1After these things I heard what sounded like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
2because true and righteous are his judgments; because he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality, and he has avenged the blood of his servants from her hand.”
3And a second time they said, “Hallelujah! And her smoke rises up forever and ever.”
4And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who is seated on the throne, saying, “Amen! Hallelujah!”
5And a voice came out from the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all his servants, you who fear him, the small and the great.”
6And I heard what sounded like the voice of a great multitude, and like the sound of many waters, and like the sound of mighty thunders, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.”
The Wedding of the Lamb
7Let us rejoice and exult, and let us give the glory to him, because the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has prepared herself,”
8and it was granted to her that she should be clothed in fine linen, bright and clean”—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
9And he said to me, “Write: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”
10And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
Faithful and True Goes to War
11And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and the one seated on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.
12His eyes are a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows except himself,
13and he is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called The Word of God.
14And the armies that are in heaven were following him on white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
15And out of his mouth comes a sharp sword, that with it he might strike down the nations; and he himself will shepherd them with an iron rod; and he himself treads the winepress of the wine of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.
16And he has on his robe and on his thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
17And I saw one angel standing in the sun, and he cried out in a loud voice, saying to all the birds flying in midheaven, “Come, gather for the great supper of God,
18that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of the mighty and the flesh of horses and of those seated on them, and the flesh of all, both free and slave, both small and great.”
19And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the one seated on the horse and against his army.
20And the beast was seized, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs before it, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. The two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.
21And the rest were killed by the sword of the one seated on the horse, which came out of his mouth, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.
Where this passage connects across Scripture — each link typed and reasoned, part of the AIT Bible Nexus Chart.
Heaven's Fourfold Hallelujah
allusionDeuteronomy 32:43— The avenging of the blood of God's servants echoes the Song of Moses promising God will avenge the blood of his servants.
allusionIsaiah 34:10— The rising smoke forever echoes Isaiah's oracle against Edom whose smoke goes up forever.
allusionPsalms 93:1— The proclamation that the Lord God Almighty reigns echoes the enthronement psalms declaring 'The LORD reigns.'
thematicRevelation 17:1— The 'great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her fornication' judged here is the same figure introduced in Revelation 17.
The Wedding of the Lamb
parallelRevelation 22:8— John again falls to worship an angel who refuses, saying he is a fellow servant and 'Worship God,' repeating this scene.
thematicActs 10:24— Peter, like the angel, refuses worship offered to himself as a mere creature.
thematicEphesians 5:21— Both portray the church as a bride presented to Christ in splendor/purity.
thematicIsaiah 54:5— The marriage imagery draws on the OT motif of God/the Lord as husband of his people, the bride.
thematicLuke 14:15— The blessing on those invited to the wedding supper echoes 'Blessed is the one who will eat bread in the kingdom of God.'
Faithful and True Goes to War
parallelRevelation 17:14— The title King of kings and Lord of lords is the same designation of the Lamb given earlier.
parallelRevelation 12:1— The ruling of nations with an iron rod is repeated of Christ the returning warrior.
parallelRevelation 17:1— The Lamb's title King of kings and Lord of lords recurs at his coming as conqueror.
echoed in1 Timothy 6:11— Same divine title, King of kings and Lord of lords.
allusionEzekiel 39:17— The birds summoned to eat the flesh of kings and the mighty closely follows Ezekiel's sacrificial feast on Gog's slain.
echoed inEzekiel 39:1— The slain given as food to birds of prey and beasts of the field is developed in Revelation's summons of birds to eat the flesh of the slain.
echoed inGenesis 49:1— Washing garments in the blood of grapes parallels the robe dipped in blood.
allusionIsaiah 63:1— The robe dipped in blood echoes Isaiah's warrior with garments stained red from treading the winepress.
allusionIsaiah 63:3— Treading the winepress of the wrath of God draws directly on Isaiah's imagery of the winepress trodden in wrath.
allusionIsaiah 11:4— The sword from his mouth striking the nations echoes the messianic figure who strikes the earth with the rod of his mouth.
echoed inIsaiah 11:1— The sword from Christ's mouth striking the nations echoes the rod of his mouth striking the earth.
allusionPsalms 2:9— Shepherding the nations with an iron rod quotes the messianic promise of Psalm 2.
echoed inPsalms 2:1— The rider on the white horse who rules the nations 'with a rod of iron' echoes this verse.
allusionRevelation 6:2— The rider on the white horse recalls the first seal's white horse, here identified as the conquering Christ.
allusionRevelation 1:14— His eyes as a flame of fire repeats the description of the exalted Christ in the opening vision.
allusionRevelation 13:13— The false prophet's signs, the mark of the beast, and worship of its image refer back to the second beast in Revelation 13.
thematicJohn 1:1— The rider's name 'The Word of God' shares the distinctive Johannine title Logos for Christ.
thematicPsalms 45:1— Both depict the royal figure riding out victoriously with sword/arrows for the cause of truth and righteousness against enemies.