Second Coming · Return in glory; marriage supper

Revelation 19:1-21

John · ~95 AD · Status: Future · Confidence: 60%
“And 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: For 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.”
King James Version · the opening of the passage — the whole of it is condensed below
More of Revelation 19 on this siteRevelation 19:11-16
More than one movement in this entry

John's vision of the heavenly Bridegroom returning as the conquering King of kings to judge and to reign, following the marriage supper of the Lamb.

The prophecy, condensed

And 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 And 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. Let 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. And 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. And 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. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. And 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. And 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.
Revelation 19:1-21 · King James Version · condensed from 634 words · every cut marked …
Commentary — not Scripture
Two scenes bolted together, and the contrast is the design: a wedding and a battlefield. First the Alleluias and the marriage supper of the Lamb, the bride arrayed in fine linen; then heaven opens and the same Lamb rides out with a vesture dipped in blood and a sword in his mouth. Showing either half alone gives a false picture of the chapter.
Read the full prophecy — all 21 verses

19:1And 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:

19:2For 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.

19:3And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.

19:4And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.

19:5And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.

19:6And 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.

19:7Let 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.

19:8And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

19:9And 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.

19:10And 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.

19:11And 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.

19:12His 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.

19:13And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

19:14And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

19:15And 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.

19:16And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

19:17And 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;

19:18That 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.

19:19And 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.

19:20And 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.

19:21And 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.

Fulfillment References

Revelation 17:14 Isaiah 63:1-6 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10 Zechariah 14:3

How Traditions Read This Prophecy

Apostolic (Oneness) PentecostalThe rider named 'Faithful and True' and 'KING OF KINGS' is Jesus, the Word of God (v.13) — the one God whose name is above every name (Phil. 2:9-11).
JewishThe imagery of a divine warrior treading the winepress (Isa. 63) belongs to Jewish Day-of-the-LORD expectation; Judaism awaits God's decisive victory over the nations.
CatholicThe triumphant return of Christ the King to judge the living and the dead, consummating history.
ProtestantThe glorious Second Coming in power; the title 'KING OF KINGS' anchors the hope of Christ's final, public victory.
OrthodoxChrist Pantokrator returning in glory; the marriage supper prefigures the eternal communion of Christ and the Church.
DispensationalThe literal return of Christ to earth with His saints to defeat the Antichrist at Armageddon and inaugurate the thousand-year reign (Rev. 20).
AcademicScholars read Revelation 19 as apocalyptic counter-imperial rhetoric, casting the slain Lamb as the true Lord against Rome's claims.
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Bible Prophecy Explorer · based on J. Barton Payne’s Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy catalogue · an openly Apostolic (Oneness) Pentecostal study resource — all traditions presented fairly. Pastor: C. Myles Young, D.Min. · Bishop: Nathaniel J. Wilson, Ed.D.