1 ·This is the revelation given by God to Jesus Christ so that he could tell his servants about the things which are now to take place very soon; he sent his angel to make it known to his servant John, ·and John has written down everything he say and swears it is the word of God guaranteed by Jesus Christ. ·Happy the man who reads the prophecy, and happy those who listen to him, if they treasure all that it says, because the Time is close.    I. THE LETTERS TO THE CHURCHES OF ASIA    4 From John, to the seven churches of Asia: grace and peace to you from him who is, who was, and who is to come, from the seven spirits in his presence before his throne, ·and from Jesus Christ, the faiuthful witness, the First-born from the dead, the Ruler of the kings of the earth. He loves us and has washed away our sins with his blood, ·and made us a line of kings, priests to serve his God and Father; to him, then, be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen. ·It is he who is coming on the clouds; everyone will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the races of the earth will mounn over him. This is the truth. Amen. ·"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.    9 My name is John, and through our union in Jesus I am your brother and share your sufferings, your kingdom, and all you endure. I was on the island of Patmos for having preached God's word and witnessed for Jesus; ·it was the Lord's day and the Spirit possessed me, and I heard a voice behind me, shouthing like a trumpet, ·"Write down all that you see in a book, and send it to the seven churches of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea." ·I turned around to see who had spoken to me, and when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands ·and, surrounded by them, a figure like a Son of man, dressed in a long robe tied at the waist with a golden girdle. ·His head and his hair were white as white wool or as snow, his eyes like a burning flame, his feet like burnished bronze when it has been refined in a furnace, and his voice like the sound of the ocean. ·In his right hand he was holding seven stars, out of his mouth came a sharp sword, double-edged, and his face was like the sun shinning with all its force.   17 When I saw him, I fell in a dead faint at his feet, but he touched me with his right hand and said, "Do not be afraid; it is I, the First and the Last; I am the Living One; ·I was dead and now I am to live for ever and ever, and I hold the keys of Death and the underworld. ·Now write down all that you see of present happenings and things that are still to come. ·The secret of the seven stars you have seen in my right hand, and of the seven golden lampstands is this: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches themselves.    1. Ephesus    "Write to the angel of the church in Ephesus and say, 'Here is the message of the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and who lives surrounded by the seven golden lampstands: I know all about you: how hard you work and how much you put up with. I know you cannot stand wicked men, and how you tested the impostors who called themselves apostles and proved they were liars. ·I know, too, that you have patience, and have suffered for my name without growing tired. ·Nevertheless, I have this complaint to make; you have less love now than you used to. ·Think where you were before you fell; repent, and do as you used to at first, or else, if you will not repent, I shall come to you and take your lampstand from its place. ·It is in your favor, nevertheless, that you loathe as I do what the Nicolatians are doing. ·If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches: those who prove victorious I will feed from the tree of life set in God's paradise.'    2. Smyrna    8 "Write to the angel of the church in Smyrna and say, 'Here is the message of the First and the Last, who was dead and has come to life again: ·I know the trials you have had, and how poor you are- though you are rich- and the slanderous accusations that have been made by the people who profess to be Jews but are really members of the synagogue of Satan. ·Do not be afraid of the sufferings that are coming to you: I tell you, the devil is going to send some of you to prison to test you, and you must face an ordeal for ten days. Even if you have to die, keep faithful, and I will give you the crown of life for your prize. ·If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches: for those who prove vicotrious there is nothing to be afraid of in the second death.    3. Pergamum    12 "Write to the angel of the church in Pergamum and say, 'Here is the message of the one who has the sharp sword, double edged: ·I know where you live, in the place where Satan is enthroned, and that you still hold firmly to my name, and did not disown your faith in me even when my faithful witness, Antipas, was killed in your own town, where Satan lives. 14 Nevertheless, I have one or two complaints to make: some of you are followers of Balaam, who taught Balak to set a trap for the Israelites so that they committed adultery by eating food that had been sacrificed to idols; ·and among you, too, there are some as bad who accept what the Nicolaitans teach. ·You must repent, or I shall soon come to you and attack these people with the sword out of my mouth. ·If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches: to those who prove victorious I will give the hidden manna and a white stone- a stone with a new name written on it, known only to the man who receives it.'    4. Thyatira    18 "Write to the angel of the church in Thyatira and say, 'Here is the message of the Son of God who has eyes like a burning flame and feet like burnished bronze. ·I know all about you and how charitable you are; I know your faith and devotion and how much you put up with, and I know how you are still making progress. ·Nevertheless, I have a complaint to make: you are encouraging the woman Jezebel who claims to be a prophetess, and by her teaching she is luring my servants away to commit the adultery of eating food which has been sacrificed to idols. ·I have given her time to reform but she is not willing to change her adulterous life. ·Now I am consigning her to bed, and all her partners in adultery to troubles that will test them severely, unless they repent of their practices;·and I will see that her children die, so that all the churches realize that it is I who search heart and loins and give each one of you what your behavior deserves. ·But on the rest of you in Thyatira, all of you who have not accepted this teaching or learned the secrets of Satan, as they are called, I am not laying any special duty; ·but hold firmly on to what you already have until I come. ·To those who prove victorious, and keep working for me until the end, I will give the authority over the pagans ·which I myself have been given by my Father, to rule them with an iron scepter and shatter them like earthenware. And I will give him the Morning Star. ·If anoyone has ears to hear, let them listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.'    