Revelation 19
The people in heaven praise God
1 After these things, I heard a sound like the voices of a great crowd of people in heaven. They were shouting,
‘Praise the Lord our God!
He has saved us!
He is very powerful!
We say that he is great!
2 Everything that he decides is right and fair.
He has punished that great prostitute.
She led people on the earth to do wicked things.
She murdered God's servants with her own hands.
But now God has punished her as she deserves.’
19:2Babylon and other wicked cities are like a prostitute. They cause people to turn away from God, so that they are not faithful to him.
3 Then the crowd of people in heaven shouted again,
‘Praise the Lord our God!
The smoke from the fire that burns that city will go up for ever.’
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,
‘All of you who are God's servants,
praise our God!
All of you who respect God's power, worship him!
Important people and ordinary people should worship him!’
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,
‘Praise the Lord our God!
He rules with all power and authority!
7 We must shout with joy because we are so happy!
We will say that God is great!
The time has come for the Lamb's wedding party.
His bride has prepared herself.
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.
19:8God's people are clean and pure because Jesus, the Lamb, died in their place as a sacrifice.
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. 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. 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’.
19:15This sharp sword shows that he speaks strong words against his enemies. See Revelation 1:16. 19:15God is angry with those people who are enemies of Jesus. Jesus will punish those people like someone who stamps on grapes to make wine. See Revelation 14:19-20. 19:16These verses describe Jesus. He is the great King who will win against all his enemies.
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.
