THE REVELATION TO JOHN (THE
APOCALYPSE)
Introduction and Salutation
1The revelation of Jesus Christ, which
God gave him to show to his servants what must soon take place; and
he made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,
2who bore
witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ,
even to all that he saw. 3Blessed is he who reads aloud the words of
the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is
written therein; for the time is near.
4John to the seven churches that are in
Asia:
*
Grace to you and peace from him who is
and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are
before his throne,
5and from
Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead, and
the ruler of kings on earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us
from our sins by his blood
6and made
us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and
dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
7Behold,
he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, every one
who pierced him; and all tribes of the earth will wail on account
of him. Even so. Amen.
8“I am the Alpha and the Omega,”
says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the
Almighty.
A Vision of Christ
9I
John, your brother, who share with you in Jesus the tribulation and
the kingdom and the patient endurance, was on the island called
Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
10I was in the
Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice
like a trumpet
11saying, “Write what you see in a book
and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to
Per'gamum and to Thyati'ra and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to
La-odice'a.”
12Then I
turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I
saw seven golden lampstands,
13and in
the midst of the lampstands one like a Son of man,
* clothed with
a long robe and with a golden sash across his chest;
14his head and his hair were white as
white wool, white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire,
15his feet were like burnished bronze,
refined as in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many
waters;
16in his
right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth issued a sharp
two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full
strength.
17When I saw
him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand
upon me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last,
18and the living one; I died, and
behold I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of Death and
Hades.
19Now
write what you see, what is and what is to take place hereafter.
20As for the
mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and the
seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the
seven churches and the seven lampstands are the seven
churches.
The Message to Ephesus
2“To the angel
of the Church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds
the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden
lampstands.
2“‘I know your works, your toil and your
patient endurance, and how you cannot bear evil men but have tested
those who call themselves apostles but are not, and found them to
be false;
3I know you are
enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you
have not grown weary.
4But I have this against you, that you have
abandoned the love you had at first.
5Remember then from
what you have fallen, repent and do the works you did at first. If
not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place,
unless you repent.
6Yet this you have, you hate the works of the
Nicola'itans, which I also hate.
7He who
has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To
him who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is
in the paradise of God.’
The Message to Smyrna
8“And to the angel of the Church in
Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died
and came to life.
9“‘I know your tribulation and your
poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that
they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
10Do not fear what you are about to
suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into
prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days
* you will
have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the
crown of life.
11He who has an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit says to the churches. He who conquers shall not be hurt by
the second death.’
The Message to Pergamum
12“And to the angel of the Church in
Per'gamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp
two-edged sword.
13“‘I know where you dwell, where
Satan’s throne is; you hold fast my name and you did not deny
my faith even in the days of An'tipas my witness, my faithful one,
who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
14But I have a few things against you: you
have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak
to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, that they might
eat food sacrificed to idols and practice immorality.
15So you also have some
who hold the teaching of the Nicola'itans.
16Repent then. If not,
I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my
mouth.
17He who
has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To
him who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will
give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone which
no one knows except him who receives it.’
The Message to Thyatira
18“And to the angel of the Church
in Thyati'ra write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has
eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished
bronze.
19“‘I know your works, your love and
faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works
exceed the first.
20But I
have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jez'ebel, who
calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and beguiling my
servants to practice immorality
* and to eat
food sacrificed to idols.
21I gave her time to repent, but she refuses
to repent of her immorality.
* 22Behold, I will throw her on a sickbed, and
those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great
tribulation, unless they repent of her doings;
23and I will strike her children dead. And
all the churches shall know that I am he who searches mind and
heart, and I will give to each of you as your works deserve.
24But to the rest of you in
Thyati'ra, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what
some call the deep things of Satan,
* to you I
say, I do not lay upon you any other burden;
25only hold fast what you have, until I
come.
26He who
conquers and who keeps my works until the end, I will give him
power over the nations,
27and he shall rule them with a rod of iron,
as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have
received power from my Father;
28and I will give him the morning
star.
*
29He who has
an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the
churches.’
The Message to Sardis
3“And to the
angel of the Church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who
has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.
“‘I know your works; you
have the name of being alive, and you are dead.
2Awake, and strengthen
what remains and is on the point of death, for I have not found
your works perfect in the sight of my God.
3Remember then what you received and
heard; keep that, and repent. If you will not awake, I will come
like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come upon
you.
4Yet you
have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their
garments; and they shall walk with me in white, for they are
worthy.
5He who conquers shall be clothed
like them in white garments, and I will not blot his name out of
the book of life; I will confess his name before my Father and
before his angels.
6He who has an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit says to the churches.’
