✝
← Bible
ARCBLIVREKJVVBL

Revelation 19

KJV · Chapter 19/22

1And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:

2For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.

3And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.

4And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.

5And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.

6And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

7Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

8And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

9And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

10And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

11And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

12His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.

13And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

14And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

15And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

16And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

17And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;

18That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.

19And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.

20And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

21And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Heaven celebrates the fall of Babylon with hallelujahs and announces the wedding of the Lamb to his bride, the church, prepared and clothed in fine linen. Jesus then appears riding a white horse as King of kings and Lord of lords, defeating the beast and the false prophet, who are thrown into the lake of fire.

Explanation

The image of the 'wedding of the Lamb' uses marriage language, deeply significant in Jewish culture, to describe the final and complete union between Christ and his faithful people, represented by the 'bride' clothed in fine linen, explicitly interpreted as 'the righteous acts of the saints' (19:8). The description of Jesus returning as a victorious warrior riding a white horse, with a secret name and a sword coming out of his mouth (symbolizing the power of his word, not a literal weapon), contrasts dramatically with his first, humble coming as a baby in Bethlehem. The final defeat of the beast and the false prophet, thrown alive into the lake of fire without even undergoing formal judgment (unlike the humans in the next chapter), suggests that these figures represent systems and powers whose nature is already definitively condemned. Today's practical application is the sure hope that, despite every apparent victory of evil throughout history, the final and decisive triumph belongs to Christ.

Fun facts

  • The title 'King of kings and Lord of lords' (19:16), inscribed on the rider's robe and thigh, became one of the most widely used titles in Christian tradition to describe Christ's sovereignty, popularized also by Handel's 'Hallelujah' chorus, which combines this verse with Revelation 11:15.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Revelation 19:1After the fall of Babylon described in the previous chapter, a heavenly multitude celebrates with “Alleluia,” a Hebrew word of praise that appears only in this chapter in the entire book of Revelation.
  2. Revelation 19:2Explains the reason for the praise: judgment against the “great whore” (the same symbolic city from chapter 17) is seen as justice being carried out, avenging the blood of those persecuted because of her.
  3. Revelation 19:3Repeats the “Alleluia” with an added detail: the smoke of this destruction, already described in chapter 18, keeps rising forever, an image of final judgment.
  4. Revelation 19:4The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures, figures who have appeared since chapter 4, repeat the gesture of worship already seen several times in the book.
  5. Revelation 19:5A voice coming from the throne itself calls all of God's servants, with no distinction of rank, to join in this collective praise.
  6. Revelation 19:6The response to this call comes as an immense sound, compared at once to a multitude, to many waters, and to mighty thunder, announcing that “the Lord God omnipotent reigneth” — a central affirmation of the whole book.
  7. Revelation 19:7Marriage was a common image in the Old Testament, in Hosea and Isaiah, for example, for the covenant relationship between God and His people. The text itself explains the symbol of the garment in the same verse: the fine linen represents the righteous acts of those who belong to God.
  8. Revelation 19:8The fine linen garment given to the bride (mentioned in the previous verse) receives a direct explanation in the text itself: it represents the righteous acts of the saints, not just any garment.
  9. Revelation 19:9This is the fourth of the seven blessings scattered through the book, this time about those invited to the Lamb's wedding supper, an image of final celebration.
  10. Revelation 19:10John mistakenly tries to worship the angel, but is corrected on the spot: even heavenly messengers are only fellow servants, and only God should receive this kind of worship.
  11. Revelation 19:11This rider stands in direct contrast to the first white horse of chapter 6, showing who truly judges with righteousness.
  12. Revelation 19:12Eyes like a flame of fire repeat the same description already used for the vision of Christ in chapter 1; the name “that no man knew” suggests an identity beyond what any human title could ever fully capture.
  13. Revelation 19:13This image draws on the prophet Isaiah, who describes a warrior stained after treading grapes in a winepress, again a figure of judgment, not a literal battle scene.
  14. Revelation 19:14The heavenly armies that accompany Him, dressed like the bride of verse 8, suggest that this battle scene is won together with the saints themselves, not by the rider alone.
  15. Revelation 19:15The sword coming out of his mouth repeats the image already used in chapter 1 for the power of the word that judges; ‘rod of iron’ draws on Psalm 2, and the ‘winepress’ recalls the image of judgment already seen in chapter 14.
  16. Revelation 19:16The title “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” written on His vesture and on His thigh (where swords were carried) reinforces His supreme authority over any other earthly power.
  17. Revelation 19:17This supper is a harsh, ironic contrast with the marriage of the Lamb mentioned just a few verses earlier: one is a feast of joy, the other an image of total defeat, two banquets framing the same chapter.
  18. Revelation 19:18This grim “supper,” with birds summoned to eat the bodies of the defeated, is a harsh and deliberate contrast with the Lamb's wedding supper mentioned just a few verses earlier.
  19. Revelation 19:19The beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies gather to fight against the rider, setting up the final confrontation that most of the book had been building toward.
  20. Revelation 19:20The beast and the false prophet (the second beast of chapter 13) are captured and thrown into the lake of fire, the same fate that awaits Satan later, in chapter 20.
  21. Revelation 19:21The rest of the army is defeated by the same symbolic sword coming out of the rider's mouth, without the text describing any prolonged physical battle — victory comes through the word, not through conventional combat.

Chapters

12345678910111213141516171819202122

Our apps

Our apps →

Bible in Stories

The Bible told as a story, with audio and videos.

📱 Get the app

World in Stories

True stories of humanity that sound made up.

App StoreGoogle Play

Feito! Pequenas Vitórias

A light daily routine for people who lose track of the day.

App StoreGoogle Play