Revelation 18:23-20:4

English Standard Version

Rejoicing in Heaven

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

³ Once more they cried out,

⁴ And ^(L)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 ^(O)the voice of a great multitude, like ^(P)the roar of many waters and ^(Q)like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,

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

⁹ And the angel said^[a] to me, “Write this: ^(W)Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, ^(X)“These are the true words of God.” ¹⁰ Then ^(Y)I fell down at his feet to worship him, ^(Z)but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to ^(AA)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 ^(AB)heaven opened, and behold, ^(AC)a white horse! The one sitting on it is called ^(AD)Faithful and True, and ^(AE)in righteousness he judges and makes war. ^12 (AF)His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are ^(AG)many diadems, and he has ^(AH)a name written that no one knows but himself. ¹³ He is clothed in ^(AI)a robe dipped in^[b] blood, and the name by which he is called is ^(AJ)The Word of God. ¹⁴ And the armies of heaven, ^(AK)arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, ^(AL)were following him on white horses. ^15 (AM)From his mouth comes a sharp sword ^(AN)with which to strike down the nations, and ^(AO)he will rule^[c] them with a rod of iron. ^(AP)He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. ¹⁶ On his robe and on his thigh ^(AQ)he has a name written, ^(AR)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 ^(AS)all the birds that fly directly overhead, ^(AT)“Come, gather for ^(AU)the great supper of God, ^18 (AV)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 ^(AW)the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies ^(AX)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 ^(AY)the false prophet ^(AZ)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 ^(BA)worshiped its image. These two were ^(BB)thrown alive into the lake of ^(BC)fire that burns with sulfur. ²¹ And the rest were slain by the sword ^(BD)that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and ^(BE)all the birds were gorged with their flesh.

The Thousand Years

20 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, ^(BF)holding in his hand the key to ^(BG)the bottomless pit^[f] and a great chain. ² And he seized ^(BH)the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and ^(BI)bound him for a thousand years, ³ and threw him into ^(BJ)the pit, and shut it and ^(BK)sealed it over him, so that ^(BL)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 ^(BM)thrones, and ^(BN)seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw ^(BO)the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those ^(BP)who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. ^(BQ)They came to life and ^(BR)reigned with Christ for a thousand years.