The Message to Philadelphia
7“And to the angel of the Church in
Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one,
who has the key of David, who opens and no one shall shut, who
shuts and no one opens.
8“‘I know your works. Behold, I have set
before you an open door, which no one is able to shut; I know that
you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have
not denied my name.
9Behold, I
will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are
Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and
bow down before your feet, and learn that I have loved you.
10Because you
have kept my word of patient endurance, I will keep you from the
hour of trial which is coming on the whole world, to try those who
dwell upon the earth.
11I am coming soon; hold fast what you have,
so that no one may seize your crown.
12He who conquers, I will make him a
pillar in the temple of my God; never shall he go out of it, and I
will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of
my God, the new Jerusalem which comes down from my God out of
heaven, and my own new name.
* 13He who has an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit says to the churches.’
The Message to La-odicea
14“And to the angel of the Church
in La-odice'a write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and
true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.
15“‘I know your works: you are neither
cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot!
16So, because you are
lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my
mouth.
17For you
say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing; not knowing
that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.
18Therefore I counsel
you to buy from me gold refined by fire, that you may be rich, and
white garments to clothe you and to keep the shame of your
nakedness from being seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, that you
may see.
19Those
whom I love, I reprove and chasten; so be zealous and repent.
20Behold, I
stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens
the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
21He who conquers, I will grant him
to sit with me on my throne, as I myself conquered and sat down
with my Father on his throne.
22He who has an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit says to the churches.’”
The Heavenly Worship
4After this I looked, and behold, in
heaven an open door! And the first voice, which I had heard
speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I
will show you what must take place after this.”
2At
once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven,
with one seated on the throne! 3And
he who sat there appeared like jasper and carnelian, and round the
throne was a rainbow that looked like an emerald.* 4Round the throne were twenty-four
thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders,* clothed in
white garments, with golden crowns upon their heads. 5From the throne issue flashes of
lightning, and voices and peals of thunder, and before the throne
burn seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God;
6and before the throne there is as it were
a sea of glass, like crystal.
And round the throne, on each side of
the throne, are four living creatures,* full of eyes in front and
behind:
7the first living creature like a
lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living
creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature
like a flying eagle.
8And the
four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of
eyes all round and within, and day and night they never cease to
sing,
“Holy, holy, holy,* is the Lord God
Almighty,
who was and is and is to come!”
9And
whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to
him who is seated on the throne, who lives for ever and ever,
10the
twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne
and worship him who lives for ever and ever; they cast their crowns
before the throne, singing,
11“Worthy are you, our Lord and
God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were
created.”
The Scroll and the Lamb
5And I saw in the right hand of him who
was seated on the throne a scroll
* written
within and on the back, sealed with seven seals; 2and I saw a strong
angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open
the scroll and break its seals?” 3And no one in heaven
or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to
look into it, 4and I wept much that no one was found worthy
to open the scroll or to look into it. 5Then one of the elders said to me,
“Weep not; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root
of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its
seven seals.”
6And between the throne and the four living
creatures and among the elders, I saw a Lamb standing, as though it
had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes,
* which are the
seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth;
7and he went and took
the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne.
8And when he had taken the scroll, the
four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before
the Lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls full of
incense, which are the prayers of the saints;
9and they sang a new song, saying,
“Worthy are you to take the scroll and
to open its seals,
for you were slain and by your blood you
ransomed men for God
from every tribe and tongue and people and
nation,
10and
have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on earth.”
11Then I
looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and
the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads
and thousands of thousands, 12saying with a loud voice, “Worthy
is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom
and might and honor and glory and blessing!” 13And I heard every creature in heaven and
on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all therein,
saying, “To him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb be
blessing and honor and glory and might for ever and ever!”
14And the four
living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down
and worshiped.
The Seven Seals
6*Now I saw when
the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four
living creatures say, as with a voice of thunder,
“Come!” 2And I
saw, and behold, a white horse, and its rider had a bow; and a
crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to
conquer.
3When he opened the second seal, I heard
the second living creature say, “Come!”
4And out came another
horse, bright red; its rider was permitted to take peace from the
earth, so that men should slay one another; and he was given a
great sword.
5When he opened the third seal, I heard
the third living creature say, “Come!” And I saw, and
behold, a black horse, and its rider had a balance
* in his hand;
6and I heard what seemed to be a voice in
the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of
wheat for a denarius,
a
and three quarts of barley for a
denarius;a
but do not harm oil and
wine!”
7When he
opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living
creature say, “Come!”
8And I
saw, and behold, a pale horse, and its rider’s name was
Death, and Hades followed him; and they were given power over a
fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with
pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.
9When he
opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who
had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had
borne;
10they
cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and
true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those
who dwell upon the earth?”
