Songs in heaven
1 ① After this I heard what sounded like the loud singing of a great assembly in heaven:
Alleluia! Salvation, glory and might belong to our God,
2for his judgments are true and just.
He has condemned the great harlot who corrupted the world with her adultery.
He has avenged his servants’ blood shed by her hand, in harlotry.
3Once more, they sang: Alleluia! The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever!
4The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God seated on the throne. And they cried: Amen! Alleluia!
5A voice came from the throne: “Praise our God, all you his servants, all you who revere him, both small and great!”
6Then, I heard what sounded like a great crowd, like the roaring of the waves, like peals of thunder, answering:
Alleluia! The LORD now reigns,
our LORD, the Master of the universe!
7Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!
This is the time to celebrate the wedding of the Lamb,
his bride has made herself ready.
8Fine linen, bright and clean,
is given her to wear.
This linen stands for the good works of the holy ones.
9Then, the angel told me, “Write: Happy are those invited to the wedding of the Lamb.” And he went on, “These are true words of God.”
10As I fell down at his feet, to worship him, he said to me, “Beware, I am but a servant, like you and your brothers, who utter the testimonies of Jesus (these testimonies of Jesus are proclaimed through the spirit of the prophets). Worship God alone.”
The triumph of the word of God
11 ② Then, I saw heaven opened, and a white horse appeared. Its rider is the Faithful and True; he judges, and wages just wars. 12His eyes are flames of fire; he wears many crowns, and written on him is his own name, which no one can understand, except himself. 13He is clothed in a cloak drenched in blood. His name is the Word of God.
14The armies of heaven, clothed in pure white linen, follow him on white horses. 15A sharp sword comes out of his mouth. With it, he will strike the nations, for he must rule them with an iron rod. He treads the winepress of the burning wrath of God, the Master of the universe. 16This is why this title is written on his cloak and on his thigh: King of kings and LORD of lords.
17I also saw an angel standing in the sun. He cried out with a loud voice to all the birds of the air, “Come here, to the great feast of God. 18Come and eat the flesh of kings, of generals and of the mighty; come and devour the soldier and his horse, flesh of all, both free and slaves, both small and great.”
19Then, I saw the beast with the kings of the earth and their armies, gathered together to fight against him who rides on the horse, and his army. 20But the beast was captured, with the false prophet who served it and performed signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its statue. The two were thrown, alive, into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, and all 21the rest were killed by the sword, which comes from the mouth of the rider who mounts the horse. And all the birds were fed with their flesh.
- Rev 19,1 TRIUMPHAL SONGS IN HEAVEN The huge multitude rejoices over the prostitute's condemnation and shouts alleluia, for the wedding of the Lamb is to take place. Happy are those invited to the wedding of the Lamb (19:9). Now John speaks of delight and joy when the noise of Babylon and its pleasures have ended. Its lights shine no more and the deeds of the saints - heroic actions or humble service - shine brightly. At the end of the paragraph John criticizes the excessive interest in angels which was threatening to replace the worship of pagan gods; it is perhaps a new warning against the cult of personality in the Church itself (compare 19:10; 22:8; Acts 10:26). Rev 19,11 Here we have the continuation of chapters 13, 14, 15 and 16, after the parenthesis of chapters 17 and 18. The seven angels poured out the bowls of punishment for the Beast and the decisive encounter was expected. Then Christ appears. His name is the Word of God (v. 3). He is the male child born of the woman, and he is to rule all the nations with an iron scepter (12:5). Christ comes triumphantly. His true name is Word, Word of God; this is his divine reality which only he understands. See John 1:1-14 in that respect. The heavenly armies follow him: as Jesus announced several times (Mt 16:27). The Word of God, powerful to conquer, at work to save, faithful to fulfill God's promises, truthful in what he says, the one who wages just wars. The just wars are the wars waged against the devil and his allies: the persecuting power (the Beast) and the doctrines providing opium instead of salvation (the false prophets). This page is John's prophecy concerning the destruction of the persecuting Roman empire. It was fulfilled and that empire disappeared. In reading this page we are reminded of the defeats of the invincible Roman armies, and the breakdown of this huge body, whose soul was faith in the divinity of Rome and its Caesar-Emperor. Christ did not come to do battle against the Roman armies: a certain number of soldiers were already converted to the Christian faith. (Many young Christians enlisted in the army were the missionaries of Christ wherever they went and even had martyrs among them). Instead, the victory announced by the Apocalypse was the victory of Christ and the martyrs who, through their sacrifice, destroyed the cruelty, injustice and immorality of the pagan world. A believer's daily struggle was the victory of Christ. The day came, however, when the Lord brought justice before the sight of everyone: Come, eat the flesh of kings and generals (v. 18).
- Rev 19,1 TRIUMPHAL SONGS IN HEAVEN The huge multitude rejoices over the prostitute's condemnation and shouts alleluia, for the wedding of the Lamb is to take place. Happy are those invited to the wedding of the Lamb (19:9). Now John speaks of delight and joy when the noise of Babylon and its pleasures have ended. Its lights shine no more and the deeds of the saints - heroic actions or humble service - shine brightly. At the end of the paragraph John criticizes the excessive interest in angels which was threatening to replace the worship of pagan gods; it is perhaps a new warning against the cult of personality in the Church itself (compare 19:10; 22:8; Acts 10:26). Rev 19,11 Here we have the continuation of chapters 13, 14, 15 and 16, after the parenthesis of chapters 17 and 18. The seven angels poured out the bowls of punishment for the Beast and the decisive encounter was expected. Then Christ appears. His name is the Word of God (v. 3). He is the male child born of the woman, and he is to rule all the nations with an iron scepter (12:5). Christ comes triumphantly. His true name is Word, Word of God; this is his divine reality which only he understands. See John 1:1-14 in that respect. The heavenly armies follow him: as Jesus announced several times (Mt 16:27). The Word of God, powerful to conquer, at work to save, faithful to fulfill God's promises, truthful in what he says, the one who wages just wars. The just wars are the wars waged against the devil and his allies: the persecuting power (the Beast) and the doctrines providing opium instead of salvation (the false prophets). This page is John's prophecy concerning the destruction of the persecuting Roman empire. It was fulfilled and that empire disappeared. In reading this page we are reminded of the defeats of the invincible Roman armies, and the breakdown of this huge body, whose soul was faith in the divinity of Rome and its Caesar-Emperor. Christ did not come to do battle against the Roman armies: a certain number of soldiers were already converted to the Christian faith. (Many young Christians enlisted in the army were the missionaries of Christ wherever they went and even had martyrs among them). Instead, the victory announced by the Apocalypse was the victory of Christ and the martyrs who, through their sacrifice, destroyed the cruelty, injustice and immorality of the pagan world. A believer's daily struggle was the victory of Christ. The day came, however, when the Lord brought justice before the sight of everyone: Come, eat the flesh of kings and generals (v. 18).
