The book of life: see note on Rev 3:5. Judged…scrolls: see note on Rev 14:12.
20:13 Hades: the netherworld; see note on Rev 1:18.
20:14 Second death: see note on Rev 2:11.

New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.