Rev 19 | EE | STEP | After these things, I heard a sound like the voices of very many people in heaven. The crowd of people were shouting, ‘We praise the Lord our God! He has saved us! He is really powerful! We say that he is great!

Revelation of John 19

The people in heaven praise God

1 After these things, I heard a sound like the voices of very many people in heaven. The crowd of people were shouting,

‘We praise the Lord our God!
He has saved us!
He is really powerful!
We say that he is great!

2 Everything that he decides is right and fair.

He has decided to punish that great prostitute.
She led people on the earth to do bad things.
She has led them to worship idols.
It is like she led people to have sex in a wrong way.
She killed God’s servants with her own hands.
Because of all that, God has now punished her.
So, we praise him!’

3 Then the crowd of people in heaven shouted again,

‘We 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 4 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! We 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 serve God, worship him!
You who are important people, and you who are not important, worship him!’

6 Again I heard a sound like a very big crowd, and they were shouting. The sound was like the noise of many rivers that were moving very fast. It was like the noise of loud thunder. The crowd of people shouted,

‘We praise the Lord our God!
He rules with all power and authority!

7 Now we are very happy!

We will say how great God is!
The time for the Lamb‘s marriage has now come.
His wife that he will marry has prepared herself.

8 God has given her bright, clean clothes to wear.’

These special clothes are a picture of the good things that God’s people have done.

9 Then the angel said to me, ‘Write down this message: “When the Lamb marries, there will be a special meal. God will ask his people to eat that meal together with the Lamb. Those people will be very happy.” ’ The angel also said to me, ‘This is a true message from God.’

10 Then I bent down 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 continue to trust in Jesus. They speak his message. Worship God! It is God’s Spirit that helps those believers to speak God’s message. That is how they tell other people about Jesus.’

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: ‘An honest person that you can trust’. He is always right when he judges people. He is always right when he fights a war. 12 His eyes burned like bright fires. Many crowns were on his head. He had a name that was written on him, but nobody knows that name except himself. 13 He was wearing a long shirt that had much blood on it. His name is: ‘The Word of God’.

14 The armies in heaven were following him. They were also riding white horses. They were wearing clean, white clothes. 15 A sharp sword was coming out of his mouth. He will use this sword to hit the people of all the countries of the world. Then he will rule them with an iron stick and with great power. He will punish them like someone who walks on grapes to make wine. This shows that God is very angry. He has all power and authority, and he will punish his enemies. ^{▼▼19:15 This verse tells us that Jesus will punish people. He will be like someone who walks on grapes. This shows that God is very angry. People do not want to do anything good. Like the people in the powerful city (chapters 17 and 18), they think that other things are more important than God himself. People are like the grapes. See Revelation 14:19-20 and the notes there.} 16 The man who rode the white horse had a name that was written on his shirt. It was also written high on his leg. That name is: ‘The King who rules over all other kings. The Lord who is above all lords’. ^{▼▼19:16 These verses describe Jesus. He is the great king who will beat all his enemies. He has a sword that comes out of his mouth, as in Revelation 1:16. The sword may be like a picture of how powerful Jesus’ words are. He can beat all his enemies with his words because they are always true.}

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 God’s big meal. 18 Eat the meat from dead bodies until you are full! Come and eat the meat of kings, the meat of captains of armies and the meat of powerful men. Eat the meat of dead horses and the meat of those who ride them. You can eat the meat of all kinds of dead people. They may be slaves or free people. They may be great people or people who are not important.’

19 Then I saw the wild animal together with the kings of the earth and their armies. They had come together to fight a war. They were going to fight against the man who rode the white horse and his army. 20 But the man and his army caught the wild animal and the false prophet. He is the prophet who had done miracles to help the wild animal. With those miracles he had caused people to believe his lies. Those were the people who had the wild animal’s mark on them. They worshipped his idol. Now the man who rode the white horse took hold of the wild animal and the false prophet. He threw them into the lake while they were still alive. It was the lake of fire that burns with sulphur. 21 The man who rode 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.