11Then they were each given a white robe and
told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow
servants and their brethren should be complete, who were to be
killed as they themselves had been.
12When he
opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great
earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon
became like blood,
13and the
stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter
fruit when shaken by a gale;
14the sky vanished like a scroll that is
rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its
place.
15Then
the kings of the earth and the great men and the generals and the
rich and the strong, and every one, slave and free, hid in the
caves and among the rocks of the mountains,
16calling to the mountains and rocks,
“Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on
the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb;
17for the great day of their wrath has
come, and who can stand before it?”
The 144,000 of Israel Sealed
7After this I saw four angels standing at
the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the
earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree.
2Then I saw
another angel ascend from the rising of the sun, with the seal of
the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels
who had been given power to harm earth and sea, 3saying, “Do not harm the earth or
the sea or the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God
upon their foreheads.” 4And
I heard the number of the sealed, a hundred and forty-four
thousand* sealed, out of every tribe of the sons of Israel,
5twelve
thousand sealed out of the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand of the
tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand of the tribe of Gad, 6twelve thousand of the
tribe of Asher, twelve thousand of the tribe of Naph'tali, twelve
thousand of the tribe of Manas'seh, 7twelve thousand of the tribe of Simeon,
twelve thousand of the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand of the tribe
of Is'sachar, 8twelve thousand of the tribe of Zeb'ulun,
twelve thousand of the tribe of Joseph, twelve thousand sealed out
of the tribe of Benjamin.
The Multitude from Every Nation
9After this I looked, and behold, a great
multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all
tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and
before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in
their hands, 10and crying out with a loud voice,
“Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne, and
to the Lamb!” 11And all the angels stood round the throne
and round the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell
on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12saying, “Amen!
Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power
and might be to our God for ever and ever! Amen.”
13Then one of
the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in
white robes, and from where have they come?”
14I said to him, “Sir, you
know.” And he said to me, “These are they who have come
out of the great tribulation;
* they have
washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the
Lamb.
15Therefore are they before the throne of
God,
and serve him day and night within his
temple;
and he who sits upon the throne will shelter
them with his presence.
16They
shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more;
the sun shall not strike them, nor any
scorching heat.
17For the
Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of living
water;
and God will wipe away every tear from their
eyes.”
The Seventh Seal and the Golden
Censer
8When the Lamb opened
the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an
hour.
2Then I saw the
seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to
them. 3And another angel came and stood at the
altar with a golden censer; and he was given much incense to mingle
with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the
throne; 4and
the smoke of the incense rose with the prayers of the saints from
the hand of the angel before God. 5Then the
angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and
threw it on the earth;* and there were peals of thunder, loud noises,
flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.
The Seven Angels and Seven
Trumpets
6Now the seven angels who had the seven
trumpets made ready to blow them.
7The first angel blew his trumpet, and there
followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, which fell on the earth;
and a third of the earth was burnt up, and a third of the trees
were burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
8The second angel blew his trumpet, and
something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into
the sea;
9and
a third of the sea became blood, a third of the living creatures in
the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
10The third
angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing
like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the
fountains of water.
11The name of the star is Wormwood. A third
of the waters became wormwood, and many men died of the water,
because it was made bitter.
12The fourth angel blew his
trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the
moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light was
darkened; a third of the day was kept from shining, and likewise a
third of the night.
13Then I
looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice, as it flew
in midheaven, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth,
at the blasts of the other trumpets which the three angels are
about to blow!”
9And the fifth angel blew his trumpet,
and I saw a star
* fallen from
heaven to earth, and he was given the key of the shaft of the
bottomless pit; 2he opened the shaft of the
bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a
great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke
from the shaft. 3/sup>Then from the smoke came
locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of
scorpions of the earth; 4they were
told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green growth or any
tree, but only those of mankind who have not the seal of God upon
their foreheads; 5they were allowed to torture them for five
months, but not to kill them, and their torture was like the
torture of a scorpion, when it stings a man. 1And in those days men will seek death and
will not find it; they will long to die, and death will fly from
them.
7In appearance the locusts were like horses
arrayed for battle; on their heads were what looked like crowns of
gold; their faces were like human faces,
8their hair like women’s hair, and
their teeth like lions’ teeth;
9they had scales like iron breastplates,
and the noise of their wings was like the noise of many chariots
with horses rushing into battle.
10They have tails like scorpions, and stings,
and their power of hurting men for five months lies in their tails.
11They have as king over them the
angel of the bottomless pit; his name in Hebrew is Abad'don, and in
Greek he is called Apol'lyon.
b
12The first
woe has passed; behold, two woes are still to come.
