Heaven Rejoices over Babylon

1After this I heard ³¹⁴what sounded like a ³¹⁵loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying,
“Hallelujah!
Salvation, ³¹⁶power, and glory belong to our God,

2for true and just are his judgments;
he has judged the great prostitute,
who corrupted the earth with her fornication.
He has avenged the blood of his servants shed by her hand.”

3A second time ³¹⁷the voice said,
“Hallelujah!
Her smoke goes up forever and ever.”

4Then the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who sits on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!”

5And a voice came out from the throne, saying,
“Praise our God,
all you his servants,
³¹⁸and you who fear him,
both small and great.”

6Then I heard ³¹⁹what sounded like the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying,
“Hallelujah!
For ³²⁰the Lord ³²¹our God
the Almighty reigns.

7Let us rejoice and be ³²²glad
and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.

8It has been granted to her to be clothed
with fine linen, ³²³bright and pure.”
For the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the saints.

9Then the angel said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’ ” He also said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

10Then I fell at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “Do not do that! I am a fellow servant of yoʋrs and of yoʋr brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

The Rider on the White Horse

11Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! Its rider is ³²⁴called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and wages war.

12His eyes are ³²⁵a flame of fire, and on his head are many crowns. ³²⁶Names were written on him, including a name that no one knows but he himself.

13He is clothed with a garment ³²⁷dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.

14The armies of heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses.

15Out of his mouth comes a sharp ³²⁸two-edged sword with which he can strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury ³²⁹of the wrath of God, the Almighty.

16On his garment and on his thigh a name is written: King of kings and Lord of lords.

17Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that were flying directly overhead, “ ³³⁰Come, gather together for the ³³¹great supper of God,

18so that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of commanders, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, ³³²both free and slave, ³³³both small and great.”

19Then I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and against his army.

20But the beast was captured, and ³³⁴so was the false prophet who was with him, who in his sight had performed the signs by which he had deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.

21The rest were killed by the sword that came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.