The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (308 page)

18:24 blood of prophets . . . saints:
The harlot city is a murderous city, stained with the blood of the Lord's faithful ones (17:6).
all . . . slain on earth:
A prophetic hyperbole, stressing that the city's bloodguilt has reached an extreme level. • The wording is borrowed from Jer 51:49, where "the slain of all the earth" were said to have fallen in Babylon. 
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19:2 avenged . . . the blood:
In answer to the pleas and petitions of the martyrs in 6:9-10 (CCC 2642). 
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19:4 twenty-four elders:
Heavenly saints.
See note on Rev 4:4
.
four living creatures:
Heavenly angels.
See note on Rev 4:6
. 
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19:7-9
Christ and the Church are forever united in a covenant of marital love. In one sense, this is a present reality for the Church, who is joined to the Bridegroom by the grace of Baptism (Eph 5:22-32); but it is also a future hope, inasmuch as that union will reach perfection in the glory of heaven (Mt 25:1-13). John envisions the Church dressed in a bridal gown sewn by a life of purity and righteousness. Later, the Bride of the Lamb is described as the heavenly Jerusalem, the virgin city gilded with gold and adorned with precious stones (21:9-21) (CCC 757, 865). • The marriage of the bridal city recalls Ezek 16:8-14, where the Lord joined himself in wedlock to ancient Jerusalem, having cleansed her in water and clothed her in gold, jewelry, and fine linen. Similar images of glorified Zion appear in Is 61:10 and 62:5. 
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19:9 Blessed are those:
The fourth of seven beatitudes in Revelation.
See note on Rev 1:3
. 
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19:10 Worship God:
The worship of any created thing is idolatry. John, of course, is not an idolater but is overcome by the heavenly glory radiating from the angel (22:8-9). He receives no such rebuke when he falls prostrate before the glorified Christ (1:17). 
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19:11-21
Christ appears as the warrior Messiah, riding into battle with a full cavalry of angels trailing behind him. His mission: to execute judgment on the beast and the false prophet who allied themselves against him and his followers. This is the battle of Armageddon, for which preparations were made in 16:14-16. • The depiction of Christ dressed in a robe covered with
blood
(19:13) and treading the
wine press
of wrath (19:15) recalls Is 63:1-6, where the Lord marches forth to war, his garments splattered with enemy blood and his feet stomping down the nations in a wine press. The depiction of Christ as the
Word
(19:13) who swings a sharp
sword
(19:15) recalls Wis 18:15-16, where the divine word leaps down from heaven as a warrior armed with a sword. 
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19:12 many diadems:
Jesus is crowned with many crowns, symbolizing the plentitude of his royal authority as "King of kings" (19:16).
a name inscribed:
Either on his crowns or possibly on his forehead, like the saints who bear his name (14:1). 
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19:13 The Word of God:
Jesus, the divine Word of the Father (Jn 1:1), enacts the divine word of judgment (Jn 5:22) against those who reject his gospel (Jn 12:48). 
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19:15 a rod of iron:
The scepter of the Davidic Messiah (Ps 2:9).
See note on Rev 12:5
. 
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19:17-21
Jesus condemns his enemies to a dreadful destiny. The judgment in question is spiritual, leading to the eternal
lake of fire,
though it is possible that historical events of the first century lie in the background. For instance, the overthrow of the
beast
may be linked to the suicide of Nero in
A.D.
68. Not only was his name the number of the beast (note on Rev 13:18), but he had waged a violent war against the Church (11:7; 13:7). Likewise, the judgment of the
false prophet
may be linked to the massacre of Judea's religious leadership in the first Jewish revolt against Rome (
A.D.
67 to 70). So understood, this is a vision of divine punishment being imposed on the first persecutors of Christianity. Ultimately, however, it foreshadows the final battle of history, when Christ returns and destroys the powers of evil once and for all (20:710; 2 Thess 1:5-10; 2:1-12). • The imagery of the
great supper
comes from the apocalyptic war scenes of Ezek 38-39. After the Lord destroys those who assault his people, birds are invited to gorge themselves on the flesh and blood of fallen enemies strewn across the battlefield (Ezek 39:17-20). 
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19:20 the lake of fire:
The molten sea of hell, where the damned are destined to writhe in everlasting torment (21:8). Eventually the devil himself will be hurled into its flames (20:10) (CCC 1033-37). 
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Word Study