13Then the
sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four
horns of the golden altar before God,
14saying to the sixth angel who had the
trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great
river Euphra'tes.”
* 15So the four angels were released, who had
been held ready for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, to
kill a third of mankind.
16The number of the troops of cavalry was
twice ten thousand times ten thousand; I heard their number.
17And this was how I saw the horses
in my vision: the riders wore breastplates the color of fire and of
sapphire
c and of
sulphur, and the heads of the horses were like lions’ heads,
and fire and smoke and sulphur issued from their mouths.
18By these
three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke
and sulphur issuing from their mouths.
19For the power of the
horses is in their mouths and in their tails; their tails are like
serpents, with heads, and by means of them they wound.
20The rest of
mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of
the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of
gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot either
see or hear or walk;
21nor did they repent of their murders or
their sorceries or their immorality
* or their
thefts.
The Angel with the Little Scroll
10Then I saw another
mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a
rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs
like pillars of fire.
2He had a little scroll open in his hand. And he set his
right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land, 3and called out with a
loud voice, like a lion roaring; when he called out, the seven
thunders sounded. 4And when the seven thunders had sounded, I
was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying,
“Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write
it down.” 5And the
angel whom I saw standing on sea and land lifted up his right hand
to heaven 6and
swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created heaven and
what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is
in it, that there should be no more delay, 7but that in the days of the trumpet call
to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God,* as he
announced to his servants the prophets, should be
fulfilled.
8Then the voice which I had
heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, “Go, take the
scroll which is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on
the sea and on the land.”
9So I
went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll; and he
said to me, “Take it and eat; it will be bitter to your
stomach, but sweet
* as honey in your mouth.”
10And I took the little
scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it; it was sweet as honey
in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter.
11And I was told, “You must again
prophesy about many peoples and nations and tongues and
kings.”
The Two Witnesses
11*Then I was given a measuring rod like a
staff, and I was told: “Rise and measure the temple of God
and the altar and those who worship there,
2but do not
measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is
given over to the nations, and they will trample over the holy city
for forty-two months.* 3And I will grant my
two witnesses* power to prophesy for one thousand two hundred and
sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.”
4These are the
two olive trees and the two lampstands which stand before the Lord
of the earth.
5And if
any one would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes
their foes; if any one would harm them, thus he is doomed to be
killed.
6They
have power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days
of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn
them into blood, and to afflict the earth with every plague, as
often as they desire.
7And when
they have finished their testimony, the beast that ascends from the
bottomless pit will make war upon them and conquer them and kill
them,
8and
their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city
* which is
allegorically
d
called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord
was crucified. 9For three days and a half men from the
peoples and tribes and tongues and nations gaze at their dead
bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb,
10and those who dwell
on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange
presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those
who dwell on the earth.
11But
after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered
them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those
who saw them.
12Then
they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up
here!” And in the sight of their foes they went up to heaven
in a cloud.
13And at that hour there was a great
earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; seven thousand people
were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave
glory to the God of heaven.
14The second
woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come.
The Seventh Trumpet
15Then
the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in
heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the
kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever
and ever.”
16And the twenty-four elders who sit on their
thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God,
17saying,
“We give thanks to you, Lord God
Almighty, who are and who were,
that you have taken your great power and
begun to reign.
18The
nations raged, but your wrath came,
and the time for the dead to be
judged,
for rewarding your servants, the prophets
and saints,
and those who fear your name, both small and
great,
and for destroying the destroyers of the
earth.”
19Then
God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his
covenant was seen within his temple; and there were flashes of
lightning, loud noises, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy
hail.
The Woman and the Dragon
12*And a great sign appeared in heaven, a woman
clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head
a crown of twelve stars;
2she was
with child and she cried out in her pangs of birth, in anguish for
delivery. 3And
another sign appeared in heaven; behold, a great red dragon, with
seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems upon his heads.
4His tail swept down a third of the stars
of heaven, and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before
the woman who was about to bear a child, that he might devour her
child when she brought it forth; 5she
brought forth a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with
a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his
throne, 6and
the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared
by God, in which to be nourished for one thousand two hundred and
sixty days.
Michael Defeats the Dragon
7Now war
arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the
dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought,
8but they were defeated
and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.
9And the great dragon was thrown down,
that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the
deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth,
and his angels were thrown down with him.
10And I heard a loud voice in heaven,
saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of
our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser
of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them day and
night before our God.
11And they have conquered him by the blood of
the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not
their lives even unto death.
12Rejoice then, O heaven and you that
dwell therein! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has
come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is
short!”
The Dragon Makes War against the
Woman’s Offspring
13And when the dragon saw that he had been
thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had borne the
male child.