5. Sardis    1 "Write to the angel of the church in Sardis and say, 'Here is the message of the one who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: I know all about you: how you are reputed to be alive and yet are dead. ·Wake up; revive what little you have left: it is dying fast. So far I have failed to nitice anything in the way you live that my God could possible call perfect, ·and yet do you remember how eager you were when you first heard the message? Hold on to that. Repent. If you do not wake up, I shall come to you like a thief, without telling you at what hour to expect me. ·There are a few in Sardis, it is true, who have kept their robes from being dirtied, and they are fit to come with me, dressed in white. ·Those who prove victorious will be dresseed, like these, in white robes; I shall not blot their names out of the book of life, but acknowledge their names in the presences of my Father and his angels. ·If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.'    6. Philadelphia    7 "Write to the angel of the church in Philadelphia and say, 'Here is the message of the holy and faithful one who has the key of David, so that when he opens, nobody can close, and when he closes, nobody can open: ·I know all about you; and now I have opened in front of you a door that nobody will be able to close- and I know that though you are not very strong, you have kept my commandments and not disowned my name. ·Now I am going to make the symagogue of Satan- those who profess to be Jews, but are liars, because they are no such thing- I will make them come and fall at your feet and admit that you are the people that I love. ·Because you have kept my commandment to endure trials, I will keep you safe in the time of trial which is going to come for the whole world, to test the people of the world. ·Soon I shall be with you: hold firmly to what you already have, and let nobody take your prize away from you. ·Those who prove victorious I will make into pillars in the sanctuary of my God, and they will stay there for ever; I will inscribe on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem which comes down from my God in heaven, and my own new name as well. ·If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.'    7. Laodicea    14 "Write to the angel of the church in Laodicea and say, 'Here is the message of the Amen, the faithful, the true witness, the ultimate source of God's creation: ·I know all about you: how you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were one of the other, ·but since you are neither, but only lukewarm. I will spit you out of my mouth. ·You say to yourself, "I am rich, I have made a fortune, and have everything I want," never realizing that your are wretchedly and pitiably poor, and blind and naked, too. ·I warn you, buy from me the gold that has been tested in the fire to make you really rich, and white robes to clothe you and cover your shameful nakedness, and eye ointment to put on your eyes so that you are able to see. ·I am the one who reproves and disciplines all those he loves: so repent in real earnest. ·Look, I am standing at the door, knocking. If one of you hears me calling and opens the door, I will come in to share his meal, side by side with him. ·Those who prove victorious I will allow to share my throne, just as I was victorious myself and took my place with my Father on his throne. ·If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.'"    II. THE PROPHETIC VISIONS    A. THE PRELUDE TO THE GREAT DAY    God entrusts the future of the world to the Lamb    Then, in my vision, I saw a door open in heaven and heard the same voice speaking to me, the voice like a trumpet, saying, "Come up here: I will show you what is to come in the future." ·With that, the Spirit possessed me and I saw a throne standing in heaven, and the One who was sitting on the throne, ·and the Person sitting there looked like a diamond and a ruby. There was a rainbow encircling the throne, and this looked like an emerald. ·Around the throne in a circle were twenty-four thrones, and on them I was twenty-four elders sitting, dressed in white robes with golden crowns on their heads. ·Flashes of lightning were coming from the throne, and the sound of peals of thunder, and in front of the throne there were seven flaming lamps burning, the seven Spirits of God. ·Between the throne and myself was a sea that seemed to be made of glass, like crystal. In the center, grouped around the throne itself, were four animals with many eyes, in front and behind. ·The first animal was like a lion, the second like a bull, the third animal had a human face, and the fourth animal was like a flying eagle. ·Each of the four animals had six wings and had eyes all the way around as well as inside; and day and night they never stopped singing:    "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God, the Almighty; he was, he is and he is to come."    Every time the animals glorified and honored and gave thanks to the One sitting on the throne, who lives for ever and ever, ·the twenty-four elders prostrated themselves before him to worship the One who lives for ever and ever, and threw down their crowns in front of the throne, saying, ·"You are our Lord and our God, you are worthy of glory and honor and power, because you made all the universe and it was only by your will that everything was made and exists."    I saw that in the right hand of the One sitting on the throne there was a scroll that had writing on back and front and was sealed with seven seals. ·Then I saw a powerful angel who called with a loud voice, "Is there anything worthy to open the scroll and break the seven seals of it?" ·But there was no one, in heaven or on earth or under the earth, who was able to open the scroll and read it. I wept betterly because there was nobody fit to open the scroll and read it, ·but one of the elders said to me, "There is no need to cry: the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed, and he will open the scroll and the seven seals of it." Then I saw, standing between the throne with its fcour animals and the circle of the elders, a Lamb that seemed to have been sacrificed; it had seven horns, and it had seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits God has sent out all over the world. ·The Lamb came forward to take the scroll from the right hand of the One sitting on the throne, ·and when he took it, the four animals prostrated themselves before him and with them the twenty-four elders; each one of them was holding a haro and had a golden bowl full of incense make of the prayers of the saints. ·They sang a new hymn:    "You are worthy to take the scroll and break the seals of it, because you were sacrificed, and with your blood you bought men for God of every race, language, people and nation and made them a line of kings and priests, to serve our God and to rule the world."    