Hallelujah
(
Rev 19:1
,
3
,
4
,
6
)

Hallēluia
(Gk.): A transliteration of two Hebrew terms meaning "Praise the Lord!" It occurs only four times in the NT but is often used in the OT as a liturgical acclamation, especially in the Psalter. Certain psalms, for instance, are framed by this expression, which serves as an opening and closing line (Ps 135, 146-50). It is also a recurrent acclamation in the Hallel Psalms that were traditionally sung during the Jewish Passover meal (Ps 113-18). Some scholars thus maintain that the Passover liturgy is the background of the repeated "Hallelujah" in Rev 19:1-6, since the song builds up to the "marriage supper of the Lamb" (Rev 19:9). This is the triumphal banquet celebrated by the redeemed of the new Exodus, saved by the blood of Christ, the new Passover Lamb (Rev 5:6-10; 15:2-3). The "Hallelujah" has since passed into the liturgical vocabulary of the Church, where the Eucharist is celebrated as a memorial of the new Exodus accomplished through Christ (CCC 1340).

20:1-6
The binding of Satan and the millennial reign of Christ. Three views of the millennium have dominated theological discussion over the centuries.
(1)
Premillennialism
is the view that Christ, when he comes again, will establish his reign on earth for 1,000 years. Also called
chiliasm
(from the Greek word for "one thousand"), this interpretation was popular in the second and third centuries (e.g., St. Justin Martyr,
Dialogue with Trypho
80). A modern version, advanced by Protestant dispensationalists, holds that the Church will be gathered into heaven at the Second Coming, after which Christ will restore the theocratic kingdom of David in Jerusalem for 1000 years and fulfill all of God's promises to ethnic Israel.
(2)
Postmillennialism
interprets the 1000 years as symbolizing that period of history during which the gospel goes forth and gradually has its full effect of Christianizing the world. Once this global process is complete, Christ will return in glory. Advocates generally hold that the length of the millennium is beyond our ability to calculate.
(3)
Amillennialism,
like postmillennialism, holds to a symbolic view of the 1000 years and does not envision Christ reigning on earth in visible form. The millennium is said to represent the entire stretch of history between the First and Second Coming, that time when Christ reigns in a spiritual and sacramental way through the Church. Rising to prominence in the fourth and fifth centuries, this has probably been the most widely held view among Catholic theologians throughout history (beginning with St. Augustine,
City of God
20, 9). • The background of the millennium may be traced to the period of the Davidic covenant, which was established almost exactly 1000 years before the coming of Christ. This age began with David extending his rule over Israel and other nations (2 Sam 5-8) and with Solomon instructing the nations in the ways of righteousness (1 Kings 10:1-10, 2324). It is also a time when the faithful of Israel first experienced martyrdom for their faith (Dan 3:16-23; 2 Mac 7:1-42). The images in 20:1 also have links with Davidic traditions: the
key
recalls the key of David in 3:7; the
pit
of the netherworld was believed to be sealed off by the foundation stone of Solomon's Temple; and the
chain
that prevents deception may reflect the tradition that a chain hung in Solomon's courtroom and was used to verify the truthfulness of testimony given under oath. These and other features of the Davidic age prefigure the messianic age, during which Christ reigns over the Church and the world as the royal Davidic Messiah. • The Catholic Church rejects all forms of millenarianism (i.e.,
chiliasm
), which contends that Christ will come again to establish a visible kingdom on earth and to inaugurate a golden age of peace and prosperity within human history (Decree of the Holy Office, 1944) (CCC 676). 
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