14But
the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle that she might
fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is
to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time.
* 15The serpent poured
water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her
away with the flood.
16But the earth came to the help of the
woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river which
the dragon had poured from his mouth.
17Then the dragon was angry with the
woman,
* and went off to make war on the rest of her
offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and bear
testimony to Jesus. And he stood
e
on the sand of the sea.
The Beast from the Sea
13And I saw a beast
* rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven
heads, with ten diadems upon its horns and a blasphemous name upon
its heads. 2And the beast that I
saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s, and its
mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And to it the dragon gave his
power and his throne and great authority. 3One of its heads
seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and
the whole earth followed the beast with wonder. 4Men worshiped the
dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they
worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who
can fight against it?”
5And the beast
was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it
was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months;
6it opened its mouth to
utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his
dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven.
7Also it was allowed to make war on the
saints and to conquer them.
f
And authority was given it over every tribe
and people and tongue and nation, 8and all who dwell on earth will worship
it, every one whose name has not been written before the foundation
of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that was slain.
9If any one has an ear, let him
hear:
10If any
one is to be taken captive,
to captivity he goes;
if any one slays with the sword,
with the sword must he be slain.
Here is a call
for the endurance and faith of the saints.
The Beast from the Earth
11Then I saw another beast
* which rose
out of the earth; it had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a
dragon.
12It
exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and
makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose
mortal wound was healed.
13It works great signs, even making fire come
down from heaven to earth in the sight of men;
14and by the signs which it is allowed to
work in the presence of the beast, it deceives those who dwell on
earth, bidding them make an image for the beast which was wounded
by the sword and yet lived;
15and it
was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast so that the
image of the beast should even speak, and to cause those who would
not worship the image of the beast to be slain.
16Also it causes all,
both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to
be marked on the right hand or the forehead,
17so that no one can
buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast
or the number of its name.
18This calls for wisdom: let him who has
understanding reckon the number of the beast, for it is a human
number, its number is six hundred and sixty-six.
g
*
The Lamb and the 144,000
14Then I looked, and behold, on Mount
Zion stood the Lamb, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand
who had his name and his Father’s name written on their
foreheads.
2And I heard
a voice from heaven like the sound of many waters and like the
sound of loud thunder; the voice I heard was like the sound of
harpists playing on their harps, 3and they sing a new song before the throne
and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one
could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand
who had been redeemed from the earth. 4It is these who have not defiled
themselves with women, for they are chaste;h
* it is these who follow the Lamb wherever he
goes; these have been redeemed from mankind as first fruits for God
and the Lamb, 5and in their mouth no
lie was found, for they are spotless.
The Messages of the Three Angels
6Then I saw another angel flying in
midheaven, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on
earth, to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; 7and he said with a
loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, for the hour of his
judgment has come; and worship him who made heaven and earth, the
sea and the fountains of water.”
8Another angel,
a second, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is
Babylon
* the great, she who made all nations drink the wine
of her impure passion.”
9And another
angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If
any one worships the beast and its image, and receives a mark on
his forehead or on his hand,
10he
also shall drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured unmixed into
the cup of his anger, and he shall be tormented with fire and
brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of
the Lamb.
11And
the smoke of their torment goes up for ever and ever; and they have
no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image,
and whoever receives the mark of its name.”
12Here is a
call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the
commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
13And I heard
a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead
who from now on die in the Lord.” “Blessed
indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from
their labors, for their deeds follow them!”
Reaping the Earth’s
Harvest
14Then
I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one
like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp
sickle in his hand.
15And
another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to
him who sat upon the cloud, “Put in your sickle, and reap,
for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is
fully ripe.”
16So he who sat upon the cloud swung his
sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.
17And another
angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp
sickle.
18Then another angel
came out from the altar, the angel who has power over fire, and he
called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle,
“Put in your sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of
the earth, for its grapes are ripe.”
19So the angel swung his sickle on the
earth and gathered the vintage of the earth, and threw it into the
great wine press of the wrath of God;
20and the wine press was trodden outside
the city, and blood flowed from the wine press, as high as a
horse’s bridle, for one thousand six hundred stadia.
i
The Angels with the Seven Last
Plagues
15Then I saw another sign in heaven,
great and wonderful, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the
last, for with them the wrath of God is ended.
2And I saw
what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who
had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name,
standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands.
3And they sing the song of Moses,
* the servant
of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,
“Great and wonderful are your
deeds,
O Lord God the Almighty!
Just and true are your ways,
4Who
shall not fear and glorify your name, O Lord?
For you alone are holy.
All nations shall come and worship
you,
for your judgments have been
revealed.”
