Revelation 19–22

Hallelujah!

19After these things I heard a roar in heaven. It sounded like a huge crowd shouting,

“Hallelujah!

Salvation and glory and power belong to our God.

²The way he judges is true and fair.

He has judged the great prostitute.

She polluted the earth with her terrible sins.

God has paid her back for killing those who served him.”

³Again they shouted,

“Hallelujah!

The smoke from her fire goes up for ever and ever.”

⁴The 24 elders and the four living creatures bowed down. They worshiped God, who was sitting on the throne. They cried out,

“Amen! Hallelujah!”

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

“Praise our God,

all you who serve him!

Praise God, all you who have respect for him,

both great and small!”

⁶Then I heard the noise of a huge crowd. It sounded like the roar of rushing waters and like loud thunder. The people were shouting,

“Hallelujah!

Our Lord God is the King who rules over all.

⁷Let us be joyful and glad!

Let us give him glory!

It is time for the Lamb’s wedding.

His bride has made herself ready.

⁸Fine linen, bright and clean,

was given to her to wear.”

Fine linen stands for the right things that God’s people do.

⁹Here is what the angel told me to write. “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” Then he added, “These are the true words of God.”

¹⁰When I heard this, I fell at his feet to worship him.

But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I serve God, just as you do. I am God’s servant, just like other believers who hold firmly to what Jesus has taught. Worship God! What Jesus taught is the very heart of prophecy.”

The Rider on the White Horse

¹¹I saw heaven standing open. There in front of me was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True. When he judges or makes war, he is always fair. ¹²His eyes are like blazing fire. On his head are many crowns. A name is written on him that only he knows. ¹³He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood. His name is The Word of God.

¹⁴The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses. They were dressed in fine linen, white and clean.

¹⁵Out of the rider’s mouth comes a sharp sword. He will strike down the nations with it. Scripture says, “He will rule them with an iron rod.” He stomps on the grapes of God’s winepress. The winepress stands for the terrible anger of the God who rules over all.

¹⁶Here is the name that is written on the rider’s robe and on his thigh.

The Greatest King of All and The Most Powerful Lord of All

¹⁷I saw an angel standing in the sun. He cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying high in the air, “Come! Gather together for the great supper of God. ¹⁸Come and eat the dead bodies of kings, generals, and other mighty people. Eat the bodies of horses and their riders. Eat the bodies of all people, free and slave, great and small.”

¹⁹Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies. They had gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army.

²⁰But the beast and the false prophet were captured. The false prophet had done miraculous signs for the beast. In this way the false prophet had tricked those who had received the mark of the beast and had worshiped his statue. The beast and the false prophet were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. ²¹The rest of them were killed with the sword that came out of the rider’s mouth. All the birds stuffed themselves with the dead bodies.

The Thousand Years

20I saw an angel coming down out of heaven. He had the key to the Abyss. In his hand he held a heavy chain.

²He grabbed the dragon, that old serpent. The serpent is also called the devil, or Satan. The angel put him in chains for 1,000 years. ³Then he threw him into the Abyss. He locked it and sealed him in. This was to keep Satan from fooling the nations anymore until the 1,000 years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.

⁴I saw thrones. Those who had been given authority to judge were sitting on them. I also saw the souls of those whose heads had been cut off because they had given witness for Jesus and because of God’s word. They had not worshiped the beast or his statue. They had not received his mark on their foreheads or hands. They came to life and ruled with Christ for 1,000 years.

⁵This is the first resurrection. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the 1,000 years were ended.

⁶Blessed and holy are those who take part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them. They will be priests of God and of Christ. They will rule with him for 1,000 years.

Satan Is Judged

⁷When the 1,000 years are over, Satan will be set free from his prison. ⁸He will go out to fool the nations. He will gather them from the four corners of the earth. He will bring Gog and Magog together for battle.

Their troops are as many as the grains of sand on the seashore. ⁹They marched across the whole earth. They surrounded the place where God’s people were camped. It was the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and burned them up.

¹⁰The devil, who fooled them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur. That is where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will all suffer day and night for ever and ever.

The Dead Are Judged

¹¹I saw a great white throne and the One who was sitting on it. When the earth and sky saw his face, they ran away. There was no place for them.

¹²I saw the dead, great and small, standing in front of the throne. Books were opened. Then another book was opened. It was the Book of Life. The dead were judged by what they had done. The things they had done were written in the books. ¹³The sea gave up the dead that were in it. And Death and Hell gave up their dead. Each of the dead was judged by what he had done.

¹⁴Then Death and Hell were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. ¹⁵Anyone whose name was not written in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.

The New Jerusalem

21I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth were completely gone. There was no longer any sea.

²I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem. It was coming down out of heaven from God. It was prepared like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

³I heard a loud voice from the throne. It said, “Now God makes his home with people. He will live with them. They will be his people. And God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or sadness. There will be no more crying or pain. Things are no longer the way they used to be.”

⁵He who was sitting on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down. You can trust these words. They are true.”

⁶He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last. I am the Beginning and the End. Anyone who is thirsty may drink from the spring of the water of life. It doesn’t cost anything! ⁷Anyone who overcomes will receive all this from me. I will be his God, and he will be my child.

⁸“But others will have their place in the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. Those who are afraid and those who do not believe will be there. Murderers and those who pollute themselves will join them. Those who commit sexual sins and those who practice witchcraft will go there. Those who worship statues of gods and all who tell lies will be there too. It is the second death.”

⁹One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke to me. The bowls were filled with the seven last plagues. The angel said, “Come. I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

¹⁰Then he carried me away in a vision. The Spirit took me to a huge, high mountain. He showed me Jerusalem, the Holy City. It was coming down out of heaven from God. ¹¹It shone with the glory of God. It gleamed like a very valuable jewel. It was like a jasper, as clear as crystal.

¹²The city had a huge, high wall with 12 gates. Twelve angels were at the gates, one at each of them. On the gates were written the names of the 12 tribes of Israel. ¹³There were three gates on the east and three on the north. There were three gates on the south and three on the west. ¹⁴The wall of the city had 12 foundations. Written on them were the names of the 12 apostles of the Lamb.

¹⁵The angel who talked with me had a gold measuring rod. He used it to measure the city, its gates and its walls.

¹⁶The city was laid out like a square. It was as long as it was wide. The angel measured the city with the rod. It was 1,400 miles long. It was as wide and high as it was long.

¹⁷He measured the wall of the city. It was 200 feet thick. The angel did the measuring as a man would. ¹⁸The wall was made out of jasper. The city was made out of pure gold, as pure as glass.

¹⁹The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of jewel. The first foundation was made out of jasper. The second was made out of sapphire. The third was made out of chalcedony. The fourth was made out of emerald. ²⁰The fifth was made out of sardonyx. The sixth was made out of carnelian. The seventh was made out of chrysolite. The eighth was made out of beryl. The ninth was made out of topaz. The tenth was made out of chrysoprase. The eleventh was made out of jacinth. The twelfth was made out of amethyst.

²¹The 12 gates were made from 12 pearls. Each gate was made out of a single pearl. The main street of the city was made out of pure gold, as clear as glass.

²²I didn’t see a temple in the city. This was because the Lamb and the Lord God who rules over all are its temple. ²³The city does not need the sun or moon to shine on it. God’s glory is its light, and the Lamb is its lamp.

²⁴The nations will walk by the light of the city. The kings of the world will bring their glory into it. ²⁵Its gates will never be shut, because there will be no night there. ²⁶The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it.

²⁷Only what is pure will enter it. No one who fools others or does shameful…