Friday, May 06, 2005

God's Miniseries, Part Nineteen

Revelation 19 (New Living Translation)

Revelation 19

Songs of Victory in Heaven
1 “After this, I heard the sound of a vast crowd in heaven shouting, “Hallelujah! Salvation is from our God. Glory and power belong to him alone. 2His judgments are just and true. He has punished the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and he has avenged the murder of his servants.” 3Again and again their voices rang, “Hallelujah! The smoke from that city ascends forever and forever!”
4Then the twenty-four elders and the four living beings fell down and worshiped God, who was sitting on the throne. They cried out, “Amen! Hallelujah!”
5And from the throne came a voice that said, “Praise our God, all his servants, from the least to the greatest, all who fear him.”
6Then I heard again what sounded like the shout of a huge crowd, or the roar of mighty ocean waves, or the crash of loud thunder: “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. 7Let us be glad and rejoice and honor him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself. 8She is permitted to wear the finest white linen.” (Fine linen represents the good deeds done by the people of God.)
9And the angel said, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.” And he added, “These are true words that come from God.”
10Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said, “No, don't worship me. For I am a servant of God, just like you and other brothers and sisters[
a] who testify of their faith in Jesus. Worship God. For the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus.[b]”

The Rider on the White Horse
11Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. And the one sitting on the horse was named Faithful and True. For he judges fairly and then goes to war. 12His eyes were bright like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him, and only he knew what it meant. 13He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. 14The armies of heaven, dressed in pure white linen, followed him on white horses. 15From his mouth came a sharp sword, and with it he struck down the nations. He ruled them with an iron rod, and he trod the winepress of the fierce wrath of almighty God. 16On his robe and thigh was written this title: King of kings and Lord of lords.
17Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, shouting to the vultures flying high in the sky: “Come! Gather together for the great banquet God has prepared. 18Come and eat the flesh of kings, captains, and strong warriors; of horses and their riders; and of all humanity, both free and slave, small and great.”
19Then I saw the beast gathering the kings of the earth and their armies in order to fight against the one sitting on the horse and his army. 20And the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who did mighty miracles on behalf of the beast--miracles that deceived all who had accepted the mark of the beast and who worshiped his statue. Both the beast and his false prophet were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. 21Their entire army was killed by the sharp sword that came out of the mouth of the one riding the white horse. And all the vultures of the sky gorged themselves on the dead bodies.”

Footnotes:
Revelation 19:10 Greek brothers. Revelation 19:10 Or is the message confirmed by Jesus.

1 comment:

The Complimenting Commenter said...

Powerful words. Your blog's purpose is great. I hope that you continue and get blessed while writing. Keep it up.