5After this I
looked, and the temple of the tent of witness in heaven was opened,
6and out of
the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues, robed in
pure bright linen, and with golden sashes across their chests.
7And one of
the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven golden bowls
full of the wrath of God who lives for ever and ever;
8and the temple was filled with smoke from
the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the
temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were
ended.
The Bowls of God’s Wrath
16Then I heard a loud voice from the
temple telling the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the
earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”
2So the first
angel went and poured his bowl on the earth, and foul and evil
sores came upon the men who bore the mark of the beast and
worshiped its image.
3The second
angel poured his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of
a dead man, and every living thing died that was in the sea.
4The third
angel poured his bowl into the rivers and the fountains of water,
and they became blood. 5And I heard the angel of water say,
“Just are you in these your
judgments,
you who are and were, O Holy One.
6For men
have shed the blood of saints and prophets,
and you have given them blood to
drink.
It is their due!”
7And I heard
the altar cry,
“Yes, Lord God the Almighty,
true and just are your
judgments!”
8The fourth
angel poured his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch men
with fire; 9men were scorched by the fierce heat, and
they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues, and
they did not repent and give him glory.
10The fifth
angel poured his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom
was in darkness; men gnawed their tongues in anguish
11and cursed the God of
heaven for their pain and sores, and did not repent of their
deeds.
12The sixth
angel poured his bowl on the great river Euphra'tes, and its water
was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east.
13And I saw, issuing from the mouth of the
dragon and from the mouth of the beast and from the mouth of the
false prophet, three foul spirits like frogs;
14for they are demonic spirits, performing
signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble
them for battle on the great day
* of God the
Almighty.
15(“Behold, I am coming like a
thief! Blessed is he who is awake, keeping his garments that he may
not go naked and be seen exposed!”)
16And they assembled them at the place
which is called in Hebrew Armaged'don.
*
17The seventh
angel poured his bowl into the air, and a great voice came out of
the temple, from the throne, saying, “It is done!”
18And there were flashes of lightning,
loud noises, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as had
never been since men were on the earth, so great was that
earthquake.
19The great city was
split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God
remembered great Babylon, to make her drain the cup of the fury of
his wrath.
20And every island fled away, and no
mountains were to be found;
21and
great hailstones, heavy as a hundredweight, dropped on men from
heaven, till men cursed God for the plague of the hail, so fearful
was that plague.
The Great Whore and the Beast
17Then one of the seven angels who had
the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you
the judgment of the great harlot
* who is
seated upon many waters, 2with
whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and with
the wine of whose fornication* the dwellers
on earth have become drunk.” 3And
he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a
woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of blasphemous
names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. 4The woman was clothed in purple and
scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in
her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of
her fornication; 5and on her forehead was written a name of
mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of harlots and of
earth’s abominations.” 6And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of
the saints and the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.
When I saw her I marveled greatly.
7But the angel
said to me, “Why marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the
woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries
her.
8The beast that you saw was, and is not,
and is to ascend from the bottomless pit and go to perdition; and
the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book
of life from the foundation of the world, will marvel to behold the
beast, because it was and is not and is to come.
9This calls for a mind with wisdom: the
seven heads are seven hills on which the woman is seated;
10they are also seven
kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet
come, and when he comes he must remain only a little while.
11As for the
beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the
seven, and it goes to perdition.
12And
the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received
royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one
hour, together with the beast.
13These are of one mind and give over their
power and authority to the beast;
14they
will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he
is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called
and chosen and faithful.”
15And he said
to me, “The waters that you saw, where the harlot is seated,
are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. 16And the ten horns
that you saw, they and the beast will hate the harlot; they will
make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up
with fire, 17for God has put it into their hearts to
carry out his purpose by being of one mind and giving over their
royal power to the beast, until the words of God shall be
fulfilled. 18And the woman that you saw is the great
city which has dominion over the kings of the earth.”
The Fall of Babylon
18After this I saw
another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority; and
the earth was made bright with his splendor.
2And he
called out with a mighty voice,
“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the
great!
It has become a dwelling place of
demons,
a haunt of every foul spirit,
a haunt of every foul and hateful
bird;
3for all
nations have drunk
k
the wine of her impure
passion,
and the kings of the earth have committed
fornication with her,
and the merchants of the earth have grown
rich with the wealth of her wantonness.”
4Then I
heard another voice from heaven saying,
“Come out of her, my people,
lest you take part in her sins,
lest you share in her plagues;
5for her
sins are heaped high as heaven,
and God has remembered her iniquities.
6Render
to her as she herself has rendered,
and repay her double for her deeds;
mix a double draught for her in the cup she
mixed.
