Page 577 - Demo

REVELATION 
wages war in righteousness.h 12His eyes were [like] a ery ame, and on his head were many diadems. He had a name* inscribed that no one knows except himself.i 13He wore a cloak that had been dipped in* blood, and his name was called the Word of God.j 14The armies of heaven followed him, mounted on white horses and wearing clean white linen.k 15Out of his
mouth came a sharp sword to strike the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod, and he himself will tread out in the wine press* the wine of the fury and wrath of God the almighty.l 16He has a name written on his cloak and on his thigh, “King of kings and Lord of lords.”m
17* Then I saw an angel
standing on the sun. He cried
out [in] a loud voice to all the
birds ying high overhead,
“Come here. Gather for God’s
great feast, 18to eat the esh
of kings, the esh of military
o cers, and the esh of war-
riors, the esh of horses and
of their riders, and the esh
of all, free and slave, small and
great.”n 19Then I saw the beast
and the kings of the earth and
their armies gathered to ght
against the one riding the
horse and against his army.
20The beast was caught and
with it the false prophet* who had performed in its sight the signs by which he led astray those who had accepted the mark of the beast and those who had worshiped its image. The two were thrown alive into the ery pool burning with sulfur.o 21The rest were killed by the sword that came out of the mouth of the one riding the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their esh.
The Thousand-year Reign.
19:15
The “wine press” is an ancient symbol of Christ, who shed his blood for our salvation, just as the grapes are crushed to yield the wine.
The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, detail from the polyptych by the van Eyck brothers, 15th century
h. [19:11] Is 11:4.
i. [19:12] 1:14–16; 2:18 / Lk 10:22.
j. [19:13] Is 63:1 / Jn 1:1.
k. [19:14] 15:6; 19:8.
l. [19:15] 14:20; Is 63:3.
m. [19:16] 17:14; 2 Mc 13:4.
n. [19:18] Ez 39:17–20.
o. [19:20] 14:10.
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* [19:11–16] Symbolic description of the exalted Christ (cf. Rev 1:13–16) who together with the armies of heaven overcomes the beast and its followers; cf. Rev 17:14.
* [19:12] A name: in Semitic thought, the name conveyed the reality of the person; cf. Mt 11:27; Lk 10:22.
* [19:13] Had been dipped in: other Greek manuscripts and versions read “had been sprinkled with”; cf. Rev 19:15. The Word of God: Christ is the revelation of the Father; cf. Jn 1:1, 14; 1 Jn 2:14.
* [19:15] The treading of the wine press is a prophetic symbol used to describe the destruction of God’s enemies; cf. Is 63:1–6; Jl 4:13.
* [19:17–21] The certainty of Christ’s victory is proclaimed by an angel, followed by a reference to the mustering of enemy forces and a fearsome description of their annihilation. The gruesome imagery is borrowed from Ez 39:4, 17–20.
* [19:20] Beast. . .false prophet: see notes on Rev 13. The ery pool. . .sulfur: symbol of God’s punishment (Rev 14:10; 20:10, 14–15), di erent from the abyss; see note on Rev 9:1.