In my vision, I heard the sould of an immense number of angels gathered around the throne an the animals and the elders; there were ten thousand times ten thousand of them and thousands upon thousands, ·shouting, "The Lamb that was sacrificed is worthy to be given power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory and blessing." ·Then I heard all the living things in creation- everything that lives in the air, and on the ground, and under the ground, and in the sea, crying, "To the One who is sitting on the throne and to the Lamb, be all praise, honor, glory and power, for ever and ever." ·And the four animals said, "Amen"; and the elders prostrated themselves to worship.    The Lamb breaks the seven seals    Then I saw the Lamb break one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four animals shout in a voice like thunder, "Come." ·Immediately a white horse appeared, and the rider on it was holding a bow; he was given the victor's crown and he went away, to go from victory to victory.    ·When he broke the second seal, I heard the second animal shout, "Come." ·And out came another horse, bright red, and its rider was given this duty: to take away peace from the earth and set people killing each other. He was given a huge sword.    ·When he broke the third seal, I heard the third animal shout, "Come," Immediately a black horse appeared, and its rider was holding a pair of scales; ·and I seemed to hear a voice shout from among the four animals and say, "A ration of corn for a day's wages, and three rations of barley for a day's wages, but do not tamper with the oil or the wine."    ·When he broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth animal shout, "Come." ·Immediately another horse appeared, deathly pale, and its rider was called Plague, and Hades followed at his heels. They were given authority over a quarter of the earth, to kill by the sword, by famine, by plague and wild beasts.    ·When he broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of all the people who had been killed on account of the word of God, for witnessing to it. They shouted aloud, ·"Holy, faithful Master, how much longer will you wait before you pass sentence and take vengeance for our death on the inhabitants of the earth?" ·Each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to be patient a little longer, until the roll was complete and their fellow servants and brothers had been killed just as they had been.    ·In my vision, when he broke the sixth seal, there was a violent earthquake and the sun went as black as coarse sackcloth; the moon turned red as blood all over, ·and the stars of the sky fell on to the earth like figs dropping from a fig tree when a high wind shakes it; ·the sky disappeared like a scroll rolling up and all the mountains and islands were shaken from their places. ·Then all the earthly rulers, the governors and the commanders, the rich people and the men of the influence, the whole population, slaves and citizens, took to the mountains to hide in caves and among the rocks. They said to the mountains and the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us away from the One who sits on the throne and from the anger of the Lamb. For the Great Day of his anger has come, and who can survive it?"    Next I saw four angels, standing at the four corners of the earth, holding four winds of the world back to keep them from blowing over the land or the sea or in the trees. ·Then I saw another angel rising where the sun rises, carrying the seal of the living God; he called in a powerful voice to the four angels whose duty was to devastate land and sea, ·"Wait before you do any damage on land or at sea or to the trees, until we have put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God." ·Then I heard how many were sealed: a hundred and forty-four thousand, out of all the tribes of Israel.    ·From the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand had been sealed; from the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand; from the tribe of Gad, twelve thousand; ·from the tribe of Asher, twelve thousand; from the tribe of Naphtali, twelve thousand; from the tribe of Manasseh, twelve thousand; ·from the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand; from the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand; from the tribe of Issachar, twelve thousand; ·from the tribe of Zebulun, twelve thousand; from the tribe of Joseph, twelve thousand; and from the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand were sealed.    The rewarding of the Saints    ·After that I saw a huge number, impossible to count, of people from every nation, race, tribe and language; they were standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palms in their hands. They shouted aloud, ·"Victory to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" ·And all the angels who were standing in a circle around the throne, surrounding the elders and the four animals, prostrated themselves before the throne, and touched the ground with their foreheads, worshiping God with these words, ·"Amen. Praise and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength to our God for ever and ever. Amen."    ·One of the elders then spoke, and asked me, "Do you know who these people are, dressed in white robes, and where they have come from?" ·I answered him, "You can tell me, my lord." Then he said, "These are the people who have been through the great persecution, and because they have washed their robes white again in the blood of the Lamb, ·they now stand in front of God's throne and serve him day and night in his sanctuary; and the One who sits of the throne will spread his tent over them. ·They will never hunger or thirst again; neither the sun nor scorching wind will ever plague them, ·because the Lamb who is at the throne will be their shepherd and will lead them to springs of living water; and God will wipe away all tears from their eyes."    The Lamb then broke the seventh seal, and there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

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