7As she
glorified herself and played the wanton,
so give her a like measure of torment and
mourning.
Since in her heart she says, ‘A queen
I sit,
I am no widow, mourning I shall never
see,’
8so
shall her plagues come in a single day,
pestilence and mourning and famine,
and she shall be burned with fire;
for mighty is the Lord God who judges
her.”
9And the kings
of the earth, who committed fornication and were wanton with her,
will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning;
10they will
stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say,
“Alas! alas! you great city,
you mighty city, Babylon!
In one hour has your judgment
come.”
11*And the
merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys
their cargo any more,
12cargo
of gold, silver, jewels and pearls, fine linen, purple, silk and
scarlet, all kinds of scented wood, all articles of ivory, all
articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble,
13cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh,
frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep,
horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls.
14“The fruit for which your soul longed
has gone from you,
and all your delicacies and your splendor
are lost to you, never to be found again!”
15The
merchants of these wares, who gained wealth from her, will stand
far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning
aloud,
16“Alas, alas, for the great city
that was clothed in fine linen, in purple
and scarlet,
adorned with gold, with jewels, and with
pearls!
17In one
hour all this wealth has been laid waste.”
And all shipmasters and seafaring men,
sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off 18and cried out as they
saw the smoke of her burning,
“What city was like the great
city?”
19And they
threw dust on their heads, as they wept and mourned, crying
out,
“Alas, alas, for the great city
where all who had ships at sea grew rich by
her wealth!
In one hour she has been laid waste.
20Rejoice over her, O heaven,
O saints and apostles and prophets,
for God has given judgment for you against
her!”
21Then a
mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it
into the sea, saying,
“So shall Babylon the great city be
thrown down with violence,
and shall be found no more;
22and
the sound of harpists and minstrels, of flute players and
trumpeters,
shall be heard in you no more;
and a craftsman of any craft
shall be found in you no more;
and the sound of the millstone
shall be heard in you no more;
23and
the light of a lamp
shall shine in you no more;
and the voice of bridegroom and bride
shall be heard in you no more;
for your merchants were the great men of the
earth,
and all nations were deceived by your
sorcery.
24And in
her was found the blood of prophets and of saints,
and of all who have been slain on
earth.”
The Rejoicing in Heaven
19After this I heard
what seemed to be the mighty voice of a great multitude in heaven,
crying,
“Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and
power belong to our God,
2for his
judgments are true and just;
he has judged the great harlot who corrupted
the earth with her fornication,
and he has avenged on her the blood of his
servants.”
“Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes
up for ever 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 from
the throne came a voice crying,
“Praise our God, all you his
servants,
you who fear him, small and
great.”
6Then I
heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the
sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunderpeals,
crying,
“Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the
Almighty reigns.
7Let us
rejoice and exult and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb* has
come,
and his Bride has made herself ready;
8it was granted her to be clothed with fine
linen, bright and pure”—
for the fine
linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
9And the angel said
l
to me, “Write this: Blessed are those
who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he
said to me, “These are true words of God.”
10Then I fell
down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must
not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brethren who
hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony
of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
The Rider on the White Horse
11Then
I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! He who sat upon it
is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and
makes war.
12His
eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems;
and he has a name inscribed which no one knows but himself.
13He is clothed in a robe dipped
in
m blood,
and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.
14And the
armies of heaven, wearing fine linen, white and pure, followed him
on white horses.
15From
his mouth issues a sharp sword with which to strike the nations,
and he will rule them with a rod of iron; he will tread the wine
press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.
16On his robe and on his thigh he has a
name inscribed, King of kings and Lord of lords.
The Beast and Its Armies
Defeated
17Then
I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called
to all the birds that fly in midheaven, “Come, gather for the
great supper of God,
18to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of
captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their
riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small
and great.”
19And I saw the beast and the kings of the
earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who sits
upon the horse and against his army.
20And the beast was captured, and with it
the false prophet who in its presence had worked the signs by which
he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those
who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake
of fire that burns with brimstone.
21And the rest were slain by the sword of
him who sits upon the horse, the sword that issues from his mouth;
and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.
The Thousand Years
20Then I saw an angel
coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key of the
bottomless pit and a great chain.
2And he
seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the Devil and
Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3and threw him into the pit, and shut it
and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more,
till the thousand years were ended.* After that
he must be let out for a little while.
4Then I saw
thrones, and seated on them were those to whom judgment was
committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for
their testimony to Jesus and for the word of God, and who had not
worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on
their foreheads or their hands. They came to life, and reigned with
Christ a thousand years.
5The rest of the dead did not come to life
until the thousand years were ended. This is the first
resurrection.
6Blessed and holy is
he who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death
has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and
they shall reign with him a thousand years.
Satan’s Doom
7And when the thousand years are ended,
Satan will be released from his prison
8and will come out to deceive the nations
which are at the four corners of the earth, that is, Gog and
Ma'gog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of
the sea.
9And they
marched up over the broad earth and surrounded the camp of the
saints and the beloved city; but fire came down from
heaven
n and
consumed them, 10and the devil who had deceived them was
thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the
false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night for
ever and ever.
The Dead Are Judged
11Then
I saw a great white throne and him who sat upon it; from his
presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.
12And I saw the dead, great and
small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also
another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead
were judged by what was written in the books, by what they had
done.
13And
the sea gave up the dead in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead in
them, and all were judged by what they had done.
14Then Death and Hades
were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the
lake of fire;
15and if
any one’s name was not found written in the book of life, he
was thrown into the lake of fire.
The New Heaven and the New Earth
21Then I saw a new heaven and a new
earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away,
and the sea was no more.
* 2And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for
her husband; 3and I
heard a great voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the
dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they
shall be his people,o
and God himself will be with them;
p
4he will
wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more,
neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for
the former things have passed away.”
5And he who sat
upon the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.”
Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy
and true.”
6And he
said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the
beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water without
price from the fountain of the water of life.
7He who conquers shall have this heritage,
and I will be his God and he shall be my son.
8But as for the cowardly, the faithless,
the polluted, as for murderers, fornicators, sorcerers, idolaters,
and all liars, their lot shall be in the lake that burns with fire
and brimstone, which is the second death.”
*
Vision of the New Jerusalem
9Then came one of the seven angels who had
the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues, and spoke to me,
saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the
Lamb.”
10And in
the Spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain, and showed
me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God,
11having the
glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper,
clear as crystal.
12It had
a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve
angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons
of Israel were inscribed;
13on the east three gates, on the north three
gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates.
14And the wall
of the city had twelve foundations, and on them the twelve names of
the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15And he who
talked to me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and
its gates and walls.
16The city lies foursquare, its length the
same as its breadth; and he measured the city with his rod, twelve
thousand stadia;
q
its length and breadth and height are
equal. 17He also measured its wall, a hundred and
forty-four cubits by a man’s measure, that is, an
angel’s.
18The wall was built of jasper, while the
city was pure gold, clear as glass.
19The
foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every jewel;
the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the
fourth emerald,
20the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the
seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth
chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst.
21And the twelve gates
were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and
the street of the city was pure gold, transparent as glass.
22And I saw no temple in
the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.
23And the city has no need of sun or moon
to shine upon it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp
is the Lamb.
24By its light shall the nations walk; and
the kings of the earth shall bring their glory into it,
25and its gates shall never be shut by
day—and there shall be no night there;
26they shall bring into
it the glory and the honor of the nations.
27But nothing unclean shall enter it, nor
any one who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who
are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
River of the Water of Life
22Then he showed me the river of the
water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God
and of the Lamb
2through the
middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the
river, the tree of lifer
with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month; and
the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
3There shall
no more be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb
shall be in it, and his servants shall worship him; 4they shall see his face, and his name
shall be on their foreheads. 5And
night shall be no more; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the
Lord God will be their light, and they shall reign for ever and
ever.
6And he said to me,
“These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God
of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his
servants what must soon take place.
7And
behold, I am coming soon.”
Blessed is he who keeps the words of
the prophecy of this book.
Epilogue and Benediction
8I John am he who heard and saw these
things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at
the feet of the angel who showed them to me; 9but he said to me,
“You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and
your brethren the prophets, and with those who keep the words of
this book. Worship God.”
10And he said to me,
“Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for
the time is near.
11Let
the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the
righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”
12“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my
recompense, to repay every one for what he has done.
13I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first
and the last, the beginning and the end.”
14Blessed are
those who wash their robes,
s
that they may have the right to the tree of
life and that they may enter the city by the gates.
15Outside are
the dogs and sorcerers and fornicators and murderers and idolaters,
and every one who loves and practices falsehood.
16“I
Jesus have sent my angel to you with this testimony for the
churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright
morning star.”
17The Spirit
and the Bride say, “Come.” And let him who hears say,
“Come.” And let him who is thirsty come, let him who
desires take the water of life without price.
18I warn every one who
hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if any one adds to
them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book,
19and if any one takes away from the
words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in
the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this
book.
20He who
testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming
soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
21The grace of
the Lord Jesus be with all the saints.
t
Amen.
PARALLEL NOTES
THE BOOK OF GENESIS
THE BOOK OF EXODUS
THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS